Lobey_Dosser

Leave Murphy up front for 90 minutes and he will be fine. The boy is not a wide player and is only getting knackered because he has to constantly run back and plug gaps. He had no bother lasting the 90 minutes when we beat Hibs 1-0 in Feb/March. He never gave their defence a moments rest that day.

There is no other Scottish defencder on the same level as Davie Weir. If Broadfoot was playing for Motherwell, he would be a standout performer. I like Reynolds and think he may have an international future but it won't be at centre half. He needs to show that he is capble of playing left back or just in front of the defence. Think he would have benefited greatly if he had continued to work under a mentally stable Jim Gannon.

Dorrans must be a shoe-in for a start.

I'm a big fan of Hammell and feel he is generally underrated by Motherwell fans but he didn't kick on enough with his career to nail a Scotland call-up. To be honest I think he has been content playing at the level he has over the years. When he looks back on his career however, he may regret not pushing himself a wee bit further. He definately had the ability to make it at a higher level.

Talk of dropping Humphrey is madness. Humphrey is the type of player that will benefit from the intelligence of Gow. When everyone is fit, Gow will be in for Hateley or Lasley imo.

Delighted to have brought in a player with quality and pedigree. If we are going to success from him, he needs to play through the middle imo. Would have been nicer to get him on a longer contract but I'll settle for the fact that I believe we have a player that will make watching Motherwell a more pleasant experience.

Murphy will always be best at playing right up top. He is a clinical finisher and leads the line perfectly well for Scotland Under 21s.

Poor show from Motherwell. I'm sure we will bob up along just fine in the league under the stewardship of Brown & Knox but I'm depressed by the sheer lack of quality in the squad. Despite having some poor teams over the years, we have been blessed with some really good attacking options over the piece. Murphy apart, we don't appear to have much to get excited about at the moment. And my fear for him is that he is going to have to play out of position to cover the shortcoming so fthe squad. Really hope the likes of Forbes, Pollock, Page and hopefully Hutchison are given the opportuntiy to break through now.

Shite season on the horizon. I imagine a few clubs are maybe holding back with signings given the distinct possibility that there will be no relegation this season.

Fair do's. I only take an interest in Man United but given that they are bang on 25 I'm surprised with some of they figures.

I might be wrong but I don't think many Premierships teams will have squads over 25.

Aye, there is a replacement and a half for Juke.

Given that Hibs didn't make a massive profit from Stokes I can't see them offering £400k for Murphy. They are more likely to go for Clarkson on loan.

Wigan chat supposedly a mile oot.

Good old days.

We should finish around mid-table, I imagine we may well be squeezed out the top 6, not that it matters a great deal in the grand scheme of things. With regards any transfer activity by tomorrow, I'll be slightly perplexed if we sign anyone of noteable quality. Surely if the money was there, we would have got the players in prior to the most lucrative game in our history.

MDW and MFC, you two are taking the pish the night?

I agree with that to an extent but my point is that for the benefit of Motherwell, it would be better if our players were playing together week in week out.

Lasley has his weaknesses but he was head and shoulders above anyone today. Generally speaking mind you, he should only ever be playing a defensive role in midfield. I do agree with the senitiments of anti-football. We played better stuff under Malpas FFS. There is no willingness to keep the ball. No wonder the players are knackered as it's all kick and rush. I've heard a few folk saying that we don't get the break of the ball. I'm afraid that happens more often than not when you are hitting hopeful balls up the park.

Wouldn't mind playing the likes of Raith or QoS away from home, albeit a tricky tie. When is the next round scheduled for?

Penalty for me as well. Not a red card though given the close proximity of Reynolds. Regardless, it was schoolboy stuff to let Maloney through on goal from so far up the park.

In relation to the talk about how poor the midfield is, what has happened to Tom Hateley? Under Gannon last season he was picking up the ball from the defence and spreading the play. Whether it was a 5 yard pass sideways or a ball pinged out to the wing, his distribution was immaculate. Indeed, for much of the season he looked one of the most technically gifted players at the club. He obviously struggled towards the end of last season and like many I put that down to fatigue and doubts over his future. Given that he signed a 3 year contract in the summer, I expected much more from him at the beginning of this season. Not sure if he is hampered by an injury, poor fitness or our style of play, but he looks a mile off the pace this season. Anyway, I really hope we can get a midfielder in by Tuesday evening, whether it's a creative force in the middle of the park or someone who can offer us a bit of balance on the left, it would add a much needed new dimension to the team. If we do manage to get the midfield sorted out then I'm confident we will start to see the best from Sutton & Murphy.

The abundance of players getting sent out on loan highlights a big flaw in the Scottish game for me. Young has done a great job with the recent Under 19s team with an impressive number getting signed up on long term contracts. Due to the absence of a Reserve/Under 21 league though we need to send them out on loan. While I appreciate they need to get farmed out for 1st team football now, surely it would be of greater benefit to the players and the clubs if these players continued to play with each other week in week out for another year before really being able to make a push for the 1st team. No disrespect to the likes of Albion Rovers but the amount you are going to learn from these clubs is limited.

Today was dire. While the hangover from Thursday may be a fator, it shouldn't paint over the cracks. We offer very little composure on the ball and have no craft or guile in order to unlock defences. As much as I like Craig Brown, the long ball tactics won't do us any favours this season.

Desperate for a bit of composure and creativity in the midfield. And if we are going to persist with the long ball pish, at least put 2 strikers through the middle from the start. Murphy is wasted wide left.