fat_tony

For a minute I thought it was a shaved monkey! Off topic but I would do terrible things to Jessica Alba Was there not another bird off the radio that was a Well fan, Heather something? Think she was on offside as a guest a few years ago. Don't think I can come up with anything more obscure than that!

That makes sense to me, like I say I don't really have a clue when it comes to financial wheelings and dealings.

I think I would leave the team unchanged with Slane waiting in the wings to come on as an impact player. He could really terrorise a tired (and poor) Aberdeen defence. I really don't think anyone deserves to lose their place from the other day.

I was having a chat with a Dons fan workmate and he mentioned to me that ourselves, Hearts and Hamilton were all declared bankrupt. This came as quite a shock to me as I was under the impression that we had been operating at a small profit the last few years. Obviously I thought he was at the wind-up so I asked him for a source and was given this link to a report by Equifax into the credit status of SPL and EPL clubs: Equifax Report Now, I'm afraid I'm not that familiar with all the terminology in the financial world but the statement below Motherwell is as follows: I'm just curious as to whether this is actually the case and if so, what impact does this have on the running of the club? Also, due to the number of sizeable transfer fees we've received over the past couple of years, would the club not be doing reasonably well? And what would be the reasons for voluntarily declaring bankruptcy? Like I say, I may just have the wrong end of the stick with this but it caught my interest and I was curious as to whether this was a recent development or whether we have been operating this way for some time.

I can think of at least 3 times when he got in a good position and passed the ball. He cut two back across the box and once, ran inside and teed up Jennings with a cracking wee backheel. Maybe you should open your eyes before you start criticising a 17 year old! Some people need to get a grip and support the team rather than moaning all the time.

Tough one today. Though Sutton worked very hard and did extremely well at his goal. Hutch was superb in defence, despite one or two hairy moments but he did well against 2 big lads and what a goal! However, though Jim O'Brien was outstanding today. He's too often ineffective but today he really opened up the Killie defence and was unlucky not to score in front of the Cooper early in the 2nd half. Worked hard, tracked back and caused so many problems for Killie.

I wasn't. They also gave Dougie McDonald a 7/10 rating and said he handled the game well. Voted for Forbes. He misplaced a number of passes but when he got it right it was superb and he seems to be the heart of the team when things are going well. Just now to wait and see how he copes when we're really up against it. However, his class was what kept us in the game yesterday IMO. Thought O'Brien had a cracking second half but was loathe to try and go past players in the first for some reason. There were a number of occaisions I felt that he head the measure of the right-back but chose to stop and pass back/inside instead.

Had it been retired after Phil passed on then fair enough. But I think it was the right move to give it to Clarky and now that he's away there is no need to retire the number. Best to keep it going and hope the next player who's honoured with the number 10 jersey turns out to be as great a player as Clarky, Phil and Faddy before him.

I may be wrong but I think Gannon seems to be one of these managers who likes to adapt his team to however the day's opponents play. The first round of matches will be a bit of an exploratory exercise but I expect the second load of matches to see the team chop and change as the opposition dictates.

Yeah, it was definitely a cynical challenge and McHugh was clean through. Really disappointed with the ref's decision. Also thought one of the St J players could have been sent off for his attempted tackle on Hammell in the first half. Launched himself in studs up about knee height and if not for Hammell jumping out the way it could have been serious. Contact or not, it was a very dangerous challenge.

Because he didn't have the best game and got subbed? He's the only experienced centre half we've got at the club and is a cracking defender. He'll get over it and be back in the team if not next week then soon.

For future visits, the 208 bar is worth heading to. Just about 300 yards along the road past the stadium and it was packed with both Well and St J fans, including a Well merchandise stall.

I'd agree as well. Funny you say that about Sutton as I get the impression that Gannon likes him. The tactic in the first half was to direct everything through Sutton as worked so well against Flamurtari and Steaua. It was just the nature of the opposition that meant it didn't work today. St. Johnstone look like they'll cause teams problems, they're big and strong, good in the air and very direct. I do believe they may struggle against "football" teams though and the likes of Celtic are likely to run rings around them on the deck. The second half was so different due to the way we played changing and we looked much more dangerous running at their defence. I think the second round of games are likely to be quite different to the first as I reckon the manager will be coming up with a tactic to suit each opposition. Humphrey looked better today, maybe just needs some game time to get up to speed. The big worry's the defence but hopefully if we can bring in an experienced right-back we can shore things up a bit. Oh and despite his heart in mouth moments, Ruddy kept us in the game with a couple of stunning saves.

