Toxteth O'Grady

Looks like the weather could play a major part today too

It seems the Aberdeen game in the next round will be at 3pm on the Saturday as it hasn't been selected for TV coverage: https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/news/fifth-round-scottish-cup-televised-fixtures-confirmed/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-59953823

Robbie Crawford joins Partick Thistle https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2022/01/07/robbie-crawford-departs/

Lawless signs for Dunfermline https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/motherwell-didnt-suit-style-says-25807217.amp

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/8221131/dundee-united-tony-watt-head-around-motherwell Michael Stewart's take on it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59796062 Tony Watt: Motherwell striker to sign for Dundee United next season By Jane LewisBBC Scotland Last updated on1 minute ago1 minute ago.From the sectionDundee Utd Tony Watt has been the Scottish Premiership's leading scorer this season Scottish Premiership top scorer Tony Watt will play for Dundee United next season after agreeing a pre-contract. The 27-year-old has scored 19 times for Motherwell but turned down an improved deal to stay at Fir Park. Watt, who has been capped once for Scotland, signed for Motherwell in February 2020 after spells abroad in Belgium and Bulgaria. He was an unused substitute in the Lanarkshire side's 2-1 win over Livingston on Sunday. However, Motherwell assistant manager Chris Lucketti told BBC Scotland that the club won't have an issue playing him in future games. "We'll just see what happens with Tony," said Lucketti. "While Tony is here I'm sure he'll give everything to the cause. United will be Watt's 13th club having also played for Celtic, Hearts, and St Johnstone. Dundee United declined to comment.

Nobody giving much away https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59715614 https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/tony-watt-dundee-united-boss-has-say-on-reported-signing-of-motherwell-striker-and-key-moment-in-hibs-game-3507605

Watt benched

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59754242 Motherwell say TV is not the deciding factor over bringing winter break forward By Phil Goodlad BBC Scotland Last updated onLess than a minute ago There are three scheduled live TV matches in the Premiership over the festive period A decision on whether to bring forward the Scottish Premiership's winter break will not be determined by broadcasting deals, says Motherwell's Alan Burrows. Ten of the 12 top-flight clubs, including Well, want an earlier break to coincide with reduced crowd numbers coming into force on Sunday. The league will stop for 23 days after Hibernian v Hearts on 3 January, one of three live TV games before the break. "We have games on Sky that are regularly postponed," said Burrows. "Clubs need to recognise Sky's role in this. My understanding is that the Sky contract is for x number of games that they get to pick based on the parameters that exist within the contract. But there isn't anything that says x game have to be played on x date." The Scottish government announced on Tuesday that, from 26 December, outdoor sporting events in Scotland can have a maximum of 500 people in attendance for a period of three weeks. Premiership clubs, who are scheduled to play Scottish Cup games on the weekend of 20-22 January, met on Tuesday night. The majority are in favour of shifting the league's mid-season pause to a Boxing Day start and Burrows told Good Morning Scotland a decision could be announced on Wednesday. Livingston manager David Martindale says the league should "explore a way of postponing these fixtures and try and play them at a later date when fans are allowed back". "I've spoken to my players and players at other clubs, and everybody's kind of at the same opinion that they would rather not play the fixture than in front of 500 fans," he added. The Scottish Championship and and Leagues 1 and 2 do not have a scheduled winter break while the SWPL is currently on hiatus until 16 January.

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/sport/football/dundee-boss-james-mcpake-weighs-25758622 Dundee interested in Tony Watt. Right then.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-59739797 Sounds like we could be following Wales' lead and playing matches behind closed doors. Announcement expected this afternoon.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11796/12498084/motherwell-striker-tony-watt-rejects-new-contract-offer Tony Watt: Motherwell striker rejects new contract offer at Fir Park Tony Watt has rejected a new deal at Motherwell; he is the Scottish Premiership's top scorer so far this season; striekr joined the Fir Park club in February 2020 By Alison Conroy Friday 17 December 2021 13:26, UK Motherwell manager Graham Alexander admits Tony Watt's future is in his own hands after the striker turned down a new contract offer. Watt has been linked with several English Championship clubs after scoring a career-best 10 goals already this season, and is free to talk to other teams from January with his deal expiring in the summer. Motherwell manager Graham Alexander says it's up to Tony Watt to decide where his future lies after he rejected a new deal with the Fir Park club. Alexander said: "He's one of a number of players who are out of contract who we have offered contracts to. Each player has the right to either say yes, say no or negotiate. "At this moment Tony has turned down the contract that we offered and the ball is in the player's court now to decide what he wants to do for his future. "We have made numerous offers to players and we will see how they progress over the next few weeks." Watt joined Motherwell on a short term deal in February 2020 after training with the Fir Park side. The ex-Celtic striker then extended his deal until June 2022 and has become a favourite at Fir Park as he impresses in each game he plays. Alexander added: "We can't really compete with a Championship club, or even League One, and some League Two clubs - in fact, a couple of National League clubs, which we've lost players to in the summer. "We understand where we are. We feel we make a great environment for players from the football side, they all understand where we are on the financial side, that there are a lot of teams within the UK we can't compete with. "We understand where we are in the food chain, but we feel we can certainly make players feel valued, they can progress their careers here, they can win games, so there are a lot of plus points for us to attract and keep players."

For what it's worth, The Sun reports that contract talks with Tony Watt have broken down https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/8137217/tony-watt-quit-motherwell-contract/

Morton win the replay on pens

Thought the Bois were on top form today. Hardly stopped singing all afternoon, even when we were behind.

Motherwell v ICT/Morton on Jan 22nd

Looks like the worst of it will be today. Hopefully tomorrow won't be as bad.

Stuart McKinstry made his first EPL start for Leeds today, away to Spurs. Chris Cadden outstanding for Hibs as they beat Sevco 3-1 in League Cup semi final.

https://twitter.com/MotherwellFC/status/1462054370498027521

SOD starts for Scotland against Denmark tonight.

https://mobile.twitter.com/MotherwellFC/status/1456980940337541123

Zander Clark replaces Liam Kelly in the Scotland squad. SOD still there.

Game ON