fat_tony

Brushing over all the flirting above, our injury/suspension list makes grim reading for this one: BBC. I'm guessing we'll see something like: Nielson Reid - Hutchinson - McManus - Hammell Ainsworth - Leitch - Vigurs - Angol Sutton - Anier Assuming McCall sticks with 4-4-2, that is. Wouldn't be surprised to see him pull out perhaps Anier and stick Kerr in, move Reid into a holding role to try and pack the midfield a bit more. With all the personnel changes, I don't think anyone expects us to take anything out of this game, so there's no pressure. Exactly the type of match I could see us winning! I'd settle for a close match though and would absolutely love a point in this one.

Gutted at that result, but with a few players carrying knocks again, maybe not surprising that we're struggling towards the end of matches. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if we now come steaming out after the split and win three in a row, starting with Celtic. It's definitely a worry that we seem to be struggling to see out matches these days though. Once we hit 2-0 up we seem to just switch off.

I'd be very happy with that. He's been pretty solid this year, despite the odd mistake and seems to have got past his thirst for Craigan's OG record. Also, given his experience and position in the squad, it might convince one or two others to stick around as well.

Unfortunately away on holiday the week of the 17th, but depending who we draw (should we get in of course) I'd hopefully be able to make either Q1 date or the Q2 2nd leg. Exciting times if we can secure a Euro spot again! I love waiting for the draw, going to miss that excitement if/when we return to the days of relegation battles and mid-table mediocrity.

Not to mention the patented Craigan "once in a blue moon 35-yard piledriver". I'm not saying his distribution's been great, but I don't think it's been as bad as you've made out, certainly not when compared to some others in the team of late.

Settle down. You do remember Craggs, right? Reid's hardly the only one guilty of making a number of stray passes lately. Hammell for one has been woeful at passing the ball lately.

Definitely not slagging his performance, not at all, and you're right - he won a fair few fouls. But he also did get pushed about a bit, which Anier didn't when he came on. Definitely good to have both available though, and Moore's looking increasingly like a real option these days. I just feel that for the ICT match, if fit, Anier's the better shout (assuming Faddy's out).

Absolutely. Vigurs can't be expected to do the donkey work in the middle and be at his best as an attacking threat. Having Carswell/Leitch in the middle with Lasley as the ball winners should help a lot. If Faddy's fit, I think we could do with him starting as we missed his creativity and link up play with Vigurs on Saturday. If not, then Anier to step in. I don't think Moore was bad on Saturday at all, but struggled a bit against a big, strong Killie defence and was pushed off the ball easily.

Would that be the same Aberdeen that have lost twice to Hearts this season? And are still only two points ahead of our team, who apparently can't deliver when it counts. Not saying that we haven't bottled it in some big games this season, but there's a tendency on here to class our losses as the "big" games in hindsight, and brush over our successes. We've also succeeded this season in "big" games against Aberdeen on Boxing Day, St Johnstone at New Year, ICT the other night. All matches that were massive at the time against our competitors in the top six. Have we bottled the "big" games more often than not this season? Yes, it's probably fair to say that we have (Albion Rovers, Aberdeen in the cup). But all of them? A bit dramatic I think. To get back on topic though, I think McCall certainly deserves a mention in the manager of the year discussion. The fact that we're still where we are in the league given the changes this summer and the injury problems we've had is astounding. He's done a fantastic job to get us where we are this season. To dredge up the old debate about resources, we're still seriously over-performing, and a great deal of that is down to Stuart McCall. We've not, however, had as much of an impact in the league as we did last season (or perhaps Celtic have simply performed better, without the European distraction), and I think that was the main reason for his win last year. It would be a complete cop-out should Neil Lennon win it, despite securing the league title so early. I reckon McInnes will be a shoe-in though, regardless of whether we pip Aberdeen to second or not.

Vigurs by a country mile. Did everything he could to get us a result today but couldn't do it all by himself.

Just reflecting on that, it was an absolutely ridiculous decision by the ref to book Carswell. A little bit clumsy in giving away the foul while Foran was shepherding the ball out but absolutely nothing in it. Just struck me at the time as being a case of the referee wanting to deal with Foran's reaction but without having a clue what went on, just booking both players for the sake of balance. There wasn't really any need to book Foran either, in my opinion.

Neilsen for me too. He made some great saves, came for the ball when required, and used his "hands". Finding it hard to vote for anyone else, as every time someone did something good, they almost always followed it up with a series of slack passes. Carswell put in a hell of a shift though, and made some crucial tackles, while Vigurs played some brilliant passes, and with a bit more movement from others around him late on, could perhaps have stretched the game further. But, the goalie kept us in it early on, and an important clean sheet should really give his confidence a boost.

I don't see us getting out of this one with a clean sheet, but I don't see Inverness lasting well after Sunday's exertions. If it's still tight around the 60-70 minute mark, I can see us starting to get more opportunities and hopefully stretch the game. Ainsworth could be crucial to this one with his pace, maybe even Angol as a late sub could be a decent impact player. 3-1 Well.

Disappointed to draw having looked so comfortable at 2-0 up, and through most of the second half. Hibs were terrified of Ainsworth and McFadden, and stood off until they were subbed. Despite Hibs' possession, we bossed that game until the change, and IMO nearly lost it due to the subs. Keeping one of the two on the pitch would have been enough to see it through I think. Still, great effort to come back and equalise, and massive credit to our fans, who were noisy throughout. Their second went out for a throw-in at least twice though...

