Motherwell V St Johnstone

[joewarkfanclub]

I for one think Hateley is a tremendous full back. Don't fancy him in midfield much, but there aren't many SPL right backs I'd have before him.

 

Ok, slightly re-phrase that, his defensive qualities sometimes let him down. I think he is a great wing back, but his best qualities are his energy going forward. I would play him on the right of midfield if we had an alternative but at the minute we dont.

 

Point being, some of our supporters think he should be Cafu or Roberto Carlos or something. They need to take a chill pill and appreciate what he does bring to the team.

[gary_411]

Annoying to see so much stick for the players after the fortnight they've had right at the start of the season. St Johnstone barely had a look in first half, it looked like it was only a matter of time before we scored with all the possession we had. I thought Hateley kept Hasselbaink very quiet for those 45 minutes, and given he was their major threat we didn't have much to worry about.

 

They did come in to the game a bit more after the break but they only got their goal when we went down to ten men; we should be grateful for the determination shown by the players to rally round as they could easily have chucked it at that stage. McHugh took his chances, seems to have a knack for making the most of his cameo appearances but we'll be interested if he can perform as well when given a start.

 

The boos when Lasley was subbed were cringe worthy. He was playing badly, sitting far too deep and offering nothing around the box; nothing like his usual self. It looked like he was struggling with an injury or fatigue and he's since come out on twitter to say he was unwell. It was unfortunate that Hetherington had to be thrown in at the deep end, into a two man midfield alongside Law who isn't really an out and out midfielder, he had a lot of work to do but managed okay in what were difficult conditions. He's another one I'd like to see starting, hopefully in last season's Jennings role as a return to 3 in the middle is what we really need. A midfield trio of Lasley, Law and Hetherington with Ojamaa, Higdon and Murphy further up the pitch should see us get our goals back. And Humphrey coming back from injury will give us another spark.

 

 

Nothing to worry about yet. Still unbeaten and only 2 points worse than this stage last year.

 

 

And Ian Brines can congratulate himself on another fine attempt at ruining a game of football. Needless booking for Ramsden early doors set the tone as he had to book almost every foul after that, and Higdon was never going to have much luck up front with him officiating.

[East_Stand_Al]

Going to keep this brief

 

• Tiredness was a major factor after Pana game
• Las unwell but playing speaks volumes about depth of squad
• 10/10 for heart effort and ballocks for our boys
• Ian Brines is a fud of the highest magnitude

 

Not overly concerned yet seen plenty positves to be hopeful and Gaffer has been making some noises about being able to bring in new faces.

 

[fat_tony]

As with most, a bit of mixed emotions from today. Would have been disappointed with a draw beforehand but given how the game went, happy enough with the result. Not many stand out performances, Hutch and Law probably the pick of the bunch. Hutch made a number of mistakes but was able to save most of them and made some crucial stops. Hateley took a bit of a roasting from Hasselbaink at times but never gave up on his task and kept coming back for more, so top marks for commitment. Randolph looked a bit uncharacteristically shaky today, but still did well at the penalty. Can't really comment on the penalty and red card as it was the other end of the park.

 

The second half was almost farcical at times, and I think the tiredness from Wednesday was showing. Lasley's apparently been ill for the last couple of days, so did well to last as long as he did. Thought the young lads (Hetherington and Angol) did okay, but were just a little caught out with the pace of the game. More game time for them will help that though. McHugh made some great runs (again) when he came on, just looked a step ahead of others at times.

 

That clown Brines did his best to ruin yet another game. How that man keeps getting appointed SPL games is beyond me.

 

Still, onwards and upwards. Good to get a goal (even if it was a mis-hit) and could have had 2 more but from superb stops by Mannus and whoever cleared Hutchy's piledriver off the line.

[daver]

 

 

The boos when Lasley was subbed were cringe worthy. He was playing badly, sitting far too deep and offering nothing around the box; nothing like his usual self. It looked like he was struggling with an injury or fatigue and he's since come out on twitter to say he was unwell. It was unfortunate that Hetherington had to be thrown in at the deep end, into a two man midfield alongside Law who isn't really an out and out midfielder, he had a lot of work to do but managed okay in what were difficult conditions. He's another one I'd like to see starting, r

Oops - I thought it was Carswell that came on and gave him the credit for some nice touches. Agree with wanting to see more of him.

