sinjy

I don't often vote but when a player has such an influence on a result he must be man of the match. McDonald, Hall, Pearson, McManus and Grimshaw were all excellent but the man who won the game was Ripley. His three saves were all different and came at crucial times just before our first goal, just before our second goal and early in the second half when they were coming at us. If either had gone in then the result of the game would have been different.

Watched McGhee's press conference. I thought he looked terrible, red eyed and knackered. He alluded to the treadmill he had been on during the last two weeks and his face showed it. So give the guy a break from all this talk of a day off on Wednesday when he should have been training the players. It seems they did a double session on Thursday which by all accounts seems to be what the players at Aberdeen rebelled against. They did not like his work ethic. Hopefully our lot buy into what he wants. All this negativity gets on my tits. He is our manager and the first time around he gave us some of the best football I have ever seen a Well team play. The second season was not great and yes he did seem to look for a better job on the back of that great season. But how many of us have sought out and left for a job that is better paid? Mourinho and Klupp are out of our reach so lets get behind McGhee.

It seems that Taylor played regularly for Reading up until Christmas last season. When Nigel Adkins was sacked and Steve Clark took over he did not feature and was sent out on loan. Adkins must have rated him and Adkins is a big mate of Barraclough. Conjecture but it seems to add up that Adkins recommended him.

Goodness, when did Ripley make a mistake? On this showing he has everything that Dan does not, presence and command of his box. Can you point out his errors I can't remember any? If you count going up for the corner then he was probably given permission by the coaching staff and you might as well go for it in injury time. Anyway I am still to be convinced that the second goal was not offside. If the goalie is up the park then you need two out field player to play people onside in the counter attack.

I was quite encouraged by todays performance. Thought the defence looked more solid and Laing had an excellent game. The weak link in the defence is Law. I'm not a great Lasley fan but he put himself about and made some great tackles but we need a creative spark in midfield. Leitch did OK but like Lasley he is not going to unlock a defence. I also thought Skippy was very poor. Is his lack of a preseason telling? I thought Fletcher showed some nice touches early on but when he faded from the game after 25 minutes so did we. They had obviously picked out Marvin as a threat and doubled up on him although he became more of a threat in the second half. But until we take our chances we are going to leave ourselves open to the type of defeat we had today. I thought Madden was terrible. Their first goal came from a very soft free kick. As for the second I was convinced it was offside. With no goalie there was only one defender when the United player played the first forward pass. Maybe the receiving player was in his own half or behind the ball when it was played but if not he is offside. If the officials missed this then it is very worrying if they do not know the rules. Onward and upward and lets hope we can burst Hearts bubble on Wednesday. Sportsound having orgasms about them on my way home from the game.

Very impressed with Craigan's interview. Could be a future manager.

Dan gives me the fear. He was third choice at Dundee and only got one game when their goalie was suspended He was not rated by two managers Hartley and Brown. If you watch the Bradford highlights he wad at fault for all three goals. Obviously the first, caught at his near post for the second and dragged so far across his goal at the third that the guy had a huge target to head into. I would like to see Dan out on loan and two new keepers brought in.

Keith was also a better outfield player than Woods. Played quite a few games outfield. I remember him playing right back at Ibrox against Morton in a league cup play off game which we won 1-0

Some of the comments on here amaze me. To pick out Straker for blame is bonkers. He is not great but did nothing wrong. How about pointing the finger at the untouchables. Lasley lost is man for the goals. Pearson totally anonymous till the last minute when he played Erwin in. McDonald did nothing and deserved to be subbed. Erwin clean through three times and missed. When the second goal went in we chucked it and that is the most worrying thing. McManus, Lasley, Pearson and McDonald should have shown some leadership and they were nowhere to be seen. Its the play offs now and our attitude gives me the fear.

I'm usually pretty positive but that performance tonight was typical of a team that will be relegated. We were pretty toothless in attack. Apart from the goal Langfield did not have a save. At the other end we gave away two cheap goals. When you give free headers at corners and have a complete cock up by the goalie for another you know you are in bother. No punch up front and a defence that gives away goals is typical of a team that will go down. Tonight is the first time I have felt we will not get out of it.

Looked Owers up on Wiki. He played at Notts County when Bara was there. He coached at Aldershot when Straker was there and at Plymouth when Thomas was there. It looks like he has had some influence already.

