David

That's an insane line of thinking, by the way. Sell a very good goalkeeper, who's one of the top three Scottish keepers around just now and hope that we can get someone else in who "isn't worse than Chapman." I notice you seem happy to keep Oxborough, despite him not having played a single game for us, and having played less than 50 games in his entire career at the age of 25.

I've updated the first post with the latest information. So, by my reckoning we're still looking to negotiate with the following: Max Johnston Dan Casey Dean Cornelius Sean Goss Mikael Mandron I think it's fair to say that both Johnston and Cornelius will be offski, so that leaves Goss, Mandron and Casey, correct?

He's great for a club of our level. He's saved us numerous points over the past few seasons, and has certainly won us more games than he's lost. Remember the debacle we had with keepers before he arrived? The whole Chapman/Archer nonsense gives me the fear to this very day. Nah, I'd rather we kept a keeper like Kelly than sell him and hope we can get someone at least as good.

That's ridiculous. Virtually all businesses, including football clubs, employ a system of separate budgets designated for different sections or departments within the organisation. This approach ensures that financial resources are allocated strategically and in a controlled manner, allowing for efficient management and decision-making. Rather than pooling all funds into a single account, businesses implement a budgeting framework that establishes distinct financial plans for various aspects of their operations. In the case of a club like ours, these may include budgets for player acquisitions, marketing and promotions, stadium maintenance, administrative expenses, coaching staff, youth development, and so on.

Exactly. I doubt the powers that be said to the manager "right, we're going to sort out the pitch and we're taking that money from your transfer funds."

I could be mistaken, but I reckon the money used for the pitch would likely come from funds specifically set aside for that sort of thing. I don't imagine we'd have taken money to "flatten the pitch" from the transfer budget.

Because the people charged with making the decisions obviously think there's more money to be made in going "outside the box" every now & then.

Well, he's played quite a few games for us, so he's clearly not out of his depth. I don't get this viewpoint that if someone isn't playing every game for us we should get shot of them. It's a squad game, and we need to have a selection of players for the manager to pick from. Guys like Cornelius and even Maguire are solid enough to be squad players for us. Especially if they're happy to fight for their spot in the team and won't throw a hissy fit about being left out. We're not going to have two starting elevens in our squad, we don't have the finances and appeal to do that.

I'm fairly sure that you (and most of the people who post on this forum, including me) aren't the target demographic of any new Motherwell kit. I may be wrong, but haven't our kits sold relatively well considering the lack of avenues available to purchase them from? Basically, the chances are that the designers themselves and the people they pay to come up with creations that people will part with their money for know what they're doing.

Again though, can't Butcher or Casey do the same shouting, organising and encouraging from defence without the armband that they'd do with it? I don't know if a rather public showing of non-confidence in one of our better players is the way to go. As for how we see him, it's more important how the players see him, and all signs would point to him being a good captain.

Why do that? Can't Butcher or Casey shout and point and do captain-y type things without the armband? All you'd do there is risk upsetting and causing issues with the very goalkeeper that we want to keep at the club. And for what?

Oh, I'm not saying his attitude should be bad whilst he's on international duty. I'm saying that he must know it would take a goalkeeping catastrophe for Clarke to even consider using him. Ever. Why waste your valuable time off with that? What's the point when you know you're never going to play? Personally, I'd quietly tell Clarke that he can choose someone else to bring along as a mascot and that I'm going to spend the international breaks with my children and wife.

Not for me on that last part. Good goalkeepers aren't just worth their weight in gold, but are incredibly hard to find. Even the top team in the country have the likes of Siegrist and Bain as their backups, which tells you something. Kelly is one of the best shot stoppers in the league, and has earned us his fair share of points. As much as Van Veen's goals kept us up, so did his saves throughout the season. A good keeper can make the difference between relegation and surivial.

