Ya Bezzer!

Always preferred Oracle.

This is fucking murder. I'd go take the dog for a long walk but I don't have one.

Good luck paying players in eyes.

It would be if that was the total cost. More likely the whole package, with transfer fee, signing on fee, wages and bonuses plus other costs, would have been at least £500k and probably more.

Gannon had funds, Brown doesn't. Simple as that.

If you exclude Rangers and Celtic, the Tippeligaen is probably as good as the SPL, if not slightly better overall. Aalesund are currently fourth with 18 matches played so perhaps you could expect them to be a similar standard as Hearts or St. Johnstone normally but perhaps under the circumstances (they are in mid season we are just starting) it would be more the equivalent of a Hibs or Dundee Utd. We'd probably expect to beat those teams at home, less so away. I think it will be a tight affair, probably about 50/50 and it could come down to a wee bit of luck.

Does that mean Humphrey won't lining up against Aalesund?

6 against Rangers but also 6 in two matches against Steaua, 2 against St. Johnstone, 3 against St. Mirren, and goals conceded to Flamurtari and Kilmarnock.

Hutchinson has 8 starts in which we've conceded 19 goals and only kept 1 clean sheet. I've been impressed with him but are we all thinking about 2 maybe 3 games and forgetting about the rest?

He's a good prospect but he's not going to oust Craigan or Reynolds from the team and a guy like Steven Saunders is a couple of seasons ahead of him in terms of first team experience. He might just have to sit tight for a while. I reckon if Lasley or Jennings were injured it might be worth trying out in a midfield role, he's good on the ball and is a goal threat and not just at set pieces.

Rob Jones on an emergency loan deal!

We are a better team than Breidablik and deserved, just about, to go through. I never expected us to thrash them 4, 5 or 6 nil because Icelandic football isn't so bad but two wins was a decent performance from the team considering our level of fitness. No offense to Bliki but I'm pretty sure if we'd played them in November or December we would have doubled our aggregate score.

Their goalie has been quite good, catches the crosses comfortably and that was a good save.

Turn the flood lights on!

For the record our European scorers are 5 - Stevie KIRK, Jamie MURPHY 4 - Ross FORBES 2 - Alex BURNS, John SUTTON 1 - Dougie ARNOTT, Tommy COYNE, Nick CUSACK, Billy DAVIES, Shaun HUTCHINSON, Paul McGRILLEN, Bob McHUGH, Shaun McSKIMMING, Paul SLANE

Working on Safari.

Joint top with Stevie Kirk, I think. EDIT. Yep, Kirk scored 2 against GKS Katowice and 3 against HB.

Murphy! I was waiting for that to be disallowed for some reason. Hopefully we can go in at the break 1-0 up now and get some confidence from that goal.

Where is Forbes playing? Out left or behind the strikers?

Yeah, running through the opposition with the ball. Shitebag in the tackle? I'll bet he won more fouls than any other player in recent times, when O'Brien was getting kicked, elbowed, pulled, hauled down and chopped you were probably stuffing a pie in your face.

He'll get a good reception from me where ever he goes but I highly doubt he will end up at Celtic in the immediate future. First of all he is earning much more in the Premiership than Celtic can pay him - why would he take a step down in wages? Secondly he is 27 years old, he is entering his peak years as a footballer - why would be take a step down in level when he should be playing at the highest level? I could maybe see him coming back to Scotland at 31 or 32 or something like that but not at this stage in his career.

I'd like us to challenge for the top 6 but I don't expect us to finish top 6 and if we do its a bonus. As others have said there are 6 city clubs in Scotland with a lot more resources than we have and normally you'd expect them to take the top places. I'd expect us to see off Breidablik and would like a run in at least one of the cup competition but generally I'm happy if a) we play reasonably well and b) we stay clear of the relegation zone.

I think you were watching a different match because Hateley, Humphrey and Sutton were probably our worst three players and even our best players on the night weren't by any stretch of the imagination "outstanding".

Gannon had money to bring in players (McGhee comp, Quinn, Clarkson transfers) Brown hasn't had anything like that to bring players in. As for Gannon's brilliant transfer policy a mere season later Mouataoukil, Jutkieiwcz, Ruddy and Coke are history, and Hateley had to be signed up by Brown during the close season. 12 months after he appeared all we really have Gannon to thank for is Jennings since Humphrey hasn't really done anything yet.

How many Motherwell players have scored double figure tallies in 3 different seasons in the last ten years? In terms of goals he's our 4th top scorer since we were promoted in the mid eighties (only Kirk, Arnott and Coyne scored more) and is in the Top Twenty SPL goalscorers since the leagues formation. He was also, by my reckoning, our best player for his last final two seasons by some distance which is why we got one of the biggest fees for him the club has ever received. He even won Scotland caps while at the club and is probably the only Motherwell player to score an international goal for Scotland while at the club for 40+ years.