Not been to the ground before but I'm told there's a bar about 300yds from the stadium called the 208 that's friendly to both home and away support. Anyone been?

I can happily say I was one of the ones defending McGhee up until the end. Not because I thought he was impervious to criticism but because while he was our manager I felt it important to get behind him. That's not to say he didn't have flaws, some of them were plain to see. I was a bit disappointed to see him leave to Aberdeen as the feeling was that we would struggle to get a manger to keep us playing good football. The big thing with Gannon coming in is that he seems to be addressing the areas where McGhee fell short. He's building a squad with long term plans, using young players and still managing to play good football so far. I'm sure there will be low points as well over the coming season but for now it's hard not to be excited about the year to come. There's a feeling of a fresh start about the club and hopefully we're seeing the building blocks of a new generation of Well stars.

Myself + 1 more from Edinburgh, meeting 1 from Aberdeen there.

I'm very impressed with the way the manager's handled himself so far although it's a bit early to proclaim him the new messiah. But, he's saying the right things, appears to be handling the players well and is building a squad for the long term rather than just the coming season. If he can deliver the goods on the pitch then we could be in really good shape for the next few years.

I'm not a fan of the away shirt I'm afraid. Just not my cup of tea. Absolutely love the home one though, maybe I can just buy a second one of those for when the letters fall off!

I think he may be. At the Steaua game, Craigan played a huge long ball cross-field towards Humphrey who was on the wing. Humphrey totally misjudged his jump and missed the ball, prompting the guy next to me to shout "Fuck's sake Craigan, try and find a man for once". Me and my pals just turned round and told him he was having a laugh. Typical attitude of too many of our fans, just pick on a player for anything even when they haven't actually done anything wrong!

You mean when he was left to cover 2 players all on his puff? I don't think Hammell's out of JG's plans. He's been experimenting with the team, trying to figure out where each player is best as well as letting regular starters know that their position isn't guaranteed and they'll need to work for their places. Message received I think and Hammell has a cracking first half last Thursday. This story's a non-starter IMO.

Twat. Quinn, while not the saint off or on the park, is clearly a talented full back with the ability to get forward and get past players as well as having a decent defensive instinct. To say he was pish just smacks of personal issues with the guy. Say he was a banger, whatever, everyone's entitled to their opinion but looking at his performances on the pitch (over a number of years) it is sheer stupidity to say he was pish.

Woosh! Tough choice tonight but the type of tough choice that's good to have to make. Hammell was outstanding in the first half and really kept it tight down the line. Coke was composed and comfortable on the ball and really looked the part. Hutchison won just about every ball in the air and really cleared up well. Sutton was superb and layed off a number of great balls for those around him. Reynolds did very well in breaking up their attacks and harassing their midfield and that shot was a belter. But, it was young Forbes for me who really looked like creating the goals and was outstanding in the middle of the park. Alongside the likes of Coke and Jennings, I could see us having a very good midfield this year.

That ref tonight was Brines-esque in his ineptitude. If that's the standard elsewhere in Europe then I don't think Scottish refs are really as far behind as they're made out to be. That was just class A incompetence tonight.

Delighted with the team tonight if not the result. I thought our performance deserved a win tonight. Steaua deserve to go through on the merit of the first leg which could have been much worse but I thought tonight we salvaged a lot of pride and deserved to bow out on a high. Until their penalty (which I have to say was the correct decision) they didn't look like causing us too much trouble and it seemed like it was only a matter of time until we scored again. Unfortunately, the referee had an absolute howler as did the near side linesman (was it Stevie Wonder?) and we were denied a number of penalty claims which should have been given (2 handballs and Sutton almost had his shirt ripped off twice in the first half). With a stronger referee, had we been given a penalty and gone 2-0 it could have been a very different outcome. If I was as bad at my job as those two I would have been sacked long ago. But, they got the break and showed that when quality players get a chance, they take it. 2 very good goals from Steaua, especially the second and we faded out the tie. Some great performances from the lads though. If Jim Gannon can get the players performing like that in the SPL, we could be in for another exciting season.

Well played Steaua, just too good for us tonight. That goalie looks like a Ruddy good signing though... [gets coat, leaves]