star sail

Like others have said, Hateley in midfield is a concern to me. McCall will see something that we don't but I worry that his decision is driven by his lack of faith in a Hutch/ Saunders (or Hutch/Page) central defensive partnership rather than a belief that Hateley is really the man for the job in midfield. What I don't get if this is the case is why not have faith in two players who have been part of (or on the fringes of) the first team squad for some time, both have played the position well in SPL matches and one of them is a Scotland U21 internationalist? How does Carswell fit into this picture also? It frustrates me that there is an apparant lack of faith in our young Motherwell coached boys. Maybe I am reading it wrong but to play Hateley out of position ahead of Saunders/Page/ Carswell in natural positions does suggest a lack of faith in our home grown boys.

I am surprised about the lack of trust in our own club at this time. I suspect that the picture could be fairly bleak for our club should the vote be no tomorrow. Nobody on the Motherwell Board would want to vote yes because of the love of all things RFC and nobody on the board would want to vote yes because they believe that Rangers deserve to be let of the hook, so the only conclusion I can come to is that effect of a no vote on Motherwell is the equivalent of turkeys voting for christmas. If Motherwell vote no tomorrow and go into Administration the following day/ week/ month how many on here will suddenly begin to question the no vote? I have heard some say that any club that goes into Administration deserves to. MFC have worked tirelessly to run a tight ship since the bad old days of administration and have been making major strides into developing a club to be proud of both on and off the park. Motherwell may have a very health three year outlook but if cashflow is a problem this month and players cannot be paid then it does not matter how positive the long term outlook is, administration becomes a real possibility. Nobody could have predicted the way in which the 2011/12 season was going to turn out so Motherwell cannot possibly be held account by their fan's for a set of circumstances that is quite extraordinary. So let's not talk about petted lips and sinister motives from the board of our club. The motive will be the survival of MFC, of that I have no doubt so let's give them a break as this is a problem not of their doing.

Do not worry people. Rangers will not start in the First Division. It wont happen for legal reasons, it won't happen for integrity reasons, it wont happen because if it does Scottish Football is finished. You cannot have a succesful football league without fans. We have worried for weeks that Rangers would get into the SPL and in the end up that was not even close to happening. This will be the same. The only question in my mind is will Rangers survive long enough to even make it into Division 3?

Because Well fans are h*n's without the bus pass remember. The Celtic fans love to tell us that and their world view is tickety boo on pretty much everything!!

Albion Rovers have not lost their core support either. It's just much, much smaller than it used to be. At least your way, you will know the other 'core supporters' personally. Thankfully it will be such an intimate affair, you will know each other by touch. You wont be hindered by the massive pair of blinkers you are wearing.

Here's the pain the way that I see it. Motherwell finish 3rd in a league that saw them lose on aggregate 8-1 to the team fininishing second (over the 4 SPL games of 2011-2012) and 10-1 to the team that finished first. If we were to take those results over the last two seasons it would look even worse. This is why the SPL has so many lapsed fans.Not the standard of the football, not because Motherwell can't attract Lionel Messi to the club. This is the chance to level the playing field. It is a great opportunity in the history of Scottish Football. I support Motherwell because my Dad supports the team. I have a nostalgia for Fir Park and the history of the club. I don't support Motherwell so that I can watch Lionel Messi every week.I fuck'n hate it when we get pumped by a team of overpaid cheats 4 times a season. I want something that I can buy into and believe in. A newco Rangers or Rangers in any form gives me the pain. It is time to bite the bullet.

Inthebasement can answer for himself but it does not sound like an unreasonable assumption to me. 10% on a gate of 5000 is 500 fans per week. I would think that the chance to finish 2nd in the league, the reduction in secterian bile and a general feel good factor surrounding a revitalised SPL would attract 500 Well fans easily. It would sway me on a new season ticket that is for sure. Let's not forget the 10%+ that could be lost if a newco Rangers are playing in the SPL. A corrupt league is not an attractive prospect in anyone's book. A swing of a 1000 fans seems a reasonable assumption. I am sure that ITB has not done an indepth analysis so the assumption is a valid one.

Just read the post from Well up for It. Why is that that not one (unless I have missed a gem in the shit pile), not one Scottish Sports Journalist can write an article that even hints at some of these points? A great read. This is the truth that the Football writers in Scotland do not want us to read.

McCall is a Rangers man. He is speaking as someone who wants to see Rangers stay in the SPL. I don't think we should assume that this is an MFC viewpoint. I accepted a long time ago that most of the players/managers in Scottish Football have a blue/green bias so his personal views neither surprises or annoys me. What does annoy me isthat as a spokesman for MFC there is a complete lack of objective truth in what he says. There is two major points in what he says: 1) 'The league is more competitive with Rangers in it.' This statement is true if you are an Old Firm fan (as McCall is), it is not true if you support one of the remaining ten SPL teams 2) 'The SPL would cease to exist without Rangers' This statement is true if he means (as he does) that it will not exist as it currently does in terms of a two team title race each season, a financial structure that greatly favours those same two teams, highly inflated wage structures and a complete lack of integrity. This statement is not true if Directors/ Managers/Fans are prepared to accept a league that has integrity but that works on a much smaller financial platform. The Scottish First Division is proof that the top division in Scotland can and will still exist. My point is that what McCall has to say is very subjective and clearly sympathetic to the Rangers cause. As manager of one of the ramaining ten SPL clubs his own personal views have no place in a Scottish newspaper.

