Desp Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Good post Swello. Like you, I'm not nervous about Sunday. I'm looking forward to it, safe in the knowledge that Robinson will set up Motherwell to have a go. Whether it'll be good enough I don't know (I, of course, hope so) but I'm sure I'll walk out of Hampden knowing we've given them a game. As for the line up, I would bring in Hammell for Dunne. Other than that, same as the Accies game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54_and_counting Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Should be a good game, both teams in good form and full of confidence Cue boring 0-0 now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepundit Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 3-1 Rangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 I have far more faith in Stephen Robinson in a game as big as this than I had in Stuart McCall, Terry Butcher or McGhee going into these type of matches. I was confident when we scudded Aberdeen in the Quarters that we had as good a chance as Rangers did in this one, but as the game draws nearer I'm getting that same old feeling of dread that it just won't happen for us and we'll just fail to turn up on the day. I would give my right arm to see us win this and progress to the final, and also to atone somewhat for the last three matches against Rangers(albeit, the 1873 version before someone points it out) at Hampden which all ended in gut wrenching defeats. I don't care about the performance, I don't care about putting on a good spectacle for the neutral and I'm not remotely interested in hard luck stories here. I would love to be able to say this time next week "We played shite today but d'you know what? We won, we beat Rangers and we're in the Cup Final". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenkay Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Good Luck to Motherwell! I enjoyed our group stage game at the start of the season. You're Playing well just now and have a good chance here to make the final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Thanks, we certainly are playing well and if we believe in ourselves and give everything we've got next Sunday then we have every chance of reaching the final. It'll be a tough game against a side with some more than decent players on a big pitch but we need to focus on ourselves and what we can do, not about the side we are playing. We have players capable of causing damage to Rangers and we need to play to our strengths as a team. If we do that, and don't put the name 'Rangers' on a pedestal like so many Motherwell managers, players AND supporters have done all too often in the past in games like these, then we have as much chance as they do of winning on the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennett Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Some Motherwell player has apparently challenged Morelos to fisticuffs after the game. Classy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gianfranco Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I hope it was Kipre volleying currents into the 21st century. It's what they need Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 7 hours ago, bennett said: Some Motherwell player has apparently challenged Morelos to fisticuffs after the game. Classy. It'll just be a joke - some pre-match banter.* *Unless it's Peter Hartley, in which case he 100% means it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 It'll just be a joke - some pre-match banter.* *Unless it's Peter Hartley, in which case he 100% means it. It was Peter Hartley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I like Hartley, he's been superb for us but that's daft from him mouthing off like that, he and the rest of our squad should stay well clear of the mind games this week and do our talking on the pitch on Sunday. There's absolutely no need whatsoever to come out and say that in the press as that'll just fire up the player he's referring to and don't anyone give me this "ah but he was asked the question" guff, he didn't have to answer it and certainly not in that fashion. This is the biggest game we've played in years, just stay away from mind games and wars of words FFS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desp Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 "The brawny English defender’s anticipation of the occasion falls only just short of what, under playground rules, people used to call a ‘square go’. “If that’s one of his strengths, then we’ll see what happens,” said Hartley. “I don’t mind a physical fight. If he wants one after the match as well, then I won’t be going anywhere.”[emoji23]There you go MJC, there's one of the players not scared of the Rangers name. Look, he's not genuinely looking for a fight with Morelos. However, he's making it clear he's up for the challenge. It'll certainly be his biggest challenge to date on Scotland, a step up from Stevie May and Adam Rooney. Morelos, in short time here, has shown two things - he can score goals and he's got a short temper. Looks like the Motherwell players will be out trying to wind him up from the start. Nothing wrong with that, IMO. However the 'Well players need to make sure it doesn't backfire and he ends up scoring a couple... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I kind of agree with MJC in that it's not wise for players (especially lower division English guys who were used to local press only before now) to get too fond of seeing themselves in the national press - but f**k it, it's quite funny and it's better than "Rangers are the favourites no question, we need to hope they have an off-night", which is what we normally get. Hartley has been around long enough to know that if you talk big before a game, you risk making a massive tit of yourself if you lose. I did notice that in the Sun, the headline and the article say that Hartley says Rangers are "there for the taking" - when in reality he says: Quote We certainly won’t be going to Hampden just to make up the numbers. We are going there to try to beat Rangers. “We know we still have areas to improve on and we won’t be getting carried away but we also know we are a very good team in our own right. “Rangers have also hit a decent run of form, so it should be a cracking match Which neatly illustrates why he needs to be a wee bit careful when dealing with some of our lower quality hacks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 27 minutes ago, Desp said: Nothing wrong with that, IMO. However the 'Well players need to make sure it doesn't backfire and he ends up scoring a couple... Exactly and that's why it'd be better if he did his talking on the pitch and not come out with antagonising (whether intended or not) stuff like this as that could certainly fire up the opposition. I like the attitude of our current squad and manager alot and I don't expect to hear any of the guff we used to hear from Butcher or McCall before games against Rangers ie. "They're a massive club, we fear a drubbing and it's an honour to share a park with them" and other subservient nonsense, but at at the same time we really could do without giving them any amunition ahead of what is the clubs biggest game in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 as the game draws nearer I'm getting that same old feeling of dread that it just won't happen for us and we'll just fail to turn up on the day. Very much how I'm feeling. I guess it comes down to experience.I think as well there's a part of me thinking that whoever wins will most likely just be prepping for the inevitable defeat to Celtic in the final anyway.You live in hope though.Definitely winnable. Rangers are decent, with one or two quality players, but certainly beatable and we have had goalscorers from all over the pitch and our defence seems far more steady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 You would have to think that way, that whoever wins is setting themselves up to be runners up to Celtic given that the current Celtic side are on a different level to the rest of the Scottish game, but if you are still in the Cup you can still win the Cup so you never know on the day, slim as our chances would be. But even apart from that, who wouldn't love to go to Hampden and knock out Rangers? I have never seen us knock Rangers (old or new) out of a Cup competition (referring to the domestic Cups here) in my lifetime and have seen some absolutely sickening exits. Think of the Stevie Woods game at Fir Park, 2-1 up with minutes to go, he 'clears' it to Durie, they score and win the replay. Think of the 2003 Semi Final; 1-0 down, 2-1 up and Clarkson misses a sitter and we lose 4-3. Then there was the 2005 League Cup Final no show from us and the 2011 League Cup Semi where we matched them all the way then Craigan waltzes away from Naismith allowing him to head the winner before we miss a sitter in the last minute. And then there was last season at Ibrox, 1-0 up with six minutes to go and we lose 2-1. It would be fucking fantastic to go there on Sunday and settle some scores but I always say that games against Rangers for us are like watching the same movie over and over and somehow expecting a different outcome then being infuriated when it ends as it always does. As you say, experience leads you to think that way. But this isn't a movie, it's a football match against a pretty average side and we have some good players in our ranks who can damage them on the day. We just need to focus on ourselves and our game plan and let Rangers worry about Rangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropy Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Win this and we get 3 games in a row to be the first domestic team to beat Brendan's Boys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 If we win on Sunday it will eclipse the playoff win as our best result since the 2005 Hearts Semi Final, it would be that huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I'm not sure that getting to a LC final, even at the expense of Rangers, would eclipse the playoffs. Given the consequences of relegation for us at that point, I think that will stand for a long time as our most important/best "result" (even though it was a 2-leg thing). Cup semi and final wins can give you the euphoria (and I fully agree on the Hearts game on that front) - but the playoff added a f**k-load of relief to the mix at the same time, which I've never experienced before or since... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 7 minutes ago, Swello said: I'm not sure that getting to a LC final, even at the expense of Rangers, would eclipse the playoffs. Given the consequences of relegation for us at that point, I think that will stand for a long time as our most important/best "result" (even though it was a 2-leg thing). Cup semi and final wins can give you the euphoria (and I fully agree on the Hearts game on that front) - but the playoff added a f**k-load of relief to the mix at the same time, which I've never experienced before or since... That's largely how I view it. The play-off had pretty far reaching ramifications for us had we not bodied them in such style. A LC semi-final loss, won't come close to having the same sort of potential impact. Similarly a LC semi-final win, whilst nice, pretty much is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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