star sail

Agreed. It is difficult not to be motivated by a full Firpark when the title chasers are in town. Next Saturday eve is box office. I think we will see a more motivated Well side to beat Hearts and I think we will. Having said that, I was expecting more from today. I would have thought the team would have been motivated. I think it is naive to think that the season is over for us. If Hibs win tomorrow ( which is very possible) they are only 3 points behind. Today was disappointing on a few levels.

Strongest hint yet from JBA that he is keen to stay and build something meaningful at the club. Loved his answer about being motivated to beat Falkirk. Slight look of menace in his eyes. As confident as you ever can be of a victory, I think tomorrow is looking good for the win.

48 hrs later and I am still buzzing!! The joy of football!

Still buzzing today. Felt confident going into the weekend and feel even better now. Hearts will also be experiencing the Motherwell magic very soon. Happy days.

I think JBA in the press conference said that Koutroumbis and Thor are back in training so hopefully we will see them soon. Time is running out for the season though. I think as you have suggested the Hibs game will be the most important so hopefully they are fit then.

I always assumed that I am one of the really old timers on this forum but when many of you are sharing memories of Ancell babes I realise that I am just a young thing. Willie Pettigrew was my first Motherwell hero and that was in the late 1970's when I would sneak in to watch the last quarter of games for free after they opened the big terracing gates. I am feeling good about tomorrow. I think the team will return to form and the bad luck with decisions has to change at some point even if it is Rangers at Ibrox. Biggest thing is to avoid getting any players sent off or making challenges in the box that give the referee a decision to make ( I know that is so much easier send than done). Take some of the chances we create and it will put Rangers under real pressure.

Absolutely. Delighted for Simo. Always thought he deserved a chance with us as manager but it never quite happened. He seems like a very decent character. Hope they can stay up when they come up (as long a Motherwell finish above them).

Was just reading in the BBC gossip column that Michael Stewart has been banned from Hampden for his comments about referees. I remember Jim Traynor doing the same to the BBC at Ibrox in his role as Head of Communications. It seemed perfectly in step with that particular club given the control they like to have of the football narrative in Scotland. It seemed a very petty approach at the time. It is really interesting that the SFA themselves have chosen the very same approach. I am not a huge fan of Michael Stewart as a football personality but he is an articulate, intelligent reporter (and he LOVES Motherwell this season). It seems like a slippery slope when an organisation starts to sensor the voices it does not want to be heard.

I think it is all going to come together for this one and it is going to be the statement win of the season. The jewel in the crown!!!

I think it is beyond the influence of one club (out with the OF) to have any influence. The clubs need to join together to call out specific instances and make it clear collectively that they don't accept the current standards. Rangers and Celtic have the power to look after themselves. To my mind Rangers have been refereed differently this season since they made a song and dance about the Trusty incident in the league cup semi final back in November. It works for them. Football is so partizan in nature that week by week supporters will shift their opinion based on the hot topic of the week. Look at Falkirk, St Mirren , Hearts fans comments in recent weeks on social media in relation to Motherwell for evidence. For me the most obvious and blatant miscarriage of justice this season was the Fernandez deliberate handball against Livingston at Ibrox. Clear and deliberate denying a certain goal. It could be argued that that decision alone changed the course of not just that game, but Livingston's season. The decision to not award a penalty was so clearly indefensible that eventually the reason given was an ' honest mistake ' by the referee and VAR. The temptation by supporters of other clubs is to say f**k Livingston, we would rather they suffer than us, but by allowing Livingston to fend for themselves, we are also building the culture where Motherwell and every smaller club has to fend for themselves when it is their turn. What should happen in instances like that is that the 10 non OF clubs should join together in support of Livingston and collectively say 'we are not accepting this as a standard for the professional game in Scotland ' My opinion of that particular incident was that it was easier for the officials not to give the penalty than to give it because the game was at Ibrox and Rangers were under pressure at that point in the game. I don't think there is any conspiracy about this. It is human nature when under pressure to consciously or subconsciously choose the outcome that causes the least discomfort to ourselves. That is why the 10 Non OF clubs have to make it as uncomfortable as possible for the referees to take the easy way out in 50/50, 60/40 situation. The reason why that particular incident would have been a very powerful one to get behind was that it was 100% a penalty. No subjectivity, no interpretation of the rules. Until the smaller clubs coordinate in this way nothing will change.

