The African

An early goal or two would certainly do no harm. But let’s just concentrate and get the win sorted first.

Indeed. He started out building from the back and going for physical size over ability. It wasn’t pretty and we took a fair few humpings. A six one league cup defeat at Easter Road, after taking the lead, and four consecutive four nil deafeats ( matches I attended, not back to back) at home to Celtic and Aberdeen, away to Hearts and Dundee Utd, were lowlights for me in the early McLean years. It was obvious though, that he was building and the side was improving, year on year.

Any comparison with what Tommy McLean achieved at Fir Park needs to be tempered by the realisation that the change in contract law since then makes building a squad much more difficult. If a player is successful with us, he will move on, sooner rather than later.

A less than inspiring piece of business, mainly because he is a pretty much known commodity in terms of the Scottish game. It will be interesting to see how it works out. It certainly went okay with Sutton and Higón, who fell into the same sort of category, though both probably offered a bit more in terms of ability. Will also be interesting to see if this marks the departure of Bowman. All in all, not convinced, but willing to give the big guy a chance and hope that things work out for all concerned.

I lost faith when they started calling Glasgow the capital. Seriously, who writes this pish?

Possibly talking about the likes of Watt or Crawford, so the deals fell through? Would not surprise me if our dealing was pretty much done for now, and any further movement only being triggered by players leaving.

Gives McHugh the chance to concentrate on his own game and find the form that will secure him a starting place in the side. With the current make up of the squad, you have to say that Hartley is more likely to play every week.

The management would have to make sure that he knew the score with regard to attitude and fitness. I am all for giving a guy a second chance, but don’t want to have signings take the piss. He is still young, has talent, but must realise that, if he is going to resurrect his career, he really doesn’t want to be doing it at a level much below what is on offer at Fir Park. It would undoubtedly be a gamble, but most signings are.

Tony Watt might be a decent shout. He has talent and he has something to prove. I am surprised that Aberdeen are not that keen and would think that he would be on the radar of clubs with deeper pockets than ourselves. He should have the sense to realise that Motherwell is the sort of club where he can rebuild his career. After that, it comes down to whether a deal can be done that is amenable to both parties.

Would hope we might still have a player coming in. I worry that the current squad might be short on goals.

Interesting article on McClair. He seems to be a decent guy so good luck to him. Pat " beret and NME" Nevin still sounds like a dick though. He was an obvious talent during his first spell with us. The decision to sell him for £75k to Celtic beggars belief. The people running our club at that point in time were short-sighted, clueless and basically shite.

I really like that. as an aside, the lettering looks great, no need for the club badge. If they did this as a polo shirt, I'd be in for it.

Or to put it another way “ Do not despise the snake for not having horns. For who is to say that it will not become a dragon?”.

I don’tthink It is petty at all. When you are that age it isa big deal. We are not a large club,and our strength needs to be the relationship between the club and the fans, and that relationship should not be a one way street.I like to think that there is something special about Motherwell and being a Motherwell fan. Little things like this do make a difference.

Disappointed that they don’t seem to be interested in going the extra yard to help you out. It may just be a little thing, but I am sure it would make your child’s day. Hopefully something can still be arranged.

A win is a win. Pre season friendlies in June though, utterly insane.

A full internationalist going for less than seven figures? For shame!

Aldred returning would be a good move. He fitted into our system without any problems and is a very decent player at our level. I would love to see him back at Fir Park, but not as a perceived replacement for Cedric. They are very different players. For what it is worth, Cedric, imho, is a special talent, with the power and pace to make it to the higher reaches of the modern game. We will have to let him go at some stage in the not too distant future, but we can continue to develop him and knock the rough edges off his game. As such, when we do come to sell, we should be looking for seven figures plus and add ons. If he goes on to bigger and better things, then we need to cash in on that to. Hopefully we can watch his rise knowing our club played a part in his success and benefited accordingly.

Cedric is a genuine talent and doesn't need to go out with the intention of injuring opponents. He has all the attributes in terms of stature, pace and strength that could lead to a stellar career. No point getting too worked up by the opinion of some pointless fanny who only gets media attention because of the "big" club he plays for. Cedric needs to concentrate on the aspects of his game that need addressing and, with another season under his belt, see what his future brings.

Another half a season with Carson between the sticks will do us no harm. Having said that,he deserves his chance at a bigger club and, as such, I sincerely hope he gets the move he deserves at some stage.

How good are unbranded strips? I appreciate that the branding and sponsors logo are money we are in no position to pass by, but the simplicity and style of that Roma away shirt is brilliant.

Well, on paper, that squad looks stronger than the end of last season. I do expect a couple of players to be on their way out and then it begins to look a little more interesting. One of the keys is Carson. Showed last season the difference a quality goalkeeper can make, but surely will be away before the transfer window closes. That leaves us with Gillespie and Ferguson. We have to hope that Gillespie proves an able replacement, or do we bet against this by bringing in another experienced goalie? Defence looks pretty much sorted. I was a big fan of Alfred and therefore disappointed that we did not get him on a permanent deal, but life goes on and hopefully Donnelly can prove himself. Hartley back fit and a proper left back in Taylor-Sinclair are both pluses. Midfield is currently where we have a bit of a log jam. I still expect to see at least a couple move on with Bigi and Frear being the most likely to do so. Questions must also be asked about the role and future of McHugh. It will be interesting to see if he retains the captaincy. Up front, we still look a little short on goals, though we can but hope that the signing of Johnson will help in that regard. The return of Tanner, if successful and when it happens, will be an added bonus. At the moment, things look okay if somewhat uninspiring. We currently benefit from the fact that a number of our squad are fairly versatile and cover more than one position - Tait, Cadden, Tanner... What will be interesting will be how it looks on the 1st of September after some of the excess has been trimmed from the midfield and a few of our saleable assets have been removed from the picture. In my opinion, there is still room for at least two or three additions ( perhaps loans) if these circumstances pan out. Otherwise, the squad may look a little thin come mid November

Having seen him with the Phoenix, I can confirm that he has a nice touch and an eye for a pass. Good in possession, but he will not get the time on the ball that he did in the A League. That will be the main adjustment that he has to make.

As it stands, I think we have done some reasonable business so far. I do though, think that we will only have a clearer picture of where the squad is, once we move a few players on, either through them being surplus to requirements or getting sold on for decent money. I still suspect that Bigi and Frear fall into the former category and Carson into the latter.

Retro, or timeless? I would be happy with that, this year, next year, any year.