livivoice

Sorry to hear that the big man has had to retire at the relatively early age of 34. I know that he hasnt always been everyone`s cup of tea but for me he was an excellent servant to the club. Prior to his injury in February he was since signing back in 2013 largely injury free. Since signing apart from the odd wobble he was for me often the glue which kept our defence together . This was all the more important as he regularly had a different partner beside him and had to nurse these players during games. I am sure if you had to ask players like Hutchy, Laing ,Ben Hall and Heneghan [ amongst others] they would all say Mc Manus was an important influence on their careers. Also I always found him approachable and happy to talk. Anyway best of luck in your new career and if there was one tie I will always fondly remember your contribution in it was the play off against Rangers. He was simply immense.

Seems that Rangers will be without both Krankjar [ sorry for spelling] and Tavernier. This is a boost as the suggestions coming out of Ibrox is that the Croatian was looking very good and that Tavernier was showing up well. Their absences should markedly reduce their threat from dead ball situations. As a wee digression I was speaking to a rabid Spurs fan who said that of all the Croatians to play for them he was of the view that Krankjar was up there with Modric in terms of ability and guile. I know it was some time ago but his absence I feel helps us.

On the back of the programmes for the Morton and Berwick Rangers games.

Noticed for last 2 home games that Las was listed as a player . I thought he had retired or is it that he is technically still registered to cover emergencies?

MacLean is back in full training and has featured in some pre season matches. A fully fit Mac Lean will be a major asset for us.

Yup , Steve did very well in central defence during the 81/82 season. I seem to remember him being our player of the year. Then Jock Wallace turned up the following season and as with so many of our title winning team he failed to get the best out of Steve. Steve then left Motherwell and basically drifted out of the game.

Agree 100%. Note for Dom Thomas. Check out the classy way Clay handled his departure.

" Open to ALL offers". Lets see hmn!......well we need a striker. Now if he and SR could patch up their differences I for one would certainly have the wee man back. He knows the set up , knows the players and is well regarded by the support. Worth a thought.

Cant agree with you singling out Eli. Frustrating sometimes but very often was unplayable because of his unpredictability. He was also a great `out` for the defence whenever we were under the cosh. Borderline cult figure. As for Woods in that Scottish Cup tie I have to say that I have seldom ever felt so shit [ in footie terms] after that mistake . That tie was ours as witnessed by the many Rangers fans streaming out of FP.

Mabye nothing in this but there are suggestions in Pie and Bovril of a link between DT and Kilmarnock. Even a suggestion of a player + cash deal for the winger Jones who Robinson knows from Northern Ireland. Could be interesting.

Got to disagree about Dembele/Kipre comparison so much so that I am a bit surprised we have signed Kipre. Dont get me wrong he will get my full support and I recognise that as a young player he will develop. But watching him closely last night what I saw was a lad who clearly lost 2 headed challenges in the box and looked passive throughout. Dembele on the other hand was [ and yes he is 29] was more confident and self assured and struck me as the ideal replacement for Mc Manus if his full recovery from his long lay off is delayed. Yup I recognise that Dembele may have other rings in the fire and that our pressing need for a CB has led to Kipre`s signing. But as I say I have my doubts about his signing. Then again SR clearly knows more than me. So lets roll the dice. Meanwhile I was really impressed with Bigi. I also see a player in Rose who on the strength of the 2 games watched I suspect will be our enforcer . Also encouraged by Tanner who I think will begin to establish himself. As for the others its too early to say. Overall encouraging and that includes Bowman who has shown more in 2 half mattches than he did for the bulk of last season. Onwards and upwards.

Echoing the views of the majority that there is little to be concerned about on what was the first match a cobbled together team has played. Seeing the game from the home stand [ hospitality] I yes we were not easy on the eye in the first half and could have been behind----fortunately Darren Smith remains as unconvincing as he was when with us. Aint going to get into a lather about individual performances. My only comment was that from where I was sitting I felt the new guys were trying to hard and as we know when that happens problems occur. But the longer the first half went the more settled they became. 2nd half was a stroll. Dembele, Mc Hugh and Gordon impressed. Onwards to Thursday and a much harder game. Will still reserve judgement on players until September at the earliest.

