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The bigger picture is Rangers and Celtic will never field poorer teams than this season and we are better than any other team in the league if we field our strongest eleven. Load management? Hectic schedule? We never played a match for weeks. The whole point of this season is we'll never have a better chance to win a trophy and we've fucked it with a very poor performance against St. Mirren and a crazy selection by the manager for this match. Obviously Askou has done great things but he's not infallible and he got this completely wrong. Trying to make out like there is some mysterious greater purpose to the season that we mere mortal don't understand is just feeble apologia.

I have seen lots of posts like this tonight. The game was massively effected by the red cards, we spent most of the first half trying to adjust to their 11 men and then the last 10 trying to force our way back into the game, there was no rhythm to it due to this. Then JBAs game plan is effected straight after kick off in the 2nd. If it was 11-11 all night and he played poor then fair enough, but throwing players under the bus based on what happened tonight is really unfair in my opinion.

Its a disgrace that they get away with it Dave, the SFA, police Scotland the Scottish government and both of the ugly sisters are culpable yet do nothing. Last year we had people being arrested for wearing T shirts supporting palestinian organisations, the police said were proscribed terrorist groups etc. Yet every week we have thousands singing thr praises of the IRA, UDA, up to their knees in f****n blood etc and feck all gets done, the two of them are Scotlands shame.

Following the match online, I found myself in a bit of a dilemma. I would be beyond myself on every level measurable if we were to win the league but am realistic enough to realize that this is highly improbable., I lived in Edinburgh for most of my life so have a well merited dislike of Hearts. I have no real liking for St Mirren either when it comes down to it. I really detest the Old Firm. As such, I am prepared to accept the possibility of Hearts winning the league as being better than either of the bigot brothers doing so, especially as I now live on the other side of the world from Edinburgh. As such, Hearts losing is, from my original perspective, a poor result. This quandary has caused me to pause and consider ultimately what would be a good result for us tomorrow. I originally felt that a win would be fantastic and a draw, away from home against an improving Dundee side, would be acceptable in the circumstances. However, having taken the opportunity to delve deeply into my soul, I have come to the only logical and reasonable conclusion that only a win for us will do. It is not for any personal hope that I may revel in the glory of my team's success, or any misguided idea that their victory will make me, in any way, a better person. I am saying this because I honestly think that this Motherwell side winning the league will be a universally good thing. I believe that us winning the league will be a win for the good guys. The little guys who play by the rules and play the game the way it should be played. As such, I can claim with all honesty, sincerity and altruistically that a win for Motherwell is a win for football, a win for Scotland, and, in these dark and troubled days, a win for the whole of mankind. Too much?

Does that include Calum Ward as a spectator? 😂

You’ve obviously not been listening to the manager… ‘load management’ is often mentioned. Given hectic schedule, I was comfortable with changes. We get it, an opportunity missed. A lot of variables went against us tonight. ‘All on Jens’ and questioning Matty Connolly’s inclusion is quite the stretch. Maybe some should look at the bigger picture…

I think it’s a bit hard to blame the team selection when the game plan goes out the window after two minutes. We don’t know if it was going to work. Connelly other than that one mistake with the pass was excellent tonight. Once it goes to 10-10 we looked like we were getting back into the game and then the second red which to me was just mental. He wasn’t the last man and has two covering defenders ahead of the striker. It’s a really odd decision, similar to the Celtic one earlier in the season that was also not a red. Game is done once we go down to 9, but we still created a few chances. I agree you maybe go with your best side, but we could still have gone down to 9 with that team too. Hard to criticise team selection based on the way the game went.

We were discussing this in the pub around Christmas time, given an out and out centre forward is maybe the one piece missing from this team, which Motherwell striker of the past would complete this team...? In terms of the last 40 years, my answer to this question is always Tommy Coyne irrespective of style of team. However in this case, I think it's doubly true. Coyne's intelligent runs with Watt, Slattery and Just feeding him...? Good god...

Steven McLean is horrific Absolute weapon

The quicker we get shot of Halliday the better if I was a manager I would not be wanting my players sat actively celebrating other teams in our leagues goals don't care wither they are a fan or not and slating other teams players on their podcast. Now he's talking valuations of his own teams best players. It's a shame cos he seems like a good guy around the dressing room but his social media stuff draws unnecessary headlines for the club.

Easy solution is for all the diddy clubs to take a leaf out of the Arsecheeks' book and refuse to play in game where David Dickinson is refereeing Rangers

He’s been getting really good write ups and has started their past 3 games. Absolutely delighted for the lad….. who’d have thought a young guy would have needed a little bit of time to settle playing abroad?? Crazy eh!! last month we had Celtic and rangers fans saying he was rubbish and they dodged a bullet buying him. Give it a few months and it’ll be a “no brainer” for them to sign him. i sat in work yesterday and listened to 3 rangers fans tell me that £3m is a fair price for them to get Maswanhise and we should sell him and cash in??? Fk off and pay your face painter you inbred mongrels.

