MJC

Beating Dundee United will never not be enjoyable no matter who their manager is. A more arrogant support you’d struggle to find outwith Celtic and Aberdeen.

Well that was satisfying in the end. Didn’t see it coming mind you at 1-0 but… Now all attention turns to Saturday evening.

Five changes tonight! McGinn, Johnny K, Hendry, RCC and Slattery all in. Big gamble there but I can see why with Saturday in mind.

You need to actually be in the final to have a chance of lifting the cup and we won’t be because we won’t get past St.Mirren.

On the subject of recalling loan players, we’ve just recalled Matty Connelly as apparently Ox has picked up an injury.

That’s true we never seem to get that slice of luck that others have got when it comes to finals and avoiding one of the Old Firm Saying that though of the list of winners you mentioned there a good few of them had to face and of course beat one of them on the way to their cup wins. St.Johnstone knocked out Rangers in the QF in 2021, ICT beat Celtic in the Semis, Dundee Utd beat Rangers in the Quarters of the Scottish Cup and St.Mirren defeated Celtic in the League Cup semis in the year they won it against Hearts in the final. A lot of our exits over the years have tended to come against non OF sides and indeed many of them have been against utter dross who we really should have beaten. The year Dundee Utd won the Scottish cup against Ross County (2010) we whimpered out against a then lower league ICT in the first hurdle. When St.Johnstone won the 2014 Scottish Cup we were embarrassed by Albion fucking Rovers in the 4th Round. And even when St.Mirren won the League Cup in 2013, while we did lose to Rangers in the 3rd Round, they were Rangers in name only, literally, as they had just reformed as a new club and playing in the lowest tier and we shat the bed despite us being unbeaten and top of the league at the time we played them. They say you need luck to win a Cup and that is true, but you need to make your own luck too and we really haven’t helped ourselves over the years.

I’d take that. I’d even let them have a League and Scottish Cup double if you could guarantee us winning the League Cup and getting our hands on silverware for the first time in almost 35 years.

100% yes. Celtic win trophies, that’s what they do, that’s what you expect. And if any non Old Firm club is going to break that cycle on occasion and win a domestic Cup then I want to be us. Not Killie, not St.Johnstone and certainly not St.Mirren who would be there after knocking us out in a Semi Final. Apart from the fact that I can’t stand them and their odious boneheaded fans I don’t want to see them lifting silverware if we can’t do it. That said I wouldn’t begrudge Hearts winning the league this season but that doesn’t concern us really because we’re not in contention for that.

I know we’ve got Dundee Utd on Wednesday before this but I am absolutely dreading this on Saturday and think it’s got all the hallmarks of a disastrous and sickening night for us. One of those games we’ll look back on for years and shudder like Rangers in 2012, Airdrie Semi Final in mid 70s, losing to ten man Aberdeen in the QFS when the Old Firm were already out and so on. I don’t know how it will pan out obviously but I am absolutely convinced we will lose one way or another. ”Mind that St.Mirren LCSF in 2025? Jeez don’t even go there, I still have nightmares about that one” edit: And if/when we do lose then I will 100% be supporting whichever Old Firm side in the final, none of this birthday caird nonsense like Tam Cowan will inevitably come out with like “ye know whit, fair play tae St.Mirren an am delighted fur ma St.Mirren pals an a’ll be cheering them oan in the final cos that’s what fitbaawww is aw aboot. Course ah would a loved it if Motherwell had goat there but fur a wee diddy team like us just gettin tae a semi final is fantaaaastic it wis a great day oot, few beers, game a fitbaawww then oot efterwards fur a curry, which ah must add wis absolootly top notch” Not for me sorry. If we can’t win the trophy and have our day in the sun then I certainly don’t want St.Mirren to have theirs.

We’ll need to play a lot better than today if we’re going to win this one. Looking forward to it mind you.

Not anymore, although like our good friends from the other end of the M74 we have beaten Livi away 2-1 with a last gasp winner. Hopefully they draw level with us on league wins tomorrow by putting Kettlewell’s Killie pies in their place.

100% After all the plaudits for 60 minutes against Hearts, playing Rangers off the park, leading 2-1 against Killie, should have taken something from Celtic and an excellent 1st half against Falkirk, none of which ended in victory, ill gladly take an ‘ugly win’ to get maximum points.

Fucking beauty! Much needed and thoroughly deserved despite the scourge that is VAR Delighted for JBA and the players.

Disallow that one ya jobsworth wallopers!! Well in EJ!!!!!

Absolute fucking joke.

Fuck off VAR

Another frustrating day at the office and now one win in nine. Not good enough.

He knows how to do the business from the penalty spot does AP. Now lets kick on and win this ffs!

That’s just typical Scottish football dinosaur attitude about foreign managers. That said the only way to shut that talk down is for us to turn our good play and good possession into positive results and we’ve been unable to do that so far.

Correct and that’s why all that talk of JBA being the best manager we’ve had in years and “how long will we be able to hang on to him” a month or so ago was utter madness because the main thing that he’s shown so far is that he is unable to win football matches. We have ONE league win to our name from eight matches and only got that due to Aberdeen’s goalkeeper producing a howler in stoppage time. The harsh reality is that TJ, Watt, Just and Longelo apart we are toothless and ineffective and the manager has so far shown that he has no idea how to turn that around. Now, he might well today, we all desperately hope he does but the stats don’t look favourable for him so far and they are getting worse with each passing week and each failure to put three points on the board in this league.

I suppose the difference here is that we are now having to chase a game rather than defend a lead. The only two times we’ve been in that scenario this season were against Rangers on opening day and Celtic earlier this month, and on both occasions we managed to get back in the game. edit: Sorry it was three times we’ve been 0-1 down, as Killie scored first against us and we managed to get back in that one too

Joke Tippy tappy ineffective shite.

Absolutely dominating the ball so far but same old story can’t make it count in the final third.

Head says 1-1 Heart says 3-1 to us If we could just get that win it could potentially make all the difference to our season. Just do it Motherwell 🙏

Gordon, AP and SO’D come in with McGinn, Johnny K and Hendry benched.