bobbybingo

Yeah, I think you're right, we'll probably be sold short because we're Motherwell. Unfortunarely, it's just the way it will always be. Clubs understand we have to sell our best players and know we can be forced to accept less than a bigger club could hold out for. It would take the emergence of a very, very special talent to change that and even then, they wouldn't be around here long enough to be seen as anything other than a prospect, which would impact their price.

I hope he does. I think there are key differences between the players you mentioned. Kelly and Spittal were both in the final year of their contracts - Kelly's dip in form was unlikely to see anyone make an offer for him, while Spittal's improvement was guaranteed to attract bigger fish and provide the player with an opportunity he was unlikely to ignore. By the time he became a financial asset/must keep, it was already too late. Bair's form in the first year of his deal potentially allows the club to make decent money from selling him - I doubt they'll take a gamble.

Holding out for a better offer works if Bair maintains, or improves, his form. If he doesn't, which is entirely possible, and we've failed to cash in, it's a double whammy. Holding on to him till January might seem like an ok compromise, but as someone else said, finding a half decent, fit replacement during that window will be virtually impossible. Our decision may depend on what Theo Bair wants to do, I suppose.

He was flat sharing with Eddie Nolan.

Only if we can get him to extend for another year. Although, there's always the risk of rejecting a decent offer only to see a player lose form or get injured.

They may just have been the final nails in their coffins, but pathetic cup exits were the last games Baraclough, Alexander and Hammell oversaw. And sarcasm or not, the suggestion any Motherwell manager would have a job for life is demonstrably untrue. Kettlewell will go the same way as all the rest - the board has had enough, he has had enough, or we're successful.

Good cup runs can be harder to achieve than decent league finishes if your luck's out. First knockout round draws at Ibrox or Parkhead and, realistically, we're done. Obviously, going out meekly to lower league teams should never be seen as acceptable, but I think circumstances have to be taken into account - achievable targets rather than absolute requirements.

Hollis played the majority of his games in 2013/14 when we finished 2nd. We conceded 60 goals that season - so far, we've lost 54 this year.

First I've heard of it too. A wee bit of publicity might help.

Can't find anything other than some comments about them auctioning off 'goal scoring' balls at certain matches in Italy and Spain. Edit: that is the reason. https://spfl.co.uk/news/spfl-announces-partnership-with-matchwornshirt

Sorted.

Yeah, it was a clever marketing ploy. Think we were one of 5 teams they 'unsponsored'. Huddersfield got a £50K fine for wearing a spoof shirt with a huge Paddy Power logo on it to kick off the publicity campaign.

The only way any sponsor is going to agree to their name being left off replica shirts is if the 'fee' they pay the club to get their name on all shirts is significantly reduced. Would any increase in shirt sales cover that difference or maybe bring in more money? Might be worth a gamble, if they can find a company willing to go along with it.

Without checking any of the others, Sam Stanton isn't out of contract in May. He signed a 2 year extension in December.

Yeah, played 50 games over 2 seasons.

Funnily enough, he did play in the top division.

That's a definite no-go for us, then.

That would be a really weird one, asking a guy who has spent his entire career in the lower leagues and missed literally years due to 4 ACL ruptures to step up a level at 28.

Assuming one's Dylan Easton, who's the other?

Has Callachan kicked a ball since he suffered an acl injury a year ago?

Bair has clearly taken the dedicated coaching on board, learned from it and improved. Defensively, maybe we do need better coaching, or maybe the players in question just aren't capable of applying the lessons during matches. Maybe both. It must be nigh on impossible to ensure someone isn't a dozy bugger, no matter how often you drill it into them.

In fairness, it tends to be the 'doom mongers' who refer to others as 'happy clappers'. Both terms get a bit tiresome.

If I ever think there are gloom and doom merchants on here, I'll just recall the guy I encountered online on Saturday night. No point in celebrating a 4-1 win, because in 66 years of supporting Motherwell, he's had one single enjoyable day - 18th May 1991. Mind you, he also wished we were as successful as East Fife and Dunfermline, so he might have a few cards missing.

I'm certainly not arguing with the problems losing those goals have caused us, or the need to tighten up at the back, but as Dundee have shown, success isn't just down to the amount of goals you concede or score. As you said, conceding in virtually every match has been our Achilles heel this season, but clean sheets guarantee nothing either - County, St Johnstone and Livi have all managed several more than us. Bottom line is, it's been a grey season for us. We could easily have won several more games, and just as easily have lost several more. I'm just glad we got enough bloody draws to keep us up.

Yeah, we definitely do need to improve defensively because as you said, that should be easier to achieve than scoring more than we have.