[Welldaft Mk1]

Annoying to see so much stick for the players after the fortnight they've had right at the start of the season. St Johnstone barely had a look in first half, it looked like it was only a matter of time before we scored with all the possession we had. I thought Hateley kept Hasselbaink very quiet for those 45 minutes, and given he was their major threat we didn't have much to worry about.

 

And Ian Brines can congratulate himself on another fine attempt at ruining a game of football. Needless booking for Ramsden early doors set the tone as he had to book almost every foul after that, and Higdon was never going to have much luck up front with him officiating.

 

Pretty much agree with this summary of the game.

 

The doom merchants need to get a grip ffs

 

MJC you get used to his constant stream of negative pish....

 

But in the circumstances that was a good point after playing in midweek against tough opponents in a trillion degrees heat. 1-0 down with 10 men - that is a game we would have lost in most of the seasons I have watched the Well.

 

I felt in general the players played well. I feel Ramsden is a find. Already convinced he is a MUCH better option than Clancy and at times his attacking forays were a joy to behold. Hutch MOTM - hence why it is unlikely he will be here after the transfer window closes,

 

Murphy was well below par even by his recent poor standards. Perhaps playing on the wrong side of the pitch but he needs ready brek by the bucket load.

[Kmcalpin]

It was always going to be a hard game after the trip to Athens and it showed. We won a point through sheer grit and determination. Very few pass marks today and the referee completely spoiled the game picking on Higdon from the first minute. Also blundered in giving Saints the corner from which they scored. Very inconsistent as illustrated when he ticked off Davidson for diving but failed to show him a yellow card. Vine was lucky not to have received another card in the first half for diving and not to receive a straight red for his horrific tackle. Anyway enough of Ian Brines.

 

It was quite clear that Daley was carrying an injury and unfit. He should not have started. Our failing this season were plain for all see - an overly generous defence; plenty of possession football with no cutting edge, and a slow a laborious build up which suited Saints to a T. We also badly missed Chris Humphrey.

 

Hopefully we can sign one or two players, even through loans before the end of the month, but in any event changes will have to be made. Even with our limited squad some are possible:

 

* give McHugh a run and provide Higdon with much need support

 

* move Law forward into his correct position.

 

* move Ramsden into midfield to give us some bite there

 

* give Cummins or Kerr a place in defence.

 

* give Jamie Murphy a spell on the bench and some one to one coaching - he looks totally devoid of confidence.

 

I'm a bit concerned about left back - who do we play there next week?

[Mic2904]

Pretty much agree with this summary of the game.

 

The doom merchants need to get a grip ffs

 

MJC you get used to his constant stream of negative pish....

 

But in the circumstances that was a good point after playing in midweek against tough opponents in a trillion degrees heat. 1-0 down with 10 men - that is a game we would have lost in most of the seasons I have watched the Well.

 

I felt in general the players played well. I feel Ramsden is a find. Already convinced he is a MUCH better option than Clancy and at times his attacking forays were a joy to behold. Hutch MOTM - hence why it is unlikely he will be here after the transfer window closes,

 

Murphy was well below par even by his recent poor standards. Perhaps playing on the wrong side of the pitch but he needs ready brek by the bucket load.

 

I think Ramsden looks really good and seems he is going on well with Huchty.

 

As for Murphy: he played on both sides yesterday, so when you refer to the "wrong side" I assume you mewan the bench?

 

I really like Murphy and he has talent, but he is starting to do my head in, really....

 

Its time for him to make the next step and I mentioned this a few times before, especially since most people thought a few years back he is a big, big talent which eventually will bring a couple quid for the club... thought this myself as well... But maybe it is time to realise that he is "only" a half decent SPL player with lots of ups and downs....

[Kmcalpin]

As for Murphy: he played on both sides yesterday, so when you refer to the "wrong side" I assume you mewan the bench?

 

I really like Murphy and he has talent, but he is starting to do my head in, really....

 

Its time for him to make the next step and I mentioned this a few times before, especially since most people thought a few years back he is a big, big talent which eventually will bring a couple quid for the club... thought this myself as well... But maybe it is time to realise that he is "only" a half decent SPL player with lots of ups and downs....

 

The problem for us is that he is a very talented player who could go far in the game but looks very poor at the moment - any English club worth their salt will recognise that, take him off our hands for a pathetic fee and then develop him properly into the player he is.

