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Listening to Jens dressing room speech last night, he didnt sound like a guy preparing to move on. Ive thought for a while now he comes across as having a 2 year plan in his head and is committed to it. Clearly, if an offer comes in thats impossible for him to ignore, then things could change very quickly, but I dont think we are there yet. Re players, we know Slattery, Gordon, Balmer, Halliday and possibly Hendry are away. Nicholson, Robinson and Stama are also likely to move on. JT is probably a certainty to move on and I would imagine Eli Just already has many suitors and a good World Cup probably makes it very difficult to hold on to him. Beyond that, the manager and chairman have both said we will manage squad turnover carefully and incrementally, so I wouldn't expect too many other outgoings. Welsh is an interesting one. He still has a year on his Celtic contract to go. Would Celtic let us buy it out? If rumours of his wage are true, £500k is a fairly big fee for us to pay, and he would need to take a pretty big pay cut to sign a new contract with us. Seems a bit of a stretch, but he has clearly loved being part of this team. Would another season long loan be possible? The single biggest thing we could do close season is hold onto the manager. If we can do that, I have every confidence that this is just the start of something. Not the end!

Loved the Forrest fans singing "are you Celtic in disguise"...

On the way up Leith Walk I was chatting to a couple of Coventry fans who had come up for the game. For the oldies out there, one was the son of Coventry legend Keith Houchen who also played for Hibs. They were impressed by what they saw of Motherwell and thought we were streets ahead of Hibs. They told me Slattery had already agreed terms with Oxford? Having watched him they were convinced he was far better than that and could easily walk into a Championship club. They were also shocked by how poor the referee was. More so when I told them Walsh was FIFA qualified. Gordon is a strange one. He was a certainty to move on as he had become a fringe player at best. But his last few appearances suggest there is a lot more to him and he appears to have suddenly developed skills and patience I doubted he had. Fitted in seamlessly to the style of football we now play. Also came across as heavily committed to the group. That dressing room coverage was quite an insight into how well the players have bonded. Never thought I would want Gordon to stay, but if Welsh is unsignable for next season we could do worse. Chat locally is that along with a good few others we are interested in a Dunfermline centre back who can also play as a left wing back. I think Just is likely to be on his way no matter what. Especially as New Zealand have a World Cup Group in which he should shine. Maswanhise might not bring in the cash we hoped for but I think we will certainly receive offers. Hopefully the sale of those two would enable us to retain others for a wee bit longer. Without doubt some first team starters will move on. That's a fact and the Club have been open about that. Needs must Whether or not it becomes the challenge it could be may depend on whether Askou agrees to stay for one more year. He will have options and will have some serious thinking to do. If we can hold on to him I would not be surprised if some of those players we expect to leave have second thoughts. I'm hoping Slattery is one of those players.... unlikely as it seems. (See above) Two players I have no clue about are Watt and Robinson. For different reasons. I was told by folk not connected in any way to Motherwell that Watt's agent was in discussion with Hearts and Rangers in January and that a deal was imminent with Watt preferring Rangers. Then injury intervened. But now again I am told there is interest. Time will tell. Crazy as it seems I wonder if Robinson is seen as a possible replacement for Maswanhise. Robinson comes across as well regarded by Askou and integrated into the squad. Just a feeling but I suspect Askou thinks Robinson might be a player he can develop to the level he requires. I imagine we will very soon see a list of those released so that will clarify things to a degree. And tell us which youngsters are considered good enough to step up. But for sure it is going to be an interesting, frustrating, exciting summer. What a season that was! Thanks to Jens, staff, players and fans for giving me my Saturday back.

I've seen a few dunfermline games on the tele this season and that ngwenya seems a bit of a bombscare,I would much rather we were interested in chilokoa-mullen,who could definitely make the step up.i think stanway at thistle would be a good replacement for slatts if he's definitely away.

