Ya Bezzer!

Fine if it is budgeted for. Not fine if we lose a couple of games and money we will need to pay back Les is panic spunked because the manager is shite and can't get a team performing. We have something like 25 players with first team experience by no means the smallest squad in the league.

St. Mirren have one of the weakest squads in the division. They need bodies just to be able to compete in that league never mind finish 2nd.

Was at the Ayr Utd - Brechin match a few weeks ago and the pace of the game was nothing like the Premiership. Guys like Ainsworth and Johnson should be going into that match thinking they can have a lot of joy. Even in poor form we should be fitter, sharper, faster.

Wasn't there yesterday but from eyewitness reports it sounds familiar. Baraclough presents himself as a modern manager but what we are getting is basically bog standard English lower league long ball when 20 or 30 minutes of tippy tappy stuff proves unfruitful. Maybe that is what inevitably happens when you fill a team with non league players and reserves from down south. Old habits... One thing I was impressed with a few weeks ago was how well coached the Aberdeen players were. I think it's true what they say, the manager does his work during the week, not during the 90 minutes. Aberdeen players were constantly switching positions, making diagonal runs, not just singles, but in co-ordination with each other (ie, playing as a team) - The full back bombs forward, the left winger cuts inside and the attacking midfielder runs in behind the full back to provide an option and make it hard to defend. When do we ever see that sort of fluid play at Motherwell? Our play is more in line with "give to the nearest guy and hope he does something with it". Players should have it drilled into them what their role is in this position, in that situation, in this area, and that is obviously not happening. Two things that even I can see that obviously aren't being addressed is distribution from the goalkeeper and throw ins. Both are garbage. If modern football is all about possession then why do we give the ball away every time from these positions. You probably wouldn't be allowed to do it now but I'd fine the 11 players on the pitch every time the ball was kicked from hand by the goalkeeper. It was dinosaur football 3 decades ago but now when most teams play 1 up front it is absolutely ridiculous. The last time Celtic were at Fir Park they played the ball out from the back just about every time, that's what we should be doing and if McManus isn't good enough with the ball at his feet, put someone else there. Second thing is throw ins. Our team scatters and disappears every time we get a throw in. Usually it is only Lasley that makes himself available for it and usually by running out of his position. A throw in, especially in the opposition half, is a chance to gain possession in a dangerous position but our guys don't want the ball and that is a poor reflection on both them and the coaching.

Don't laugh too much, next Saturday is on the way.....

Things could change but remember if we hadn't played a total shambles of a Rangers team we'd have been a Championship team this season. The opinions on the board are not based on one game or even form since the start of the season. There has too be improvement starting now, we can't go on like this.

Next four matches are huge, for the club and Baraclough. Cup match v East Fife, defeat is unthinkable in that one. Two home matches against Kilmarnock and Ross County, then away to our Lanarkshire friends Hamilton who have already opened up a wee gap on us. If we go to NDP and lose again I'd imagine the reaction will be vociferous.

He's had nearly 30 matches in charge and had a lot of backing from the club, including money to spend on players, which you and me will have to pay for at the end of the day. Besides the wins against Rangers, who you ought to remember were being matched or bested by the likes of Alloa Athletic and Livingston last season, and you'd be hard pressed to see many positives. Warning siren should have been sounding when we lost at home to Dundee Utd who then got hammered by Hamilton 4-0. We have two defeats against teams this season who's only three points in five matches have been against us. Things need to turn around, in a sustained way, very soon.

Even a win next week might just be papering over the cracks. Strong trends beginning to show themselves now.

OK, here's a damning statistic, in 27 league matches under Baraclough we have scored more than once.....6 times.

Baraclough's league win percentage now down to 29% and our away record under him is absolutely chronic.

Taylor taking an early shower. Might not need one right enough!

4th consecutive week we've conceded 2 goals. Not good enough. Won't pick up many wins having to score 3 goals.

Quelle surprise.

Sounds worrying, the whole direction of the play seems to have switched in favour of St. Johnstone.

Looks like Gary Locke's sacking will come a week too early for us. Sounds like St. Johnstone are coming more into it.

If you are interested Craig Moore scored in 4 minutes for Ayr Utd.

GOAL! Moult or OG, one of the two.

St. Johnstone have played Inverness and Hearts, so 2 out of 4 are the same but, OK, put it this way - bookies have us at 3.40 and St. Johnstone at 2.15. All I'm saying is I think a draw would be a decent result tomorrow.

St. Johnstone have lost 2 out of 13 home matches in 2015. Motherwell have lost 10 out of 13 away matches in 2015. St. Johnstone have scored in every match this season. Motherwell have failed to score in 50% of our matches this season. Doesn't look good does it? St. Johnstone have also conceded in every match but we've conceded 6 goals in the last 3 games so we are probably going to have to score twice to get anything out of this game. Would be happy with a point and then we really need to beat Kilmarnock at home. BTW John Sutton was dropped in favour of Steven MacLean last weekend who scored so I'm guessing MacLean will start again tomorrow although inevitably we'll see Sutton on at some point.

See St. Mirren fans are saying Craig Reid is being linked with a move there.

Michael O'Halloran is probably one of the quickest players in the league.

St. Johnstone have an excellent home record. They have only lost two home league matches in the last 10 months and the last team to go there and win, other than Celtic, was Hamilton Accies back in the first week of January. Before that you have to go back to October 2014 when Kilmarnock won there. They have a few injuries at the moment, particularly in defence but Graham Cummins has scored 3 in 4 so we'll need to keep an eye on him and of course they have Sutton who may or may not come back to haunt us.

As perhaps Gannon's chief hater on this board I'm saying that wasn't one of my major reasons to take agin him!

I'm sure I read on the Sheff Utd site that they had brought in 7 times what they paid for him.