gullane

A wee club like us is dependent upon developing young talent like Jim O'Brien. He's not the finished article but possesses sufficient flair to stand out against many SPL players. I hope Grandpa Brown can persuade him to stay. However he is a free agent, been messed about by Gannon and unsure who the next gaffer will be at Fir Park. Let's not set too much store in young Slane. He is only a very young prospect who has to date, shown a glimmer of talent.

Good shout - but my guess Strachan will take him to the Championship. He'll be on £8k+ pw as well.

Anyone who met Smith always remarked what a gent he was - always had time for the fans. Sorry things didn't work out for him down south. Good luck to him.

Elliot was a favourite of mine. By not returning in the twilight of his career he will remain so. I'm old enough to remember the young, Brian McLair, not the has-been that returned in his mid-thirties.

He may have been a Gannon discovery but I hope Craig Brown encourages Giles' creativity and he sticks around. I think JG's tactics stifled Giles. How about playing him in an attacking midfield role?

Can't think why we would want Gus - or he to want us!

Heard through a pal of one of the players, the squad love being in Craig and Archie's company. Their experience and knowledge of the game is awesome. Given we currently have a group of players who lost respect for their manager, now would be a good time to have someone who merits instant recognition for his abilities and enthusiasm. What's more, Craig Brown has great affection for Motherwell FC. OK, I'm sold.

One of the sad realities now Gannon's gone is this story will now simply dissappear. But having formally registered concerns and queries to the Referees Committee, what was the eventual response? I personally regard referees as human and mistakes form part of the game that is football. However, having watched Scottish football for 40 years, I have to confess this season I can't put some of the refereeing down to just mistakes. Some performances recently have shown either an inability to read the game, or weak communication skills with players and coaches. Gannon got pelters for speaking up - and the media played on this, making him a loudmouth. But has Dallas and Smith ever come out and informed the media of plans to develop refereeing in Scotland, what measures are in place for offering feedback, and how referees' performances will be measured? Why does the SFA not adopt the procedures of the English FA? That is all Gannon asked. I hope this story doesn't go away.

Maybe now Yassin's away we should start a new Right Back thread. I would now but feel I need to respond to Sieb. At present, I only identify one RB on the books - Saunders. Hateley could possibly fill in for a few games. But Lasley, Humphrey and O'Brien (remember Europa League) are emergency cover only. I trust Grandpa and Uncle Archie have an idea of what defensive talent is knocking about the UK. Whoever comes in, we need a good positional tackler and passer, not another wing back.

Given the progress JG made with the young players, and a need for some club allegiance, I only think of one name - Chris McCart.

Having spent the last 20 minutes reading through this thread, I'll try not to repeat anything - or add to speculation. A poll on this board just last week, suggested the vast majority of Steelmen Online members were thoroughly satisfied with Jim Gannon's performance over the six months. I personally think he was a breath of fresh air and think he would have made real progress over a long period. Cheers for all your efforts JG.

If Gannon's too intricate a manager for you, perhaps you could consider a seasoned Scottish gaffer like Heggarty. He's available too.

These days £20k is 6 months wages for a player in the SPL. If that's all we can get for JOB, let's have it and sign someone young who wants to develop under Gannon.

Everton and Ruddy need to act in their own best interest. The way John's form is at present, I believe the best option would be to extend his loan here to give him a whole season of regular 1st team football at a good level. I don't see him replacing Howard yet but by next season he could be knocking at the door. I don't see the point in Everton selling him either. I assume he is still under contract. Sadly, the one scenario I know we'd all like, is probably way out of Motherwell's reach. We can't afford him. Let's enjoy him while we can.

Interesting signing - if true. Most Well fans liked him, but it's a good few years since he was here. The fact he hasn't been heard of much suggests his form has long gone.

Ruddy. What chance of us picking him up on the cheap now? He put himself in a shop window Motherwell can't afford to spend in.

O'Brien has not played with the flair he did earlier in the season. Like Forbes and Coke, he deserves to be rested. However, everything said here about him being affected by Aberdeen speculation is speculation in itself. Maybe I'm just speculating here, but Jimbo could be affected by folk speculating about speculation. Whatever, I hope he comes back to the team soon.

Jennigs or Lasley in for Forbes - although Coke needs a rest too. Too many doom merchants around. Remember this is the poorest Old Firm sides we've seen in years. Merry Christmas from the Mighty Well - 2-1 to us.

mmmm.... I've a feeling you're all reading too much into this interview.

Well said. Taking Jim Gannon's philosophy on developing youth, I think we should drop all discussion on Foran and Lovell. Regardless of what you think of them, it's simply not what Gannon is about. I agree the side needs more creativity in midfield. There lies potential already in Humphrey and Slane on the wings. Someone with their pace and crossing ability can feed the likes of Jutkiewicz and Sutton. Since the former is just on loan, I anticipate another striker arriving. In defence, we still have Craigan as a squad player. I believe the only way he should leave is with the arrival of fresh defensive blood. I have faith JG will have identified defensive targets. We stand the risk of losing Reynolds anyway. This may bring in funds but he will still need to be replaced. So far as who we bring in - I bet it will be like the Summer - we won't have heard of any new signings before. They will all be under 23 as well. With regards the exit door - the only stonewall departee is McGarry. I don't think he even trains with the first team anymore. The other players mentioned for moving on are either in the squad (Lasley and Craigan) or injured (Fitzpatrick and Smith). I have every faith in JG. The squad that started the season was stronger than the one that finished 08-09. Come January 31st, I predict we will be even stronger.

I suppose Ruddy will get it for his 1st half saves but those overlook some of his distribution from hand in the 2nd. Suicidal at times. Tom Hately gets my vote for battling away.

I'm back from game. We looked tired and well beaten today. Hibs were stronger but we helped them look even better than they were. First half we kept possession but created nothing. Second half we just gave the ball back to them all the time and had some suicidal defensive moments. I thought Coke and Forbes looked particularly tired. I was one who called for Lasley to feature today - but he offered nothing when he came on. We need fresh faces for Old Firm.

Not only are they the only team to beat us, Hibs also produced the best football we've seen this year. I thought their midfield ran all over us 2 months ago. We need to close down and tackle in the middle of the park and not sit back too much in defence. I see Sutton and Lukas staying up front but hope to see O'Brien back to feed them more possesion. Maybe Murphy should drop to the bench to accommodate him. Following on from another thread, I'd also like to see Lasley start - in place of Coke. I'm piss poor with predictions - so I'll take us to get thrashed 0-3.

So have we now reached a consensus on Yassin? He's all right, no world beater and needs to work on his crosses. We are vulnerable on the defensive flanks just now because both full backs are being instructed to get forward as much as possible. Hammell and Yassin are playing IN postion. That is a management decision. I personally hope Yassin extends his stay and develops his skills.

With his recent stance with the media and now the SFA and Referees Committee, JG has clearly demonstrated one thing - don't f*** around with him. Gordon Smith and Hugh Dallas now have to demonstrate they are responding to his requests with genuine analysis and action. Any cute sound bites or waffle just won't wash. I really, really really like our manager. Good on ya Jim.