David

Would it be fair to say that there is pretty much no way of any other SPL club realistically closing the gap on Celtic? I don't know about any of you, but this season I've been pretty much ignoring them at the top of the league. We know they'll win it, it's just a matter of when. I don't really care to be honest. I don't think any change to the league setup is going to make a difference as far as the rest of the SPL closing the gap on Celtic goes. What will make the difference in my opinion is how long it takes Rangers to get back into the SPL and become competitive with them again. Until that happens we'll see their attendances slowly drop and interest in their season beyond what they can do in Europe diminish. Meanwhile the rest of us are playing in a highly competitive league where the majority of sides are split by not a lot. My main concern, and reason for wanting a 14 or even an 18 team league is because I want some variety in the games that Motherwell play every season. I want to see us play against the likes of Thistle, Accies, Morton & Airdrie on a regular basis, rather than playing Kilmarnock four times a season (no offence to Killie intended!). We need a bigger league with lower gate prices, it's really as simple as that. Without both of those factors I don't see the game in this country moving forward any. The added bonus of Charles Green pushing through and getting Rangers into England wouldn't go amiss either. As soon as that happened we'd see Celtic leave not long after.

What constitutes a "bigger club" in your opinion?

Mines arrived over the weekend, and I have to say I was blown away by the quality of it. It was well put together and looked really professional. I enjoyed all of the articles, with my only complaint being the colour scheme on the interview with Lasley. The black & grey is difficult to read. Other than that, well done to all concerned!

Yeah, me too. At least one in surely.

I'd be more than happy with that. He's a decent player.

The harsh truth is, if any player who is out of contract in the summer makes it clear to the club that he isn't interested in resigning with us then I'd have no issue with him being sold if the right offer came in.

As soon as Jamie hit the floor I was hoping he'd insist on taking the kick. It was his big chance to score against Celtic and possibly win us all three points. What a way to leave, eh?

Yeah, I don't see Daley going anywhere unless it's by his own choice.

The Sheffield United boards are awash with talk that Porter is still on his way here, but not as part of the Murphy deal. Taken from Blades Mad;

You're not wrong. The general consensus is that all of the success we've achieved in recent seasons has been down to Murphy.

Yes, but Murphy was on a high last night. He was playing an excellent game, and would have been the perfect player to hit the kick in my opinion.

Those Tweets say it all really, don't they? I doubt he really wanted to leave, but the truth is he had to go if he wanted to progress his career and get the chance to make some decent coin. Motherwell will always be here, and after he gives it a bash in England he can always come back. Let's just hope he doesn't ruin it by signing for Aberdeen in a few years!

Murphy gets my vote, and would have even if he weren't leaving. He was always our main threat, and looked most likely to score for us. If only he'd hit that penalty...

The truth is, if we did lose all of the above players mentioned then resigning Ramsden & Daley would make some sense, as we'd have half a squad left!

No, I'm not offended because I'm aware of the Tweets that he's most likely replying to, but that doesn't mean that others will. I'm also simply saying that it was stupid of him to stoop as low as to even acknowledge such idiots.

That's the issue I have with his Tweet though, he doesn't clarify that it's aimed at some idiots who are getting personal with their abuse of Hateley. He simply states that anyone giving him "a hard time" shouldn't come to Motherwell games in future. A very stupid thing for a player of an SPL club to say. Truth be told, there's been enough in the papers about Twitter and footballers over the past year or so for any top level player to know that he really should stay away from it. Engaging with idiots is a battle that they'll never win.

Interesting point.

You think so? Saying that fans who give players "a hard time" shouldn't bother coming to games? If the support had to actually put his Tweet into action we'd have an empty stadium on the 20th. There's nothing wrong with giving players "a hard time", especially when they miss a crucial penalty in a game that we had a real chance of taking something from. Footballers get paid very well, and have to take the criticism along with the plaudits.

There's a distinct line between hurling abuse at our own players, and being critical of them. In my opinion the latter is perfectly acceptable. Personally I'm not a fan of Hateley. I stated earlier why I don't particularly like him but I'd never give him shit at a game, or hurl personal abuse at him. As Steve said, anyone who offers such abuse deserves everything they get.

That's the issue, isn't it? If it was directed at that one guy then fair enough, but it doesn't read that way unfortunately.

I'm not as clued up on Twitter as some, but surely there's a report function? If so, Ojaama should have simply reported the Tweet. Posting what he did won't look good on him.

The only thing that sticks in my throat is the fact that we got over a million quid for Faddy, yet what we're getting for Murphy wouldn't even buy you a decent house in Wishaw!

Christ, we get low enough attendances without one of our players advising supporters to stay at home.

Personally I'd stick Ojaama on spot kick duty and let him know he'll be doing it until the end of the season regardless. I'm not sure what it is about Hateley, but I've never really been able to warm to him. He always strikes me as the type who's a decent player that thinks he's much better than he is. No doubt my feelings will intensify even more when he eventually moves to Rangers. He seems a perfect fit for that mob if I'm being honest.

It's not often I agree with MJC, but he's 100% bang on the money there. I pretty much knew we weren't scoring that, especially when Hateley stepped forward.