I don't think it's a case of "if we're not getting our drum we're not going". I see this whole talk of a boycott as more of a stand against what such a ridiculous ban (and the reason given for it) represents in the attitudes of those in control of our game to the common football fan. We should pay our money, sit down, and shut up. The lads in our support have made a concerted effort to bring more atmosphere and colour to Motherwell games, and have won the backing of our club through ongoing communication and negotiation. They have been widely praised for bringing a bit of passion back to Motherwell matches and this whole thing reeks of the same mentality as the over-zealous stewarding so prevalent in the game today: Noise + colour = trouble. Assuming of course, that the reason given for the ban is accurate, and it's not a stunt to try and silence our support

A really terrible decision by Hibs, and absolutely baffling. The "fans" who complained because the big bad Motherwell fans make too much noise should be ashamed of themselves. I'll still be going, as it's a rare "home" game for me, but I totally understand anyone who now chooses not to go because of this decision. Absolute madness.

True, but it's a constant balancing act. If McCall decides to rest some of our key players, rather than playing them out of position, and we lose a couple of games on the trot, the fans start getting on the team's back, and it could be hugely damaging for the confidence of a young player. Contrary to that, if he keeps playing unfit and out of position players and loses a couple (like we have), he runs the risk of the fans complaining about not giving youth a chance. Football's a results business first and foremost, and I think before each game, McCall is putting out the team which he thinks has the best chance of getting the result on that particular day. The changes were somewhat enforced this weekend, but I think the lads who did play will have shown that they are capable of stepping in and doing a job on occasion, and hopefully that'll give him more options in the weeks to come. We've got a bit more leeway now at least, with Reid coming in, and Murray and Leitch showing that they can provide cover, and hopefully the rest will allow some others to get past any niggling injuries.

I was expecting a tough, close, scrappy game today, but Hearts just weren't at the races and couldn't cope with us. I hugely enjoyed that today, and it's great to see the team playing with a smile on their faces. 4-1 in actuality somewhat flattered Hearts as it could have been several more. A lot of positives to take from today's game. The young lads came in and did well. Jack Leitch looked like a player who's been in the team all season, not a young lad making his league debut. Very composed and positive, looking to get the ball moving forward. Hollis coming in seemed to make a difference in the defence, and he commanded his box well, got up to collect crosses, and just seemed to settle the back line. I hope he can build on that and help shore up the leaky defence. Reid seemed decent enough, good to have someone out there who can play right back naturally enough. Hutch's run was absolutely brilliant. When he finally got brought down, it was great to see Vigurs and McFadden walking over to him laughing their asses off at his silky skills. Speaking of, Vigurs, Ainsworth and McFadden were all excellent today and Hearts just couldn't handle them. Faddy especially was a class above, easily his best performance of the season, and a very unselfish one at that. It was absolutely brilliant to see him get the captain's armband when Lasley went off. You can just see how much every goal means to him, and feel how the stadium lights up when he gets on the ball. Fantastic.

I'm expecting a close game today, probably a scrappy affair, but hopefully we'll have enough in the squad to get through it and take all three points. I don't think the recent form's down to anything other than the number of injuries we've got, and the players struggling on through those. This'll be a tough one today, but with United's win last night, we need to get back to winning ways. I'd like to see Hollis starting today, if he's fit. I think Neilsen could do with a break as his confidence must be completely shot to pieces right now.

Finally got around to watching the highlights, and it looks like despite our poor performance in the first half, with two self inflicted goals, but we seem to have been pretty hard done by with a couple of refereeing decisions. No complaints about the first goal as it's a moment of madness by Hutch, but at the second, Ciftci's got his hand in Hammell's face, which gives him a couple of yards to flick the ball on to the unmarked Gunning. And after that, the penalty claim for Vigurs is absolutely mental. I can't believe that wasn't given. Absolutely zero attempt to play the ball, just trying to take the man out. Oh well, no massive damage done, thanks to Partick beating Aberdeen, and not entirely unexpected, given our injuries, but disappointing to lose in such a manner nonetheless. Is that the first penalty we've had in the league this season?

I'd rather keep Ramsden out right, if we can replace Hutch with some decent quality. Ramsden's been great out there this season.

I thought his response to the penalty, going up to Gunnar and rubbing it in was a bit classless, as was his going over to the East stand to celebrate both goals. I'm not precious about players giving it out a bit, but I didn't really think any of it was merited. The boy obviously feels he was hard done by last season and felt he had a point to prove. Way to take responsibility for yourself, Kallum with a K.

The boy in that photo looks like he has a bluetooth headset tattooed on his temple. What a fud.

I voted for Faddy. It wasn't that his performance was a dazzling display of the skill of old, but I certainly thought that he had a great game. He was unlucky a few times, with things not quite coming off for him, but it was his attitude during the match that swung it for me. He really got stuck in, was constantly trying to get involved in the game, and at times, lifted our entire team by the scruff of the neck. Given that he's in the team to be a creative player, the character and attitude that he can bring are in some ways, worth even more than his skill. I thought Lasley was superb also, after a slightly nervous start. Vigurs had a great first half, but he seemed to fade quickly in the second, perhaps due to being an injury doubt. Also, special mention to Stuart Carswell. Yet again, he put in another superb shift and went about his business well, making some crucial tackles right up to the final whistle. I've been very impressed with him this season.

He's just a poor man's Iain Vigurs