dennyc

Don't know about players coming in but look out for another highly rated youngster moving on to pastures new. Kyle Semple... younger brother of Jamie and rated by many as the better prospect of the two... is drawing serious interest from Rangers, Brighton and Leicester. Not the first time Rangers have tried to lure him. He'll only turn 16 in February so not a lot we can do if he opts to leave like McKinstry. Fortunately he's been with us for some time so we should receive a decent development fee.

And was his much lauded innovative scouting scheme not replaced by the bloodhound that is Martin Foyle? He did bale us out of the financial mess created by Boyle and Dempster though so let’s be appreciative of that. But everything he touched did not turn to gold.

I thought that Motherwell confirmed Rose, Bowman, Mclean, Johnson and possibly Bigi were allowed to go for free.....the financial saving being their wages. McAlear and and McKinstry Development Fees mutually agreed with English clubs but Cadden's fee in dispute and looking like zero. Hastie was the only one where no information whatsoever was volunteered, perhaps as part of an nondisclosure agreement with Rangers?

BBC comments thread about Stephen Robinson makes mention of a fee of £350k from Rangers for Hastie. First I have heard of that although by now it should be all done and dusted or headed to a Tribunal. Any body know if that fee is correct? Might be a factor in us clearing former owners' debt which seemed a wee bit out of the blue. Comment on BBC site is not from a name I have seen on Steelmen.

Since Ross joined Sunderland , Man City and LIverpool are the only teams in the English Leagues to have lost less games...... so perhaps unlucky from that statistic. But Sunderland also drew a fair number, which cost them automatic promotion, and they then lost a play off final. For them promotion was the only target . A slow start to this season sealed his fate. No real surprise, particularly as the fans were restless . Ross has links to Hearts so he can go there and be the next scapegoat for Levein. Should Robinson leave Motherwell, I suspect he would be more likely to team up with Dempster at Hibs. A few more defeats should see that managerial position vacant.

Steven Saunders ....and he played.

No mention of any injury in post match interview, or since. Not that that means anything as injury information is not really that forthcoming nowadays. He did take a robust tackle earlier in the game but that was quite a bit earlier and he appeared to have recovered from that. To the extent he was running the game and even chasing back to cover when required....like after we mucked up a corner. Robinson highlighting the quick throw in was valid, but it also deflected from his own mistake. Not the first time he has slated players rather than admit a mistake of his own.

We were never in danger of losing the game until Polworth was taken off. County equalised two minutes later and then we were never in danger of winning it. Nothing to do with naivety as Robinson suggested. We manged to see out the three previous games no problem. Go figure. Barring injury, our Manager got the substitution badly wrong. But don't expect any sort of acknowledgement from him. Not one person seated near me could understand why that change took place. We handed the initiative straight to County at a time when they were getting desperate.

Grimshaw might not be the best right back in the world but he has performed miles better than Tait this season. Robinson was forced to drop Tait after a string of sub standard run outs and his , admittedly short, appearance on Saturday did nothing to suggest he yet warrants a place back in the team. I do agree Tait may well have been affected by being played out of position, usually because Robinson does not appear to trust Livingstone to cover for Carroll. Early days, but we again appear to have made a couple of signings that appear questionable on evidence so far.....Ilic (clearly now well behind Seedorf and Hylton and uninspiring when he has appeared), Sloth (what the hell is going on there?), Too early to tell regarding O'Hara, Mazinga and Mugabi. Meantime youngsters such as Semple, Livingstone and MaGuire are struggling for the game time that their preseason performances merited. I would not be surprised if Ilic was released in January contract permitting. He is in danger of becoming the new Petravicious. I also think there have been successes. particularly Polworth and Gallagher, and Scott has come on leaps and bounds since moving further wide. Seedorf, Hylton and Carroll are perhaps performing better than we could have expected given their history and the level they previously played. Long and Cole have showed promise but need to start contributing goals. My main frustration is that the full back situations have still not been fully addressed. As Carroll's two red cards have brought into focus. Tait was poor for much of last season and left back has been an issue for two years. But instead we appear to have concentrated on loading up in midfield. Hopefully that does not mean Robinson has discounted David Turnbull........whose reintroduction would provide us with a fantastic set up in midfield. Turnbull and Polworth for creativity, and Campbell and Donnelly/McGuire for aggression and work rate. In front of those four I think whoever plays will score goals. I think squad wise we are better placed than we were last season although a large part of that is due to the youngsters brought into the squad. We certainly have the talent to play attractive football. But there are frustrations and doubts over a few. Like a few others, I guess my take on our best eleven at present changes every time I watch a game. Perhaps six or seven definite starters?

Spot on. And no mention of any injury. Polworth was causing them all sorts of bother with his clever passing and Scott and Cole were dragging their defence all over the place. He was even contributing well defensively when we lost the ball. A second goal looked on the cards. And then settling for a draw by taking Scott off for Tait sealed it for me. Just invited County to make a final push. Two poor decisions by our Manager but according to him the defeat was all about the players being naive.

Of the two I think Robinson would be more likely to consider Hibs given the Dempster connection. He would be crazy to go to Hearts where Director of Football Levein would oversee every move he made and ensure Robinson carry the can for poor returns or transfer failings. He likes a scapegoat does Craig. Remember how he destroyed Cathro and called his signings not good enough for a team like Hearts, only for it later to come out that Levein had brought many of those signings in against Cathro’s wishes. Robinson needs autonomy and a strong and trusting relationship with his bosses. I’m not sure he would get that under Budge and Levein. But if Levein was to be sacked entirely after a derby defeat this weekend.............. and Budge acts to placate the fans...... Other than salary and transfer budget it would be a huge risk to go to to either of those clubs given their current problems. Hardly security for life. Better to hold off for a decent English Championship or Division One side where his long term future might a bit more secure and rewarding. He’ll stay with us for now.

From a thread on the Rotherham fan forum. Early days but it appears Hastie has been well accepted. He was also praised by Gerard for his application, attitude and willingness to learn.....even if it meant a loan placement.. Certainly all positive so far and it seems he is forging ahead. Time will tell but it certainly does not look like a career wasted because of his decision to join Rangers. Jake Hastie

Yeah, but he'll never make it! The silence on here from the bitter crew is deafening. Ryan Bowman scored again as well.

I don't believe for a second there is a "lightweight in midfield" issue. More problematic is a lack of numbers in midfield at times as a result of playing three out and out forwards. Compounded by the tiring effect on those three midfielders of having to run themselves into the ground covering four and sometimes five opponents. Look at how Celtic pushing an extra man into midfield (Ajer) changed that game. Until then our "lightweight" midfield more than held their own against the best team in the country. If the full backs step up to support then that leaves too much space at the back for decent forwards to exploit. It's the down side of playing a more attacking, two winger focused style. But to even contemplate dropping our most...perhaps only...creative midfielder is just crazy. If we need to strengthen midfield for specific matches (away from home?) it can be done by playing an extra player in that area at the expense of one of those three forwards. 4-4-2 perhaps with Seedorf dropping out. I can certainly see four in midfield coming into play when Turnbull is fit.

Shhhhh! You'll upset folk on here.