David

We will struggle against better sides with quality, because we're a side with limited quality. Surely that's a given? If we beat teams like Dundee, Ross County and Livingston we'll be fine, and if we happen to secure results here and there against the likes of Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United and Aberdeen then we could be pushing for top six. Thus far this season we've lost to Hibs, Hearts and Celtic in the league. Beaten Livingston away, Dundee, Aberdeen and Ross County at home while drawing away to St Johnstone and Rangers. If we progressing at this clip we shouldn't have any relegation worries this season, which would be nice, and could be pushing for top six. You think so? O'Donnell dropped and when the media ask Clarke about it he'll say something along the lines of "well, remember when he made a pigs ear of the first Celtic goal in that game a month ago? You know the one? I know, he's played four games since then, but still."

So, Tony Watt, eh?

Nothing wrong with travelling abroad to follow your country for a piss-up. Let's be honest, we're never going to win anything at international level, so it's about the good memories with friends and family, enjoying yourself, and grabbing those rare wins that really matter when you can. Absolutely no issue with anyone who doesn't follow international football, and don't agree with the poster who drew comparisons with the Old Firm fans, but everyone has different reasons for following the football, be it club or country.

I don't think anyone on here actually went through the games and compiled the stats though, they were simply shown to us. And that's what would be interesting. Besides, people compile stats for all manner of things. What cannot be denied is that those particular stats, if true, are very interesting, and would certainly back up a lot of non-OF fans views that the officials are somewhat biased, be it unintentional or not.

It's not an obsession, it's simply pointing out, using stats, that what many of us suspect is most likely true. They're given the benefit of the doubt by match officials more often than not when compared with the other clubs in the league. I find it baffling why anyone would look to try to explain it away and make it look as if our fans are mental and strange for even pointing it out

I don't think Gallagher lost focus or interest in us due to his international call-ups. He lost interest because he was focused on moving elsewhere for more money.

Imagine if O'Donnell had performed defensively the way Patterson did? The knives would be out.

Well, it was always going to be tough for Watt to get called up, especially with the amount of goals from the strikers we have in our national team at present...

He just posted it. And the thing is, it's not a big deal if he's not currently employed as a player by a club who play in the same league. If he was a Burton Albion player, then fine, but he knows it's going to piss off the fans of the team who currently pay his wages, so why do it? Is it so important to post shit on Twitter? He clearly doesn't give a fuck what Motherwell fans think, or indeed the club for that matter, which is why there's an issue.

You've mentioned that twice now, despite surely knowing the difference? If Lawless was texting his comments to other Rangers-supporting mates then there's no issue. He's posting them on Twitter, knowing fine well it'll annoy the fans of the club he's currently playing for and who are paying his wages. Big difference.

Spot on.

I've had my vaccine, but if we see this passport thing implemented I'll not be back. I can't and won't support the idea of bullying people to get a vaccine with the threat of social exclusion. Not really something I can get behind.

Our fans demand top half of the table, playing great football, and all new players hitting the ground running. Do keep up!

Once was quite enough.

You did say "on the back of an article published in the i newspaper...," though, didn't you? So he's obviously going to Tweet about the subject matter of the article. It would have been a bit weird if he'd tweeted about the article, but said something about the youth setup at the club. I think you've taken what he said and twisted it somewhat.

Always the eternal optimist, eh?

Make your choice.

Not all that impressed by the away kit, but then again I'm not the target market I guess, even if I buy every home and away shirt without fail for collector purposes. I'm guessing we'll probably shift as many of them as we usually do most years, with the majority of sales being to the younger end of the fanbase.

Not using my position at all, just posting like anyone else. You seem to have an issue with O'Hara. I'm not the only one who's noticed it. Other members get a little jab when they're seen as being a bit OTT, don't they? Take it for what it is. A bit of a ribbing on a football forum. Not all posts are cryptic you know.

Are you surprised? I'm more shocked when we see a post of his that doesn't mention O'Hara. He has a weird, creepy fascination with the guy. Maybe it's his hair. Or his winning smile that he loves? Who knows.

This is it for me. What's the point in bringing in a manager with experience in that level of English football if it's not to at least try to take advantage of his knowledge? I'd rather we brought in players that he considers to be of a certain type of character, and who have the ability to fit into his system than bring in unknowns. The less risk we can take with a player, the better.

I believe that his recommendations will play a part in that process though, won't it? Look at it this way, if they say nothing everyone moans like fuck, complaining that clubs are being kept in the dark and unable to plan. If they give us a tentative date so that clubs can start planning, everyone moans like fuck. I'm personally just happy to start seeing actual dates being mentioned.

Here's my question: Why would he even say it if it was just a load of bollocks? We've already seen how cautious our government has been on such matters, so why would he even mention that date if he knew it wasn't going to happen? Honestly.

It's all about getting internet search hits though, as that's what drives on-site advertising and pays the bills for many of these sites (and even some traditional newspapers). Quite simply, having Rangers or Celtic in the title will garner more hits than Scunthorpe or Dundee.

While Patterson may very well turn out to be a really good player, I find it amusing at the amount of people who have just bought into the narrative that he's top class. And this isn't aimed at you specifically, by the way. He's 19 years old, and made seven league appearances last season with five European appearances as well. Four of those league games saw him come on as a sub, including one game after 86 minutes, while he came on as a sub in two of the European games. He also played two Scottish cup games, with one of those against Cove Rangers. So that's three league starts, and three European starts, with two Scottish cup games. In total. Not to be funny, but I spoke to two guys who were sitting near (but two metres away, of course!) me and my mates in a beer garden during one of the Euro games and they were banging on about Patterson being a future star and that he should be starting for Scotland, with the added piece of information that seems to be popular, that neither of them were Rangers fans. They ended up admitting that they'd seen him play once or twice on telly. Their opinions have undoubtedly been crafted by the seemingly relentless drumming up of this lad by the written press and talking heads in the media. And we all know why that's the case. Could Patterson turn out to be the real deal? Of course he could, and if he does then he'll deserve to be looked at as an option for his country. But the truth is, he's proven nothing at club level yet, never mind done enough to warrant international football. O'Donnell isn't a world beater, but few of our players are. The clamour to see him dropped for this kid was as blatant as I've seen the Glasgow-based media act in recent times. I'm glad Clarke didn't bend. O'Donnell deserved to be on the field as much as any other player.