The African

McGinn, Nicholson and maybe Ferrie.

I’d have taken a point a kick off so not completely gutted. Three up after half an hour though, so it is a bit of a sore one. Aberdeen used to be a tough place to visit, so a point is something, but not sure if our rivals will find it as difficult. We obviously lost our way after the two quick goals to bring them back into the game, but some credit has to go to the side for staying in the contest in the second half and almost snatching all three points. Still seems like a bit of a missed opportunity though.

With hindsight, it’s clear that this draw was always going to be tough. Poor weather, poor playing surface, a lower,leagle side on a decent run and a false level of confidence in ourselves. Almost the perfect storm. Throw in our nemesis Dougie Imrie and it makes for a prettycrap night for Motherwell fans. We need to move on and get over this quickly.

Replacing your keeper is a big call. Not sure that a gamble of that nature is worth taking right now. Liam Kelly has, by and large, been decent for us and probably deserves some loyalty and time to find some form and confidence. Having said that, our patience with regard to his form is not without limit and he must be aware of this. The pressure on him is mounting. Another reason why your goalkeeper should not be captain?

Agree on both points. A keeper as captain is really a waste of time and our midfield is decidedly lightweight. Against a side like Morton on their home patch, this tie was always a banana skin. I doubt we have the grit in our current squad to play and compete in this sort of cup tie.

There is no doubt that tonight’s defeat is both a disappointment and a timely reminder that we are not that great a side. The only positive is that we can now concentrate solely on the key job of remaining in the premier league. Time to sack the manager? Derek Adams is available and only a phone call away.

Perhaps it won’t be a popular opinion, but from this distance it looks like the unpleasant truth is that we currently have a budget which is below that required to survive long term in the Premiership. If this doesn’t change then it is a matter of “when” not “if” we find ourselves in the Championship. It looks as if we have been trying to do transfer business at a level that just doesn’t exist and therefore it is hardly surprising that we have failed to fill the obvious holes in our squad. Fair play to those involved for not squandering our limited resources on dead wood and filler but anyone can now see that we are running on a squad so thinly spread that any injuries or suspensions will make selection beyond interesting. Maybe that is just how things are in Scottish football and the Championship, or below, is our financial level. I like the idea of fan ownership, but it needs to be sustainable and the cringe inducing begging email suggests that those in charge have accepted that this is not the case. Perhaps we need to accept this too.

A pertinent reminder to all that loan players brought in are not our players and, if successful with us, only likely to price themselves out of our budget in the longer term. Unfortunately the disparity in finance between the likes of Arsenal and ourselves means that they hold all the aces and they can use us to develop their young talent with our only benefit being possible short term gain from half a season of appearances. As these bigger clubs continue to hoover up all the best young players, it looks like a situation that is unlikely to change any time soon. Throw in the fact that any talk of financial FairPlay in football is a joke and we need to perhaps look closer at developing our own young players for any longer term progress. No point getting too upset about it, but just another example of how managing a club like ours is getting progressively harder.

Well the traditional kiss of death is to be given a vote of confidence from the board, so maybe not that.

Would that scenario constitute a run of 16 games without a win? Surviving that would border on the miraculous. I am not personally in the camp that thinks he should already be gone, but the longer this run continues, the more difficult it becomes to justify keeping him. It almost feels like the club is just treading water until he goes which is an unfair situation for all concerned individually and collectively a recipe for disaster. We need to back him or sack him. Twiddling our thumbs and waiting for the inevitable seems the worst course of action.

Part of me thinks that playing Biereth on their surface would be sheer folly at this stage of his recovery. However recent results mean that we could seriously do with picking up something from this game so we need to go in without strongest line up which obviously would include Mika. Is it worth the risk? I am currently thinking that five bob each way might be the best way to go and start with Mika on the bench. Of course, it could all come down to what Arsenal have to say onthe subject.

I like your style! I do think that Celtic are a different proposition to Rangers and, as such, we are not likely to take anything from the game. I’d probably be happy with a similar performance (organised and professional) as we have been producing the last couple of weeks and maybe that we bit of luck or composure from an individual to get us a goal or two. Anything else is a bonus.

Am I alone in almost revelling in the common sense of a first round European tie taking place in the middle of September? Oh for the happier, simpler days when European games were not only about increasing the revenue of the already bloated clubs at the top of the game. Is it a bad case of nostalgia which makes me think that the European tournaments of my youth were simply better? Scottish teams with involvement beyond Christmas Were possible and not just the domain of the old firm. I feel real sympathy for the kids of today and more recent years who have been told that, in the current reality of football, that level is not for them or their clubs because “they cannot afford it”. The people responsible for this state of affairs should hang their heads in shame.

We will play worse than that and win this season. The number of chances we are creating gives me some hope that we will have an improved season and are heading in the right direction. I think we were always going to miss KVV’s goals and that criticism of our summer recruitment is an easy but lazy option. Who were we supposed to be bringing in to replace him on our budget? Two tough fixtures coming up where anything gained in terms of points will be a surprise and a bonus. Hopefully we come out of these games without too much damage to our confidence and can get back to accumulating points in the matches against our financial peers.

Hopefully we can continue our good run of results in the league for at least another week. This is a game we should be looking to pick up all three points from, though the league cup tie shows that the teams are pretty evenly matched. Forget about talk of revenge and settling scores though. We don’t need the distraction. A focused, professional display will do nicely with a win at the end. I can see this being close, and would not be surprised with a draw, but home advantage makes me hope that a two one win for the ‘well will be on the cards.