Welldaft Mk1

Where is your source. Hope not another Ramsden....as good a player as he is - we cannot afford to takes risks with players with injury history. Or maybe that is all we can afford.

Where are you seeing this. Was this not the chap that was due to come but got an injury ?

Not sure he is being a smart arse. Just stating a fact. We all thought we would still be in Europe, so when we were suddenly not, it was tough to organise. Still we got scudded from a strong Real Betis.

We have an entire defence out with the outside hope that 2 will make it. I hope Ramsden is not about to go on yet another prolonfed spell on the sidelines. Good footballer for the most part, but seemingly made of glass. Just when u think things could not get any worse Could well be a challenging start to the season.

Big Q is - who is the trialist? Anyone in the KNOW ???

Is It

Basically this... I am sure everyone including the fans thought we would be in Europa league action this week and next, so friendlies for the weekends would not have bothered anyone.. I am also sure after we ballsed up that finding someone to play worth playing and that does not already have a friendly arranged would be very difficult, so I am not giving the club a hard time over that.... Bbut I love that they will get round to announcing a closed door friendly soon. I am missing something here? Who F#cking cares - especially if it is going to be closed door and no fans can go along. Just tell us who we played and what the score was afterwards

We would all be one big happy family - it has worked in the past. Until we start losing and the boo boys get into gear... Bottom line is - if Faddy accepted a pay as you play deal that suited both parties then it would be a no brainer. His options must be limited at the top flight now and I am sure he has enough money squirrelled away. Pearson (I suspect) would also be a good addition, but we are supposedly after a striker and central defender...

Well said that man..... You like me will also have seen Motherwell in the old 1st division, where our players could hardly string a few passes together. Sure we won twice at a canter, but the football was bowfing... Be careful what you wish for is the mantra. TBF I believe it is a small minority that would like to see a change in management.

Sadly I am basing my assumptions on them winning the cup last season and beating a seeded side in Europe - AHEM....

We have a more settled squad this coming season. Faddy has left, but apart from a handful of games over Xmas never got going and I think Josh Law will be a more than adequate replacement. Hollis has left and the jury is out as to whether Dan will be any better. FWIW I think he will. Anier has been sold on and he may well be a big miss. That said he did miss parts of the season and mccall did not reinstate him toward the end of the season, maybe becuase he was not fully over his shin injury. I expect a striker coming in and we have Thomas, Erwin and Moore when he is back fit. The big ask is how big a miss Hutchy will be? Would we have conceded the golas v Stjarnan if he had been in our defence?? Right now we look weaker in this area, which is a real concern given our porous defence. As to where we will finish. I think Dundee will start well, but fall away. That apart I think no reason not to hope for a top 4 finish. Yes St J look stronger but we seem to have their number especially at Fir Park. Aberdeen are stronger than last year so will finish above us. United have sold Gauld and Robertson, but have the finances to replace these players, so will not be markedly weaker! So I will go for 4th or 5th in the SPL. League semi-final and Scottish Cup quarter final...

I am no happy clapper and I am still hurting big time over the missed opportunity and more so loss of revenue that playing Lech Poznan would bring. A hurt that will resurface over the next 2 Thursday's. But anyone who feels that McCall has not more than delivered in his tenure needs their head checked. The facts are that we have finished runners up in the league in the last 3 years on a player budget less than at least 4 or 5 sides that had a larger player budget. The Cups have been (barring his first year where he guided us to a FINAL!) hugely disappointing and frustrating. Most of our good luck has come in the league, We were very fortunate to finish 2nd last year and win the final 3 games - games where 3 draws were probably the more deserving outcome. The flip side is most of our bad luck has come in cups! YES I do acknowledge that we have been architects of our own downfall - due to complacency and all round poor defending/performances. Truth is we should have got a away with a draw v Albion rovers. Which in itself is not good enough. Those wanting Gunnar back to replace Dan - should remember his efforts at saving that shot! The 2 ties v Stjarnan - 3 penalties! I have watched all 3 and agree that I have seen many waved away for similar incidents. That tie was jinxed. If we are going to criticise Mccall then some folks on here need to acknowledge that he has done a better job in (league) football than any of us had a right to accept. That buys him time in my book.

Apart from lack of preparation I see this as being the key reason and McCall has to take the heat.. Maybe criticism after chasing a 3rd goal at Fir Park only to concede the goal that ultimately cost us the tie (in the last minute) led to this tactic. To be fair to McCall and that is difficult for me to say after Thursday, if after going 2-1 up he threw on Erwin and Thomas and we lost a goal, most on here including myself - would be asking why he did not try to shut up shop. Damned if you do damned if you don't. But I am a firm believer that fortune favours the brave. At 2-1 we were well on top and should have kept the attacking threat on the pitch. I also heard that Poznan would have sold enough tickets to sell out the South stand. We could have had a sell out! Not sure about polish TV, but the loss of revenue to the club would have been circa £300k even without any TV revenue. In one stroke it negates the benefit of finishing 2nd. At the time I actually thought finishing 3rd may have been better. We could have had 2 more competitive games in the 1st qualifying round which may have made the difference had we drawn the likes of Stjarnan... It will take a while for the gloom to lift An opening day win v St Mirren would help.

