LankyMac

Quite a few players worked pretty hard. Best I've seen from Pearo in a while and Skippy didn't stop. But the work rate of Moulty made my decision easy

Regardless of result tomorrow can I ask all who read this and are attending the game tomorrow to applaud for the 23rd minute in honour of Ben Miller. A 23 year old disabled fan who passed away last week. His life revolved around Motherwell and it will be a nice gesture to honour him in this way. Thanks

Sounds good to me. He is getting progressively better and isn't afraid to get stuck in.

Thanks to Yabba's Turd, we got in touch with Billy and after a few bumps in the road the commentary has launched and Billy was fantastic. We have quite a few other volunteers and are creating a roster for people to commentate with Billy. We are also looking for two things: more sight impaired fans to come to the games and Sponsors of receivers. The receivers are around £250 and will last for years. If anyone on here would like to help we have a promotion plan of naming the receiver as your company or chosen name as well as a thank you and permanent promotion on our website. But most importantly is the improvement of the match experience for sight-impaired fans. Thanks

I don't know Billy but I have heard about him. From what I heard, Billy would commentate loudly for sight impaired people around him to listen. If anyone knows if Billy still does this, we would love to hear from him

A bit of information about the Motherwell Football Club Disabled Supporters Association. Leanne Dempster gifted the disabled section of Fir Park to the MFCDSA on the understanding that we use the funds gained to continually improve the disabled facilities. We have come a long way since then by building wheelchair accessible shelters, a disabled toilet and more. But much more is required. European law is making the requirements much, much more than we have just now and we are tackling this bit by bit. We are planning some activities to raise more funds in the future and I'll keep you all updated on that. Last year we won an award from the Scottish Disabled Supporters Association and a prize from that was Audio Commentary equipment from Rex Blind Parties. This video shows Rex Blind Parties in action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqxRg6VjNkM We have the equipment but we need commentators. We would like to create a roster of volunteers who can commentate on home games. Two people would be selected for each game and given press passes. This is a fun thing to do, but remember the main aim is to improve the matchday experience for sight impaired supporters. It wouldn't be exactly the same as TV commentary, it has to be more factual about where the action is and what is happening at all times. If anyone is interested, please send me a message and we can chat further. Also if you know of any sight impaired supporters who would like to attend please let them know this service is up and running from Saturday and to contact the MFCDSA to arrange attendance. Thanks

I'm one of those fans that thinks he deserves a chance. He played against Partick last season and stood out. He played well in pre-season. IMO he has been consistent in the U20s this season despite being trusted in different positions. Someone in the club told me he is very composed and just goes out to complete his task. His defensive positioning is much better than Law's and he works very well with Ainsworth.

Marvin looked like the player he was when he first signed for most of the game. Ripley made a couple of good saves but had a couple of stumbles too. Grimshaw gets my vote. He seems to be a very composed hard worker. I am starting to see why he's at Man Utd.

I wasn't too happy with this appointment, but upon reflection, I'd like to give him a chance. We have a reputation of players coming back and being better the second time around, I wouldn't mind if we had a manager who did the same. And if he's managing to tout himself for another job in the future then he'll have to be doing well

I refuse to be completely negative. I can see what Crags tried today, he played a defensive 4-1-4-1 formation, with Grimshaw as the Defensive Midfielder and Skippy as the lone striker. We started reasonably well, Grimshaw was doing a great job of blocking anything going through the middle, but we had the usual hole at right back as Law has no clue where he is supposed to be or who to mark. When Lionel went off, the shape changed and everything went downhill. From then Grimshaw looked terrified anytime he had the ball. The formation was too defensive, we didn't leave anyone up when defending a corner which led to more pressure as we couldn't get out. I never thought I'd say this but we need training on how to stand in a wall, I can't remember watching any professional team lose a goal like that. The biggest issue of the day was decision making. They all took an extra touch or passed when they should have shot, just poor all round and I don't think anyone has the confidence to hit the back of the net. We lost any control in the middle of the park when he took Lasley off. Lasley might be a bit slow but he tries harder than anyone else on the pitch and wins a lot more in midfield than anyone gives him credit for. Kennedy had another decent game and should be told not to go forward, just stay in defence, He tried another run forward like he did in the Morton game and he lost the ball again (at least we didn't lose a goal because of it this time). Moult is another hardworker, shouldn't have been on the wing today as he didn't see as much of the ball, he should have been up with skippy which would have took the pressure off the midfield. I really believe if Lionel stayed on we would have got something from this game. I'm a fan of Crags but today's formation and team selection show it's too soon for him. We need an experienced and angry manager who will boot some of that team into shape. Law, Taylor, Robinson and a few others should never play for us again.

Crags was constantly shouting about that at the last couple of U20s games, hopefully he's doing the same for the seniors.

Ainsworth for me, but Kennedy a close second.

I second this. People like to blame the more experienced players. They may not play superb football every game but they put in all they've got. I've not missed a game this season and Lasley, McDonald and Ainsworth have gave all they've got and fought for everything in every game.

