The African

Would have made sense for us before e signed up Samson and Brill, but not now. Boro' might also think that he could be playing at a higher standard than herein the English Championship or their League One. Looked like he was developing into a decent keeper with us so another season would have seen him continue on that path, but not to be. Good luck to the lad.

Good bit of business to get Josh Law off the books if we managed it without paying out for any of the remaining year of his contract. Good luck to him also. An honest toiler who seemed to always give his all, but was probably not of a standard to take us forward.

Early days and nothing at stake in these games, so a bit soon to be pressing the panic button.

Just a couple of things to consider. Leitch leaving the club for nothing is not a financial hit for the club. What you've never had, you never miss. If we erred because of some loophole in the regulations, then it is something that we need to tighten up our practices on, but hanging the club or individuals out to dry for it is both pointless and unproductive. Regarding the McDonald situation, the reduced terms offered cannot really be looked at in isolation. Reduced terms were offered to several seniorplayersbecause we could not afford to pay what they were currently on. To not also reduce the offer for McDonald could quite possibly have led to an unsettled dressing room. We, as a club, cannot operate without a controlled and affordable wage structure. Also, failing to take up an option, as we have done with McDonald, is not reneging on a deal.

Pearson going for a fee probably makes sense. He would not have been a happy camper if we had held him to his deal, based on the supposed deal they were offering him. He has been decent for us and I wish him well. Perhaps time to look for a younger, more physical replacement, as we were outmuscled in midfield a few times last season. Would also agree that we look a bit top heavy with defenders now. Time to consider moving out the surplus players?

Isn't Robbie Leitch off to Burnley?

Quality, not quantity.

So we now have Lasley signed up, with the tacit admission that he will not be able to play the full season, and a possible reserve keeper if he passes a medical. While not the worst, it certainly isn't that exciting. Hopefully the situation regarding McDonald, Hammell and now Pearson can be clarified soon so that we know where we stand. I also think it would be in our interests to try and deal with the contracted players who are not in our plans for next season like Chalmers and Law.

You didn't need players to model kit back in the seventies, just some skanky burd from the back of a lager can. Ah, the good old days!

Didn't most of the gate receipts for the play off game go to the SPFL?

Would be a shame if it turns out to be true. I would have hoped that an Ainsworth with a year or maybe more left on his contract might attract some interest from down South where they seem to have more money than sense. I know that his leaving will free up his salary, but it would have been nice to copped a few quid as well.

Erwin was scarcely the finished article when he left. A season cooling his heels at Leeds will not have done much for him in that respect. As such, would he be ahead of Skippy or Moult in terms of selection for us? We probably do need to strengthen our striking resources even if McDonald resigns and we do not get a decent offer for Moult, but I am not sure Erwin on loan fits that particular bill. Moore deserves a chance after a successful loan spell, though bench cover and the odd start would seem the likely path for him to show whether he can make the step up. Erwin, for a season, would only get in the way of his possible development.

Adds a bit of spice and gets the season up and running. Hopefully these games will be better than pre season friendliest so that we are ready for real business when the league kicks off. The draw itself gives us a chance to make a bit of cash and progress to the next stage. All good.

I cannot bring myself to "hate" either half of the old firm. Hate is such a strong emotion, and the irony of hating organisations that are based on a mutual hate for each other is not lost on me. I'll stick with "despise".

Indeed, it is the silly season after all. Reckon he will get a League One gig and earn a fair bit more Han the like of ourselves could afford to pay him.

Would we want him back? Reckon the move was worth it for him financially.

Love the Rangers statement. They really are the gift that keeps on giving.

Great name. Is he any good?

If we fail to sign any of the older players, it simply brings forward to now the inevitable moment when we have to find a replacement. At least it will free up their wages in order to do so.

Neil Alexander is an interesting one. He is 38 but that doesn't mean we couldn't get a season or two out of him as goalkeepers are different. He has had a good career and hopefully, for him, made a decent living from it so perhaps his demands in terms of wages may not be beyond the realms of possibility for us. I can only see it as a runner though if Samson decides not to stay.

Pretty sure that experiment was the game against them at Celtic Park them immediately after the seven nil. We had injury problems and I think Andy Harrow may also have played at the back that day. We lost three nil, I think, but didn't take the pumping we were supposed to. To be fair, in the seven nil game, we were guilty of chasing the game in the second half when we were well behind and lost three or four goals to them on the break.

Very decent and generous thing to do.

I think the Scottish Cup game was in 1984 and we managed to keep them down to six. The seven nil at Fir Park was, I think, in 1982. Probably the first time we had played them since coming up after a spell in the old first division.

Leitch is one of those players who, in a better financial climate, you would have liked to see get another year. He has not been lucky with the serious injury and had few real chances since then. The truth is though that we can't keep them all and I wish him well in his future career. Any word on where he might be going?

Disappointing is an understatement. I suppose we can, to an extent, put it down to a number of factors, only some of which will have consequences for next season. The facts that our season was over, we had very little to play for and we caught them on a good day and they are a better side than us, as the league table shows, can be seen as valid and forgotten about. This really wasn't a game we could hope to experiment in and, once again, McGhee has tried to be a little too clever and been found out. I would not be too hard on Luke Watt. A youngster given a chance in a game that passed more experienced players by is always going to look out of his depth. I see that some have questioned his attitude and said that it looked like he wasn't trying, but we have to remember that looks can be deceptive. Hopefully he can come back from this disappointment. Thankfully we did not risk any other young players and their possible development. What I think this does show though, is that the issues that have dogged us over the past two seasons which were not sorted by McCall and Baraclough still remain and need to be addressed. Our key players are all a year older and we have no obvious succession policy for most of them. The work hasn't been done over the past few years so now the job is not only more urgent but also harder as it has to be achieved over a shorter time frame. This is all the more difficult as we are entering a period of tighter budget and necessary financial expediency. I hope McGhee is up for it. This is where a good manager earns his salary. Getting the players fit and organised will get us so far, but to improve, our squad needs more than a freshen up. Good luck Mark.