The African

While it is fun to speculate, I'd suggest that the club need to talk to Gino and Marvin to find out what they think would be a reasonable figure.

How can we stand in the way of a young man simply trying to do the best for himself and his growing family? The club must see sense and accept one of the no doubt princely offers which will now flood in for this fine player.

So, these personal reasons? Genuine or convenient? Would a couple of weeks off to sort things help or is the only solution likely to be the substantial increase in wages that a move to the Championship in Englandshire would provide?

The Johnson situation does beg a few questions. Who in this day and age actually puts in a transfer request? Has he or his agent been tapped up by an interested party and, as such, are they trying to get him for a smaller fee and therefore sweeten the deal for themselves? It is entirely likely that a player like Johnson sees his future at a higher and more lucrative level. It is also understood that we, as a club,will be happy enough to sell players on if the deal is good enough for us. Why then do they feel the need to go through the public charade of a transfer request? You also have to ask the question of Johnson, if you are so keen to go on and better yourself, why has your recent form been so rank rotten? Scarcely playing for a move. As to what will be the likely consequence if we do move him on before the transfer deadline, I am not convinced that we will see any move to replace him. Known players of similar ability will either be beyond our means or not available, especially given the limited timeframe. If he does go, I reckon we will be pretty much stuck with the squad that we currently have in place, at least until January.

Still early days, so a point would not be a bad result, though I could accept a defeat if we saw an improved performance. We should though, be capable of taking something from this match.

Based on recent events, anything from this fixture will be a bit of a bonus. Right now, I'd take an improved all round performance and see where that gets us. It isn't as if they are world beaters. The two key issues will be selection and attitude. If McGhee overthinks tactics then we tend to suffer as we do not have the squad, both in terms of quality and numbers, to try anything too clever,and if we stand off them and let them play their game, we will get picked off. Keep it simple and keep at them and in their faces.

A poor result but an early season result so pointless getting too upset about it. The issues raised by the performance need to be addressed but we have an experienced manager who has the ability to turn things around. Our new players will be learning and our injured players can come back and make a difference. We all knew that this, like every year, was going to be a transitional season with the usual ups and downs. We need to regroup and prepare professionally for next week where we should be capable of taking something from the game.

I hope we can get something from this fixture, despite Saints making a decent start to their season. We are at home which will hopefully be a factor in our favour. Right now,I'd take a point, but a decent performance and we could continue our league run. A defeat would not be the end of the world, but points gained now are points we don't need to win later on in the season.

A piss poor result, but not unexpected. One nil in a cup tie is as bad as five nil though, so no point crying over spilt milk. Hopefully we can be back up and running on Saturday as league points are what really matter.

I seriously hope that the club would consider the "Calderwood" factor when doing business with any club employing him. He is a proven c*** of the highest order and we should just tell him to f*** off.

A win away from home is a decent start to the season, but it is only a start. Let's back it up with another against St Johnstone at home next Saturday.

It is an away game, against a side likely to be in the same area of the league as ourselves. Any win would be a great result , and a draw would be acceptable at this stage of the season. A defeat would not be the end of the world as it is so early in the season, but, of course, I'd much rather we take something from the game.

Excellent result for the young lads. I am sure that a couple more games in this competition will do their development as players no harm.

Given what English clubs seem to be prepared to pay for players moving between themselves, we had best try and negotiate a decent sell on percentage, even if they are only going to offer peanuts for players from north of the border.

Don't we always win the first league match of the season, one nil?

While the draw could have been kinder, it is still an opportunity on several levels. It is a chance to get to the quarter finals, it is a chance to make up for the dismal performance at Parkhead on the last day of the season just past, and ( I assume) it will make us more money from this competition than we had budgeted for. I'd have to say that, so far, the new style League Cup has been a qualified success in that it has been a step up from pre season friendlies. We have nothing to lose in the next round so I am hoping for a decent performance and a cup upset. In the long run though, a win at Killie on Saturday will probably be more important

Thanks to TonyS88 for clarifying the situation. All we can do is go out and try and beat Stranraer and see where we end up. We certainly cannot just assume we will pick up the win at Stair Park. It will not be the end of the world if we don't make it but it would be nice to have another round to look forward to, and perhaps a little more cash coming our way. Whatever happens, I do think these games have been better than the usual round of pre season friendlies and, hopefully, they will have set us up for the really important stuff still to come.

Just as an aside. This is an Internet site where we chat about Motherwell FC. Who, if any of us, has any credibility?

Just the way that the pendulum has swung legally. Clubs used to hold all the power with regard to contracts, they abused the situation to their advantage and after various ground breaking court actions, Bosman being the most famous, the players now hold the whip hand.

If McDonald wants to go back to finish his career in his homeland, then should the club stand in his way? An unhappy player will not be an asset to the club and is unlikely to perform as we would hope. I'd suggest that there are some circumstances where we have to realise that it is time for a player to leave and make the best of it. Every situation will be different and have to be looked at individually, in its own merit, but I do think it is a sign of professionalism to be able to see all sides in an argument and be prepared to negotiate to as close to a solution where everyone gets the best deal possible. There is absolutely no reason why our club being "easy to deal with" should make us a soft touch.

Looks okay, as do all our new kits, though why do we need three? As for the "double denim" comment, thanks for bringing back some happy memories of B*witched and "C'est La Vie".

Playing in mid July is a joke. We are rebuilding, which is necessary, so it is hardly surprising that our squad is not ready. These games will be better than friendliest so will help in the process, but I will not lose any sleep if the performances seem below par and the results do not go our way. The league has to be our priority.

Don't think there is any danger of us following the Dundee United route to relegation by selling too many of our better players. Not saying we couldn't get relegated, we just don't have that many decent players to sell. £1.6 million for Marvin would be a great piece of business for us. Personally I doubt we will get half that.

Any word on what is happening with Faddy?

I'd be surprised if we received anything from Oldham. Law is a player we don't want who wants to find a new club. We will save on the remainder of his contract. Robinson obviously sees the manager's job as a step up and you cannot argue with that. Yes, he is under contract, but if he doesn't want to be here then what is the point of holding him to it? Good luck to both of them.