David

On loan at Bury last I heard.

The first priority for me is always to finish above the relegation/play off places, and for now we're still sitting closer to the top six than the relegation zone so it's not panic stations yet. We've just lost one of our top players and someone who was responsible for a lot of our goals the past few years. It's always going to be tough to recover from that. We'll know a lot more when we've played Dundee at the end of February, and where we're sitting in the table at that point will likely dictate Robinson's position with the club.

Woke up this morning to see this statement, and have to say that I'm happy that the club have at least said their bit and not just remained silent in the face of all the shit that's being thrown at them. So, much respect to the club, and to Alan Burrows for taking that step. Even if fuck all comes of it, we've at least shown that we're not mugs and that we'll stand our ground.

Not press releases, that's just daft. But some key people at our club need to learn to be a bit cuter in how they use the media to get a message across. It'll come with experience I'm guessing.

If you think that saying nothing publicly and not questioning the ridiculous decisions out in the open is the way to go then fair enough, we'll need to agree to disagree. I guess time will tell. If we see closed doors chats using the proper channels actually seeing some sort of positive result then I'll happily hold my hands up.

Again, the vast majority of us are posting opinions on players, managers, chairmen, referees, owners and all sorts without "knowing them", aren't we? Like everyone else my views are drawn from what I've seen him do and say in his public, professional capacity. If me posting that opinion causes you a problem then simply scroll past and ignore, it's that simple.

I'm only going on what I've seen in the past when it comes to organisations like the SFA. Having fight in the confines of a private office is great, but as we've seen in the past, the SFA tend not to really do much unless they're under quite a bit of pressure. Public perception is what matters to them, which is why it took quite a shitstorm to finally force action from our authorities on the Rangers debacle. If that had been reserved to private chit chats in offices I doubt we'd have seen as much action taken. Also, if taking it to the private offices was the way to go, then surely Sir Brendan would have kept quiet about a lack of penalties and our physical play? Wouldn't he have been better served just requesting some time in a private setting to discuss it with the powers that be rather than provide quotes for the media? Not everyone. I personally think that the media pander to whatever will shift more copies of their paper each morning. It just so happens that coverage of the Glasgow two attracts more eyeballs, and more profit. Being as we were playing against one of the big clubs in question, it's safe to assume that any noise we'd made publicly about the refereeing decisions would have been given some coverage. We've been fucked over. Why not give the media something to write about, and put the authorities into a slightly more uncomfortable position? Again, I don't think it's strong for him to do that. I think, just like Burrows, he's relatively inexperienced in the position he's in. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Give him another five or ten years and he'll know how the game is played and how you get what you're looking for. He need look no further than his countryman in Glasgow the past few weeks to see how you play the game. The harsh truth is, the powers that be aren't going to look at our reaction and think "Gee, Motherwell were restrained and took the high road, didn't they? Let's look into their complaints and ensure they're given a fair shake in future since they played by the rules and were really nice." They're going to more than likely think "well, our refs fucked them over twice, for whatever reason! Thank fuck they aren't making it a bigger issue, we'll be able to slide by doing nothing about it, which is easier on us as we don't need to upset the main breadwinners in the process" Nah, like most of the population I've never actually been on the wrong end of a "tanking" mate. Not sure how wanting my club to voice their concerns over us being fucked over instead of giving it the "well, at least we got a point, and the players did really well to even get that, what a week we've had etc" is comparable with high street beat downs or whatever you're on about. My opinion is that unless we do what others do and complain, make noise and set up large fucking neon signs that point right at where the injustice we suffered is situated we're going to keep getting fucked over. That's life I'm afraid. The squeakiest wheel gets the oil and all that shite.

Here's the thing, for me the "correct channels" simply means that fuck all will happen. I seriously doubt that by going down the channels dictated by the very organisation we're complaining about that much will happen. Unfortunately, taking the high road doesn't seem to work with this lot. We can point and laugh at the likes of Lennon all we want when he flies into a rage about how his players are being tackled, but the truth is, that kind of behaviour works. Those who shout the loudest and all that. Put it this way, if you're at the head of that organisation and your receptionist buzzes you to tell you that you have a phone call from Neil Lennon, or Peter Lawwell after a dodgy couple of decisions against your side your reaction is going to be one of "christ, here we fucking go". I doubt a phone call from Alan Burrows elicits the same response, because he's known and regarded as a friendly, easy-going young guy. A credit to the game, all that jazz. Unfortunately, in situations like this you need someone who's a bit of a cunt and who's going to make life difficult for those in power, be it directly or through the media.

I'm obviously talking about his professional qualities, aren't I? I'm not meaning that he runs from a square go offering outside a pub, or that he doesn't like arguing with his wife.

Are we only allowed to pass comment if we know the guy personally?

Wasn't last night Celtic's first penalty in league play this season? Not that I don't think that Rodgers well timed comments in the media about a lack of penalties and our physical play hasn't played a part in all of this lately, but it's not as if Celtic get penalties every week.

I actually like Burrows, and think he's doing a great job, but as has been mentioned, he's not the type to confront and fight. He just doesn't seem to have that in him, unfortunately.

After the past two games and how they've went for us you have to think our lads will be feeling at least a little dejected. I fancy Celtic to win this one at a canter, no penalties or red cards required. Fuck them, leave them to it. They can sit there with their league titles and their unbeaten run that absolutely no one except them gives a fuck about.

Reckon that may give Fisher his chance to stake a claim in the side, along with someone new coming in hopefully.

Exactly. If they quashed our appeal for that penalty kick I'd love to hear their explanation. Also, it would be another iffy appeal decision we could add to our collection. As it stands now we'll never know.

Then let them do that, after all he'll be playing in the EPL next season so it's no loss. Retrospective action or not, it would still allow for the penalty incident and the referees incompetence to be called into question and challenged.

Veiled digs are all well & good, but the truth is that the Celtic fans and the media won't give a fuck about his digs. They'll simply report that we didn't appeal the decision, which suggests that we know Kipre was guilty.

Do we know that for certain? The more I think about us not appealing the more I think maybe Cedric has told Robinson that he did touch him, albeit ever so slightly? Let's be honest, if it were as open and closed as we all seem to think we'd be appealing it, surely?

Not really, that's not much of a reason to be honest. Kipre won't be playing Premiership football next season, if at all. It makes sense financially, but it does leave us open to the fact that if we think Kipre was wrongly sent off we should be appealing. If not, then shut the fuck up and get on with it, really.

It seems that way, doesn't it. His team are streets ahead of everyone else financially, their closest rivals are virtually dead in the water and he's making comments like that? Like you say, it seems to come with the job these days.

I used to quite like Rodgers as well, thought he was a decent manager at Liverpool and always seemed respectful. Now he seems to have turned into an odious wee creep.

I can't disagree with any of the points you make, I'm just thinking from the perspective of the club. There has to be a reason why they haven't appealed, and the only one I can think of is the financial aspect.

Best to pick & choose our battles wisely, especially when they cost us money. This is one battle that, even if we win it, won't make much difference. Let's see what the fallout is from the next two games. We may need that appeal money for then.

Like I said, I'm no finance guru, I know next to fuck all about shares. This just looks like a novel way of getting more people to buy into the Society from my point of view.