Ya Bezzer!

The most consistent players over the month have been Nicky Law and Stevie Hammell. Went for Nicky Law in the end since he played, and scored v Clyde.

The window is a good thing for the smaller clubs like us. We know Murphy, Randolph etc are going no where until at least January.

Maybe it's too good to come true but 19 points from 9 matches would be an outstanding start to the season, even better than last season when we didn't pass the 19 points mark until match 11 in the campaign and that in itself was a very strong opening quarter.

Quite a lot of players had their contracts canceled last night so they can find a new club outside the window. Those and the ones already out of contract means there is still a large pool of footballers to choose from so its still possible that we could bring in additional players but I think from what's been said if Daley comes it it would be a maximum of 1 more guy, if we can find one we like. The main thing has been we kept our best players. The defeat to Rangers might just turn out to be the best thing that happened to us this season!

I think he means the Jim Gannon style madness of 3 subs in the first 17 mjnutes. I don't think Reynolds got subbed though.

We need five in midfield for this one. Put Murphy left and move Law inside, or bring in Forbes. I'd also consider dropping Humphrey for this one. He could be useful coming off the bench in the later stages if we have a result and Celtic are throwing everything at us. We need to try sometime different with 'bespoke' tactics for this game. If it doesn't work, no great loss. Would set us up like this -----------------Randolph-------------- Clancy---Hutchinson---Craigan---Hammell Hateley--Lasley-------Jennings--------- ------------------Law-----------Murphy- -----------------Higdon---------------- I think that would give us the numbers in midfield but also retain some forward threat. I think we need to set up less open and more solid and defensive but at the same time the worst thing you can do is sit back for 90 minutes.

Not one I would have picked due to familiarity but it could be a very good draw or quite a tricky draw. Could depend on whether Calderwood is still the manager in a months time or who Hibs bring in over the next week (surely they have to sort out that defence?) Still any home draw you have to be fairly confident of progressing.

Yesterday was credited to Joe Cardle so it's not an OG. Last season it was just the OG in the cup final that was credited to him. Shaun Hutchinson had one credited to him against Rangers as well. Can't be bothered looking through all the other seasons, sorry! EDIT: OK, maybe I will, eventually. 21 May 2011 v Celtic (0-3) 30 Jul 2009 v Steaua (0-3) 17 Feb 2009 v St. Mirren (0-3) 26 Apr 2008 v Dundee Utd (2-2) 23 Feb 2008 v Hearts (0-1) 28 Apr 2007 v Falkirk (3-3) 05 Mar 2007 v Hearts (0-2) 21 Oct 2006 v Celtic (1-2)

Did you put money on it?

There and their. There often used incorrectly!

Went to Clyde match as the admission was cheaper and I expected to see a few goals so I won't be at Dunfermline today. On league form so far they are undefeated in four matches which isn't bad at all. Of course they did lose in the league cup to East Fife so we will get some kind of reaction from that either positive or negative. Will they have lost confidence? Or will they be out to prove the result was a fluke? The Dunfermline squad is actually a lot more experienced than many SPL sides and I think that will prove to be a bonus for them this season. They might not have many star names but they have a side composed of good solid pros who have seen it all before. They have kept 3 clean sheets out of 4 and guys like Martin Hardie and Andy Kirk are dangerous opponents at the other end. I remember Martin Hardie scoring a couple against us down the years so hopefully he doesn't do so again! I'd be happy enough with a point from any away ground but with our good start to the season I'll be crossing my fingers for a win. If we did win this one it could be massive for us and define the way our season is going to go. We have Celtic next week but with St. Johnstone and Aberdeen at home coming up, if we could get 9 or even 7 points out of these four matches that would really set us up for a great season going for a Top Four place.

McCall won't want to make his job any harder than it already is. He'll bring in as many players as the budget dictates but no more. And our record over the last couple of winters hasn't entirely been dictated by bad weather, a couple of mental managers and a quagmire pitch can take most of the blame.

OK then. He's shit. It's a disaster. Woe is me. Woe! Woe! Every Motherwell supporter, gather at Fir Park tonight. Bring a stick of dynamite and we'll blow the whole place and every one of us sky high. All because we brought in Tim fucking Clancy for a year as cover for an injured player. What a black night for Lanarkshire. Motherwell FC homeless, Clancy on the books, all the supporters dead. Thousands of orphans, widows, fathers and mothers burying sons and daughters. McCall why did you make this signing! Why! I hope every bereaved victim of this signing puts a curse on this devil McCall and his evil signing policy!

So badly ripped to shreds his playing record v 'Well last season was P3 W2 D1 L0. In fact he's never lost a game at Fir Park (3 appearances)! He didn't play the first half of the season last term because Killie had the excellent Ben Gordon on loan from Chelsea. Second half he was a first choice pick in the second half of the season after Gordon went back down south, played 18+2 subs in the league without scoring. Without having seen him week in week out surely a decent enough cover for Saunders - can play right back or centre. Already played this season, so assume his fitness is decent and he's been through pre-season training unlike a lot of out of contract guys. As for Killie not wanting him, when we played Killie earlier in the season they were playing quite an odd system with three at the back and the right full back pushed really high up with Pascali sitting providing cover in defensive areas. As I remember Clancy is more a defensive full back than someone who races up the line so maybe he just doesn't fit into the system Killie are using this season.

