star sail

When GA first arrived I remember reading Salford fans biggest complaint about Alexander was his tendency to shut up shop and defend one goal leads even when on the front foot. It seems to be a tatic he still stands by. On Donnelly. Great to see him play well. Our supporters should try not to forget how important he was for us before his injury. He was out for a long time. It will take a while longer for him to return to his best. As supporters we should give players the time and support to do that. Great response from mid-week. As someone mentioned above, D Utd at Firpark would make for a great Cup tie next. Happy Saturday night all.

If the powers that run Scottish football truly cared about the product that is the top league in Scotland, todays results would have them declaring an emergency board meeting tomorrow morning. The third and fourth place teams in the league being thrashed by the top two teams in the league with a gulf in quality and resource that is clear for all to see. The story is not new however and the powers that run the game in this country have proved unable or unwilling to do anything about it for decades. I remember Brendan Rodgers (now one of the highest rated coaches in England) bemoaning the gulf in finance between Celtic and the teams like PSG and Barcelona that were regularly beating his side 5/6/7-0. He was made to look useless as a manager. In relative terms the disparity in finance between Celtic and Motherwell will be bigger than the disparity between Celtic and the top teams in Europe. As fans we walk like zombies (at least I do) in to each and every Old Firm game with the delusion that this time it might be different. This time we might have a chance, despite the fact that history shows, that the chance is so small as to be almost negligible. Have a look at the league results against Rangers in particular over the last three decades. In the cold light of day the results make for grim reading. The one shining light in the years of misery was the play off double. That result was all the more remarkable when taken in the context of the results prior and all results since. Like addicts we remember the hit and the high of those games and go back again and again for that illusive moment when we can replicate the feeling, knowing in our heart of hearts that the thrill of the chase is the only thrill we can realistically hope for.

Is the primary aim of football not to entertain? I understand that there is more besides including the years of investment of time and emotion but it is difficult to argue that football does not exist to entertain. I have generally lost interest in the football. I have been a Motherwell fan spanning 6 decades and in times past have followed the team to the point of obsession as many of us have. I have lost interest because for me it is no longer entertaining (maybe it never was?) . Football should be about escapism from the pressures in our lives. Watching Motherwell doesn't do that for me at the moment. A 6-1 defeat to Rangers on the back of 24 years without a league win against them make me question what the purpose is, if not entertainment. I am too old now to continue watching them because it is what I have always done. I have not watched a single 90 minutes this season. I don't think I could have said that for any season since the early 80's. The club has played a very big part in my life and has been the cause of some of the greatest highs I can remember. That doesn't change and the emotional attachment lasts a lifetime. For the moment though it is not enough for me to spend time and money on a team I struggle to identify with. I hope the fire will be rekindled but it will take the team to be entertaining to do that now. Nostalgia and times past are no longer enough. Ofcourse I would never question anybody else's motivation for continuing to invest their time, money and emotion. In fact I find it admiral, the unconditional love that many Motherwell supporters afford the team.

Yes it certainly is, given the difference in budget.. Celtic's 244pts total over the last 3 Spfl seasons to Livis 118 is where the budget difference really shows however.

I think you said something similar last pre-season and look how the regular season turned out The idea that there are subtilties in the performance of pre-season games that only the well initiated can understand has been doing the rounds on this board for some time. The fact is that a 2-0 defeat of a pro team to Airdrie in any one of the 365 days in a year is a sign that the pro team is mediocre at best. That is not to say that Motherwell will be relegated this season after all they will be playing in a top division littered with mediocrity. That is a really poor result tonight and indicative of a professional team that by and large plays at a very poor level. I don't think Rangers lost one single pre-season game last season, including a thumping of Motherwell. As it turned out they then thumped us in the regular season to and went on to be unbeaten in the league. The right attitude starts pre-season and good teams beat poor teams pre-season or not. As an aside, tonight was a competive game so farcical though it is, our season has actually started.

The SOD criticism is baffling generally but when Well fans are happy to stick the boot in, I really am left scratching my head as to the negativity. As Steve Clark himself asked ' Tell us what he did wrong?' I don't know what magic mind bending dust the media has been spraying this last month but I had the most surreal experience of a Celtic fan arguing that Patterson should be replacing O'Donnell before admitting that he had never actually seen Patterson play!!!! At the very worst (and I don't share this view) O Donnell's performances could be described as mediocre but then how many Scotland players performed better? Take Stuart Armstrong as an example. SA's tactic seemed to be to run with his head down into trouble before promptly losing possession of the ball. He did it several times. I did no hear or read the witch hunt against him. Did anybody really believe that Lyndon Dykes was going to score a goal in these championships? We could have played ten games and I would not be convinced our strikers would have scored. In other words many of the players performances were at the same level or below that of SOD. So why was O'Donnell singled out particularly from Scotland fans and more interestingly Well fans.? To top it all, had he scored at Wembley (as he nearly did) his value as a player and reputation would have rocketed. I doubt he would have stayed a Motherwell player had that shot gone in. That is how superficially we assess players worth and value. It is all shallow analysis. As a Well fan, I was proud to watch him play and thought he did the club proud.

