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The cup finals brought a chunk of money into the club. Maybe you don’t care....... And you choose to conveniently forget the 2 cracking cup semi final wins v Rangers and Aberdeen that got us there. Sure it was disappointing on the day(s) but Celtic are streets ahead of every team in the country so hardly surprising outcomes. Anyway - I have long know that if we won the Champions League you and Ya Bezzer and co would be on the next day moaning we only scored 2 goals in the final ! Some of us can actually see positives instead of constantly focusing on the negatives like quite a few on here.

Not fussed how. Not fussed by how many. Just get it won!

No one cares about losing cup finals. Especially when we didn't score a goal in either. The upside should have been improving the squad but we have stuffed it to bursting with scrubs.

Carson Aldred Hartley McHugh Cadden Bigi Campbell Gorin Frear Johnson Main/Sammon Never gonna happen though. We'll have Grimshaw and Rose in there to "win the right to play football".

Curtis Main's home strip sponsors The East of Scotland Motherwell FC Supporters Club held there first meeting of the 2018 - 2019 season under our new chairperson Sheila McLuckie. We meet once a month in the heart of Jambo territory, The Roseburn Bar, Murrayfield. With members traveling to most games home and away. If you live east of Lanarkshire and wish to join a very active supporters club then find out more from our East of Scotland MFC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/eosmfc/

Anyone who picks Main ahead of Sammon on current form needs either their eyes tested or their head read...

First of all you don't need £200 million to pass a ball so that's a non argument. It's quite possible to do so on our budget, in fact you only have to go back as far as our last league fixture to see that it is when we had ball playing youth players and a striker who's not a heid-the-ball up front. Secondly the managers preferred style of football has gleaned a whooping 6 wins from the last 26 league matches. Therefore it's open to question whether it's actually successful - especially this term when we have lost some of our stand out players (Moult, Kipre). Also the element of surprise is an important factor in this. Robinson won 6 out of the first 10 matches last season and then 7 wins from the subsequent 28. That's a win ratio drop off of 60% to 25%. Does that tell you? That maybe other teams have us figured out now, know what to expect and can counter it fairly easily?

Spot on. Some folk have short memories or like my missus ..... Never happy.

Personally I feel it’s far too early to make a judgement on the squad or it’s versatility. I also don’t feel the effectiveness of his style is that open to question given last season. We did well in the league in my view and made two cup finals. Yes we lost both, but to a team head and shoulders above anyone else, even clubs on huge budgets next to ours. Along the way to the finals we beat Aberdeen, Rangers, and Hearts, the three other biggest teams in Scotland. How much more effective did his style need to be shown to be ?

We've just finished the group stages of the Friendlies League Cup and played one league game, just the one. Quite a few of new lads are still gaing fitness. Lets wait until January at the earliest and preferably May next year until we make that judgement.

Completely wrong on this one I'm afraid. As was said above, we went out with a whimper in the Scottish cup final and didn't score a goal in either. As others have said, the signing policy has been exceptionally poor this summer. We have a bloated midfield and after today, two defenders too many on the books, considering we have Maguire as back-up. I argued before on this thread about quality over quantity which Robinson has not done in my opinion. Donnelly/Mbulu should have been only 1 signing or salary of real quality with Aldred and Maguire backing up Hartley and a returning Dunne as a back 3 with McHugh adequate to cover. Gorrin should never have been added to the squad without offloading a midfielder again, people will point to Bigi leaving but if that's the case, the club has badly managed an exit and stating it in the media was a crazy move by Robinson as it puts the player and thereby Gorrin in a very awkward situation. 1 player of that ilk, again with real quality should have been the objective. Sammon/Johnson once again should have only been 1 signing of real quality to play with Bowman and Main. I would argue the case now that we have a bloated squad devoid of any shining lights of real quality outwith our own homegrown players, the next generation of which seem to be over-looked in favour of Non-League English players.

As opposed to Barcalona type of free flowing football ? Problem is he would need £200 million quid to do that. The manager has done great with what he has to work with and i think that may play a part in the style we have adopted. Real world , real budgets , real constraints .

2 Cup finals for the 1st time in over 60 years and for only the 2nd time in our history. Sure - points to me questioning the effectiveness of his favoured style............ Nobody is saying it is particularly pretty to watch at times but even for you that post is a belter

I’m sorry, but in my opinion that is nonsense. We can, and have played 5-3-2 or 3-5-2 depending on which way you look at it, we can and have played 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. We can also play 4-2-3-1 if we wanted to with Frear, Turnbull, Cadden. Admittedly we are a bit short if Frear or Cadden get injured; but certainly can play a variety of formations and personnel.

Aldred did well last season but I agree that, outwith Aldred's own merits as a player, this is a signing with problems - the defensive balance, bringing Maguire through, an apparent commitment to playing McHugh in midfield, where it leaves Donnelly. For me Robinson is really backing himself into a corner here with his signings. Right now it looks the squad is not versatile enough and we don't have the personnel to play anything other than Robinson's favoured style - the merits and effectiveness of which remain open to question.

I know it was end of season, but our easiest victory was when we played them off the park in our last game. The times when we've struggled (like the game in December) is when we were drawn into a battle and dragged down to their level.

Need another centre mid

The midfield is a bit of a joke

A big lad, at 6-3, with pace. Where have we seen that before? He'll be tested in the reserves first obviously.

https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2018/08/10/motherwell-recruit-defender-christian-mbulu/ Maybe the pacey defender we've been after? Another player with National League experience. We'll get to that level eventually...

