star sail

I have no sympathy for Gannon on this one. Even without the press sexing his comments up I thought what he said was poor and I could not see a reason for it. As a player not getting a game I would have been raging. We have to remember that these are Professional Players making a living and for somebody to be in front of camera's talking openly about these careers, and basically rubbishing them is really poor in my view. Disappointing because I feel that Gannon has hardly put a foot wrong but I just could not understand why he felt the need to say what he did publicly. A couple more injuries in the squad and these comments could really come back to bite him. Was no excuse for it and showed a lack of sensibility.

That shows up in the voting. Every player with the exception of Ruddy in the starting 11 has votes showing what an all round team performance it was. We have to remember as well that Ruddy had a great save in the second half so just because he does not have a vote does not mean he had a bad game.

Good performances by Coke and Reynolds but for me Sutton was excellent today. He caused there back two real problems and some of his lay offs were excellent and let us built further up the field. He was very unlucky to be booked. He gets my vote.

Not to begin conspiracy theories but I wonder if the lack of games of some of the established players McGarry, Laslay, Craigan is causing friction and hence a divide in the team. Have noticed during warm ups etc that these three tend to stick together. Adding Gannon's comments at the weekend into the mix and 2 + 2 definetly=5 Total speculation so could be miles off the mark. Oh and the Twin Towers were taken down by the American government!

[quote name='wellfan29' date='Oct 27 2009, 11:52 PM' post='137886 it could be worse imagine being a h*n just now hehe Is that the same h*ns that are ahead of us in the league and still in the league cup?

So why do we bother?

I would agree with this actually. It's just disappointing when it happens. Only thing I would say is that apart from the Kilmarnock game we have yet to have a convincing victory this season.

Really disappointing. St Mirren are generally very average indeed so to be outplayed by them over 120 mins of football is really poor. I would say that it is a genuine indicator that M/well have not progressed as far as we would like to think. I think the jinx seems to come every time Well fans actually start feeling optimistic and turn out in numbers to support the team. Very little concilation tonight I'm afraid and I don't buy the pish about it being a diddy cup. It's a cup we would love to win.

Were not Hamburg? Shit man, my world has tumbled. How does Tony know these things? Maybe he's got it wrong? Don't tell me I'm going to have to take that strip back? I've been sold a pup! With all due respect to Celtic, their shit and with all due respect to the big Tonstar he ain't exactly setting the heather on fire.

I thought he played well. Not at fault for the goal and coasted through the rest of the game. Even managed to match Humphries for pace a few times. He always looks like a decent, tidy player to me. Still feel slightly sad that it did not work out ofor him at Motherwell.

Was looking at the stats for the SPL finishes since it's introduction in 98. We have a 3rd and 4th place to our name and are the 7th best team overall in that time. All the usual suspects are above us with Kilmarnock being the surprise. If we were to finish 3rd this season you would have to say that we are a team punching above our weight particularly given that our attendances seem to be in free fall (less than 5000 on Sat). The common denominator is John Boyle who despite some howlers has done really well. This does not include of course the stats of the early 90's when for a couple of seasons we were arguably the 3rd force in Scotland. The point is that top six is always an excellent achievement and I think we will be doing well to get that this season.

This may be a sweeping generalisation but I think that it is the older members of our support that don't tolerate the passing about at the back. From what I hear round about me some of the old boys think that route one is the way forward (retro football). Having said that although I know that patience and passing is the way forward it can be frustrating to watch. It's probably because as a team we don't have it right yet in the sense that when eventually the opening comes we are not quick enough to spot it particularly in relation to defenders running with the ball into space that opens up in front of them. On occasion the defender in space is playing it to the other defender who is actually more tightly marked, just for the sake of the pass. I think that is what Gannon is talking about when he says the players have to improve their decision making on the park. It is the way forward and as fans we have to cut the players some slack and foster an environment that allows them to learn this way of playing (is that asking to much from the Well support?). Hats off to Craigan yesterday btw. I think he more than most in fighting the temptation to launch it and he is actually doing it well. He played a couple of beautiful pinpoint cross field balls yesterday. He is obviously trying very hard to stay in the team which is great to see.

I think that one of the most disappointing aspects about the league at the moment is that Rangers, despite being really poor are still sitting joint third with a game in hand. Nobody has taken advantage of their poor form and it shows how incosistant all the teams in the SPL are at the moment. Our result against Rangers is actually now not looking that great given the draws other teams have managed against them. For me Hibs have the personnel to finish third. It comes down to whether or not Yogi can get the most out of them. Despite Rangers poor start they will finish in the top two. I think 5th is our best chance at the moment.

I suppose it all depends on why you go to football matches, to be entertained or simply to see your team win. Ideally it would be both. I did not enjoy the game today. That's not a complaint, just a fact. For 25 mins we looked good but after the goal there seemed a lack of desire about the team. One effort on goal against a team that are struggling is not a good return. Falkirk deserved a point and but for poor finishing would have had it. I think the positive is that we have managed to gain 12 points without really getting going. It's strange because the way things have gone we could be sitting clear at the moment in second on 14 pts but could just as easily be half a dozen pts worse of than we are. Maybe it is going to be a season of fine margins.