A victory at Ibrox would certainly go a long way towards healing the wounds from the last month. If Rangers were to miss out on the title partly because of Stephen Welsh's late equaliser at FP and because we beat them in the last meeting of the season, that would give this old Well fan more than a little satisfaction.

What your reasoning for the penalty MJC? The actual rule says that if the player on the ground moves his head towards the ball thereby causing a dangerous situation the foul goes against him for dangerous play What are you seeing that negates that?

Agreed. Other sides have certainly had to adapt to our style and Falkirk in particular have countered it really well but Hearts knew they were in a game yesterday and if we are more clinical in front of goal then nobody is talking about them sussing us out. There has not been a top 6 team this season that has dominated Motherwell. It has been decisive moments in games that have made the difference. V Hearts D,D,L The penalty decision was decisive yesterday. Celtic L,W,L. Two defeats at Celtic Park but very competitive in both and a couple of key moments again decisive Ox- Chamberlain and penalty (red card). Rangers D, L, D. The non penalty at Ibrox was again decisive. Hibs W, D, D. Hibs have improved at neutralising the threat but we remain unbeaten against them Falkirk L, D, L. This is the only team that it could potentially be argued have sussed us but it was two penalty decision (both going against Well) that decided the last of the three games. It has been very small margins between what has been a very good season and what could have been a great season.

If this is indeed the rule then it suggests that not only the referee does not know the rules but the VAR assistant does not know the rules either. The referees need to go full time and be held accountable for not applying the laws of the game if there is to be any improvement in standards in this country. The subjective nature of decision making is killing the game in Scotland. Despite Motherwell having the best team in recent memory, I have lost interest in the game in recent months. The Slattery punishment is bizarre. The process is incoherent and it's seems that we are still paying the price for Slattery's stupidity. There have been about a dozen incomprehensible decisions in the game this season (not all involving Motherwell) The playing field is not even. I feel sorry for the Motherwell manager and the Motherwell players who have created a new vision in Scottish football this season and to some extent the project has been detailed by really poor refereeing standards. There was a sense throughout the 90 minutes today that a refereeing decision was going to decide the game and that is how it turned out. We can talk about missed opportunities but until that decision is made Hearts have only scored one goal to our one goal. The decisions tip the balance. People are free to make their own decisions about their investment in the game in Scotland but for me it is too much of a lottery to be fully committed. It is a shame because the team and the manager don't deserve my apathy but it is what it is.

Taking all the emotion and subjectivity out of the situation, simulation is a yellow card offence not a two game ban. ( or 4 suspended). The penalty should be based on that single action alone and not any other circumstances that come after. Slattery's action is the same regardless of what comes next. Doing 35 in a 30 is three points on a drivers licence and does not become 9 points just because the Police are pissed off that nobody put some spool in the speed camera or because they don't like the look of your re-spray. The suspension is about more than Slattery's actions (which were pish) and this clause the SFA have pulled out is to allow them to make whatever whimsical point they want to make at this moment in time. It will not be a clause that is used even handedly moving forward.

