MelvinBragg

That thought had occurred to me...

If you mean Stephen Hughes, I seriously doubt it...

I wouldn't be booking a flight to Albania just yet. A couple of injuries and we're in real bother...

Aye, under 9 hours to go and under 15 recognisable first team players, with the option of adding 1, the day before the game. Suddenly, the Llanelli game goes from being tricky to difficult...

Meaning new players, I'm assuming...?

I posted this question in the Draw thread but I'll post it again here as I fear it will get lost there. I'm sure I read somewhere on here that our squad for the first round had to be registered by midnight tonight. Anyone confirm or deny this? How does this leave us goalkeeper wise? Without even mentioning squad depth...

What's Welsh for counting chickens??

Just to ask a football question, did I read someone posting that our squad for the first round has to be registered by midnight tonight??

As good a draw as were going to get for the first two rounds. We have (I think) avoided teasm who are in middle of their season and therefore 200% fitter than us. Not bad...

Anyone else annoyed that we can't see who's seeded and who's not...?

Match 17 is the one we're looking for, aye??

Just wondering if we're all waiting about for nothing. On the BBC, it says that Falkirk will find out their fate "later in the day". Could be it's going to take some time to sort the groups out... EDIT Ignore me...

Hmmm. Going to announce it on the Wednesday and hope we get the new manager effect for the European game? As much as I'm glad we're trying to find the right man for the job, we seem to be taking an awful lot of time over it...

I'm more jealous of the fact they have a 25 man squad...

Nae idea. Seems kind of complicated by the fact they need to sort which of the first round seeds they were going to seed for the second round (us being in that category). Glad I'm not the one having to work it out...

We'll have a bit to wait, we're in group four...

See, I'm hoping for anywhere but Llanelli>given I don't have a valid passport, it takes away even the remotest possibility of going and Llanelli would tempt me into a domestic argument regards cost of childminding/going to the game against being sensible and hoping it's on a telly channel somewhere...

Therein lies a question. Are we going to stretch the definition of first team player and Hutchison and Saunders will be first team players or will they be among the four young player...?

Cheeky bassa. Just be thankful my brother is a Rangers fan then cos he's about two stone heavier than me. Which probably makes him weigh as much as you and Mitch put together...

Anyone else expecting this site to crash under the weight of users around 12:45 today???

You misread me, big fella. I am excited. But not by the draw. I'll be excited about the game when it rolls around (only cos I'm always excited at the first competitive game of the season). But at the moment, I'm too focussed on who the new manager is going to be and who we might bring in player wise to think too much about the European draw. Don't get me wrong, I'll check this afternoon to see who we get, but I'll be looking first to see if a new manager has been appointed...

I know I should be excited, but I'm not. I'm afraid the draw is being overshadowed by the fact we don't have a manager and barely have a squad to put a team out for these games. Don't get me worng, I'm not depressed as GazzyB suggests that this is making some Well fans. I'm excited. I'm more excited about who's going to be our manager and who we'll add to the squad than 4 games which will be our pre-season...

Clearly the silly season has commenced. Sandy Clark, John Robertson. Who next, Jimmy Sandison?? To quote the likes of fatcalf and SteveDiggle, away and bile yer heid...

I see from today's Sunday Herald that Luc Nijholt has said that he knows he is a candidate and will come for an interview if asked. For me this means one of three things; 1. The quote is a few days out of date as we appear to have started the interview process 2. Nijholt will not be getting an interview or 3. We are not as far along the interview/selection process as we might have hoped. My gut instinct is telling me number 2, Nijholt will not be in the frame. Which is a bit sad really because I think he was definitely one of the candidate who would have brought something new and fresh to the table. Lobey Dosser stated on the 'Latest Rumour' thread (which thread are we supposed to be using??) that he felt that he understood that Sanchez was top of the list by some distance. I've certainly got the impression from the forum that since Sanchez's name came up, a lot of people seem convinced that he's the best candidate for the job. I've not seen any evidence that John Boyle thinks that (he is playing his cards very close to his chest, so I don't know how anyone could definitively say who is leading the race). Personally I'm not sure he's the best man for the job, but he's certainly a good candidate. Given that Nijholt appears out of the running to me, my prefered candidate by some distance would be Gary McAllister. Not because of his previous ties to the club. In our financial situation we're going to be relying on loan deals from bigger clubs and bosmans from the english lower leagues. For me, McAllister has the best group of contacts for the former and the best first hand knowledge for the latter. We don;t really have time for a new manager to go and have a look at players he might be interested in. I also think in our predominantly Scottish squad, he would immediately command respect. Sanchez would not horrify me. Staunton would make me apprehensive. McAllister would excite me...

I think you might be right about Sanchez though I don't know how much of an impact the Setanta debacle will have (as with any appointment). If Sanchez outlines plans in his interview that sound a wee bit on the grand side, impressive as he might be, Boyle might be inclined to go with a guy who sounds more youth orientated/long-term in his interview. Could Krivokapic be the dark horse, not mentioned til the end, then unveiled two days later? Possibly. His record with Philliben, as others have pointed out, wasn't terrible but that was some time ago and for those complaining about Nijholt's lack of experience, Krivokapic has been working at an even more junior level of coaching. The thing that John Boyle will know is that McAllister, Nijholt and Krivokapic will have an advantage over the two Irish guys. Their previous association with the club will buy them more time and goodwill with the fans. If we are going to be working with a thinner budget and squad than previously thought, this might be a factor in any appointment...