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Motherwell Vs Stjarnan Fc


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doesn't change the fact they had much higher wage bills, crowds and better players on paper

 

mccall has consistently got the best out of a very small squad of players who wouldn't get a game in most teams in the Scottish top flight

 

See, this is the kind of self-defeating nonsense that drips from every single area of our club from top to bottom. It's why our approach to much of the sport is left wanting, and it's a massive factor in why we never win in the transfer market.

 

2 seasons ago, every single one of our starting 11(and a few of our bench) would have strolled into the starting lineup of every single other side in the league bar Celtic. And in saying that, a few of them would have done a job at Parkhead.

 

But for some reason, our club from top to bottom, and our fanbase for the most part, are too afraid to talk like that because "I remember when we got relegated once" or "anything more than top-6 is a bonus".

 

How long do you have to punch above your weight, before that then becomes your weight? Are Swansea punching above their weight because they have fans that can remember Lee Trundle backheeling shots from the halfway line in the Conference? Or do they adapt their attitude to the present, regardless of whether that is up or down.

 

There's a reason why the truly successful examples in sport tend to be multiple winners of things...because when they are successful once, they raise their own bar, and that becomes their new standard. They strive for excellence. When we get any kind of relative success we wet our pants trying to not let go of our wee safe old comfortable bar.

 

Being better than you used to be and refusing to move your standards upwards accordingly, is just as criminal as being worse than you used to be and not understanding why you don't win everything anymore.

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McCall gets the plaudits and rightly so for the league form over the last few seasons.

 

But

 

He also has to take the criticism when we fail and fail spectacularly. I spoke to a friend who was there and he felt (justified or not) that we were 2-1 up and well on top. He takes off Law and Ainsworth and in one stroke removes most of the attacking intent we have on the pitch. Another goal and it is game over.

 

Whilst we were still on top in extra time - Sutton was up front on his own and we were too defensive to score a goal ourselves.

 

I am not sure it was down to fitness. By all means take off these players but at least put on Erwin and/or Thomas.

 

The players have to perform on the pitch - but McCall has to accept his share of the blame for last night - simples

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See, this is the kind of self-defeating nonsense that drips from every single area of our club from top to bottom. It's why our approach to much of the sport is left wanting, and it's a massive factor in why we never win in the transfer market.

 

2 seasons ago, every single one of our starting 11(and a few of our bench) would have strolled into the starting lineup of every single other side in the league bar Celtic. And in saying that, a few of them would have done a job at Parkhead.

 

But for some reason, our club from top to bottom, and our fanbase for the most part, are too afraid to talk like that because "I remember when we got relegated once" or "anything more than top-6 is a bonus".

 

How long do you have to punch above your weight, before that then becomes your weight? Are Swansea punching above their weight because they have fans that can remember Lee Trundle backheeling shots from the halfway line in the Conference? Or do they adapt their attitude to the present, regardless of whether that is up or down.

 

There's a reason why the truly successful examples in sport tend to be multiple winners of things...because when they are successful once, they raise their own bar, and that becomes their new standard. They strive for excellence. When we get any kind of relative success we wet our pants trying to not let go of our wee safe old comfortable bar.

 

Being better than you used to be and refusing to move your standards upwards accordingly, is just as criminal as being worse than you used to be and not understanding why you don't win everything anymore.

Aye, but there's being ambitious and then there's being plain stupid when the team slips up. There's a difference.

 

I don't think there's anyone on this forum who doesn't think we should have won that tie, but all that some of us are saying is that not winning it isn't a reason to completely dismiss the accomplishments of the team over recent seasons, call the players losers and want the manager sacked.

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@MotherwellFC: Everyone at the club is gutted about the result last night but we will pick ourselves up and get going again...

 

Think we deserve a bit more than that....??

why? What do you want them to say? That they're sorry and that McCall will come round the house of each person who attended the home leg to personally apologise? That the whole team is pish and the fans should come down to Fir park with their plane & hotel tickets for a refund?

 

They lost a game of football. It happens. I don't understand what you're wanting? They've said it was a gutting result, but that it's onwards & upwards. What else can they say?

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@MotherwellFC: Everyone at the club is gutted about the result last night but we will pick ourselves up and get going again...

