joewarkfanclub

Decent performance first half. Killie started strongly and created a couple of chances but we settled it down after that and looked the better team for the remainder. Shame the match was abandoned as I fancied our chances second half but the ref had no choice. We couldnt see a thing from our end. Hopefully we can get a weekend game on the next again Scottish Cup dates.

Cheers dude!

Gonna be in New Orleans on Sunday. 1. Any idea what time kick off is there? 2. Any US channels likely to be showing the game if I can find a bar thats open? Cheers in advance!

Turnbull defintely looks like the real deal. He has so much composure on the ball for someone his age. He rarely looks flustered. The fact that he is already being mentioned alongside the likes of Lambert and McAllister is about as big a compliment as you can get. I think another 18 months in our first team and he will be in line for a big money move. Be brilliant to see him make it on the big stage and starting for Scotland.

It is absolutely no coincidence that Elliot Frear is starting to contribute to the team again when he is being allowed to play his natural position. To suggest he is not good enough for this league or that Motherwell can do better, given assists he has contributed in the last 5 games is batshit crazy. I agree Ariyibi looks a classier player and has been great to watch since he arrived. However, you cant ignore the fact that he drifts in and out of games, cant yet last 90 minutes and most importantly isnt our player. Even if Forest were to let him go, he would have to take a massive cut in wages to sign for us. I would agree Grimshaw and McHugh should no longer be being considered as first team picks, but they are both very valuable squad players at our level as can be seen from their recent contributions. To suggest we can get better to sit on our bench is fanciful. The team is moving in the right direction. Those that need moved on will be. But some of the players being questioned still have much to offer.

We absolutely should be standing by Craig Tanner. If he cant make it back, then he will retire through injury. Im sure there will be insurance in place to assist him financially. Lets hope it doesnt come to that.

Trevor was absolutely outstanding last season. Didnt quite hit the same heights this season but then neither has the rest of the team and you have to factor in his injury. No doubt Gillespie has been brilliant since he came in so its his jersey to lose. Not sure if there will be any bids for Trevor close season now that he is out. More likely Gillespie could attract interest. Hard to see how we can keep both happy long term, so getting some money in for one and keeping the other would be advantageous and make up for the early cup exit. Whatever happens its a nice problem to have.

We dont have a fixture at the weekend so we can rest players then. Dont mess with a winning formula. The players should be increasing in confidence so we should use that and try and do what we did to Livvy. If we can get the game won, give fringe players their chance then. Not before.

Im pleased the manager has found a winning formula. Whether by design or default, I dont really care. The football is infinitely more entertaining and pleasing on the eye. The fact that we are seeing some of "our own" deliver it, is a welcome bonus. I must confess, I was starting to waiver and thought maybe his time was up. Hopefully this vain of form has further to run and we can end the season on a high.

Some great performances today. All mostly in first half (second half was pretty comfortable if unspectacular). Gorrin, Campbell, Tait, Ariyibi, Turnbull and Main all played well. MoM though has to be Jake Hastie. Great performance capped by a great goal and unlucky not to get a hat trick.

My point was we shouldnt just try to match them up like we did, particularly in the last game at Fir Park where we tried to out muscle them. The game turned into a shitfest which they won. Im not suggesting for a minute we roll over. We have plenty of players who can stand their ground, but we need to play a little more football if we want to win the game.

I hope Robbo has learned his lesson from the previous 2 games against them and we dont try to match them up physically man for man. They have out battled us both times. Not sure of the best formation, but stay solid at the back and get the ball down and play. Keep the energy of the younger ones in the team and try and move the ball quickly around them. Their defenders will lap the long ball up all day long.

That maybe . But he grabbed his chance with both hands. The manager would need to be very brave / mental to put Frear back in over Hastie now. I agree that Frear probably isnt surplus yet though, as Ariybi is only on loan.

