Ya Bezzer!

I believe that due to some selective memory many Motherwell fans think we are a bigger club than we are. Sure, we have been in the top league for as long as even fairly old supporters have been following the club but only because we got lucky with relegation three times and had the fortune to meet a Rangers in disarray in the play off. As the situation currently stands I think it's almost inevitable that we will be relegated in the short to medium future. We have used up our luck in escaping relegation in the past and now, with the club being self financing and clearly struggling, over half a dozen seasons now, to attract good quality players or management it is always going to be a a difficult task. We are pulling in less than 4,000 supporters most weeks and that's all that's keeping the lights on. We are unlikely to have a slew of transfer fees coming in the immediate future. Things are going to be tough and supporters need to get their head around the reality of fan ownership.

So a lot of people thought the stupid decision to make was the correct one. So what? Happens all the time. As for our squad it obviously would have been added to if the manager hadn't departed so to say that Alexander wouldn't have done so is more nonsense. Josh Morris hasn't worked out but Paul McGinn and Blair Spittal are far from being some of the worst signings in recent years. We had 31 points this time last season. This season we have 19. If you don't think it was a mistake then what exactly is?

Absolutely spot on. However it should be pointed out that our own support put massive pressure on the club to get what they wanted. It might not have been possible to keep Alexander even if the club backed him. I said it at the time and I'll say it again. Our supporters can shoulder a lot the blame over what has happened, and potentially, what does happen this season. Not that anyone will ever admit that of course. You still get people blaming Alexander for our results this season.

You can compare how they competed against their contemporaries and how the standard of the day was. For instance when we won the league championship in the 1930's Scottish football was probably as good as anywhere in the world. So our league winning side was probably close to the pinnacle of world football at the time. Heady days. I also think top players find a way to win so I buy into the 'show us your medals' philosophy. If you put everything together I'd give you Wilson Humphries. Won both the Scottish and League Cups, was capped for Scotland, is just short of 300 league appearances so is one of the players with most appearances for the club and is also one of our top post war goal scorers, with over 100 goals. So in terms of success at the club, longevity, club records and international recognition he ticks all the boxes. Worth noting he also scored 6 goals in the clubs biggest ever win, 12-1 vs Dundee Utd.

We had a mad couple of minutes and that was it. We had Maguire, Morris, Tierney and Cornelius on the bench and a bunch of kids. Don't tell me any of them would have safeguard the points. When he actually made substitutions he got booed for taking off McKinstrey who had a great 1st half but didn't do much second half. Fans got what they wanted at the start of the season and it's probably mostly the same ones getting on Hammell's back now. You don't become an experienced manager in 20 games. Short term-ism is not the way to go. Wasn't at the start of the season, isn't now.

With all due respect this seems like a retrospective view. I doubt many would have had us getting any less than 3 points when Power was sent off in the 68th minute and we aren't exactly the most optimistic bunch. By the way we basically had 4 players with any first team experience on the bench tonight so I think it's fair to say his options were pretty limited.

There was a lot of chat last season about supporters wanting to watch better football rather than grinding it out. Well there you have it! I'm not going to be too harsh on the team. First half we were excellent, played some really good football and should have been more than 1 up. 2-0 and cruising and then we do what seemingly only Motherwell can do. To be fair Kilmarnock didn't cause us much worries other than an OG and a wonder shot but you have to ask yourself about our fragility even in tonights situation and what does the footballing narrative say about what's happened in that match? Kilmarnock were lucky tonight, we should have been saying a lot of good stuff about the performance but we have, let's face it, fucked it up in a spectacularly inept fashion. 2 wins in 13 now doesn't make great reading. We are known as the Steelmen but although there was some good suff there tonight there wasn't much steel. Right now it looks like we can have a good 70 minutes and a ropey 10 and not pick up 3 points and that's not exactly the formula for success. We need to add a bit more robustness and savviness to what, at times, was quite good football.

Depends if you mean pay for them or watch them......

In a football world where virtually everything is decided by television money and sports washing Scottish football is and always will be an insignificant player. We exist within the constrains of a limited market and nothing is going to change that. Even Rangers and Celtic are deluded if they think they can garner a worldwide following. What Scottish football should be focusing on is developing youth players and modern tactics and coaching but one look at most line ups on a Saturday, the standard of fare which is basically a grim slog for annual survival in the Premiership for most teams, and the absolutely catastrophic state of the youth development system in this country, which goes backwards by the year, shows we are intent on hitting the self destruct button over and over.

