MelvinBragg

Was there not some strong rumours on here that Aldred had no desire to stay here beyond the summer?

I think you're kidding yourself on about how good Kipré is...

Cheap in English Championship terms is probably still a lot of money to us...

I suspect we're waiting til school is finished for the day. All about the social media hits...

Just my perception, maybe. What I would suspect though is that the majority of Ciftci's starts were at the start of his loan period and towards the end Bowman and Main was the preferred pairing. Whether that was down to Ciftci's injury issues or not, I couldn't say. I seem to remember Robinson using James Scott from the bench when Ciftci was available and thinking that Ciftci clearly hadn't impressed. But again Ciftci may have been coming back from injury at that time...

Silly question. Given it's unlikely we'll have a betting company on the kids tops, could they be released earlier or are the back of the shirts sponsors being printed at the same time?

Bigirimana is a funny one. I reckon at the start of the season was pencilled in for a starting spot but he missed the Rangers game and Rose came in and did alright. Allan Campbell made a strong case very early on for a starting spot and we seemed to develop a style of play more suited to the likes of Campbell and Grimshaw than Bigirimana (one could argue it's also the reason Bowman started more than Ciftci). Where the argument for that falls down is the fact that Tanner managed to force his way into the midfield three. Different type of player but certainly a creative player and the fact that he was preferred to Bigirimana suggests that Robinson didn't like what Bigirimana was offering. I remember the 2-2 draw at Easter Road and the Scottish Cup final, two games where I felt he came on and made a difference, and I think there's a player there that could do a job at our level but suspect we won't see it at Fir Park. I might be wrong and if Cadden or Campbell move on along with young guys going on loan, there may be a place for him in the squad but I would be surprised. I like him so wouldn't be upset if he stayed. But, like Cadden, I suspect we may be the wrong team for him right now...

I know squad numbers are never definitive but when you move from 5 to 17, it doesn't suggest good things for your place in the squad...

Those suggesting a back four with Kipré and Hartley at centre back and not Dunne need their heads read. His pace and the fact he's left footed means he's always likely to be one of the first names on the team sheet. Regards departures. At least one midfielder, possibly two, will leave. I suspect Frear might want away but were we to let the only natural winger in our squad go, it truly would leave us with no plan B. Could we avoid relegation after selling Carson, Kipré, Campbell and Cadden? Would be an interesting challenge...

So you think they're the two signings he'll be desperate to get in? So he'll play six defenders?

Six defenders? What formation is that?

Tomorrow according to club Twitter...

I actually expect us to sell Cadden and/or Campbell this summer...

I think the concern with the signing of Gorrin is not necessarily his quality but if he's too similar in type to the midfielders that we already have on our books. In terms of league goals from midfield, if you take Tanner out, it's slim pickings. Last season you had Allan Campbell and Andy Rose with two each leading the way. Gorrin's previous career doesn't suggest he'll solve that problem...

Could argue 6 players for one spot when Tanner comes back if we want any kind of creativity...

Thing is, you can call Yodo negative all you like but he may have a point. Clearly the guy must be tall if he's described as a player of real stature because his career doesn't suggest much. I'm not saying he won't turn out to be a player but I'd describe it as an intriguing signing rather than an exciting one...

An option that I'm pretty sure we won't use. The number of midfielders we have at the club with apparently another to come in and the fact that I'm not sure where MacLean fits into the system we use means I can't see him coming back to Motherwell. A bit unfortunate for him as he's shown promise in most of his appearances...

Or Gordon fucking-Mair...

Dunne, Grimshaw and Main are all players who have been slated by fans of their clubs down South and have come in and did a job for us so not overly worried by Doncaster fans' reviews of him. Hopefully he fills a problem position although on paper Hendrie looked like he fit the bill. Turnbull is still pretty young but rumours of MacLean and Gordon going out on loan makes it seem like a matter of time before we release them...

Will depend on what Robinson meant by a player of stature...

My first reaction on hearing Robinson's description of the midfielder we're after was 'Bye Bigi'...

Only problem with the jester outfit was the shorts...

I reckon there are four players in our first team squad that we could possibly get money for. Unfortunately the two that we might struggle to replace are, I reckon, Carson and Kipré and those two are the ones we're most likely to get bids for. Cadden and Campbell are the other two. Cadden, we can and should be looking to replace with a natural left wing back. Campbell is a fantastic player and will get better but we do have bodies in the midfield who can do similar jobs even if not to the same level. So I'd agree, Cadden would be the ideal player to sell But as I said in my earlier post, the question remains if there will be any interest...

I had heard a rumour a few weeks back that O'Halloran was coming in a swap deal for Chris Cadden. Person who told me this was pretty convinced this would happen. It makes me wonder if there is any interest in Cadden. Out of contract next summer (and I know we'd still be due compensation), surely for our current model to work (and for the benefit of his own career), we need to be looking for bids for him...

I wasn't actually having a go at you. More the culture in the clubs in Scotland which leads to guys like Ross MacLean with around 20 career appearances at the age of 21, leads to us offering Ali Crawford a contract when we have David Turnbull on the books. Clearly I'm embracing the role of resident sorearse this summer. Just feel as if we hold our young players back at times. With our U20s being reasonably successful recently, I'd like to see more of them. Robinson is right in that you can't flood the team with them but I'm pretty sure Livingstone could have done as good a job at wing back as Frear. From his brief appearances, pretty sure any of our U20s could have contributed as much as Petravicius. Rant over for now...