These dates had been set aside for a friendly but no opposition had been mentioned. Dont see any mention on official site. Unless its been reported elsewhere anyone know if this date and opposition has been confirmed yet.

Apologies if someone else has posted something like this before. My point is that remembering we have in back up to the first 4 picks the likes of Campbell, Clay, Tunbull, Mac Lean,Thomas [ and for that matter Lasley] I find myself wondering why Robinson has given a high priority towards getting another midfielder? Dont get me wrong I am happy with the players already tied up this close season. Its just that I am a wee bit concerned that Robinson may be leaving himself short when trying to improve IMHO the more needy area of defence. Perhaps Robinson sees his signings as replacing Mc Ghee`s boys like Cadden and Frear who many of us would regard as first picks? Thoughts.

Looking at Tanner`s build and the type of goals scored he has a wee likeness to a certain Andy Walker. Promising.

My thoughts entirely. `There is a light that never goes out`.

Apart from the football side which I think gives us a good chance of progression in the tournament I am hoping from a personal point of view that we play Edinburgh City and Berwick Rangers away as these are 2 venues which I have never seen Motherwell play at. Yup I know I am pretty sad but with another unvisited venue being Stirling Albion on July 1 my `bucket list ` is nearing completion. Now, where did I leave my plane spotting book?

Reassured to see that Scott Mullen is discarding our link with Willo Flood. Accepting that it was only one game I went to Accies match last Sunday against Utd. Flood was way off the pace and unable to match the determination of the Accies mid field. To be fair to him he wasn`t alone as the other Utd players really struggled. 5-6 years ago Flood would have been a good addition but no longer.

The league split. For example apart from the sizeable financial gain this has given to teams trying to get into the top 6 inc tv and added sponsorship we have often found that by way of generating greater interest for the common punter we have found that deep into the season almost every club has something to play for. Compare this with how things were before the split was introduced when for clubs like ours swimming around in the middle of the table there was only boredom and monotony. Recognising that it is admittedly over 40 years credit should also be given to the footbaling authorities for ditching the old 2 division set up . This set up is best remembered for crowds at fir park of regularly just above 2,000 when we played other `middling` teams who as early as February were neither going to get into Europe or relegated. Credit where credit is due .

Anyone know what the script is with the goalie Oliver Pain who like Gordon was on loan to us until the end of the season?

Not being at the game yesterday I was wondering if Moult gave any signs to the support when being substituted [ or after the game] whether this was his last game i.e. giving away boots, strip etc.

Interesting what people thought of Keith`s very subdued body language at the end of the game. Got me and others thinking was this him retiring or has he been told he is not being kept on. Another possibility was that he was simply exhausted after his efforts in the game or was it the cumulative effects of the pressure of the last few weeks. Thoughts?

On Mackin I was quite impressed with him in the early part of the season. But if the play off first leg was anything to go by I don`t think Robinson would have been too happy.. Mackin looked less than mobile contributing very little. It was no surprise when he got hooked early. Mackin`s body language didn`t inspire either. On the other hand as Mackin played for the whole of the second leg mabye he had just an off night first time around.

Perhaps nothing in it but I was sitting behind our manager last Wednesday at the Airdrie/Alloa play off match. He must have been impressed by Andy Ryan the scorer of the only game. Only 22 he struck me as very similar to Louis Moult in his application, bravery, readiness to come back and help the defence and above all eye for goal. Ryan who is the 1st division POY and league top scorer got the only goal of the game. If Louis leaves then he could be in line to come to FP. Downside is that he may still have a year of his contract to run therefore attracting a fee. Other players to impress were the left back Mac Donald and the player of the match a certain Simon Mensing!!!!!