Happy Dosser

So many conflicting emotions after last night. I couldn't believe we went two up (and all down to TW) after a dire first half but equally couldn't believe how we blew it after that. It all started with a heavy Mugabi "pass" and a defence which was caught dossing big-style. I am beginning to think that Alexander, like McGhee, may enjoy stubbornly sticking to selections and formations just to prove the great unwashed wrong and himself right. As so many have said, a five-man midfield with Watt and The Flying Dutchman up front would reduce the chances of the opposition running through the middle at will and could produce more goals if the front two get some wide service. I felt Shields gradually grew into the game in the second half but I would have brought Van Veen on for the last 15 or so. Is the reason for him not starting a niggly injury or some problem with the manager? As for last night's refereeing, I can't improve on Kmacalpin's analysis. I await some linesman pulling up a Rangers or Celtic goalie for the same "infringement" as Kelly. Would he/she dare? Naw. Apart from the possibility of a legitimate humping from The Hens on Sunday, what chance do we have of any major decision going our way in any event? I hear their "penalty" against The Sheep was another of the ghost variety and quite incredible. Even ex-Ger Frosty Foster said so on Sportsound, having watched it ten times or so. GA's pre- and post-match comments are becoming as excruciating as Robbo's in his final months: deeds, not words, please. Can't say I'm looking forward to Sunday's match: the usual bad company in the ground and little prospect of success without a major rethink from the manager and some impartial refereeing. At the moment a radical reform of my sock drawer is looking a more satisfying option.

Good catch, rinkydink. Great interception by Bevis: got the ball cleanly. Far from Turnbull's knee being hurt, I saw him holding his ankle, perhaps because he went over on it a bit. No Celtic players made anything of the tackle, Big Bevis went over to see what the problem was and the two players shook hands. What a bunch of delusional whingers their support are, obsessed with victimhood.

"Ohara would be the better option !!!!! Did you watch him at Tynecastle chasing shadows and failing to make one challenge - reminded me of a mix of Shauan Fagan and Mark Fitzpatrick." And so Grimmy is the answer? Trouble is we are picking from a shallow pool/ basket of deplorables. Why is that and what do we do about it?

Well, I have to admit I almost believed GA in his ballsy pre-match interview that we had belief and would seek to exploit weaknesses in the opposition, who had lost three away games already, I think. Instead we sat off Celtic and conceded the initiative after about 15 minutes. Our three-man midfield was badly exposed with Slattery outnumbered and doomed to come second-best in every challenge while both Grimshaw and Goss (admittedly in his first start) were largely absent. If even I can see this, why can't the manager? I think Woollery is far from the answer because he doesn't know where/when to run and I'm presuming Van Veen was injured not to play from the start. Is Sondre also injured also or is there a problem with him in the manager's eyes? Admittedly, the midfield is the main problem area but I think O'Hara would have been better than Grimshaw. That said, a three was always in danger of being outgunned. Once again, even with Collum thankfully absent with his wee strain, the officials seem to have missed a clear penalty, although I was in the POD and only saw/heard the crowd reaction. A goal at that stage might have given us the momentum for a scrapy draw, because the Sellick defence is really shaky. Difficult games coming up so it's the time for the manager to have a major rethink, if he is capable of that.

They're not all like Laphroaig: other malts are available .

I'm pretty sure I heard Richard Gordon pre-match on Radio Shortbread saying Zander Clark should maybe be disappointed to be dropped and Liam Kelly retained in the squad. Nothing against Hairy Zander at all but maybe we should allow Richard and Willie Miller to nominate Aberdeen players more worthy of international duty? D'oh! Joe Lewis is English who poops his pants at Fir Park... Problem solved: select Jon McLaughlin as number 2 behind Craig Gordon. Keeps Hens listeners happy and listening figures up.

He and George Stevenson were the legendary 'Well left wing pairing in the early Thirties and the story is that Herbert Chapman, the Arsenal chairman, offered Sailor Hunter a blank cheque for the duo, which was refused. Unfortunately, Bobby was born in Sheffield of Scottish parents and so could not wear the dark blue as rules stood at the time. I actually worked with a man who had seen them play and watched the league-winning team as a very young boy. And so we go on......

Or half cut? Sorry, I'll stop now.

I thought the The Sheep's board would have seen through Glass by this time.

Having watched TW's goal a good few times, I love the deft touch he took to control the ball before blasting it home. It's obvious through these claret and amber specs that Grealish models himself on The Great Man.

I didn't get a close look at the O'Donnell decision but was he not penalised for encroaching on the field of play at the throw in? That would explain why RC were awarded the shy. The referee looked out of his depth. My lip reading isn't perfect but I think he shouted, "Shut it!" when Alexander made a comment about being booked: hardly the way to inspire respect from players or managers. Willie Collum's love-child?

Everyone I spoke to in the ground before the game was expecting a tough game and so it proved. After a great goal we created little and, as in the Dundee and Aberdeen games, conceded possession. I was expecting a late sickener winner for the visitors as in previous seasons but a little bit of quality saw us through in the end. We were reminded today, I think, that Grimshaw is back-up at best and KVV must be due a stormer at Tyney next week because he did nothing today. I'm presuming Goss is injured because I suspect he and Slattery would be a good combination in midfield. Once again, Lamie was excellent in central defence and his pass for TW to slot away convincingly was perfect. No chance to relax and enjoy the victory today but I suspect we're going to get a good few of these games at FP this season.

