MFCL84

Agreed. I don't know if he is hacked off by not being used when he is generally in loads of space down the left, but for me he is just going through the motions.

Same thought is running through my head, but I'm not ready to commit to it just yet. We certainly need to learn how to hurt teams and relearn how to defend!

Well, that was a good night out. The sending off certainly helped, but I felt that it was justified at the time, and I've not changed my opinion having seen it on Sportscene. I felt that, for all the neat build up play, it was going to be a long night. The Utd. keeper made some smart saves and there was some poor finishing before big Seb put one away. Great technique and a lovely finish. We seemed to lose concentration a bit for 10 minutes after that and the game got a little too open, but settled again and took complete control. The possession stats must be very one sided, and the pass count must be off the charts. Once the second went in there was no way back for Utd. A wonderful goal in build up and execution from Lowry. He really is showing us what he is capable of. The third, by Levitt, was another neat bit of interplay and a tidy finish. I guess that I was a bit disappointed that the team then decided that 3 was enough and spent the remainder of the game controlling possession and conserving energy. Very understandable, but I would have liked them to go on and get another couple. Anyway, nothing much to complain about. A good time to be a Well fan.

Am lot of plaudits for Lowry tonight, and rightly so, he had a very good game. However, for me Joe Hodge gets MotM. He played things simple and very neat, while also being tenacious in the middle of the pitch.

That was a worrying performance. It was very disjointed. Defensively I've not seen us that bad in a very long time. St.Mirren found it very easy to get in behind and the aerial threat couldn't be dealt with. They also had greater pace throughout the team. Maybe a bit of tiredness across the squad, possibly mentally as much as physically. Body language was poor from a few, suggesting that they didn't have the desire to push themselves when the chips were down. Great finish from Kanga to get his Well career off to a flyer. An important point to pick up. If that game had been lost, it may have taken a very large toll on confidence. Very happy to save a point.

The ref has reached a new level of incompetence to be fair.

I do think that the pendulum on what is a foul these days has swung far too much. It seems that trips don't constitute a foul, and yet a simple touch on the back is. However, regardless of the circumstances leading up to the St.Mirren goals, the defending has been particularly poor.

Extremely slack in defence. St.Mirren will score every time they go forward. Can't win any ball that is in the air, not solid in the tackle on the ground and no urgency to get out when clearing our lines. O'Donnell needs to be introduced to get some leadership and urgency into the team.

Total collapse! This is going to be embarrassing.

That was a great effort by the team tonight. Sure, Freiburg are a far better side physically and technically, but the boys dug in, and until the sending off, they were holding their own. If we had continued with 11 on the pitch in both legs, who knows what would have transpired. A great experience being at the game tonight and thanks go to the team for their effort. Let's do it all again next year. COYW

Already in Basel. Out to Freiburg tomorrow.

I'd start Hodge and swap to Whyte when he inevitably runs out of gas. Other than, I agree with that starting 11.

That presser by AJ was brilliant. He set the record straight for the press and the fans. I was one to criticise the starting 11 on Sunday, even though I realised that there were injuries and players that had played a lot of games. However, after AJ presser today, I understand why he started the team that he did. Also, singling out the younger players and the specific criticisms, explaining that their earlier euro performances were good enough to instill confidence, and that he still has confidence in them, will surely help them. I was hugely impressed by AJ's response. He appears to have rral strength and belief in his approach and ability to do the right thing for the players and the club. He is already showing that he'll be a great manager. We all need to put Sunday behind us and give the team and staff our maximum tomorrow. COYW!

Matty did nothing wrong.

I don't think that the schedule has anything to do with it, at least regarding Williams; he only played a few games before getting crocked. I hadn't heard the Priestman news, what happened there?

Yes, I'm sure we will. I'm raging right now, but I'll be right behind the team and manager on Thursday. I understand why the team today was what it was. I still believe in the system and the project. AJ is human. He misjudged the opposition and our own player's quality. We lost, we'll get over it, we lose every year. It is just a bitter pill to swallow right now. Especially when AJ fed us the importance of cup competitions to us in his pre-match presser.

It is never as straightforward as that. The Helsinki night was magical, and on its own would easily be better than a result against Stenhousemuir. The thing is not only the opposition, but the competition. A reasonable opportunity of silverware has been passed up by doing a risk assessment and getting it wrong. You could easily spin the question around and say, if we had won today and went on to a Hampden final, or even won the competition, would you have preferred that or a win over Helsinki? The bottom line is that Motherwell lost today because there was a misjudgement of the quality of our fringe players and the quality and application of the opposition. We want to win as many as possible, not trade off one competition against another.

Part of my disappointment about today is in the way that we played. We allowed an industrial team, full of energy and determination to completely control the game. We had possession, but in the wrong areas, we hit a lot of pointless long balls, made no real chances and had every few attempts on goal in 120 mins. Because both Fadinger and Priestman were out, there was really no midfield play linking to the forwards. It was a very disjointed performance. It was clear from very early in the game that it wasn't going to work. Stenhousemuir's energy and desire to work for each other and their want to win, completely eclipsed the Motherwell effort today.

I think that is a bit unfair. It is far too early to make a judgement on Booth. The manager seems to rate him, but he needs to bulk up and mature. He needs a loan spell. It is also early to assess Vogt. I agree that his performances to date have been largely, at best, anonymous or worse. He needs to do much more, but he is away from home, trying to settle into a new team, a new style and a higher standard of football. I'll give him a bit more time. Ross, doesn't look like he'll make it, and Wilson has had about 100 games over the years, it looks like his chance has gone.

To cut AJ some slack, I would have started Connelly, Wilson, Hodge and Whyte today. However, I would have had either Fadinger or Priestman on from the start and switch at half time. I'd also have had Johnny K play in place of Ross for at least 45.

Yeah, again, we have pretended that we are a big club, playing our 2nd string and they are not good enough. We have been dreadful today and AJ has to learn from it. We've thrown away a competition in which we would have a great chance of winning. Lack of respect for the competition and the opposition. Fuming about that.

Game over, we are out!

That is a strange substitution. AJ seems determined that the boys club is going to finish this game.

Lowry has to do better there. Free hit from 18 yards flies over by about 20ft.

As the game goes on we are getting progressively worse. Our front line is a completely inept set. Vogt appears uninterested and frankly, on showings so far, useless. RCC has been anonymous. When he has been on the ball he has been slow and laboured and Mikey Booth is too lightweight and not yet ready for the 1st team. This is beginning to look like a chance missed.