Aye, I'm sure MON will be on the phone saying "what do you mean you reject my bid? I heard on a podcast you only wanted 3 million!"

When in the same breath he’s saying about Bowie being worth £6.5m….. get yersel to fk Andy. When both of those poisons have recently bought Idah for £9m and Chermiti for £9m and TJ quoted for £3m utter baws!!

You summarised pretty much what I have been thinking since last night. Some of the reaction to our defeat has been difficult to believe, given the amazing transformation in our style which had been achieved by both manager and players working in unison this season. Maybe some posters should find something else to do with their Saturdays if they are so disenchanted with and critical of the team they claim to support after a freak result in a game with so many refereeing "inconsistencies" and played on a poor playing surface whose condition should have been taken into account by any sensible referee/VAR team at the first and crucial sending-off. IMO, the last time we played football of such quality was the era of the Ancell Babes. We had (from memory) six full internationals in the team but won nothing because our attacking philosophy neglected the more practical/cynical aspects of the game. People who saw that team still talk about it, whether they supported MFC or not. Frankly, I wouldn't swap watching MFC for St Mirren this season, despite their winning the League Cup. I've had enough of the eye-bleeding football inflicted on us by various recent Motherwell managers, thanks very much. I'll be interested to see how JBA plans our recovery from a disappointed night so I look forward to the rest of the season. Let's get behind the team and management and see where they take us. And smile, we could be Arsenal fans 😱.

I find it difficult to know where to start when reading the comments of the last 24 hours. One thing is for certain, all the good will that has been built up over the last 6 months seems to have been tested very quickly. We can talk about a special bond between manager, players and supporters all we like but when all it takes is an accidental slip on a slick Pittodrie surface to show the cracks in the supports patience then it is clear that there is no special bond. We are not any different from any other support in the country. Nobody knows if the team selection would have worked last night. Going down to 10 men after 3 minutes changes the game completely. We played with a man short for 3/4 of the game and probably still looked like the better team. The attitude of the players was fantastic. We cannot expect that the same starting 11 play ever game. Watt is coming back from injury. Slattery has looked tired in recent games. I find the energy that Just manages to put in game after game quite remarkable . The modern game requires some squad rotation. JBA has always been clear about that. Anybody expecting that we just turn up to a Scottish Cup tie away to Aberdeen and walk away with a simple victory are displaying OF levels of delusion. We can talk all we like about building a platform for the future, building a playing style and identity, a new way of looking at the game in Scotland. What the last 24 hours has shown however, is all that really matters is the result and that even an exceptional manager like JBA has very little wriggle room to manoeuvre. It is disappointing but not surprising. The result will dictate if it is all sunshine or all shite after Saturday night. It's the way it always was and the way it always will be.

Maybe it's just me but last night does nothing to change the enjoyment I've got out of this season. Ultimately it takes more to winning a cup than just being good. You need a fair bit of luck as well which we clearly didn't have last night and we've not had in general for a while when it comes to things like the draw. It seems like for a good few seasons now all we've had, in both cups, is ties against a Premier League team, the recently relegated Premier League team or Morton. No trips to Auchinleck Talbot for us. Everyone needs to settle down a bit. We've had 2.5 bad games all season, it's just unfortunate (as much as it's a bit of a scunner) that 2 of them have been in the cups.

Knicker wetting in the extreme. Invest in pampers

Reimburse the fans for what?If you are implying that the team gave up and didnt try then you must be watching a different game from what i watched nine men where fighting for everything.

Far too many needless changes made yet AGAIN in a Cup tie. Previous Motherwell managers have made that mistake and been punished for it and JBA deserves criticism for it too. You play your strongest team in the Cup. To do otherwise is just plain stupidity or even arrogance. The Cups are the only competitions we can win, we are not winning the league, so why we continually fail to go hell for leather in cup games under numerous managers is beyond me.

Thanks for letting us know ‘cause I was stumped

1 down, 12 games to win the league...

Maybe his new manager was trying to take the weight off his shoulders! 😍😍😍

I'd have Willie Watson in before those two.

Thats a question for a particular minister in the Scottish Government. Political pressure was brought to bear on the SPFL to apply strict liability for pyro abuse but they lack the backbone and political will to tackle sectarianism. Tonight's chanting was medieval and offensive but as usual, the media is complicit in concealing it.

The gaffer

I want the feeling I had after we totally humped Celtic 2-0.

Our transfer Windows are usually more miss than hit but our summer 2025 transfer window must be by far and away our best one ever. Considering that also included our new manager coming in who has been nothing short of exceptional and Wimmer's one and only signing also being superb it's hard to think how it can be beaten. To think we also managed to make our biggest ever sale and replace with a few players now worth over a £million in the squad it genuinely beggars belief how good that window has turned out to be. It should turn out to be genuinely transformational for our club and stand us in good stead for years to come. The board also deserve massive credit for this. Must be in contention for not just our but possibly even the league's best transfer window by a club?

