David

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.

Yet in our last game he was the runaway winner for Man of the Match according to members of this forum.

Here's a question. Do we give Mark Ferrie more of an opportunity this season? Or do we run out and buy yet another gamble from the lower leagues down south in the hope they can score us goals, but at the same time putting more bog-standard roadblocks in the way of a potential young striker from our youth setup? We're always talking about wanting to see the kids given a chance, but it doesn't seem like we're willing to actually do that.

Still very early in the season, and we're at a stage where we've likely not finished our transfer business (incomings or outgoings) so it's not quite the finished team yet. As long as we win these games and avoid disaster, I'm happy enough. There's always potential for slipping up this early, but we seem to be getting the results we need. Onwards we go.

Neither am I, but i'm led to believe that wasn't always the case with us in recent years. Just what I've heard mind you, so just an opinion.

It could also be the case that without a CEO in place, Kettlewell is more involved in proceedings than previous managers would be.

Another one? The lad is only 22 and he has three kids. I'm surprised he has any energy to train!

Oh, absolutely. I agree 100%, and my argument isn't that we should be giving players like Moult another runout at the club. I'm just making the point that those fans who say they think it would be amazing to see him come back and reclaim his status as our top goalscorer etc shouldn't be mocked for that. There's nothing wrong with being what I'd call a football romantic. God knows with the amount of oil money and cynicism in the game these days we could do with more old fashioned romanticism than ever before.

They don't place them on a higher pedestal than the club itself. The players you mentioned are considered by some to be cult heroes. Every club, no matter how big or small, has them. It doesn't mean the fans hold them in higher regard than the club itself. And like it or not, there's always going to be an element of romanticism in football. The idea of someone like Moult leaving, suffering injury woes, only to then return and lead Motherwell to success is something that a lot of fans would love to see happen. And they're always going to believe that club greats have one last run in them. And there's nothing wrong with that. If that makes them "misty eyed fanboys" or "trumpets" in you and a few others eyes, then I think that says more about you than them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the club should sign him. But it's the job of the board and the manager to be the sensible heads in situations like this, it's not on the fans to check their hopes and dreams at the door. If we all approached supporting Motherwell in the manner you seem to, we'd probably all be as dour and depressed as you seem to be.

Well, thankfully we have the likes of you and MJC to keep them in line, eh?

Both Lamie and Bevis have a year left on their deals, so I imagine they'll be here to see them out.

Why you seem to take so much pleasure in belittling and trying to wind up your fellow supporters is baffling. I personally don't think Moult has what it takes at this level now, sadly. But I'd never dream of mocking any Motherwell fan who still holds out hope and would love to see a fairytale ending.

Honestly, some of the patter in this thread is cringeworthy. The very notion that our kit designer and our club should take anything a group of laddies who bang a drum and wave flags in a corner of Parkhead think about our kit into account when making a commercial decision is absolute madness. That these guys actually take up enough space in Motherwell fans heads to even be a factor is mental. Honestly, who cares what they think? Or what they say? All this "we're just giving them a reason..." nonsense? You don't think they already have a million reasons in their deluded minds as to why we're all "secretly" Rangers fans? While the blue version of them in the other half of the city has their own little takes of those same reasons to think we're all "secretly" Celtic fans who hate "the Rangers." Interestingly, I come from a family that rests firmly on the green side of the divide. A fair number of Celtic fans, with absolutely no one making any kind of connection with our strip and anything untoward. Not a single peep from anyone. This is a case of a very small minority on social media making a racket, as is usually the case. It's bollocks, and that Motherwell fans are even giving a shit is astounding.

I assume there's no stream or way to watch this game live from afar?

Players with that pedigree who have been playing consistently the past few years wouldn't be anywhere near Fir Park. Looks like he's had some injury issues since a serious car crash when he was at Crystal Palace, and hasn't really kicked on since. I guess depending how the deal is structured it's a worthwhile gamble. Being as he was released by Morecambe after only being there for a few months I doubt he's come in on big wages. He'll either look really good and get a move in January, or look rubbish and disappear in January. Either way, he's an extra body in the door.

Is that you chose "your guy" for the season already?

It's not "end of story" though, because you're blatantly wrong. But let's leave it there. You clearly aren't going to budge, and I'm not going to tell you that you're correct when you're not.

It absolutely isn't the same at all. Those players would be "stealing a wage" if the manager wanted to pick them, but they were making up excuses for not being able to play, claiming injuries that couldn't be confirmed nor denied by the medical team and so on. Those players walking around the building aren't involved simply because the manager doesn't want to involve them. There's a huge difference there. They are still training diligently, making themselves available for selection. So they are fulfilling their side of the contract that they signed. They're not "stealing a wage."

I think both the home and away kits this season are winners. Like both of them.

None of the players mentioned are "stealing a wage." That kind of pish is ridiculous. There's players in our squad who simply don't fit with what the manager is looking to do. That's not on them, they're available for selection (if fit) and would most likely be happy to play if given the chance. Players like Shields can be accused of many things, such as not being up to the level needed, but of "stealing a wage"? Not for me.

Why is that lucky? Isn't that down to good planning, coaching, and spotting of talent? They tell the only story we need to worry about though. Lucky for us, predictions of relegation from pundits or fans means absolutely hee haw when it comes to what actually happens. The fact is, over the course of those seasons we put more points on the board than the teams below us. That's all that matters. You don't know that though. When we signed Van Veen very few on here were excited by his goalscoring record. When we signed Watt no one really thought it would amount to much. The truth is, we'll do what every other team outside the top five city sides do every season and work with what we have, make some signings, and see what happens. Some of those signings will be utter gash, but I guarantee you, if we revisit this conversation in a season or two we'll be having the exact same discussion about how we will be unlikely to replace X,Y or Z who have come in post-Van Veen and done a good job for us.

100% agree.

It's also worth remembering that even if we had offered him a contract, there's no guarantee he would have signed it. It's not as if he suddenly became good. His dad and agent would have known his talent levels, and would likely know that once he got a chance to show how good he was, the offers would be there. Offers which may not have been there had a sizeable transfer fee been required.

I shared those concerns as well when it came to McGinley, but that is down to the manager. And if the club is going to appoint him, they need to trust his judgement on which players he would like to offer contracts to. What I would say in the clubs defence is that this is a squad game, and while we'd all love for every player on our first team books to be first-team, regular pick level, that simply cannot be the case. Guys like McGinley, Carroll, and even Shields and Maguire for that matter are squad players. We need to ask how many high quality players are going to be happy coming to Motherwell and playing back up? Not many. So if we find someone who is a good professional, not going to spit the dummy if they don't play, and who will happily come in when required we need to realise that they perhaps have a role to play at the club.