star sail

Results wise McCall has had an excellent season, the Scottish Cup run being the highlight and the replay home game against Utd being Well's best performance of the year for me. He has been able to get crucial results at crucial times and that can't all be down to luck but I have a feeling that there is a bit of McLeish's first season about McCall's year. Why do I say that? First of all he inherited a small but very decent squad of players, a squad of players that are above average in the SPL. He has a midfield player in Steve Jennings who I think we will look back in years to come and think, what a player he was (Paul Lambert springs to mind). He has been able to pick a very settled team and has for the most part played the same formation throughout (remember McLeish's first half season). For me however there are some concerns. The home performances of late have been poor. We dodged a bullet with the Hibs game and I don't think I have really enjoyed a home game this season. I think of McGhee's first season as a comparison. I don't get a sense that there is a long term plan. Forbes has been sidelined. Jamie Murphy is going backwards, McHugh has had little chance and Carswell has been pushed back by a midfield player that is only signed up to the NY. Higdon continues to knock balls down to nobody with little sign of that problem being addressed and up front Well are currently toothless. I have been anticipating the slide for a little while and it has not yet materialised but I think that 2012 may be a must more challenging year for SM. I think 5th place could be Well's finishing position this season. I appreciate these views will not be popular but I have tried to give some reasons as to my thoughts. It is a results driven business however and results wise you can't argue with Well's years so 8/10 for 2011 (would have been higher if they had turned up against the OF this season).

Las and Jennings both received yellow cards. Are you suggesting than one or both of them should have seen red?

Today proved to me that football games are won in the mind as much as they are won on the park. Put that Celtic starting 11 on the park in black and white and call them St Mirren and we would have won that game today. The first Celtic goal was a shocker to lose and was down simply to panicking after scoring the first goal. Celtic had shown nothing to that point and showed nothing (but for a touch of brilliance from McCourt) thereafter. A bit of composure after the first goal and we would have seen a different result today. Laslay's booking was the critical moment for me. Nonsensical decision that meant Las was walking a tightrope. He had to pull out of a challenge on McCourt at the start of the mazy run leading to their second. At least we competed today and to be honest I feel ok about the result tonight. Times are good for the Well.

We were saying the same about Rangers last visit to FP. Worst Rangers team in years/ never a better time to play them/ McCoist will struggle to keep his job if we beat them etc etc. They beat us 0-3. If we beat Celtic it will be a fantastic result. In the last three outings they have put 4,3 and 4 goals past us respectively and pretty much with the personel that will line up on Sunday. The odds are still very much against a Well victory. No harm in being optimistic but we should maintain a sense of realism too.

Gaag, a suggestion for you being an administrator. In Mark McGhees 3rd place season Motherwell reached 60 points, an average of 1.6 points per game. Currently Motherwell are sitting on an average of 2 points per game and would now need an average of 1.4 points per game for the remainder of the season to match this total. Celtic and Rangers will finish first and second, (even with an administration deduction for Rangers) but given that there is no obvious 4th place team at this moment 60 points could again be enough for third. Would it be worth pinning a running total of this average? It would be very easy to update this average each week. If Motherwell can stay ahead of the 1.6 point average then the Europa League bekons. Looking at the bigger picture may soften the blow of weekends when Motherwell lose. Just a thought. Very easy to update and a good way of tracking progress.

I think we have to be wary of this Celtic in crisis media perpetuated nonsence. Celtic have lost twice this season to Rangers and Hearts. They have given a few teams an absolute pasting (including ourselves) and have a squad of players that on their day is streets ahead of what the rest of the SPL can offer. Remember this is a team that just over a week ago managed a draw in France. By Celtic standards it is not great but if Hearts were visiting Fir Park next week with this record we would be very weary. Celtic are still the strong favourites and usually when the Old Firm have a must win game in Scotland they usually do . A win would be out of this world and could see us topping the table in November if Rangers get heavily punished but the odds are still strongly against it. No result prediction but I would take a draw right now.

The queen is great. Those dugs and the pearls and stuff. And britishness. We are the people eh? Canna beat it. Fuck all to do with football but given that we are using it as an excuse I thought I would throw in my thoughts on the matter. Phillip as well eh, what a laugh he is. I might take an inflatable version of the old boy to the next well game. My contribution to us celebrating our heritage in a totally innocent open minded tolerant way seeing as how we seem to be in to that kind of thing.

Motherwell's disciplinary record had been almost spotless prior to the incident. Under McGhee, Gannon and Brown there had been an emphasis on discipline. This would make Motherwell an interesting study for lengthened odds on a player being sent off. I remember the ref's performance that night being very bizzare. On the way home in the car a Dunfermline fan phoned Sportsound to say that the ref had put in an equally bizzare performance against them on the Saturday before. Not saying any of this points the finger at Jenno or the ref, just remember these facts from the time.

Yeah Buzzcocks. Remember them from when I was a boy. Nothing to do with football but have meant to ask.

Cheers! I am going to show some real ignorance here but who is Steve Diggle? I don't mean who are you but who is Steve Diggle? Was it The Buzzcocks lead singer? I suppose that is what google was invented for. I'm gonna have a look.

I don't have much of an opinion on Higdon's ability or lack of, but that was some finish for the second goal. Tight angle from a difficult position in the penalty box. Had it been Jeffers we would have been proclaiming the second coming.

You are right. It is a bad example but you understand the point that I was trying to make.

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.