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I'm ever the optimist and usually one of the last to be critical but I've been to all 5 competitive games this season and there's something quite worrying about what I've seen. So much so, I've decided to use bullet points: I have absolutely no problem with 'hoof-ball' if it's effective (season 2013-2014) , but the reality is for long spells we seem to be persevering with a tactic that simply doesn't work. The first 45 today was as painful to watch as any I've seen in recent years. The 50/50 toss up when we punt it might be a gamble worth taking, but when we did get it up the pitch we didn't know what to do with the ball. Yes we are missing a few key players, but we've still had the core group playing and individually the performances have been poor. When we have the ball we don't look like we know what the plan is. No one knows where the runners are and I can't see a single effective partnership on the pitch. There is absolutely no fluency to our play. Last years spirit and energy is gone. We always looked like the fittest and strongest team on the park and it earned us a reputation last season. I won't question the players attitudes but we don't look like we're playing with the same heart. Robinson's management of Bigi is just bizarre. To give him zero game time in the cup then bring him on to change a game against Premiership opposition is baffling. Jury's obviously still out on the new signings but Gorrin and Johnson look like useful additions. I do however share the fear of others that they'll be the ones who play a bit-part in Robinsons plans. I certainly think we have the players to put in performances far better than we've seen so far, I just hope Robinson finds a way of getting them all back operating at a decent level otherwise we could be in for a difficult season ahead.

FFS it's a bad game 1 and the pant wetting from the usual suspects is at Tsunami levels, injuries to key players, selling defenders and starting the season away to a very good free scoring team what do people expect. So we are bottom after game 1 if it the same story in January then panic, but for now wring yer knickers out and calm down.

Think everyone needs to calm down just a wee bit.

I love it on this forum when you are critical of a shite performance and you automatically become a pant wetter (and vice versa) Today isnt a knee jerk, its game 5 of the season and we are still utterly pish, hopefully we come good and today was just a blip. The issues we had last season however, have not been addressed and our recruitment has looked decidedly shaky so far. But the most annoying thing is this pish about the likes of Hartley not being fit. Robbo made a big thing of early recruitment and (I think) everyone has had a warm weather training camp, several weeks of pre season, 3 friendlies and 4 competetive games. Hartley was out a while aye, but was fit enough to bench in the cup final which means he was capable of at the very least light training back in May. These guys are meant to be fucking professional so if they arent fit enough after several games and 6 weeks training its on either them or the management. Enough of this "not match fit" bullshit please!!

I'm not worried about the result today - was always going to be a big ask given the state of available players. I should know better by now, but it annoys the crap out of me that Frear didn't start. He was consistently our most creative player in the League Cup group. All this earning right to play football is just BS. Can you imagine Tommy McLean leaving Davie Cooper and Bobby Russell on the bench until we were 2 or 3 goals down because we hadn't earned the right to play them yet? Doubly annoying against a team like Hibs who give you the space to play some football. Playing football and getting 2 or 3 (or even 1) goal ahead earns you the right to shut the game down. Not the other way around.

A tough first game of the season. With the exception of Livingston, we had the hardest tie of the first weekend. For all the columns of debate being taken up in the press arguing about who will finish second between Rangers and Aberdeen, my money would be on Hibs to finish second this season. Good manager who has assembled a good squad. Away points are going to be hard to come by against any of the city teams this season so I suspect that todays result may be a taster of things to come. My feeling is that we are fighting for sixth and actually if Killie can keep Steve Clarke, and keep Kris Boyd fit for the season, I think they will have sixth sown up. That leaves the rest, 7-12. Robinson has assembled a squad to fight this battle. It will be the games against these teams that will define our season. Sadly for me the difference may be this season that we don't have a squad with quite the same drive and determination as last season. If guys like Main don't buy into the cause (and there are signs already that he may not be) then the spark that gave us the edge over the bottom six last season could vanish. Robinson did an outstanding job last season but I fear that he may be running out of ideas. With one of the smallest budgets in the league it is little wonder that he is resorting to bringing in the type of player that served him well last season but without the intensity that brought success last season I fear that the squad does not have the quality required to match last seasons achievements. I wish him well because he has a touch job ahead of him. Like everybody else I would like our style of play to improve and like everyone else I hope that the quality we need may come from Bigi but I fear that there is a reason why he does not start games that runs deeper than Robinson's preferred style of play. It is the first game of the season but there was enough evidence in the league cup games to suggest that the team is struggling at this moment in time. It can all change ofcourse but I am not sure where the spark is going to come from. I hope that our next signing will be the one that sparks the team into life but with the money that Robinson will have to spend I do not know where that player will come from.