I am finding this one a little difficult to stomach I have to admit. Yes, Slattery made a fool of himself and yes it took a little bit of a shine off of what was otherwise the perfect performance. This kind of behaviour needs stamped out of football and in a world where all things are equal the punishment probably fits the crime but all things are not equal and the organisation doing the finger wagging in Slattery''s direction oversee a tiny shitty world where they are more than happy to turn a blind eye to some of the bigger vagueries of Scottish Football. We have not heard a single word of condemnation from the SFA on the scenes at Ibrox a few weeks ago. The bigotry, the sectarian singing that could be heard both on radio and TV. The pitch invasions, the aggression, the on field violence. No word, no punishment, no finger wagging. This is an organisation that oversees one of the most toxic environments in World football and is happy to continue doing so because of the money it generates. Hatred sells! It sticks in my throat when that same organisation decides to randomly take the moral high ground on one single isolated incident when similar incidents are happening every single weekend in every single game in the country. The decision making is haphazard, incoherent and hugely subjective. Ultimately we have to suck it up because Slattery was in the wrong and brought this trouble upon himself and the club but I hate being lectured to, (with the verbose language they hide behind), by an organisation that has very little interest in actually creating the level playing field that would actually make the game in Scotland one we could all buy into.

I think there is that little bit of pressure on the supporters as well as the players when we turn up to Firpark with the expectation of a win rather than simply the hope of one. I think the pressure of the potentially massive prize on offer did get to everyone and as you say there is possibly a mental tiredness as well as a physical tiredness associated with that. Now that the talk of league titles is over the pressure may ease from everyone a little bit. Having said that, I am not convinced that the league title is completely dead in the water and I don't think the players or manager will have given up all hope either. Beat Falkirk and Hearts and things could suddenly look very interesting again particularly when the OF look less than convincing. It may still work in the teams favour that we have been written out of the title race.

Rangers and Hearts were able to get the job done again today. It would appear that they have just that little bit more about them than we do. The table does not lie although I thought up untill 2 weeks ago that just maybe it did. 50/50 is pessimistic in the extreme. We are 6 points ahead of Hibs with a superior goal difference. Taking the subjectivity out of it, that in no way relates to a 50/50 chance. In the same way that the table does not lie in favour of Hearts/ Rangers/ Celtic, it does not lie in relation to our position either. Falkirk next week is a game we should have some hope of winning. The facts speak for themself in that regard.

On the Scotland squad, I see that Derek Mciness was less diplomatic in his views about the squad than JBA was. Jens knows that Grant Hanley should be nowhere near an International World Cup team so he is being very diplomatic when he choices not to give a view which I think shows the control he has when it comes to things he cannot affect. On tomorrows game, I think we will win. The OF have put a little bit of daylight between us and them over the last few weeks and I think we will do likewise tomorrow with Hibs. You can argue for or against Motherwell being a top 3 side this season but we are definitely a top 4 side and will prove it tomorrow.

Hearts lost. The title challenge is back on!!!

Time to take those green and white glasses off MJC. Getting tired of all your pro Celtic rhetoric!! Step too far today but still much to play for this season. Would still love to beat Hearts at Tynecastle and really put the cat amongst the pigeons. As JBA is always telling us, celebrate the performance not the result. It is miles better than we have been used to for some time.

A points deduction for both sides would do nicely. Leave us fighting it out with Hearts for the title. Will never happen but it might actually be the only thing that would stop fans from jumping on the pitch. Not going to get holier than thou about it right enough given that our own fans have previous for this in the play off's.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if Motherwell won the league with the best defensive record in the country regarding the Scotland World Cup squad. It is possible this could happen with no Well players in the Scotland team.

Absolutely superb if that is accurate.

Playacting will be rife as it is every other week as will the other dark arts of wasting time, clipping ankles jersey pulling etc etc. ( I know that is exactly the point you are making). I think the problem with Slattery's incident is that it was so blatant and so completely unnecessary on every possible level. The biggest danger is that now Slattery is the boy that cried wolf so I would think Jim Goodwin will be telling his players that they have a couple of free hits on Slattery today should he play. The refs are going to be very wary every time Slattery goes down. It was an unbelievably mindless thing to do last weekend and he has shot himself in the foot.