MJC

Well if that’s how you choose to see it then fine, there’s nothing I can do about that. All I meant though was that I wasn’t setting the bar as high as expecting a Turnbull/McFadden type player every season, but rather players who could establish themselves as solid, first team players ala Lasley, Hammell, Campbell, Cadden. We have not seen anyone breaking through from the youth ranks that have been anywhere near the level of those four in recent years.

It’s when they shove the camera in one of the players faces after a defeat so that they can say “ahh well it’s disappointing, we gave it our all, loads of effort but just didny get the breaks the day, we pick oorsel’es up and go again” that gets me. It’s okay after we’ve won though.

I agree completely but getting that first win on the board for the season is crucial. There are obviously concerns over our general play but winning games like that against teams like that is absolutely massive for us, just as a loss in a game like that would be disastrous.

You’re not surprised. I am surprised. But it doesn’t matter a fuck either way. We won and that’s all that matters.

Fantastic result.

Some challenge from Grimshaw and some save from Kelly! Holding on here.

You fucking beauty! Watt made it again and Grimshaw does well to get the follow up. Now hold this Motherwell!!

Absolute cop-out from the referee there.

That man again. He needs to be first name on the team sheet every single week! Well in Tony Watt

That’s my worry too. There is still time to get players in but not much. We have seen in the past that it rarely works trying to recruit a number of players at once (Baraclough, Kampman) so any signings we do make need to be absolutely bang on the money and able to make an immediate impact on the first team. Given our recent record on that front I am not confident in the slightest.

Slow, no movement, unable to take advantage of any half chance that comes our way then we concede with the first effort on target against us. That could be describing about 80% of our games over the past two years.

And there it is, this week’s cheap and avoidable goal conceded.

Much more intensity from us so far, need to make it count though.

I said that I’m not (that’s NOT) expecting us to produce a McFadden or a Turnbull every year. You sure you read my post correctly?

Without doubt we need to see more on the park. Despite the apparent change in approach to recruitment we appear to be yet again starting a season with the same areas on the field that have been needing addressed for years still not addressed. The window is not yet shut though so I’ll revisit this in ten days time. As a club we also don’t see enough coming through from our youth set ups and that’s a concern. I’m not expecting us to produce a Turnbull or a McFadden every year but you look at the young players on our books and you don’t see anyone who you believe will make the grade and be a regular, reliable first team starter. Maguire to give the obvious example looks badly out of his depth at our level and you don’t see anything coming through that will make the grade. For a club of our size(not a great wee team, not a big team, just a standard size Scottish top flight club) it’s crucial that we develop and bring through young players and we’re falling badly short on that front.

I think the club’s social media dept to go a bit overboard with some of the things they put out, ie. “a coffee and a chat with x,y,z” but I don’t see anything wrong with this from Alan Burrows re-tweet. It’s all fair enough and nowhere near the dismal self defeating guff about “oor great wee team” and the likes that many on here, Twitter and to be honest Burrows himself has been guilty of on many occasion. The words describing our standing in the game are more or less accurate. I think it’s important and I’m glad that the club do reach out to the community nowadays, it’s something I always felt we didn’t do enough of in the past. The town of Motherwell and a lot of North Lanarkshire has been badly hit by unemployment, poverty and even more sadly, suicide in young people over the past few years and if the club can show its support to that then I’m all for it.

Well, going by our first few games this season, plus the majority of games last season, plus our inability to create goal scoring chances, plus our overall poor record on that plastic pitch(I know we did win there last October) then can you blame any Motherwell fan for not being optimistic going into this one?

That’s correct, our away kit looks more like a Livingston kit than their’s does.

Another poor game on that shitey pitch. Another abject performance from us. Another defeat. 1-0 home win.

I’m surprised you can see that through the amount of smoke you are blowing up Celtic’s arses to be honest. They are clearly the best side in Scotland just now but if you can watch that game and not see that Taylor, Ralston and Welsh are defensively suspect then there is no hope for you. As I said Celtic look good just now but your last few posts about them on here make them sound like 1970 Brazil.

It’s safe to say that if the likes of Hibs, Dundee and Airdrie(!) can exploit our defensive weaknesses with relative ease then Celtic will be capable of taking anything between five and ten goals off us, it just depends on how many they want to score.

Our Cup record against top flight teams is utterly deplorable. With the obvious exception of the 2017/2018 season we have won just once in a knockout tie against a fellow top flight side since the 2011 SCSF and that was three years ago against Livingston in the League Cup last 16. That is nothing short of disgraceful especially when you consider that we have only been paired with one of the Old Firm on three occasions in that time, again not counting 2017/18 with that.

Seen a few from Dundee fans saying some of our fans goading/fighting with “old men just trying to get home” after the game and a good few calling our fans ‘scumbags’ etc but at the same time a few Motherwell fans posting that it was the stewards/police who escalated the situation. Always two sides to every story of course. I wasn’t there myself so couldn’t say either way.

I can see him walking sooner rather than later to be honest and have thought so since the first game back this season. I’m not saying that he should go or even that I want him to but the way he comes across he seems less than enthusiastic about the task of taking us forward.

Saw a few reports of that on twitter, though some appear to be saying that it was down to the stewards. Who knows though, but not good to hear either way.