Ya Bezzer!

Carl McHugh back in the side? <<<SHUDDER>>>

I think what has happened is that the linesman has flagged it for the ball being over the bye line. Didn't look like it to me. So two wrong decisions have added up to a correct one.

He might have needed the linesman to bail him out and the reason he's reversed his decision might even have been wrong but ultimately it wasn't a penalty and he didn't give it. Clancy lost control of the match and made some inconsistent decisions but any furor over the penalty is redundant since it should never have been given in the first place.

Just a wee stat. I make it that 18 of our last 23 goals have come from academy players.

Few good performances - Ariyibi, Campbell, but it has to be Turnbull doesn't it?

I actually thought the referee got the penalty decisions right today. Ariyibi went to ground then reached out and touched the ball, was definite penalty for me, and stupid from Ariyibi. On the other hand Turnbull was pretty cute but he's basically flicked the ball off the hand of the Dundee defender. There was no intent or deliberate hand ball on the part of the Dundee defender. Overall the game was highly entertaining and basically a bit mental. It's hard to judge the game because it was so open and we've made one of the worst teams in the last 20 years look like they could score at every opportunity. Then on the other hand we've responded several times and won it when we might have sat back and defended. Let's all just agree that Turnbull is incredible. Oh, and Gorrin is a far superior player to McHugh technically but I've criticised McHugh for rashness and his discipline so it's only fair I do the same with Gorrin. The guy needs to screw the head. He had about 4 dodgy tackles in the first 8 minutes and I predicted his red card long before it happened. I'd like Gorrin to be here next season but he needs to cut out the rash studs up challenges. So much happened today but it's worth pointing out the magnificent save Gillespie made at 3-3 (I think!)

They were both here before so why not now? I think Carson would be a hard sell giving his recent medical condition and it would be folly for us to allow Gillespie to leave and then depend on Carson. The beginning of last season Carson was first choice and Gillespie was the back up. No reason for a change other than for the two goalkeepers to change roles.

You see it all the time and it's incredible to me. A young player gets one start and "he's not good enough" while a player with 30 odd league appearances, who really hasn't been good enough over a season, gets the nod. Maguire, Livingstone and Scott should have got these 5 games and then you analysis it and see where you are. They might not be good enough but you don't judge it off one match and based on last week I'd have a hard time with anyone telling me we would have been better with Main playing, or we suffered due to having selected Scott. Let's not be dull, conservative and settle for the well worn path to mediocrity. The young guys need to learn the game and here's a chance for them to do it. Not doing so is development time wasted. Given the huge rebuild required in the summer it should be inconceivable for us to squander it as we have in the past. Where did that get us again?

Good news for Carson but Gillespie has the shirt now. Carson will have to bide his time as Gillespie did.

To put it in perspective in the past two seasons the team relegated had 9 more points than Dundee at the same stage in the season. Both Ross County and Inverness had 27 points at game 35. Dundee have 18. There's been seasons when teams have finished bottom on 37 points.

As I said last week if we can show one of our fringe young players can compete over the next 5 (now 4 matches) we'll have saved a squad player wage and still have a chance to finish 7th.

I was about 3 years old back then but according to Neil Brown's index of post war Scottish league players Vic Davidson scored 19 league goals in 95 appearances .

I'm pretty sure Stevie Kirk was actually playing as a forward in the seasons, two off the top of my head, when he got into double figures.

I would have loved Hastie to be here next season but putting the claret and amber specs aside Jake Hastie can have a nice house paid off, have a good standard of life and have a big whack in the pension scheme/life savings regardless of him ever making an appearance for Rangers. And even if it's a worst case scenario for him, he'll still be young enough to get another shot at at least a Motherwell level football career. As much as I wish it wasn't it's a no brainer for him.

Also James Forrest 28+2 (11) David Turnbull 22+3 (10)

I agree but I find it irksome that a guy can be in the best form of his club career with a contract running out and then revert to absolute shite as soon as £65,000 goes in the bank.

Grimshaw won me over with his post new year form but he's been shite again since he signed his contract. Tait has also been poor in recent weeks. Looks tired and could do with being given a rest.

Wasn't his best match but he was the difference once again.

He did but probably his biggest playing contribution to Motherwell was a match towards the end of his Aberdeen days. We absolutely pummeled Aberdeen but Derek Stillie had an amazing match and saved everything. Then right at the end of the match Big Eck had a marvelous backwards header into his own net for the win. Probably someone with a better memory will tell me it was actually 1-1 or something.

We can't have had many teenage central midfielders that get into double figures in league goals having missed the first quarter of the season. In fact I'm struggling to think of a central midfielder that got 10 in a season of any age.

Today was a huge reminder of how much we owe Turnbull and Hastie this season. It was a match full of mistake and errors but we deserved the HT lead, Accies were surprisingly passive and you'd have it thought it was them that were safe. Even then there were signs all through the match that defensively we'd blow it - despite not coming under a huge amount of pressure. Second half we just got sloppier and sloppier while Accies came out a bit more aggressive. Given the warm weather we had to make substitutes but the guys that came on regressed us and then it was Grimshaw that made the mistake we'd threatened to make all game. After conceding we completely lost the place and we're lucky not to lose it.

I'm not saying throw all the academy players in but I think their is a scope for giving two or three of the front runners 4 or 5 games and others cameos. You are right there is a cash difference there between 7th and 9th but if we could establish over the next 5 matches and perhaps even the league cup group matches that these young players are good enough, even as squad players that would save us considerable monies. How much money have we spent on bring in players who made no impact? We must have spent a fortune on duds in the past few seasons. AND we still have a chance of finishing 7th.

7th would be better than 8th or 9th but the rest of the season should be geared towards preparing young players for next season. Instead of pitching them in next October when our arse is hanging out.

And I was just saying why I don't think he's a winger.

Fair enough, you've put your cards on the table there, but he doesn't have the technique to beat a player from a standing start which is about 50% of what a winger does. In fact he is one of the players who was always giving the ball away pre season revival. We've been much better since him, McHugh and Bigi all disappeared because their combined ball retention was shocking. All Cadden can do in that position is to gallop after long balls and we are supposed to have moved on from that. For me Cadden has a lot to do to become a first team player again. Nothing against the lad, I was a fan of his three seasons ago but I think that says it all. He's been going backwards for too long and he seriously needs to carve out a niche for himself because right now, he's a guy you bring on at the end of the game for a wee bit pace. Needs to improve his basic technique big time and add goals to his game. Cadden has 6 goals in 109 league matches. Hastie got there in 14 matches....