gary_411

Manager's email is just out and makes a good point: Tough titty at the end of the day, but still perhaps a valid point.

Another thing I don't get is the claims that he could "just give a foul when the corner comes in" as it happens every week apparently. Several complaints with this. First, the over-protection of goalkeepers and defending players at set pieces ruins games. Nothing gets my blood up like the whistle going as soon as the ball is whipped in. Shouldn't be encouraging it. Also, Thompson knows he's got it wrong; between him and the linesman (not going to credit him with the term assistant) they've made an arse of one of the first decisions of the match. Why doesn't he just change his mind? There's nothing to say you can't change a decision, especially at a corner. If he'd overturned this decision, (I reckon he knows he should have) then we'd have a goal kick and the game would've been balanced as it deserved to be. Sending McCall to the stands is a piece of nonsense too, provided Stuart is telling the truth about what he said. Thompson handed Aberdeen one more chance than they deserved on Sunday, just a shame our players couldn't defend as they should have and took a bit too long to get over it. The decision in the Schalke game is embarrassing too, the guy's a fanny.

24 hours later, I'm just about over yesterdays performance, or lack of. The corner decision was a joke, yes we had a chance to defend it but we were always going to struggle with their aerial threat. Set pieces were Aberdeen's best chances to hurt us and the officials yesterday handed them one more opportunity to do so than was deserved. I was more disappointed that we let our heads go down after that. First half, Ojamaa was running about and drawing opponents but in my view Lasley, Murphy and Law did very little in terms of showing for him and making runs to benefit from the space Henrik was making for them. If we'd scored the penalty it would have been a very different game but we still didn't create much in the final third as our flair players didn't really turn up. Second half I think Law upped his game as we came into things more, but Lasley was still ineffective. Seemed unusually happy to sit deep and play the role Jennings usually does, and it didn't really work. I feel he should have been subbed for Humphrey but Murphy was instead- fair enough as Jamie had wasted a lot of good openings down the left wing. In the end, Lasley going off did help us get fired up, just a shame we couldn't have had eleven men hammering Aberdeen for those last 20 minutes as opposed to ten. Humphrey changed the game again but it was too little too late. The ten men that finished the game really did put a shift in though, they all looked dejected at the end while Broon's hacker's celebrated like they'd won the cup. I know they'll bounce back as they have almost every other time this year. I was impressed with Page playing at centre-back; always been very suspect at full back but he was decent today, especially considering he wasn't in the initial squad. Today was an off day, nothing more. In the past we get beat and end up questioning the whole team and demanding changes; the team we put out yesterday was more than good enough to beat Aberdeen. They were just stopped from playing football and couldn't perform enough to break down a more defensive team. I think they deserve one day like today after the season they've given us.

Solid performance yesterday and a wee bit of flair in the second half really showed what we're all about this season. Pleased to see Humphrey come on and change it, he's definitely got something and seemed hungry to show it yesterday. Great atmosphere again at EEP, those bridies are smashing too so a great away day. The players seem to really respond to the backing. Shame I still had the annoyance of having two moaning faced pricks behind me. Constantly whinging about Higdon, Murphy and even Ojamaa and McCall too. So many roasters in our support so it's just as well the rest of us can drown them out.

Who are we missing this weekend, if anyone? Dunfermline are still shipping goals, and I think we have so many goalscorers in Law, Murphy, Higdon and Ojamaa that we can at least outscore them, if not beat them with a clean sheet. Hopefully a similar atmosphere to the match in August, a highlight of the season for me.

He looked anything but comfortable on the ball against Queens Park. Everything went backwards and put Randolph under a lot of pressure. I don't think I've seen him enough to properly judge but even at that, I haven't seen much to justify the amount of people in here convinced he's our next star centre-back. Hope he changes my opinion though!

If they want to make a charitable contribution, there are much more beneficial and sustainable ways to do it.

Clancy just sold Randolph short by about a yard, Craigan would've buried that. Can we just think back to September when Craigan got roasted not once but twice in the same move and conceded against Hibs. And back to last year at Easter Road when Craigan miss-hit a ball out the air to play in Riordan and had them the points. And those are just against Hibs. I like Craigan, but Clancy's not even in the same league of bombscare. And he can actually play a bit.

See if you just look at the table, and forget Rangers and Celtic at the top, we're 12 (TWELVE) points clear of Hearts in 3rd place. That is bloody brilliant. That is all.

Excellent atmosphere last night, loved it. The whole place was buzzing and some of the chants were top class. The Nicky Law one is stuck in my head and probably will be for a few days! Only complaint would be rap that "Fuck the SFA" pish. It's a bit cringeworthy. Aye, the SFA are bawbags but I don't think we need to start our own conspiracy even if we are now one of the big teams .

