Happy Dosser

Yes, hard to tell at the mo if it's just the half-hearted (aka pusillanimous) advertising band or an actual hoop but the strip of two years ago had a slight break in the hoop under the oxters. Probs just the "affix sponsor's name here" band though. Don't mind the Roma FC-looking second strip and retro MFC script at all but, being basically C&A, it doesn't really solve a clash, which is why a mainly white strip with claret and amber facings was always a good idea. On the bright side, you could be a Bradford City fan tonight.....

Preaching to the choir, bruvva but I'm getting bad vibes with all this "unique" talk. Have a library, bottle of malt and my army service revolver to hand just in case it all goes Imrie up tomorrow. What would Sailor Hunter have done?

OMG: I can't take another jester's outfit.....

Regarding UBH's retro mock up: just had a multiplied organism I've always found it strange that a club with a unique design, a single hoop, mess about with it so much, sometimes reducing it to a feeble advertising band, or removing it completely. Huge clubs like Boca Juniors of Sellick don't do that. We also have (almost, Bradford City excepting) unique colours. Combining the two makes us pretty special, yet we seem almost ashamed of our history. Even Hearts, with a simple shirt, have rarely strayed from their classic maroon with white facings. They tried an Ajax-style jersey in the 70s from memory but it didn't go down well with the fans. White shorts would be great but are surely negotiable/changeable annually. Those old black socks with ACA turnovers ain't never going to happen, I fear, but hooped ones are pretty acceptable. I dread to think what we're actually going to get.........

Christ, Andy_P, that's much too sensible. Looking at out football, we should never get out of bed if we didn't think we could win the league but we still do, right? I worked with an aged communist who, as a boy, saw us win the title in the 30s. He told me (I haven't checked it in the Motherwell Times or elsewhere yet) that gates were still low even then, despite consistent 2nd places and one title. We all know the dice are loaded within our football and in the MSM generally but do we fold up our tents and throw ourselves in the Clyde? In my lifetime we have never had a realistic chance of the title but I go along every year in hope of victories over the Ugly Sisters, some progression in our style and a cup run. Very few teams in Europe have ever had a realistic chance of a championship in their national leagues but so what? It's all about hope and loyalty in the face of dour reality, really, but I'm a thrawn old bastard and I'm not alone. COYW, forever.

Leave politics out of it. The well has been poisoned already by the Ugly Sisters. Scottish football is the worse for it, and has been so for yonks. For those who have chosen to disparage MFC on here today, I have seen far more talented teams (from 1962 onwards) who have never even sniffed a SCF, so think again, Poindexters. We have a young manager and a young squad who will learn much from today: I've bought my season and am looking forward to next season already, damn my happy-clapper hide. Our trolls can swivel, imho.

1951? I was -3.

What, to deposit Imrie into the east Stand?

With amber-claret-amber turn-overs. "What's that nursie, time for my medication?"

Yes please, with white shorts. I can always dream.

Yup, a Sampdoria-style CAC hoop on a white shirt would float my boat. Won't happen, unfortunately.

Beginning to think you're right. The Mutton Molesters could have had a free kick when the ball hit Tait's arm and Bowman might have been deemed to have pushed the defender at his goal. My only concern is that, against Ra Sellick, the rub of the green (NPA) would not be coming our way. Think we just need to go for it in berserker mode and feck the refereeing situation. COYW!

Would love to see us beat Ra Sellick in a claret hoop but I'll be happy with a late mad breenge from King Ced in his pyjamas and a 25-yard winner off the underside of the bar in the 89' minute. Then he signs for PSG for £2,000,000.

Just so. Like almost everyone here, I don't like Kick 'n' Rush and we rarely see the C&A version but our players have a tremendous team spirit which comes from the manager. I'm sure he felt he was just building a team to scrap and survive this year and that he could gradually add the fantoosh frills later. We've had much better football teams in the past, from the Ancell Babes on, who won absolutely nothing. Result: "many heartaches". This XI is super fit and tough and never give in and we may have some footballing surprises up our sleeve when we play The All-Conquering Ones/Sons of The Saint. The team will be prepared in a highly professional way and if we can get the first goal, who knows? Behind the smirk and Perma-tan, Brendan may be secretly worried that our organisation and commitment can derail The Great Sellick Dream. Imagine an upstart "physical" wee Diddy Team doing that: the stuff of his nightmares.

We can play a lot more football than we showed today, but there was tremendous team spirit. If only we could just calm our jets before launching it forward, the game would open up for us. Still, let The Uglies underestimate us. Don't know whether to call Curtis The Shark, The Beast or The Pocket Battleship. What a horror to have to play against. I would suggest Sellick would be particularly vulnerable. It will be great to release our Inner Barcelona in the final and beat the surviving Non-Scottish Club. Cue meltdown by "Scottish Sports Journalists".

Thanks for that, Kat. A proper Motherwell strip, yon. *Wipes away a silent tear*

I suspect that is true, which makes his loss even more disappointing. Bigi seems capable of providing some unlocking passes but he is also likely to lose possession or dwell too long on the ball and then we are vulnerable to a counter attack. It's strange that he was SR's first signing and yet he doesn't seem keen on him now. This may be his last chance to impress.

Yup, and both Dingwall butchers have good black pudding. These things are important culturally.

Don't we have El Taito to do that kind of thing?

And he can't tackle. Tackling's so important for an "out-and-out winger".

Right on time, Clackscat, eh? Yodo: read what I actually said, not what you wanted me to say. Who's "us", by the way? And if Weir and Cooper had been asked, from your time machine, to do this, could they have done it? Who would have been daft enough to ask such a role of two hugely-talented Scottish internationalists? Frear is a moderately-gifted winger you seem to have a problem with, for some reason. Along with Tanner and Bigi he is the only creative outlet for the team at the moment. Tanner is injured and Bigi is not a first pick. Frear, when fit, is first-pick for most games, as tactics require. Take your complaint up with the manager. I agree with him on this point. Given our limited budget and squad at the moment, he is a valuable tactical alternative.

Well, if not being able to tackle is a weakness in that position then clearly Andy Weir, Davie Cooper and a host of other 'Well wingers I've seen would be duds in your book. If he's an out and out winger as you say then he is obviously the most dependent on good service and I hope you would agree that he often simply doesn't get it. Tanner is out for the medium term, Bigi does not seem to be trusted by SR and linking play up the left isn't great from defence so I think we should cut Frear some slack. Hoofball is a limited tactic. Quote

Weeyin and Joeboy seem to have some knowledge of football whereas your relentless negativity suggests you're just here to troll the team. Dunne is excellent defensively but his service to Frear (when he has been fit and selected) is not great. The latter needs balls to run on to, not passes when he is almost stationary and has two hulking defenders in front of him, squeezing him out to the line, but Charles can't pass like Stevie Hammell, who latterly was weaker defensively. Calling a player feart in these circumstances is just a cheap shot. Weeyin's point: "Encourages players to pass to him rather than punt it long to Main" is a very important reason for playing him. We are one-dimensional without him, given Bigi seems out of favour with the boss.

Hope Charles Dunne is back. His physical strength and speed were badly missed against A______n and SH looked very lightweight by comparison. I can't imagine this game will be a feast of football but SR said there would be changes, though not as many as he would like because of the size of our squad. I predict some tough training today. I'll take a Murray Davidson OG in the last minute to win.