Lobey_Dosser

Very welcome signing. Given how determined O’Donnell is to represent Scotland, the return of international games prior to the start of the new English season has played into our hands here. Wonder if Grimshaw may get a stint in midfield now.

Robinson going in hard on the players early doors, ‘We are playing with 7 men...’ Campbell, Mugabi and White name-checked for their positive contributions.

Two well taken goals but there wasn’t much else to get excited about. We look to be lacking in confidence, not helped by a shaky defence. I said before he signed that Jordan White would never be easy on the eye but he could prove effective, I think that will be the case in time when his hold up play improves. How he got 90 mins tonight though with Watt on the bench is beyond me. Not for the first time this season, a baffling call from Robinson. Difficult to see us getting anything at Easter Road.

By and large, Hartley had a very good impact last season. IIRC, he really settled the team down when he first got a chance. As for Tait, I don’t really get the love, he’s looked done for a while and Grimshaw, who merits some of the recent criticism, comfortably kept him out the team. I’m not really sure what to make of our start to the season. I put Monday down to poor team selection but we didn’t see much of a reaction yesterday. Hopefully it’s just a case of getting up to speed but if so that’s frustrating as the opening fixtures were favourable. Personally, I’m a tad surprised we haven’t switched formation this season. Our 433 has been sussed out for a while and when we don’t have any natural fullbacks for now, it’s difficult to see it prosper. Also, the two ‘wingers’ are key to this formation and for over a year now, we’ve yet to be convinced who we can rely upon - the contribution of Hastie to date is concerning, he looks absolutely miles off it. Hopefully Campbell, Turnbull and Gallagher can take the team by the scruff of the neck and get us playing at a higher tempo with more purpose this week.

Yesterday was my first time using the service. Picture quality was good and I’d imagine the sound issue will be ironed out going forward. Just out of interest, who is our commentator? Also, I understand the need to count every penny but I thought our media team would have been all over some pre/post match chat. Even just 15 mins either side would offer a far more engaging experience.

Seedorf for his impact. McGinley thankfully came onto a game 2nd half.

Poor performance, really poor actually. Not surprising though, the unusual pre-season wasn’t ideal for forging a best 11 from such a big squad. Hopefully we can look more purposeful and sharper come Saturday. I struggle to see how we fit Turnbull and Polworth into the same team though. Biggest question of the night is around Campbell’s 90 mins on the bench...

Agreed, it may be perceived as an upside by the board though.

With the transfer window opened until Oct and little English football during Aug/Sep, this is the perfect opportunity for Scottish premiership players to showcase their talent. There is no need for players or clubs to rush into anything.

Pleased to have Hastie back, a welcome addition to our wide options. Long replacement aside, that must be us just about done with incomings. Im slightly surprised but impressed with our ability to bolster the squad in the current climate, particularly when any potential for crowds to return earlier than anticipated appears to have been knocked on the head.

I fully understand the return of Hastie would generate mixed feelings amongst the support but I’m all for it. One of my biggest gripes in recent times has been losing some of out best prospects before making many or any first team appearances. So while the circumstances aren’t perfect, I’d be happy to see him kick start his career at Fir Park and bang in a few goals. The idea of Campbell, Turnbull and Hastie lining up together, even just for a short spell, is an appealing one.

The speed at which the lockdown relaxation is moving, socially distant crowds may well be permitted come August. We may have indicative dates from the Govt. come 9 Jul.

I love it, such a design has been touted on here before. Disappointed to read a sponsor will be added prior to release though.

I’d fully support the calls for financial prudence as most fans will. The club will be working towards multiple budgeting scenarios just now relating to the cost of testing, the cost of making Fir Park and the training environment ‘covid secure’ and the obvious impact of closed doors, followed by the likely tentative introduction of socially distanced crowds. With that in mind, I’d be more than happy to go with a small core squad filled up by youngsters. For any club that is relatively cash rich however, never has there been a better opportunity to acquire one or two gems at a time when players have little bargaining power. Maybe we could get involved in that if we can build a financial cushion with the sale of Turnbull, Campbell or Gallagher. I’ve not had a chance to look but has there been any chat around youth/reserve team football in Scotland and England? If the cost of testing proves prohibitive, that opens the door to another pool of players looking for first team action.

While I understand the sensitivity around furlough, I find it a tad surprising that the club haven’t commented on this. This would be something I’d want to know before purchasing a season ticket. As admirable as it may for a provincial club to resist Govt support, solely plugging gaps with transfer and season ticket income while others are using furlough, would put a club at a significant disadvantage to their competitors.

I’ve watched Jordan White a couple of times on the tv since we were linked in Jan. As his record shows, he’s not a prolific striker and a I didn’t see enough to judge his link up play. He has the movement of a typical number 9 though so I have a hunch that he’d be a useful addition. I’m interested to see how Motherwell and other clubs go about their transfer business, given the uncertainty over the new season. Is it viable to insert a clause that covers the possibility of no training or games for months to come?

Nah, companies are entitled to top up the Govt contribution to cover 100% of wages. What an employer can’t do is reduce hours/salary then ask Govt to pay 80% of it. If clubs opt to furlough players, it means they effectively go into cold storage. No club led training regimes, no appearances on club media, no phoning fans etc. Aberdeen have opted not to go down this route as McInness wants him and his coaching team to retain contact with the squad. They are obviously in a far stronger financial position than most Scottish clubs though...

I was wondering about this. Will the prize money still exist for distribution? You would hope tv companies will still honour their payments... Growing speculation this morning that European football will be off until September.

No the right thread for this but current death count in Italy will predominately relate to those who caught it well before shutdown. The ‘evidence’ around social distancing is further afield.

This like any other UK sporting event, really shouldn’t be going ahead imo. The Govt policy of ‘herd immunity’ while social distancing has proven to stem the tide in other countries, concerns me greatly.

I’ve been looking forward to this for a while but with lockdown looming, it feels rather irrelevant now. From a sporting perspective, the precautionary cancellation of Man City Arsenal due to the Olympiakos connection highlights the domino effect. It’ll be interesting to see what the spfl do should we get to the stage that the season can’t be completed.

I felt a bit emotional towards the end of that. Superb content from the club. Clearly the boy has the mental strength and dedication to match his talent. Fingers crossed he goes on to reach the level he was destined for and he’s representing Scotland come the summer.

Delighted to see Murphy prove the doubters wrong in such style. Sadly, his form does rule out any chance we have of signing him,

Fair play with the spirited comeback, credit to manager and players for almost turning it round. Failure to beat St Mirren over 210 minutes though underlines the lack of quality in the squad. On the bright side, don’t need to worry about any Hampden disappointment with Motherwell this season. I can leave that to Scotland...

We’ve had very good results and remarkable form but there has been a significant drop off in quality of player from this time last year. After being in a mess, the likes of Hibs and Killie look to be functioning much better than us now.