[pingu]

Is it me or was Murphy really THAT bad yesterday? I actually thought he was one of the main threats in the first half. St Johnstone doubling on him everytime didn't help.

 

 

Second half he switched flanks and often didn't find Hately on the overlap supporting like Hammell does.

[Well Well]

Yes he was that bad and been consistently that bad for some time now. As ever Mr McAlpine sums it up perfectly for me.

[milo]

Can only echo the sentiments of all previous posters. Bit of a mixed bag. Not panicing just yet but need to get our first win under our belts asap.

 

Piss poor crowd. Pretty disappointing. Half that went to Panathanikos game.

['Wellfan 2k7]

Oh well. No one will care about these games when we pump athletico in the group stages

[gdalli10]

thought we were quite good in the first half but the changes at half time swung the game in saints favour. We were basicaly playing with 4 forwards in murphy, mchugh, ojamma and higdon and saints looked like scoring every time they went forward they were able to run half way up the pitch without a challenge and hasslebank ripped hately several times. It wasn't a good balance at all

 

 

 

their goal was coming and they really should have added to it but we actually played better with 10 men and the long ball to higdon (a tactic we rarely see from us) was really effective with mchugh in and around him. Mchugh isn't the greatest in the world but he trys like fuck i hope he gets a chance in the team now and how that boy managed to block hutchy's shot on the line i'll never know

 

 

 

you could tell that saints player was going to get sent off as well two stupid reckless tackles he never had to make

 

 

murphy and ojamma are really off form and have little confidence im sure once they get a goal they will come good again

[fat_tony]

Watching the BBC highlights there, there really could have been more goals for both sides in the game, with Ojamaa and Hasselbaink perhaps not doing as well as they could have with a couple of efforts. Predictably of course, they completely failed to catch the penalty incident on camera, so there's no way to say whether it was a definite red card/penalty, other than the word of those who saw it more clearly on the day. Can't argue against the St Johnstone red though, two late challenges on Hutch, no way they could complain about that.

 

So unlucky at the end that Hutchy's shot gets blocked. From the clip, I get the impression that if he'd even lifted it a little, it would have been in. St Johnstone player was just in the right place at the right time, well done.

 

From looking at their goal, it looks like Lasley's the man on the front post, and he leaves it to come out to Davidson, who's already got 2 players trying to pick him up. Both players are about a yard behind him, so maybe he's trying to close the gap from the front, but I reckon if he stays where he is, it gets blocked. Nevermind though, could have been better, could have been worse. Given that was played 3 days after a game in that heat and all the travel involved, I'm not too unhappy about the draw.

 

Lets hope for a fully fit team for Saturday and a first win of the season!

 

BBC site

 

[Well 4 Europe]

From looking at their goal, it looks like Lasley's the man on the front post, and he leaves it to come out to Davidson, who's already got 2 players trying to pick him up. Both players are about a yard behind him, so maybe he's trying to close the gap from the front, but I reckon if he stays where he is, it gets blocked.

 

Davidson was Hutchinson's man. MFC TV showed it from a different angle and Hutchinson is picking him up and ends up a good 3 or 4 yards away from him when he scores. Switched off and has take a large amount of responsiblity for the goal. Should never have been allowed such an easy free run to the front post.

[mfc]

Can only echo the sentiments of all previous posters. Bit of a mixed bag. Not panicing just yet but need to get our first win under our belts asap.

 

Piss poor crowd. Pretty disappointing. Half that went to Panathanikos game.

 

agreed about the attendance it was slighty disappointing st johnstone only bringing 240 is a total joke

[Brazilian]

agreed about the attendance it was slighty disappointing st johnstone only bringing 240 is a total joke

St Johnstone support quoted as 292 at the game

 

should probably be thanking them as opposed to labelling it a joke

 

terrible scheduling gave them two away games to start the season, they had around 1000 at Tynecastle

 

they had also just shelled out for their Euro tickets and season tickets,

 

Motherwell made no attempt what so ever to entice them to visit, just expected it as normal PS calling a parent & child ticket a family ticket doesnt change it from being 1 adult and 1 child ticket

 

I was surprised over all we didnt break 5000, but looking at footage there were large pockets of empty seats in what are usually well populated season ticket sections.

 

maybe the last Saturday of the school holidays had a bigger effect than I expected.