John Philliben basically played about 350 games for us plugging any hole in McLean's back 5. Could play anywhere across the back. He played a lot at right back latterly. Stevie Kirk was mostly a midfielder but at times played upfront as a striker. Tom Boyd mostly a centre back or left back. I do seem to remember him having a spell in midfield though. Didn't he score twice against Hibs playing in a midfield role? It was 5 decades back so I might be wrong!

Does anyone know why the SPFL highlights of this match have been taken down and aren't available any more?

If we consistently can't bring in the right type of players during the summer I wouldn't get your hopes up for the winter window. It's getting harder and harder to bring in good quality players . You've got the impression it's been a real struggle going back over several managers now and Hammell probably has fewer contacts in the game.

I didn't see the game today but I think Moult can still play in a 4-4-2. Any other formation probably not.

He wasn't the worst player to go through the club recently but he was inconsistent and injured half the time. For me he had his chance and moving him on was fair enough. We should judge players on 'did they do enough' rather than 'are they better than this lot'.

He's been out for a while with a fractured foot. So he's defo not fit. Apparently Toby Sibbick did him in training.

St Johnstone are in decent form. Run of 4 unbeaten, with 3 wins and have only lost 1 in 5 home matches and that was against Celtic. Having said that if everything went to form I'd be a lot richer. Our injury issues are a bit concerning. This is a game we really need to get something out of, even if it's only a draw. We need to avoid St Johnstone going 7 pts ahead of us.

Like Rangers a couple of weeks ago Celtic were there for the taking tonight. The team battled away but the stupid decision making and inability to pass, keep possession or put in a good final ball was glaring. Our lack of ability on the ball is actually embarrassing. It's amateur level stuff. The 2nd Celtic goal summed us up. Not only completely avoidable but us turning what should be pressure on Celtic into guaranteed nil points with sheer sloppiness. That's us 1 league win at home from 7 this season and that was a dodgy pen that VAR probably wouldn't even give these days. Can't really afford for St Johnstone to go 7 points ahead of us so we really need to get something out of that match.

We are 4 points off the play off spot with the worst form in the league, an inexperienced manager and obvious defects as a team. Some teams above us have games in hand. I think it's fair to say if we don't pick up anything in the next two matches we are starting to look a little adrift in the bottom 4.

Slattery and Spittal are the two biggest disappointments for me this season. If O'Donnell comes in for McGinn we are going to be in a bit of bother. I mean that's probably the case anyway but I mean even more so.

In the three matches we've played since VAR was introduced we've seen three game changing decisions that were wrong. Penalty against Aberdeen not given, Watt sent off for nothing and Gordon not getting sent off today. We are paying a 6 figure sum annually for VAR and it's not made a blind bit of difference except to make the matches even more unwatchable with long stoppages.

VAR a worthwhile addition to the Scottish game providing correct decisions and fairness for all. How much are we paying a year for this?

Hearts should have absolutely buried us in the first half. We've lost a goal in first half injury time and against 10 men. Gordon HAS to be sent off but isn't because he's the cuddly toy of Scottish football. Come back from 0-2. Lose it to a penalty right at the end. What's it like being a Motherwell supporter, eh?

I don't care if they get the decisions wrong or right. I've lived with that for 40 years and we've already seen that VAR makes no difference on that standard. However if there are 3 or 4 minute delays for refs to make decisions for things like goals then the game is done for me as a spectator sport.

Watt challenge was never a red card and if people are saying it's the law then the law is a hinderance to the game and needs to be changed. Reminded of, I think, one of the games from the last Euros when a played was sent off and a penalty given when there was absolutely no contact. Think it was one of the Sweden games. Anyway it was deemed dangerous play with no contact but I don't think there is even any force or aggression in Watt's actions. Sure, give a foul, maybe even a booking, but a red card? We have 5 wins in 13 which is reasonable but if you look closer 4 of those wins are away from home and 3 of them are shitefest 1-0s with a wee bit of luck through in. Again it just begs the question, how does a team like Motherwell compete and entertain at the same time?

Aberdeen were terrible at the back but not bad going forward. In the first 10 minutes they made 2 big blunders at the back and we didn't even attempt to take advantage of them, we just let them recover and get away with it and that kind of set a pattern. Aberdeen are definitely there for the taking defensively but we didn't put them under enough pressure, especially first half. However one thing Aberdeen did do that we just don't is load the box. Pretty much every time Aberdeen attacked they got 4 or 5 players into the 18 yard box. Our players just don't do that.