star sail

This is because of the type of player Higdon is. He can look as if he is not trying (jumping, running etc). That people don't understand the players attributes shows an ignorance on their part. I understand your frustration and commend the support you give him. My advice would be keep on supporting the player in the way you are doing, have a wee giggle at the ignorance of the boo boys and don't look for something more sinister than it is. Forbes, Fitzpatrick, Gow, the Juke at the start, Porter at the start- the list goes on. When Higdon has had his turn it will be someone else. Just enjoy supporting the team and don't let it get you down.

If you are taking about people like me Steve Diggle you are being a bit presumptous. I don't abuse players and I don't think anybody has a right to abuse players. It is however a fact of life. Very often it is the vocal minority that set the tone. If our current circumstances were bad, would they then have the right to abuse?

He had a great season last year and the year before that. Great player to have in the squad, possibly the most naturally gifted player at the club and fast becoming a Well legend. Top notch!!

Motherwell need every fan they can get through the turnstyles. I don't see what the problem is here. Higdon had a bad game last week, by his and everyone elses admission. Some fan's voiced their frustrations. This week he scores two and has a good game and everyone is happy. Go to any football ground in Britain and you will see the same thing. Dundee Utd got booed off the park yesterday. Man City fans had banners saying Tevez out! Blackburn fans had banners saying Kean out!! Arsenal have a bad month and their fans want Wenger sacked. Aberdeen fans want Brown sacked. Hibs fans want Calderwood sacked. Rangers fans at the start of the season wanted McCoist out. This notion that Motherwell have the worst fans in the world and that they should not bother turning up is nonsense. That it is others fans of the same club that is levelling this criticism at them is farcical. Listen to English phone ins and you will hear fans on a regular basis criticise Sir Alex Ferguson. It's the way it is but I am sure every club in the nation will happily take their money. I have not said anything about Higdon so far but my view is that I hope he has a great season. If he doesn't and things don't work out I hope the manager is not too slow at putting him on the bench. Simple really.

No. I think if there is anybody on here that I have argued with the most it would be Steelboy (Jim Gannon, the SFA, Celtic paranoia being amongst the disagreements). The point I was trying to make is this. All you uber fans out there have this idea that some fans would like nothing more than to see players, managers, the club fail. This my friend is bullshit. It goes against the very notion of following a team. Yes fans get frustrated, yes they may not support in the way they could, yes they are a fickle bunch but ultimately every Well fan out there wants to see the club be success and if Higdon starts banging in the goals every Well fan would delighted. Unfortunately that goes against the conspiracy theories guy's like you like to perpetuate but I stand by my initial comment. The fact that you think that some fans see Higdon as the anti-christ is utter pish!! The fact that I am currently at -6 for making the point says it all really. Some people have strange ideas. Next you will be telling me that the FBI shot Kennedy and that there is a one world government responsible for blowing up the twin towers.

what a load a pish! Higdon was poor last wkend and people criticised him. He gets 2 this week and every Well fan will be delighted. That's life. Get over it!

Were those two games bounce games that the fans got into for free or were they supposed to be competitve football matches? This is a good e-mail but I still don't like the approach he is taking to OF games. Nobody expects Motherwell to win the league but surely there must be an expectation that we can compete against this mob in one off games? We have played nine, won five, drawn one and lost three. It is to easy to simply discount the games against the OF and if he wants to discount thse games then let us in for free. This apart a good read and an insight into how the pro's think about tactics.

No chance!! We have not been able to get within three goals of the OF in recent times (the victory against Celtic at FP apart). A win under any circumstances and this place would be going mental in a positive way. I agree with the original post to an extent but Motherwells problem is a mentality problem against the OF and I would put the blame at the moment for that at the managers door. 'We have to be at our best and they have to have a bad day' 'We will not be judged on games against the OF' 'We will need a large slice of luck to get a result today'. None of this would fill me with confidence as a player and they are all recent quotes from SM pre or post OF matches. I listened to Pressley the morning before the game and thought Falkirk might get the result. He said all the right things and did not mention once about how Ranger was a fantastic team full of fantastic players that it was a priveledge to be on the same park as them. He basically said we are going to have a real good go. They did. Look what happened!!!

Yes but that really only accounts for one starting 11 player. Rarely have we seen Saunders and Hutchison starting the game together. If both were fit just now Craigan would still start and McCall I am sure would continue with Hateley at RB. So really we are only missing Hutchison from the first 11. I can understand the point about the young players getting a chance and it was what made JG's short tenure so exciting but it is a brave manager (or mavrick) that bloods young players in theSPL. If we had a patient support it may be possible but look at the pressure the likes of Forbes, Fitzpatrick and even at times Murphy have bn put under by our fans. Unfortunately a manager has to protect young players from that kind of pressure. What I don't understand however is why McCall has tied up money on players he does not have the confidence to play. I suspect that the Board and the Manager are not singing off the same hymn sheet in this respect. The Board want us to have a philosophy of bringing through young players but for whatever reason the manager does not have the confidence to do it.

