Ya Bezzer!

Can they do that effectively though with the road so close? The road seems to be the main problem to access in my opinion, it forces everyone to queue down the pavement, instead of having four separate queues going into each turnstile.

He's no better based on what? Ramsden has played more games at centre for Motherwell than Saunders has! There are, in my opinion, still big question marks over Johnny Page and he's not always convinced when given the opportunity. Cummins is a kid with 1 appearance. Seriously what exactly are you basing your opinion on? None of the guys above have played in a Champions League match, Ramsden has, so there is no basis of comparison. Ramsden did OK, considering he was playing at a high level with a defensive partner he'd never played along side before. Ramsden, may or may not be a good or bad signing but to write the guy off after one competitive match at the highest level this club has ever played at, in a game we were unlucky to lose, well that's just stupid.

Agree except I thought Zeca (No.17) looked decent as well.

Las seems to get better and better. By the time he's 38 he could be the best player in the world! MOTM by a mile.

I turned up at 6.50 and there was no queue whatsoever. People should know by now that when we have a big crowd and they all turn up with 20 - 25 minutes to go there are problems. Given that the stadium was virtually empty until about 7.25 that's obviously what happened.

I thought he had a decent game but he needs someone to play off and unfortunately I thought Ojamaa was quite poor tonight and never got into the game.

Overall a good performance and we didn't deserve to lose but the game hinged on two near identical situations. Ojamaa caught Panathinaikos on the break drew the defenders towards them and then had the choice to slip in Murphy who was through and clear. He choose to hold on to the ball and try to score himself wasting a glorious opportunity. Then Sissoko caught us on the break drew the defenders towards him and then had the choice to play in Mavrias who was through and clear. He choose to play the ball to Mavrias who scored. And that's the difference between losing and drawing, maybe even going on to win the tie. There were some excellent performances - Hutchinson, Murphy, Hateley but Lasley was absolutely immense. On tonights performance we would beat most of the teams in the SPL you suspect so it was encouraging in one way but it was also very disappointing to play like that and not get a positive result. Now the bad bit. The atmosphere was superb tonight but there was no need to throw paper balls at opposition players - most likely we will get a warning and fine from UEFA since they gave German fans one for exactly the same thing. And unfortunately there was one individual who still lives in the 1970's who was shouting racist abuse at Sissoko.

If you aren't already on the way to the game, an interesting scouting report on Motherwell from the Greek perspective. My link Highlight Hateley and Ojamaa as our most dangerous players.

It might be a boring answer but any money made from this season's European games will be used as cash flow and reserve funds to support the club in a difficult financial time. The club will still undergo downsizing as it has to be able to run at a profit season on season and from what I understand we are still quite a bit away from that.

We could get absolutely gubbed tonight or it could be one of the greatest nights in the history of Motherwell Football Club. No one knows but I can't wait to find out!

If you mean gross rather than net income it will be more than that surely if we sell 10,000 tickets at an average price of say £25 (assuming one concession for every full price ticket sold) plus programme sales, food kiosk sales, a busy shop, sponsorship, media rights, corporate packages (most likely every box will be filled) and so forth.

So just like Motherwell then?

I was gutted when the one in Motherwell shut! A Wimpy burger is just on a whole different level from crappy McDonalds.

I read somewhere that if they don't make the Champions League they won't get paid. That would make me take it pretty seriously!

Apparently Fouad Bachirou is still looking for a club having left Morton. Saw him play against Accies last season and he was the stand out player and exactly what we are looking for in a midfield player. If anything he has a bit more 'class' about him than Steve Jennings, in terms of passing, ball retention and so forth. I know we have no money but I think this guy would be worth a shout.

I think MJC is pretty funny. He totally encapsulates something that is without doubt part of being a Motherwell supporter. The gnawing subliminal fear that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. Who amongst us, when we play a team on a long run of not scoring or winning doesn't think at the back of our mind, 'Well they are bound to do it against us!'. It's just part of supporting Motherwell. And actually it's one of the great appeals of supporting a team like Motherwell. When you go to a game you have Triumph on one shoulder and Catastrophe on the other. MJC just represents the Catastrophe bit thats part of all of us.

Oh it will be playing....in my head!

I have a very vague recollection of Hammell 'scoring' a header which was disallowed at the South Stand end. Is this what you are thinking of?

It wasn't until I had the ticket in my hand that I realised just what an achievement this is. I am SO excited and I can't wait for the match. I think I will probably start greetin' when the team comes out the tunnel to the Champions League tune!

Got my holiday request authorized today. I'm going to the Champions League!

When Saunders and Hateley were both available at the beginning of last season, Saunders didn't get a look in. I don't see anything to suggest McCall has changed his mind. Ramsden and Hutchinson will be the centre backs and if Hutchinson is injured I can see Page or Cummins playing at centre back before Saunders. I'm afraid I see Saunders withering on the vine which is a shame because I think he has potential.

ALthough it's not the strongest Panathinaikos side they have ever had the chances are they would be good a bet to win the Scottish Premier League. The side is mainly made up of internationals, albeit not glamourous star names, and they have a lot of experience. Even at 35 Giorgos Karagounis is the kind of quality that we can't even approach. If we win at Fir Park it will surely rank among our greatest ever results. Now I just have to try and get the night off work!

It's hard to tell at this stage. The squad is very small and we have lost some quality players. I suspect others will go before or just after the start of the season, specifically Randolph and/or Murphy. I think how we will do will come down to the young players. It's inevitable guys like McHugh, Page and Carswell are going to have to step up to the plate this season instead of being bit part players and we will probably need a couple of others to come in from the U19's and show they are good enough to play at the top level. If either of these groups aren't up to the task then I seriously doubt we will be Top 6 challengers and it could even be a bit of a struggle. Right now I don't know what the answer to those questions will be.

Nice to see someone actually understands what is going on right now. In the end this will come down to numbers that only Sky know about. How much is Scottish football worth to them without OF matches or Rangers generally? I have no idea what kind of audience figures and advertising revenue a St. Johnstone v Kilmarnock live match draws in but I can't imagine it's a great deal. Perhaps it will come down to PR, Sky won't want to go down as the destroyer of professional football in Scotland, and it might be in it's long term interests to a) keep involved in Scottish football, after all Rangers will be back eventually, and b) to finance the current league to a level that it provides a degree of quality for its television audience. Alternatively they may just make a cut throat business decision and say "the SPL isn't worth it without Rangers".

The SPL is dead. The next few years should see our club downsize and once the adjustment is made from last seasons income to what we can expect in the future the SPL should be wound up with the Scottish League taking over once again. We can't do it right away because we have commitments and contracts to keep but I don't really see any option in the medium future provided SPL 2 is a red herring. And let's hope to god that it is. It's back to the Motherwell I first started supporting that basically survived on gate money although of course Bosman wasn't around back then so we will have less transfer money coming in (most players will be on 1 year contracts from now on) and banks won't allow the sort of debt we carried back then. Which means its going to be even tougher than the early to mid eighties period when I first started watching us. The ironic thing is the SPL was pretty good to clubs like Motherwell, Kilmarnock, St. Johnstone. We competed and often bettered the city clubs. That's probably coming to an end now, not necessarily next season or the season after but in the general future when denied TV money, gate money is king.