Kmcalpin

Some good points being made. The team all played poorly on the pitch but I think it was the off field failings that proved critical. The first goal was always going to be crucial and off the field tactical mistakes cost us dearly. We have made a fundamental mistake in going with such a small squad that contains 3 wingers and only one striker and is very short in central defence. The squad is so limited that we have no Plan B. A lack of substitutions tells its own tale. By default the manager would appear to think that we have only 15 players (including two lads on the injured list) capable of playing in the first team. Although an extra body is always welcome the last thing we needed was an extra winger (when we have Murphy, Humphrey and Lawless on the books). Tim Clancy is no centre back as his previous manager admitted and it shows but thats not the player's fault. The central midfield lay far too deep creating a huge gap to the isolated Michael Higdon. In many games Lasley & Jennings are not the right combination. We badly need Nicky Law's pace in the centre. We are simply not playing Jamie Murphy to his strengths which are being totally wasted. He didn't seem to know where he was meant to be playing yesterday (not for the first time) and instead of supporting Higdon more often than not tracked back to take the ball out of defence. We should forget playing a lone striker, despite our limited options, and revert back to a 4-4-2 formation. Again the squad is lightweight, as the Manager has acknowledged, and against bigger stronger opponents like St Johnstone we'll struggle. Make no mistake our provincial rivals will have watched yesterday's events with interest. Contrast yesterday's performance and result with the last time we met at Hampden Park a few months ago. Saints would appear to have been a lot more astute in the transfer market than we have been. Our off the field errors came home to roost big time yesterday. On the field errors - I'll say no more.

You've hit the nail on the head. Our striking options, or rather lack of them, is a fundamental weakness in the squad which many of us foresaw well before the transfer window closed. Irrespective of the type of striker you have you do need more than one. Its not rocket science. If Michael Higdon gets injured I dread to think who'll we'll play up front.

It shouldn't be the case Iain but it is. The way the squad has been built means that we're suited to counterattacking. However if we have to lay siege to a large, well organised robust defence we haven't a clue as was borne out yetserday. We can't even resort to old fashioned route 1 tactics with any success. Many knew Saints would be hard to break down. Give them a goal of a start as we did and that allows them to defend. Score first and they have to open out come at us and thats where Murphy/Humphrey/Daley/Lawless come into their own. Worryingly other provincial teams will be studying our failings and so we can expect much more of the same at Fir Park. We're a limited one trick pony.

Neil, Bob McHugh has so far failed to impress and ordinarily I'd agree with you but we need 2 out and strikers on the pitch and apart from the far from ready Gary Smith he's the only other one we have. Serious questions need to be asked as to why that situation was allowed to arise in the first place but thats another thread.

Seconded Al. This formation just isn't working for us. Much of today's failure was due to off the field errors. We need 2 out and out strikers if we're going to score goals. Fundamental errors have been made this season in deciding the size of squad and its composition and we're now paying for them.

Basically we were outfought by a bigger, stronger, and more aggressive outfit. We simply lost too many 50/50 battles.

Lets not forget that Nicky Law is first and foremost a central midfielder who if truth be told is being played out of position.

Page in for Clancy. McHugh in for either Jennings or Lasley and move Nick Law into the central midfield.

Excellent post Al. This season he's been wasted. At one point this afternoon we had 3 wingers but only one striker on the pitch. Is it any wonder we can't score goals?

Remember folks another open meeting today at 11 am - a chance to ask some more questions.

Yes, I intend to and would advise others to do the same. The more constructive comments the club receives from the fans the more representative the scheme should be in theory.

According to "The Men Who Made Motherwell Football Club" (Jim Jeffrey and Genge Fry), Bert joined Leeds as a youngster and moved to Tayside in 1960. He played 67 times for Dundee United scoring 6 goals. He then moved to us in 1965 playing 3 league games. I believe he also played 4 games in the League Cup for us scoring 2 goals in the process ("Well Again" by Graham Barnstaple and Keith Brown) .

