MelvinBragg

I'll freely admit I was loudly abusing McCall today (not the players) because I believe he got it wrong today. Wrong team selection, wrong substitutions (in terms of who was taken off) and the fact that a brilliant individual goal (from a guy who should have started) got us the three points doesn't change that opinion. Generally (but not always) I leave the players alone in terms of abuse. Because generally they give 100% of their ability. If I think the manager has picked the wrong players, it's not the players' fault. But before slating anyone who shouts abuse at the football as "lesser supporters", bear in mind that to be motivated enough to moan, you have to care. A lot of abuse is born of frustration. These people do care about the team. Even if they exoress it differently than you choose to..

Randolph Hately Craigan Page Hammell Humphrey Law Lasley Daley Higdon McHugh would be my preference, though I could live with Law playing at left midfield and Forbes in at centre midfield.

As I see it we have two options. Daley Lasley Law Humphrey or Law Forbes Lasley Humphrey I'd rather go with either of those two combinations than with Jennings in his current form...

I'd agree with you on Craigan/Clancy. It'd be a coin toss for me as to who to replace with Page but as a partnership, they're not working. But on tonight's showing, Humphrey would be in my team well ahead of Jamie Murphy. It's all very well saying he was playing left midfield but with Law drifting out there, there was plenty of scope for Murphy to move inside closer to Higdon. But he rarely did..

Sadly Jennings form is honking at the moment. A spot on the bench might be what he needs right now, til he shifts some weight and gets his head right. Because right now he looks slow and distracted...

I was convinced McHugh was onside but to be honest we were the architects of our own downfall again tonight. Three minutes to go and we give away yet another cheap goal. The game was stretched for a lot of the second half, ball spent so little time in the midfield it was unbelievable. First, the negatives. Murphy and Jennings both need benched. I'd be tempted to start with Daley and Humphrey on the wings on Saturday with Law and Lasley in the middle (assuming Humphrey is fit). At centre back, I reckon Clancy and Craigan individually are decent but clearly are a bombscare as a partnership. Time for Page to be given a shot in place of one of them? Positives? Higdon should surely have shut some people up tonight. Immense performance. And we looked pretty dangerous when McHugh partnered him. Having been given half an hour rather than his usual 10 minutes, I think McHugh did himself no harm at all tonight. I think the fact that the introduction of McHugh for Jennings also worked because it pushed Law into the middle where he was a lot more involved. And Lasley and Humphrey looked more like the players we know they can be. It amused me (and pleased me, to be honest) that the boo boys usual targets all stuck away their penalties with aplomb. Higdon, McHugh and Forbes hit cracking penalties. Hats off particularly to Forbes who had only had one touch of the ball prior to taking his penalty. Talk about coming to it cold. If Humphrey is not fit for Saturday, I'd play him alongside Lasley and Law in a tight midfield three and give Daley a free role behind Higdon and McHugh,,, But, as much as it was a sickener at the end, it was at least a cracking game of football to watch. Not if you're a lover of good defending though obviously...

If you think Higdon was the worst player on the park on Saturday, then I'm afraid you're looking at the wrong Scouser..

For me, what was noticeable was that when Higdon won headers (and despite his detractors, it happened a fair bit) no Motherwell player was aware/keen/quick enough to get on to the loose ball. The contrast for me was tben when Sandaza won the ball, the St Johnstone players were picking up the second ball. Our "defensive"midfielders were not helping stop this. I suggested at the time subbing Jennings and Lasley for Forbes and Daley and going with Daley Forbes Law Humphrey Someone suggested it was too attacking a midfield. I'd argue that we were getting no protection from our centre midfield anyway. That's simply what caught my eye yesterday. The point Diggle makes about having eleven "untouchables" is one I'm sure we've all noticed. Would it surprise anyone if we saw the same eleven start on Tuesday as started yesterday? It would not surprise me, but it would disappoint me..

