CoF

Great game, great 3 points and worth every penny. The quality gap between teams in this league is minimal so a victory in any manner should be welcome.

Excitement.

I think now being the preferred option amongst the majority of fans will be good for his confidence, however it shouldn't really matter as (in my opinion) his performances have been decent to pretty good. Up to his injury I'm sure the number of goals conceded in the league was less than Randolph's in a similar space of time last year.

'They' didn't change it. The 11 clubs requested the vote as it made more sense to divvy up the 2nd place and guarantee more financial security for everyone than one club to hit the jackpot. Celtic abstained from the vote cause they didny gee a fuck about 2nd place. No-one would challenge the change to 2nd place prize money. Change to 1st place prize money would have, I imagine, been successfully challenged. There are plenty of things to slate the spl/celtic about but unfortunately this isn't one of them and it certainly isn't one that Motherwell should be criticised for.

It required an 11 - 1 vote however I imagine if the vote had been about 1st place as well, Celtic they would have challenged the legality of it, given that they are running a business and set budgets based on the prize money available at the start of the season.

How do you suggest the governing body goes about changing the prize money for first spot after the start of the season? They can't just alter the rules or the voting structure as they please. It's not 'spineless', it's a question of legality. Aye, the prize money is and always has been unfairly skewed but that's a different argument all together. No-one was in a position to change it at the time 2nd place was divied up.

It was always going to be a gamble for the clubs who were chasing 2nd. We gambled and lost out, but it was certainly a gamble worth taking.

Lasley. Considering he was on a yellow for about 75 minutes he still managed to get stuck right in without picking up a second yellow.

Came on as a sub today and saved a penalty. I'd be surprised if Dundee aren't looking to keep hold of him.

Really enjoyed the game and Aberdeen did deserve to come away with the point. Decent performance from us against a very good side. Neilson... he's the man between the sticks just now and will get my backing as long as that's the case.

Aye he joined us when the team really started to click, but it's not like that meant he had fuck all to do. You canny deny he pulled of a number of fantastic saves each game and contributed massively to us getting all 3 points each game. He's still only 22, which in goalkeeping terms is still very young. Would be happy to have him on-board. That said, I've always quite liked Hollis and think he'll do a job for us. His record this season up to the point he got injured was actually pretty decent all things considered.

Whether it's a step up or a step down I hope it works out for him regardless.

Absolutely. My post wasn't intended to be as negative as it probably came across. We've made unbelievable progress on and off the field as a result of countless prudent financial decisions and astute managerial appointments. I'd despair at any decision to spend money that we don't have. What I'm getting at is the fact that despite our years of success, we're still a club that has the potential to be in a relegation battle every season simply because we have a lower income than a lot of the clubs in the league. Some clubs can get away with poor managerial appointments because they have the budget to bring in a certain standard of player (Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hibs). I think we are more vulnerable than many clubs we are currently competing with in that sense simply because we haven't seen a growth in our support and benefitted from the extra income that would bring. Maybe my ideas stem from the fact I started supporting Motherwell in 1996 when I saw a run of relegation battles. It's the 'norm' for me so I'm always prepared for those days to return. I can't see that happening with the current board in place but they won't be with us forever.

Performance is far more important than size....

Just a theory, but I wonder if it's something to do with a bigger picture - the progress the club makes on the back of a good season. A high place finished used to mean financial reward, increased attendances (to some extent) and recruitment of better plays the following season. There was a real feeling that the club could reap the rewards of a good season, and that's why the head to heads with those battling for those spots were so exciting. Now, regardless of whether we finish 2nd or 7th attendances will be down and the wage bill will be cut. The exciting idea of success bringing us closer to 'the great leap forward' simply isn't there, which paints a fairly bleak picture for the future. It's been fantastic achieving these high league places over the last 6 years, but has the club experienced any tangible growth in terms of finances or crowds? Nope, quite the opposite. Success is always temporary, but even more so now.

Oh aye, added. Yep, added. Amazingly, we look on course to break it for a third year running! Any idea of the specifics? What was the previous record?

That's absolutely honkin' and surely can't be meeting the basic standards of equality law. Did you pay full price for the tickets? If so, I'm sure even that isn't right as clubs have got to charge the same price for seats with a simlar view acorss the ground. A few quid is knocked off if there is a big pole in the way, and it should apply if someones mug is in the way.

*This thread might be a useful reference point for the clueless few who still think Mccall is a bad run away from the sack.*

So Saturday's defeat stopped us equaling the club record of 7 top flight wins in a row but there's still cause for celebration after achieving our longest top flight winning streak since 1937. It got me thinking about what records we have set (and other achievements) under Mccall. I've included player achievements as well. League and cups Scottish Cup Runner Up - 2011 SPL 3rd place - 2011/12 SPL Runner up - 2012/13 Records Most top flight points in a season (post war) season 2011/2012 Most top flight points in a season (post war) season 2012/2013 Longest top flight win streak since 1937 Highest top flight win ratio (44% after 140 games) (is this correct?) Manager of the year Season 2012/13 Manager of the month July 2011 August 2011 October 2011 April 2013 Mullet of the month Winner by default Players achievements under Mccall SPL top scorer 2012/13 - Michael Higdon SPL Player of the year 2012/13 - Michael Higdon Player of the month October 2011 Keith Lasley September 2012 Michael Higdon December 2012 Jamie Murphy March 2013 Nicky Law April 2013 Michael Higon Young player of the month April 2010 Jamie Murphy January 2012 Henrik Ojamaa April 2013 Shaun Hutchinson It's way past my bed-time so some of that might not be entirely accurate so please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm also sure we set a few defensive records last season? Does anyone know Mccall's win ratio now?

Celtic haven't done much since the goal. At least we are playing football in their half.

Would've been right up for this one and I'm sure the team would appreciate a decent support turning up however buying a ticket for Parkhead (and Ibrox) is always tinged with some resentment that I'm giving the cunts money, something I don't feel anywhere else in the country. It feels justifiable if I know we're giving it a good crack but having given them almost £60 earlier in the season to watch us do the footballing impression of a rabbit caught in headlights, I really can't bring myself to do it this time round.

Absolutely. That 2-0 loss at Parkhead was harder to take than the 5-0 thrashing at Fir Park simply because of the manner of the defeat.

If we are to take anything from this game we'll need to be much braver than the last trip to Parkhead. I've never seen a team look so intimidated there, hopefully this good run has bred the confidence to have a proper crack this time. That said, Celtic looked to have got through their 'dip' since the Barcelona thrashing with 15 points out of 15 and haven't conceded a goal to Scottish opposition in their last 8 games. I'm usually optimistic but with all that considered, I think the best we can hope for is a 0-0 and I reckon McCall will be playing for just that.

Hearts were far better than expected and really made us work for the 3 points. Feared the worst for the entire second half and wouldn't have begrudged them taking a point from the game so I'm absolutely delighted we held on. Well done to McCall and the team, fucking brilliant.

Also, when discussions come up about ticket prices I frequently see folk say ' about £15' is the price worth paying. A season ticket in the East Stand works out at lower than that price (£270 / 19 league + 1 cup game = £13.50 per game) which is great value for money. I wonder if the club do enough to drill that figure home when advertising season tickets.