Bert the Sailor

People seem to be talking a lot about common sense about this situation. Yet, logic from our side is often lacking here. The guys sat down the front, people had to move. Whatever way you look at that, thats a poor show. Whether folk were bothered by it or not, people have stated that they had to move. Stewards and police would have seen this as they are not blind, whether anyone actually complained which I doubt is another matter. But they automatically have some ammunition. The signs were there before the game with flags and drums being banned, that the H&S mob were out to show "who was boss". I also don't get the logic of paying good money to travel all the way up to Aberdeen, pay hellish prices to get in. Then when a Steward (Being an arsehole or not) asks you to sit down, at the end of the day, if he wants you to sit and wants to win the argument, he will. Regardless of anyone else standing up, if he asks you personally to sit down. You don't have a leg to stand on. If I was speeding down the motorway at 95MPH and the police stop me for speeding, I could argue with him till I'm blue in the face, that I was following 3 or 4 other cars doing the same speed or that cars are flying past us at the side of the road doing the same speed I was. At the end of the day, he stopped ME, I'm responsible for my own actions and I'm the one going to end up with a ticket, because I broke the Law (rules). By not doing as the stewards ask, you play right into their hands. They love being the "Big Man", they're looking for any excuse to man handle you out the ground and they get a kick out of it. How about taking a "common sense" approach and save yourself the hassle, be the bigger man and sit on it. The stewards are looking for confrontation... for goodness sake stop rising to it. The rules need changing, thats a given. Atmosphere in the stadiums we've visited have been great this season, it really is a shining light in a generation of dwindling support. This hasn't gone un-noticed, by media and football bosses. Supporters lobbying to the powers that be, that a noisy, family friendly atmosphere can be created that isn't doing anyone any harm and enhances the product is the way forward. Getting into skirmishes with the stewards is completely detrimental to that as it'll quickly gain the entire group a reputation that'll be hard to shake and it would give weight to any opposition. Being in my early twenties and going to the football being my absolute passion, I've enjoyed immensely joining in with the singing section at the games I can make. This view will be extremely unpopular with many on here. But a little "common sense" on both sides is needed. Arguing with people enforcing rules will get you absolutely nowhere, you need to target your argument at the people making the rules.

We could always stick a few thousand seats outside the stadium in the car parks and sell them as £25 "Restricted View" tickets. That way the home stands are scum free and it still works out financially for the club.

Lets get back on topic, What can be our realistic expectations for the January Transfer Window? If we can only add one player to the squad, then I think it has to be a striker. Ideally I would have Hughes brought in on the cheap and have a cheeky 6 month loan deal for a striker from down south. But I fear thats unrealistic with the way the McCall talks about our budget. So unless we sell 1 of the big guns in January, we'll have hee haw in the way of any In's? Strange as it may sound, but most of our sellable assets haven't been our top performers. Murphy hasn't hit the heights that we'd maybe hoped he would as yet, as some may point out Humphrey hasn't been firing on all cylinders . Jennings is pretty much untouchable until the case has been dropped. Hutchy and Saunders have both had injury set backs this season. I would say the only players that may be bought by other teams in January would be Randolph or perhaps someone will take a punt on Hateley on his current form, in fact I would be surprised if his dad ain't in the papers soon tipping him for a move to Rangers. Its been a team performance to get where we are so far this season. Its hard to point to one player being the sole reason for our success hence the bids hopefully don't come rolling in.

Don't be so hasty Jim, you could always give your season ticket to one of those "True" fans that are out there................

Which is why the singing section in the Cup semi, was dynamite compared to the killjoys that populated it at the final. That was still my biggest disappointment with the way the cup final played out, was the mediocre atmosphere created as the "likeminded" fans were diluted by people that didn't understand the concept of a "singing section". We were always vast underdogs. But the atmosphere was an even bigger let down than the teams performance that day. When we again reach the final this year, Keep the singing section to just 3 tiers. And let the good times roll. Unfortunately, any time we get a bigger crowd in at Fir Park. We usually get beat, which doesn't encourage those on the fringes to come back in a hurry. Just means the hardy band of the 4000 core get to see good times as well as the bad.

