David

I certainly wouldn't hold what he said against him. Like all of us, his circumstances can change. He may be wanting to stay at Motherwell but then receive a potentially life-changing offer afterwards. At the end of the day it's his career, and he'll go about it as he sees fit.

I'm not sure it's a conscious decision really as much as it's a case og two players the manager liked the look of being available. I could be wrong though.

The main difference is that for the odd one or two here and there that we get wrong in the Hastie mould we stand to bring in less than we maybe would if he signed a long-term deal, while going down the other route would more than likely see us waste money on players with potential but who don't live up to it. One approach sees us still make some money most of the time, while the other could see us lose money. What astounds me is that these people with "knowledge of the game" are usually the ones who aren't actually involved at that level in the game, and don't make a living from it. While those who supposedly get it wrong are the ones who are considered good enough to carve a living from it.

Unfortunately, this is the way of the world for us for the most part. If we bring players in from down south we can't really afford to offer them anything other than a one year deal, can we? If they end up being shite we can punt them after a season with no problem, but that obviously leaves us with a problem if they do well and decide to piss off for nothing at the end of the season. We're not a club who can risk investing first team wages in a player for two or three years who may or may not be up to the job. It's a risk we can't really take.

I've bought it, and it's worth every penny. Quality stuff.

I guess it depends on what McInnes sees in him really. Personally, I'd love him to stay with us. He adds a physicality that comes in useful. If we can bring in someone else to compete for that strikers spot with him, or even play alongside him then it could be interesting. At the moment he's simply doing the job that he's being asked, as Robinson had to make some changes to how we go about playing after the first half of the season. He's probably not overly keen on it himself, but he's doing his bit. Hopefully he can see us to a 7th place finish before he makes his decision.

I haven't seen much of him admittedly, but I was surprised to find out that he's taller than Carson. He looked quite short for a goalkeeper against Aberdeen, but he's obviously not that short if he's 6'1 or so.

We've been gash for most of this season though, haven't we? He scored eight goals in the second half of the season last year when it seemed he was used as a proper striker. The second half of this season he's been as instrumental as anyone in changing our fortunes, but has been used in a position and tactically that doesn't really lend itself to him getting a lot of opportunities to score goals. One of those players who is recognised more by his fellow pros and managers than by fans it seems.

I guess it's a case of each to their own, but for me I desperately want to finish top of the mini-league we'll be in.

I'm not sure why people keep talking about a meaningless end to the season when we're currently sitting 8th, one point behind St Johnstone, and two ahead of Livi in 9th. The difference between finishing 7th and 9th is £120,000, which is a fair chunk of change for a club our size. That's what should be driving us until the last game of the season.

Still doesn't mean they're Dundee by any stretch. We're hardly talking Montreal Impact or Philadelphia Union here, are we? Atlanta reached the playoffs in their first season, then won the thing in their second. They also play to large crowds in what looks like a top class stadium. Any player from Europe could go there and spend an entire career in that league, coming out the other end of it with a very decent bank balance and having lived somewhere that isn't a bad place to be when you've got cash in your pocket. For me it would be far more attractive than buggering off to the English Championship or League One.

The splash of white makes the difference for me.

Reckon some interest from down south has maybe caught his attention. Can't see him staying.

This new retro home shirt looks class. There's a tracksuit jacket as well, but the image seems pixelated for me.

I think for a club our size it's almost always going to be a case of a fair chunk of players leaving in the summer. We deal in one year contracts and loan signings much of the time, so it's the nature of the game. Where we're making progress is in the players coming through from the academy, as we've got most of the current first-team prospects on decent deals. Alan Campbell and David Turnbull until May 2021, and a few others as well from what I've read. We bolster the team with a few more signings on one year deals and on loan, and continue to develop our own. Hopefully a few of those speculative signings work out and we see another Moult or Cedric and we can then benefit from them and cash in when the time is right.

The thing for me is that his lack of goalscoring opportunities can be attributed in large part to how he's being asked to play. He spends 90% of the game with his back to goal, attempting to bully and distract the opposition defence. This opens up the opportunities for the likes of Turnbull etc to get forward and do what they've been doing since January. If we remove Main and replace him with someone who's not as physical, and who can't do the job he's been doing, would we be as successful as we have been? Would we see Turnbull and Hastie get as much freedom as they do if defenders are dealing with a straight forward, regular centre forward? The first half of this season aside, as the entire team was gash, we saw what Main could do when he came to the club in January. He knows how to score goals, he hit something like eight in twenty one games last season for us. With the personnel we have now I reckon he'd get goals for us if he's used as an actual striker rather than as a hold up player who's job it is to annoy defenders and be a physical nuisance. But that would require a change in how we play, and in all honesty I don't see the point in fixing what doesn't look like it's broken.

Or, the club got it right two out of three times in this situation? Or are we operating on the basis that when they manage to get a player to sign a new deal we're "lucky," but when they don't manage to convince them we're "amateur?" The bottom line is, regardless of fans liking or not, that we'll never be in a position to cover all bases, especially when it comes to the unpredictability of youth football. The very fact that we've managed to retain two of our three highest-rated prospects (including the top prospect of the three in my opinion in Turnbull) is an accomplishment. Would it be great if Hastie stayed? Absolutely, but that's how the cookie crumbles. I'd be more concerned if we had lost all three, or if we were regularly shipping out players for nothing who then went on to have great careers elsewhere. The club, for the most part, has gotten it right over the years.

If we manage to slide in and finish in the top six then it's job done for us, we've accomplished more than we thought possible a few months back. We can then look to play some games against the top sides, giving our lads a runout in games that matter. We'd basically be playing with house money, as even a sixth place finish would be great.

I think it's more of a case of some of us having lived through various players leave the club. Hastie leaving for Rangers is disappointing, but its hardly the end of world, even in a footballing sense.

I'm sure I heard that the length of the deals being offered is what was part of the problem for some players. The club wanted them to sign longer deals, while the players wanted one year deals. It's worth bearing in mind that it's not all down to the club, the players themselves have a part to play in negotiations, and if they either don't want to sign at all, or only sign for a year then there isn't much we can do about it.

Tell you what, if half the shite I've read on here is accurate then we've dodged a bullet by not offering him a contract. Seems he's destined to go to Rangers and fade into obscurity, before heading to the lower reaches of the English game and being let go, only to return to Scotland with Thistle or Accies. Sounds like he's pish, better spending our money elsewhere.

Shite game, but a point away isn't too bad at all. I'll be glad to see the end of the Killie chat as well, with all the ticket nonsense.

Aye, it was an absolute debacle of a game really. Looked like two amateur sides.

The co-commentator actually yawning during the broadcast. Tells you all you need to know really.

Weird. It was the Celtic game, then refreshed the page and it's now the killie game.