El Grew

Decision not to go was the right one by the cut of it. A New Years Day humping by Accies and a soaking versus big comfy chair and a nice glass of malt. No contest. Sorry but done my time at these games.

Our record at Hamilton is none too hot and we haven't beaten them there since 2009. Overall our record reads: P56; W23; D11; L22.Bad memory of getting humped 4-2 there before on New Years Day. Would love to win but would take a draw.

Added to which he couldn't score a slate!

Oops sorry should have been: Played 89; Won 40; Drawn 24; Lost 25.

For the record Partick Thistle have not beaten us at FP since January 1996. Our all time FP record against them reads Played 45, Drawn 24, Lost 25. Given the current form of both teams they will be favourites. They don't score lots of goals but their defence is pretty Scrooge-like. Obviously we want to win but a draw would not be a bad result in this one.

Well you started it! We are not where we are in the league solely because of John Sutton so why specifically single him out or any one player come to that. We win as a team and lose as a team. It's know as collective responsibility. Our defenders are bad as witnessed by our goals against column and the type of goals we have lost. Our midfielders are bad as witness the lack of protection afforded to the aforementioned defenders and their lack of any creativity. Hey but never mind forget all that and let's blame one of the forwards. John Sutton is what he is and will not become more effective until we start creating penalty box chances for him and not playing him as a target man a la 1970s football. Oh and out of curiosity, just who would you replace him with?

This for sieb and his barmy army. Aye a right piss poor player, eh?

I really honestly wish the tossers who go to watch us and those that frequent this website who are never off John Sutton's case would jack it in. For the record, up to this season, his goal scoring record in his first spell with us was 1 goal in 3 and when he re-joined us this went to 1 goal in 2. These are impressive goal scoring stats in any league..John Sutton is one the most honest players at our club and in Scotland. He goes out every week and plays wherever the manager asks him to and in whatever role. I recall when Craig Brown kept playing him out of position on the left wing and he never complained once about it. He is the one true penalty box striker we have and.who, if chances are being created, and as his goal scoring record record shows, he will put the ball in the net regularly..He is playing in one of the worst Motherwell sides in a long time where there are no creative midfielders to create penalty box chances and with defenders that couldn't keep hens out of a midden. And yet he is being singled out for stick??!!.There is no justification for getting on any players case if they are good honest pros putting their all into the team's cause like John Sutton. I seem to recall the same pointless shit being directed at another player in the same category - Mark Hateley who hardly missed a game for us. Aye would we not be better with him back? Rant over.

So whats with the the big delay? Are they scared the Ally McCoist story has stolen their thunder? Or is something more sinister going on e.g. the preferred candidate knocked back the offer of the job!!??

This game and the next one against St Mirren will dictate our season. Both must wins.

Given the latest turn of events I predict the new manager will be Mitchell Van Der Gaag with Kenny Black remaining as his assistant to provide the Scottish football scene / local knowledge. Mind you it's no exactly rocket science!

Butcher back = backward step + lack of board vision + me no going back.

We are typical of a team in the relegation zone of a league - can't score more than one goal per game and always concede at least two! IMO, if we had got a second goal today before they equalised the game would have been won. Fact is we lost two goals today from headers in around our six yard box and yet we have two gargantuan centre backs? IMO these two need to be shown the door - two of the softest centre backs I've seen at FP since Willie McCallum. Couldn't keep hens out a midden. Dear knows what we'll be like when Ojaama leaves!

Foreign consortium, fan ownership are both bollocking pipe dreams. It's time the amateurs running the club, albeit with the best of intentions, looked for some serious investors and stopped f@cking around. Oh and if we've had as many applications for the manager post as was being spouted, then it's time they sorted out the series contenders from the tyre kickers and got down to interviewing and making an appointment. Oh and judging by Kenny Black's comments after Saturday's game at Inverness - which kind of echo Stuart McCall's - I think we need somebody who will come in and put their f@cking boot up the arses of a number of our so-called experienced pros who are failing to get the shoulder to the wheel.

