CSmith

While I don't doubt that they'll be looking for another forward, should they be? With Rooney, Stewart, Stockley, Wright, Storey, McLean, Mackay-Steven, Maynard among other more attacking options, should they really be spending 400k+ on another attacker?

Aberdeen have just confirmed the signing of Gary Mackay-Steven on a two year deal. Wonder if that means anything in their pursuit of Moult? They seem to have quite an abundance of options in the forward area now.

Scott Mullen Tweeting that Motherwell have rejected a bid from Aberdeen for Moult that fell well short of their evaluation.

Personally I believe Tait has been a great addition. For quite a few consecutive seasons we have lacked a natural right back so immediately he looked impressive. He also created quite a few goals for us in the first half of the season with his crossing which was excellent. He does need a bit of work defensively but overall, he's been a very good signing. Clay splits opinion, however I'd say most view him negatively. I thought he looked pretty solid at the start of last season however he always seemed to have a bit of a fitness problem where he could never last a full 90 or even an hour at the same intensity. All in all I think he'd be a good squad player to fill in when needed but I wouldn't be surprised to see him move on and don't blame anyone who wants to see him go either.

That's the thing as well, I genuinely believe he's not "touting the clubs activity," as Suprawell put it, I believe it's more him trying to engage with the fans and attempting to give us an idea of what's to come and to keep us informed. Where you say it lacks professionalism and staff at other clubs don't do it, I kind of welcome that. We have a guy who's willing to stop us going stir crazy and keep us relatively in the loop, where other club's fans are bemoaning the lack of communication. I don't personally engage with the guy on Twitter but do really appreciate the fact he takes time to talk to fans about what's happening.

Looking at the Macron Hibs kits I can't help but think their away kit design would look great for us if the green and white was replaced with claret and amber.

Would it? I'm really not bothered about where they come from as long as they're good

Despite it being a rather unrealistic rumour, as the guy is being linked with some much bigger clubs, I do quite like the look of Graham Carey who's currently at Plymouth Argyle. 3/4 of their final goal of the year nominations were scored by him and their fans seem to love him and his creativity from midfield. Also, after the meltdown the Argyle fans had after losing McHugh to us last year, it'd be nice to gain a similar reaction if we were to sign Carey.

To be honest, I really hope Blyth moves on and I'd expect Moult and maybe Heneghan could leave too if the money is right. Same goes for Dom Thomas, seemed to have a few good moments while out on loan but seems to have not really stepped up so he might be deemed surplus to requirements.

If I'm Correct, this is our current first team. (Missed out a couple of the youth academy lads like McMillan and Gordon but this is pretty much what if consider the "senior squad.") 2. Richard Tait RB 3. Steven Hammell LB 4. Ben Heneghan CB 5. Gael Bigirimana CM 6. Stephen McManus CB 7.??? Elliott Frear LM 8. Carl McHugh CM 9. Louis Moult ST 11. Ryan Bowman ST 12. Chris Cadden CM/RM 14. Keith Lasley??? CM 17. Alex Fisher ST 19. Jacob Blyth ST.... supposedly... 20. Craig Clay CM 23. Dom Thomas LM 27. Craig Tanner CAM/RM? 30. Allan Campbell CM GK: 0 DEF: 4 MID: 9 ST:4 So with that in mind, I think we'd need to try our best to obtain: 2 Goalkeepers 1 Left Back Probably 2 Centre Backs, at the very least 1 At least one more Central Midfielder A natural Right Winger 1 striker, if others leave, more. That's quite a big shopping list in reality but if we are to be really competitive, it's probably necessary. Think one of our major issues last season was injuries and not having really the depth of squad to make adequate replacements. I'm aware we have a very thin budget so it'll be interesting to see what Robinson's priorities are. It's a massive rebuilding job but I think the three signings he made have looked positive so really hope they do well.

Here's my take on the Lionel situation, for all its worth Ainsworth is undoubtably a great asset going forward. His delivery is arguably the best in the team and from set pieces he's brilliant. He also is very quick, and in a team that clearly lacks pace and creativity, surely it's not a bad thing we're trying to re-sign him when that's exactly what he brings to the team? He's been rightfully criticised for his defensive capabilities or at least lack of wanting to track back, and this has been cited as one of the reasons why he never got many starts this season. However, are we really going to say we could've done any worse defensively this season if we had given Ainsworth chances in the team? Really? Our best defensive player this season was Carl McHugh, and despite his past clubs using him as a centre half, he came to us as a centre mid, and that's where he should be playing. Heneghan, really does need some work if he's going to be a decent centre back. Tait was great going forward and defensively was ok at best I think. McManus and Hammell have really looked their age at times and despite hammy having a great last few games, he's not be very good consistently throughout the season. We conceded so many because our defending as a whole has been terrible, you can't just blame Ainsworth every time he plays. The midfield would constantly sit off the opposition and we'd get killed because they were allowed so much time to come at us with no midfield pressure, and all the centre midfielders we have used this season were to blame for this at times. Also, in Ainsworth's defence, his defending against Kilmarnock I thought was really great, he made tackles in the midfield when players like Clay were willing to just sit off them and let them come at us. And again, Ainsworth was the one who made the tackle and played moult in, who then set up Frear to kill the game and ensure our safety in the league, so there's important defensive work in there too. What I don't understand is why we don't deploy Ainsworth as a forward, especially now that McDonald is away. He's so talented in attack and his pace is always a threat, surely he'd be valuable there? I'd suggest we literally have him no further back than the half way line and he's then always a threat on the counter. Think he'd also be a great partner to Moult (if he stays) as they're both very creative and great attackers so they may be able to form a good attacking partnership if they're actually given the chance. Even still, if Moult does leave, then allow Ainsworth the opportunity to partner with whatever striker(s) we bring in this summer and give the guy a run of games to show us if he can do it. He's not been used enough this season and if he is given a new deal and isn't performing anywhere near the standard we need, then sure, he can be sold or released at the end of his next contract. However, I'm sure if he's given consistency in his selection, then he'll give us consistency in performance and end product, which we have really lacked this season.

Think the main goal for us for this window/rest of the season would be to get contracts extended and keep the vast majority of the squad we have. That makes extending Lionel's contract a priority for me. Without him in the squad we have very few players that are rapidly quick and he also is a match winner. Got the feeling that if McGhee wasn't manager he'd be starting almost every week. Anyway, would like to see Moult and Skippy get extensions too. If we are looking to bring someone in, we need a Marvin Johnson replacement, a quick, creative left sided midfielder. Also, if Brill isn't getting a chance when Samson is consistently this poor then a new keeper has to be brought in, feel really sorry for Brill. After that I think we would have a very strong team once everyone is fit. Think a left back and a left sided centre half are more long term targets but hopefully Chalmers can kick on and be the player we need at left back and I'd really like to see Louis Laing get a few chances after his loan is up. Feel that he's much better than Kennedy and I'd rather him than the alternative.