 

Think we deserve a bit more than that....??

Twitter is hardly the place for in-depth analysis, so I don't mind that. Though "we're gutted about the result" is kind of the football equivalent of the "I'm sorry if you were offended" type of apology.

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why? What do you want them to say? That they're sorry and that McCall will come round the house of each person who attended the home leg to personally apologise? That the whole team is pish and the fans should come down to Fir park with their plane & hotel tickets for a refund?

 

They lost a game of football. It happens. I don't understand what you're wanting? They've said it was a gutting result, but that it's onwards & upwards. What else can they say?

 

I'm not as concerned about what is said as I am about what happens off the back of this shambles. The whole squad needs a serious wake-up call and the manager needs to lead in that respect... unfortunately there is nobody at the club capable / willing to ask serious questions of him. There are very few (if any) players in the squad that are irreplaceable and perhaps some of them need to realise that - as many have said, we have no right to win any game but as supporters we have the right to expect the players and management to give their all and dare I say show some professionalism. On the evidence of the last 2 games and the apparent lack of a proper pre-season, this is clearly not happening at the moment and a serious shake-up is required.

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Aye, but there's being ambitious and then there's being plain stupid when the team slips up. There's a difference.

 

I don't think there's anyone on this forum who doesn't think we should have won that tie, but all that some of us are saying is that not winning it isn't a reason to completely dismiss the accomplishments of the team over recent seasons, call the players losers and want the manager sacked.

 

Did you read the quote I was responding to? It was nothing to do with the game last night or last week. It was an ideal example of an attitude that permeates through the club from the top level to the support. Last night and last week was merely the latest symptom of it.

 

It runs way deeper than a game, or a cup competition, or an approach to a particular type of situation.

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I'm not as concerned about what is said as I am about what happens off the back of this shambles. The whole squad needs a serious wake-up call and the manager needs to lead in that respect... unfortunately there is nobody at the club capable / willing to ask serious questions of him. There are very few (if any) players in the squad that are irreplaceable and perhaps some of them need to realise that - as many have said, we have no right to win any game but as supporters we have the right to expect the players and management to give their all and dare I say show some professionalism. On the evidence of the last 2 games and the apparent lack of a proper pre-season, this is clearly not happening at the moment and a serious shake-up is required.

Quick question, have we seen other Scottish clubs caught cold coming into European football before the season starts proper? I think we have.

 

That doesn't excuse the performance, but it does play a part. You can play as many friendlies and bounce games as you want, but when you're playing against a side who are flying domestically and who already have something like ten games under their belt it's going to be a factor.

 

That's not the entire reason why we lost, of course, but it no doubt plays a part.

 

I have no doubt that McCall will have told the players exactly what he thought of them after the game. Most of them probably already knew that they'd let themselves, the club and the support down badly. Just because he isn't throwing the players to the wolves in the media doesn't mean he's not having words in private.

 

As I've said before, if we're still performing below par 8-10 games into the league campaign then we can start worrying.

 

Did you read the quote I was responding to? It was nothing to do with the game last night or last week. It was an ideal example of an attitude that permeates through the club from the top level to the support. Last night and last week was merely the latest symptom of it.

 

It runs way deeper than a game, or a cup competition, or an approach to a particular type of situation.

An example of an attitude? Judging by how we've done overall in recent years I don't think there's much wrong with our attitude to be honest. Aye, we lose the odd game here & there and there's definitely something to be looked into in that respect, but i'm not buying this idea that there's some sort of attitude problem running through the club.

 

We've been a winning club the past few years, so despite the tendency for some of our fans to lose the place after one or two losses I'm not going to be pressing the emergency button before the league even starts.

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Okay then if you're not happy with the phrase attitude problem, call it an inferiority complex or a fear of talking ourselves and our players up.

 

We, as a club, are afraid to say in public that we believe ourselves to be good, that we believe we are better than anyone else. That's a poison that permeates through every area....if you don't believe you're great, then you won't be. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. Certainly for as long as we've been good.

 

Even two years ago when...let's not beat about the bush, we were a fantastic side that no-one in this league could touch over the course of a season, with players that every single other side would have taken in a heartbeat....we still have people like that above saying "we had players that wouldn't get a game for anyone else"

 

It's utter, utter nonsense and it's time we found a little bit of arrogance and a little bit of swagger.

