Kmcalpin

So, we'll have Slattery, Goss, Donnelly, Cornelius, Tierney and Maguire. Is Grimshaw a midfielder? O'Hara is out for the long term. Crawford - will he leave? Number of allowable subs might rise to 5. Injuries and suspensions? Would it allow us to move to a 4-4-2 line up? On paper you might be right but midfield is mix of types and skills and I can only assume that GA sees a need for another player in the engine room. Liam Shaw can also play in central defence.

It might be justifiable; we just don't know, as little or no evidence has been presented so far to underpin the decision.

Arbroath will be well aware of the rules, whatever they are, just as Falkirk were.

Barry Maguire signs a new deal until 2024.

Spot on Allan. This smacks of desperation and just like something Dundee would normally do. Not the kind of player normally associated with St Johnstone, where in past years, effectiveness has always taken clear precedence over entertainment. Yes, he was never an out and out goalscorer and is probably just past his prime now.

I don't know the actual mechanics of any likely deal but yes you're right. So, a rival club, United, want to sign one of our better players and for us to take 2 of their unwanted players off their hands and wage bill? Aye right!

Another rumour: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tony-watt-dundee-united-fast-25834114

At no point did I say that a player shouldn't build a rapport with the fans. However Tony Watt has probably said too much or, as I said, been a bit theatrical at times. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. Its quite ok to have good relations with the fanbase without being OTT. It will be up to GA as to whether he plays or not and I've no problem with that. However, a conflict of interest could well arise when we play Dundee United or are neck and neck with them for a top 6 slot. We don't know exactly what discussions have taken place between the player, his agent and our management. From GA's comments this morning it doesn't seem as though there's been much recent contact and that may be a factor. Like you I don't want to see any player punished for looking for a "better deal", but this is not what its about. Its about what is best for MFC. If he doesn't move in this window and is benched or sent to train with the youngsters it will be because the manager thinks that that is best for the team, not because he's being petty, spiteful or vindictive. All the best for 2022.

I'm with Melvin on this. On paper we're in a very strong position but in reality I'm not so sure. I like what I've seen of Soland & Ojala but they do seem injury prone. Mugabi has been a constant rock this season but has yet to extend his contract. Lamie was/is injured and has yet to sign a new deal - reportedly being monitored by English clubs. O'Connor is largely untested, on loan and currently injured. Others are simply back up. Donnelly just returned from injury and O'Hara (makeshift at best) is out long term. Maguire is not a central defender and neither is Carroll. Early days but we need to get central defence sorted for next season. That said, the management team will be well of aware of issues and have demonstrated so far that they like a big strong central defence.

Two reasons, David. Firstly he has been badge kissing and playing up to the fans for some time now. You'll remember that he jumped up onto the East Stand barrier wall for example. He also said that he liked it at Motherwell. Now I'm not against anyone celebrating when he scores a goal for us, but these actions were more theatrical than most. The first time that news broke publicly about him turning down our offers and stating his intention to move on was 10 December. Talks had apparently broken down. Now these talks don't just start and conclude in a day or so they can take weeks or even months. So while he was playing to the fans its likely that he had decided to move on at the end of the season. In short he built up unrealistic expectations. He would have been better advised to tone down the rapport with the punters. In fairness, he's not the first nor will he be the last to do this. Secondly, the leak about moving to Dundee United. This occurred on Christmas Eve, just before we were due to play our final game before the break. Very odd. Now he could have been negotiating a move with United since 1 November and thats perfectly fine. Someone leaked news of the PCA to the press. Now that could only have been himself, his agent (surely acting on his permission), Dundee United or "a source close to". This has been fairly widely publicised in the press most notably by the Courier. There was no need whatsoever for this, unless it was designed to instigate a move next month. Many clubs and players sign players on PCAs, including us, but very few publicise them so well in advance unless they're trying to pressurise the selling club into an early move. Not professional or courteous in my view. Had the leak come from the player or his agent, without the approval of United it would have been very risky indeed. How would he know that United had the cash to sign him next month? He's bound to have known the fallout it would cause at Fir Park and if he didn't his agent certainly would know. It might have caused a rift with United. No, the most likely explanation is that it came from United who used the press to their advantage. Now its no secret they want to strengthen their striking department next month. Once the story had been leaked to a compliant journo before the window opened United, Watt and his agent could afford to lie low and keep quiet - job done. The leak had achieved its purpose, by pressurising our club. I'm sure there's much more to this than I know and I may have made false assumptions but thats my take on it.

Yes there are some who get very worked up at a player leaving us and I get that. At the other end of the spectrum there are those who almost, and I say almost, encourage a good player to leave us. However many, myself included, accept that its part of our business model, and players have a right to move on. My grouse is how its done and in this case it leaves a lot to be desired.

Yes. KVV may outscore TW but he can blow hot and cold, is a little injury prone and has a questionable temperament. Who steps in if he is unavailable? There's also no guarantee that Conor Shields will remain completely injury free.

Depending on what stage the negotiations are at, he could have/could take heat off himself by making a simple statement. I've no problem with him moving on, just the way that it has come out. If he had said some time ago that he liked our club but was thinking of moving on as this would be last big pay day; football is a short career (or a similar form of words) and he would try his heart out for MFC as long as he was our player I don't think many would have taken umbrage at him.

If thats the case, he would earn very roughly 26 x say £1,900 which would come to about £50K. We're reportedly looking for a 6 figure fee. Even if my arithmetic is a bit out I'd think the remaining part of his contract wouldn't come near £100k. However, no doubt theres a lot more to it than that.

The fact that he was given a fair wedge of cash from his transfer certainly helped to keep him onside.

Thats yet another very valid consideration. United are one of our competitors for a top 6 slot so why help them? Why give a sucker an even break? From what I hear they're desperate to land a striker. If they've struck a "lucrative" deal with Watt thats a chunk out of their budget. If we hold onto Watt they'll have to move for someone else in this window, paying out again from their current budget.

Saw a curious thing just before Van Veen took his scoring free kick. The ref sprayed a mark on the turf to indicate to the Livingston defenders how close they should stand to the kick taker (10 yards) - common practice. However he also sprayed a mark next to the Livingston defender to indicate to our attacker how close he should stand to the wall. Never seen that before.

Odd that United are being coy now. Keen to speak to the press when it suits them then they clam up when it doesn't. IF a deal is struck, we should insert a clause to prevent him from playing against us this season. That shouldn't be a deal breaker.

The club will know what their selling price is. Reports suggest that we are looking for a 6 figure fee, which could mean almost anything. I'd be looking for £200k at the very very least, but given he's the Premiership's top scorer would try for a fair bit more. Conclude the deal at 11pm on last day of window. Two sides can be awkward. If United won't meet our figure there's no deal.

A good win which we deserved but it was far harder than it needed to be. I'll go against the grain here and say we missed Watt's general skill up front. That said Van Veen did very well. Not our best performance by a long way but we did the job to end 2021 on a high. .

2-1 and it was on the cards when we sit back.

Brilliant cross and goal

We've scored a cracking goal but done little else. Giving Livingston too much time and space around our box. Feel sorry for our strikers having to feed off airborne scraps.

Midfield has been anonymous.

I assume all 500 fans didn't come on the same train/bus?