I would respectfully submit that this debate is academic bollocks. Because of where we are in the league at present it is no time to be considering playing young players. The time to introduce young players is when you are safe at the opposite end of the table. It would be totally unfair not to say downright irresponsible to start playing youngsters at present.

It was Flamengo from Rio de Janeiro. Ah they were the days. I used to hear my dad enthusing about the Ancell Babes and games like those. Would love to gave been around to have watched them.

Sad news today to hear that a member of the famous Ancell Babes side of the late 1950s Sammy Reid has passed away at his home in Wishaw aged 75. A tterrific player for us who went south to sign for Bill Shankly's Liverpool In 1960. It never quite worked out for him as it did for his team mate Ian St. John. Came back to Scotland and played for Berwick Rangers and in 1967 scored the goal to knock Rangers out the Scottish Cup. Arguably still the biggest Cup shock in Scottish football. .Thoughts are with Sammy's family at this sad time. RIP Sammy.

Henrik Larrson just resigned as manager of Falkenburg in Sweden. Kept them in Swedish top flight despite working with minuscule budget. Wonder if he's considering coming back to Scotland?

Terrific result never mind how achieved. For us at present results are fare more important than playing stylish football. Good to see us at lat getting a wee rub of luck that teams in our position normally don't get. Not out of the woods yet but something to build on now.

As I have posted in another topic although I wasn't Stuart McCall's biggest fan I do believe that in terms of league performances, this season excepted, he is the best manager we have had at FP since the halcyon days of the 1930s under old Sailor Hunter. And I still think he got a poor deal from the club in that every season he improved us and took us into the Champions League and yet he was rewarded every season with cuts to his playing budget. And he was one of the most loyal and honourable managers we have ever had and in the modern football era these are rare and valuable traits. I'm really sorry that it went pete tong for him this season and I really hope he gets back into football management sooner rather than later. Thanks for some truly unforgettable memories Stuart. I fear we will not experience these again.

Terry Butcher?? FFS!! He had his turn with us and look at the rip roaring James Hunt he made of things at Hibs last season when they were in exactly the same fix as we are in now. Crazy idea. No thank-you. As for Derek Adams!? Considered not good enough for Ross County who are bottom of then league before this season even started so again no thank-you. IMO Scott Leitch should never been allowed back into FP so again no thank-you. We need to get some new blood in again. Somebody that's keen to get on in club management and not somebody that's been over the course again and again. For me I'd try to get Ian Murray. As a player he was wholehearted and bled for Hibs and often carried them at times. He's already shown in his short spell as manager at Dumbarton that he's got what it takes to succeed by getting them promoted on a veritable shostring and playing decent football by all accounts. And what about Scott Booth at Stenhousemuir as his assistant? Again doing a decent job and has had a great football upbringing. Two up and coming young Scottish managers who would probably value a great opportunity to take the next step on their football management careers. And if we were to benefit along the way then it would be a win-win situation.

If you look at what happened at Hibs last season, they made the managerial change early enough to allow the new manager sufficient time to turn things around. However, their board forgot a couple of critical points - the squad of players inherited by the new manager was sh*te and they failed to provide funds for changes to that squad. Outcome was still relegation. So changing the manager is not always the answer. Personally, I think Stuart McCall has been given a raw deal by the club - terrific league finishes for a number of seasons now and his reward? One playing budget cut after another. Anyone would struggle under such handicap. A number of serious misjudgements have been made behind the scenes, leading to a serious lack of investment, not least of which the much vaunted, well meaning but IMO doomed from the outset Well Society. So don't lay everything at the manager's door as there a bunch of amateurs behind the scenes - well-intentioned amateurs but amateurs just the same.

For me a major issue this season so far is that McCall keeps chopping and changing his playing 11. I know there have been issues with injuries but he now needs to decide what his best/preferred starting 11 is and stick with them - injuries excepted. It hardly encourages players confidence that if they have a poor game they are dropped. First thing he needs to do is to get the back four sorted out and stop leaking goals. Fuck the attacking football philosophy for a while and concentrate on making us harder to score against. A few draws would do us no harm.

Ring, ring, ring. .

Get rid of McCall. Appoint Ian Murray from Dumbarton. Simples!