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Quick question, have we seen other Scottish clubs caught cold coming into European football before the season starts proper? I think we have.

 

That doesn't excuse the performance, but it does play a part. You can play as many friendlies and bounce games as you want, but when you're playing against a side who are flying domestically and who already have something like ten games under their belt it's going to be a factor.

 

That's not the entire reason why we lost, of course, but it no doubt plays a part.

 

I have no doubt that McCall will have told the players exactly what he thought of them after the game. Most of them probably already knew that they'd let themselves, the club and the support down badly. Just because he isn't throwing the players to the wolves in the media doesn't mean he's not having words in private.

 

As I've said before, if we're still performing below par 8-10 games into the league campaign then we can start worrying.

 

 

An example of an attitude? Judging by how we've done overall in recent years I don't think there's much wrong with our attitude to be honest. Aye, we lose the odd game here & there and there's definitely something to be looked into in that respect, but i'm not buying this idea that there's some sort of attitude problem running through the club.

 

We've been a winning club the past few years, so despite the tendency for some of our fans to lose the place after one or two losses I'm not going to be pressing the emergency button before the league even starts.

 

 

I think the point Al is making is that we have been a winning team for years but some people still point back to the 'dark days' when we were fighting relegation and suggest that we should just accept one high profile embarrassment after another because we're only wee sh**ty Motherwell. Continually accepting failure does nothing to stop it happening again.

 

I appreciate that you are firmly in the 'happy clapper' club but for a professional team to lose over 2 legs to a team as poor as Stjarnan with a decent prize at stake is unacceptable. As with everything, you can make excuses if you try hard enough but I prefer to call a spade a spade and it would be refreshing if McCall and the team adopted that approach too!

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I think the point Al is making is that we have been a winning team for years but some people still point back to the 'dark days' when we were fighting relegation and suggest that we should just accept one high profile embarrassment after another because we're only wee sh**ty Motherwell. Continually accepting failure does nothing to stop it happening again.

 

I appreciate that you are firmly in the 'happy clapper' club but for a professional team to lose over 2 legs to a team as poor as Stjarnan with a decent prize at stake is unacceptable. As with everything, you can make excuses if you try hard enough but I prefer to call a spade a spade and it would be refreshing if McCall and the team adopted that approach too!

Can you point out where these "high profile embarrassments" are? In cup play I can see our losses to Stjarnan and Albion Rovers as somewhat questionable. Probably the Rovers result more than the Stjarnan result to be honest.

 

Who else have we lost to that could be considered "embarrassing"?

 

And away you go with the "happy clapper" shite.

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See, this is the kind of self-defeating nonsense that drips from every single area of our club from top to bottom. It's why our approach to much of the sport is left wanting, and it's a massive factor in why we never win in the transfer market.

 

2 seasons ago, every single one of our starting 11(and a few of our bench) would have strolled into the starting lineup of every single other side in the league bar Celtic. And in saying that, a few of them would have done a job at Parkhead.

 

But for some reason, our club from top to bottom, and our fanbase for the most part, are too afraid to talk like that because "I remember when we got relegated once" or "anything more than top-6 is a bonus".

 

How long do you have to punch above your weight, before that then becomes your weight? Are Swansea punching above their weight because they have fans that can remember Lee Trundle backheeling shots from the halfway line in the Conference? Or do they adapt their attitude to the present, regardless of whether that is up or down.

 

There's a reason why the truly successful examples in sport tend to be multiple winners of things...because when they are successful once, they raise their own bar, and that becomes their new standard. They strive for excellence. When we get any kind of relative success we wet our pants trying to not let go of our wee safe old comfortable bar.

 

Being better than you used to be and refusing to move your standards upwards accordingly, is just as criminal as being worse than you used to be and not understanding why you don't win everything anymore.

 

Post of the week. 100% spot on.

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why? What do you want them to say? That they're sorry and that McCall will come round the house of each person who attended the home leg to personally apologise? That the whole team is pish and the fans should come down to Fir park with their plane & hotel tickets for a refund?