I have watched all of Baraclough's interviews on youtube. I worked for years in the public sector and he reminds me of lots of managers who came into work every day beautifully turned out with an expensive suit, coiffured hair and excellent manners. They talked a good game and told everyone about all their successes in previous jobs. After a few months you realised they were wankers who had talked their way up the greasy pole on the backs of hard working minions. I'm afraid when I saw Baraclough's first interview this is exactly what came into my head. However I was prepared to give him the benefit of time in the job. Yesterday I was convinced he was another corporate nonentity who talked a good game but is not up to the job. I would not condemn his signings just yet. Players need time to settle and adjust to their new surroundings. One of my favourite players of recent years was Steve Jennings. He hardly played during his first six months at the club but went on to be a fine player. Admittedly the left back looked terrible but the others need time. I watched Liverpool during the week and the commentator said that Liverpool had brought in lots of new players over the summer and it has been only since November that they have been playing well. Unfortunately we do not have three months to allow our new players to settle in. However The tactics yesterday were poor. When I heard the team I thought Moore would be played right up front beside Sutton. To play a young striker in midfield in what must have been his third or fourth start was nothing short of criminal. He brought in two wingers and to play Erwin on the wing was strange. There was no fight at all and sometimes when you lose 1-0the opposing goalie has had a great game but I do not remember one shot at goal during the game. I wonder if there is something fundamentally wrong. Do Lasley McManus Ramsden look at the players Baraclough has brought in at training and do they realise that they are not up to it and so they have become disillusioned with the whole set up? If that is the case we are doomed.The manager's credibility with the senior players will be nil and the new players will not settle. We need a win in our next two games preferably 4 points. If we don't then we need a rethink. Sorry for the rant. I don't even post on here very often but I am all over the place after yesterday. The first 45 against St Johnstone and the 90 minutes yesterday were among the worst I have seen in more than 50 years following the Well.

I've listened to Baraclough and his positive interview about how things have gone these last two weeks in training. I've read all the positive comments on here. There is a real sense of optimism surrounding the club and supporters. This game is becoming super important. A victory, confidence will be up and we will all feel that we can kick on and finish well clear of relegation. A defeat and morale in both the players and supporters will take a huge dent. Fingers crossed.

Seems like a great transfer window. That has fairly lifted the gloom. The board have really backed the manager. But there will be real management issues for Baraclough now. Seven players in who will be his players will put a few noses out of joint in the dressing room. Some experienced players with a lot of influence may find themselves out of the team like Ramsden, McManaus and Lasley. How they react will be important. Baraclough cannot alienate them either. Remember what Butcher did at Hibs. He told a lot of guys they weren't good enough and three months later he needed them in the team and they went down. Onwards and upwards. Can't wait for the next game and see what all these guys are like.

I cant understand why we resigned O'Brien. In his interview Laing said he was a right centre back and nothing else. So no replacement for McManus. So it is O'Brien who is under pressure for his place. Barraclough said he wanted to play a possession game building from the back but O'Brien tends to hump the ball up the park. The only explanation maybe that Bara wants to play 5-3-2. If so we need another midfielder and striker. Oh and a new goalkeeper as well. As for Stalker we need to give him a chance. Going by the games he played he seems to have been a regular at Aldershot and Southend. He played at Wembley in a cup final for Southend and helped Aldershot to the conference championship and then to the league two playoffs the next year. He fell out of favour at York after injury but his manager their was Bara's mate so hopefully he has not sold his pal a dud. Players fit in at some clubs and not at others. Everyone was aware that we needed a left sided player. Maybe Dayton would have been a better short term investment. But he can only play left wing. Right now we need a left back but in a few weeks Hammell should be back and Stalker seems capable of being pushed forward then.

I really think we will be relegated. We have got 10 points from St Mirren and Ross County and probably deserved only 1. By the law of averages they will beat us when we play them again. We need a new goalkeeper and two mid field players and if Ojaama goes ( which I'm not bothered about) another forward. How would you like to play in a defence that constantly had opponents running through the midfield and a goalkeeper who cannot command his box. Neilsen, Kerr, Lasley, Ramsden and Lawson punted to make way for the new players if anyone will take them.

Having watched both Baraclough and Lasley's press conferences I have been impressed with Baraclough's positivity. However Lasley looked less enthusiastic. Maybe it was just me but he seemed pretty wary of his new manager.

Seem to remember when Maskaant played for us his father was a player agent. Don't know if he still is but his son might have a lot of contacts. Then again his dad might punt him a few duds and pocket his commission.

Moore looked decent. Really? Thought he looked like an under 14 who had got a game at under 18. Steep learning curve for him which I hope he manages to climb. Can't understand the love in for Lasley either. His second touch is usually a tackle. Sutton at least ran about, won a few headers from terrible service and put in a lot of effort trying to stop the Celtic defenders moving forward out of defence.

