Kmcalpin

I feel much the same way Ian. I'm not a connoiseur of strips in any way and the strip seems "ok" to me in its own right, but I don't like the socks ( a small issue in the great scheme of things). However my main beef is that it hasn't any connection to MFC and indeed has closer connections to a rival team ie Livingston.

No problem with a ballot of season ticket holders, but it could have been split into 2 separate games to allow those who can only attend one to pay for that one game though. Overall no complaints though.

That is my preference too. The precise design could still be altered significantly every year.

Not fond of this top. It's more typical of East Fife or Livingston. Little or no connection to Motherwell. Still if it brings us good luck on the field I won't complain.

Very pleasantly surprised by this deal. Kelly was very good for us last season and I didn't think we 'd be able to secure him for another year, even on loan. He'll certainly add a safety net as our last line of defence. Quite how we've managed to land him, and on a 3 year deal I really don't know. Possibly he has some kind of release clause built in, but who knows.

Have we any more pre season games arranged apart from Millwall. Did we have one yesterday?

I'll believe the Liam kelly rumour when he's signed. Agree though that we need another central defender, if not 2, and 2 midfielders, including a creative one, which we badly lacked last term. Liam Donnelly might be ok in the holding/defensive role, time will tell, but we also a decent box to box all rounder in the Gorrin style (minus the yellow cards of course)..

Now for the midfield and defence.

On paper and on screen Van Veen looks to be a good signing. Hopefully he can remain injury free. It remains to be seen what our best striking combination will be.

They've been interested in him for a month or two Gordon. Maybe United would offer to pay a larger percentage of his wages?

I assume that the club thinks S'OD will be off soon and that Max Johnston isn't quite ready yet. That then begs the question, where is Liam Grimshaw in the pecking order?

Is it outwith his remit? As I understand it he is Scotland's National Clinical Advisor. A medical professional employed to advise the Scottish Government. The decision about opening up stadia and events is surely a political one and up to our elected representatives.

A general story I know, but this news was on the BBC website this morning. I thought that when young players under 17, moved on any fee received was determined by strict and widely accepted compensation rules. Can they sign professional contracts before reaching 17? If so, United are up to their old tricks again of throwing money at young players. I know the source for this story is probably unreliable, but this seems to go against everything I thought to be true. Given the lad's age, 16, I would have thought that any development fee would be very modest. By comparison Allan Campbell was with us for a good number of years from an early age, left in his early 20s, played over a hundred first team games, represented his country and will probably earn us a development fee of about the same ie £400-500K. Are United at it again? "Dundee United head coach Tam Courts believes the Scottish Premiership club are in a strong position over Kerr Smith's future despite Leicester City being keen to activate a clause in the 16-year-old's contract that would allow them to sign the centre-half for a reported fee of around £500,000."

A link to the Dumbarton FC twitter site which shows footage of their goal yesterday. https://twitter.com/Dumbartonfc?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Absence of Carson, Grimshaw and Donnelly is slightly concerning. Lamie and Mugabi also missing. All that said how many players can a manager select in one game?

SOD's international performances have confirmed what many of us knew already. He's better attacking than he is defending.

I think that some posters are more interested in other posters' comments than they are in our club's activities Busta.

No, just a change of regime at the SFA that is actually willing to implement suggestions without bowing to vested interests.

Donnelly is more of a defensive/holding player. The issue with Crawford and O'Hara is one of quality.

We'll see. Rules on outdoor gatherings have been and still are inconsistent and their enforcement/application equally so.

Presumably a few more signings on the way. Of the 3 we have made so far, I'd categorise all of them as being punts or risky if you like. That's OK up to a point. However I'd like to see us sign some solid experienced pros, at our level of course. All of our punts may be a success but equally they may all be failures. Reality may be in-between. The caveat, of course, is our playing budget, which is limited.

We have some very promising emerging talent in the form of Gilmour and Turnbull, who may fulfill their promise. Others too may emerge. However our fortunes won't change until our entire system is taken apart and rebuilt. If we were to start this tomorrow it may bear fruit for major tournaments in say 10 years time. There is no short term fix.

Plenty of effort tonight, but a lack of quality in midfield and up front.

I thought he was about 27 when he signed?

Some truth in that but what about Dougie Arnott?