fat_tony

It's the same with Hutchy (to an extent). People used to give Craigan dog's abuse, while letting Reynolds/Hutchy away with murder. I think we can all look at this season and safely say that not replacing Craigan has had a massive effect on our defence, and illustrated what he brought to the team. Obviously it doesn't all stem from Craigan alone, but it's a big factor. Don't get me wrong, I love big Hutch, but he does make mistakes, as a young defender tends to do, and Reynolds was the same. However, I think it might be a little harsh to describe Reynolds as being that overrated. Reynolds, Craigan and Randolph was a phenomenal setup to have around the 6-yard box. Definitely agree that Hutch and Reynolds would have been interesting to see. One cultured, footballing centre half, and the other an absolute beast of a lad.

My take on the club's statement, and the letter to Well Society members is that the club's executives believe that the proposals they heard today are in the best interests of the club, and have said as much to Doncaster et al. However, I think it has been made perfectly clear that these proposals, and the reasons Dempster and Weir agree with them provisionally, will be outlined to the Well Society and discussed, and no final decision will be made without a vote being put to the society. I don't really see what else they could be expected to do. As usual, the media in this country have greatly exaggerated this as a done deal, in order to whip up a frenzy and get some publicity.

I was actually hoping this game would get moved, as I can't make that Saturday. Would have preferred the Sunday, but the Friday will do. The one time I was actually hoping for the game to not be on a Saturday at 3pm. Let's just hope it turns out better than our last Friday night game v Hibs.

By that link, I make Higgy only 1 goal away from breaking into the top 10 SPL scorers (on 63) and also 1 away with becoming our record holder for most SPL goals in a season (currently level with Skippy and Porter on 15 each)

Hutch, Law and Higdon the three stand-outs for me, Hutchy had a couple of dodgy moments but recovered each one well, and made some phenomenal tackles throughout the match. Nicky Law put in an absolute power of work, both in attack and defence, but unsurprisingly seemed to tire near the end. Absolutely no way it can go to anyone else but big Higgy though. Took his goals well, made sure he was in the right place at the right time, and, as always, did the link-up job superbly.

Got to agree. I'm a big fan of Higdon, but if this rumour were to come to fruition, it'd be a phenomenal piece of business by the club, and not one we could afford to turn down. I'd fear for the rest of the season unless we could get a decent replacement though.

Not a coincidence at all. When he plays we get a left footer in an advanced position, bringing some natural width where we usually have none. Hammell rarely gets to the bye-line these days, so it's good to have an option like ZFA to bring some much needed width in the final 3rd. The lad's done well, and hopefully can continue to build on his performances and progress. To say Stevie Hammell is done is just daft. ZFA is young and WILL be inconsistent. We need Hammell's experience and delivery, but it's absolutely brilliant to have an additional option down the left who can play instead of or in front of one of the most consistent players in the league.

Goddamnit Joeboy! This is no place for logic and reason!

Craig Brown's a wank. Quote on the BBC site where he describes them losing to us in the league the week after they beat us in the cup as That goal was a belter and he knows it. Hope we give them a doing on Wednesday, give the old goat something to moan about.

So January 2014? Or is his contract up in the summer?

