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Half the stadium is empty every week, I think they are missing out on a lot of business and people who at the last minute cant go because it’s too late to buy a ticket online. also £235 isn’t a drop in the ocean to a lot of old Well fans on a pension.

Plenty of older folk don’t have a pc or laptop and have no idea how to buy stuff online or register on a website to get tickets. if they want to go to a game they need to queue up to buy a ticket an hour before the game and then queue again to get in. A lot just don’t like all the hassle and get embarrassed when folk question why they can’t buy a ticket online.

Lets not get carried away. Theo Bair is not a special player. He has confounded everyone except SK by turning out to be a decent player at our level. Ive no doubt he could continue to develop under SK and become even better. And if he was willing to sign a longer contract to do that and protect our investment, then Id be happy enough with that. But realistically, any offer in the region of £1m with potential add ons, we are doing a deal. Our business model demands it. It would also allow us to sign better defenders, which we really need to do. SK then needs to pull another rabbit out of the hat!

Why would Kettlewell be under pressure and from where? This is what I struggle with to be honest. On the one hand we have fans who want top six and a good cup run every year (and that's fine) and others who are happy enough if we remain in the top flight. There were points last season where I thought we were in real trouble but things picked up. As far as I'm concerned it all comes down to money. If he had more cash at his disposal he would be able to afford better quality players, that's obvious but he doesn't. That's not me slating our players either. He can only do so much with the budget he has. He did the job he was asked to do two seasons in a row. There are fans who don't want outside investment and fans who would consider it. There are fans saying we don't need outside investment and at the same time unhappy with the players that Kettlewell is signing. I'm just not sure what it is they want him to do. And I think some fans across the board on social media have an issue with Kettlewell full stop. No matter what he does it wouldn't be good enough. As everyone knows we are a club with a small core support, fan owned and it's fair to say that Kettlewell won't have a large transfer budget at his disposal. I'd expect the team not to have many changes with a few signings added in and some loan deals. Particularly when we are competing with other clubs who can offer players more. Paying off two managers in two years hasn't helped either. We won't improve without investment - wherever that comes from. If Kettlewell did go next season the next manager would have exactly the same issues to deal with in my view.

My honest opinion is I don't think Theo will be as prolific next season as not an unknown quantity any more. Teams will be more aware of him. Therefore if we can get anything between £1,000,000 to £1,500,000 then it's great business . At same time if he is still here next season I certainly won't be complaining

I think if you're looking for a bench mark for Bair, the fee we got for James Scott is a reasonable comparison. Both have the physical tools but both prone to missing chances they perhaps should take. Bair is older than Scott was when he left but inflation of prices since should make up for the age difference... That's my opinion anyway...

As good as Theo has been for us there is no way on this planet we are going to get 3 million quid for him. He's scored 15 goals. When was the last time we got anywhere near that for a striker? I think anything less than a million is derisory but no way are we going to get 3 for him. If he's worth 3 million Miller is worth 10 million. And as far as I'm concerned Motherwell always sell players on for far less than they are worth. Because we have to. Because we have to sell our best assets. Not in a million years will we be selling Bair to anyone for 3 million pounds. One season and 15 goals. No way. Never. He's good but he's not worth that. And no one is going to offer us 3 million for him

Or, more likely, we could look to sell for a relatively agreeable fee of £1 million initially and then add performance-related bonuses that double that or beyond. It would obviously depend on the player's value to the buying club and what scoring a decent haul of goals would be worth to them.

Theo Brer? thought I do my world famous Grizzly impersonation!

We can't value assets higher than the market says they're actually worth though. That's how a marketplace works. Bair is worth whatever people are willing to pay for him alongside how much we realistically want for him. You can't ask for £3million for a player with one 6 month period of good form and on a contract worth (in relative terms) buttons. A million now or nothing in a year. It's not rocket science which is the best option.

No chance taking 1 mil. May as well let contract run out. He's a special player. We should value our assets higher. Don't underestimate assets.

Sell Theo for 1.5million plus add-ons. Re-sign Alex Fisher on a free. Let SK turn Fisher into a 15 goals-a-season striker. Profit.

Beat them 2 nil in July 74

Thanks for that. Memory failing me like the rest of me 😱.

