MelvinBragg

It is a list of personal favourites. And while Arnott is considered by most a legend, I don't really see him as one of my favourites. Both of his regular partners, Coyne and Cusack would be higher up my list of personal favourites than Arnott. By some distance...

Funny how many different top fives I've read. Everyone has their own favourites for their own reasons. For me (and I have to say, I found it very easy until I realised I had missed out Bobby Russell) it's.. Nijholt Dykstra McFadden Clarkson Valakari with The Shimmy King being the only guy even coming close...

100% agree...

100% agree on both counts. I thought last year that Humphrey had the tools to be a great player. This season he has come on in leaps and bounds. Like others, I wasn't convinced by Murphy at first. But the second half of last season and the start of this season, he's looked to be really maturing. Close to McFadden status, only in that it's getting to the point where we should be wrapping him in cotton wool between games becuase he's that crucial to us...

To paraphrase Morrissey, what he said...

I agree with much that Malky says but Hammell is a funny one. He's getting on now, but given Gary Naysmith's record with injury, Stevie Hammell should have a lot more caps to his name. Quite often Scotland have pushed guys out to left back who aren't even left footed or even full backs. He's been pretty consistent in the SPL over the years at a time when frankly that's been enough to get you in the Scotland squad. Kirk Broadfoot will end his career with more Scotland caps than Stevie Hammell and something about that is just not right...

Thing about having two out and out attacking players on the wing, it's not quite so cavalier if both your centre midfielders are defensively minded (which all our IMs are with the exception of Forbes). Humphrey tracks back, not always to the greatest effect but he gets himself back there. I'd imagine a player of Gow's experience would have the positional awareness to do likewise. I do suspect that it might be the last we see of Ross Forbes in a first team jersey at least til January. I reckon Gow's arrival (if it's to provide creativity from the left) will see him frozen out even more than he has been recently. I have a funny feeling this is the team we'll see a lot of... Randolph Saunders Craigan Reynolds Hammell Humphrey Hateley Jennings Gow Sutton Murphy Just get a feeling that Hateley will get the nod ahead of Lasley due to the fact he takes set pieces. Wouldn't surprise me to see Humphrey sacrificed though and see him used as an impact sub. I'd have him in the starting eleven but Brown might have other ideas...

I believe that's the case. And they have to wait a certain period after the transfer window closes. I think it's just a couple of weeks, mind you...

Brace yourself, big man, he's logged in...

I know it's early in the day, but does anyone else get the feeling we're going to see no change at all to the Motherwell squad today...?

Let me guess, £100,000 and someone misread it as £1,000,000? Or £250,000 to Swansea and someone at the club fed the Wigan story to the media to try and bump up the price...?

Would it make sense? Aye, probably. Does that mean it's the way it will happen? Not so sure. Still only leaves us with one experienced centre half. More strange rumours I've heard this morning... Hibs to use some of the Stokes money to make a £400k bid for Jamie Murphy... And us to make a move for Michael Gardyne at Ross County...

Interesting thing for me is that if we do sell Reynolds, whether we will bring in a centre back or whether we will be going with Craigan and Saunders at centre back and bring in a right back? The potential sale of Mark Reynolds while raising some cash (I still reckon nearer the £250k quoted in relation to Swansea), does mean that we have only one experienced centre back on our books. Can you get a winger and a defender for £250k...?

To me, the £250k to Swansea seems a far more realistic story than £1million to Wigan. I'll be stunned (not to mention, a pint down) if I'm wrong...

A few people have misunderstood me. I don't think we'll be in a relegation battle. I think we'll most likely be locked in a battle for 7th with ICT and St Johnstone. These three teams are, I reckon, too good for the three teams who will be in a relegation battle (St Mirren, Accies, Kilmarnock) but way behind those that will be in the top 6. That's how I see it at the moment. A few moves in the transfer market may change things...

If you think results went our way this weekend, you're an optimist. I think we should be concerning ourselves with the results of the teams likely to be in the bottom six rather than those likely to be top six...

Someone told me that Brown said after the game that he was hopeful of bringing two more in before the deadline. Did he say that and if so did he mention any positions? I'm hoping for someone a bit creative...

While I agree withe second part of this paragraph, you have to remember that McGhee came in at a low point and therefore had much more room for making an improvement. When Brown and Knox arrived, things were in danger of sliding a bit given the unrest behind the scenes but they inherited a Motherwell team probably inhabiting its rightful place in Scottish football and helped to drag it up the league a wee bit and give it a bit of stability. Without a management team with so much experience and tactical knowledge, we wouldn't have given Odense such a fright and might not even have got past Aalesunds...

Second story not a surprise. If we are after Gow, I would have thought we would need funds to finance any deal. Progression to the group stages is the only obvious source of extra income. First story. So Dundee want us to trade a midfielder with a large number of SPL games under his belt but with a lot of years ahead of him for a 32 year old right back who's barely seen the SPL. No thanks...

I would be amazed if we signed Alan Gow if only because we have just brought in Blackman and Casagolda and have Murphy and Sutton to play up front. If Gow is looking for first team football, he'll look elsewhere (unless we're planning to sell Murphy for a truckload of cash, of course). If he's looking to join a decent team, he'll join us. At St Mirren or Hamilton, he'd be guaranteed first team football, but might find that's in the First Division next season... EDIT Of course, he could be a left midfield option as Mr Diggle points out...

If you can't put the ball in the net, you deserve to lose...

Not a terrible performance but I'm reminded of the old maxim that "it's not the despair that kills you it's the hope". We're doing OK and on the face of it coming back with a 1-0 defeat would give us a chance. But I just reckon we're going to come up short. Lack of a killer final ball looks like it will be the undoing of us in this tie...

Five words. Lukas Jutkiewicz. Previous loan spells.

Reading Brown's interview, I'm wondering if he doesn't see Casagolda as maybe not an out and out striker but more of a creator. "He'll provide fodder for Murphy and Sutton". Or maybe he means he's bench fodder. The guy Blackman interests me more. Sounds like what Lewis Grabban was supposed to be. Could be a good 'un...

Before today, I was certain of only one thing about Sunday. That we will lose. Now there is a second thing I'm certain of. As I leave the East Stand on Sunday, someone will say "Thon Spanish boy is pish, by the way..."