 

They lost a game of football. It happens. I don't understand what you're wanting? They've said it was a gutting result, but that it's onwards & upwards. What else can they say?

 

Don't know who you are David. But I like your sensible responses. Makes a difference to some other more extreme reactions. Hard to argue with most of what you say !

 

 

 

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the rangers defeat was embarrassing

You think so?

 

Losing away to what is still the 2nd biggest club in Scottish football? A club that had spent more on David Templeton than we've spent on our collective transfer fees in years? A club that was still signing players we could never afford to contracts that we could only dream of offering? A club that could most likely sign away our best players without much trouble?

 

Aye, that's embarrassing right enough.

 

Don't know who you are David. But I like your sensible responses. Makes a difference to some other more extreme reactions. Hard to argue with most of what you say !

I'm just a guy who's been around long enough to know what being embarrassed as a Motherwell fan actually feels like, and knows when he sees a Motherwell team that is small-time with a losers mentality being managed by a "poor manager"! :lol:

 

For the record, this current team is far from embarrassing, doesn't have a losers mentality, and isn't being led by a poor manager.

 

We slipped up over two games against a lesser side, that's true. There were mitigating circumstances such as fitness and odd penalty decisions, but as McCall said, it's a game we should have won.

 

We didn't though, and now it's onwards to the league campaign.

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Can you point out where these "high profile embarrassments" are? In cup play I can see our losses to Stjarnan and Albion Rovers as somewhat questionable. Probably the Rovers result more than the Stjarnan result to be honest.

 

Who else have we lost to that could be considered "embarrassing"?

 

And away you go with the "happy clapper" shite.

 

 

"Somewhat questionable"?! You really can't be serious with that chat!

You can add the Rangers game and the home cup game against 10 man Aberdeen to the list. If you want to look at the league, the 3 pumpings from Dundee United were pretty bad too.

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You think so?

 

Losing away to what is still the 2nd biggest club in Scottish football? A club that had spent more on David Templeton than we've spent on our collective transfer fees in years? A club that was still signing players we could never afford to contracts that we could only dream of offering? A club that could most likely sign away our best players without much trouble?

 

Aye, that's embarrassing right enough.

 

 

I'm just a guy who's been around long enough to know what being embarrassed as a Motherwell fan actually feels like, and knows when he sees a Motherwell team that is small-time with a losers mentality being managed by a "poor manager"! :lol:

 

For the record, this current team is far from embarrassing, doesn't have a losers mentality, and isn't being led by a poor manager.

 

We slipped up over two games against a lesser side, that's true. There were mitigating circumstances such as fitness and odd penalty decisions, but as McCall said, it's a game we should have won.

 

We didn't though, and now it's onwards to the league campaign.

 

They were utter shite and every SPL team in the land fucked them over with ease. We shat the bed big time and I still rate it as our worst result in the last few years.

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"Somewhat questionable"?! You really can't be serious with that chat!

Aye, the Rovers game was a disaster, I'll give you that! :lol:

 

You can add the Rangers game and the home cup game against 10 man Aberdeen to the list. If you want to look at the league, the 3 pumpings from Dundee United were pretty bad too.

The Rangers game I've already discussed, and the Aberdeen game was unfortunate, but again, it happens. We were playing a team who have been pretty even with us over recent seasons. Shit happens. It wasn't good, it felt shit but you move on.

 

That's the way cup games go, right?

 

As for the league games, I'm more than happy with how things have turned out in that respect. Would you trade those United results for their league position?

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You think so?

 

Losing away to what is still the 2nd biggest club in Scottish football? A club that had spent more on David Templeton than we've spent on our collective transfer fees in years? A club that was still signing players we could never afford to contracts that we could only dream of offering? A club that could most likely sign away our best players without much trouble?

 

Aye, that's embarrassing right enough.

 

 

 

Inverness showed just how embarrassing it was going to Ibrox in the next round and scudding them 3-0 at a canter.

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Inverness showed just how embarrassing it was going to Ibrox in the next round and scudding them 3-0 at a canter.

How did we do against Inverness that season? Oh aye, that's right, we thumped them 4-1, 5-1 & 3-0 that season. The whole "well, look what so & so did to them after they beat us" chat is ridiculous.

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