Johnson seems to have improved our attack a little at least.

One pish free kick aside his distribution has been ten times better than anything in the first half. Give me Bigi over Liam fucking Grimshaw any day of the week.

Get a feckin grip its the first game of the season away to Hibs who were good last year. Please report back once u have seen us at three home and three away games .

Can't play a pass but we're revolutionising sub warm ups.

It was not good today. No doubts about it. But I will agree with Robinson and say there was not much in it until they scored. And what a surprise 1st shot on target = 1 goal. 2nd shot on target = 2 goals. Just for once it would be refreshing if a team needed a few shots to score a goal. Would need to see the Hartley handball for the free kick again. Might have been harsh but so was the Johnson goal imho. Madden cannot what to blow his whistle. Wonder if either free kick would have been given at Ibrox against Rangers...... We would have struggled v Hibs with a full team inc Campbell, Dunne, Kipre and Bowman. But without them we were too weak. Main talks a good game and was very effective second half last season - but so far this he has been utter pants. Only bright spot today was Johnson. Yes Hibs has downed tools a little but he could have scored 3 or 4 goals and was unlucky not to have scored two - hitting the post and the disallowed one. He should start next week. Did more in 20 or so minutes than the 2 other strikers combined. It is going to be a tough season ahead and we will probably finish 7th at best imho -but with our budget is that really a surprise. I am worried - but I will at least wait for a few more games before I go pissing my pants like the usual suspects. But they cannot help themselves. And it is not about not being able to voice concern or be critical. I can guarantee which posters will go into full panic mode after 1 league game - no surprises.....

Pretty simple for me, to play a system you need to have the players for it. I like 3-5-2 but without two quick wingbacks and a balanced middle 3 it doesn’t work Bigi, Johnson, Gorrin and frear the better performers in pre season so you need to play the system that allows them to feature

Even though he only played for 30 mins I voted for Johnson, which says everything about how the rest of the team played. Bigi the only other player to get pass marks in my opinion.

That’s what I love about this forum. Your not allowed an opinion or you either a pant wetter or a happy clapper etc. I think it’s clear already from the 4 cup games and now the league game a lot of our deficiencies and failings from last year hasn’t changed or improved. Robinson wanted to improve the 12-19, has he done that?? Jury out for me. For example, Gorrin is meant to be the midfield improvement but today Rose, Grimshaw and Bigi all got on before him.

See if you are going to come out with pish, at least get your facts right........Robinson has never managed Carlisle!

Telt ye...

Im not being funny but I dont want Robinson to get a penny of the Kipre cash! Id rather wait till we sack him and spend it on a couple players actually capable of passing a football. Robbo is a 1 trick pony, if he is allowed to sign more players were gonna pish money away on another couple of "robust" cloggers And before anyone starts, Im not saying sack Robbo! But I do think he will be found out this season and we will struggle badly. Id just rather keep our powder dry than spend the little cash we have on another 6 foot clogger to hoof the ball up the park

Because it’s Bobby Madden..... guy is a cunt of the highest order.

should've played a libero

In a few years time we'll look back at this summer as a massive massive error.

Robbos a one trick pony who will be found out big time this season.

