joewarkfanclub

Aye, looks like the Hunter is more or less sold out with the Cooper & POD well on the way. I see we have a big chunk for sale in the upper McLean as well.

I just like JT in the wide position where he can see right across the back line and wait for the ball over the top. Gives him so much more space to run into without having to wrestle with giants. Said is more suited to that.

I guess Williams is still a doubt, so Id go..... Paulsen Sparrow JKL Moorman Longelo Oscar Fadinger Lowry JT Cookie Said

Really hoping this isnt one of those times when football jumps up and bites you on the arse and gives you a reality check. (Hoping that was Sunday). They looked decent over there but nothing more. Once we had the measure of them second half and grew into the game we looked the better team. Their away record in Europe is much less impressive than their home record and we will have home advantage on a nice grass pitch. Hopefully no new injuries and we can go in with whatever our best 11 is right now. Feels like we should have too much for them, but that just brings me back to the point I made right at the start!

They are certainly useful right now when we still havent finished our transfer business and you look at our injury list as it stands. Whether thats still the case in a month or so is another matter.

Its sad to hear all of this, and whilst not wanting to absolve the club from their part in this it just goes to show you how ridiculous the UEFA rule is. Im not aware of any safety issues that were raised re the bucket seats that were in place, yet they were the first to be outlawed by UEFA. We now have seats that fit the UEFA criteria, but are causing absolute mayhem and apparent safety issues. I perhaps wouldnt expect the club to be making a public statement about the situation, but an email acknowledging they are aware of the problems and are reviewing options to rectify it would help. Not sure if it would work numbers wise, but would it help if they only used every second row of seats to allow more space? There must be a way to fix the problem whilst adhering to the UEFA rule without closing down the entire stand.

Vogt looks to have some technical ability and he looks much fitter than he did when he arrived and has a yard of pace. Getting the ball to him at the right time and in the right areas would help, instead of him having to pick the ball out of the sky. Moorman will be massive for us this season. But I also though Knight - Lebel absolutely strolled it yesterday. We look to have brought in 3 very serviceable CHs and thats without McGinn, SOD or Johnny K having to fill in there. I do wonder where McGhee fits into all of this now, even if he could stay fit.

Is the problem the same in the areas with the bucket seats? I would have thought they were just the same as the new ones without the plastic back on them re leg room? I dont recall there being any furore when we put them in. Just curious.

I think a lot of our fans are comparing what we look like right now to how Jens team was playing October to March. This time last year we had drawn with Clyde, put questionable performances in against Peterhead and Stenny, beat Morton and drew away to St Mirren with barely a shot on target. I actually think we are a bit further along the journey with this squad than we were this time last year. Our horizons have just lifted a little, so we no longer view things the same way as we did post Kettleball. Nothing wrong with that, we should always be striving for better, but we should maintain some realism at the same time.

As soon as I saw who was in charge today my heart sank. He is without doubt one of the fussiest referees in the league and possibly the poorest, which is saying something! I was literally pulling my hair out (whats left of it) all afternoon. Some of his decisions were absolutely mindblowing. You do have to wonder at times what it is he is seeing? Remember this is the guy that sent Dan Casey off for handbags v Kilmarnock and when VAR intervened, convinced himself he was right! Falkirk played to it all afternoon and he bought it every time. Very depressing so early in the season!

Said was good first half. Nothing much came off for him second half. Oscar and Fadinger both worked there socks off, but the connections in front of them werent there today. Moorman had a great first half but thought he tired a little second half and got himself in some difficult situations before he was substituted. Voted for Knight-Lebel. Thought he absolutely strolled it today. Looks a very promising addition.

Surprised at some of the negativity regards todays performance. Whilst we were far from our best, misplaced numerous passes and fluffed a number of very decent chances, there was still a lot to like. Maybe a sign of how far last season raised the bar? I thought Falkirk offered nothing first half. Content to spoil the game, commit fouls and go down at every turn. All ably assisted by Chris Graham who must be the worst referee in the league (which is saying something). We should have been a couple up at half time and that would have maybe allowed us some more breathing space as we did tire badly second half. Although not as fluent a performance as we would like there was still some excellent football played. Said was box office first half and some of the stuff he pulls off is ridiculous to watch. The move where JT shot wide whilst having his shirt removed from him would have been even better than last weeks goal of the season entry. Add to that the 2 second half moves spurned by JT and Johnny K and I left feeling that it was 2 points dropped rather than a point gained. The squad is light, we have a lot of games coming thick and fast with not a lot of time on the training pitch right now to bed in the new players and managers ideas. I think by the time we get to the end of the window and things start to calm down, we will be in much better shape.

I dont disagree with that. But Im not judging Luca on that basis. Im judging him on what I would expect from a young player in his situation. And that is to take your chance and show me something that tells me you believe you are good enough to play in this team. Unfortunately, despite numerous cameos, Luca hasnt been able to do that. Doesnt mean he wont/cant, but time is running out. Both Whyte and Booth have shown already this season that they believ they belong in this team. That might be a confidence thing, but unfortunately thats also part of being a footballer.

Said will be champing at the bit having had to cool his heels all week. Im sensing a big performance from Captain Chaos! 3-0 Motherwell! Said double and a first for Willy Vogt!

Tough one to call as both halves were so different. Longelo was very good second half and I thought Lowry showed some good touches. But went for Poulsen. He kept us in it first half and his distribution was much better. Starting to look the part!

I really want Luca Ross to be a success. He was really good against Elgin in the League Cup, but that was 2 years ago. He hasnt shown much in his cameos since. Whereas Mikey Booth has shown up pretty well in 2 competitive appearances so far. Luca may well have benefitted from a longer loan spell.

HJK are showing the game. https://hjktv.fi/hjk?fbclid=IwdGRzaATe8wtjbGNrBN7zBHBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeITbeUUnNXll6zBUR-7jxknNwmBG9OuX2jPA_RyGzXVyhLzKWVRF3YLAQDcY_aem_6VyK2zL76RJRDIlYTQ8sWA&sfnsn=scwspwa

I did think it was quite noticeable over the course of the weekend how many soft fouls our referees were still giving. Its like the World Cup just never happened for them. Shame, once you got used to it, I quite enjoyed the fact that players werent being rewarded for "buying fouls".

I think Vogt will come good once his fitness gets to the required level. Its been a big step up for him, but there are certainly flashes that he is getting there. I love this part of the season when there is a promise of good things in our future. 😆😆😆

The manager said at the weekend that we werent in a position to rest or rotate players at the moment due to not having completed our summer business and having a few injuries to key players. He said that might change when we get a few more in or players come back from injury, but right now, he will pick the best team available and worry about the next game when it comes. With that in mind Id expect pretty much the same team that started v Hibs and similar substitutions as and when required.

Just shows what a ridiculous situation the SFA have got themselves into with those decisions last season......

I was suggesting that if the SFA consider Liam Gordons tackle on the half way line to be a DOGSO, then the chance of Hearts having Findlays red card overturned are slim to nil.

Its not a red card in the box if there is a genuine attempt to play the ball. Double jeopordy. For me Mulligan should have been yellow carded but wasnt. Yellow is probably correct for Oscar. Findlay? The contact inside the box is probably a yellow as he does try to get the ball, but there is the arm pull, which could tip it towards a red if considered enough to stop Olusanya. Also, Liam Gordon!

Id be happy with 1 CM & a striker. Although some cover for RCC would be nice. All depends on any outgoings though. If JT leaves then we need to replace him as I dont think Luca Ross is gonna cut it unfortunately.

My good friend AI confirms this is the case. They rested 4 star players in advance of our game. However, all 4 are currently now on the field.....