Yes, as a kid, I always looked for his blond hair at corners and expected him to score. Mind you, he often had Andy Weir taking them, and he was a magician who could even score directly from the flag. As far as Joe is concerned, his great talents have been admirably listed above but my last memory is of him standing a few rows back from me at the 2011 final and talking to the fans. He was Motherwell through and through. Good old Joe.

Enjoyed watching our goal again a few times: an intelligent free-kick onto Van Veen's chest by Kelly, great control by the striker, good running by O'Hara into space and a "stab" aka "toe-poke" (or any other dismissive term used by Hens with typewriters) by Woolery high into the net. By contrast, Rangers' "goal" was so far offside even the three ex-Rangers' players on BBC Shortbread admitted as much. Should be interesting against RC. I can't see them trying to come forward as much as Hibs, Dundee or Aberdeen to leave themselves vulnerable to counter-attacking , so it could be a surprisingly difficult game for us.

Ryan Bowman on target (geddit?) for Shrewsbury Town at the weekend and salvaged a point against Wednesday.

Possible scenario by 1650 tomorrow: 'Made it ma! Top of the World! - YouTube If only.....

Forgot to say, the BBC Shortbread page has Sean Goss as MOTM. As Orwell almost said, "Is it true, or did you hear it on the BBC?"

There are a good few candidates, as other sages have said above, but a goal and an assist are facts that winna ding, so it's KVV for me. Our two central defenders looked composed and effective, Slattery battled in midfield and Kelly beat out the shots when he had to. Tony Watt was perpetual motion and clearly loves playing his football at FP. I just wish he would stop the dying swan act at times: we're not The Ugly Sisters or The Mutton Molesters and it may make it easy for refs like Willie Gollum (my precioussssssssssss) to ignore his appeals when they are quite justified.

Spirit and commitment of the team excellent. Van Veen is a beast but has some Dutch skill to go with his gallus swagger and his Andy Weir-style hanging cross was a beauty. The two new central defenders looked as if they had been playing together for ages. Two great crosses today made all the difference. I was a bit worried when I saw how many plough-boys/honey monsters Aberdeen had on the park but we weren't remotely intimidated. Would love to see this fearless approach at Mordor next Sunday.

Allan Campbell the victim of a really bad tackle against Blackburn. He had to go off but there was poetic justice finally as Luton equalised in injury time.

Is this capacity or numbers on the day, steelboy? I'm not sure yet of the exact wording of the announcement. How often do we reach 10,000 even against the OF? Perhaps the club could avoid all the hassle by setting a ceiling below 10,000.

Potential McGhee Mk. 1 Trident formation.....

As others have said, I would not enjoy a season of similar performances, irrespective of the result. Our passing generally was very poor, there was a large distance between our uncreative midfield and forwards and so our game was largely disjointed and unproductive. We won because of one good Carroll delivery and an inspired header from Watt. In short, we got lucky. At least Dundee tried to pass their way forward, although it was obvious they didn't have the skill to successfully play that way, and were largely toothless up front. Their goalie tried three times to pass out to left midfield and only succeeded in giving us a throw-in each time. However, if the crossbar shot had gone in and Adam not been crocked, I suspect things might have been different. I didn't enjoy Robinson's hoofball and I didn't enjoy yesterday much. Feel free to be happy about our win but a season of such performances would try even my almost 60 years of patience. The only consolation is that I don't think yesterday's line-up will be long lasting. If van Veen can keep fit, Watt can be employed productively and the manager sorts out the midfield , things should improve quickly.

We didn't deserve to lose against The Leithers and didn't deserve to win yesterday so I suppose that evens things out even in the short term but my main concern is, as usual, our dysfunctional midfield. The balance is all wrong yet I have this pathetically optimistic notion that a simple change of formation or inclusion of just one more signing will flick the magic switch and unleash the new, dynamic C&A engine-room beast (these mushrooms are lovely, btw). I think Slattery looks a reasonable acquisition and I suspect Goss has some creativity too but where is our Allan Campbell-style perpetual motion replacement? Like many others, I see Watt's perfect position as playing just behind two forwards and threading passes through to them but this rather obvious ploy seems unattractive to the management, but I've read "Inverting The Pyramid" twice and know what I'm talking about . Van Veen looks a real pest in a good way but Amaluzor and Woolery resemble the fast-but-no-football-intelligence types we've signed before on several occasions who don't know when/where to run and can't cross. Maybe the latter would be better played more centrally as a last resort, since he's not so bad in the air. Final Grate Thott: nice to play crap and win, innit? Bring on The Mutton Molesters.....

I'm still waiting ! I must clarify re my unwonted change of position in my anecdote, or, as Charlie Nicholas would have it, antidote: while playing at RB for Kirktonholme PS, our CH (can't remember his/her name) would always pick up a handful of blaes and throw it at me if I moved inside to tackle the opposition. The words "Wing! Wing!" still ring in my ears. I was traumatised and so have started a blog about it.......