joewarkfanclub

Having heard the press conference, pretty sure Lionel will start. Think there is a fair chance Laing will get the other spot given all the talk about physicality. Not sure exposing one of the young boys to such a physical encounter is the right way to go. Although it didnt do Phil O'Donnell any harm!

The nutmeg near the end was pretty good

Id be more than happy if we get through the window without losing anybody. Good to see Ainsworth and Thomas get game time today. Shows they are still in managers thoughts. Get Grimshaw extended and Id be confident going into the run in with what we have.

Thoroughly professional performance. Very welcome after a string of poor cup performances. Some really good passing football at times, although tried to be too intricate at times in the 2nd half when a simple ball or shot would have resulted in more goals. Cove werent as good as I thought they might be but they never gave up all the way to the end. Nice away tie to somewhere off the beaten track please.

Voted McDonald. Mostly because Pearson and Johnson were subbed early. All worthy candidates. Also thought Lasley was outstanding. Never stopped running all day.

Its bizarre watching him. For someone who clearly has a bit of pace about him he seems to never quite get near enough to the ball to do anything with it.

He certainly had a right ding dong with Robinson during the East Fife game when the wee man clearly didnt rate the instruction being offered. However, as above, I doubt thats something that would come into McGhees thinking. He has gone out of his way to give most of the squad a chance to impress since he came in.

Id like to think that with our decent form and a sensible pricing structure we could get a good crowd for this. We used to always get good crowds for the Scottish Cup 3rd round (in old money) and with it being put back to its traditional place at beginning of January Im really looking forward to this. Love to see Faddy getting a wee cameo too.

Thoroughly enjoyed the game. Good atmosphere helped by the larger attendance and ably assisted by the performance of the referee and Dougie Imrie. Frustrating in the end not to take the 3 points we deserved but despite that we look like a team that can win games even when things go against us. The response 2nd half to going in behind at the break was excellent. If we can keep this level of performance going we have a great shot at a top 6 finish.

McDonald. Great work rate today. Brought other players into the game and scored 2 goals. Cant ask any more than that really.

Id like Lionel to stay. He has been one of our better players over the last few seasons. However if there is money involved and it gives Dom Thomas a chance then so be it.

I feel a deluge of Moulten gold coming on......

Just watched The Peter and Roughie interview. Very entertaining. Very honest and modest appraisal of his own style and ability. Probably why he is still so well regarded by most Well fans.

Met him and his missus at Edinburgh Airport on the way out to Athens for the Champions League qualifier. Great wee guy. Happy to take time out to stand and talk and take photos. You could tell he had a deep effection for the club. Ive heard he is an excellent after dinner speaker. On my list of things to do if I ever get the chance.

Ripley. The 3 saves he made were as good as goals. It was a good team performance but the big man is the reason we got the 3 points.

5 games off in Scotland. 4 on the east coast. Dundee United Raith Rovers Cowdenbeath Abroath I dont think United have any case to answer here. Just one of those things.

Our pitch has suffered more than most over the past few seasons with the weather but even we have managed to keep our games on this year despite some absolute downpours of biblical proportions. Hope this game doesnt fall. Im not travelling but Id hate it to be called off just when we are starting to build a head of steam. Momentum is hugely important in this league.

Another good show guys. Twads seems like a top bloke. Merry xmas!

My mistake. No idea why I thought that. Didnt realise he was on a 2 year deal. I like the big fella. Just needs to cut out those silly slips and mistakes. Be interesting to see if McGhee is going to give Hall a run or if he is going to rotate.

When is Kennedys loan up? Are we preparing Hall for Kennedy returning in January? I know we have Laing but we will need back up. Kennedy has done pretty well for the most part but makes more sense to develop our own players than someone elses if they are of similar standard.

Dont think there was a bad performance anywhere on the pitch for us. Worthy mentions for young Hall who had a solid debut, McManus looked more focussed and ready for it than Ive seen him since the play offs, Grimshaw for a really tenacious midfield performance. MoM though can only be one person. Louis Moult. Led the line, brought others into play, scored a good goal, unlucky with a couple more chances, workrate absolutely first class. Fast becoming my favourite current Motherwell player. If we continue to play like that and keep him fit, we will have another player who can score 20 goals in a season.

I wasnt at the Hearts game but that was our best performance of the season for me. Thought we were the better team throughout, even in the second half when they were causing us more problems. I always felt we were dangerous on the break. Harkins is a player who always seems to do well against us so wasnt surprised when he scored off the bench. All in all a very assured performance and a deserved 3 points.

Somebody beatable at home that will bring a decent crowd. Dunfermline? Falkirk? Wouldnt be easy games but given our recent cup record that wouldnt change regardless of the opposition. Failing that, an away tie at an easy to get to venue we havent been to in a while for a decent away day.

Agree with that. He is still nowhere near the player we know he can be, which is maybe what a lot of folk are judging him against, but he is slowly getting better and will only improve with games. Id stick with him and Moult and let them at least try to form a partnership.

Josh Law was IMHO our best player yesterday so I dont think you are mad. It was difficult to defend some of his performances under Barra as he was extremely poor on more than a number of occasions but then again so were the majority of the team towards the end. With the benefit of hindsight (which is a wonderful thing) it looks like certain players were being exposed more than others by tactics they either didnt understand or werent suited to. Look at the difference in body language across the team yesterday. Johnson didnt have his best game but he was head and shoulders above the shirt carrier weve watched since the beginning of the season. I dont think that Law is a world beater but with some careful considered coaching and support (remember that?) he can become a more than capable right back in this league. As for Chalmers, he seems so short of confidence in himself. Forever turning back inside to lay off the ball when your begging for him to overlap or play it first time. I think there is a player in there but whether McGhee will be able to build him up like he has with Law I have no idea.