joewarkfanclub

I was jesting! A tartan top could end up being iconic, but could just as easily be howfing! Be interested to see if they could do a white away top with some sort of claret and amber tartan trim/design though..... You able to mock something up UBH?

Signing on fee for a years extension!

If we dont get more for Moult than we did for Lee Erwin I will be shocked, stunned and bitterly disappointed!

I'd like to think I'm a realist. I totally agree that Lionel has had a honking season but then so has more than half our squad. Not helped by the awful man management he was exposed to in the first half of the season. Add to that the awful style of football we've adopted to try and avoid the drop. Yes, Lionel could probably have done more to help his own situation but I think there have been plenty mitigating factors. All depends on how Robinson sees us playing next season. I like Frear and Ross McLean shows promise but Id love to see Cadden played through the centre as a box to box player as others have mentioned. That for me leaves a space for someone like Lionel. If he isnt going to be difficult to deal with financially why look elsewhere?

A Claret and Amber Tartan design.....oooh!

Football is supposed to be entertainment. Id rather pay to see a team with someone like Lionel in it with a chance that I might see something really special, rather than a team of journeyman, knowing fine well that I wont. Yes he is frustrating. Yes he hides at times. He cant tackle to save himself even when he can be arsed to track back but none of that matters if we have decent defenders. If we are going to be losing Moult AND Skippy do we really want to lose Lionels assists and goals from the team as well? I agree that the financial deal has to work for both parties and if that cant be done then he goes with our good wishes, but we are going to have a big turnover in the squad again this year. Keeping Lionel wouldnt be the worst bit of business we ever do.

We need the extra prize money. Lets win the game......

Be sad to see Lionel go. Simply, he can do things that no one else in our squad except maybe an ageing McFadden can do. Id make room for him in our squad even if just on the bench as an impact player. He certainly hasnt been the weakest link in our squad this season and has contributed a lot more than some. If he goes, good luck to him. He has left us with some cracking memories!

Some of the patter on here is chronic. I dont know Alan Burrows at all, so no axe to grind either way. His position is General Manager. He is accountable to the Board of Directors of which we have representation through the Well Society. Ive no idea whether he is the right man for the job (and neither does anyone else who doesnt work at the club with him on a daily basis) but the suggestion that he is some sort of oligarchal figure at the club is ludicrous. There are lots of things the club needs to do better. Player signing strategy being the main one. But for the first time in years we are on a stable financial footing living within our means. I'll take that as a starting point.

I think thats the last we will see of Lasley in Claret and Amber. I would be very surprised if he doesnt announce his retirement. He has been a magnificent servant to the club but every player knows when its time and it was written all over his face tonight.

Moult, Frear, Cadden and McHugh all had great games but it has to be Lionel who was at his frustratingly irresistable best.

Dodgy first half with plenty of our well known frailties being exposed. Credit to Robinson for changing it so early. Enabled us to go in 1-1 instead of the inevitable 2-1 down that was coming. 2nd half was a joy to watch for the most part. Lionel, Frear and Moult were all immense. Some of the best football we have seen all season. Lionels goal was as good a hit as Ive seen and he's given us some wonderful moments in his time with us. If thats his last game at FP, I wish him well. The 3rd goal was fantastic counter attacking play and cool finish from Frear, who I think could be an important player next season. Summary Great end to a shit season. Take a bow Lionel that was some way to sign off.

I think its somewhat ironic that our pitch is now one of the best in the league and we have reverted to a long ball game! Id like to see us get the ball down on the grass and make use of it! 4-4-2 Frear and Lionel both wide. Lets push them back and get some balls into the box for Moult and Skippy to attack.

I actually think Paul Hartley is one of the better young managers in Scottish football. His record up until recent weeks is pretty impressive given who he has been managing. Sacking him with 5 games to go smacks of desperation. I dont see how any new manager can come in and effect significant change in such a short space of time. Hartley will get another gig pretty soon. Dundee are staring at the play offs.

Craig Beattie.......

I'll raise you Stephen Fletcher!

Craig Beattie....

Its an interesting debate. Results definitely dont impact me as much as they used to. I still love it and get a buzz when we win but the lows of a bad result / poor performance definitely dont grag on as long. The drive back to Ayrshire is usually sufficient time to get it out my system. Conversely though, as I get older, I find the club itself means more to me than it maybe did before. Its become part of who I am as an individual. I find myself getting particularly emotional looking back at past achievments, players no longer with us, the changes to the local area which have impacted greatly on the viability of the club. I would be devestated more now if we went under than I would have in 2002. All part of life's rich tapestry I guess?

Not sure if anyone else noticed or has commented, but Pearo looked a lot more like himself on Saturday. Got around the pitch and was snapping into tackles. Maybe he has been carrying an injury as the manager alluded to in his pre match interview.

Be nice to pump them and lay down a marker for the run in, but I agree, a scrappy 1-0 will do just as good!

Not a failure in the team today. Everyone played their part. Notable mentions for McHugh, Cadden, Frear, Bowman and Moult. I went for Skippy. Worked tirelessly running both ways. Composure when sitting deep to pass the ball out of defence. Got forward to support a lot of our attacking plays and was happy to have the ball in tight positions freeing up space for others. Sure he was a bit greedy in front of goal when better decisions might have paid off but he's a striker and cant fault him for having a go.

Really good performance. We are looking much better defensively, although Id still like to see us stop more cross balls coming in. However, we are dealing with them much better when they do. Thought we were the better team in the first half and deserved to be ahead. Brave but correct decision from Steven McLean to book Waghorn for diving. Manys a ref would have given it. Rangers changed it at half time to match us up and it seemed to take us a wee while to work that out but we did. Was a fairly end to end last half our but thought we had the better chances. Gutted not to have brought back the 3 points, but like others have said, that level of performance until the end of the season will see us safe.

You could argue that Oxford had to invest £500k to get their £1m plus while our initial outlay was around £80k (iirc) and we have returned £500k plus a potential windfall of £200 - 300k if that turns out to be true. I still think it was decent business by the club as it is highly unlikely the clubs looking at him now would have been queuing up to offer us that kind of dough regardless of how well he was doing or how unfair that sounds.

Not sure we had any alternative to fan ownership. John Boyle tried to punt the club for years before taking this route. There were no serious takers or those that came forward were so dubious in character he didnt view them as viable options. The Well Society is the only game in town. We need it to be a success. If that means a downscaled Motherwell operating in the First Division then I'd take that over no Motherwell at all. However, we are entitled to aim higher than that.