In what formation? Johnson cant do what Main does up front on his own. He is a penalty box player. He appears to be a better finisher but if you merely swap the 2 you dont necessarily get more goals. If you change the formation again, you may not get the same level of performance. Catch 22.

Tough one tonight. Thought it was between Gorrin, Campbell, Grimshaw, Hastie and Turnbull. Went for Grimmy on that second half showing. Phenomenal! Hope he passed his drugs test afterwards!

Fair enjoyed that tonight. Best performance at home since the Aberdeen game, which was the best since the Rangers game. Good to see the manager ring the changes and for once he got it bang on. The team looked balanced, lots of energy and we played ENTERTAINING PASSING FOOTBALL! Campbell, Turnbull and Hastie were all magnificent tonight and should be keeping their places for Saturday. They showed the standard required and it should give some of the more experienced players something to think about. Gorrin was excellent and teamed up well with Campbell. Between them they gave Turnbull the freedom to go and play. Main put in a helluva shift up front. He got battered by their defence all night but just kept coming back for more. He desperately needs a goal and with a little more composure in the first half he would have had one after being played thru and taking a decent touch away from the defender. He should be keeping his place as well, unless we can pull another rabbit out of the hat before the window shuts. More of the same on Saturday please!

Looks like Maurice Ross has got the job. Far better candidate than McCulloch IMHO......

Not a fan....

Craig Brown was a very good manager for us and clearly managed at a much higher level than any of our managers since. The fact that the majority of us were absolutely raging when he did dirty on us with his 3 day turn around routine, should be ample evidence of how good he was for our club at the time. Unfortunately Scottish football, and the nature of our club has changed too much since then and I dont see us being able to attract a "Craig Brown type" to the club any time soon with the finances available to us. Id love to be wrong, but I think our choices are either one of the usual suspects, or take a chance on a young up and coming manager who will cut his teeth here and move on to better things Ive not 100% given up on Robbo yet but Id be happy to give Crags a proper shot or someone like Gary Naysmith who is doing well at QoS with very limited resources.

Good!

Id go with something similar. We need the extra body in midfield and Turnbull is our most creative player so he needs a little freedom further forward. If Tait isnt fit Id play Grimshaw in there. Main up front on his own isnt ideal but at least he can run the channels and try stretch them in behind. Id be tempted to give Scott a run out as he seems best suited to playing loan striker but I dont see Robbo risking that. Id also like to see Frear and Gboly continue to swap wings like they did briefly on Saturday. It unsettles full backs and might help them get closer to whoever the loan sttiker is if they are coming inside onto their good foot. Probably end up nothing like that though.

Gillespie. Without his saves it could easily have been 4 or 5.

Where to start with that? Having no way of knowing the fitness of players and how we would actually set up, I have to confess to bring just a wee bit excited when I saw the line up. I fully anticipated it to be 4-4-2 with 2 wingers and us going after their full backs. However, it became fairly evident early on that they were playing a high press and we were being overun in midfield (which contributed to the defence having to launch aimless balls forward). It was crying out for us to sub a clearly unfit McCormack for someone who could actually help out the midfield and give us a foothold in the game. Not for the first time this season the managers substitutions were utterly perplexing as they did nothing to address what the actual problem was. Grimshaw or Campbell (or even Gorrin) would have made for a much more sensible first substitution, especially as we were still in the game at that point. What followed after just compounded matters. In short, the manager got the starting line up wrong and his substitutions did nothing to effect the course of the game. He cant keep on making such big mistakes. If he does we will be dragged back into a relegation battle and it may well cost him his job.

Some very decent finishes there, and pace to burn. Fingers crossed he can adapt to Scottish football. We might have unearthed another wee gem.

Good luck to big Bowie. A good honest pro who gave his all in every game. The way he rattled SEVCO in the League Cup semi final and the seethe from the zombies in the aftermath was glorious to watch. Shame he was so vilified by the press aterwards. Wish him all the best down south.