What I actually said was the bench was weak and has very little experience. Taking a look at our bench from the ICT game at the weekend, I stand by those comments. Tom Bradley Omar Daley Ross Forbes Gary Smith Jonathan Page Jordan Halsman Stuart Carswell Now the weak and inexperienced comments come hand in hand, its weak because there is little to no first team experience apart from Daley as the rest are from our youth team. I'm in no way dismissing these players as weak and not good enough. They're good prospects, some will be good enough to break into the first team in the next few seasons, others won't and will move on. Thats football. FWIW "Passengers" is entirely the wrong phrase. Teams are scared of what Higdon and Humphrey are capable of, more often than not opposition double up on them. This more often than not creates space for others. I would suggest that Hateley is having such consitent form down the right hand side of the park due to Humphrey often sucking in 2 players and creating a bit of space for him to play (space that he's taking advantage of with some good play). Even if they're not on top form which has been the occasional game over the course, the presence alone is contributing. Omar is obviously a very similar player, perhaps deserves a chance. But we're not second in the league, because we've been playing all our matches with essentially 9 men on the park. That is utter nonsense. We've won 4 and drawn 1 out of our last 5 league games. The team on that form picks itself (barring injury and suspension). The need for some of our fans to have a "hate figure" from our own team will always baffle me. Which is why I would suggest if they want to shout abuse at our own players at the weekend they could do it in the comfort of their own home.

Feel free to stay clear of Fir Park on Sunday lads. I'm sure the team could go one week without your "support". On topic. If we were to sign Hughes, it doesn't necessarily mean anyone should drop out the team. When you currently look at our bench, its weak and has very little experience. If a game isn't going our way, there are very few options to actually address it. Now if Hughes was sitting on the bench, he'd be a brilliant option to bring on to change our shape and add a bit of class to our attack. As the season would progress, injuries and suspensions are likely to accumulate in our midfield. Allowing Hughes to come in and show his worth. I personally would like to see Forbes get a chance. But I think he lets the "East stand boo boys" get to him to really perform at Fir Park and more importantly I think McCall doesn't rate him all that much, which I think is a real shame. I would like to see Hughes brought in and send Forbes out on a 6 month loan to the First to get some important game time that he isn't getting with us. Before coming back next season for one last shot at breaking into the first team. Hughes would be an excellent signing that would boost the squad and actually push for a first team slot, which in turn would help keep the pressure on our midfield to keep up the high standards already set this season.

If we can avoid conceding an early goal or better still, score first. The pressure they're under at the moment could very well see them crumble. We need to score first in this game. Last year when we won 2-0. After scoring our first we seemed to go from strength to strength and never really looked like losing. But since then, each time we've came up against them, we've capitulated each time and not even come close to matching them. (I'm not entirely sure, but is the aggregate score in the 3 matches we've played them since not 0 -11 ???) IMO, this is as much a mind game for our players. Get in their faces right from the start. If we can keep a clean sheet till half time, I think we'll get a result, either a draw or a win. But our players seem to need that belief in themselves. Celtic are close to turmoil, if the result isn't going their way with an hour played. Its going to be a pleasurable experience sitting back in the East and watching the "Greatest fans in the World" once again turning on their team at Fir Park. On the other hand, we all know that Celtic have the money and if we're honest with ourselves, better players than us, if they decide to turn up and gel. We'll be in trouble. If they score in the first 10 mins. They'll rip us to shreds once again and we'll be lucky to keep the score under 5. In short, First half is Key in this match.

So is Pascali the highest earner???? Just for the record.

Is anyone else sick and tired of Sheils talk up this total football nonsense. For me its starting to reek of desperation of a man who's clearly got a good set of players, but ain't getting the results. Killie are clearly a decent side, but the table doesn't lie. They currently sit 8th, equal on points with the Dons and Hibs, both of which are having distantly average seasons with distantly average players. I don't think too many would argue that Killie look a lot better than the 2 mentioned. Not to mention 11 points behind us in the league. But when I read nonsense like whats quoted above it makes me laugh. Both Killie and St Mirren will preach all day long about playing silky, beautiful football. Quite literally changing a nations ideas about football. Lets be clear here, we were certainly not at our best today and the guys up front had a bit of a tough afternoon, with not much coming off. But to say that killie dominated and were unfortunate not to win is stretching it just a bit. Yes both teams had chances and a draw was more than a fair result for both teams. I'm just glad that the McCall and the boys in our team let the football do the talking for them and conduct themselves in a fair, thoughtful and more often than not in a balanced perspective.