Lennon starts for Udinese tonight

I'm a stats geek 🤓

Based on how we've operated with this new board, I'm sure we've done a chunk of business already, and we will be timing the release of that info. Slattery will get the special video treatment when his exit is announced due to the time hes been with us, and the fact he's an excellent player. Oxford seems like a big miss for him, surely he could have done better than that? Gordon probably signed a pre contract a while back, he's a solid enough Premiership player and he will have had a few suitors when the pre contract window opened. The rumor was that there was a fee arranged for the summer when Stam went back to Australia, and that would make sense for him with two very young kids. I doubt we will retain robinson unless the manager has seen something we couldn't over the last couple of weeks. If we want him to be next seasons Osong/Sule, I dont see much harm in that, but he will lilely want games to kickstart his career again. McGhee being injured (again) is a shame. His best chance at a redemption arc with us is a strong pre-season, if he's not fit in time for that hes done. We're shedding a lot of wages just woth the obvious leavers, then you have the few that we will sell, so we should be in a good position to bring in some interesting signings.

They didnt start out that way though. The were in the Norwegian 2nd tier not that long ago. Not saying we will ever get to those numbers. But you have to start somewhere. Reach for the stars, you might just get the moon.....

If anybody deserves a bit of luck on the injury front then it's him,if he gets it then he will be a standout in that league,all the best sam.

Yes, good luck to him. Seems a genuine guy. Is Livi, with their plastic pitch, the right club for him though? Announcement made at the right time, after our last game.

First of all.....Keith houchen scored one of my all time favourite cup final goals. With squad I think Maswanhise and Just will be off and possibly Watt but I think a lot depends on Askou. If he stays i think players could be persuaded plus I think we are an attractive option for potential signings. I never rated Robinson when he arrived but when you look at transformation of SOD it shows you what a difference a manager makes. Robinson was playing under SK tactics so we maybe didn't see his full potential.

Yes. Max Rogers. Twelvety. Yes.

I know he's had a history of defending refs to the hilt but since you confirmed my hearing, that's really poor. I defy anyone to state categorically that Nicholson handled that ball, particularly from a cursory 20 second look from one angle. He clearly headed it out of play and if the ball scliffed his hand it was because Trusty shouldered up his arm from beneath. Even so, this did not make his body unnaturally big since it was within his body outline and so any contact with the hand should not be penalised. Maybe he thinks keeping in with the establishment will preserve his media career and contact with the luminaries of the football world and all the opportunities those things bring, but frankly I find his behaviour increasingly grating and cringeworthy. With friends like him.....

No you didn’t mishear him, he definitely said that he thought it was a handball and therefore the correct decision. He also bemoaned the ‘media’ for wanting JBA to be poached by another club whilst conveniently overlooking that he hasn’t shut up about how Jens was likely to be tempted by a bigger club since Christmas time. Likewise Maswanhise who he was touting for a big move in January every single weekend while the window was open. The guy is a bellend.

For me, id fling all the money we have at JBA. Locked into a contract so hes bought out. Forget TJ or Just, JBA IS our most valuble asset! What a season!

Also delighted to have proved all the old dinosaurs wrong who said this style of football wouldn't work in the Premiership for a wee team like ours.

In pub on 2nd bottle of wine with Mrs grizzly, she has allowed me one glass 🤣🤣 What a season. I just love this club and this season been immense. No idea what happens before next season but I have no fears as this club is in good hands and on the way up. Right who wants a joke?..........OK.....too far 🤣🤣

Hung off from posting last night as I was way too angry about what transpired at the end of the game. Regardless of our thoughts on the matter, it doesnt really change anything. Hibs last minute winner means we need to go to Easter Road and get something. Given we have won 1 and drawn 2 against them this season and now have an injustice to fire the belly, we should embrace that situation. Re last nights game. I really despair about any Motherwell fan who watched that last night and is anything other than proud of our performance. Many Motherwell teams in the past have utterly capitulated to Celtic. But we went toe to toe with them for 90 minutes and were the better team by every metric, other than the one that actually counts. It was a great performance and, but for a bit more quality/composure in the final third, we might have won that game. There is a real feel good factor about Fir Park right now. Three stands up singing and bouncing in a game against one of the ugly sisters is a rare thing indeed. Finally, to address the issue of our record against the top 6. It is true that we have only won 3 out of 19. But we have also drawn 8. So in 11/19 games the top 6 couldnt beat us either and of the games we did lose only Hearts beat us by more than 1 goal and our performances have been more than decent. We should embrace these times and use the injustice we all feel about the season as a whole to fuel us going forward. Everyone to Easter Road......