 

We'll see going forward

 

I've wondered what the policy is a Fir park, do we publish the attendance, as all season tickets plus those who pay/have complimentary tickets on the day?

 

or do we just take the turnstyle counters as the attendance

[mfc]

St Johnstone support quoted as 292 at the game

 

should probably be thanking them as opposed to labelling it a joke

 

terrible scheduling gave them two away games to start the season, they had around 1000 at Tynecastle

 

they had also just shelled out for their Euro tickets and season tickets,

 

Motherwell made no attempt what so ever to entice them to visit, just expected it as normal PS calling a parent & child ticket a family ticket doesnt change it from being 1 adult and 1 child ticket

 

I was surprised over all we didnt break 5000, but looking at footage there were large pockets of empty seats in what are usually well populated season ticket sections.

 

maybe the last Saturday of the school holidays had a bigger effect than I expected.

 

We'll see going forward

 

I've wondered what the policy is a Fir park, do we publish the attendance, as all season tickets plus those who pay/have complimentary tickets on the day?

 

or do we just take the turnstyle counters as the attendance

 

apologies if it was 292 and i wasnt labelling the saints fans at the game a joke just thought they would have had a slighty bigger support than they had but fair play to those that did travel

[postiejim]

then develop him properly into the player he is.

 

One of the biggest problems we have Dave is the development of players, starts at under 19 now 20 level and continues into the first team.

[Well 4 Europe]

did MFC tv catch the penalty?

 

Yes. Hammell's wrong side and puts him arm over Miller's shoulder and appears to drag him back. Looked a pen to me. Not sure about the red card as it's up for debate whether Miller would have got to the ball before Randolph but if Brines feels there was a chance he was going to get there first then Hammell had to go.

[Ya Bezzer!]

The problem for us is that he is a very talented player who could go far in the game but looks very poor at the moment - any English club worth their salt will recognise that, take him off our hands for a pathetic fee and then develop him properly into the player he is.

 

I wasn't at the game so I can't argue about Murphy's overall performance but watching the highlights he was involved in just about every positive moment shown.

 

He was involved in the goal, playing the ball out wide and then drawing the defenders (both were watching Murphy while McHugh found space).

 

He then had a run and an excellent cross from which Higdon almost won the game with his header.

 

Then finally he won the header from the corner that ended up as the McHugh/Hutchinson scrabble right at the end.

 

Murphy doesn't always dominate matches but in my opinion he's usually involved when something positive happens and if you take him out the side we lose a lot.

[siebsbarmyarmy]

Too much common sense in that post Ya Bezzer!!! Get it deleted mods.

 

I also thought at the weekend that St Johnstone doubled up on Murph every time he got the ball. Millar and Mackay in the first half and Craig and Davidson in the 2nd.

 

He was no where near as shite as most people are saying on here. He wasn't great but then again no one was.

[mfc88]

For the goal, I know whoever was supposed to be marking davidson lost him (hutch?) but lasley also ran off the front post leaving the hole there. I know he went to challenge Davidson but he shouldn't have. Again given the possession we had in the first half I just feel we could have done so much more with it with more of a cutting edge somewhere, don't know if we're missing humph or what but something's definitely missing. I like the look of Hetherington, always looking for the ball and looking up, trying to do something positive when he gets it.

Think next week it will be a straight swap francis-Angol in for hammell and surely mchugh deserves a start.

 

Thought vines second yellow for his tackle on hutchy was a fucking shocker by the way. Straight red IMO. His first wasn't too clever either but a yellow was fair enough.

[Kmcalpin]

I like the look of Hetherington, always looking for the ball and looking up, trying to do something positive when he gets it.

Think next week it will be a straight swap francis-Angol in for hammell and surely mchugh deserves a start.

 

Thought vines second yellow for his tackle on hutchy was a fucking shocker by the way. Straight red IMO. His first wasn't too clever either but a yellow was fair enough.

 

I'm a bit loathe to judge Hetherington and Francis Angol too early on limited first team game time, but the latter looks good on the ball but a trifle dodgy in defence when he is off the ball. Still we may find out more next Saturday. We may be able to take a leaf out of Hearts' book when they played an untried 18 year old and an untried 17 year old as full backs and they never gave their St Johnstone opponents a kick of the ball. Time will tell.

 

Agree about Vines' tackle on Hutchy by the way. He had no intention whatsoever of going for the ball and I thought it a stick on straight red card at the time - but no.