I don't know why I still get surprised at some of the posts on here calling for the head of the manager and any number of first team players, but I do. 2nd in the league: Yes, we are. That doesn't automatically mean we're an excellent football team, but conversely, when we lose it doesn't make us a shite team. We are one of any number of teams in this league who on our day, could beat any other team in the league. Last night: Look at our results against St Mirren over the last 5 or 6 years. We've won a few, lost a couple and drawn a shitload. It's a fixture that always gives me the fear, as for whatever reason, we often struggle to beat them. Give me St Johnstone any day of the week. McCall: People calling for his head need a serious reality check, IMO. He's working with a small squad and a limited budget. As the guy above says, next game at Fir Park, take a look at the squad lists on the back of the programme. I've not seen one this season where the away team's not had a significant number more players than us. Now, is he tactically naive at times? Yes, of course he is. If he was some kind of tactical genius, he certainly wouldn't be Motherwell manager. He's done very well with the resources he has, and has, on the whole, made good signings, although admittedly, one or two have not been the best. However, the players he has signed who are performing, have become some of the key players in our team: Higdon, Law, Ojamaa. Compare this to some signings under other managers: Bob Malcolm, Esteban Casagolda, Martin Grechan, Abel Thermeus etc, and McCall certainly isn't doing any worse than others in this department. Like Tassinari says above, we've been spoiled in recent years, since McGhee's first season. We've been finishing high in the league, progressing in the cups, and getting regular European football. It's been absolutely superb. But were people expecting this to last forever? Lets not forget that it all started with the remnants of Terry Butcher's reign, and that the core of that team failed miserably under Maurice Malpas. The same core of the team was revitalised under McGhee, and it was no coincidence that when Gannon got found out tactically (as he did towards Christmas in his season), it coincided with that same core being frozen out. Brown restored that balance to the team but unfortunately, McCall has had to preside over the end of that era. Craigan has retired, Jennings moved on, Lasley and Hammell are aging, and he now faces the task of creating a new core and building around it, something no-one has had to do in quite some time. In my eyes, McCall has done a decent job replacing those who have left (with the exception of perhaps Jennings), but the true test will be in the summer, as he takes on rebuilding job even greater than the one faced by Jim Gannon. We'll survive, we always do, but if some people are this angry and hateful now, I really worry what they'll be like when inevitably, the good times (which these most certainly are) come to an end and we fall back into the relegation dogfight. I don't like the "punching above our weight" metaphor, but at the end of the day it all boils down to money. We no longer have a wealthy financial backer, so the bottom line has to be balancing the books. In that respect, we need to keep a small squad, and sooner or later, we'll hit a bad patch with injuries and suspensions and things will go south. I've really enjoyed the last 5 seasons. There have been some lows but more often than not, there have been highs, but I'm just going to keep on enjoying it while we're challenging at the right end of the league. That doesn't mean I'm oblivious to the manager and team's failings, but I do understand and accept them for what they are. Rant over

Highlights are live now on YouTube, still hard to tell as there's not a lot of time shown, although the commentator does mention he may have been held back. Not that it matters, his finish for the 3rd is absolutely superb.

Not seen the highlights, but at the time it looked like the Hibs boy was basically throwing him to the ground, which prevented him sticking the ball in the net. Might be wrong, and McHugh may have simply missed a sitter, but that was certainly what it looked like at the time.

Where to start? Have had just about the perfect day out ever. Few pints before the game with some pals to recover from my work night out (fortunately just live 10 mins walk from Easter Rd). First half was okay, nothing special, but we definitely didn't merit being a goal down. Had about the worst possible start to the second half with their goal, but then...2 things happened that changed the game completely. 1. Hibs took Griffiths off - do not underestimate the importance of this moment. By removing Griffiths, who was having a poor game by his standards, they removed a point of potential worry, and someone we had to police, no matter how poorly he was playing. His pace and movement was a worry, even if he did nothing all game. 2. McCall reacted to this and brought on McHugh, changing our shape to reduce the numbers at the back and add more up front. This suddenly gave Humphrey and Higdon a hell of a lot more space and support, and immediately allowed us to get on the front foot. I know there are those who complain about McCall's lack of a plan B, but the way he reacted to Fenlon's change was superb, and completely changed the game. Bringing McHugh on for Cummins totally changed everything and suddenly, we had them under the kosh. Aside from his lapse at the first goal, I thought Hutch was superb. He marshalled Griffiths perfectly and kept him quiet. All the while, Murphy ran them ragged today, once allowed off the leash. Ojamaa worked hard and was unlucky, but his tenacity created the third. Humphrey was simply phenomenal once he got the space to work the man on the right side, and Higdon linked stuff up superbly. Brilliant comeback, and should help satisfy those who question whether this team has the mentality to dig deep and pull out a result.

