MJC

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.

VAR’s scope needs to be significantly limited and restricted. “Clear and obvious errors” is what it was brought in to correct and that is what it needs to be restricted to if it’s going to work. If an attacking player is clearly in an offside position when a goal is scored or if there is an obvious foul on a goalkeeper or defender then apply it there. But this jobsworth examining every goal to see if the player who has put the cross in’s big toe was technically offside or if there was a foul in the build up 40 yards from goal more than a minute before the goal is scored is just absolute bunkum and is totally ruining football. As has been said several times, this not being able to properly celebrate and enjoy a goal because you’ve always got one eye on the big Screen/tannoy stating “Checking possible foul/offside” and then having to wait for potentially several minutes for confirmation either way is just ridiculous.

I’ve never got the hatred towards Hampden. I love it and think there is a special feeling about going to play there. Perhaps that’s because when you’re playing there you’re usually in a Semi Final or a Final and that bit closer to tangible success or maybe because of the history of the place, from a Motherwell point of view it is the scene of the greatest day in the clubs history many in ‘Well fans lifetime, certainly mine. And the other argument against it is “it’s too hard to get to”. But is it? And if it is is it any harder to get to than any other major football stadium? Or indeed any harder to get to than any equivalent ground that could be used for a SF or Final? The only thing I don’t and never will get about Hampden is the insistence that Celtic and Rangers always get their ‘own’ end whenever they play there, no matter who it is. I get it when they play each other but when you’ve got Motherwell fans having to travel to the West end of the stadium just so that Celtic can get ‘their’ end and vice versa Kilmarnock fans having to travel to the East end so Rangers can get ‘their’ end then it’s a nonsense.

The last time I checked Scotland was part of Britain? 🤷‍♂️ And I could add Stuart McCall, Davie Cooper, Tam Forsyth, Lee McCulloch, Alex McLeish (who all also have ‘Well connections) as well as Walter Smith, Sandy Jardine, David Weir, Richard Gough, Duncan Ferguson, Jim Bett, Allan McGregor, Alan Hutton, Kenny Miller (Celtic as well obviously), Gordon Durie, Colin Hendry, Willie Johnston, Derek Johnstone…and more. Plus to bring this debate back to the subject of Hampden Park, did Rangers not pay to have the West end of the stadium covered in the 1980s? Anyway…the Semi Final on the 1st November…

Celtic fans tend to be a lot more anti-Scottish than Rangers fans do. I think more of them now associate themselves with Scotland/being Scottish since the 2014 Independence referendum but that’s more for political reasons rather than football ones. Rangers have probably done more for the National side than any other club over the years. There was a time that the vast majority of the Scotland support was made up by Rangers fans, back when football and politics weren’t so unhealthily intertwined. They’ve also supplied some of Scotland’s best ever players like Ally McCoist, Jim Baxter, Barry Ferguson, Andy Goram and more.

Dundee doing what we could only dream of; beating Celtic and actually winning a game. Granted Celtic have been terrible but if they had played against us like that they would still have beaten us because we can’t defend and can’t kill games off. The bigger picture here is though that this is not a good result for us. There is actually a very strong possibility that we could be bottom of the league next Sunday evening should we lose to Livingston and Aberdeen beat Hibs on the Sunday.

This is a concern I have and is one of the reasons I remain unconvinced by him. Don’t get me wrong I like JBA and like what he’s trying to do with the playing style, but he needs to show more awareness with his use of substitutes and game management particularly when we’re ahead in games. I fully accept that we are never going to have the ‘perfect manager’ but just little things like that and as you say tweaking lineups and tactics here and there could make all the difference. If we play like we did yesterday we will lose again, or at the very least we won’t win. We also won’t beat Dundee Utd with that approach and St.Mirren will nullify us, boot us about the park and knock us out the cup again. This is a potentially season defining run of games we are now entering I think.

We need to start winning football matches. It’s no use playing nice tippy tappy stuff in the middle of the park where the tippy’s very tappy and the tappy’s very tippy and Tam Cowan and the like can bill and coo about “fantaaaaastic fitbaaw such a joy to watch” etc if it ultimately amounts to nothing because we are hopeless at both ends. It’ll be very tough again and of course we have that abomination of a park to contend with next Saturday but hopefully we can get the result we badly need.

That kind of talk is okay when we’re winning games but when we have one league win in eight attempts then it’s pretty hollow. As has been acknowledged we have some good players and can play some nice stuff but that counts for little if you don’t make it count and so far we haven’t. Even the one solitary league game that we did win only came about thanks to a goalkeeper error and a penalty all within injury time. I like alot of what I have seen so far this season but unfortunately we have fallen short more often than not when it comes to results and I remain far from convinced that this team and manager will be able to turn it around in the long run.

Okay. So who were you referring to here then? I’m not going to hijack the thread by making it about this so this is the last I’ll say on this subject but like I’ve already said I don’t see how it is relevant who the player who scores against us supports or previously plays for. Anyway, moving on.

Says you who brought Rangers into this discussion in the first place?? 😂 I don’t know about you or anyone else, but my only concern is Motherwell and how we play and if we get beat then I really couldn’t care less what team the player who scores supports/used to play for.

There’s no arguing with any of this. You can point to good football and ‘if onlys’ all you like but the bottom line is that we are now in mid/late October and have ONE solitary league win on the board. And when you take into account the points we have thrown away from winning positions in several games now then it really is damning reading. Today should have been three points but we have yet again thrown that away because we aren’t capable of making advantage count and seeing a game out when on top. The longer that goes on the bigger the issue it becomes.

Yeah cos it would have been easier to take us losing if it had been any other Falkirk player that scored would it? Or at least a non-Rangers supporting one??

It’s just so frustrating because we do have some really good football in us but we aren’t able to actually make it count in terms of winning games. And at the end of the day it counts for nothing if you don’t put points on the board. We are good in the middle but weak at the back and toothless up front.

Fur coat No knickers And yet another case of what might have been in a season of what might have beens.

We can blame VAR all we like, and in fairness from what I’ve heard we do have a case for the goal disallowed in the first half. But if you can’t finish teams off when you’re on top and leak like a knackered fridge at the back then you’re not going to win football matches. This will be a sore one if it finishes like this.

Totally dominated that first half and completely deserved lead. I have no idea what the ‘first’ goal was disallowed for but whatever it was it certainly couldn’t have been ‘clear and obvious’ as VAR is supposed to correct. As I said, jobsworth nonsense. Great finish from TJ to get us in front but we really need another goal as you get the feeling we will concede.

Jobsworth nonsense.

Well it is us and you can never be certain of a result. It could easily be one of those days and it just doesn’t go for us, only time will tell. I am fairly confident though.

Eli Just back in the team TJ makes it as well and Hendry & Welsh return. Like the look of that team.

There is definitely a big upturn in overall mood around the team and the club this season. Obviously there has been frustration that we've not managed to win more games but the team is actually playing football and some pretty decent football at that. Compare and contrast that to the disjointed, scrappy dirge we saw under Kettlewell, Hammell and Alexander. We do need more points on the board though.