Now I know that membership of the scheme should not be about "Whats in it for me?", but I notice that the list of membership benefits is not unnaturally aimed at those living near Fir Park. What about a perk for those living a fair distance away either in the UK or even abroad. A long standing gripe of theirs has been access to tickets for big games. Visits to Fir Park to buy tickets over the counter simply aren't an option. How about some kind of ticket reservation/collection facility for such fans? It would benefit these fans, wouldn't cost the club much, if anything, and could even lead to a few extra fans attending such games.

How did Clancy shape up in the air Jim? He's wouldn't be the biggest central defender in the world.

Yes, I can recall him. If I remember rightly he was a small dark haired inside forward who came to us from United in the early / mid sixties.

A very sensible suggestion. If you're going to spend cash on football then give it to our own club through the Society and not to the OF. I wouldn't give them so much as 1p and haven't done so for years.

A lot of sense in that Al. For some time now I've said that in OF games the main concern of both the player with the ball and those not on it is to ensure that when the ball is lost we can cover. This means that players on the ball are left isolated and no-one is prepared to make a run in support. Definitely a tactical or confidence issue.

Its actually worse than that FC. They are part of the establishment.

I do for one. I don't like being beaten by the OF but I can thole it given their vastly superior resources. However I don't like losing a barrowload of goals unnecessarily to them. At the end of the season goal difference can make a difference to league placings, financial rewards and Euro qualification. If our real opponents (the Killies, Hibs, Dunfermlines etc) are able to limit their losses then that gives them an advantage over us. A start would be to instill some fighting spirit and confidence for these games.

According to a representative of the Celtic Supporter's Trust giving evidence to a Scottish Parliamentary Committee a few days ago its not a sectarian term and is simply another word for a Rangers supporter.

Whilst a defeat was predictable the scoreline and manner of it were very disapointing. The line up looked very defensive with 3 holding midfield players. No doubt Michael Higdon was therefore left very isolated. These tactics have not worked before and they sure as hell didn't work today. Hopefully Shaun Hutchinson's injury isn't serious but, if it is, then we will need to source an emergency centre back. Tim Clancy may be an adequate full back but he's no centre back.

I don't wish big John any ill luck and he was entitled to move on to better himself. That said I agree with Fatcalf. Anyone who knows anything about Scottish Football knows about the situation at Hearts. John and his agent would have been well aware of the that. He knew the risks when he signed on the dotted line at Tynecastyle. If you fly with the crows you get shot down with the crows.

For some, benefits are critical or may just sway their decision to join or not. As a matter of interest the issue of benefits/incentives was not mentioned by the top table on Monday evening and none of the 30 or so questioners mentioned them. For those interested in them, they may need to be fine tuned. How about some kind of ticket purchase/reservation mechanism for those who live away from Lanarkshire for example? Given the size of our support we cannot afford to limit the scheme to ST holders only. In any event, as some PATG fans will tell you, never miss a home game. The issue of retaining members is a very important one and was not raised on Monday. It will have to be addressed though.

Thats it FC. Folk can currently become shareholders in MFC and I suspect that will continue. The Society will become a shareholder (the largest one by far) and will simply take over JB's 75% holding. It was mentioned on Monday evening thats its unlikely that the Society would ever own 100% of the shares as the remaining 25% are held by smaller shareholders who may not want to sell or may not even know they have shares in MFC. However its quite possible that the Society's 75% shareholding will increase gradually. The Trust for example owns 3%-4% of the shares.

Some good posts today on the subject. I have no problem with folk who can't contribute or buy into the scheme - to many £300, even in staggered installments, is a lot of dosh. I have no problem either with folk who are simply paying customers who are seeking value for money. Each to their own as Fatcalf rightly said. However if they don't buy in they will have no right to criticise those who do or to criticise the club if things don't go well on or off the field. It was made quite plain on Monday evening by the Directors that this isn't a "Whats in it for me scheme", despite the incentives on offer. Its a scheme for those who want to help the club by putting their money where their mouth is. A fair proportion of those who attend matches are diehard fans and it is at them that this scheme is aimed. As Fatcalf said albeit in different words, its our club and the ball is in our court. However each to their own and no-one should be castigated simply for not contributing.