sinjy

I remember a few years ago reading somewhere about our club having a tradition of terrific left backs. With Stevie Hammell nearing the end of his career and the no football weekend I spent some time looking into this. As you can see from the table below it looks like we have had only 7 regulars in the last 70 years. However there have been others who have filled gaps in the timeline. Baldy Shaw 1946 to 1958 256 League games Bobby McCallum 1958 to 1968 157 Joe Wark 1968 to 1984 464 Tom Boyd 1983 to 1991 252 Rab McKinnon 1991 to 1996 152 Steve McMillan 1993 to 2001 152 Steve Hammell 1999 to 2006 215 2007 to 2016 253 Significant other left backs Pat Holton 1956 to 1959 played 69 games between Shaw and McCallum then sold to Chelsea Matt Thomson 1961 to 1969 played 172 games and filled in at left back between McCallum and Wark although Matt played in lots of different positions during his career. During Joe Wark's time with Joe either injured or playing at right back. Chic McLelland 1979 to 81 played 51 games Ian MacLeod 1978 to 1986 played 243 games although he played lots of different positions with only a few at left back. Derek Murray 1984 to 1988 played 95 games Jim Paterson 2004 to 2008 played 108 games and exactly half of them at left back in seasons 2006/7 and 2007/8 when Hammell was at Southend. The games and seasons played are thanks to a terrific web site http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com which lists only league games played. ( I believe Neil died recently and the web site may no longer be being updated but it is still a fantastic site)

I remember George coming back to Fir Park to play for Queen of the South and he got a great welcome when he took his place in front of the old enclosure. He was a real cult hero very fast but the crowd and probably himself did not know what he was going to do next.

It always amazes me how a player out injured becomes the messiah and the answer to all our problems. Moult may well score some goals but just wait for the moans on here when he doesn't score in his first two games. We do miss him however. McDonald is not a lone striker but he links the play well but needs another player beside him. Johnston has been rotten since the speculation around him and hopefully when the window closes he will get his focus back. I like the three summer recruits Tait, Heneghan especially and Clay although I hope his second half fade outs are due to lack of fitness and that can be sorted with time. By all accounts Chalmers played well at Ibrox and I thought he did well yesterday. So all you who are quick to condemn a player give them time. What I am trying to say is that people on here are either all sugar or all shite. We will never have world beaters but give players time and support them always.

I cant understand the vitriol on here against Hateley. I thought he was a very reliable right back. Full back is probably the easiest position to play in the whole team but he was good there if a little lacking when he played in midfield. I have never spoken to one MFC player in the last twenty years so I know nothing about player personalities but if people are condemning him because he or his dad was an arsehole then that is up to them but I will always judge a player by what they do on the park and Hateley's level of consistency and fitness levels were top notch. He honoured his contract and moved on. Get over it.

Id like to see the Laing wage used to get a box to box midfielder in for six months on loan from England. We can then see if he is any good and if not Pearson coming back will fill the hole. McHugh Clay and Lasley are too similar. Neither of them seem capable of running past the front players to give us scoring chances or making the killer pass to open a defence.

Got to agree with real dosser. Cadden did nothing apart from his tap in. He was caught in possession countless times and was the obvious player to be substituted. For me Clay was better than Lasley and when McHugh is fit it might be time to rest Keith. For me our problems are in midfield where the balance is not right. Too many defensive players and nobody willing to make runs beyond the front players to create chances. Heneghan continues to impress and after his nightmare at Celtic Tait did well. Somebody near me remarked that Chalmers looked nervous and lacked confidence. I thought he did alright but when he made a mistake early in the game there were clear murmurings from the East Stand. It seemed as if some people were just waiting on their chance to get on his back. Ask yourself if being negative towards a player helps his performance before shouting abuse. Give the guy a chance. I thought Marvin tried too hard at times. I hope the transfer speculation is not getting to him. As for Skippy he is not a lone striker but once again he missed the first part of pre season and just like last season looks off the pace in the first few weeks. The report on the radio in the car on the way home said the first goal went through Samson's legs and as for the second! Lets see what Brill can do at Ibrox next week.

This is more likely to work against us than for us. Kidderminster will be looking for something if Marvin gets sold and Wrexham too if Moult is sold sometime in the future.

I expect we will sign someone from The Championship/ League 1 in England on a six month loan with an option to extend. These leagues start next week and squads will be being finalised and those who are surplus/ needing games will become on the market. I also think that Pearson will be back in January. If the loan player works out then we will be in a strong position then to offer him an extension if finances allow and with Pearson back our midfield will be OK.

I expect Marvin to go at the end of the window if he goes at all this time. With all respect to Annan and East Stirling putting in match winning performances against them is all well and good but scouts will want to see how he does against better opposition. Good performances in our first league games against Killie St Johnstone and Rangers will be a better indication if he has kicked on this season and worth the money posters on here expect.

I thought I read somewhere about a manager moaning because teams could not play trialists in the league cup. If that's right how are we able to play Lucas?

Anyone else remember the chant that went around Fir Park? McInally-Hoy, McInally-Hoy McInally,McInally Hoy Hoy Hoy? One of my favourite players from the late sixties. Very sad.

