numpty

Slightly harsh on the crossing front, Ainsworth did put a few good balls into dangerous areas in the first half (though admittedly not always somebody in those areas, so arguably still bad crosses) and one of them led to the corner that we scored from. The quality was certainly poorer in the second half, though. Hard to argue with anything else either, I'm always amazed especially when we come up against European teams at just how inept we are in comparison at simply passing the ball to each other.

Well, that and the fact it's pissing it down and it looks baltic.

Last weekend the papers were reporting it as a "small tear" which meant he'd be out for "another week", but not clear whether that meant they expected him to be back this weekend. Can't see any point risking it myself.

Yep. This is just the first year they've taken up their live match option, for some reason.

See, I'm the opposite. I read whatever I can find about Motherwell during the week, but barely glance at the stuff about other teams. So I don't really need to be reading stuff about Motherwell on the Saturday that I already know (e.g. yet another match report of previous game), but am quite happy to read stuff about our opponents that I don't.

Fair play indeed.

Yeah, would've been nice to see him on for the last ten minutes at Hampden once the (meaningless anyway) game was pretty much safe. With the focus turning to the next qualifying campaign now, I can't imagine he'll get another chance.

I'd imagine so, he only played the second half against Romania.

Yep…

Doesn't really matter that we're top I suppose, but the table certainly mattered the year it won us a European spot.

Somebody is a doubt with a hamstring injury, but McCall's not saying who: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/motherwell-boss-stuart-mccall-keeping-2311777?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

1100 'Well fans according to the 'fishel Twitter.

Tom Hateley signs short term deal at Tranmere: http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/tranmere-rovers/transfer-talk/news/hateley-signs-short-term-tranmere-contract_106243.html

There's nothing in the UEFA kit regs I can see that says you can't have a hoop, just that there needs to be a certain amount of clear space around the number on the back (Section 10). I suppose that space would break the hoop in our case so you could argue about whether it was technically still a hoop But it could certainly still be visible on the back. I'd imagine the hoop would have to be printed rather than a separate panel to make that sort of design, though, which not everyone might like.

Frankly, I'm far too old to care who makes our strip or what it looks like. All I care about is who's wearing it.

Frankly, it doesn't matter. The offence is "entering or attempting to enter the stadium" with them.

I fully support their efforts to do that, and I wasn't there so obviously don't know exactly what went down. But surely by now they know better than to do it without taking prohibited items into the stadium, if they did indeed take smoke bombs in.

Yes, banned items include "any article or substance whose main purpose is the emission of a flare for purposes of illuminating or signalling or the emission of smoke or a visible gas".

'Flow saying on Twitter that today is "likely to be a super mad busy day", so fingers crossed for at least one signing!

It's fair in that everyone has the same chance of facing a great team or a diddy team. Football is meant to be unpredictable and exciting. And the millions doled out in the later rounds is part of the problem.

McCall all but ruled him out a few days ago anyway, because he was told he didn't really want to play out-and-out right wing.

Suits me... I'll take a striker that does nothing in a game other than the score the winner any day of the week

Because there's a fair chance you're not going to develop much further as a player (or in any job) by doing the same thing week in, week out at the same club against the same opponents? He was very consistent in his time with us, which is a great asset in itself, but he rarely looked like he was about to step up to the next level. (If, indeed, he's capable of doing so at all.)

Last season, aye. I'm thinking more a few years back, when they weren't as decent an SPL outfit as they've become now, but still fairly regularly seemed to dig out annoying one or two goal wins against us.