joewarkfanclub

Fuck me! What a depressing thread! Now for the happy clapper version. The first 30 mins last night we were excellent. Totally in control of the game and should have been more than two up. They break up the park, get a pen from a wicked bounce and we get a little nervy but see it out to half time. Second half admittedly they had some good chances on the break but we were still in control of the game without having the same cutting edge we had in the first half. As the game went on you could see our fitness levels dropping but its our first competitive game and they are well into their season. Christ, anyone who plays 5's should know the difference games make let alone the level they are playing at. I think where we did get it wrong was the Kerr sub. I accept we have a small squad and options are limited, but we know he cant play right mid. He should have gone to right back and let Reid move forward. Big Erwin looked decent when he came on and I would hope he will feature more as the season progresses. We maybe should have shut up shop last night and took our 2-1 win but you cant criticise the players for showing the opposition too much respect and also have a go at them for trying to score a third goal in the dying minutes. I thought Ramsden was having his shirt pulled as he fell to the ground, not sure it waa enough for a pen but having seen the highlights on youtube Im not sure their 2nd was either. You could argue the ball should have been cleared but it was still a harsh decision IMO. I saw enough last night to think we are better than Stjarnan. Now we need to go to their patch and prove it. If we can get into the next round and get those 1or 2 extra players in I think we can have another very good season.

Carswell was solid throughout no doubt but went for Law for a marvellous first 30 minutes. Gave the midfield some balance in that period. Great early season promise. With some more games under his belt he looks like he could do very well for us.

Sad to see Faddy go but the return for the money this season just wasnt there. He could get a better pre season behind him in the summer and may not be so injury prone next season but with our budget thats just too much of a risk especially if the directors are not sponsoring his wages anymore. I hope its not the end of the road for him but I also hope he doesnt go to another scottish club. Seeing him play against us would be horrible especially if it was for sevco.

Watch yourself Tweed. Doncaster will have a hit out on you with common sense progressive ideas like that!

Uefa/Fifa/tv are fast creating a two tier football structure with the top tier being fast removed from the grasp of the working man/woman. I accept that Scottish football isnt at the same technical standard as champions league but I have become bored with that as its the same teams/players being over exposed on tv season after season. This year Ive cancelled my skysports and been to more motherwell games than in any season since before my kids were born. The quality may not gave been great at times but it has felt more "honest" and its "ours". As a result I have really enjoyed the overall experience. Does that make sense?

That ones a great shout.

Not a Motherwell one, but Craig Beattie for Scotland against Georgia was pretty immense.

Wee video of the post match celebrations on Sunday. Loving how much the players are getting out of it. Shows we have a good dressing room.

Brilliant news. Given how close he, Faddy, Hammy and Las are it bodes well for the rest as I dont think he would be so quick off the mark if the squad was breaking up again. Now if he could only have a word in Craig Gordons ear.....

Good post Texan Not in the GIRFUY way, but maybe by way of restoring some balance to discussions/expectations over the course of a season. Our wee diddy club isnt perfect and undoubtedly mistakes have and will be made. However, in recent years we have got more right than wrong otherwise we couldnt have achieved what we have. It would be crazy to expect supporters on a forum to agree on everything and sensible criticism of the team/manager is a healthy thing. However, hopefully some of the wild kneejerk reactions to the manager / some of the players can be tempered a little. Then again, maybe that would make things on here less interesting?

Ooh! Teaser......

I didnt think it was a foul at the time and Im still not sure. However given the blatant foul on Hutch as the ball is crossed I couldnt care less. Listening to McInnes on the radio you'd think Big Handsome had elbowed him right in the ribs and punctured his spleen.....

Would dearly love to give it to Reid just for the goal however Lasley was immense again today cementing him as my POTY.

Glad to see we learned from previous A'deen games and Dundee Utd games. Very disciplined performance. Still a few hairy moments but the boys deserved a few breaks for the effort we put in. Great away support today as well. The scenes at the end will live with me for some time!

Euphoric doesnt come close. Gonna be a much more enjoyable drive home now! Magic!

Pishing down in Aberdeen so its gonna be a slick surface and a wet ball. I forecast lots of goals. So it will probably end up 0-0! COYW!

Like the home kit but the away kit is poor. If they had gone with a white version of the home kit with c&a trim it would have been the berries. Trick missed.

Still no takers for carpool. Anyone getting the megabus from Glasgow?

Vigurs has finished strongly and is clearly the best footballer in our team, however, it took him a long time to get going. Sutton has his critics and could be considered to be somewhat limited in what ge can do, but he gives his all every game and his goals return means we have barely missed Higdon. However, my player of the season for shear endeavour and consistency of performance is the housewives favourite Captain Keef Lasley.

Having to drive up to Aberdeen on Sunday as public transport doesnt start early enough to get there on time. Looking for someone to share the journey /fuel costs with. Will be leaving Irvine around 7am. Any takers?

Which takes me back to my second point. Why not just put Anier on instead of changing the whole shape of the team?

Thought it was between Lasley and Sutton. Went for Las as Big John was isolated for large parts of 2nd half, albeit through no fault of his own.

That was hard going in the 2nd half. Not sure what the McFadden sub was all about. Bit early to be shutting up shop at 2-0 and given they scored as we were preparing the swap it would have been easy for McCall to change his mind. If McFadden was injured why not just go like for like and put Anier on? After that Sutton was getting no support so the ball just kept bouncing back. No surprise when the second set of subs were made we started to get back up the park more. I thought we had established that big handsome cant play the lone striker role. Made things much more difficult for ourselves than was necessary I thought. Anyway, we got there in the end. Hope the players arent carrying too many knocks and we can give it a right good go on Sunday. Just need to make sure my alarm clocks working!

Well done Stuart McCall and the team. Marvellous achievement. Nothing to lose now. Lets get 2nd!

Thats a keeper. Absolutely timeless.