Embarassing!! IB chose the most bizarre team. Leaving out some of our most committed players. Some of the guys fielded today just shouldn't be there. Leitch isn't ready, he hasn't improved since getting first team action, put him back in the U20s to learn more. Taylor is a riot of a player, he shows the occasional bit of skill but is mostly awful, send him home. Grimshaw is quite a composed player but 50% of his passes are wasted. Johnson has a horrible trait, he tries to take on his man early in the game, if he doesn't get passed him he stops trying. He has done this in every game this season. Kennedy showed some good positional play and some good challenges tonight, but tried to go for a run and lost it rather than pass it which cost us a goal. McManus had trouble with their goalscorer and royally screwed up for their opener, but IMO has been one of our most consistent players this season (if you ignore the odd mistake). Chalmers is good going forward but a bit slow chasing back, is a better winger than defender Robinson is supposed to better than the other strikers, his movement is poor, his workrate is nowhere near Moults. Ainsworth has always been known for his inconsistency, this season has been different, his workrate this season has been great, it just hasn't worked for him in most games, I'd put that down to IB. Josh Law should not be anywhere near our team. I keep seeing people defend him. He is a terrible defender, going forward he is ok, but he doesn't chase back and he hasn't got a clue where he is supposed to be or which man he should be defending. He could have prevented two of our goals tonight and has been a big factor in many of our lost goals this season. If you look back, watch how many times the ball has came down his wing and one of our centre halves are out there in his position leaving a gap in the middle. I think he's a nice guy but I would be happy if he was dropped. IB has to go

I like the look of him but his contract bothers me. We have bought, Fletcher and Moult with the hope/intention of them playing well to then be a sellable asset. Robinson seems to have come to the club to play well and move on for free. We already have Skippy on that kind of deal. Robinson may be a better player than Moult and Fletcher, and we need goals, but I still don't think he should be starting ahead of them as they are on longer contracts and need game time to boost their value.

I've heard nothing but great things about Watt from the club and a few players. He was making the bench before he got injured and he is just making his way back from that injury now and will hopefully be back to the first team soon. As for his attitude, he is apparently very level headed and mature for his age. He also has no big ego and doesn't overthink the game or his ability. If he's given a task, he goes onto the park and does it. I'm a big fan of the lad and hope he can oust Law from right back as we could have a great talent developing there.

I could put up what I'd like IB to do but we all know he's going with the same predictable formation and team selection. He's making it very easy for teams to prepare against us. I'll be attending in the hope of something unexpected

I think we've given Baraclough enough time. Based on his performance to date I believe he's a good scout and nothing more. He doesn't do anything a basic manager can do: Train to prevent the same mistakes happening Putting out your best team possible Change the formation to adapt to the game or the team you are playing Most of the players he has brought in seem to be of good calibre but he can't make them play well as a team. It also seems to take him a long time to spot when a player has been playing bad. Marvin being the perfect example of this. Josh Law too, although he still hasn't done anything about that one.

I think Law has been our weakest link in every game this season. Other teams have noticed and are taking advantage of this. If St Johnstone notice this, they will be able to get good crosses into Sutton. Kennedy played well in pre-season when paired with Laing, but Luke Watt is my preferred choice. He came on today after Kennedy got sent off and didn't put a foot wrong. He's been impressive the last several times I've seen him and I think it's time he had a go. Taylor had a nightmare first game but every player did against Hearts. Against Aberdeen he played a lot better but fitness level wasn't there and he disappeared. Other than that I would keep it all the same. Or I would like IB to try something bold, like pull Skippy back into a Pearo type role with a lot more freedom and encouragement to go forward, with Moult and Fletcher (Clarky if he's still out) up top. I think the different styles of our two new strikers would compliment each other well. But that's probably waaaay too bold.

16 goals in 61 appearances over two seasons. Seems to start well but fade away, also likes scoring in the cup which may mean it's lower opposition. Let's hope he's a hidden gem like Marv.

Playing Law at right-back was clearly a last resort and he played better than I expected but I didn't understand why we were rewarding Watt with a long contract and then not giving him an opportunity to prove himself. All the talk was about promoting the youth and we had a right back who had earned his place in my opinion. Watching him against Plastic Whistle confirmed my thoughts. He played well and would get even better with more opportunities. Law is not a right back and is not good enough to be anywhere in the midfield.

Sounds like they parked the bus. Hopefully Erwin and Skippy can pick them off.

Midfield and Attack can stay the same as the Accies game, although I would like to see Sutton rewarded with a start and the only player who didn't do much was Pearo (he still had a solid game, just wasn't as active or present as others). Give Erwin a full game in midfield as he gives more than most players and it'll take the goalscoring pressure off for a game. As for defence, our central pairing are ok, but I think they're being made to look worse by having midfielders at right and left back. These boys can't defend and the diagonal ball over the top fools them everytime. If Killie were paying attention then they'll get behind our defence easily. Hammell coming back would be a massive bonus for us. I still can't decide who should be at right back, I would probably favour Watt, we gave him a long contract, give him a run in the team to build his experience and confidence. He can't be any worse than anyone else to play the position recently and he'll get better, unlike some others. However Baraclough plays it, I think confidence will be high. Either early goal and comfortable 3 goal win or drag it out and just manage a squeaky bum 1 goal win.

Dazzer?

We could also move Murphy into the middle to play behind Higgy and Ojamaa and bring in Humphrey or Daley to play on the wing.