MelvinBragg

How much are they willing to pay for Stevie May?

I see on twitter a rumour that if Aberdeen don't get Stevie May then they might move for Moult...

I think the chances of us finding someone to take Blyth off our hands are slim and that's why Bowman may be more likely to move on. Suspect that the degree of interest in Moult will also be a factor. Moving Bowman on and leaving us with Moult, Fisher and the pacey striker is one thing. But moving him on and selling Moult, leaving Fisher, a pacey striker and Blyth as your options is less appealing. And I know if we sell Moult, we'd probably try and replace him but it's another deal to try and get done while Bowman is already here and may (I stress MAY) be able to contribute...

The thing with Bowman is that he's probably best suited to playing as a 'number 9' leading the line. Same could also be said of Moult and Fisher. Given Robinson targeted Fisher, assuming Moult stays then Bowman would probably start the season as third choice for that role. Moult leaving would probably mean Fisher and Bowman being our two options for that position. For me, none of the three look suited to playing off a main striker in the same way McDonald did. Looking increasingly like Tanner may get a chance in that position unless we can get the other pacy striker in that Robinson is after. On the debate regards Kipré or Dembele being the better player/priority, having seen neither play I won't comment. But as others have said, we needed at least two defenders and the hope would be, as with all signings, that they're better than those they're replacing in the squad. So far (and I know it's not 100% like for like) we're looking at. Carson for Samson Kipré for Ferguson Dunne for Chalmers Bigirmana for Pearson Rose for Lucas Tanner for Ainsworth Fisher for McDonald The two attacking replacements are probably the ones where you would say there's maybe a loss of quality although if Tanner is more consistent than Ainsworth has been recently we may get more out of him over the course of a season and if we can get Blyth off the books, Fisher being seen as his replacement would definitely seem like an upgrade (allowing for the fact we then bring in another striker to replace McDonald). Generally the business we've done this summer has me cautiously optimistic that we may be slightly better than we were last season. Caveat there being if Moult or Heneghan leaves, we're again light on numbers...

Tanner has been given 27 as his squad number...

Need to assume that Robinson has seen enough of him over the last couple of weeks to think Kipré offers us something. Unlike Clay and Lucas last summer when we had them playing in the league cup as trialists so disorganised were we, at least we're signing a trialist when we have time to look at other options so you'd hope it wasn't a case of panicking and signing him simply because he's available...

Given the type of strikers we already have at the club, that is the stupidest rumour I've heard in a while...

Neat and tidy in possession. Fair assessment of his best asset. Don't recall Clay giving the ball away too often but it's easy to do that if you don't try and play the killer ball and just shift the ball 10 yards to the side. Quite good at retaining the ball under pressure as well. Must confess, I don't dislike Clay as a player despite the knowledge he's not good enough to be starting every week. Always gives 100%, never hides and seems a good character who fits in well. If we didn't have Campbell coming through, you could make a case (and with Lasley's retirement you possibly still can) for having him on the bench as a cheap backup option. But the signing of Rose and the emergence of Campbell and Gordon will probably see him not even make the bench. Wouldn't slate the guy though. Always gives his all, just that his all probably isn't enough at this level. Always feel if a player gives his best and it's not good enough, then the manager is to blame for picking him. Would only dislike a player if they have ability but don't give it their all...

I would tend to agree. I thought he might get moved on rather than Blyth only on the basis that his record in non league might mean we would find it easier to find a club to take him rather than Blyth. Having said that, while I agree he's not the worst and has something to offer, he'll probably find himself third choice for the number nine position unless we sell Moult. Don't think any combination of Moult, Fisher and Bowman looks like a partnership that would work...

Tongue in cheek, maybe, but I'd gladly chip in. Probably more than a couple of pounds. Let's call it both players being sponsored by the Well Society...

Get 1000 fans to set up a £2 a week direct debit and offer them an extra £1000 a week each..

Regards left/right sided defenders, looking at the left side of the defence makes sense if you feel that it's unlikely that McManus and Hammell will be available all season. Flipside to that is that the defender we are most likely to lose this summer is our right sided centre back. I would hope that we have a target in mind should Heneghan leave and that that target may require Heneghan leaving to free up funds. Again, and I was slated for this opinion before, this is what concerns me about our approach to strengthening our defence. Important area of the team to be relying on trialists to fill gaps. The same approach to our midfield led to us signing Clay and Lucas last summer...

Given the game that they gave Rangers in the cup last season, I suspect the Morton game will not be one for experimenting...

I think we'd all like to have a 'proper' left back at left back but reality is that on our budget we need to have players that are versatile and carrying two 'proper' left backs would eat into the budget. As regards his quality or lack thereof, as with every signing there's a bit of trusting the manager's judgement. In this particular case, the player has played for Robinson before so there's no question of the scout being responsible. Robinson knowing this, you have to figure he's pretty sure that Dunne will be able to do a job. Robinson was quick to sideline Chalmers, Jules, Blyth and Lucas when he felt they couldn't cut it and most fans agreed with him there so we should trust his judgment on Dunne until proved otherwise...

15th or 16th August according to the club website...

Is it not Tom Boyd? I'm only guessing, mind you. Like you, I don't know...

I think the mention of five further signings was made prior to the signing of Rose and Griffiths. I think we'd like to sign another five but it will depend on moving others on...

Kind of hoping it's the Friday night or I won't be able to make it. Not sure of the Europa league qualifying dates but that might push it to the Sunday...

The trialists are of a pedigree that I would expect. Going by previous comments, if he is fit, Dunne would be the one that we're most likely to sign. The other two defenders will probably have come on recommendation. The striker, while not prolific, if you look at his stats has scored 11 in 36 career starts. Not dreadful although he has had a good number of sub appearances. Time will tell, I guess...

Quite...

Good decision...

That would be the one...

Heard a rumour this morning that ourselves and Dundee are after Stephen Hendrie, been released by West Ham..

So can we now ask the question, who's going to be captain next season? Smart money would be on Hammell or McManus but will they play enough games to make it a sensible decision?

There are examples where trialists have worked out very well for us. I'm not saying using that method of identifying players doesn't have its place. My concern (and it's only a concern, I'm not demanding resignations or anything like that over it) is that we released two defenders at the end of the season (three if you count Jules loan spell ending). We ended the season with midfielders at centre back and right back. I would imagine that due to this we would have had a list of targets for that area. I would imagine that we would only be looking at trialists before signing a single defender if we were unable to secure any of the targets on our list. That concerns me. As it is, I'm kind of hoping that a better keeper and a better midfield will take some of the strain off our defence...