Ya Bezzer!

We need a new right back next season. Law has been better there than in midfield but he's still not good enough.

Slightly different circumstances though, right?

I think it should be compulsory for Motherwell fans to read about Operation Barbarosa. If the Soviet Union survied that, which seemed impossible, and then won, I don't see how Motherwell FC can't win a couple of football games on a ground were we've only lost once in the last six. Let's show a bit of grit and a bit of perspective. The game is there to win, we might not win it, but it is there to win.

Our home form is actually pretty good and St. Mirren is one of the few away grounds we've gone to and won at. A big difference from say going to Firhill needing to win when we were comprehensively beaten last time out. I'm not saying we will definately finish 10th now, but I think Ross County's defeat has opened up a real opportunity for us and Kilmarnock have lost, I think, 5 on the trot. I like to think I'm not unrealistic about where we are BUT as long as there is a possible chance of escape you've got to have a steely belief. I don't want my club or our fans to throw in the towel in a matter as important as this when we maybe could have escaped it.

You certainly can't dismiss the number of injuries we've had this season. It's been catastrophic, we've lost about 5 or 6 players for long periods including Hammell and his deputy for most of the season. I also believe the start of the season really set the tone for everything that transpired. We all wanted a winnable European match after some tough draws we got it and we blew it, not once but twice. There was individual player errors but pre season preperation just wasn't good enough and that comes down to McCall. I have a bit more sympathy towards McCall regarding the run down of the squad because I believe basically wasn't given any money, something that Baraclough can't say. He's obviously been supported by the board in a way that McCall wasn't. On the other side of the coin in terms of youth development McCall was utterly useless. Where I disagree with you is the potential of the players. We were very lucky last season to finish 2nd but I felt there was enough there for us to at least fight for a Top 6 place. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be 11th with a few weeks to go. You slate players that I think could still do a job for us. With a fit Pearson next to him Lasley looked back to his old self. With Lang, McManus looked a bit more secure. Twardzik, for me is better than Long (and still is 2nd top of the saves table this season). Ainsworth and Vigurs are inconsistant but we need players with a bit of flair and are worth persevering with. Others aren't good enough but I think the core of our team is still good enough that we shouldn't be in this position. Is any one telling me Dundee have better players than us? They certainly have a better manager....

I'm a hell of a lot more confident about winning at home than I am away and now we have 3 home games and possibly the easiest away match we could have. I never really believed we'd win the last two because, well I pay attention to the opposition, but I think it is very, very possible that we can actually get out of this now. Partick are safe, only once in the history of the format has anyone finished 11th on 41 points. But if we can win the next two Kilmarnock and Ross County will be looking very nervously over their shoulder. On Friday night we were dead and buried as far as the play offs were concerned. The teams above us must have thought they were safe. Now we are right back in it again and we have to use that unexpected chance to our favour. We are the chasers. We are the dogs, they are the stags. The pressure should be on them. We've nothing to lose and everything to gain now and the opposite applies to County and Kilmarnock. We have to be motivated and believe and we've got to be fearless. Results didn't really go for us with County's run but now, here, finally, is the chance! In terms of team selection every contracted player should play over every loan player even if the loan player is slightly better on paper. We need guys out there who will fight to preserve their Premiership status not guys who will be off doing something else next season.

Our problem was the inexcusable run from January to about March when we hardly took any points. Even average to slightly below average form during that period and we'd probably have been fine. That period also completely destroyed our goal difference. Ross County's run was started by us and a poor performance up the road. Again we win that or even get a draw and Ross County probably don't get the lift and momentum that they did. Ross County's result today has actually cemented my attitude on Baraclough. . When has a team that's been as poor as we have been over a season had so many chances to claw it back? If he doesn't take one of these chances then I'm afraid he's totally failed as a manager and next week must surely be the last one. A win next week blows the whole thing open again but if we don't win then I really don't see how Baraclough can continue with any kind of credibility.

For me Rangers, Hibs and QoS are all of very similar quality so I don't see any real advantage in terms of actually form and quality of player. Of course you then bring in things like the psychological effect of playing Rangers and the, as you say, the plastic pitch at Dumfries. So maybe then Hibs would be our best bet. At any rate I wouldn't put any money on any of the teams to get to the play off final, I think it really is completely open. I think our full backs are worse than our centre backs right now. Lang and McManus, while not great, have been a big improvement on what was there before but Straker and Law just aren't good enough. For me Ramsden cannot be trusted any longer, what with terrible form and his short fuse, and Hammell has hardly played all season and will obviously be pretty rusty so I don't think we really have a lot of options to be honest.

If we do get relegated we should take the foul tasting medicine and hope for better next season. That means going down to Rangers. Being in the Championship with Rangers next season is surely the worst of all possible outcomes.

Fine. But right now we are heading for four matches against Stranraer next season.

He was about 5 or 6 rows down from me and his section looked like it was a group of people of a similar type (fat, shaved heads, tattoos) so you can hardly blame anyone for not doing so. I would have reported him if there had been a steward or any police around which there wasn't but of course when we got back to Airbles station there was about 20 of them doing fuck all except clogging up exits, getting in the way and of course picking up giant over time payments! Good job Police Scotland. The sad thing was Angol was there with two women, one I assume was his mum, and the other who was perhaps a sister or girlfriend, and they clearly heard the comment. They say we need to increase our support, on the evidence of last night we need to decrease it. Just sickening.

Last time we won a match Keith Lasley was by miles Man of the Match.