I suspect one of the reasons that we've made such a solid start to the season can be boiled down into one word - continuity. As pleasing as it might be to keep Murphy, for me the key thing is the fact we've kept the guys like Hammell, Craigan, Jennings and Lasley that provide the solid base to allow guys like Murphy and Law to perform. Add in Randolph, Hutchinson and Hateley and you can see that our "back seven" were all here last season. Contrast that with Dundee United having to replace their centre midfield and Hibs and Aberdeen trying to find a strong base for their team and and it's safe to say we've been pretty lucky in that respect. Look at Hibs' dressing room, where are the senior figures or leaders (outwith Ian Murray). Likewise at Aberdeen. We are lucky in that we have several guys at our club who are there to help the new guys bed in, who know what Motherwell is all about. The real challenge will come in the next couple of seasons when these guys need to be replaced, some because they move on to bigger and better things (Hutchinson, Randolph), some as age catches up with them (Craigan, Lasley, Hammell). It won't simply be a case of replacing these guys' abilities, it's the fact that they know each others's games in and out. Craigan probably has a fair idea where Hammell and Lasley will be on the park every time he picks up the ball. Jennings and Lasley know what each other is capable of and what they're not capable of. That, for me, makes these guys better than the sum of their abilities. We should enjoy the fact we have a team rather than a collection of individuals. No one out means continuity for us and that's a good thing. Enjoy it while we've got it, because it's a rare thing in the SPL these days..

I said on the way into work this morning that if Clancy and Daley were our last bits of business and if we didn't lose anyone from the squad that I could live with that. So unless something has happened at the death, I'm pretty satisfied with where we're at..

Those umimpressed with the Clancy signing, I have one question. What quality of experienced player do you think is going to come to Motherwell knowing that they'll be on the bench if everyone stays fit? A bit of a reality check is required here. He's coming here as backup. Not to be the saviour of our season...

Are we signing Clancy on loan or will this be a permanent signing?

I'm sure someone will work it out but the team currently on the park must have a pretty low average age..

He's a defender, aye?

He wasn't the worst today by a long way. Easy for a striker to look bad when he wins the header but no one is running off him. But he is shaping up as a good candidate for scapegoat this season. Even if today there are more worthy candidates..

3-0 but could have been as many as Rangers wanted to score. Second half they were content to let us play about in front of them because it was obvious no one in our team had any real belief that we could get anything from the game. Pointless to single out individuals when a collective lack of self belief was the problem..

As I say, my memory of that day is a bit shaky. I'll take your word for it..

My recollection of said free kick (and given we'd been plastered in Aberdeen the night before, I could be wrong) was the Dow chipped it over the defensive wall and Kelly spun and volleyed it into the net from about 12 yards. But I was going into alcohol withdrawals round about that time, so could be wrong. I have a strange recollection that we may have lost that game 5-2. But again, my memory of that day is not particularly reliable...

Think Lasley got two and maybe Pearson got the other... EDIT Lasley (2) and Steven Craig (remember him?) got the others..

You having said that means I'm expecting St Mirren to score any minute,.,,

Hasselbaink lost his appeal today...

When fit and with a few run of games, the best centre half at the club. Gutted for the guy. Haste ye back..

As an aside, I bought a programme on Sunday for the first time in several years. Squads were listed on the back page. It really does show the challenge facing us this season. I counted maybe 16 recognised first team players (including Page and McHugh). Hearts, on the other hand, I counted around 23 players and that's not counting the likes of Gary Glen who has probably started more games than McHugh and Page put together..

As someone who doesn't give a damn about Scotland (last Scotland goal I celebrated was scored by David Clarkson), it's pretty easy for me to look at it dispassionately. Whose place would Murphy take in the squad? The only forward thinking player in the squad you could argue Murphy has more right to be there than is Forrest and he's a winger. I say this never having seen Mackail-Smith play. The Paul Gallacher question is an interesting one. At a time when playing well at Championship level is generally enough to get you in the Scotland squad, the fact that he's never really had a shot seems odd. If you were starting with a blank piece of paper, Murphy probably wouldn't be anywhere near the squad. Starting with the squad currently picked, you could make a case for his inclusion but you could equally make a case for McGuire, Gallacher and possibly others ahead of him. From a Motherwell point of view, I'm glad he wasn't picked. How much did a 20 minute cameo increase Saunders' transfer value because even if Murphy had been called up, that's what he'd be looking at. So no financial benefit for us. On the other hand, if he were to pick up any kind of injury in a meaningless friendly, it could be disastrous for our season. A cap would, of course, be a nice honour for Murphy. But I can't see any benefit for us from him getting a call-up for this game..

Didn't hear it and I'd be astounded if he was even on the list given he's always made it clear that he wasn't really interested in a managerial role with senior players. Having said that, does the Hibs job look any more appealing than the Hearts job right now? And that's without an insane owner. Who would they get for that job? It might be that they'd have to look at lesser known guys doing well behind the scenes at another club.. Though when Calderwood's departure was first mooted, I heard Mowbray and Kenny McDowall's names mentioned. Why they'd need the hassle, I'm not sure...