David

Nah, wait a minute. I understand that there are some on here who are looking to back a player we've signed, and that's commendable, but let's not resort to just making shit up. Dan Casey signed for us from America and "had done fuck all of note"? He had played nearly 100 games in the Irish league by the age of 23. In his second season, he was part of a team that finished 3rd in the league. He also represented Ireland at youth level. I clearly remember when he was touted as a potential signing here, the overwhelming opinion was that he looked solid and had a lot of potential. While you're right, there is no point in getting overly excited or overly depressed, it's what we do. If every single signing was met with measured indifference until they had played 10 games, there'd be zero point in this forum. We come here to speculate, discuss, dissect, and deliberate. Especially in the summer when there's been next to no football. But none of that changes the fact that us signing Theo Bair is a really strange piece of business. Look, I'm not one for criticising the players or manager. Sometimes to the extent that I get hit with the classic "happy clapper" tag, but this one particular signing makes absolutely zero sense to me. This isn't a young guy who's shown potential but not had the chance to show it. He's someone who's actively accomplished nothing since he "burst onto the scene" and rattled in three goals in three years at Vancouver. Fans of every team he's ever played for will tell you that he's not a professional footballer at the level we're playing at. It's that simple. Of course, I hope he somehow turns it around and shows that the past four years of his entire career have been one big underachievement and that he's able to do something he's never shown a hint of yet. Not least because we've handed him a two-year deal, which is even crazier. Unless he breaks the habit of a lifetime, we're going to be stuck with someone who simply isn't good enough. Nah, he'll just be astounded that he hasn't had to drop down to the semi-pro game in the US or Canada. That call from his agent telling him that after St Johnstone, one of the worst teams in the division, finally terminated his deal has been followed by Motherwell wanting to give him a two-year contract, is probably the best call he's ever received. And fair play to him. I hope his agent gets paid well because he's done some job.

Just for even more perspective, Stevie May scored 10 the season before the one you mentioned, and has hit double figures five times in his career at varying levels and for different clubs. The most Bair has managed was four in one season, where he played 17 games in the Norwegian second tier. He's played in 92 games during his career and has scored eight goals.

If I was someone like Mark Ferrie I'd be looking at this most recent signing and wondering what kind of confidence the club has in my abilities if they're signing the likes of Theo Bair. Bair will be basically another body in the way of Ferrie getting game time I'd wager. Which is pretty disappointing.

Let's be honest, "breaking through" into an MLS side basically consisted of him being picked up on an MLS homegrown pre-contract by Vancouver, which doesn't really mean all that much. He was one of five kids signed to such a contract. It's basically the MLS equivalent of us signing one of our youth players to a professional contract. We're not talking about Alistair Johnston here. I don't see anywhere that says how much he cost St Johnstone, but even if they paid £100,000 for him, that probably says more about St Johnstone than anything else. Unless, of course, they were under the impression that he was "a project, only in his early 20's, adds options," and so on? And you're right. He mostly played from the bench. But considering the position St Johnstone was in last season and the fact he was never really deemed good enough to get a start for them, that tells its own story. They terminated his contract for a reason. And it wasn't because he is a young project with lots of potential.

is Bair a punt though? I always thought a punt was someone who has maybe had a season or two where they've not looked great, or have been coming off an injury like Souaré is. As I said above, there's literally nothing to suggest Bair is a professional-level footballer. I assumed once St Johnstone got rid after his one goal in nearly 40 games that he'd surface in the Canadian or US semi-pro leagues. That we've not only given him a chance but handed him a two-year contract is absolutely astounding.

I wasn't expecting us to sign a 29-goal striker either, but I was expecting us to do better than three strikers with a collective haul last season of 5 goals. And before anyone says, I'm perfectly aware that we can't expect to sign a striker who's hot off the heels of a double digit scoring season. I get that. But the three guys we've signed look decidedly suspect if I'm being honest. Let's try to frame this positively... Obika is 32, so he's not improving. He's on the downslide of his career if anything. That's just how it goes at that age. He managed to hit eight and five league goals in his two seasons in Scotland with St Mirren, so I guess there might be some cause for optimism, even if that was three years ago now. Wilkinson is 28 now, so should technically be hitting his prime. He looks the most capable of the guys we've signed, which is something of a positive, even if, in previous seasons, he'd likely be seen as a backup for better players at the club, in my opinion. Bair is a signing that, no matter how positive I try to be and how many different angles I try to look at the signing from, I just don't get it. I don't see the upside. He's 23, which is relatively young, I guess, but he made his pro debut four years ago, and to date, his best season return is four goals in the Norwegian second tier if I'm reading his stats correctly. He managed three goals in three seasons in MLS, four goals in one season in Norway, and one goal in 37 games in Scottish football. I simply can't see anything there that would warrant a trial, let alone handing him a two-year contract. Fans were quick to jump on Alexander for giving Josh Morris a two year deal, but at least that was a player who had notched up double digit appearances every season in almost ten years of football, with most of it coming at English League One level. He was a journeyman, sure, but he at least had been picked regularly by managers at that level over ten years. I don't understand why we were all quick to blast that signing as an absolute joke, yet this Theo Bair lad is getting the "well, he's big" and "he might be better than Mandron" chat. Is this because Kettlewell is a smoother operator than Alexander was? Are we buying into his signings more, despite their apparent lack of quality, because we want to like him more?

I like to consider myself someone who's as far from a reactionist as you'll find on this board, but honestly, these signings this summer are really starting to concern me. I think we're seeing a whole lot of "well, if Kettlewell likes the look of them, we need to have faith" from fans, which is fine, but last season at this point in time, fans were losing their shit to the extent that our manager was replaced. I know the European games were the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak, but I clearly remember everyone losing the plot over our summer business, which consisted of: Blair Spittal on a two-year deal Paul McGinn on a one-year deal Josh Morris on a two-year deal Kevin Van Veen signing a new contract Compared to this summer, that business looks absolutely amazing. I'm 100% behind Kettlewell, as he's the man in the hotseat, but I still remember my thoughts before he got the job. He didn't do great at Ross County when he got handed the reigns on his own, with a win percentage of less than 30%. He did really well with us for the four months he was in charge last season, but this is his first transfer window. His first chance to really put his stamp on the team, and to be blunt, I'm not impressed.

Probably based on them finishing top six last season, and us losing our best young player and best striker we've had in years, while replacing them with underwhelming names. Not that this means St Mirren will win, but let's be honest, we're not looking great compared to how we finished last season.

What makes you think some random website would have the inside information on player wages in Scotland?

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."