David

Back to league business at the weekend with the visit of Inverness. We have a referee officiating his first 'Well game in Bobby Madden, and from what I read he's quite decent as far as cards go. I imagine that Ojamaa will start on the bench again, which will mean we probably start with the usual partnership of Murphy & Higdon.

You have to imagine that any new deal offered to Forbes will be for less than he's currently getting, as it doesn't appear that McCall rates him very highly.

Does anyone know how long Forbes has left on his current deal?

I don't think we'll lose any of our first team regulars during the January window, but I wouldn't be too surprised to see a few fringe players move on. The likes of Forbes & Page (and even McHugh) must getting a bit fed up of sitting on the bench or in the stands every week. I think at least one of them will be looking to move on this year.

Yeah, let's leave that stuff to the suits in charge, eh? If such a circumstance is reached, then fair enough. As a fan I'm more concerned with what's happening on the pitch, and that means I want us to keep all of our best players. Law hasn't even completed a full season with the club yet, and is an integral part of our midfield along with Jennings & Lasley.

I could be wrong, but I'd guess that the level of performance would be higher against an SPL side. Regardless of it being right or wrong, the players came into that game knowing that we were playing a third division outfit. When you're playing a team from the lower leagues and you're 2-0 up within 20 minutes you sometimes find the team taking their foot off the gas.

I don't quite understand why we're even talking about the possibility of either Jennings or Law leaving. As a Motherwell fan surely the idea of keeping our first team players should be reasonably high on the wishlist?

He came off the bench to score a goal against a third division outfit. McHugh did that against Aberdeen. I just don't see how we can be overly critical of players who are benched for months on end then given one game in a blue moon to impress. He was on the bench for the games against Hibs, Dundee United & Kilmarnock immediately after the Aberdeen game.

I have to disagree about McHugh, as I felt he played well today. The problem is, can we realistically expect these guys to sit on the bench or in the stands week in & week out then come in for one game and hit the ground running? I felt that McHugh was due a crack at the first team after he came off the bench to get the winner against Aberdeen, but he was back on the bench the following week.

Not the best performance, but we got the result and hopefully Murphy's goals will do his confidence some good. Nice to see the new lad get a goal as well. He seems a bit greedy, which may be a good quality to have as a striker I guess. We didn't play too well, and Queens Park were definately worth a goal. Still, onwards & upwards!

Anyone else been following the video diary on MFCTV of the under 19's trip to Turkey? In true Scottish fashion they get there and it starts raining!

Forbes will suffer from not getting a good run in the team, the same as the likes of McHugh. Bringing someone in for one game and expecting them to hit the ground running is a bit ridiculous. Players need game time to get themselves going, and Forbes is no different.

These types of games are always interesting as far as I'm concerned. Can't wait to get along and see the new lad and some of the younger boys do the business.

Over 60's and students get in for a tenner as well.

Trust me, following Motherwell means you don't "expect" anything. What I'm saying is, if we want to finish in the top four we have to be beating those kind of teams at home. Dropped points against those sides will see us slip down the table, as clubs like Hearts and Dundee United have far bigger squads who can cope with the inevitable injuries and suspensions we all deal with as the season goes on. My expectations & hopes are the same every season. A top six finish with a possible run at a European spot, and a decent cup run. Speaking of European spots, does anyone know what positions in the table will qualify for the Europa this season?

Saying we should be winning at home against the likes of St Mirren & Kilmarnock isn't too high an expectation in my opinion. Those are the kind of teams we should be beating at home.

Don't get me wrong, if we eventually finish fifth I'd happily take that.

Our home record at present is nine home league games played, three wins, three draws and three defeats. The reason why some people (including me) are bringing up our home form is because since we beat Aberdeen over three months ago we haven't managed to win in four games. We've lost to Celtic & St Johnstone, and drawn with St Mirren & Kilmarnock. The loss to Celtic is fair enough I guess, but if we are looking at still being in the top four by the end of the season we need to be winning games against the likes of Kilmarnock & St Mirren. If we keep dropping points at home to sides like that we won't maintain our league position, it's as simple as that.

Superb post. Very insightful.

I don't think anyone is really being pessimistic. Most people are simply saying that we need to improve our home form if we wish to maintain our league position. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Those results didn't change my opinion of us finishing third either. Our dropped points against the likes of St Mirren & Kilmarnock, and further dropped points against sides who will finish below us in the table will cost us third place. Hopefully a result against Queens Park at the weekend will boost morale and kickstart some decent home form, as wins against the likes of Inverness & Dunfermline are needed in my opinion.

Two games in hand aren't guaranteed points though. We were looking poor against Hibs before the game was halted, and Dunfermline will come to Fir Park with the same mindset as the likes of St Mirren which has caused us problems already. We need to rectify our home form if we want to finish third or fourth. It's really that simple.

We have four home games this month, one of them a cup tie, and two away games (one of which we've lost already). If we are serious about finishing third (or fourth even) we need to start winning at home. A minimum of seven points from our games should be the target.

"Expect" may be too strong a word, but I'd hoped for at least a bit of fight. I never expect us to take anything away from Ibrox, but I don't expect us to roll over like we always seem to do either.

Full-time 3-0. A heavy defeat as usual. I never went, but from the commentary we sounded terrible.