Not enough superlatives to describe today's performance. The 3rd goal was incredible. That was this seasons Jutkiewicz, and probably better than the McGarry one that defined McGhee's first season. Ojamaa roasting a handful of jambos before spraying it to Murphy and onto Law for a perfect finish. Law is back to the form he was on at the start of the season and then some. Murphy had his best game in a long time today, looked a lot more comfortable. And Higdon's play was brilliant today. Henrik has revitalised the team (and the fans) and I don't think it's ridiculous to think about chasing Rangers, even if we don't catch them. We're certainly better than Hearts.

This.

For all his ramblings, Romanov has had the SFA and the SPL sussed since day one. The "media monkeys" stuff and his comments on the way entertainment is being stripped out of scottish football is spot on; this week's carry on is just another shining example of it.

The Hooper elbow on Jennings at Parkhead (in the build-up to their second goal) was completely ignored by the panel, as far as I am aware at least. And that was far less "innocuous" than any gesture made by Higdon.

Can't think of many teams I would rather have had, and a home draw is very nice.

Some result despite poor defending and QP threatening throughout. Of the younger guys that came in McHugh was great and should have had a goal, Page was woeful (and not helped at all by Craigan) and Forbes was decent, probably the only pass marks in a weak midfield. Good to see Ojamma score a belter and Murphy's double was promising. Looked very confident running through the middle in the second haldf. Sat in the POD for a wee change today, never again. Some amount of miserable, moaning, clueless folk talking shit for 90 minutes solid.

Woeful today. They were there for the taking but we showed far too much respect to a shite team and got pumped as usual. Lasley was non-existant, and Hughes and Hateley were doomed to fail as the rest of the midfield 3. Think Hammell got more abuse than was deserved, he did actually hold aluko back for most of the first half and it was Craigan that was at fault for his goal. Clancy didn't have anything like the pace to keep tabs on Wallace but then that's not his fault, McCall should never have thrown him in there. Hateley has been solid at RB all season, Tynecastle apart. Utter madness on that front. McCall has to accept the blame for basically being tactically beaten by a clueless diddy like McCoist. He changed what has been a decent back 4 and an attacking away side to one that was never going to create. To his credit, at least he changed it and brought on 2 attackers at half time and hooked hughes. We looked better after the break but it didn't last as they hit us on the break. Really annoyed at Hughes getting a game over Carswell and Forbes, the guy just seems lazy and isn't a luxury we can afford. So much more frustration but I won't waste my breath on the ref and the media, and our general ineptness at ibrox as its the same every time.

Should say I was impressed with Carswell when he came on. More than by Hughes anyway, who I feel offered little in midfield leaving the defence exposed; not once this season have I seen a team shift it from defenders to forwards as easily as Hearts did today. A midfield 3 of Lasley, Law and Hughes doesn't have nearly enough dig in it to protect the defence as many predicted. In saying that, 2 goals came from daft individual errors.

Well that was dire. Looked forward to it for ages but the boys just didn't turn up, only Stevie Hammell gets pass marks for me. Just got to try and forget about todays howler and bounce back on Wednesday.

Amazed with how well things have gone under McCall. After being shafted by Broon and then taking a beating over the festive period, it was easy to be miserable about the way things were going. Then we had to endure that drab 0-0 at NDP and I was really struggling to motivate myself for the football. But the way McCall has handled things has been immense. Taking us into the top 6 and the first Scottish Cup final in my lifetime was something to be really proud of. Then to hold the core of that squad together over summer and start this campaign as we have has been fantastic. The club seems to be in a really good place right now and the managers attitude is a big part of that. His emails show he has the fans in mind and he seems to have high but realistic ambitions for Motherwell. That defeats to the old firm and shaky home form (which includes just one defeat to non-OF opposition) are our only real complaints is testament to the work McCall has done. More of the same please, starting tomorrow!

STFU. You'll take somebody's eye out with knee jerks like that.

A lot of teams in the league have been unusually woeful this season, United and Hearts in particular. I think yesterday was United's second home win of the season? Hibs problems have been well documented and Dunfermline haven't been anything like what they were tipped to be upon promotion. We've pulled in much more points than expected and won a lot of games that normally would have been draws probably. Its pushed us well ahead of the pack given the number of "underperforming" teams so far. St Johnstone have improved a lot and that game is away, so it will be difficult. Plus I don't think McCall has beaten St Johnstone in the league since he came in? Will be interesting to see how Lomas does. The other away game is at Tynecastle, a place we've had some good results of late and with our current away form we should be looking for something there. No point looking so far ahead really though, a win next Saturday is all im bothered about so hopefully we can dish out another pumping to that wee baldy prick Houston before our first taste of Friday Night Football. edit to add; even St Mirren who are meant to have imroved so much and are now a team competing for a top 6 space have scored the fewest goals in the league! We should be looking for nothing less than fourth and European football i think.

Dazzer

17 quid for a concession. Fuck that.