Did kind of think "oh no!" when I saw the lead story on BBC Scottish Premier League page this morning... "Bullard and Murphy to join Ipswich". It's Daryl Murphy in case I've alarmed anyone.

True. I thought Humphrey was going by the full back with ease but it's his delivery into the box that is the problem. It annoys me when players cross from the 18 yard line, get to the by line and whip it in and don't make it easy for defenders. Especially a player like Humphrey with his pace who wouldn't have a problem doing that. But he was beating the full back every time and he caused a few problems when he cut inside as well. I think saying he was 'pants' is a bit unfair.

Forgot about that!

Law was the best player in the first half but he came off fairly early second half so you can't really give it him. Lawless was good and became a big danger as the Clyde players tired in the second half. However I'll give it to Ross Forbes. Some fans might not appreciate the job he does but I thought he was excellent, spraying the ball about and acting as the link between back and front. I was also impressed by how strong he was, he kept the ball while under some heavy treatment from Clyde players on more than a few occasions.

Just back so I've not read what other people thought yet but for me it was a pretty comfortable victory with a very young and inexperienced side. We didn't start very well, experienced guys like Lasley looked like they weren't that bothered and young Halsman was making bad elemental mistakes. Clyde had probably their one and only real chance and it looked like it might be a tricky tie. But as soon as Higdon got the first goal, the kids settled down a bit and started going up the gears and were never in trouble after that. We never hit great heights because we didn't need to but I thought we played pretty well after that and were miles ahead of Clyde. Passed the ball around really well although at times our delivery from wide areas could have been better. We were playing lower league opposition but I didn't think there was a failure in the team and in the end we could have got more while never really being threatened at the back. All the younger players that started or came on did well after the first 10 minutes or so but the pick of the bunch was Steven Lawless. I liked the look of him when he came on against Leeds and again he impressed tonight and I was delighted to see him get his first goal for the club. He's not quite at the same level as Paul Slane when he came into the side but he looks to me like he has definite potential to be a tidy player for us. Law was excellent as well but came off quite early and I thought Forbes was excellent as a hub between the back and the front. Overall a good night and performance.

I guess by now everyone knows I'm not Humphreys biggest fan but surely this match is a good chance for him to get a decent performance under his belt and get his confidence up again? If he can't do it tonight though... Assuming we won't see many changes in the line up but I hope McCall gives some youngsters a chance on as subs instead of ignoring the bench as he has done more or less up till now. Lawless and Halsman looked good against Leeds, give them a decent chance of 30 minutes or so if we have a lead at that stage and none of this nonsense with putting players on at 88 minutes.

Our most successful prolonged spell and clean sheet records have coincided with Craigan being at the club. Coincidence? He's also the most capped player in the clubs history. He's not the best centre half we've ever had but he's closer to the top than the bottom on the list. And take a look around would you replace Craigan with Andrew Considine? Fraser Wright? Ross Tokely? Maybe Paul O'Hanlon? Or John Potter? Or Lee Mair? Facts are Craigan is an automatic choice for one of the top sides in this league because he's still one of the best defenders in the league.

This amateur etymology argument is bullshit. By applying that argument you can say lots of offensive terms aren't offensive by ignoring the context they are used in or focusing on one of many derivations of meaning. One would be that its perfectly fine to describe Chris Humphrey as a 'negro' when everyone knows it isn't. Likewise, everyone knows the context the 'H' word is used in 21st century, west central Scotland. The 'H' word should not be used by anyone in that context, end of story and trying to justify its use is pathetic and hypocritical. Far too many fans of provincial club fans are guilty of double standards on these issues. They complain about the OF and then behave in exactly the same way, expressing exactly the same thoughts and ideas in exactly the same language. I'm no fan of the police, I think they were probably heavy handed lifting this kid and putting him out and a warning would have been enough, but they were quite right to remove the banner and I'd like to think, although I don't generally have a high opinion of Strathclyde's 'finest', that if Rangers fans had openly displayed a banner about 'Hating f*****s' I'm pretty sure it would have been removed to. It is, of course, more difficult to confiscate a song, or prove that an actual individual was singing a song. It's pretty simple - if you aren't sectarian don't use sectarian language and take care of your own house before you criticize others. The whole idea that its OK to do something because other people do it or get away with it belongs in the schoolyard. Personally, I think this incident and a lot of the opinions in this thread make us look just as backwards and troglodyte as a lot of other football supporters in this country. And I've got nothing against creating an atmosphere, the addition of the drum and chanting has been a step forward in that regard and just proves if it needed proving that creating atmosphere is a separate issue from sectarianism. I'm not entirely innocent myself. In the past I used these sorts of terms but a number of years ago I woke up to my own hypocrisy and stopped doing it. Might I suggest more people follow my lead.

Would be very pleased to see O'Brien back, if that could happen.

Would like to see the side freshened up a bit with some players rotated in and out but I don't think we should take the match too lightly. It's a good chance to get moral and confidence up again after today and we don't want to labour in this match.

I think Higdon has done quite well in terms of holding the ball up, winning headers, flicking things on. But as I said when we signed him he's not an out and out striker, he's a target man who will chip in with goals here and there - like a Dirk Lehman or a Jim Hamilton but he's not going to get the goals that Sutton scored for us.