I think we need to look at the bigger picture since McCall took over. If you consider his time since Christmas his record has been ok but not sparkling. The form for 2011 as a whole is worthy of a mid-table side. What has inflated our expectations has been the ability for the side to win at crucial times, Dundee, Dundee Utd and St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup been perfect examples of this. The win up at Aberdeen in the league was anoter example of a crucial win at a crucial time. Within this however there has been some howlers. ICT away, Accies away, the post split matches and every OF game of 2011 (League Cup Semi apart). What has made the recent run so note worthy is that it has kept us top of the league well into September. We will have had equally strong runs at other times in recent years that are not so memorable because they have not resulted in a lofty position in the table. The point though is that they do seem to be able to pull vital results out of the hat, so I am going for a win tomorrow but equally I think we can expect some poor performances between now and Christmas. Hibs are really poor this season and there seems to be a lack of desire with them at the moment but Motherwell are always charitable to a wounded soldier. The fright from Saturday will be enough however. The narrowest of victories to the Well.

The BBC strike again.

In that respect Motherwell are fairly even handed. We don't turn up against Celtic either. 11 goals conceeded in the last three games against. I wld guess that they conveniently ignore that though like they ignore so much else.

If I am being ignorant (which is possible) explain to me why OTF. What is it that I am ignorant about? I am asking a genuine question, not trying to be smart.

I genuinely don't understand a word of this. Totally bemused!!

Hurricane Katia!!

Likes others I applaud the work you boys are doing at the Away games particularly. It is a breath of fresh air, but think the UJ is a mistake even if it is C and A. It gives off the wrong message. Keep up the good work though!!

I have an ignorance towards our own fans then, A UJ in pretty much any context in a symbol of Britishness. Nothing wrong with that. In the context of an SPL match however it is a symbol of divide and is very much a symbol associated with Rangers. Any Motherwell fan feeling the need to take a UJ to Celtic Park should be considering a season ticket at Ibrox next season. If it was just to wind the Celtic fans up, I'm guessing that you will be taking the Irish flag to Ibrox just to wind them, or does that not float your boat in the same way? I find Motherwell fans with UJ's embarrassing. It is a free word though so as you please.

I don't completely agree with McCall's view that we shld only be judged on performances outhwith the Old Firm however I can understand the point that he is trying to make. It would be possible for Motherwell at this moment in time to finish on 88 points this season without picking up a single point against the OF. This is taking into account the 2 points lost so far against Killie. Obviously this wld require Well to win every single non OF game but it wld represent a season of unparalleled success and wld put pressure on one if not both OF sides. I am not suggesting that this is a possibility just making the point that the best season in Well's history could be achieved regardless of the results against the OF. The road to 88 pts starts with a victory against St Johnstone nxt weekend. Mon the Well!!!!

If that is the case then it is one reason why Vlad was right to punt the two of them. To me this is an admission that they did not know enough about the player they signed and if you are throwing money after players that you have not researched propertly then questions should be asked. If Jefferies signed Sutton on the back of a two/three month purple patch then he is a mug.

I don't understand this train of thought. Motherwell have played 5 competitive games this season and already players need a rest? These boys are supposed to be top end professional athletes. Two games in a week should be a walk in the park at this stage of the season. If anything they should be getting a game to help reach peak condition. Bring some of the other guys in by all means but to give them game time not to give the first team regulars a rest. Try telling a Tour de France cyclist that pro footballers need a rest after 5 games of the season. This needing a wee rest is a myth created by the spin merchants like Craigy Brown as an excuse for poor performance. Four games into the season and the players can't be expected to perform because it's so early in the season and they are not match sharp, five games and they need a rest because they are battle weary.

I've always liked this theory on the use of offensive language. This is the thoughts of the controversal 60's comedian Lenny Bruce although in this case it is Dustin Hoffman playing Lenny Bruce. I am not sure to what extent it applies in this case but it is an interesting theory on the supression of words.

Would never have argued for the hero's myself. 3-0 ICT, 0-0 Killie, 0-1 Saints, 1-0 Hearts is a nice we run but not the stuff of legends. That not one of these teams could score against what it still a suspect Well defence says more about the shit standard of SPL football rather than the heros that play for Motherwell. Yesterday was pish and was like watching a training session for 45 mins. Very disappointing day at the football for me but it is each to their own so for those that remain philosophical about it, good on them.

You mean like the oh so close 4-0 tanking at Celtic Park a the tale end of last season or the nailbiting 3-0 at Hampden?

It's another blow to Scottish Football in general. On a European level Rangers are poor and yet they are miles ahead of a team that topped the table at the start of today. The second half was a training routine for Rangers in letting the opposition play about (very slowly) 25yards out then catching them on the break. The result was never in any danger. Also statements from the manager like 'you have to score first against the Old Firm' suggests to me that McCall has no belief in his own players. What happens when we go down 1-0 at Ibrox in the next game? May as well throw in the towel and get an early bath. If the manager has no belief the players will have no belief. As I said earlier in the thread this team will finish a good 20+ points ahead of us this season and yet could be out of Europe before we even get out of August.

It would be easy to fall into the trap of being blinded by this poor Rangers, club in crisis no resources chat that we hear week in and week out in the papers and on the radio. The fact is however that man for man Rangers can match if not better Motherwell in almost every area of the park and will have a bench that is stronger than ours. McGregor, Papac, Bougherra, Davies, Naismith, Jelavic are good players. Come the end of the season this team will probably be 20+ points ahead of Well in the league table. Given that it is only a few months ago that they turned us over with much the same team as they have now, it would be a foolish man that would bet against a Rangers win. However, confidence is king and if Rangers struggle this week in Europe and we can go into the game on a high then just maybe we can get that long awaited win. I would be amazed if it was a pumping like the last time so think the game will be won or lost by the odd goal. Right now I wuld take the draw. I'll go 1-1 after a Reynolds like slip up to let them back in, in the last 10 minutes.