The African

What would he cost? We should consider taking a punt on him if he was as good as some are saying tonight. Seriously, we could even cover some of the cost by leaving him on loan at EF until January.

Truth be told, things probably have improved since last season. The question though, is have they improved enough? We had a few runs when we were getting pumped three or four nil last year. We are in a run of losing by one or two goals. If it goes on for too long, it will still get us relegated. We are not in a good league. When we have a decent result (Inverness) or what is perceived as a decent performance (Dundee Utd) other results show that we are really clutching at straws and we are genuinely struggling. I doubt we will be as lucky as last year and find one of our rivals is as weak as St Mirren were. Perhaps Killie but they will no doubt punt Locke in the very near future and may well improve from there. Have the issues in our team been sorted from last season? Goalkeeper looks still a bit suspect, right back is hopeless, left back is past it, Central defence is looking stronger but we are still poor at defending corners, midfield still gets overrun because our captain has not got the legs anymore, we play two wingers who don't do enough when we don't have the ball and therefore leave the under performing full backs and central midfield with too much to do and the goalkeeper and central defence over exposed. Our best attacking player is short on fitness (an issue throughout his career) and is having to drop too deep to help the struggling midfield and the two new strikers are either injured or left to fend for themselves in a thankless lone striker role. On the bright side, as well as probably shipping fewer goals than last season, we are creating chances, though unfortunately we are not taking enough of them. We have moved on and we are in a better place. It seems to me that it is only fair to give the current management and coaching team some more time to see if they can take us forward to where this improvement is seen in terms of points and wins. What is clear though, is that the rebuilding is not yet over and we need cover or replacements in a couple of crucial areas. The clock is ticking and if we continue to lose then any confidence that the side currently has will go and it will be a serious struggle to stay up.

Do the team look noticeably more fit?

This game could tell us quite a lot about where we are and how the season will pan out. Let's hope we can get back on track with a decent performance and three points. This time last season we failed to turn up for this kind of fixture. If we have moved on from there then we should at least be competitive and take something. After three straight losses we could do with adding to our points total. A defeat would not be fatal, but it would point to a long hard struggle ahead this season. One each, with Ainsworth scoring for us.

Bad result. Third bad result in a row. Seems like we cannot manage ninety minutes of decent football but , at home, we can put in half a shift. We create a few chances but not enough to make up for the couple of goals we gift to the opposition. Goalkeeper and fullback still seem to be issues and are there still questions over the general fitness of the squad? The Hamilton result today probably puts the United defeat into perspective. Disappointing that the obvious problems from last season do not appear to have been addressed.

If the best we could get for Murphy was around £150,000, what is the likelyhood that we were able to negotiate any kind of sell on clause? I would love it if we were due anything from this deal, but we were pretty much screwed by the deal with regard to the size of the fee so I can see no reason why it ended there. Hope I am wrong mind.

Early days, but it sounds like a poor performance so it cannot be seen as acceptable. Another game without a goal and fewer chances created. All very well to say we have a tough start to the season but really this is a pretty tight league and all teams will be taking points off each other. We went over some horrible runs of form and results last season and it nearly cost us. Do the same this year and we will probably pay the price. Time to kick a few arses and drive home the fact that we now need an improved performance on Saturday with some return in the goals and points columns. The fact that the game is against one of the better sides in the league is immaterial.

Having picked up nothing from what looked like our easiest fixture in our first four, it would be nice to see us leave Tynecastle with something tangible. We need to start taking some of the chances we are creating as I doubt we will keep a clean sheet. Ainsworth should return so I reckon we are capable of coming away with something.

Never happy with a loss, but at least we were in the game for ninety minutes and it sounds like there were a few decent performances. No doubt there will be a few more of these types of results this season as we continue the rebuilding process. Let's hope we don't make a habit of it though, as confidence can be a fragile thing, and much easier to break than mend.

As long as it is not Craig Samson.

They can afford it. Wealthy owner and cash rich league.

You seriously think that it is perfectly fine for fans to invade the pitch?More importantly, given the circumstances, you seriously think that such actions would not lead to the footballing authorities sanctioning the club? Please note that both of these questions are rhetorical so I am in no need of an answer, or indeed any lesson, from your good self. Edit, read the original as " here endeth the lesson" rather than " discussion". As such, apologies for my unwarranted "lesson" comment.