It is very strange that there is no mention in the club honours of our team that won the second division at a canter in 1969 or am I missing something

Depends what you mean by a defence. Our back four and midfield are poor defensively but I reckon that Randolph is the best goalkeeper I have seen at Fir Park and I can go back to Keith McCrae and Peter McCloy. Without Randolph our goals against total would be higher and our points total lower.

As a supporter of 50 years and a season ticket holder for more years than I care to remember I thought long and hard about joining the Well Society. My heart told me to do it but then my head said what sensible person puts money into a football club. The decision not to reduce the prize money that can only go to Celtic, beggars belief and I am sorry to say totally vindicates my decision not to invest in the Well Society. The club with the most money that gets the Champions League money every year gets their money maintained while every other team gets their money reduced. Great move SPL. No wonder fans are turning away from the game. This shows the game in Scotland is fd and the people running it have no idea.

There was so much to be positive about yesterday. Our attacking play at times was brilliant. The move where Lasley dummied it got the return and passed for Murphy to shoot over was great. There was good hold up play from Higdon in the first half. Although the change they made at half time snuffed him out. Humphrey's pace makes him almost unplayable. On the other hand our defence was terrible. I can hardly remember Hutch having a worse game. He hardly won a ball in the air and that was against average size forwards. Every time they came forward I felt they could score. Our defending at corners was terrible. Early in the second half their forward had a free header and should have scored. Then right at the end Hollis saved us with a wonder save after another free header. At 3-2 I was not confident that we would hold out and win. I thought Hollis looked a bit nervous in his first home game and came tearing off his line a couple of times when he shouldn't have. He doesn't look too good at corners and with our defence we need someone to dominate. However his save in the last minute did more than enough to ensure that he should get his chance when Randolph goes. A lesson too for McCall. Subs can change games. I thought we were flat and had settled for a draw at 2-2 when ZFA came on. How refreshing to see a left winger who went round the outside and crossed with his left foot. I thought he sparked the whole team into action. However we will need to defend much better on Tuesday if we are to win. Heres hoping

My home page is BT Yahoo and they have a video of a cock up of a free kick in a Conference South game between Chelmsford and Hayes and Yeading. The eventual scorer is Yassin Moutaouakil who used to play for us. If you remember him you probably agree that he has found his true level. I do not have the ability to post a link for others to see it. Maybe someone else can.

Much of what I thought about today has already been said. We were outclassed but remember the wages of any two Celtic players probably adds up to the same as our whole team. Thank goodness for Randolph. God help us when he leaves. He must be worth ten to fifteen points a season. His distribution though was poor and I wondered during the game if he was getting a bit fed up with waht was happening in front of him. The defence is missing Craigan or a leader. Hutch is a good player but he is not yet ready to take on that role. He still needs an experienced man beside him. I was as surprised as the rest that Cummins was in the team today. He is a good prospect but needs to be nursed and should have been left out. I would have replaced him with Ojamma early in the second half, put Ramsden to CB and went for it. Hateley was posted missing at their second goal but put in some good tackles. He should never be considered for any other position than right back. Angol was the one bright spark of the day. He recoverd well after his horrendous mistake that gave them an early chance. Great attitude and another bright prospect that needs to be introduced carefully to the side. Our midfield was completely over run. I would give Humphrey 30 minutes and if he is not cutting it get him off. He performs one game in ten and is honking in the others. Law was anonymous. Lasley as usual ran about a lot but did very little. At 32 he is going to be less able to get about the pitch and I feel that his days are numbered. Tin hat on after that considering the love in on this forum for him. As for Murphy many people on here questioned the board when they accepted £200000 for him last year. That is beginning to look like a good deal. He is too predictable cutting inside every time or turning back when he realises he does not have the pace to beat his man. He is far too light weight. Having said that he put in two good crosses early in the first half but there was no one on the end of them. Ramsden was lying too deep. Maybe not the best day to judge his first game in midfield and whether he can replace Jennings. It will be interesting to see if McCall keeps him there next week or moves him back to CB. I thought Higdon did his best up front but with no support any passes he made were backwards as there was noone from the midfield running beyond him. Then there is the horrible Celtic support. Every time I come away from an Old Firm game I feel dirty and polluted. They have the gall to put up a banner complaining about TV interfering with KO times. Every team in Scotland apart from them would survive without TV money. Each club would find their level and we would have a competitive league. But they need the money so that they can pretend that they are a big club and can compete in Europe And please MFC never again make a statement telling supporters to sit during a game. Everyone in the South Stand stood for the whole game and no action was taken by the stewards or police.