Link here: https://www.vipbox.live/hibernian-vs-motherwell-2-live Picture is great, sound is not too bad

If anyone reads my posts from last season, it's obvious I'm in the "want to play more football camp". I'm also a realist, however, and understand it takes a few seasons to build a team. When Robinson took over, he had a mandate that included: - do not get relegated - get rid of the high earners - fix a defence that was leaking like Donald Trump's Whitehouse There's no doubt that he achieved all 3 of those. He also said he wanted to add pace and bulk to the defence. Again, something he achieved. The 2 Cup Finals were a bonus, and it was a smart piece of business to bring in transfer fee for Moult when he was available on a pre-contract for zilch. On top of all that, Alan Campbell became a first team regular, as did Kipré (who went on to make us a small wad of cash), and Cadden picked up a couple of international caps. The pitch contines to be the best in the league, and we have even replaced the old scoreboard. All of this being achieved while the club transitioned to full ownership by the Well Society. We definitely lacked depth last season. (I was at the Accies and Dundee games in December, so had first hand experience of how dire we were). For a club our size, that lack of depth could just as easily have put us in relegation trouble as miss out on a top 6 spot. Fortunately, it was the latter. So I completely understand the desire to add numbers. None of this prevents us from blooding youngsters this season - although, it's easy to forget just how young our squad is already. For me, it's far too soon to be making a final judegement on the quality of the players we have brought in. As I endlessly point out to the moaners, Dunne was a target of the experts this time last season and now they are all miserable because he is out for a few weeks. Johnson might be the natural finisher we need, and Rodriguez-Gorrin might be the first step towards having someone who can put their foot on the ball. I'm certainly prepared to wait and see. I still want us to be moving towards playing a more attractive style of football. That isn't an overnight process, though. When Wee Tommy was in charge we spent a few seasons parking the bus to make sure we avoioded relegation, before he was able to start bringing in better footballers and create a style that was winning us a Cup (and bulidng a team that wasn't too far away from a league title). Thistle and Dundee were the poster boys for bottom 6 "footballing" sides last season. One was relegated and one was nearly relegated. It's a difficult balance. And Dundee Utd were the poster boys for a recruitment model that many said we should follow. So I'm quite prepared to see how the first half of the season unfolds and re-assess the team and their progress after that. It's easy to forget that if Les hadn't stepped in and, not only provided a loan, but implemented a complete restructuring of the club, we might be talking about how we manage to avoid League One this season, and where we should play games after Fir Park was sold off. Are we where I'd like us to be? No. Are we better off than when Robinson took over? Undoubtedly. Are we heading in the right direction this season? Bring it on, and let's find out.

Fair play mate, that one was so off the mark that it did bring a smile- unintentionally or not.

Agree with a fair bit of what you say here. My one concern is that you feel hounded. This is the Internet, not real life. Any **** with a keyboard can add content and it is all just bs or insightfully brilliant at one and the same time my own input included. Do not let it get to you.

It does, but of course any kind of abuser is often perfectly charming to and around the people he or she isn't abusing, so other people saying "he's not a bully cos I never seen him do it" doesn't in itself make it any more or less likely that it happened.

I’ve been bullied in more than one job. The last one I raised concerns 3 times, as did colleagues who were also being bullied. Nothing changed. I left. I raised issues that I did not feel able to when I was there the week after I left. Not years later. I understand that given the age of the lad involved and the stuff going on at home for him at the time if he had concerns he might have felt unable to raise them then. But to wait until a significant time has passed and then voice them on twitter? That’s not the way to do it. It’s past history. It has nothing to do with Motherwell F.C. and it was done on a platform that gives Robinson no right of reply. He could have contacted the club privately. He doesn’t deserve any twitter abuse from anyone connected with this club. But he shouldn’t have done this to Robinson in this way. Nothing to do with mfc in my view. A twitter witch hunt as far as I’m concerned and totally inappropriate given the subject of the video. I’ve lost someone to suicide and the message has to get out there.