Actions have consequences. Are you suggesting that to be aware of these makes someone a Nazi? Now that is stupid. Fans going onto the park has not been acceptable to the football authorities for over thirty years. If you or anyone else attending a football match in Scotland are not aware of that fact then you and they are stupid. This stupidity is then compounded by the fact that they were warned by the club not to do so, but chose to ignore it. Did they think that this would then be ignored by the said authorities? If they did so then that is more "stupid". Did they not care? Then that is ignorant, a special kind of "stupid". Lots of "stupid" going on and the unfortunate consequences of it will, most likely, be some form of sanction against the club. You cannot really blame the authorities. How else are they going to stop this unacceptable behaviour?

Stupidity has a price. Unfortunately it. Is not just the stupid who pay it. Does your "no harm done" argument work for driving whiled pissed? As for fences, personally not a huge fan so not sure where you get the idea of me campaigning for them. Hyperbole on your behalf?

I am sure they did, but obviously not enough because of what happened, and so our argument begins to fall apart.

Ah, God bless the free spirited exuberance of our fun loving support. I take it they will be happy to pay the fine?

Using the Old Firm to set the standard is probably not the way to go. Unless you want the bar to be so low that anything goes. As for doing more, the club could have employed more stewards, paid for a larger police presence, put in temporary or permanent fencing etc. there is always more you can do.

Indeed. Supporters of our club who should have known better. As such, despite the best efforts of the club, you can scarcely blame the authorities for charging the club over the matter. We have a fair amount of "previous" on this.

If we are honest, can we really complain or look for excuses? The pitch invasion may have been predictable but that does not stop it from being stupidity of the highest order. If they throw the book at us, who will be to blame?

Right now I'd take two wins and two draws from these first four fixtures, but you really cannot decide if these would be good results until the season begins to pan out. A win away at Inverness is a good start though. Dundee United at home might seem the easiest of these fixtures, but no point tempting fate. We stopped Inverness having any shots on target on Saturday. The same again and the worst case scenario is a point and another clean sheet. We also created enough chances in Inverness to win two or three games, so here is hoping we can continue in that vain and convert a few. United were supposedly pretty poor against Aberdeen but we cannot take that for granted. They have some decent players and will be itching to get their season back on track. Has the makings of a very interesting fixture, and hopefully a win to keep us heading in the right direction.

Let's walk before we run. There can be little doubt that this season is about rebuilding for us, and as such, we can expect a few ups and downs. The key really is to get a few points on the board and hopefully see out the year without the fear of relegation and play offs. We are fortunate that we are in a league with few good sides and a fair number of our competition are in the same boat as ourselves. It is still very early in the season and we have had one very good result. We have a few tricky fixtures coming up so no point getting too far ahead of ourselves with regard to expectations. I'd love it if we were towin our next three matches, but realistically I'd be happy with taking some points from each game and a continued sign of improvement in our overall performances from last season.

A win to follow up our good start at Inverness. I'd take anything but two one looks about right. Will be tough and a point might not be the worst result, even though I always reckon draws are not great when you get three points for a win. After last season, I have learned to take any points and move on. Hopefully another decent performance as well.

At last! Proof, if it were needed,that Una Stubbs is undoubtedly a Motherwell fan.

I'd really like to see the club try and support our supporters. Subsidised travel might be an option, but how about offering to pay a fiver of the cost of admission for the odd away game? Ross County or Inverness might be the best examples seeing as getting there will be costly enough, but if they could arrange a deal with the home team to take a few quid off the price for the away end, then the home team would not suffer financially but the good will created would be substantial. Also might be nice to see something done for away fans at Fir Park. A few quid off for guys who have travelled down from Dundee for a midweek fixture in February might be a nice gesture. Hell, even do it for our own fans on a situation like that. Yes, season ticket holders may have a gripe or two, and I appreciate that they are our core support, but perhaps they could receive an equivalent voucher for food within the stadium or to use in the club shop? Would like to see the club recognising the efforts of the die hard fans in these difficult times.

Good start, though tempered with the memory that we did beat St Mirren on the opening day of last season. This does seem different though. Sounds like a deserved win and a decent performance against a supposedly better side, and away from home. Early days, but lots of positives. Hope Pearson is not out for any length of time as our squad is still small, and time to find someone to replace Sutton as our penalty taker. We cannot afford to pass up goals from the spot.