David

Let's be honest, a game against St Mirren is just going to be like our upcoming games against teams like them in the league. We could go out and win 3-0 while looking amazing or could get cuffed 3-0 and look terrible. Or anywhere in between. It's a coin-toss really, and it's what keeps things interesting.

Based on what? Do we know definitively what the yearly wage bill is of Kilmarnock, Ross County, St Mirren, and Livingston? Having a quick look at their transfer business, I can say that those clubs are signing players I've at least heard of and have Scottish football experience of premiership level. Kilmarnock have picked up Kyle Magennis, Matty Kennedy, and Marley Watkins while paying a fee to sign Lewis Mayo from Rangers. Ross County has signed Eamonn Brophy and Scott Allardice and has paid actual money for around five players. St Mirren signed mostly dross, from what I can see, but paid a fee for one of said dross players. And Livi has signed Mikey Devlin from Hibs, who I've at least heard of. The key factor in all of this is those clubs have someone, or a group of people, with actual money in reserve. We're fan owned. We no longer have that luxury. And money will be wasted by Kettlewell also. It's the nature of the game at our level. Basically, throw enough shite against the wall and see what sticks. Take a gamble on five players and hope two or even three pay off. So we have Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen, and Dundee United as the largest top six clubs, most likely. Do we then come after those clubs as the next biggest? Depends on the criteria, I think. If it's based on money available, then no chance. As highlighted above, Ross County has paid actual money for five players this summer and has an owner worth somewhere in the region of £300 million. Even Dundee, although mismanaged of late, has been pulling in crowds similar to ours while they were in the Championship. They're also a city club. I certainly wouldn't rank us as a top six or seven club in Scotland based on finances, or fanbase. See, the fans always say that, but do they really want that? I've mentioned a few times when we've all been discussing striking options that young Mark Ferrie has looked good in his runouts this season. But most fans don't want to look at him as an option. We're all waiting patiently for the club to announce another lower-level English league signing with single-digit goal return most seasons in their career. Every mediocre signing we bring in on a six or twelve month deal is just another useless body who will see game time before someone like Ferrie does.

Damn. That's one thing off the list that you can moan about this week then.

Nope. Any dodgy links need an official link to source from. And there's no official link.

Isn't Ferrie a striker? I'd have given him a runout today. He looked quite good when he came on previously.

Has Theo Bair actually signed for us? I haven't seen one word about it happening other than someone saying that he was one of two incomings who would be signed "tomorrow." That was on Thursday.

No Ferrie, which is a bit disappointing.

From what I've seen, I'd rather we started with either Wilkinson or Obika up top with Ferrie. Both Wilkinson and Obika up front together isn't ideal for me.

I think people are reading way more into this than there is. The club has shown that if a player wants a move, they'll happily facilitate it. If Efford is looking to leave, I don't think he needs to feign injury to do it. Any potential suitor willing to meet the conditions set by the club will be accommodated, and let's be honest here, it's Joe Efford we're talking about, not Kylian Mbappe. If he does want to leave, it'll be for a minimal fee (if any), so I don't see why he'd need to do what some are suggesting.

I noticed that there was a test screen on the home page this morning, so maybe it'll change by tomorrow. Hopefully, it will.

And the way to win a move away from a club is by pretending you're injured and not playing any games? Will that attract potential suitors?

On a separate note, I see the club has said that the match against East Fife will be audio-only for all MFCTV subscribers. Wonder why there isn't a stream?

Personally, I didn't get that from what he said or how he said it. He sounded frustrated for sure, but I think that's more to do with the situation than anything else. And Efford is likely just as frustrated. No player wants to be sitting on the sidelines.

I think it's clear that those judgements have been made already, regardless of where we are in the season. The die has been cast, so to speak, as far as some are concerned. We're Motherwell. We undoubtedly will sign some flops, and we will go through a spell where we look gash. That's all it takes to fuel the fire of certain forum members, so I expect the same chat as we get every season from them.

I'm not one for pessimism or kneejerk reactions, but I'm a tad worried about the signings this summer.

Well, a player would need a crystal ball to know if they'd still have clubs wanting to sign them after they've knocked them back previously to remain at Fir Park to complete their "apprenticeship."

You say that he should have "completed his apprenticeship with us" then moved on, as if it's a given that a club like Leeds would come calling again a few years later? As I said previously, that's not how professional football works. It's not a three or four step program. What if he'd stayed with us and not made the grade? Or run into a similar issue as the one he faced when here on loan? A manager who didn't fancy him and a team that was shit? We've happily cut loose players like Corey O’Donnell, Daniel Hunter, Kian Speirs and Logan Dunachie without a second thought. What's to say McKinstry wouldn't have ended up suffering a similar fate? Nah, when a club like Leeds come calling, you make the move. Any "apprenticeship" he could complete playing in a Motherwell team in the SPFL is no better than working with coaches like Marcelo Bielsa and training alongside the kind of players Leeds had, in the facilities that Leeds train at. Football is a short career. You make the money when you can, because once it's all over and done with, it's the money that will be paying your mortgage or setting you up for the next stage of your life.

