MelvinBragg

Whenever the 1991 cup run comes up in discussion these days, the thing I always remember is us going to Tannadice the week before the Aberdeen game and an abject 3-0 defeat. I always remember because I heard someone after the game muttering that Aberdeen were going to need a cricket scoreboard. Just shows how much of an achievement it was for that team to win the cup...

I refer the Right Honourable Member to a thread entitled 'Team For The Next 5 Games'. At the time, I was mocked. Now the suggestion seems a bit more sensible. but don't expect to see any in the next couple of games either. I see that McGhee has (rightly) stated that he now can't bring in the young guys as he has to be seen to be playing fair by all the other teams involved in a relegation battle. Which is why I advocated playing the younger guys for all five games...

On the issue of the split, it does create a bit of false excitement in the run up to it. The problem is that it also highlights the fact that your team might have meaningless games. There have been many seasons when Motherwell haven't had much to play for in the last few weeks. But I don't recall people saying in as great a number "Ach, we're playing for nothing, I'll not bother going..." before this season...

While I think Mackay would have been nothing better than a decent signing in a position that we're not too badly off in, is it just me that thinks that it doesn't bode well that St Johnstone might appeal to these players more? Nothing to do with the manager, before anyone thinks I'm going to use it as a stick to beat him with. Just a general observation about how we might find it difficult to attract our first choice signing targets. Unless, of course, the Livingston guys were guaranteed first team football at Perth but not with ourselves. In which case, no problem...

Thing is, Inverness had to play someone this midweek, home or away. Not much the SPl can do when they've allowed games to be shown live on both nights. Obviously if ICT and Aberdeen end up in the same half of the league, it makes it easier but I don't think much could have been done about Wednesday's attendance. Short of us really being in the relegation struggle, the crowd was alwasy going to be poor...

If I have to give it to someone, I'll give it to Tattie for sheer entertainment value when he stated than Jon Daly of Dundee United was a better striker than Clarkson and that we could replace Clarkson's goals should he leave with Fillipe Morais. Comedy gold, big man... Or Quinn, for still driving on when others didn't look that interested...

Liam Miller. I don't know, sounds like a good signing, but has the potential to be another Brian Kerr. Looks a great signing on paper but never really lives up to the billing. And you know how forgiving Motherwell fans are of underachieving big names...

I think what you meant to type was that Butcher would get a warm reception, and Malpas and Kerr would get a hot reception. Strange how those two phrases mean totally opposite things...

Surely as a St Mirren fan, the correct answer is "He's Black and White through and through"...

No one tell you, big man?? Our season finished about three weeks ago....

I'm of the same mind, kind of. The only thing I would say, and someone else mentioned it somewhere else on this thread, if it were to happen you could use these games as your pre-season build up and consider entry into the UEFA cup proper a bonus if you make it...

Having looked at the Fair Play tables that some people have posted links to, it's not exactly a country mile we lead by. And we have Maros Klimpl. To quote the old maxim, it's not the despair that kills you, it's the hope...

Don't be silly, why wait for confirmation when you can get yourself hyped up over the slightest possibility? As Tweed hinted at earlier, we may be in the spot at the moment but we have Dougie McDonald as our referee on Wednesday night. And a Lanarkshire derby to follow...

Apparently it's in the Express that although Dundee's bid for Mackay and Davidson has been accepted, there is interest from SPL sides. I'm assuming we'll be one of them...

How many can you see??

Apparently, it's July not June...

Not so much a change, Tweed, as a depressing continuation. Though I have to say I'm glad that Frazzle has outed himself as the man to blame if we don't get there. As in "Who f***in jinxed it?" "That was Frazzle". Oh and the Dougie McDonald thing had occured to me as well...

And just to further dampen your spirits, we now face the prospect of four SPL games without a Motherwell player making a tackle...

Do they wear sombreros in Kazakhstan?? I'm not counting my chickens yet. Unless McGhee sends Klimpl back to Denmark...

Would you want this Motherwell team going into the last day against Kilmarnock needing something...?

I thought the Porter loophole had been closed by UEFA?

A lot of talk of our goal difference being too good for us to go down. A couple of 3-0 defeats in the next couple of games change anyone's minds...?

BLASPHEMY!!!!!!

McLeish also signed Valakari and Owen Coyle. Just to try and add some mitigation...

Sums up perfectly why I love the guy. Even if we get a player with the same level of ability (on our budget, doubtful), would we get someone as willing to run himself into the ground for the cause? At the moment, letting this guy leave would be folly of the highest order...