Penalty incident aside, some of our supporters really need a reality check. JBA has given us a team to be exceptionally proud of, regardless of how it ends. We outplayed a Celtic team for large parts of last night's contest - and this is a team chasing a title. Celtic's first goal was simply a moment of good fortune and an exceptional finish. The second was wonder strike. Yes, the season has not ended how we hoped and yes we may not get European football, but please look at the bigger picture. A squad that now has several very valuable assets - not all will be sold in the summer, but those who do go should fetch a more than decent fee, securing not only our short-term, but long-term future. A brand of football that many in the league envy - and so far distanced from what's been served up over the past few seasons. Crowds on the rise and a proper connection between club and its supporters. All of the above forms a very solid foundation and while JBA will be a wanted man, he will depart with us in good health both on and off the field, so much so we could entice some real managerial talent. Look at others in and around us. Hibernian may yet get fourth, but financially they are in a mess. Falkirk will be under pressure to repeat their efforts this season, and will likely have to do so losing one or two vital players from their squad. Aberdeen are in transition - a bloated squad full of under-achievers on big wages. Dundee, Dundee Utd and Kilmarnock will all undergo a turnover of players this summer, as will St Mirren should they stay up. St Johnstone have momentum and should compete, but for them consolidation will be the main aim. We have a wonderful opportunity to build on the foundations of this season. There is money in the bank, with more coming. European football would be an attractive proposition for any targets, but I don't think it's a deal breaker. JBA will have learned a lot from these last couple of months. Injuries haven't helped, and neither has a few players having a dip in form at an important stage of the season, but when you play all season at the intensity JBA wants, it's only natural some players will begin to feel the effects. A top six finish, a cup semi-final, challenging for European football - all of us would have bitten a hand off if this scenario had been offered to us before the season started. I think back to all the supporters at the start of the season who were critical of this style of play and how it would never work. Time and patience is in short supply in modern football, but for those who can't see what's being built then I feel sorry for you.

Celtic are running Scottish football and their fans are out of control and can basically do whatever they like with impunity. What happened at the end of the game with their fans has happened at Fir Park before and will happen again and I said as much a couple of months ago when the bother at the Old Firm game at Ibrox was being discussed. And as I also said at the time it was Celtic fans to blame for that mayhem because they invaded the park and was met with the usual “ah but they only went on to celebrate, Rangers fans were worse, the real aggressors, they wore masks, Rangers are yer big team etc etc”. Well this is where attitudes like that get us, because too many people can’t or just won’t face up to the reality that in this day and age it is Celtic fans who are the absolute worst in this country, instead they hide behind the feeble “two cheeks of the same arse, Old Firm as bad as each other” or else they are too blinded by their hatred of Rangers that they just can’t see what is staring them in the face. And please do not anyone try and raise me “ahh but you’re forgetting that time we were 2-0 up and Rangers fans invaded the park forty odd/fifty year ago” because that is irrelevant to what happens today, in 2026, when it is most definitely Celtic and their fans who are clearly the issue. How many times do their fans have to invade the park at our ground, cause damage to seats, clash with stewards and so on before people wake up?

The thing that annoys me most about the Champions League is teams that win their domestic title but have to enter the competition at qualifying rounds. Meanwhile, other teams that finish 2nd or 3rd enter later in the competition. I know the competition has been dead an buried as a proper Cup since the big teams ganged up and decided getting knocked out in a early round wasn't fair to them (or their bank balance), but they could at least have all the Champions qualify automatically and enter at the same stage. I used to really enjoy the European Cup when it was 2-leg straight knock out. as it felt like a genuine competition. Now it's just yet another league that's manufactured to ensure the big teams win and are further enriched. I barely watch any of the games these days.