Happy Dosser

Agree. Scott is aggressive and getting stronger every match. Long still seems to be "adjusting" to the pace and rigours of the Scottish game.

"The free kick ("he gave away" presumably?) today was a shocker." A shocker? Really? From where I was in the POD I thought it was a 50-50 so we obviously have different views on it. I predict that, late or soon, Gallagher will be a POTS contender. Feel free to save that for next year. You're welcome!

Yes, cling to that and hug it ecstatically, in the dark watches of your night. I'm sure it will make you feel so much better. FWIW, at the time I thought it was a harsh free kick, as was his booking for a 50-50 tackle but in general the refereeing was just as expected today. If you can't see his defensive and linking abilities then perhaps your doors of perception are all rusted up.

Fwoarrrrrrrrrr!

Thanks for that. I prefer staying clear of blue or green for obvious reasons but that's just my opinion, despite blue being part of our history. To complicate matters, we seem to have ignored our C&A stripes, worn between the claret with amber yoke years and the traditional hoop (apart from the claret with amber candy stripes worn in our "Dortmund " season).

Am I right in thinking the petrol blue is a theoretical (i.e. guess?) shade based on trying to derive a colour from analysis of b&w photos of our pre WW1 blue strip? Love the white, could thole the black, otherwise, meh. Thanks for the groovy stylings.

Thanks, I didn't know that. Doubly tough on Scotland, then, with the penalty decisions also going against them. Perhaps there was a realisation that such interpretations would cause endless controversy at the top end of the professional game, where matches are always televised. What are the chances of finding "a complete" dick in the SFA or refereeing fraternity ?

Yes and I'm awaiting with interest the infringements by goalkeepers at penalties for bias towards the Ugly Sisters after the debacle with the Scotland Women's team. Prediction: same old, same old, possibly starting on Saturday at FP...….

Ooops! Jimmy played for Third Lanark (when he got his caps) and Dundee United afterwards. Just checked in the WRB. Bert Bell, author of "Still Seeing Red" would be raging. Oh, here's nursie coming with my nice medicine......

You used to be able to access footage on-line of an Accies V Motherwell game in 1928 (?) from the Scottish Film Archive. It had a lot of crowd shots of mainly men, of course, wearing shirts and ties and bunnets the width of soup plates (obviously the fashion at the time). Last time I tried to view it access seemed restricted. I remember in the 60s my father and I were at Douglas Park for an Accies game (v. Kilmarnock in the cup?) when he pointed out a man resplendent in Crombie coat and bowler hat (!). He was Jimmy Brownlie, Dundee and Scotland goalkeeper, who I think lived locally at the time.

Wee numbers, bunnets……. Different world.

You expressed my feelings better than I did there: spot on as far as I'm concerned. You also composed the first sentence in English which has included the words "Airdrie" and "Boca". Andy_P is right about the pressures of commercialism but many clubs just make minimal changes to classic designs to give a fresh look each season. I remember the outrage when Hearts attempted an Ajax-style maroon central stripe on a white background. They reverted to solid maroon after that. Thanks for reminding me of the Zoom jersey, Katie: not popular with me because of the use of blue and the voided band which just looked naff imo. My simple plan to #SaveOurHoop is 1. Win Euro lottery 2. Swack £25 million into the FP coffers on condition MFC wears the hoop and white shorts until I peg out. Problem solved: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! Sorry, I've taken that too far.

The club's attitude to the hoop has been strange. Both it and the club colours are almost unique in football (only Bradford City sport the latter and we copied them to avoid colour clashes) and yet there seems a reluctance to give it its place and develop it as a strong brand among the boring blues and reds many teams wear. I understand completely that the first strip you saw MFC play in will probably be the one you identify with most strongly. For me, you won't be surprised to hear my childhood team was the Ancell Babes, who played football on another level from the likes of Rangers and "Captain Cutlass" Shearer. However, if your first memory was hoopless Motherwell beating Spurs or Pettigrew and Graham playing in the sash strip and disposing of Celtic regularly home and away in the 70s, then you may not feel so strongly about the older jersey. There may even be some who get multiplied organisms remembering our (infamous or was it just me?) jester's strip but I would doubt it. Yet the club did produce a 125 anniversary jersey with full hoop (and white shorts) which we wore in a pre-season friendly against Everton and which there was talk of using as our strip that season, so maybe it hasn't quite given up on tradition yet. The longer the team goes without wearing it means of course it could fade from the memory, particularly as every year more and more auld yins fall off their perches, and in the end, many fans maybe don't give a flying fruit bat about what we wear as long as we win something. It's a funny old game, Saint.

Quite: my only concern this season is that Chick Young has tipped us to finish third, so we may well have to prepare for the play-offs .

A classic. Thanks for the memories.

Orgasmatronic. Would be even better with a Sampdoria sandwich-style one. Claret on top or amber? Decisions decisions.... #Save our hoop

I'm pretty sure we signed Ian St John from DWT. Willie Pettigrew was excellent for EK Thistle, where he played alongside the unforgettable Willie Ditchburn. I used to watch EKT occasionally if The 'Well had an away game I didn't fancy. Could never understand why Willie D. didn't get the Barcelona gig......

Utter bollox: it was Joe McBride who missed the penalty. Have auto-thrashed with birch twigs and had a stern word with myself.

Some great memories there. I remember a home game against Aberdeen when Dixie was on a hat-trick at the Taggart's End. So, like all the other wee kids, I positioned myself behind the goals and down at the dyke to get a great view. Unfortunately, Dixie blasted it straight at the Dons' goalie (Tubby Ogston?) and the game ended 2-2. I always thought Andy Weir looked really old, not realising at the time what he had gone through after his serious head injury and meningitis. No Charlie Aitken? I always looked for his blond head and expected him to score at corners.

For Fulham, I think. Goldie scoring against Mr Banks in a Stoke team boasting Mike Pejic and Jimmy Greenhoff?

1983 says ‘Well Again. We only wore that awful strip 82-4, according to HFK but I’m sure you know that already. During lulls in play at Shawfield Clyde-‘Well games I used to count the dog turds around the track. My Dear Old Dad joked it was the only ground you could kick a ball in Glasgow and score a goal in Lanarkshire, since it seemed to straddle the boundary.

Sorry, double checked in ‘Well Again and the second tie was 02 Feb.

Yes, I think you can glimpse the dog track beyond the wire fence at Shawfield. Your dates are quite right and it does look wintry.

Pull the plug, Motherwell, please. This deal has never felt right, from "Magnificent offer but we move on, you greedy boy" to "We really want you really and it's great you turned down a PL club for Ra Sellick". Yet Tierney, probs crocked by Rodgers' dubious training methods, is worth £25+ squillion. Never deal with shysters. I feel sorry for DT but I don't think his heart was ever in this piece of nonsense.