I remember when Aberdeen, Utd and Motherwell were fighting it out for top 3 a few seasons back he commented that it was between Aberdeen and Utd for 3rd. He got that wrong. I am sure (though I can't find it anywhere) that he tipped us for the drop this year. I am very confident that he's got that wrong. Daryl Broadfoot also tipped us for the drop. I have no idea how they come to that conclusion given that these predictions were made after the Euro games. I don't think that there is any hidden agenda with the wee man, I just don't think he rates Motherwell as much of a team which happens to be a bit off the mark given that Falkirk, Killie, Hamilton, St Mirren share a league with us.. On another note, I listened to the Well v Rangers game on the radio. The wee fella was so insistant that it was not a pen that I actually believed him. When I saw the highlights, it was a penalty. We also listened to the Killie v Gers game on the way up to Dundee and again he was bewildered at the Mendes sending off. So insistent was he that once again we believed him. Once again we saw the highlights and it was a sending off. For a guy who gets paid money to be a pundit, he gets a good few things wrong. Before anybody accuses me of anti Rangers bias, on Tuesday night it was definetly a penalty. That one he got right. I am sure that he is a lovely man all the same.

Listening to that I would say he may be looking to make changes up front but not at the back. When asked about changes for the weekend he talked about Humphries, McHugh etc as options but no mention of Craigan. I thought Coke and Forbes looked very tired last weekend so one of them may be rested. Ruddy Moutakil-- Reynolds-Saunders-Hammell ----------------Jennings------------- Humphries---Coke------ Hateley--O'Brien -----------------Sutton-------------- Notice Doddsy going for a draw again. One of these days he will predict a Well victory.

I agree that we don't have a leg to stand on with this. I am a pasionate Motherwell supporter and on occasion (Nancy and Wales) I have been a proud supporter as well but I have been getting more and more disillusioned by our own support for a while now. The Motherwell goal apart, the Zemama incident was the most animated the Well fans became throughout the whole 90 mins on Saturday. Take the Hamilton game last season, Aberdeen this, the general lack of support for our young players when things are going badly, the lack of atmosphere at Fir Park, incidents of racism that we don't police ourselves ( include myself for not standing up against some of the bile I hear), etc Then as soon as the Old Firm come to town or a player celebrates in front of us we are morally offended and take the outraged citizen stance. It's a joke. Fair play, were having a laugh!

I would be surprised if O'Brien decides to go, after all he has already experienced what it feels like to be shut out at a big club. For all he is an exciting player I don't think he has proved enough yet. I'm being critical now but his finishing is not good and he is a bit light weight. I am picking holes but I think that another couple of years with Motherwell could turn him into a top notch player. The Slane situation is frustrating. Small clubs should be protected in some way to avoid them doing all the hard work with a young player just for a big club to come in and reap the rewards. As an aside Murray Park must be one of the poorest value for money initiatives in World Football. How many good players have they produced? Celtics record for producing young players is not much better. I suppose ultimately they don't have to as clubs like Motherwell, Hibs etc are effectively the Old Firms youth policy.

I noticed a quote from JG during the week saying that we did not have a squad big enough to allow for rotation. While I agree with this to a point, I think that there is a couple players that could have been rested on Tuesday. Laslay, Jennings and Craigan are surely good enough to perform against a First Division side. It would have allowed him to rest Coke, Forbes and possibly one of the Central Defenders. I think the fact they did not play shows how far down the pecking order they have fallen. We won the game on Tue so can't complain but the lack of energy and tiredness has been evident since last weekend, infact Forbes was out on his feet after 60 mins of the Aberdeen game. I thought we lost the game yesterday rather than Hibs winning it. They only started to play when they went 3-1 up. Coke in particular was disappointing and that must go down to tiredness. I think Yass may have to be curbed a bit when going forward but he is a very tidy football player who can kill the ball with a single touch. As others have said it will come good again. 9 points in the grand scheme of things is ok.

Most definetly the Match of the Day and the winners taking a clear 3rd place league spot (possibly even 2nd). As others have said, I think it depends on which Hibs side turns up. If they are up for it I think they may just have enough to edge it given the threat up front. Assuming Reynolds and Saunders start, this could be a big test for them and it will let us see how good the partnership is. I have been impressed so far but we did lose two soft goals on Tuesday. Hoping that was just complacency. If JH has done his homework I would expect them to play balls down the left hand side to exploit the space Yass leaves when he comes forward. No idea what the score will be but expecting a really good game.

He is a £1 million striker signed with Everton so I think that brings some expectation. After all David Moyes is no mug.

Don't think it is brutal to say that he has not impressed so far. He has not lived up to expectation, thats a fact. I don't think anybody is writing him off just yet though. Apart from the turn and shot at Tannadice I was not impressed on Saturday either but I am hoping that shot is a glimpse of what he can do. The worry for me is that there must be a reason why he has not played a competitive 90 mins in two and a half years. I could understand it if that time had been spent at Everton but he seems to have been out on loan at lesser teams during this time. Chris Porter did not have the best of starts either so I am hoping that it's just a little case of history repeating.

That just doesn't sound right.

That looks good to me. I think Forbes needs a rest so will be surprised if he plays. I think Craigan will get a chance at the back, though he may partner Hutchison to give Reynolds a rest also. I think Laslay may start as well tomorrow but not sure who will make way in the middle. The good news is that it's not really a risk bringing these players in and they should still be able to do the job.

Ruddy for me. Made McGregors 'World class' save last week look very ordinary and caught everything in the air. Mention also to Reynolds and Saunders. They look very strong togther.Don't think Craigan is going to be getting his place back next weekend.