McHugh seems to tick all the boxes. He is young, and can play a few positions. He played CB in the League Cup Final for Bradford a few years ago. He also turned out at left back for them. Derek Adams converted him into a defensive midfielder. With a small squad a versatile player will be important to us. However of course whether it is a good signing or not will depend on the most important factor, his ability.

Good news. I hope he is at Dalziel Park this morning knocking his pan in so that he is fitter at the start of this season than he was last year when it took him two months to get up to speed.

One of the justifications for the increase in season ticket prices was that there would be one more category A game now that Rangers were back in the league. This means the club were expecting a third Old Firm game. They will have included this when planning the budget for the season. At the very least there has been a cock up by the board or more likely a lack of communication from the spfl.

Surely the point is that teams that get four home games against the arse cheeks earn around £120,000 more for their extra two games against them while Motherwell, Partick and Hamilton play an extra home game against the likes of St Johnstone, Ross Co or Dundee. Budgets are very tight at every club. I have no idea what wages a good SPL player gets but if it is £60,000 then the difference in the fixtures could mean that the clubs who are getting two more home games could be getting in two more quality players. These clubs are our immediate rivals. I am pretty sure that all clubs would have budgeted for three games against Rangers or Celtic. Some clubs have got an unexpected increase in their income while others have seen a reduction. That cannot be right. I loathe the Old Firm as much as anybody but the money we get from their supporters should be distributed as fairly as possible among the rest of the clubs. The SPL have cocked up again. There may be a slight plus in that we have more home games against teams around our level and so have a better chance of beating them. Others have pointed out other cock ups like Thistle and us playing Aberdeen and Ross Co at New Year while each could have been playing each other. Just one example that illustrates that no thought is put into creating the fixtures. The whole episode does little to restore confidence in the SPL.

Things will surely start happening this week as players return from their family holidays. I hope McDonald makes a quick decision. Last year he delayed until well into pre season training before signing. His form at the start of the season was poor for the first few weeks because he had missed the pre season. When are the players due to start pre season? Hopefully we will find out who the four new players are soon.

Very pleased that McManus has resigned. He missed one game last season at Ross County where Laing and Kennedy played centre defence and we were awful. Fans often do not appreciate the influence certain players have. McManus came to us as a past Celtic and Scotland captain and maybe has not lived up to that level. However I believe he is probably the most important player in our squad. Hall Kennedy and Laing will all develop under his influence. I now hope McDonald resigns. As for Hammell and Lasley I am neutral. They have been great servants but they did leave for better money in England before and will have done well out of the game. McGhee will have had some say on the level of money offered to them and this will reflect how important he sees them being next year. As others have said Hammell is injury prone and Las is 37. They are getting some coaching experience with the 20s so they may want to stay because of this. But if a middle level championship club wants to offer them more than us then let them go with our best wishes and thanks.

That doesn't half put the SFA in a spot. Weren't we responsible for the trouble at the end of the play off game as we were the home team and had responsibility for stewarding and safety. It was our fault fans got on the pitch and we were severely warned that there would be serious consequences if it happened again. Hence the huge steward presence and big bill for us at the St Johnstone game. So I take it the SFA will take full responsibility for everything that happened after the game today. Will they fine themselves?

I have a vague memory of a game at Montrose in the League Cup in the late 60s. In the days of only one substitute we named goalie Peter McCloy as sub. During the game he came on and Keith McCrae who started in goals went outfield and scored a goal. McCrae played quite a few games outfield during his time at Fir Park. Can anyone else remember this game or I am I mistaken.

I agree with bigweegiedosser. McManus talks the young centre backs through games. He had played for Celtic, had umpteen Scotland caps and a good career in England. This raised the expectations among our support. His performances on the park have been quite good but maybe not as good as we all expected with his history. However I doubt if we could get a player with his experience with the money we offer. His influence on and off the park is only something we fans can guess about but McGhee speaks very highly of him and that is good enough for me. He is for me number one priority to resign from the 5 who are out of contract.

Does anyone know how we lined up. The BBC web site (I Know) had us with a back four of Hammell Hall McManus Johnston Midfield of Cadden Lasley Gomis Pearson and Moult McDonald up front Surely McGhee did not play Hammell at right back after Tyncastle.

Of the 5 my number one priority would be McManus. I think he has a big influence on the young defenders. He is also younger than Las and Hammell. Next I'd take Hammell. As for Keith he will be 37 and I think he will only be a bit part player next year. He could maybe get a job as player coach at a championship club and if he did should go with our best wishes. Not too worried about Samson one way or another and as for McFadden if he is on any more than washers I would not be signing him. McGhee said in his press conference today that all the out of contract players had been offered deals. Does this include Jack Leitch?

As an aside, if we've offered him a deal and he opts to move on I guess we'd be entitled to compensation. This may be exactly why we have offered him a deal. If we don't he will leave for nothing. It might be a minimal offer that he won't accept but allows us to claim compensation.

I thought Ripley, McManus, Kennedy, Cadden, Johnston and McDonald were all in the hunt for MOM. However every one of them made a mistake, a bad pass or a wrong decision at some point in the game. However Connor made only one error and it was costly. Despite this I still give him man of the match. And how about Johnston and then Cadden ripping the piss out of the latest over hyped Old Firm player Tierney. A dozen games for Celtic playing in the least pressurised defence in the league and he gets a Scotland cap. Joe Wark will be turning in his grave