one m in motherwell

It's unfortunate that Grimshaw has left, as he'd really come on to a game since McGhee took over. It's encouraging however that we are actively pursuing other targets - I can see one (if not two) loan signings coming in, probably a direct replacement for Grimshaw and a more attacking minded midfielder if Thomas goes out on loan himself.

Law would be a great signing providing he could recapture some of his form before he left us. The only downside is that he's perhaps a bit too similar to Pearo, albeit with a bit more to offer defensively?

I suspect that'll happen in the summer. Providing Marvin continues to perform as he has been, of course.

If nothing else, it's a (probably fairly hefty) wage to be used elsewhere. I'm a big fan of Lionel and would be pretty disappointed if he were to leave, but given the outlay we if in January (and again in the summer) I'd imagine we wouldn't be in a position to say no. There's a ready made slot for Thomas there, as McGhee doesn't seem to favour two out-and-out wingers, but it would be a big loss. Still, if our much vaunted scouting system comes up with the goods again then I won't have too many complaints.

That's the first time I've seen us since McGhee came back, and I was pretty impressed. Moult was fantastic, with a work rate that was second to none and some really intelligent play. Fundamentally, we looked much more enterprising and positive, and whilst we're not at the level that we were at during his first term, you can tell that McGhee has had a big impact, with three or four folk breaking forward at a time. We really should have been three or four up at the break - a few times we got into excellent positions but the final ball was missing. Dundee came back into it during the second half, and I wish we would have kept the pressing game up rather than trying to contain them. Ultimately, all minor things given the score line. For all he's a hard worker, I was a bit disappointed with Skippy. I know he's a good bit older, but on a number of occasions Moult or Marv had broken forward but Skippy was a good few yards behind the play. If he's going to play like a ten, then the team needs to be set up accordingly. He's not quite right in a 4-4-2. All told, a comprehensive victory that could have been double what the final score actually was. Pity we have Celtic next week but feeling pretty confident going into the Christmas period.

My first home game of the season, so looking forward to it. By all accounts we're starting to turn a corner under McGhee - in a way I'm glad its a gradual improvement rather than the typical new manager bounce you see, which never sustains itself. Moult and Marv for me in a 2-1 win.

At the same time (ish) as Faddy and Pearo were breaking through, there were a few others who always seemed to be knocking on the door but for whatever reason didn't follow. I'm thinking Kenny Wright, Jamie Ewings, Willie Kinniburgh...of those three you'd say that Kinniburgh did alright for himself.

I think there's a lot in this. I'm not necessarily sure there's some cloak-and-dagger mismanagement (as such) going on behind the scenes, I just think that the fundamental quality of the squad isn't what it should be. There have been numerous cases of players from the English lower leagues coming up to do a job (look at the likes of Humphrey and Law for us, and the likes of Tansey at ICT), but Baraclough seems to have failed pretty badly in spotting potential. Let's be honest, panic signing or not, he did sign Tony Straker... The new processes that seem to have been implemented - fitness coaches, an improved scouting network (so we're told) - seem to have been more Les' baby than Ian Baraclough. There's scope to build on that but the focus needs to be on getting a proven man manager who can get the best out of the limited talents we currently have.

Aye, get Craigan punted. Impostor etc. In all seriousness, why bother? New manager on the horizon will inevitably result in a change of approach. I'm glad we've now got a bit longer to get someone new in and get some time with the team over the break.

Seems to have a reasonable pedigree - some kind of performance director with the FAI as well as spells with Groningen and the Indian national side.

Last season's signings were poor, although probably more down to panic in hindsight. This season, despite my previous post, not bad on the whole - Moult and Kennedy probably the standouts. Fuck knows what he was thinking with Taylor and Robinson though.

I don't think Baraclough was an active fraud as such, in that I don't think he actively set out to deceive anyone. His biggest flaw was massively underestimating the standard of the SPFL and tailoring his signing policy accordingly. That, and a frankly baffling tendency to shoehorn players into positions they'd never seen before, in the hope that it worked. I'm surprised we didn't see Tony Straker up front at all.

Hah, it does have a distinctly orange tinge...

McIntyre and Dodds would be a bit of a gimme for Utd. Couldn't see Wright leaving. More than likely Mixu will go to Tannadice and we will appoint from left field. Encouraging to hear Flow talk about the quality of the candidates applying, but it's so important that we get it right this time so for me there's no issue with us taking our time. Wonder if we'll hear any more after the board meeting today.

I don't think we can be too critical of Craigan's tactical setup today. It wasn't about trying to put a marker down or to try and sell himself to the Board, and I'm pleasantly surprised that we made as many changes as we did (comments from earlier in the week being acted upon perhaps?) By all accounts a workmanlike performance which retained many of the Bara era hallmarks, albeit with the benefits of having Pearson back, and Jake Taylor dropped. Craigan came across in the pre match interview as being very humble, so we were never likely to see him ripping everything up after two days handling the first team.

That's an interesting point. I also heard the board were expecting to have 70 applications in by the time they meet on Mon, so a lot of thinking to be done. Which makes me think that someone is lined up rather that them trying to prepare a shortlist, interview and then negotiate, all in the space of four days? Interesting times...

I wouldn't be overly keen on Macnamara. No idea why, but just don't get a good feeling. Mixu seems like a shout. His chat on the radio was interesting, I got the impression that he'd been informally approached and given the chat about us wanting someone in place by next weekend, it wouldn't surprise me if it's his to turn down.

Perhaps they've been kidnapped by Bara? Seriously though, if they had arrived then I'm sure we would have heard about them at training, or at least heard their names!

Just following what I said earlier - I wouldn't be averse to Craigan getting the job full time if he does well in the next few weeks. He's obviously someone who knows the club, and was party to the recent issues - he's well placed to knock some heads together and get any muppets hunted.

I wouldn't be too surprised if we paid compensation if it meant getting the guy we want. The board can't afford to get it wrong twice in a year. As for who? God knows. The experienced hand approach makes sense for now but none of the usual names fill me with much excitement. The English lower-league contact route hasn't been particularly great for us either. I've thought for a while now that looking at the lower Scottish leagues could be fruitful (certainly some good examples that have been a success), but don't really know enough of the names to suggest anyone.

Les' comments are interesting. By the sounds of it, it wasn't the likes of Las, McManus etc who were in the middle of whatever scuffle happened last night. Las all but confirmed that things got physical too. Not that it really matters, but I wonder who it was. Either way, it sounds as though the players were as unhappy as we were. Hoping for a reaction on Sat.

Skippy might put a lot of effort in but he's been gash so far this season. Not helped by the fact that he's been played miles out of position.

Fuck, can we just put ourselves down for a 0-1 defeat and get it over with?

I would agree with most of that - however, the fact we were in the playoffs last season should have been the line in the sand you mention. Yes, new players will take time to bed in, but the problems are deeper than that. Even last season it was apparent that Baraclough didn't have a Plan B, but we sucked it up (largely) as he'd inherited the bulk of the team from McCall. Now, however, when you assume he's brought in a group of players to fit his system, there's really no excuse for the kind of knuckle-dragging football we've been subjected to. What happened to the fast, pressing game we were promised? Did the players he'd identified for that turn us down, and instead he's decided to sign as many strikers as possible in the hope that it'll work? He's completely out of his depth. I'm sure he's a nice guy but he's shown that he offers nothing.