The thing is, you don't know if you're going to get that regular game time if you stay, do you? He could have knocked back Leeds, and a manager like Kettlewell comes in and doesn't fancy playing him. What then? It's like when people say that Hastie was wrong to leave for Rangers. Was he? He came back pretty soon afterwards and it was clear that his run of form was temporary. If he'd stayed with us he'd likely not have progressed much beyond what he did when he came back on loan. Truth is, you never know in football. You strike while the iron is hot, and you grab your chance when it comes. Because it's not always guaranteed to come back round in future. There's too many variables to be knocking back good money and the chance to give it a try at a higher level. You stay at Motherwell, get a bad injury and drop out of the game entirely. It could easily happen. So no, he wasn't badly advised. He was advised to sign the contract where he'd earn the most money, and where he'd be given the opportunity to train and learn from players and coaches higher up the food chain. He didn't make the grade, but he had to give it a shot. I'm sure he'll wind up at another club on a similar level to ourselves, and kick on from there. The only difference is he's got experience of living down south, training and playing with coaches and players at a high level, and his bank account likely looks a lot better.

That's very true. I still think we'll see what Kettlewell is really made of this season.

The big difference is that Kyogo and Maeda are better players. My point is, Tierney isn't too lightweight. There's other lightweight players in the league who do just fine. If we're saying he's not good enough, then that's a different discussion. But this idea that Tierney being lightweight is what is holding him back just isn't true. I'm just not all that impressed by who we've brought in, and who we've lost. I also wasn't impressed when he said the following about Danzaki: “Riku, technically, you can understand why he was brought to the club for a particular style of play. That has substantially changed, in terms of formation. Riku would probably indicate he is a number 10. I have not played with a number 10 at times. “I see it a completely different way, so that would probably let you acknowledge why it could be difficult for him at times to get in. ” I'm not necessarily saying Danzaki should have been kept, but the noises from Kettlewell about how he doesn't really accommodate a number 10 type of player is alarming in my opinion. Maybe that's because I grew up watching football where that type of player was considered a real asset to have. Someone who can change a game with a pass or a run. I don't see us having that approach now, and while we did get results the second half of last season, I still wonder how much of that was down to Van Veen and how much was down to Kettlewell. I guess we'll see this season, because I don't see us having anyone close to Van Veen's abilities this season.

Really? I'm sure I read that he was up next May. I doubt it makes much difference mind you, because unless we end up with a different manager next season he won't be playing.

This belief that smaller players are "too lightweight" has surely been recognised as absolute nonsense now that we've spent a few years watching Celtic players under 5'8 and weighing ten stone soaking wet absolutely tearing the leagues big, strong defenders a new arsehole on a weekly basis? It's about getting in the right players, and using a formation that suits them. We do neither. It's working for us just now because we're fresh off a 2nd half of a season with Van Veen playing like Mbappe, but with his goals now gone there's every chance we end up looking like the team we were watching in the latter half of Alexander's run. Devoid of creativity, and full of big lumps who aren't capable of playing football. He won't. He'll be looking to make an impact so he can sign for a new team when his contract with us expires in May of next year.

Personally, I'd be more inclined to give young Ferrie more game time rather than the likes of Obika and/or Wilkinson.

By "marquee signing" you mean another big player from the lower reaches of the English game with a patchy goalscoring record and no real creativity and skill? I don't think it will make much difference. The manager has made it clear we don't really facilitate players like him. Smaller, more mobile creators who operate in a "number 10" type of position.

While we obviously need to trust in Kettlewell to get the squad in place that he wants, and the type of players who can play in his preferred system, I need to admit that it does worry me that we're seemingly chasing a fair chunk of our players who have an element of skill and creativity about them. Who are we left with that could be considered creators of sorts? Spitall and Slattery? And both Wilkinson and Obika are in the "big lump" mould, although I'm sure I saw it said that Wilkinson is good with the ball at his feet despite being 6'3 or whatever. I've not quite seen that element from him to this point but maybe he will come good. I'm happy enough with the no-nonsense aspect in our defence, where it's needed at our level. Casey, Blaney and Butcher will do just fine. O'Donnell has looked decent enough so far down the flank, and McGinn is decent enough in a few positions when needed, while Pape is an unknown quantity at this stage. Midfield concerns me. We currently have Maguire, Spittal, Slattery, Paton and Miller, along with the new lad Davor who is seemingly a defensive midfielder? With Tierney away that's another player gone who could do something creative with the ball, even if he's not had much chance to show it. Same with Danzaki. He didn't really get much time to bed in, but it was clear from the outset he's not a Kettlewell player. Unless we sign a few creative types, where is the creativity coming from in that midfield? And up front, we've got two lumps up top in Wilkinson and Obika. Efford is quick and skillful, but again, he looks like he's on his way out from what I'm hearing? Again, we need to trust Kettlewell after the results he's gotten, but this current squad looks very ordinary and bereft of any kind of creative spark at the moment.