I agree with this 100%. The so called big name players were fairly ineffective. Our man looked nervous but I suppose when the media have been clambering to get you dropped for weeks on end it adds to the stress of the occasion. I thought that, but for running into Christie, he had a decent enough game. Would love to see Turnbull and Gilmour start on Friday but it won't happen.

I love the Onthefringes posts. Reminds me of Johnny the shoe shine guy from Police Squad or that scene from Oceans 12 when Robbie Coltrane winds up Matt Damon. Thing is I get caught every time when OTF posts. I'm shouting to my family 'OTF is posting. He (she?) has a scoop..... Oh no (s)he doesn't!! It adds to the forum for me and I would love to know what connection OTF has with the club so to that extent the posts work. Football forums should be about intrigue and rumour. OTF has it nailed! Even the username is filled with mystery!! Anyway, is Louis Moult signing or not?

When I read that description of a player I immediately thing of Phil O Donnell in his first spell as a youngster. Maybe ball playing was his weakness in that description but a back tracking box to box dynamo he certainly was. A player that we were lucky to have.

It was a great goal!! My memory of that day was of Motherwell putting in another one of those 'worst performances ever' that they tend to do every single season for as long as I can remember. It was a game of utter dross punctuated by a moment of magic. If you pay to go to the football to be entertained and the team you are there to support offer absolutely nothing by way of quality or entertainment then why not enjoy the one piece of magic the game has to offer. I don't remember clapping and I don't remember anybody around me clapping either but at least it was a moment of entertaining football in what was otherwise a shipwreck of a football match. You pay your money and enjoy the football the way you want to enjoy it.

Sounds good to me. Modern managers have to be polished when talking with the press and have to be able to motivate players that carry far more influence than they ever used to (Gallagher possibly being an example). I suppose this is the velvet glove bit. On the other hand it (pardon the pun) every player in that dressing room has to know who the boss is and who has the control. The iron fist. I suppose Alex Ferguson was the perfect example of this. He was the alpha male amongst alpha males mixing the hard man with the father figure. Who else could gave managed the likes of Cantona and Keane? And who else would have backed Cantona in the manner Ferguson did. Ofcourse GA is no Alex Ferguson but I like the iron fist in a velvet glove analogy.

This makes very enjoyable reading. GA has done everything that has been asked of him since arriving and but for very small margins, we could have been in a Cup semi final as well. I don't get the feeling that Alexander has been universally accepted yet but you cannot argue with the facts. Well done to the manager and the players.

The biggest criticism of Alexander from Salford fans was that he is too negative tactically particularly when his teams go in front. This was evident at Accies. It has been a very strange season in so many ways. The season started with high hopes. The opinion was that our squad of players was strong and I think the fact that we have pretty much matched the 3rd best team in Scotland over 390 mins of football suggests that the initial optimism was not without foundation. This team have underachieved this season and something about the teams mental approach to the season as a whole has to be questioned. Alexander has brought league safety, a reasonable cup showing and what seems to be more resilience to the side. For now, I am happy with that. I think as Motherwell fans we tend to forget about the dross we watch year in and year out under every manager. The optimists in us remember the good performances like it is the norm. Let's see what Alexander can do with his own team next year. As far as this term goes, I would have biten a hand off to be in the position we see ourselves in this evening back in February. Still feel a bit gutted tonight all the same!

My gut feeling is that he was injured. In that regard it has been very unfortunate timing. I think we can say with some small amount of confidence however that a clause that did exist no longer does. Naive as it may be the problem for me is that the Club Captain appears to have renaiged on an agreement. It may be an old fashioned belief but being a man of your word should be an important attribute of a club captain. Leading by example, putting the interests of the team above personal interest etc. By doing this the worst that would have happened for Gallagher is that he played another season for Motherwell. A sacrifice maybe but not of the highest order (appropriate topic for Easter weekend). At best, play well in the Euro's and he would probably get his big move anyway, contract extension or not. I read somebody argue earlier that any one of us would do the same in his position. I would like to think I would not. Not because I am any kind of shining light but because I was brought up to belief that if you agreed to something, you did it! As a club captain and as a leader I don't think he will be a loss but for a team like Motherwell his qualities as a player will be. Regarding Scotland, I would love to see him play. How often to we get to see two Motherwell players in a Euro bound Scotland team?