Does anyone know if the ticket office is open today? If so, when until? Cheers.

Bought a couple of tickets for the North stand this morning. There are now at row T in section C4. Which would indicate their not far off selling out the Singing section allocation.

Looks like the fixtures are out tomorrow. Suggestions that the opening SPL fixtures have already been leaked on the internet have been dismissed. "I would ignore those as they were already appearing before the fixtures had been finalised," said a spokesman. And would also appear the we could be getting anyone, as the leaked fixtures have indeed been a load of mince.

Alot of my highs and lows already mentioned. One of my personal highlights would be the last game of the season against Livingston after we had been spared the drop. There was a real sense from my perspective that the drop would've finished us off. My first season as a season ticket holder and it was a hell of a rollercoaster ride. Such highs that season with results against Rangers and Celtic. But some hellish lows. But the atmosphere on the last day with the real sense of relief inside Fir Park and hope for the future. The Day was finished off with a romping win, with Faddy running riot. For me that season tipified what supporting Motherwell is all about. Only experiencing the true lows of supporting your team will you truely appritiate the highs. Well and Truely hooked for Life!

Will be my first trip to Aberdeen, cannae wait for it. We have nothing to fear from the dons, there only victory this season was against a poor Hamilton, compounded by last nights result. Also glad they won last week, Motherwell always seem to give a failing team a win, when their in need, thankfully they already have that win. The fact we're facing our previous manager is nearly voided by the fact nearly the whole first team has changed since he left us in a shambles two months ago. We are the team in slightly better form with a point to prove. Still a tough place to go and get a win but its well within our grasp if we turn up. On the other hand, this is one of those games you want to win so much, so badly, Being a Well fan over the years just points to a humiliating defeat. Would be a typical outcome you become acustom to over the years. But Hey, In Gannon We Trust! Just want a Win, any manner, just 1.......please.

I wouldn't be suprised if Hammell starts tonight, Gannon is quoted in the papers as saying, "New faces have arrived, the young boys have shone and players such as Stevie Hammell seem to have been given a new lease of life. So far, so good" Sounds like positive words and praise from the gaffer and to single him out for a mention. So I would guess that Hammell will be part of Gannons plans. I struggle to see where fitzpatrick fits into our team, but would be good to have in the squad to cover any injuries. Don't see him being any more than a squad player, but I may be wrong and would happy to be proven as such.

I've no issues with the story making the stories, it is one of those nasty incidents that will always surface in the papers. But talking of revenge attacks on the pair on scumbags is just nonsense. Many are quick to jump on the polices backs, as they were released without charge. If the guy is not willing to press charges there is nothing that can be done. Yes, I can see that it would've been a stressful incident, but if you want true justice in society, then you must press charges against the culprits. Too many people let these incidents slide. Unfortunately the 2 scumbags escape punishment. And I'm sorry, this may be harsh, but if your excuse for not pressing charges is that you want to forget the incident, you don't talk and pose for the press. Just doesn't add up to me. I wish the Old Guy well and hope he isn't put off attending the matches. Just really annoying to see an incident of this sort go relatively unpunished.

My point was, most of the folk that are standing aren't creating an atmosphere, but standing there not saying a peep. Thats what I have a problem with, then when they're told to sit down, they play up, as if they're out looking for trouble. These trend buckers and rule breakers that you're talking about, they the same ones that destroyed a number of seats at Tynie? Which freedom fighters is it that get your backing? What other rules are we fans obeying that you believe we should be fighting?

I'll indeed sit down until there is something to shout about. But what i don't get is, the folk that are standing are equally as silent. I just see it extremely childish that folk can't seem to follow simple rules like sitting in a football stadium. Fair enough, if your standing and no one says anything then continue to stand, if approached, why stand there and argue. You are in the wrong, just bloody sit on it. The dark ages attitude of some fans is really pathetic. Stadiums are all seaters for a reason. So the nasty boys can "Sit down, shut up, sit down, shut up!"

