MelvinBragg

Butcher has never played midfield for us...

I'm a bit torn on midfield. We probably need another body but I don't want to only see Miller when Slattery is suspended...

I was surprised by the chat about midfield but if you think we're signing another defender when we have six players who play centre back (even if one is injured), I think you're being optimistic. If we move one on, maybe...

Remember it's a back three so you need to factor in McGinn has been third wheel in both lineups. If anyone thinks that simply putting Blaney and Casey in for Lamie and Mugabi will be a vast improvement, they're wrong. Blaney and Casey are solid enough defenders when they have had Butcher organising them and pushing them around. Dundee United last day of the season showed that they were lesser players without a talker alongside them. Either we try an experienced player like McGinn in the middle of the three or we need to find a Aldred/Hartley type figure on loan for six months. If you're playing a back three, the guy in the middle of the three has to have a degree 9f football intelligence and leadership. Don't see an obvious candidate in the squad currently...

Possibly. Although it could also be that like Johnston last season, they feel Wilson needs another six months just to be totally ready for the first team...

While he has some pedigree, over the last four seasons Souaré has played under 40 games. I'm assuming that we feel his fitness won't be an issue having looked at him in training but I have my concerns...

Did I really hear him say that he feels we have enough in midfield, it's just wide areas and up front?

Find the absence of Efford interesting given he had seemed to be featuring heavily in preseason. Maybe injured..?

Indeed. Someone on here used a story from March last year in the Record (I think) mooting interest from Sheffield United and West Ham as evidence we should have offered him a contract last summer. For me, that story is evidence that there was no point in offering him a contract last summer as he would have known better offers were forthcoming... EDIT Checked back. It was Luton not West Ham, but the general point still holds...

It was clear he was going to be rubbish given the amount of hype the club were putting out there. Kettlewell clearly doesn't rate him at all. To offer some mitigation for Danzaki though, he arrived as the wheels were falling off the Hammell regime. Van Veen had downed tools. Players that were brought in to steady things were getting injured (Blaney, Mandron), experienced professionals were performing hilariously badly (O'Donnell, Slattery), Hammell was throwing any shit at the wall to see if it would stick (the 4222 with Spittal and Slattery as two 6s and Tierney and Danzaki as two 10s seemed extreme, just wear a T shirt saying 'SACK ME, I HAVEN'T A CLUE'). Danzaki may have been pish but it was hardly the ideal situation for a young guy trying to adapt to a new country to land in. Had he arrived to a semi functioning team, we could have made a better assessment. His Motherwell career was 126 minutes...

And given there already was that interest last March, it wasn't in Johnston's interests to sign a new contract even then. Paul McGinn's signing was nothing to do with Johnston and more to do with Alexander trying to run O'Donnell out of town...

I see we're looking at bringing Furlong back on loan. Wouldn't be be a bad thing....

Maybe I should have substituted 'think about' for worry as like you two I'm more philosophical as time goes by. But when the season starts, as a shift worker, the process of making sure I'm off for home games begins. I know the World Cup was a factor this season, but generally close season seems shorter than before. Not a fan of the league cup format although I know it's here to stay. If you add in 'non-Motherwell' football like the Scotland games at the end of the season, sometimes it feels like football never goes away at all. And I like football, but sometimes even I feel like my wife who doesn't when she says 'I thought the season was over?'...

I must confess as I get older, I enjoy rhe close season more than I used to and frankly if the football didn't start back til the second week in August, that would be fine by me. Our last league game was 28th May and pre season started on 19th June. I'd like a longer period of time when I don't need to worry about Motherwell...

Indeed. And with that extra money in England, they're also able to gamble on a larger number of youngsters. We need to be more careful. Club gets more right than they get wrong...

His late goal at McDiarmid Park won me around £180 so for that I thank him greatly...

I'm told Casey is definitely away so I'm guessing we've wrote him off. Goss, I haven't heard anything but you have to assume he's gone unless he's doing a Scott McDonald for an extra long summer holiday...

Paton, I think...

You want to have a look at the goal records of Long, Cole and even Van Veen before they signed for Motherwell. Pedigree isn't the word that springs to mind. Even Watt's goal record hardly marked him as a good bet... Am I certain Wilkinson will be a success? No. But don't make out his record is that much worse than those you mentioned...

Tom Aldred wasn't wanted at Bury. Scott McDonald had one foot on the boat back to Australia. Kipre was second choice of the trialists. We've got the best out of any number of players that didn't fit in anywhere else. Is he a sure thing? Nope, but I'm struggling to remember the last 'sure thing' we signed..

I was just thinking the same about KVV...

I tend to agree. I would like to see a lot of Miller this season but we don't want to be relying upon him. Paton is another body in midfield, but I'd like to see another. Maybe see more of Tierney but that would mean Spittal playing slightly further back which sounds like a bad idea given how well he's been playing further forward under Kettlewell...

I think what Dave was referring to was the 'men vs boys' aspect. In the literal not the metaphorical sense...

Anyone idea the shape we're playing tonight? Can't see anything other than a 433 with that personnel unless Spittal or Efford are playing wing back...

You do realise Miller isn't a striker..?