And I'm not even saying Kelly should have been playing in important qualifiers, but if you want a keeper to be a backup and be ready if needed, play him in friendlies. Turkey, Poland, Austria. All chances to give him a runout. I'd personally tell Clarke respectfully, to shove it. Time spent on those trips with zero chance of any football is time spent away from family.

I'm hoping the same, although if he can move some players on and recruit to suit the system he's been using until now I doubt we can have many complaints. On the contract front, I'd posted this in the initial post to highlight those out of contract: Stephen O'Donnell Jake Carroll Paul McGinn Max Johnston Dan Casey Dean Cornelius Sean Goss Joe Efford Jack Aitchison Mikael Mandron James Furlong (on loan from Brighton) Ollie Crankshaw (on loan from Stockport) Stuart McKinstry (on loan from Leeds) Jonathan Obika (on loan from Morecambe) I know O'Donnell has mentioned that he's here for another year, but there's been absolutely nothing said by the club in an official capacity so I'm leaving him on there until it's confirmed one way or the other.

We'll sell him because I imagine he'll want to go, and anywhere between £500-£750k is reasonable money for the reasons I mentioned. There's absolutely no point in keeping someone who would rather be elsewhere.

I'm sure there must be better things for Liam Kelly to be doing in June after a long season than sitting on his arse in Norway and Glasgow? He's never getting picked for either game.

A striker who is the right side of 30 and who scores 30 odd goals a season regularly is worth a lot more than a million pounds. Van Veen, for as great as he's been this summer, is neither. Apart from this season his highest tally since the 2014/15 season was 15 goals with Scunthorpe in League 2 down south. Since that 2014/15 season he's hit double figures 5 times, including this season, and those double-figure seasons were at League One and League Two level down south, and Premiership level up here. If he does leave us, it'll likely be to go to a mid-level Dutch team, or a League one or two side down south, and they're not throwing over a million quid our way for him. £500k to £750k seems about right to me.

He got three votes, so he just missed out.

So, thanks to @weeyin and his consistency with the MOTM threads after every game, I've had a look at who has been winning those votes each game this season and compiled the following list of players who are, by democratic vote, considered the performers of the season for Motherwell. Leading the way with 7 MOTM awards, and of absolutely no surprise to anyone, is... Kevin Van Veen. Striker extraordinaire, lazy c*nt, budget Bergkamp. He's been called it all this season, but the one thing he absolutely is, is crucial to our success since Kettlewell took over. Top striker, top guy, let's hope he's still here next season. In second spot is... Matt Penney Not even at the club for six months, but it's fair to say he made an impression during his time in Lanarkshire. 16 league games, two cup games. 5 MOTM awards. Basically, he was voted our best player in almost 30% of the games he played for us. A very good player who most fans would loved to have kept here for longer. Third place in the voting is shared among three players who nabbed 4 votes each... Liam Kelly. The captain, and one of the best shot stoppers in the league in my opinion. He gets a bit of stick when he dips below the usually high standards he sets, but that comes with the territory. Sondre Solholm Johansen At the club for just shy of 18 months, the big man made an impression on the fans for sure. A bit of a cult hero, even if he had his deficiencies as a player. Always gave his all, and will be fondly remembered by most fans I'd like to think. Stuart McKinstry While the local lads homecoming didn't go quite to plan and he was slowly phased out when Kettlewell took over, he did more than enough to win the votes of fans in the times he did play. Will we see him at Motherwell next season? I doubt it. But he'll go on to do well somewhere I think. So there you have it. The players who secured the highest three votes in the season. Thanks again to @weeyin for running those polls.

Interesting. I'm guessing the club have activated an extra year on the initial deal that runs until June 2023. When he signed the new deal there was no mention of that, and there's been nothing said by the club about extending him.

Has he? I see nothing that says he's here beyond 2023?

Stop bringing stats and facts into the debate! That's not how it works! 😂

I don't think the man himself can make it, but he'll be well represented.

Aye, and just as the beautiful sunny days, which are perfect for football and for tempting fans along to stadiums, arrive our season ends 😂