I don't have any doubts about the quality of Aldred or his attitude. I just worry about the balance of our defence, and the balance of the midfield in front of it.

Cadden is not good enough to be playing at a level higher than spfl or league one irrespective of what’s considered his best position. He’s one of the least technically gifted players in our starting 11 and let’s be honest here if he wasn’t one of our own would be getting the same grief the likes of rose or grimshaw are getting as basically his redeeming attribute is effort like those two

I really like Cadden but he must be one of our most overrated players in recent history. £800k would do for him nicely.

Just read this on a Wigan site. Andy P I assume? Nice touch. https://threeamigoswigan.com/2018/08/06/a-motherwell-fans-view-of-cedric-kipre/ A MOTHERWELL FAN’S VIEW OF CEDRIC KIPRE Posted by JJ (Tony) in Fan Views and tagged with Cedric Kipre, Ivory Coast, leicester city, Motherwell, PSGAugust 6, 2018 On Friday Wigan Athletic announced the signing of Cedric Kipre from Motherwell on a three-year contract. The fee was not disclosed but reports suggest it could reach £1m including add-ons. The 21-year-old is the third Motherwell player to sign for Latics in the last 20 years following on from Lee McCulloch and Steve McMillan. On signing the 6 ft 3 in tall player Paul Cook commented: “Cedric is a strong, powerful and athletic defender, who we have been monitoring some time. He is at a great age to develop his game after a really good season with Motherwell and I am looking forward to working with him.” Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson opined: “Although it’s with a heavy heart that we lose Cédric, his progress over the last year has been remarkable and it’s little wonder English Championship clubs have been circling. He has the potential to go all the way to the top in my opinion and we very much wish him well in his future career. He will always be welcome back at Fir Park.” Kipre went on to make his Latics debut against Sheffield Wednesday the following day, looking calm and assured at the centre of defence. Cedric Kipre was born in Paris of Ivorian parents and played youth football at Paris St Germain. At the age of 17 he joined Leicester City, playing for their U18 and U21 teams in his first season. He next played for the U23 side but could not break into the senior squad. In September 2015 Kipre went on a month’s loan to Corby Town in the National League North, making an impressive debut against Boston United. Manager Tommy Wright commented “Cedric looked the real deal. He was strong, powerful, very good technically on the ball and he was a breath of fresh air.” Kipre went on to play two more games for the Steelmen. In the summer of 2017 after being released from Leicester Kipre went to Motherwell for a trial, impressing enough to be offered a one-year contract. He became a regular starter for his new club, which had a successful season in finishing in 7th place and reaching the finals of the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup. Kipre made 49 appearances for the Steelmen, together with a debut for Ivory Coast U-23 side in March 2018 against Togo. In order to learn more about Kipre’s time at Motherwell we contacted Andrew Patersonof the Steelmen Online site (https://www.steelmenonline.co.uk). Here’s over to Andrew: We knew it would happen. We knew he would go. We just hoped we’d have him with us for a little bit longer. If that reads almost obituary like it kind of feels like it is. Our Cédric. Gone! If only to pastures new thankfully rather than the big fitba pitch in the sky. So what can I can tell you about Cédric? Well, in truth when he lined up on trial in pre-season last summer it was his compatriot Bira Dembele who actually impressed more and there was a tinge of disappointment when he elected to return to France rather than join us. How much truth there was in Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson’s claim some months later that he was always going to sign Cédric I don’t know, but there’s more than one of our support who think back and breathe a sigh of relief that Motherwell couldn’t meet Dembele’s financial demands. It would be fair to say that Kipré’s rise in prominence was rapid. The thought was that he would settle into life in Scotland in Motherwell’s U20 side and perhaps as the season progressed he might breakthrough with the odd appearance here and there. In fact he played more minutes in domestic games in Scotland than any other top flight player. Initially signing on a one year contract it was immediately apparent that the club had to tie him down on a longer deal and just weeks into the 2017’18 season he had signed an extension on better terms. It would be extended again in April 2018. But why? Cédric settled into Scottish football instantly. From the minute he was given his opportunity against Queen’s Park at Hampden in the League Cup he never looked back. His stature meant he wouldn’t be outmuscled by anybody but there is more to his game than just physicality and bodying opponents. He has pace too and applied it occasionally to get himself and his team-mates out of trouble and also when demonstrating his willingness to bring the ball forward whenever an opportunity arose. At just twenty-one there are still flaws in his game of course. He was on occasion susceptible to a losing track of a long aerial ball hit over the top but over the piece it was incredible to think we were watching a player that hadn’t played a single first team game before signing for us. It was more than just his footballing ability that endeared Kipré to the Motherwell support though. We are fortunate that the media team at Fir Park are absolutely terrific in bringing us insights about our team. Over the course of the season we warmed to a young guy who was quiet, unassuming and humble. A boy who could laugh at himself and was never slow in getting involved in team bonding activities. He quickly became a huge fans favourite and it’s sad to think that never again are the Motherwell Bois likely to launch into a rendition of the Kipré, Kipré” war cry. A chant he even sang himself when he featured on “Up the ‘Well” a club song reproduced by local band The Banter Thiefs to mark Motherwell reaching the Scottish Cup Final. Memories? Plenty. It remains a travesty he was red-carded in the League Cup Final against Celtic and his further red-card against the same opposition was equally ridiculous. We’ll remember fondly his single goal for the club against Dundee where the celebrations amongst supporters were going on a good few minutes after the game had re-started. He had threatened to score a few times so when he did everyone was just ecstatic to see him finally do it.