MelvinBragg

So we won't be signing Stephen Hughes by that logic. Or maybe we'll have a midfield of Law, Lasley and Hughes. Interesting that some Rotherham fans think he's better as a winger..

I wouldn't be that upset over that, to be honest. I like Jennings, he's a solid citizen but he misses too many games through suspension and when he comes back, he seems always to be carrying a wee bit of excess weight. One of those "if he stays - great, if he goes - no big deal" players for me...

I only hope we don't sell him on the cheap. And that McCall has a replacement lined up..

Mowbray was there because I remember him being asked about him when he signed for Celtic, and Mowbray made it clear he was very much an under 19s signing...

Was McGhee not already in the Aberdeen job when Slane downed tools at Fir Park?

Would I have phoned in sick for six months even though I was fit to work? Naw...

Aye, there is that, I s'ppose..

A Rangers supporting mate of mine once described Lasley as our Dado Prso. His thinking was that Prso wasn't the best at Ibrox at heading, shooting or passing but was decent at every aspect. Lasley isn't maybe the best tackler in our midfield, probably isn't the best passer and isn't going to go beyond the strikers all the time. But he's decent at all these aspects of the game. If you wanted to be harsh, you could say jack of all trades, master of none but look around the SPL and tell me how many teams outwith the SPL couldn't do with a midfielder like Lasley. He'd walk into four or five teams on the basis that in the SPL, a midfielder that can do a bit of everything who has a good engine is sought after. What that says about the SPL is another matter.. Actually, looking at my description of Lasley's attributes, I could easily be talking about Scott Brown. Just a thought...

Maybe the guy on the Rotherham forum linking him with us is hard of hearing and overheard someone talking about a medical at Millwall...

Another left back may be desirable but not keen on Stevie Smith. Was very poor for Aberdeen at Fir Park..

Aye, perhaps should have added that I reckon it'd be very unlikely. I'd imagine he'll be sought after down south. Would be a bigger coup than Porter..

If so, fantastic news..

Ha, funny enough when I saw your name at last post, I thought "Jesus, have we got Vadocz back?!?"...

Higdon has one advantage over Sutton. He wants to play for us. No point comparing them like we made a choice. Choice between the two was made for us by John Sutton. Higdon wants to be here. That makes him better than Sutton for me..

Aye, but for who...? ;-) And as always... Source?

I do recall McCall saying in January that he had four strikers on his list and that for various reasons (family reasons, current clubs not getting their own targets) he couldn't get any of them. It definitely sounded at the time as if he thought some of them might be available in the summer.. Not sure why, but I have more faith in McCall than I had in McGhee or Brown to bring in,players that will do a job...

While I might or might not agree with your assessment of where we're short, a bit of realism is required here. I'd describe your list as "what we'd like to see brought in" not as "needs". Three strikers would be excessive given we have Murphy who can play there. We have two players who are adequate SPL right backs. And I think every club in the SPL could do with the midfielder you described... Our budget will only stretch so far. We should be looking for players who can perform various roles, similar to Murphy, Gunning and Hateley...

It's the old best versus favourite debate. I think if it were a case of which of Boyle's managers were still held in high regard at Motherwell, then it would be a Butcher landslide. As it is, I can see the reasons why some would vote for McGhee even if I don't agree with their choice. McGhee presided over some atrocious performances (particularly in the cup, St Mirren at Fir Park anyone?). There seemed no Plan B. I seem to remember reading him saying that he only had about 14 players he "trusted". In his first six months, there were no injuries so he never had to come up with a Plan B. And he rarely if ever took responsibility when things went wrong (again St Mirren in the cup, 433, aye right springs to mind). All the guys on the list had their bad days. Most of them took their share of the blame. Not McGhee or Gannon. When you're manager the buck stops with you. Their failure to realise this rules the two of them out in my book..

Funny enough, with all the talk of Randolph being sold, Fon Williams was a name that popped into my head. My mate saw him play the second half of last season for Rochdale. Says he's a very decent keeper. Wouldn't be stunned, however, if he ended up at Barnsley given that the Rochdale manager has just gone there. Get the impression that the only reason Fon Williams wasn't being kept on at Dale was the fact that they might not be able to meet his demands...

I can only imagine the name will be Mark Reynolds. Probably a load of old tosh...

Hughes, although a good player, doesn't score enough goals for an attacking midfielder. I could be wrong but I reckon Lasley probably scored more in the two seasons Hughes was here. And Lasley isn't exactly Frank Lampard... Whether I'd be happy to see Murphy go depends on the fee. Given the length of his contract and his potential, we should be looking for seven figures given the fees down south. Aye, we'd miss him but him leaving might solve a problem for us. We might actually find an out and out winger and not waste him out there. He's clearly one of our most gifted players but can't play up front himself. Playing him at left wing seems more about getting our best players on the park, even if not in their best positions.. Having said that I'd be quite happy to see him still at Fir Park next season..

If true, his choice. We move on...

I hear Faddy is off to Ibrox. How many transfer windows have I heard that now..?

I could live with it. Dunno if Hateley is overly happy at RB though. There will be those who say it's a pretty inexperienced centre back pairing, but both guys have played a lot of games for their age (including some big games) so their age shouldn't come into it. Was this not the back four when we got a 0-0 at Parkhead under Gannon..?

For me, Hammell has had a solid season so don't know why we'd need a left back. A natural right back would be a priority. Craigan, we need to look to be replacing. He may have another season in him but if not it'd be better to have another experienced centre back rather than find out in September that Craigan's legs have gone. I'd let Jennings go as Lasley can do the same job without as many bookings. Maybe a more attacking midfielder alongside him to save Lasley having to try and support the strikers. Stephen Hughes wouldn't be my first choice but could live with him and Lasley in the middle..