Not long up. Work night out last night and still absolutely steaming after getting home about 6 this morning. Nothing better than getting out to the fitba to clear my head. I think we'll be fired up for this one, given Tuesday's apathetic performance. Both players and manager will have a point to prove and some pride to rescue. Hibs have slumped a little, not surprising given their injuries and lack of strength in depth. They've got McPake and Deegan back today though, but hopefully we'll have Law back. It's always tough to predict against Hibs, but I think we'll come good today and make some reparations for Tuesday. 3-1 Well. Higdon, Humphrey and Murphy.

Highlights are up: Hollis' save right at the death was even better than I remember. A couple of absolutely phenomenal moves in there too: Ojamaa leading up to our first goal, the one leading to Murphy blazing over and finally the one leading to Lasley's goal. Really great stuff, with some fantastic movement.

Tough choice for all the right reasons today. Went for Humphrey in the end as I thought he was at his most effective and really worked hard for the team today, at both ends. His lung bursting run to get back and tackle their left midfielder summarised his performance perfectly. I could have gone for either Higdon or Lasley too, very easily. Higdon was superb on the ball today and battled well against a tough, physical defence. I thought Lasley put in his best performance of the season so far, looked much more like his usual self today. Special mention to Hollis for his phenomenal point blank save at the end too, great stuff.

Looked like Daly, at the initial ball in.

Whether Randolph meant to go for the lad or not, I think the only decision that could be made by a truly impartial tribunal is to dismiss the case. There is simply not enough evidence to say conclusively that Randolph did indeed try to hurt Paterson. Video evidence would have to clearly show Randolph attempting to hurt Paterson (i.e. with clear intent) for it to be "violent conduct". The referee's right there, too. So overturning his decision would be a huge example of undermining his authority and ability too. It's very hard to tell what he's doing, but Randolph does definitely move his leg, although not what I would call a kick. To be totally honest, I think he's either trying to get his leg up to shield himself, or trying to make sure Paterson catches him in order to get a free kick. I really don't think Randolph's tried to do the lad.

No idea if there was anything up for this game but he's had quite a few sub-par performances this season. And when I say sub-par, I mean compared to his own standard over the past few seasons. Hateley's been a hugely consistent player over the past couple of seasons but for whatever reason, hasn't been able to reach the same level of performance so far this season. At least offensively. I think defensively, he's put in some great showings this year and made some crucial stops, covering for an inexperienced/unfamiliar central defence on multiple occasions. Could be he's been struggling with a niggling injury, or perhaps it's something mental? Whatever the reason, perhaps a couple of games out would allow him to get back to full fitness/sort out whatever's causing it. In saying that, I'd be hesitant to throw Kerr in there on recent form. Perhaps getting Saunders back will allow McCall to play about with the right-back slot a little.

Hutch was different class today. Read the game well, composed, didn't dive in too much. Also did really well on the ball today. Superb.

3-1 Well. Higdon, Murphy, Ojamaa. The team to be full of confidence after last week's thumping of ICT. Lets just close down Danny Grainger if he gets the ball about 30 yards out though, huh?

Yeah, I'd add the Tynecastle game last boxing day to that list. Didn't lift a finger defensively that day and, coupled with Hateley having a complete howler, left Templeton free reign down our right flank. He's a player who from what I've seen, seems to put more into the game as a sub than he does when he's on from the start. Or maybe it's just that he has completely hot and cold days.

I'm sure it's just an optical illusion caused by the sun sitting low in the sky.

Despite a number of excellent performances, I've gone for Jamie Murphy. Looks back to his best after a disappointing few months. His goals at St Johnstone seem to have given him a load of confidence and since then he's looked lively and dangerous. Good to see him always looking to take a man on and get a shot away yesterday and only unlucky not to grab another couple.