star sail

Rangers (Smith v Lennon, only one winner) Celtic (for reason above) Hearts (think Jefferies will have booted them into shape) D Utd (thought they flattered a bit last year but will be there abouts) Aberdeen (can't be as bad for them again and still believe McGhee is a good manager) Hibs (think Yogi will be found out but still have the players to see it through) M/Well (best of the rest) St Johnstone (really impressed by McInnes and one of the better teams to watch last seson) St Mirren (new manager will give them a lift) Hamilton (had a good end of season so will be safe_ ICT (Butcher will have them working hard and playing with passion) Killie (struggling to see many positives for them this year and Mixus a poor mans John Hughes)

If this is the case hats off Hammerfist. Have to go through pages of speculation and symbols and 'I know I guy who knows a guy' crap for one gem of truth so will be impressed if tomorrow we are parading Esteban Casagolda as our new signing and you called it right from the start.

I think we need to get over the notion that somehow the club owe's the fans something. Without the fans the club would not exist, true but the same can be said for any business. Without paying customers the business does not float. The equation is simple. Pay for a ticket = Club provide a football match. The club are not in debt to the fan therafter, in the same way that cineworld are not in debt to their customers after they have shown the film. This notion that buying a season ticket means that the club owes the fan something more is also nonsense. You buy a season ticket and the club let you in to every SPL home game. That is where the deal ends. The responsibility of the decision makers (i.e Boyle, Dempster) is to the business, not to the fans. Each individual fan has the freedom to decide to go, or not. Personally I think that £20 is too much to pay for a football match but I will be there all the same without any sense of being a martyr or a victim because at the end of the day the choice is mine.

I can understand the concern but it does not necesarily have to be a bad thing. As far as playing young players in concerned, I think only now in Scotland, playing young players has become acceptable. It used to be the case that if you were under the age of 21 it seemed to count against you regardless of form. I can understand the arguement about inconsistancy but I have turned up to FP to watch a team of experienced players and seen some real dross. Regarding squad size, was it McLeish's really good season when he fielded the same starting 11 from August to December and was sitting 2nd in the league close to Christmas? The consistancy of selection and formation was a key to the success. I understand that back up is preferable and competition for places is healthy but barring some really bad luck I would think you could get through a season with as squad of 18-20 players if those players were of SPL standard. I think we have that.

Why the hostility all of a sudden? Is this us getting cocky now? European big guns. On another night you may have won Aafk and I think your teams downfall was a lack of killer instinct in front of goal. For Motherwell, it represents our best win in Europe to date and we now go on to another really tough test. Did not get a chance to judge the goalkeeper because of circumstances but wish him all the best with a possible move to a big club.

And yet here you are on pg 26. Twenty seven pages and I don't mind admitting, I was hooked, uncool as that may be. Kinda sad it's all over.

Hammerfist?

I'm no mind reader or anything but I think that deep down you don't really mean that. It's a bit like saying 'I hope that M/well get relegated, then you'll all etc etc.....'

Cheers. I would say that Hibs and Motherwell are very similar in ability so it should be a tight game. Motherwell will have to be at their very best to go through.

. Good expression. Motherwells experience this season against Scandinavian teams has been really positive. Obviously as a Well fan I hope that continues both with the friendship between the fans and a Well victory at the end. Can I ask, what was the score with Hibs, home and away, when you played them, and what year was that? I don't remember it. We play Hibs a week on Sunday for the opening game of our season.

I had hoped that there might have been a signing today. No inside knowledge or any of that carry on, just hoped there might have been a wee signing lined up waiting for the outcome of last nights game to seal the deal. Patience I suppose.

It's not as straight forward as that I don't think. Really important if people are already booking transport. May be worth holding back for an hour or two.

Says on BBC Sport Scotland page that we host Odense and that Utd travel to AEK. Is this just misleading or does it imply that the home leg is first? If so much just be a mistake I assume? http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/default.stm

Just happy to have another Euro game at Fir Park. Can we get a sell out this time? Fill the South Stand as well. I just sense this might be our moment. Three Scandinavian teams getting progressivly more difficult but not the near impossible task it could have been. Its all good.