Rules are rules! Some pricks just need to grow up and sit the fuck down when told to do so! Back to the game, important result with good performances from Mclean and Hughes. With Hughes jumping into tackles all over the pitch as well as being part of almost ever attack. Perhaps the kind of performance to earn him a call up. The winning goal was all the sweeter with Levein throwing a wobbler on the touchline. Today's results really bring 4 sides right into the race for 4th place. Nearly every team in the league will be fighting for something, good to see.

Yeah was quite near the back myself, some seats were indeed cracked all the way down. I would say at least 5-10 seats were damaged. Idiotic behaviour fae wee fannies of the highest order. I know what "Rocky" is saying about confronting them. I'm sure the upstanding respectable members of society carrying out the damage would take the advise onboard. I know I'm not looking to confront a large group of twats on my own, I certainly don't expect anyone else to put themselves in the firing line either. The Stewards were looking straight at them whilst they were doing it and did nothing about it what so ever. I know we moan about our stewards being OTT, but they just sat there not giving a fuck.

Sheridean for me, was some finish from the big man, played and linked up well. O'brien also had another good showing, Mclean was good, just not MoTM.

Just back from the game, Great 3 points which make the journey well worth it. Mclean had a solid first game back, would've liked to see him get forward a bit more, but still a very good comeback and great to have another decent defender back in the squad. O'brien and Sheridean were our two best players in my opinion. Looked dangerous and were a threat all game. Think Clarkson was being played in midfield, which I think we can safely say he can't do that job, hence he was hooked for D.L Smith who came on to and put in a bit of a horror of a performance. He looked completely lost for 30mins of the game until in the last 5 mins where he made a few wee runs down the wing. Usually like Smith but it wasn't his greatest contribution. Reynolds had a good game outpacing the caley players with ease. Klimpl threw himself about well, but picked up another booking (how many is that?). Hammell had a great first half and him and Hughes combined really well in the first half and the caley players were struggling to deal with them, but they both faded in the second half. All in all, a good result and an ok performance. 3 points really puts us in a good position to attack the teams above us, whilst putting some distance between us and hibs + accies. Special mention to the lads behind the goal who kept the singing throughout the game. Poor Mo Malpas getting it in the neck all day. Brian Kerr got the biggest "Boo" of the game as his name was read out at the start. And poor, poor show fae Terry, who did not gie them a wave.

Agree with the sentiment, yes. No way was it a 4-3-3, just admit you got it wrong and not do the easy thing by deflecting onto the "paying" fans for voicing there displeasure at a farce of a formation and performance in the first half that could have seen us out the Scottish Cup to lower league opposition for the second year running. But, irrispective to all that. Completely the wrong time to come out with comments about the fans, Motherwell have got nothing but bad press over the last couple of weeks and again today. Just fueling the fire for the tabloids to bring down the name of Motherwell FC, poor show indeed. I think his post match comments thanking the fans for their support was just transparent bullshit, in a poor attempt to get the fans back in favour. We supported Motherwell FC long before Mark McGhee arrived and we'll be here long after he's gone, because we "care" about the club. Show me a perfect set of supporters that never at any point get on their teams back...How about the "best supporters in the world" Celtic?, maybe we should take lessons from that lot, eh Mark? A very badly timed artical from a Manager in the huff, because the big bad fans got on HIS back for once.

I think Hearts have every right to stick to the Saturday Match. Look what happened when our tie was moved from Tuesday to the Thursday, a good number turned round and quite rightly were angry as they had arranged time off for Tuesday and couldn't make the game, some pointing the finger at the club taking the money over and not repecting the fans, then when Hearts turn round and say no to the change, folk turn round and say "ach thats a bit much, they should change it to the sunday" which would put there fans out. If its such a problem for St Mirren to play both games in close proximity, they should've checked if Hearts would agree to the change BEFORE excepting the Sky TV deal. Simple really, so Fuck St Mirren, its there fault entirely!