What makes me 90% sure? His record, simple as that. Baraclough's record isn't even comparable and anyone that says so is just being stupid and bloody minded. That includes two of the stints you are talking about when he kept Ross County and Kilmarnock in their respective divisions. The obsession with 'newness' in our support is going to put this club right down the chute. Already some are saying we "start again" with a "production line of young talent" in the Championship as if our U20's wouldn't get eaten alive in that division. Our support has lost it's head.

Our fans wanted a left field appointment over some one like Jimmy Calderwood, who I'm 90% certain would have kept us in the division. So suck it up, 'Well fans.

Our best manager this season has been Kenny Black. Fact.

Just watched it and that's exactly what it's like!

If Ross County win tomorrow I think it's something like a 17 point swing since the start of the year. We were 7 points ahead of County even after the 5-0 defeat at Douglas Park. I think if you look at our results this season there have been very few draws. We just can't seem to dig out a point here and point there. We either win, or more likely lose. We are completely bereft of confidence or belief. We lose a goal and we are basically fucked.

As bad as we've been I don't think anyone down there is better than us in potential at least. Form is a different matter though. The two big problems are we've consistently choked in pressure games and obviously these play off matches would be pressure games. Secondly, we might fall apart now like St. Mirren did when they realised relegation was inevitable. If Ross County win tomorrow, and probably even if they only get a point given the goal difference, it's going to be inevitable that we go into the play offs.

A manager has to provide leadership. There is obviously none. Our players go out into matches not believing in themselves and that can't be anyone other than the managers fault, at the very least it's his responsibility to do something about it. Look at his substitutions tonight. No guts from the manager.

Straight into my team of the year. No Motherwell players in it surprise, surprise! I always vote for someone so I'll give it to Marvin Johnson.

If County even get a point tomorrow you could open the gates and people wouldn't come.

OK where do you start? I said before the match that I thought this would our hardest match and when I said that I was kind of diplomatically saying I didn't think we'd win for all the reason that actually transpired tonight. A pressure match. An away match. An away match on Accies pitch. Plus our fans totally discounting and disrespecting the opposition and totally upping our team with scarcely any evidence. First of all we went out into a must win match in front of a big away support and we shat it. There was no urgency, no energy, no closing people down, no pressing, we went out and played at a canter. It's just not fucking good enough and I've said it before and I'll say it again it has absolutely fuck all to do with Kenny Black!! Motherwell supporter all season have been coming away with total delusions and latching on to ridiculous beliefs and it's about time they wised up. Baraclough's super duper training methods have had the best part of 5 months and they have changed fuck all. Please, just drop all the bullshit right now. We are a team that goes into games with no belief! It has nothing to do with training methods! Secondly, these stats are a game or two out of date but as of last week John Sutton had 30 shots at goal this season and had scored 11. Lee Erwin had also had 30 shots at goal this season and scored 4. We simply cannot go into games with our best goal scorer, not by a little bit, but by an absolute mile, sitting on the bench for most of the match. All the experts on here laid the blame for a woeful team performance was laid at Suttons door totally unfairly, well who's fault was it tonight? Lee Erwin played up top, Johnston played left and we were still shite. Still Sutton's fault? Anyone that watches us warming up before matches and watches the shooting practice will know that Sutton puts 8 or 9 out of 10 in the net. Watch the other players. No one is anywhere near as good as him at hitting the target and yet we are tying one arm behind our back. We are heading for the Championship and we have one of the leagues top scorers sitting on the bench. We had 4 or 5 good chances to score in the first half and Sutton was sitting watching like the rest of us. In fact our two best players this season Dan Twardzik and John Sutton have been dropped by Baraclough. This Lee Erwin delusion needs to be jettisoned as well. You cannot hope to survive with a striker like Erwin playing up front. He is simply not good enough at scoring goals. By all means give him a game, he does other things well, but we need to build the team around our major source of goals and that is Sutton. Thirdly, Baraclough was absolutely useless tonight. We went out and started the game with no zip or energy. Isn't that part of his job, to motivate? Second half, we go out and lose a goal within 7 minutes. Again useless. Then he prevaricates and doesn't change anything when it is absolutely obvious it's not working and we desperately, with our Premiership status hanging in the balance, need to change it and what does he do? Nothing. And then when he does do something he takes off probably our best and most dangerous player on the night Marvin Johnson! Now Marvin Johnson may have been carrying an injury but he didn't look it to me. Then at 0-2 down he takes of McDonald and puts on Sutton. Well Sutton should have on long before then but why take of McDonald? Pearson clearly isn't fit, Ainsworth had a poor night, go 4-3-3 and try and get a goal back, don't take off a striker, have a go! Maximise your fire power! It's not like it was 1-0 and we could maybe sneak back into the match. We had to go for it and Baraclough didn't have the guts or heart for it. Maybe that's why we have a team like that! Anyway, 3 points for Ross County makes them safe in my opinion and totally kills the post split fixtures. If that happens we can hardly complain but the annoying thing is we have so much more in that squad than we are actually showing. The raw materials are there and yet it looks like it's Cowdenbeath next season for our traveling support.

I'm angry about a lot of stuff tonight but what I want to say straight off the bat is this. The absolutely fucking cretin in our support who screamed at Nigel Hasselbaink "jungle bunny bastard" right in front of Zane Francis Angol and his family needs to be kicked up and down Windmillhill Street ten fucking times. Forget about performances or relegation or anything else, I've never been more embarrased or ashamed to be a Motherwell supporter. Bad enough to use that sort of racist language at any time but to do it right in front of one of our black players and his relatives is beyond disgusting. I will tackle the match in a separate post.

If we don't win and Ross County do I'd agree but I think it's still possible to lose this and have a chance but we are depending on others and with Ross County in the form they are it's going to be difficult.