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Thoroughly enjoyed last night's game, although I became increasingly nervous as time wore on and it was still goalless. It was so importnat to notch the first goal. A good team effort although I thought Koutroumbis, McGinn and Maswhanise stod out with the latter being my MOTM. For the first time time this season our possession based approach looked exciting due in no small part to Morton's relatively more positive gameplan. It was a pleasure to watch. Such a contrast to Kettlewell's Plan A. Some good midfield play although maybe we need a defensive midfielder to add a bit of steel in the engine room. Its encouraging to see a lot more pace in the side. We lost a bit of momentum when the 3 second half subs entered the fray and were caught short on the left until JBA made a tactical change. Maswhanise took his goals very well. The first was well worked stemming from a great pass from Gordon. His third was sublime and a perfect way to round off the evening. A contender for goal of the season? Lots to look forward to. I still have some concerns though, but suspect they are being addressed. Ewan Wilson is starting to concern me though - has he lost confidence? We do lack physicality and once again a big physical striker in the shape of Adeloye last night caused us issues. Up front we still look toothless. Its a positive that we created so many chances but disappointing that we looked lightweight in the box. Ap Stam is no lone striker. A big physical striker is badly needed to get on the end of crosses and set pieces. We progress to the knockout rounds now and pres eason acclimitisation continues under JBA. I suspect Elijah's shirt will be much sought after by senior fans aged mid 20s and over. A collector's item!

He was greetin' about the grass at Hampden and the physicality of the players when Scotland beat Spain. He wouldn't last 2 minutes in an away game at Livi.

There is now way we should be signing Rodri, not with his injury record.

Which Man city boys, Haaland and Rodri would do nicely?

Just go for it, sure slight adjustments for defending but fuck it, stick to the plan.

I've a feeling he's defo wanting a CB who is a better fitba player than we have. Also there was the Chat of the Man City boys too.

CB and CF.

Can’t see us getting anything I’m afraid. Most likely a frustrating narrow 1-2 defeat in what is a typical Motherwell v Rangers game at Fir Park, the type we’ve seen all too often over the years.

We have beaten this mob twice at Ibrox in successive seasons , so now is the time to do it at Fir Park COYW

I like the timing of this game and will no doubt be a tougher challenge than what we have faced up to now. Week out from the start of the season building towards rangers game.

Manager seems positive for a couple more new faces. Where do you think he is looking at? For me central defence. Maybe waiting for the LM money

On Wilson, the positive is that being coached by JBA and learning alongside someone like Manny could really bring him on. Manny is clearly ahead of him just now, but Wilson has the attributes. He just needs the right coaching, a bit of confidence and the freedom to take players on and make mistakes. Johnny K also looks like he is starting to come good, which is a bit of a relief for everyone.

highlights reel

I actually thought he played well when he came on. He made a really crucial block which I thought was going in and I felt he did well getting forward and was reasonably solid. Better than I’ve seen him for a while tbh

A lot what you say is true, however I suspect there will be times when it horses for courses. Especially once teams tumble to how we play. My biggest issue with Kettlewells eye bleeding pish was when it was obvious plan A wasn't working , he tried Plan A again so all we ever saw was limited possession and hoofball. Id like to think JBA has enough abiout him to mix it up at times.

Will be another good test for us.

You got no appreciation for football. Crazy statement to make. What are you actually wanting to see? Teams playing great passing football!

Got to agree there, Maswanhise’s second was a thing of beauty but his first was probably more important as it calmed the nerves of the team and took the pressure off for the rest of the game.

I like the possession football but most successful teams who play in also mix it up a bit at times with either long ball’s out to the wings or quick passes through gaps through the centre and id like to see us trying that more. I think the second goal was a result of that (at least I’m convincing myself that or conning myself maybe). Overall a decent game with a good few bits of entertainment, some nice touches and goals - that’s enough to keep me happy. Also I think that teams looking to loan out players might just look at us and JBA’s tactics/coaching and think it would be good for their better young players.

I'm not so sure. If possession football is not done correctly it can be as dull and frustrating as hoofball. And less effective to boot. Previous attempts at various Scottish teams have turned out this way (only exception probably being celtic under Rogers). Why are middling teams from similar sized leagues (Denmark, Croatia, Czech) able to play better football than our mid sized teams? I don't know, exactly. If i had to guess, I would say it's more down to individual technical skills and a more positive mentality than playing the right brand of possession football. Culture, you could say. The best Well team I've ever seen (I'm mid 30s) was our McGhee 1.0 team with Porter, Hughes, McCormack et al. Did they play possession football? Not in an intentional way, I dont think, like JBA is attempting now. There were some good technical, experienced players, who found form and the team just clicked. Anyway, I'm not trying to be negative about the possession stuff. I think it may well work out, but there's also good reason other teams have tried and failed with it in the past and it could still be the case with us, even if we are patient. However, let's get behind the team and see where we end up!

Seen that and thought it was harsh, no players were moving to give him any other option and better to clear the ball rather than end up giving it away in the penalty box. Did the right thing in my opinion.

Well that was very enjoyable. Controlled the game from start to finish, with the exception of 10 minutes after the triple substitution which seemed to unsettle the rhythm of play. Considering the whole of the group stage, does anyone recall a set of matches where we have completely dominated the opponents in the way that we have this campaign? Sure, the opponents have all been from lower leagues, but we have often struggled badly in such games. While we have gifted a few goals and struggled to score, we have been dominant in all of the games. I certainly didn't expect us to dominate Morton the way that we did tonight. It was a very comfortable win. If we can get some improvement of the final ball and solidity in defence we could be very good this season. Roll on Friday to see how we compete against some higher quality opponents.

It's also why much of Scottish football is in the dark ages.

" Eye bleeding" and " like watching paint dry" , that's why teams don't play patient football, too many fans want to be 6 nil up in first 20. That's what Jba will need to battle against when we lose a few.

You must see yourself as a real character....