joewarkfanclub

We obviously are. I had shamefully forgotten TC but agree he is up there. I also loved Dougie Arnott. His partnership with the Cobra was fantastic. Probably not good enough to be considered a GOAT, but his attitude and workrate were first class!

Despite never having seen a decent game against them, our record is actually very good. I fancy us for a low scoring draw......

Off the players Ive seen........ Joe Wark Bobby Graham Wullie P. Coop McFadden probably deserve to be considered. I think it depends what your criteria for GOAT is? Is it simply the best player ever to have played for us, or does longevity and success come into it? My favourite player as a kid was Wullie P. But as I got older I came to appreciate that Joe's value to the club had been greater over a longer period. Cooper is the probably the best Ive seen in terms of sheer skill and we probably wouldnt have won the Cup in 91 without his winning mentality. But as others have said, If you know the clubs history, certain players names stand out for a reason and you dont need to have seen them play to consider them. Ferguson, McFadyen, Ferrier, Paton, Quinn and St John would all be worthy contenders. Interesting debate.......

Mine too. Always a bitter sweet day.

For some reason, I got up today expecting to listen to Off the Ball, followed by an afternoon of Sportsound! No idea what Im going to do now given its absolutely pishing outside!

Merry Xmas fellow Dossers fae the Shire! 2022 has been pretty stinking. 2023 cant be as bad. Surely..........

Dont see us getting anything from this one on our current run of form. Rangers havent been great recently, but they have managed to grind out results and have home advantage here. If we get out of it with a 2-0 reverse we will have done well.

Precisely my point......

It never did Andy Goram any harm, or McGregor for that matter. I would prefer a keeper who could command his area but its not essential as long as the defence know he isnt coming and are capable of dealing with it.

Didnt see the game tonight, but at 2-0 up against 10 men we really should be seeing this game out. I get the negativity around the result, and the failure to win the game needs to be shared between the players on the pitch and the manager for not having the capacity and where with all to hold onto what we had. We did control the game and score 2 goals against 11 men before it all went south. But we need to stop snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and we need to do it now.

Really dont see us getting any more than another 2 players in over and above the one we have already. Whether they will even improve our options or just give us more back up is up for debate.

Any streams now Hesgoal has gone down the tubes?

More than just a football club......

My point is, it shouldnt just be about football. As a country we should be far more serious about all sport due to the health benefits involved. Facilities are another huge issue that requires joined up thinking and government funding.

I think that still is the case. I think you need as broad a foundation as possible though. Some players develop later than others and many wont be picked up at elite level. Doesnt mean that they cant go on to be good players or make a living from the game.

How about the Scottish Government? We need to start being serious about the health of our nation, and that starts with promoting sport and fitness properly. The benefits for our young people and the savings for our health service would be imeasurable.

Yup. Totally agree. Requires government intervention to imbed football and sport in general as an integral part of our education system. Not everyone can be an academic so we need to be nurturing the other skills of our young people. Not only will it give them the best start in life, but our sporting endeavours as a nation would also improve.

Not a must win game, but it would certainly give us a boost going into the festive programme and give Hammy some breathing space whilst we wait on the window to address the deficiencies in the squad. The Killie game would he a more important victory given current league positions, but we just need to start putting points on the board regardless of the opposition. Any win will do.

Theres a huge difference between airing private medical issues in public, and keeping fans appraised of availability and timescale for return of players due to injury. Both things dont have to be mutually exclusive. Its also sometimes better to control the narrative by giving out a little information, rather than letting supporters come to their own conclusions. The Calum Slattery situation is a perfect example of that.

I also find the lack of information very frustrating. We used to have very good lines of communication between the club and the fans. It all seemed to change with Alexander and hasnt improved since. Im not sure what advantage the club feels we get from it in a league where we play each other 4 times a season and sometimes more.

Not good ones. A certain cup replay v Hearts at Fir Park springs to mind. Still gives me nightmares.

Glad you agree with me! But we have had keepers in the past who didnt even make that benchmark. John Gardiner springs to mind.....

This might be unpopular on here, but I dont actually think Kelly is an international class goalkeeper. And before we get into the semantics of what that actually means, I do think he is probably the best alternative to Gordon we have right now that is available for selection. For that reason alone, I agree he should at least have got the second half so his first cap isnt when he is being thrown in during a vital qualifier if Gordon is injured. But lets not kid ourselves. Kelly is a good shotstopper. But he isnt tall enough, doesnt command the 6 yard box and his distribution is rank. Very good keeper at our level and Im delighted to have him at Motherwell, but he is likely to be exposed playing for Scotland. Marshall (and dare I say McGregor) are still both better keepers so saying Stevie Clarke would bring Marshall back if he could shouldnt really be a surprise, I would too. But they have both retired, so on that basis Kelly should have got game time last night. I do hope for the national teams sake though, that Craig Gordon can go on for some time yet.

Clark is clearly backing Gordon as his no.1 and I wouldnt be surprised if, Gordon at least, doesnt have an eye on Jim Leightons record goalkeeper caps. Im all for continuity down the spine of a team if it allows others to be introduced into the team in a structured manner. That said, I would have started Ramsay and possibly Ferguson and given Kelly at least the 2nd half to get his first cap out the way. I also think, not that it should have been in doubt, that we should ditch the 3-5-2. We were far more effective in the second half with four at the back.

Bah humbug!