The Irish league is not a comparison either. The Scottish first division pulls in bigger crowds than the Irish league. Another example of myths being perpetuated to generate fear by the old firm and their cronies.

Fantastic result. A Utd win tomorrow night would actually put us back in the hunt for second place with Rangers to play on Saturday. Still hoping for a Rangers win to put things beyond doubt but we have put ourselves in a position wherby a Utd victory has it's potential upside. Congratulations to the players and the manager. The record against the non Old Firm teams this season has been outstanding.

So you think that Motherwell are closer in ability to Rangers/ Celtic than they are to Dunfermline? What about Hibs in 11th? McPake, O Conner, Griffiths, Sproule etc. 17-1 is our Cumulative score against Celtic in the last 6 games. Motherwell and Celtic are leagues apart.

Beat St J, Hearts and Utd and the results against the OF won't matter. It has served us well so far this season. We need to see it out now.

We will beat St Johnstone next week. What today showed for me is that the gap between 2nd and 3rd is massive. 3rd to 12th in the SPL have little between them. It literally is two leagues in one. That was a training match for Celtic today and they won at a canter. For this season anyway though I think we will be best of the rest. It is a slightly hollow feeling though this eve.

Why would you make space for Hateley in that team?

Yip. Someone made the pt today that should well lose tomorrow united are in control of there own destiny given that they still have to play us and have a Superior goal difference. A draw tomorrow delays that for the time being.

There would be two things of note should Motherwell not finish in 3rd place this season. Firstly it would have meant an outstanding end to the season for United and secondly an almost Malpas like end to the season for Motherwell. The comparison would be a little unfair as we are playing top 6 instead of bottom six but the point is that it would be a massive turn around. Dundee Utd were miles behind not so long ago and have had a superb run in (Aberdeen apart). It would be somewhat ironic if in the final analysis wee broony's team save us. If Motherwell don't finish third this season I would see the Kilmarnock game as being the turning point. That was the one game Well should have won. Kilmarnock had nothing to play for and a win would have taken the wind out of the United challenge. Killie winning that day is the reason why I don't take any comfort from the Celtic have nothing to play for argument. Rangers had nothing to play for today and beat Hearts at Tynecastle. I have been very confident for weeks that we will finish 3rd but tonight is the first time in a little while that I have a slight doubt. Having said that I still think we will make it beating St Johnstone and Utd themselves to clinch a nervy last day Champions League spot. Losing tomorrow almost guarantees a final day shoot out I feel so we better get the valium ready.

Fair comment. Let's just hope the players can show us that they do have the mentality this sun because a win wld be massive. Cheers.

In the last five Motherwell v Celtic fixtures the cumulative score is 14-1 in celtics favour. The record against rangers in that same time frame is as bad if not worse. Are the OF really that much better than the team sitting 3rd in the SPL?

I can understand that train of thought but performances and results would suggest that what is said in the dressing roomto counterbalance McCall's public words has not been working. Take the last two OF games alone, both lost from an inability to defend throw in's. That suggests a nervousness in the last quarter of the game that stems from a lack of belief.

They don't have the belief and I think we have to lie the blame for that at McCall's door. Quotes about results against the OF not mattering and a refusal to voice ambition in the fight for second in the league (even when we were level on points with Rangers) result in a team that give the OF far to much respect. It was summed up for me in the last Celtic game at FP when Motherwell totally dominated for the first 10-15 mins, scored then within a minute of the re-start gifted Celtic a corner that they duly scored from. They simply panicked when they got there noses in front. The Cup Final as well, one of my saddest days as a Well fan when it should have been a celebration. Keep telling a team that the OF are superior and they will start to believe it. Can't see any change on Sunday. Celtic win, Well will still finish the season in third place though.

28000 at Hampden today and not an Old Firm team in sight. Shows what happens when there is a trophy up for grabs. Some would have it that Scottish football would crumble if Rangers were not there. A Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and Dundee Utd that thought they had a chance at winning an SPL title would keep Scottish football ticking over no problem. The biggest problem with Scottish Football is that we have an uncompetitive league. A league where 10 of the 12 teams know before a ball is kicked that they will finish no higher than 3rd. Rangers and Celtic are the problem and yet we are been told that they are the saviours of the game in this country. Too many people (many of them journalists) with a vested interest in seeing Rangers stay in the SPL are feeding us a lot of shite. The other SPL teams have got to call the OF's bluff. It's the only way for the game in this country to progress.

The last three wks have shown that well don't have to do much to keep there noses in front. One pt in 9 and we are still 5 PT clear. United, hearts and st j will take points off each other. I think the Games against the OF become important for all the teams To answer the question though will we finish 3rd, yes I think we will and before the last game of the season too.

The best thing to do is to take the moral high ground and clap them on to the pitch. The Celtic fans will hate that as it gives them nothing to moan about. I happen to think it is the right thing to do anyway. It is by not being small minded that we stand apart from the OF. Nothing to do with sympathising either.

4 wins and a draw required now and we have not picked up a point in two wks. Neither united or st j will finish with a perfect record so we will prob need less than this . Victory against these two wld leave us needing at the very most a point. Still much rather be us than them.