It shows the importance of the last few wins. It would all be far to close for comfort otherwise. Fantastic result but I am left feeling what might have been this season. There is nobody outwith the OF to fear in that top six but it was not to be. Not over the line yet but it would be some sting in the tail if we ended up in the bottom two now. Another Saturday evening to enjoy. Have a good one all!!!

I agree. I would like to see the same back two that started last week. They deserve it on merit and it is a simple way to reward good performance. Gallagher looked rusty when he came on. It is a strong position to be in to have Gallagher on the bench should one of the two be having a poor game. I suspect from Alexander's comments in the pre-match interview that Gallagher will start however. Regarding the match, if they turn up with the attitude of last week I think we will win. Turn up thinking they are superstars once more, they will lose.

I don't want to speak for dennyc but I think it just means that all players do not get treated equally. Vigurs was a wage thief if memory serves me correctly. He had a back problem and some fans did not believe it was real. Polworth is the current wage thief. Hastie was a traitor. Ainsworth only tried near contract extension time. Others were imposters. The list goes on and on. You just need to look at the comments over the last month regarding Roberts, Magloire, Lamie and Crawford from the starting 11 yesterday and you get the idea. Maybe the point is that Gallagher is being shown a benefit of doubt that others would not be afforded. I would like to think that all the players and managers would be given the benefit of the doubt so I am pleased if Gallagher is being given that benefit. edit: sorry dennyc you just beat me to it.

Great result and could not have asked for much more with results elsewhere. Saturday eve, beers chilling nicely. Enjoy a victorious Sat night everyone. It has been a while.

Indeed. I thought Motherwell were the better team at Easter Road although that team included Turnbull. Hibs and Aberdeen are not miles ahead of any team in our division so there is nothing to fear. It is a bit of a Cup final for us in the sense that a win I think would (almost) ensure our safety this season. It would be a massive boost for us and a huge blow to the teams below. Having said that I would be very happy with a draw.

Thank you.

The BBC article that suggests that 32 /33 points would be enough (not sure how to post link) works on the basis of form to date of all the bottom teams (that is my interpretation anyway). I think it is natural to worry that our season long form will not improve whilst the form of the bottom three will. The reality is that for all four teams the season long form will not change that much leaving Motherwell in the driving seat. Generally the league table does not lie by this point in the season. That does not account howeverfor a team finding form that they have not found all season . That Accies/ Kilmarnock and RC will all find form that has alluded them all season in highly unlikely. I have a nagging doubt however that RC and Killie in particular just might. It is this nagging doubt that keeps us on tenter hooks. I suppose we could try to be positive and say that it will be Motherwell that will find that illusive form. Our point average is one point per game (just about). Keep that up and we will be safe but it will not be pretty.

Great result. The whole dynamic changes again a suddenly we look like a team who could sneak a result or two before the split. The BBC analysis of a few days back would have it that three points will see us safe. I think we may need just a few more than that to be sure. Ross County's epic run under Jim McIntyre in the Baraclough playoff seasons shows that it is possible for bottom sides to put heroic runs together. My wish for tonight (forlorn as it is) is that the branding of players being pish and shite before they have even kicked a ball be tempered somewhat. Jordan Whyte is proof that given a chance these boys can perform and make a difference. Roberts tonight, Lamie tonight the same. They are not professional football players for no reason. A good night all round.

I always stay out of the chat about formations because I know nothing about it (and very little about the rest) but this seems like a really sensible option for this evening. They say that two banks of four is hard to break down (and we need to become hard to break down). Johnston would have cover from O'Donnell who in turn would provide an attacking threat. As was mentioned, he looked good when going forward with Scotland. The rest of the team picks itself given the threadbare nature of the current situation.

I agree 100% with this. I think what we see as lack of commitment, lack of effort, poor attitude is simply a lack of confidence. I think Long and Polworth are in that category almost certainly this season and it does not take much to filter through a team. It is a vicious circle that can be difficult to get out of. Think of playing a game of 5 a side with your mates. One week everything comes off, you see passes clearly and make decisions without thought. The next week small hesitations make you look like a clown. Multiple that feeling by a factor of 10/100 and you have the pressures of the professional football player who in fractions of seconds is making decisions than can make him look like a superstar or a total dud. The beauty of football is that a fraction of a second can cultivate a moment of genius or a career changing mistake. They say that dreams last just a few seconds. In football, in these blinks of an eye, one players dream can be another players nightmare.

It has taken a while but I have finally laughed at a Grizzly joke. After a shit weekend maybe this signals the start of a bright new dawn.