The African

I am broadly in favour of anything to help officials get the correct decision. Having said that, the examples of video officiating and technology aiding umpires/ referees tend to suggest that they don't do away with controversial decisions, they simply change the dynamic of the game. As an example I would say that when VAR was brought into the Bundesliga, I was surprised by the number of soft penalties that were given. Also, the existence of the TMO in rugby still hasn't stopped a fair few awful decisions. Tries given when players are obviously and visibly in touch have still happened. The human element is still there and, as such, mistakes will still be made.

Get the major things right - tactics, formation, attitude - and we have a chance of taking something from the game. Get them wrong and we will get nothing. In that sense it really isn't much different from any other game we play. Concentrate on the things we can control and influence and, if we give it our best shot and it still doesn't go our way then that is football and we move on to the next game. It is only when we have done all we can to achieve a positive outcome that the piece of misfortune or a dodgy refereeing decision or two cease to be an "excuse" and become a " reason".

Hope the two points dropped doesn't come back to haunt us. As others have said, two nil up and twenty minutes to go at home, you should be taking all three points from there. Hopefully the manager can see that we need to change things or we could find ourselves in the relegation scrap.

The last three results now make this a very important fixture. A couple of weeks ago we were in the fortunate position of having discovered a winning habit. Three loses and we suddenly are staring down the barrel of a damaging losing streak. In a league where almost any team is capable of taking points in any fixture, a run of consistent bad results can very quickly land anybody in the mire. We had a fair amount of positive momentum but that is now gone. This fixture represents our best opportunity to address this situation and the manager has to realise this. I somehow doubt that he will have the inclination to change too much at this stage. As such, we are left hoping that we can take a couple of chances while hoping that we have fewer self inflicted wounds at the back. If not, the " same old same old" will result in the continuation of our bad run and with Rangers and then a trip to Aberdeen, I can easily see three defeats on the bounce becoming six and a major cause for concern.

Probably needed at least a brace against Celtic to have any chance of making the Scotland squad. He can now settle down and return to doing what he was doing so well for us before the last couple of games.

Will be interesting to see if O'Donnell starts in Moldova. He is a better defender than Patterson and we certainly don't want to find ourselves chasing the game there. The bigger issue might be who replaces the suspended Dykes. Also not convinced we know our best central defender combination.

Obvious to say it, but Bobby Ferrier is a most worthy addition to the Hall of Fame. I am just a little surprised that he was not inducted at the same time as George Stevenson, seeing as the pair were famed as a combination as much as for their individual abilities, but that obviously isn't how these things work and his inclusion is no less deserving because of that. The piece on the official website is excellent and well worth a read, but if you get the chance, look out for the obituary written by Bobby Ferrier's son which was included in the book written for our centenary by John Swinburne.

I think we have a decent chance of getting something from this game. They are nowhere near as good as they have been and we have certainly got a bit more about us then the last couple of years. A lot of it will come down to ounr attitude and whether we can limit them as an attacking threat. Hopefully we realise that playing for a draw will be a fool's errand. We need to put pressure on them and hope for a clinical day in attack. We will probably need a couple of goals to get a result. As for David Turnbull, I am a little old for pantomime so giving him abuse for simply being an ex Motherwell player seems unwarranted. However the idea of any sort of orchestrated outpouring of thanks and appreciation is not necessary. He has shown a certain amount of class in the past and was an excellent player for us, but he is no longer our player and, as such, doesn't require any special treatment.

Hopefully just a bump on the lad to better things. Our good run was bound to end sometime and throw in the fact that Tynecastle has, in my experience,never been a happy hunting ground for us together with the curse of manager of the month, and this result isn't too much of a surprise. Still, our performance wasn't completely awful so hopefully it doesn't result in a downward spiral in terms of results. Hopefully we get a positive reaction in our next fixtures.

I appreciate that I may not be the normal audience for this sort of thing. As such, can someone please explain what it is that someone in Lawless's position gains from something like this? Are young players not advised as to the dangers of engaging in social media without engaging their brains? Lots to lose and nothing to gain.

This game has potential disaster written all over it. I hope I am wrong but throughout my years of supporting Motherwell, we have too often ended a good run with a poor performance and result in a fixture we should have expected better. I know all good runs come to an end eventually. I just hope we can keep this going a bit longer. As it is, I officially have the fear.

I'm guessing he made their Hall of Fame on the back of being part of the squad which won the Premier League. They only used something like thirteen players in thirty six games. As I get older, I think I tend to be less critical. It could not have been easy trying to play up front for some of those Tommy Mc Lean sides of the mid to late eighties. He certainly believed in the principal of building a side from the back, and trying to be hard to beat, rather than exciting to watch.

Already in the Dundee United Hall of Fame. Often maligned, but not the worst I've seen for us.

The only thing I find surprising is the fact that it has taken this long for Joe Work to be inducted. I have been a 'well supporter for near enough fifty years and of all the players who have worn the claret and amber in that period, he would have been the first name on the list. Maybe not the best player in terms of talent or ability, but the complete professional in terms of attitude and commitment. Just absolute class, week in, week out, and an absolute privilege to watch. Don't get me started on how he was never capped for Scotland!

I am sure that we all have our moments, but some do show genuine talent in that regard.

Rangers just being Rangers. Nobody should be surprised by their attitude or lack of scruples. Hopefully they go out of business again, soon.

Great to wake up o this sort of result and performance. Long may it continue. Oh, away in Mordor for our next fixture? Bugger!

Generally prefer our white away kits, but that would do very nicely.

I don't mind international football, but the need to have a break from domestic action can be a bit of a drag. Oh for the good old days of internationals on a Wednesday night with normal service resumed on the weekend. As for this game, looks like a good chance to see where we currently stand in the great scheme of things. Hopefully we have had a productive few days, further bedding in the new arrivals. I am sure that a decent performance will see us pick up a point at least.

Was involved in a very small way in the possibility of a smaller 5g tower here, on property owned by a local sports club. The mobile phone company were looking to lease rather than buy the land. Would have been a nice little earner for the club, but local opposition proved too big an obstacle to it going ahead.

Seems a genuinely nice lad. Hope it works out for him with us.

Your memory is fine, and so was big Sieb.

Dykstra replaced Billy Thompson in the first team. Billy was certainly not the worst keeper we ever had, but he was another who did not like to leave the sanctuary of his line for a cross. Dykstra was a genuine step up in quality both in this regard, he definitely commanded the penalty box, and as a shot stopper. He was also fortunate to come into a side which was on an upward curve. Throw in the porn star looks and he had cult status written all over him. He was a good player, by our standards, but the fact that he never went on to muchigger and better things when he got his big move to England probably confirms that he was over rated by our support. Nothing wrong with that, of course. The affection in which a players held should not always be solely reliant on ability alone.

Got to be happy with the three points. As long as we don't start to believe that we are the finished article, and there is little chance of that happening if the squad read this forum, then it is obviously better to be picking up points. This time last season, you would not ace seen us getting much after going down to ten men. We also don't seem to be gifting so many penalties. Small things, but positives non the less. Hopefully the fact that we are not at the wrong end of the table will make it slightly easier for the new players to find their feet Of course, we could just be having a good run early on in the season, with the rub of the green going our way, but at least we are picking up points when we have the chance.. There will no doubt be times in the season when this changes and our good play goes unrewarded. Such is football, and such is life.

Ah, the old" he must be good, he cost a lot of money" gambit. If only it were as simple as that. Anyone for Shaun McSkimming?