Don't know who you are David. But I like your sensible responses. Makes a difference to some other more extreme reactions. Hard to argue with most of what you say !

McCall gets the plaudits and rightly so for the league form over the last few seasons. But He also has to take the criticism when we fail and fail spectacularly. I spoke to a friend who was there and he felt (justified or not) that we were 2-1 up and well on top. He takes off Law and Ainsworth and in one stroke removes most of the attacking intent we have on the pitch. Another goal and it is game over. Whilst we were still on top in extra time - Sutton was up front on his own and we were too defensive to score a goal ourselves. I am not sure it was down to fitness. By all means take off these players but at least put on Erwin and/or Thomas. The players have to perform on the pitch - but McCall has to accept his share of the blame for last night - simples

Last post as I have work to do but I agree with this fact more than most. I still think McCall has been a very good Manager for us and over sustained periods (league campaigns) he has MORE than delivered. But we knew we when we were going into Europe, most probably against a side that would be up and running, yet we chose to take the full 2 weeks extra holiday - and not come back slightly earlier and kick on with fitness work and 90 mins games. That was an oversight I believe and more than anything led to the outcome over the 2 games.

To be fair to them - they will be on just as big a downer and McCall will know more than most the impact that will have on signings. Lech Poznan at home would have got 10,000 with a couple of 000 Poles. Income of circa £300k when taking in Uefa money. There was a HUGE reward for getting through this tie and we screwed up. I don't know how we will perform this season, but our ABSOLUTE inability to close down players out wide and through the middle - will continue to see us ship goals like Shotts Bon Accord. McCall likes his teams to attack and so do I. Would rather win 3-2 than 1-0 every day of the week. But the problem is we cannot seem to change strategy successfully midway through a game. When we set out to defend and keep it tight like the 2 away games v Dons last year - we do a good job and sneak wins. I wish I could get over it and move on - but like most - this bloody club runs deep and I am on a complete downer and raging at the same time...

Just like Lasley, Carswell and Vigurs. I will have my bus pass by the time any of them score or even hit the target. This game was jinxed from the off. 3 penalties from the same player? I will keep supporting this shower as that is what i do. But boy oh boy did that hurt tonight. Always felt there would be a low after Aberdeen game. Just did not reckon it would come so quickly. Only consolation is that the £500+ that I would have spent going to Poland will go towards my holiday in September. I am off to bed. Might have a nightmare that we were knocked out by a semi pro team from Iceland. But then I will wake up and .....

Anyone who has the temerity to boo Faddy should he come back and play against us - should be taken and shot at dawn. The caveat there is if he was to come back as a Celtic player, then it would almost be justifiable but that ship has sailed.

if we do manage to get through. I am sure Lech Poznan or the Estonian team might not want to switch games as being at home 2nd leg is an advantage most of the time.

Just watched the youtube highlights Cannot argue with the penalties. God only knows what Lasley was doing for the 1st one. He leaves it alone it would go to the goalie but there was little threat around. I appreciate it was instinctive but...... The second was hell of an unlucky. Leaving aside the full on attack at the free kick, the woeful defending that followed. When the cross came in the MWell defender attempted a clearance that smacked off the Stjarnan attackers face and literally hit Lasley in the leg, falling right at Tofts feet. Lasley definitely had a hold of him, but I have seen them not given. If we apply ourselves we are capable of scoring a couple over their. I worry about the asroturf pitch however. We don't have the best record on them of late

No way have St Johnstone got a bigger player budget than Motherwell. I know we have paid out good wages to 1st team players over the past few seasons. That when added to win bonuses saw the likes of Higdon have a handsome 6 figure salary. We run with a smallish squad and pay better than average salaries for a provincial side. Problem is there is little room for manouvre if and when injuries hit...

He stopped us going 2-0 behind @ Partick with a fantastic save. I am not saying he is the messiah. We are not going to EVER sign a goalie that is perfect. Yes we were spoilt with Ruddy and randolph, but they still made a hash of things from time to time. How is his distribution - V Good How quick is he at coming off his line - Excellent How good is he at saving shots - V good How good is he at commanding his box - Average How is he at crosses - Average We could have a goalie that plucks the ball out of the air evry corner kick, but then every goal kick goes into touch. he stay rooted to his line when the ball is at the edge of the box. With the salary we are paying - I guess most of the critics on here are expecting Manuel Nueur - cloud cuckoo land

At least no-one is jumping to conclusions about his ability. That is what admire about Motherwell fans the most. The ability to judge a player over several games and to give him time to find his feet. I mean let's be honest it is not as if he a 100% win record in the 5 games he was on loan for us. But that was just luck... How about cutting the boy some slack FFS

Do we know for a fact that Stjarnan are a part time team? I read a comment below from ex Rangers player playing at Vikingur in Iceland: Lowing himself hasn’t ruled out a return to Scotland one day. He said: “I never expected to stay here this long, but I enjoy the security of full-time football and I’m only a two-hour flight from Glasgow. “I presume I’ll return one day, but I honestly couldn’t say when or at what level.”