joewarkfanclub

I agree that it is going to be difficult for them to compete at Champions League level, but Rangers showed last year they can absolutely compete at Europa League level. Their big problem is that they sold their 2 best players close season in Bassey and Aribo and despite the rather large transfer fees and Europa League money, didnt replace them with players of anywhere near the same quality. Add in that the directors were probably looking to recover some of their soft loans and its not hard to see why they have gone backwards. I think Celtic are a different matter. They seem to have recruited well and should have been in a position to compete better in the Champions League, however, they have picked up injuries to key players which has prevented them from doing so. Im thinking Starfeld, Carter Vickers and now McGregor. Its going to be tough for them now and Europa League is probably best they can hope for. Given the number of games both have played in Europe over the past few seasons, Im not sure exposure to more competitive football is the biggest issue for them. If it was of course, both could help to create a more competitive environment in their domestic league by agreeing to a fairer share of the wealth in our game. But thats a whole different argument and one they would never agree to. For me the problem they have is mostly financial. Scotland doesnt have a good enough tv contract to generate the revenue they would need to attract the level of player necessary to compete at Champions League level, which is why the big 5 leagues dominate proceedings the way that they do.

Shame the trains are on strike as I like a wee away day in Edinburgh. However, after last night and given how shit the weather looks all weekend, I may still drive through for this one. Not something I would have said under Alexander. The confidence should be high in the squad now after seeing some tangible results for all the hard work they have put in and we have yet to see McKinstry and Moult up to speed. But when they and Tierney are your options from the bench, there is a lot to be happy about. Hopefully we have a full squad to choose from and we can go give another good account of ourselves. Keep wee Boyle quiet and we have a chance.

I dont think they were in the main stand though. They were in the very corner of the away stand behind the goal. The worst possible view. The main stand would actually be better. Likewise when we have put fans in the POD. I get stewarding heating costs etc, but if the stand is already open, what does it matter if they are sat in one section in the corner or one section behind the goal? If you are gonna give fans a poorer experience, at least drop the price to reflect that.

That doesnt really justify it though does it? Not as if they would be coming into contact with any of the home fans. They could have cordoned off half the stand from the goals to the corner and achieved the same objective with the same numbers of stewards. That would have allowed fans to at least get a half decent view of the game. As it was fans have made that journey in bad weather, paid £28 to get a shite view of their team. What happened to football being "entertainment"?

Great to have Slattery back. Really showed his worth and what a great partnership he and Goss are in midfield.

Lots of worthy candidates tonight. Efford, KVV and Goss were all excellent. For me Slattery was my MOTM. Given the couple of weeks he has had, he came back in, showed why he is our best midfielder and capped it all with a great goal. Well done Slatts!

Great result. First half performance was solid, but unspectacular. I thought we were marginally the better team but there wasnt much in it. 2nd half we just took control of the game and thoroughly deserved the margin of victory. Lovely hat trick from KVV and King Louis deprived once more! Hopefully when his goal comes it will be meaningful! Well done Stevie Hammell. Your team is worth following.

The one we missed was Moults disallowed goal!

Slattery being back is a major boost. With him and Goss back together in the middle and willing runners in front of them we should control the game. We need to start taking chances though....

The futures still bright. The futures Hammell!

Maybe it was Callum McGregor.......

With Slattery missing due to family reasons, we are pretty limited in our options in that position. If its not Maguire or Cornelius we are looking at Lennon Miller or dropping Tierney or McKinstry in there. Not sure any of those options would have been the right one going to Celtic Park. Going forward, if Slattery is still out, we might be able to change it up a little and go more attacking. Id like to see what KVV and Moult could do together. Neither is the best as a lone striker, but they are both intelligent players who I think could feed off each other. McKinstry wide getting good delivery into the box could be tasty. I like Tierney playing in the hole but it might mean a change of shape to get them all on the park at the same time.....

Thought the back 4 all did reasonably well considering and Goss tried to make things happen on the ball, but had little help and was largely over run most of the game. Probably give it to Penney as he caught the eye more than the others.

Really need to take the 3 points. Dont care how ugly it is. We need to take something out of this run of fixtures and Tuesday is probably our best chance. Be nice to see Hammy mix it up and start McKinstry Moult and KVV up top and just go for it.

I thought we started the game quite positively which was refreshing to see. But it wasnt long before we were chasing shadows. Not that Celtic were cutting us open repeatedly, but they did have pretty much all the ball and created 2 or 3 very good chances over and above the goal. Conversely when we had it it we couldnt seem to keep it at all. The own goal was a stroke of good fortune but it seemed to give us confidence and I though we finshed the half more strongly than before. Second half I thought we were better. We kept our shape well, really limited their chances and looked more composed on the ball. We got into some good areas, but our decision making and quality of delivery in the final third was poor so we didnt capitalise on our good field position. The red card gave me hope that we might sneak a point at the end, but letting Morris hit the free kick when he should have been nowhere near it was a ludicrous decision. Overall, we got what we deserved from the game, but the players and the manager shouldnt be judged on yesterday alone. We missed Slattery big time and Goss had no one to feed off or help him try and retain possession. Maguire and Cornelius were willing runners, but you need more than that going to Parkhead. Maybe Hammell could have played McKinstry and/or Tierney instead of Maguire and/or Cornelius, but there is no guarantee they would have kept the ball better and defensively it may have left us too open. The positives are we didnt take a tanking and we have easier games coming up.

Gonna be interesting to see what Hammell does tomorrow. Playing negatively and trying to park the bus against Celtic hasnt really served us that well in the past. However, I accept playing an open game and having a go could equally end up with us getting a tanking. Taking care of the ball and trying to limit their possession of it would appear to be the best bet, but thats a lot easier said than done the way they can press you from the front. No great expectations in this one. Happy to use it as a learning experience for the cup game. Anything we can take out of it would be a huge bonus.......

That is good news. Im sure the family will be very relieved. Best wishes to all......

Aye. I made a comment about a big game under the lights deserving a big performance! But the ko is 6.15pm.

Oh, aye. Forgot about the stupid ko time!

Me too. Especially as I will be going to that game! Whilst I dont immediately right any game we play off, I did give up on going to Parkhead ages ago. Paying over the odds for a shite view with a very slim chance of a positive result isnt a productive use of a Saturday afternoon for me. Hopefully we can get some positive results between now and then to get the home end as full as possible. Big nights under the lights deserve big performances.

Get the boy on a 5 year contract immediately!

Glad to see Grimmy get a club. Maybe not at the level he would have hoped, but gets him back in the shop window. I wish him all the best.

He came on as a sub in 71 mins..... https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2022/09/06/reserves-motherwell-4-0-queens-park/

Well thats a bit shite! Hopefully folks will be able to get finished work sharp!