Dezz

GOAALLLLL

Peter Hartley signed permanently on a 2.5 year deal. Great news! Some pretty impressive social media numbers being racked up thanks to the announcement video too

Think youre getting mixed up with Michael Ngoo, another ex-Liverpool players who, as you say, wasnt very good at Hearts or Killie.

On to the game, a good performance which led to a fairly comfortable afternoon. Everyone played their part and I dont think there were any bad performances in the team. It has to be said though, Accies were very poor. Aside from a little flurry at the start of the second half they offered very little. Considering it was a cup tie and a derby I was expecting the kitchen sink to be thrown at us in the last 15 mins but that didnt happen - probably says more about our performance though. On the debutants, Aldred looked good in his 30mins and hopefully his injury isnt bad. Showed enough to suggest hell do fine at this level. Ciftci was clearly short of match sharpness but put in a shift and showed a couple of excellent touches and footwork. Pick of the bunch though was Main who was quick, strong, hardworking and looked like he could play a bit as well. Anyone who questions why Andy Rose gets picked each week should watch todays game. Playing in an unfamiliar position he stuck to his task all afternoon and completely shut Imrie out the game. That, coupled with Mchugh and Campbell bossing the middle allowed the excellent Tanner to do his thing. A mention for Dunne who strolled it in the middle of the 3 in the second half and Richard Tait who is just Mr Consistent....an outside shout for POTY if he keeps it up? Fairly enthused for Wednesday night where we may have Cadden back.

I heard it was a broken jaw. The various rumours seem to suggest some sort of facial injury anyway. Bowman doesnt seem the sort to throw his toys out the pram.

Theres some rumours doing the rounds on twitter that Greg Docherty wont play for them tomorrow ahead of a move.

Sorry, Ill need to brush up on my Swedish! Hah. Am I right in saying that they dont have a rich owner who is funding their current success?

Didnt realise he was there. Ostersunds story is an interesting one. Based in the middle of nowhere and coached by an Englishman, theyve achieved something like 4 promotions in 5 years, won a cup and beat the likes of Galatasaray and Bilbao in this years Europa League. As far as I know theyre not being bankrolled or anything like that as theyve got a few guys that have been binned by the likes of York City starring for them. Also interested in signing Liam Henderson apparently.

Mine went through fine earlier in the month.

Im into this. No basis whatsoever but I think hell be decent. Hopefully Robinson is the man to get Ciftci back to the Dundee Utd version. If not though, Ciftci and Hartley in the same team should provide some decent mental bastard moments.

Seems like it judging by the photo and the wee emojis. It was liked by plenty of the current players and Alan Burrows too. I thought we did amazingly to get a fee for Ben when he was here, I wasnt his biggest fan but would be happy to see him back on loan to provide competition/cover for Kipre.

Cant link tweets on my phone but thats Flow tweeted to say hes delighted to get Main in and hes the first of several new faces this window with the next hopefully not too far off. Another 2 or 3 to come in then it seems.

Thats yer Curtis Main signed up.

Theres quite a bit of chat about it. £1m-£1.25m seems to be getting banded about but no idea where the hell theyre planning on getting that from.

Copied below from some guys who collect SPFL stats on twitter. Scoring Chances are kicked shots from the heart of the box & kicked or headed shots from within the six yard box. The players who are consistently setting up teammates with these kinds of chances are the kinds of playmakers that change games. Frear and Cadden are in the top 6 in the league. Scott Allan, Dundee +0.90 Stuart Armstrong, Celtic +0.84 Ali Crawford, Hamilton +0.68 Daniel Candeias, Rangers +0.57 Elliot Frear, Motherwell +0.50 Chris Cadden, Motherwell +0.43 Cadden is also 2nd in the league for expected assists and 3rd for key passes. I dont pretend to be an expert in the whole XG/XA stuff but do find it quite interesting and goes against your opinion of both players being distinctly average. The above coupled with the loss of Moult who was the man converting these chances gives some context around our recent struggles to create and convert opportunities. If we can get a replacement for moult, and Cadden, Frear and Tanner in the team I think well be fine. Any chat if sacking Robinson now is nuts.

A penalty and one chance from open play and Accies are 2-1 ahead. Jesus wept.

Apparently Accies have a bit of a defensive shortage for today - a couple of injuries and they also sacked that Sarris guy during the week for some reason. Despite recent results I fancy us today. We need to keep an eye on templeton and Docherty but I think well have enough to edge it. 2-1 Motherwell. Tanner and Kipre!

The player pool definitely isnt as deep in Jan but there are players out there - did Marvin not join us in Jan?

Made a point of watching the first goal back after Robbos interview and his comments about man marking/second phase. Dunnes marking of Wilson is unreal! When Wilson hits it Dunne is literally the furthest away Motherwell player from him.

Craggs did a wee twitter Q&A a few weeks ago and I asked who he thought had the best chance of being the next to break into the first team. His reply was David Turnbull, Barry Maguire, Adam Livingston and Liam Brown. Dont go to the U20s games myself but whenever I watch the highlights David Turnbull looks an excellent player for only being 17/18.

Exactly this. There would have been very few people complaining if you offered going into the break in 8th place, 7 points clear of 11th and with a cup final under our belts. It just so happens our form over the course of the first half has been split into two - a very good start and a very poor finish - spread it a bit more evenly over the first 20 matches and I dont think the bed-wetting would be as intense as it is. This doesnt detract from the fact January will be huge for us and we need 2 strikers who will be able to get around 15 goals between them in the second half of the season. If the likes of Tanner, Frear, Cadden and Bowman can also chip in with a handful each we should just about be able to manage Louis departure. At the start of the year I would have taken a cup run and a comfortable league finish, with maybe a bit of a push for top 6. Weve done the first part and the second part isnt beyond us. Weve also banked circa £2m from sales and cup run so its not all doom and gloom yet!

Tait for me but mentions to Tanner, Dunne, and Carson for his save at the end. Thought Bigi looked up for it today too.

The story on the website has quotes saying he wants to get back into first team management, particularly now that under his directorship we secured elite status for Project Brave. Hes been out the senior team coaching/managing for a while now. Interesting to see where hell pop up. Or as Weeyin says - it could be due to his recent conviction.

#Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson hopeful of having Carson, Hartley, Cadden and Frear all back for Saturday, will make some late decisions ^ From Graeme McGarry on twitter. Fingers crossed at least Carson and Hartley are back.

Talk from the manager at last nights AGM is that he is hoping to have most of the injured players back for Saturday. What a boost that would be. I assume Carson will still be out though as it would seem a bit odd to sign the Greek fella on a 1 month contract to only cover 2 games. If we can get Cadden, Frear and particularly Hartley back for this one id Be much more confident of picking up 3 points.