Ya Bezzer!

VAR.....

We've got the lead now. That's when you worry with this team!!! 🤣

🤣🤣🤣🤣 Three. games on today - all draws. 2 points between 8 teams in a 12 team league.

As it stands the only teams with 1 win are us and Rangers....

I've generally thought Askou's been good when talking to the media but after the result last week I thought he was full of excuses and I've not heard these 140 years quote if he's said that it suggests to me that he's feeling the pressure cos that's just a daft thing to say.

One of the weird things I've noticed is teams tend to create roughly the same number of chances regardless of actual possession varying by large degrees. I'm not sure how you actually explain that but it's there to see.

Was looking at previous starts to the season up to this point. 25/26 Askou - 8pts 24/25 Kettlewell - 13pts 23/24 Kettlewell - 10pts 22/23 Hammell - 10pts 21/22 Alexander - 14pts 20/21 Robinson - 8pts 19/20 Robinson - 16pts 18/19 Robinson - 5pts 17/18 Robinson - 13pts 16/17 McGhee - 8pts 15/16 Barraclough - 7pt So Askou's start is in the bottom 5 and there has only been 2 worse starts in the last 10 years. Looking closer at the seasons with 8 points or less (but obviously not including this one) there are 4. We finished Bottom 6 in 3 out of 4. The manager was also fired or resigned in 3 out of 4. The exception was season 15/16 when Barraclough was fired after 8 matches, McGhee came in and we shot up the league. Now I definitely don't want another manager replaced and I think the season can still go either way but just looking at the facts over the last ten seasons it doesn't look great for Askou. Really need to win at Livingston tomorrow.

While that might be true we would never have got to the final without a brilliant performance by Marshall in the semi final.

First half Falkirk should have scored, they missed a sitter but I felt comfortable for the 45 minutes, from a defensive view. We were playing good stuff and I thought we were comfortable at the back outside that one chance. Second half we were so open from more or less the kick off. Didn't help that our passing got sloppy. So what was the difference? I just feel like teams work us out and if that's happening within matches, what's going to happen over a season when we are playing teams 3 or 4 times? I don't actually see the problem as an offensive problem. We've scored in all but one match this season and we've scored multiples in 4 out of 8 league matches. We have a defensive problem. Now I can't pin point exactly what it is, you'd probably have to go back and analyse all the goals we've lost but for me that's where the issue is.

As good as we were first half. Hearts, 3-0 up, didn't win. Kilmarnock, 2-1 up, didn't win. Dundee, 1-0 up, didn't win. Celtic, 2-1 up, lost Falkirk, 1-0 up, lost. That's 12 points down the swanee because this team cannot defend a lead. It's not bad luck, this is a thing, this is a serious, serious deficiency and it needs to get sorted and sorted quickly because if it doesn't being 2 points off the bottom will seem like the good old days. We have Livingston and Dundee Utd coming up. These are absolutely pivotal matches for the way our season could pan out.

OK Falkirk missed a sitter after about 30 minutes but apart from that this was a hugely dominant performance from us. We should be 2 or 3 up here but for all the great play there’s been too many good balls into the box with no one there to put them away. I think Falkirk will come out better n the second half so we need to get that all important 2nd goal.

This is a game we really should be winning but we will definitely won't cos I've put my weekend bet on us! I've literally not won one Scottish Premiership bet this season, every single game I've bet on has ended as a draw.

I kinda feel like this system is more vulnerable when teams play 4-3-3 as they can high press our back line with their forwards. Rangers did it and we got in a fankle at times. Don't think it's a coincidence that was the match where we struggled the most at the back and looked least comfortable playing out.

The kind of match where you needed a howler and a penalty to see a goal! First half Aberdeen should have scored in the first minute and later had one cleared off the line. We looked fine up to the last third were we just couldn't create anything. Second half we looked to have a bit more edge, up to a point anyway, as we missed a couple of sitters and should have done better on a couple of other occasions. Aberdeen didn't really trouble us much but there were a couple of sloppy moments at the back that could and maybe should have cost us. Overall the game could have gone either way but I thought we edged it with our 2nd half performance. I'd like to see the stats for that match cos I think it's entirely possible Callum Ward had more touches and played more passes than any other player.

We've looked comfortable for most of the match but all the chances have been Aberdeen’s and we’ve not had a shot on target. Honestly, if was 2-0 to Aberdeen at HT I don’t think you could complain too much.

Not at the game today so won't comment on it but.... I think it will be interesting when we go into the 2nd round of matches. Usually in the second round of matches teams are more familiar with the set up and go into matches to counteract the opposition tactics established earlier in the season. If we can't win matches in the first round of matches it might be even more of a struggle to get wins later in the season unless we change something up, which I don't think is Askou's way. I've always said you look at things 11, 22, 33 matches into the season, that's when you review it so there is still a while for us to get wins but we really need to start winning matches. 3-0 up at Hearts, 2-1 up against Kilmarnock, 1-0 up against Dundee. 6 points dropped from not being able to hold a lead. It's an issue if it continues.

So purism versus pragmatism ended all even. And who can say but maybe there was some karmic element to Ward's bout of dropsy but who am I to speculate on the musings of the universe.... Actually a good game. Enjoyed it. Think we have one of better groups we've had for a while. Longelo, Watt, Fadinger, Just, Maswanhise are all better than average and we have Cook-Charles and Hendry to come in and possibly be assets. Of course there are other areas we're not so good and a keeper and a penalty box striker are required. Some slick play although lacking a bit in terms of actual real chances. Don't think the Killie keeper had too many real saves to make but good to watch nonetheless. I'd actually like to highlight Elijah Just, though he had a great match. The whole points v performance thing. Well obviously we need to start winning at some point but as I always say you can only start judging a manager until we've played a full round of matches. I'm enjoying watching it but whether it's actually effective is still open to question but you have to give the experiment time.

Was looking forward to going to the game as it seems like a whole other close season since I last saw us against Rangers. Then I come on here and we are still getting the rampant victim blaming and hate towards Kettlewell. Yuck. Maybe it's a form of de-tox to only have a home game every 30 days.

Regan Charles Cook had two seasons at Ross County and one of them he stunk the place out and the other he was really good. He seems to have adopted a middle position since going to Belgium.

Yeah but Jordan McGhee has 119 league appearances in this last 4 seasons!

Could be a good signing but he's been inconsistent across his career in terms of goal scoring, even season on season at the same club. Hopefully this is a decent season for him. Even if he can get 10 goals that'd be twice as many as last season's top scorer.

Wasn't at the game but O'Donnell is generally better in central defence than he is at full back.

I'm late to the party so I won't say much as it's probably all been covered but.... 1 lose in the last 5 league matches against Rangers. Gotta be our best run since the 1990s and long may it continue.

Obviously I'd love to see us win and I think getting them at home on the first day of the season gives us a better chance but this will be a massive step up. What I'd like to see is a good professional attitude. Go out and compete. If that gets you a result - great. However I think every lower league team we've played so far has either scored or had real opportunities to score and against Rangers that's going to present a much bigger problem. Our League Cup matches were a bit up and down, finishing on a high but this is a different type of test. It'll be interesting to see how we stand up to it.

Well it's more than just MJC. That's why there is so much pressure on managers to win over developmental coaching. Fans and the media play a big part in how football is played in this country. But I also think it's especially acute at Motherwell since we have this 39 year run in the top league. Relegation is seen as being catastrophic, even being in the running for relegation, when for most other clubs, our size and much bigger, it's something they've been through multiple times.