I’m hoping we have this mindset. I’d like for us all to say goodbye to the “punching above our weight” chat. Or what Craigan said today about “we used to go to ibrox scared” p1sh. Statements hidden behind the banner of “being realistic”….. fk realism weve been in the top league for over 40yrs, we should have the attitude that we should be doing better and we should be winning cups. We are good enough to beat everyone else in this league this season…. Go in with the right attitude and we can win any game.

A detailed response, that backs up the old adage " if you want to know anyting in detail about Celtic, then ask a Rangers fan first"

Wow what an utterly pathetic response from our resident the rangers apologist. Ah but what about Celtic, blah blah blah. How dare we question a bias that has been going on for decades.

There were a lot of players who looked brutal under Kettlewell. A few of them are doing very well under Jens......

I don't really want to find out how we'll react to going behind I quite enjoy not conceding goals

Welsh confirmed

I don't understand what the all the worry about about players leaving it was never going to happen unless an obscene amount was offered to us. We are on a totally different path now look how the club dealt with Lennon Miller held our ground and got what we wanted. We are in such safe hands and thinking minds I am so chilled out about today we are not scrambling around signing utter dog toffee and hoping for the best.

What?the daily record.

Aye but Shaun McSkimming was a starter in the same league as Brian Laudrup

Does anyone know which section the young Well fans will be using, with their drum. Just asking so that I can avoid it if possible. Cheers.

Miller has already had more first team minutes than the vast majority of youngsters that the OF sign (and then loan out before the inevitable punting). It's rare to see a young Scottish player developing in either side. He did well to avoid them.

We had a God like forward line in the second half. Thor and Apollo 😀

It’s the BBC not very factual for facts 😆

You can see why Killie get so many red cards. They're not shy at leaving one in on every tackle.

I’d agree with this, if we could keep hold of this group then I really believe we can achieve so much. I don’t think any manager in Scotland in a long time has achieved what Jen’s has. Teams can go on winning runs, but for me it’s the consistency of our play and the ability rotate players into this system is unmatched. Also the signings have been outstanding. Example being Preistman who I think is a star in the making.

I don’t ever remember being as engaged with a Motherwell manager when he does his press conferences. Even our previous managers who had a wee bit of a personality (I think we’ve had a couple ) I wouldn’t have dreamt of sitting listening to their 10min presser. lovely to hear his resoluteness about how we don’t need to sell and his building of a better team and adding players. The guy is impeccable.

I’m not sure what JBA’s career plan is but I think it might be more in the direction of managing in EPL or mainland Europe rather than either of old firm teams. Now would Celtic be a stepping stone to help him on that path or a diversion? I think it’s more impressive doing what he’s done with Motherwell than doing anything with either of the uglies. Another season or two doing the same or improving us would be very impressive indeed, making us the Scottish Bodo Glimt. The club may have to have faith and invest some money in order to maintain what we have going just now. Nothing crazy but perhaps more than planned. The increase in crowd sizes is something I’ve not seen in all my years of supporting Motherwell. Finishing higher up the league means more money. Advancing in Europe would be more money. All not guaranteed but very possible from what we have seen in a very short space of time. I’m willing to bet if we can keep this going for next season, the season ticket sales will be thru the roof

Motherwell are the best team in the league, no one absolutely no one will convince we aren't. No team has dominated us in the league and no one has deserved to beat us. However sadly too many draws have killed us for the League title. Even the semi final I don't buy this pish it was a Robinson masterclass. St Mirren were just St Mirren they had 4 efforts on goal and scored all 4 we had 4 and scored with one. Even then we dominated possession and killed ourselves more than anything St Mirren did. We gifted them a 3rd that killed us otherwise they were sweating with 15 mins to go - inc extra time It could have been quite a landmark season but for a wee rub of the green.

Halliday has no influence on bids being offered or accepted anyway 🤷‍♂️

Absolutely raging at that Halliday on TJ and the only reason I can see is he's publicly low balled a valuation as the currants are interested. He has no right as a paid employee of the club to band about such pish. As for those staying oh it's still a lot of money, get a grip. You don't see other clubs drip feeding shite valuations of their players. Get that prick to fk out the club asap. Does he think noone on the press watches Open Goal?? There is no excuse to mention this. He can politely pass, but no he wants his puddle drinking mates to pick him up on the cheap. No ginger bottles allowed guys, sorry.

I wouldn't pay 400k for a cup tied Welsh. I rather look elsewhere. I'm sure there are central defenders who can pass a ball that we can pick up cheaper than that. As for Watt and JT, no need to sell in January and no indication they want to leave. If a Scottish club is interested, then the price goes up at least 50% - call it a tariff.

Just going to pop back over now to enjoy the tears