That is why the circumstances have to be right. You are right, watching Motherwell v St Mirren up to 6 times a year does not work. It will take a whole raft of change, summer football being one possibility, decent playing surfaces being another, pricing another. I just felt that last night was a glimpse of how it could be and Scottish Football cannot afford not to try.

You don't know till you try. The fact is that our attendances are in freefall. Last night showed that 8000 are willing to come to a game if the circumstances are right. Walking up to Fir Park on a summers eve was a really positive feeling. Even 6000 a week would be a step in the right direction at the moment. Think positive.

and yet the powers that be think that winter football is still the way to go and that the 12 team SPL is fit for purpose. Last night gave us a glimpse of how it could be. Will never change though.

Agree 100%. Norwegians were fantastic but there was a funearial hush about the Well support at times. Even when the songs did start they would apologetically die out after one verse. I thought that when the support finally got going in the last 10 mins it had an immediate calming effect on the team. The fans really can be the 12th man. I just wish the penny would drop.

At the time Gannon was right to drop him and Craigan has had some poor spells in the last few seasons (as well as a World beating OG record). Having said that he was superb last night and showed what he can do. Lets hope we see it on a regular basis this year.

I just got a vision of a huge cock sticking out of Fir Park. That would be something for the Aalusund fans if they come all the way from Norway and as they turn the corner to see the stadium all they see is a big cock. How is Casagolda going to react to that? How do you say 'What's the big cock for?' in Spanish. My dreams are going to be weird tonight.

I get a real feeling of importance about this game. Could well be the difference between the makings of another good season, or scrapping it out with the Killie's, St Mirrens etc due to a lack of finance. Like others have said when it gets this important Well have the ability to mess it up, particularly if there is a big crowd but I think it's going to be different this time. Motherwell have went about there business (a little Gannonism there) very professionally so far and I don't think they are going to slip up tomorrow night. Expecting it to be very tight but we will get there in the end. Only question mark over the team for me will be Saunders inclusion. Will Brown stick with him and be mindful not to knock his confidence or will he feel that he needs to strengthen the right back area? I think and hope Brown will stick with him. Can't see Humphrey starting but would not be too dispondant if he did. Nervous but excited. Mon the Well !!!

It is not necessarily the budget goalposts that are moving though. It may be players/agents who have made wage demands that Brown was not expecting. If he had a budget and a shopping list for players at the end of May and is now discovering that the two don't match up then the message we get now would be pretty much the same. I would guess that when looking back to May the budget was possibly, the budget + sale of Mark Reynolds. It may be the case that as yet nobody has come in for Mark, or if they have the figures are below the clubs expectations. I don't know why we are surprised however. Those of us who are regular attenders at FP must be worried about the size of the crowds. Last season was the worst I can remember and it is only going to go one way from here. We are now struggling to get attendences above 5000 for most games. How can there be money for players when you look at the overheads the club has? Also I am sure that much of the (£90,000)? the club won for beating Breadalblik will have been spent on the costs for the Norway trip. When you hear comments from people like Flow saying that at points in the season the club lives 'hand to mouth' in terms of finance and when you think of the panic that set in when the club realised they were going to miss out on the revenue from an Old Firm game at the end of the season it does not take a genius to realise that there is no money. Lets see how loyal Estaban Casagolda really is when he realises that he is going to be paid in coupons for Chapmans pies.

Great result and possibly Motherwells best result in Europe to date. Circumstances of their goal was disappointing but as many have said would have taken the result before the game. Away goal is so important.

Superb links. Thanks. Reminds me of watching the town square in Nancy and watching the Well fans gather as the day progressed. Cheers!!

Agreed. Think he would have been a luxury for us and given that Steve Jennings is fast becoming a dead cert for a starting place in the team we need to be looking at other areas of the park. Great signing for the Dons though.