Decent wedges for us maybe but when compared with transfers from the English leagues etc the amounts we get are small change., we either dont get full value or let contracts run down and get nothing. We've always been a selling club so to show real intent especially for a player with a year left on his contract let it be known the bidding starts at 7 figures and take it from there. If a club like St Pauli are genuinely interested then 2 or 3 million is loose change to them, so aim high. Plus if nobody wants him extend his deal and after another good season we'll be in a better position next year.

I'm not quite sure where you're getting that from? When we've been in the position to sell, we've sold relatively well in the last 5-10 years I'd say. Kipre, Moult, Van Veen, Turnbull, Sol, Scott, Johnson, Heneghan to name a few, have all gone for decent wedges. The exception to that list is obviously Turnbull, but given the hype and praise Bair has received in the press, I think we'll do pretty well out of any transfer for him. Also, Caldwell comes across as a very sensible CEO and will get us good value for him. Edit: TransferMarkt has us making about £7million from transfers in the last 10ish years.

Thanks for that about Andy Weir: wasn't absolutely sure. Andy always looked so old and frail to me when I was a wee boy but i don't think he ever fully recovered from the meningitis he contracted after his head injury against Third Lanark.

OK Texan. I hold my hands up - missed that mate. 😉

Your memory is excellent. Thats exactly what happened in 1969. If I recall rightly, Montrose were leading 1-0 and Joe was moved forward and bagged a hat trick. I think Chemical Tom scored the other?

He maybe heard good things about the Well and wanted to come here. Like the pitch which encourages the team to play silky passing football or the patient supporters who give all new players two months to bed in before they even think of criticism or the chance to shine and get a big KVV move on the back of one good season or the all you can eat Hup Lee buffet. Who knows but one thing is for sure we cant get rid of the whole team from last season , its fantasy we just can’t afford it , we need to sign some new players and resign others working within the budget and be realistic about our position.

For me of the 5 players you mention only Mugabi would be shown the door, as he's a bombscare. The other 4 had their moments at times when they were poor but generally they were OK, especially McGinn and I thought Blaney after an extended run in the team was improving week on week. If we sign a right back ie the Australian boy then SOD will be a very experienced back up. For me the biggest issue we had was a goal keeper more scared of crosses than Dracula, Kelly inspired no confidence in the defenders in front of him, I lost count of the number of goals we lost due to failing to deal with balls into the box. So we're going to have a new keeper, at the moment it's Oxborough but whether he's no 1 or 2 is anyone's guess, but one who commands his area and ventures off his line will be a vast improvement Let's see who we bring in to improve the defending and midfield before we get stressed about who we've re-signed.

I think there is a point to be made about squad harmony and unity, as well. You can see from the team that even when we were going through our bad run last season, they never stopped playing for Kettlewell and as a unit. Yes, the football was absolutely shite at times but it was clear the players hadn't downed tools. Kettlewell wanting to keep players with that kind of attitude and willingness to play for him isn't a bad thing in my eyes. Building a squad is a very nuanced and intricate process, not at all easy and is thankless for a manager because some fans will never be pleased with signings that are made.

Steelboy gets a raw deal on here imo, he calls it as he sees it and actually talks a lot of sense. Outwith my own his posts are the ones I enjoy reading the most.

This perspective always intrigues me. What is the status quo? From what I understand, the current approach is to live within our means, which we should always aim to do, regardless of any external financial support. It seems that we budget based on finishing in 10th place, without any significant cup runs, relying on television and gate revenue, supplemented by smaller income streams. If someone injects money into the club and the wage bill increases beyond our sustainable budget, we risk significant financial trouble. No business would operate by spending beyond its means, and football clubs should be no different. It's crucial to recognise the financial constraints of our limited fan base. We cannot rely on the volunteers of the Well Society board to magically generate more funds. This underscores the need for us to be even more responsible in our financial decisions. There are some opportunities to increase revenue, but there is no magic solution that will allow us to compete with teams backed by wealthy owners who spend beyond the club's actual means. It's important to learn from history. The overspending approach has historically led to problems, not just in other Scottish clubs, but even within our own. This should serve as a reminder of the necessity of financial responsibility.