fat_tony

Bit of a weird one today. The first half was a total non-event, and when we scored it looked like we'd go on and get more, but then conceded a hugely avoidable goal and went downhill from there. I thought we lost any sense of being a cohesive team (what little we had) when McGhee took off Cadden and moved Ainsworth into midfield. It's a funny old game, when you see just how different everyone's opinions of the players today are. Samson - Was very worrying throughout. Several times he came for a ball and then changed his mind, and his error for the goal was absolutely shocking stuff. No command of his area whatsoever. I had thought he looked decent any time I've seen him in the past, but he may just be one of these keepers who plays the odd blinder. McManus - A number of blunders today, seems to have started this season in the way he began the last. Tait & Chalmers - A mix of good and bad, some nice attacking play from Tait and some good set pieces from Chalmers offset by some poor defending. Both made important blocks in the first half though. Clay - Looked pretty unsure and made some mistakes but got stuck in and, I thought, started to move the ball about pretty well. Given some time to settle in, I think there might be a player there. Great pass to McDonald that started the move for the goal. Ainsworth - Contrary to some of the other comments, I thought Ainsworth looked really up for it today. He made runs, worked defensively, and closed people down. He was involved in most of the positive play we had until he was moved out wide where he looked like he'd run out of steam. Not his most effective performance, but I thought definitely one of his most committed. McDonald - Good link up with Clay and Tait for the goal. What the fuck was with his handball though? Absolute lunacy. McGhee should be having words about that one. Overall, disappointing to lose, and lots of room for improvement, but only the second league match of the season, so plenty of time to sort it out. I suspect we need a bit of time with a settled team to really gel, hopefully it won't take too long.

Someone fall out with all his pals during the summer holidays? Typical Motherwell v St Johnstone fare...a share of the goals and a narrow win, hopefully for us. Really looking forward to getting back into it!

The stripey socks from the Puma kit a couple of years ago are still absolutely fantastic.

Yeah, I don't really get the issue. People complain about not selling players, then also complain when a young prospect, who has only played a handful of first team games, is poached for a decent development fee. As I've said previously, Hall has done well this season, rarely looked out of place, but had some howlers in the U20's still. Sure he could become a superstar, but he could equally not kick on and end up playing at a similar level for years. Sure, I'd have preferred to have the additional competition and watch how he progresses here, but that's football.

While I'd be disappointed to lose a prospect like Hall, £100k for a player who has played less than half a season of first team football isn't exactly buttons. Hall's been decent, and looked like a kid with a lot of potential, but is still extremely young and there's a high chance, as with any youngster, that he won't realise that potential. Sure, he could turn out to be a big loss, and go on to bigger and better things. Or he could end up the next Jonathan Page. That's assuming your sauce is reliable, of course!

Just to offset that, I'm going to go for a seven goal thriller ending 4-3 to the well!

Just because something's not reported in the press doesn't mean it doesn't happen. A Jambo mate of mine and his cousin were assaulted coming out of Ibrox last season. Violence certainly isn't widespread these days, but there are still isolated incidents that are sometimes down to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You'd expect home games to be safer but you can never totally ignore that random element. There are still plenty of absolute fannies that attend the football and like to cause a bit of bother. That is just amplified given the number of travelling fans the ugly sisters bring. Totally understand David's decision.

So it was. Excellent pass over the defender, pure Y-button stuff. It was good to see how much it meant to the likes of Lasley, Hammell, McFadden as well. I know they've been involved on the coaching side, but still good to see how much they enjoyed it.

That was a cracking ball from Thomas for the 5th goal, and Cadden looks like an absolute beast compared to the rest of them. Really pleased with how he's progressed in the first team and looking forward to seeing how he kicks on next season.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35944484 Oh BBC, how I missed your nonsensical ramblings during International week. Not sure what to make of this one. Inverness have been patchy of late while we've been on a great run. We've had some good results up there, but also some howlers. Good to have Lasley and Hall back, and hopefully we can continue our good form. 2-1 Well, and a little revenge for the cup game.

Maybe he stole Chris Sutton's prawn sandwiches.

Marmite Marvin Johnson for me. Put in some shift and was extremely effective tonight. On another day he could have had a hat trick. Cadden continues to impress, typically hard working performances from Moult, McDonald, and Lasley. Special mentions to Thomas and Gomis. Both came into the game at tricky points and made important contributions. I had the fear when Lasley went off, but Thomas immediately took the pressure off with his dribbling, and the reshuffle worked fairly well.

That'll do nicely. Maybe need to improve in front of goals and watch the defensive lapses, but a win at that shitehole will do me any day!

Great time to score, brilliant!

Haha, that's a giant "whoosh" from me then! There genuinely were a few people going off their nut about McGhee not making subs. The mind boggles.

As others have said, McDonald was excellent today. Moult and Cadden were spot on, and I also thought Lasley put himself about well today, made important tackles and interceptions, and generally stopped Osman and their number 8 getting a grip on the game. Special mention to Laing, too, who I thought looked decent at right back. In a couple of the runs he made, he absolutely steamrollered Thistle's left-hand-side.

Maybe he felt the team were working well together and although a few were tiring, didn't want to upset the balance by bringing on someone who would take some time to get up to speed? Some guy in the cooper was going ballistic shouting at McGhee to make subs. Who do you think should have been brought on? I really don't see what the big deal is?

Lasley's demise is one of those common myths about Motherwell FC, along with "we never win the big games", and "we always concede". Going on the sheer amount of park he covers during the course of a match, Keith Lasley still appears to be one of the fittest players in the squad.

The atmosphere yesterday was flat as a pancake right from kick off. It seems that the apathy of the players on the pitch is starting to be replicated in the stands as well. It's maybe a good thing that the next couple of matches are away from home, as the atmosphere at Fir Park really can't be helping the players these days.

A pound gets you a 100 at seasons end you'll still be waiting for this "talent to appear". He's a white Eliphas Shivute , dross with pace. Kidderminster Harriers were his ideal level. Don't think I once used the phrase that I was waiting for his "talent to appear" so not sure why you've picked that out. However, he seems to be an easy target for several in the Cooper stand at the moment. Sure, he can be frustrating - someone point out a winger of that ilk that isn't? - but I can't agree with your assessment that he's out his depth. As Welldaft says, he beat his man (sometimes men) several times yesterday and put the ball into dangerous places, something he does in most games. But because he doesn't make the right choice every time, or always get past his man, some seem to have written him off completely. There's definitely room for improvement in his game (a lot, in some areas - e.g. his decision making and final ball, and he needs to score more), but I'd certainly rather have him in the team right now than not.

McGhee from the BBC. Pretty spot on really.

Bit harsh I think. I'd argue that Johnson has probably been the most improved player since McGhee came in (although I get that's not saying much). His workrate and willingness to track back are much better than they were at the start of the season. He put in some good balls yesterday, just no takers as McDonald and Moult were having to drop so deep to try and start attacks. He definitely needs work on his decision making and final ball, but he's one of the few that I'd be confident of creating something at the moment.

You're assuming that Faddy was signed to be a starter, rather than for what he can offer off the park, and as something different off the bench. Thought Johnson was one of the few to come out with pass marks myself (along with Moult, maybe McDonald, and the youngsters). Largely ineffective first half (as with the rest) but looked the most likely to create something when linking up with Moult, and he put in a number of decent crosses right across the goals. Not his fault nobody was there to get on the end of them.

I feel the same way having been at Fir Park today!

What's all the McManus/Robinson chat?