dennyc

If we had a spate of injuries and were short of players for a position, would those getting their knickers in a twist about Welsh react the same way if we recalled a loanee whose wages we were paying to see if he could fill the gap? Especially if he was performing at an exceptional level. Pretty sure I read on here that some folk thought it would be a good idea to recall Whyte from Stenhousemuir to see if he could do a job in our midfield as cover for Watt or Slattery or perhaps sit on our bench to give us more options. Celtic are perfectly within their rights to recall Welsh to see if he can improve their current squad, bearing in mind injuries and other players moved on in this window. We knew that when he came to us as the recall date was included in the Agreement. If he does not cut it in training or game time he will be back with us soon enough, if we want him. All this talk about conspiracies, victimisation etc is nonsense. The situation is inconvenient and might be stalling us bringing in a new face or two. But that's all it is.

I agree, but you never know he just might want to return home to Lanarkshire and given what he has contributed to SW they might do him and therefore us a good turn Even at his age, he looks fitter, more mobile and technically better than players 10 years younger. As a short term addition and if available on decent terms I think he would be a good addition. Hopefully wrong, but I expect one of our regular midfielders to move on this window.

Exactly this. Celtic are only doing what I hope we would do in a similar position. Having a look at Welsh in training to assess whether he would fit in to the team, is better than they currently have, is better than anyone they can bring in. If none of those apply send him back out on Loan. I hope he does play against AT. That way I understand he could not go on Loan to anyone but us. And if some team wants to buy him outright and pay his full wages then so be it. All this 'Celtic are doing the dirty on us and Welsh' is just nonsense.

With Balmer gone we must be looking to bring someone in no matter what. But also look to Welsh returning later in the window. I'm hoping Welsh features at Falkirk tomorrow and that rules out a loan to anybody but us later on in January. That leaves only a permanent transfer available this window to all but us and his wages might prove prohibitive to those other teams showing an interest. With a wee bit of luck this whole circus could work out quite well for us. And if we can't beat County without Welsh I would be amazed.

Probably wrong but the only place I could see him going is Belgium , but even then the wages might be an issue. A Loan might be doable I guess. But remember Celtic already mucked him about when Mechelen wanted him back for this season. To our benefit. Celtic have one CB injured long term and let two youngsters for the same position leave because they could not get in ahead of Scales and Trusty. Which speaks volumes about Celtic's recruitment under Rodgers. No inside info, just a feeling, but I think they have recalled him to be a starter.....at least until Carter Vickers returns. And as others have said, why should Welsh take a wage cut to facilitate a permanent transfer to the likes of Aberdeen or us?

My point was that we could afford the fee but the wages ruled us out. Sorry if that was not clear.

What you say is true but sadly we know that very few players in Scotland will turn down the chance to go to either Celtic or Rangers. Maybe also Aberdeen and Hearts. Whether it works out for them or not is not really a consideration. They will usually get chances somewhere elsewhere if that is the case. That's just life up here. We are not the only club that faces that challenge. In fact even those clubs I listed face the exact same issue when England or Europe come calling. If any of those four are prepared to offer a 3 or 4 year contract at upwards of £10k a week (which is what Welsh is on) then it would take a very brave and confident player to say "no thanks". John McGinn is the only one I can think of and in his case I think it was more Hibs than the player that refused the move to Celtic. And what if a player stays put and his form dips or he suffers a serious injury? That might be his only chance of financial security gone. Or if a club deny a move and the player downs tools or disrupts the dressing room? Declan Gallagher springs to mind....allegedly. If Motherwell receive a fair offer and a player wants to go then he will be gone.

I heard we did and could afford him. But he is on £10k plus PW at Celtic for the next 18 months. I would not be surprised to see him playing for them at least until season end. Their current defence is shocking. Just look at how we ran Scales ragged. I suspected he would be recalled as soon as I heard Nancy had been sacked.

Think they are more likely to move him on. If not Aberdeen, his performances for us will have alerted others. That said. given that Celtic's central defence is a shambles and Carter Vickers is out injured he might get his chance. They also loaned Inamura back to Japan despite having given him a 4 year deal in the summer. Askou will sort it out. With SOD injured and Balmer likely on his way I hope we get two central defenders in fairly quickly. The Watt to Rangers rumour is also gathering pace although his injury is delaying matters so I am told. At least with Watt we have a say in matters.

Lord Hamilton colours

Good to see you have removed that imposter who had taken over your account. Or are you just recalling November 2013.

The racing colours thing sounds more plausible to me. Changing colours is a huge thing and would need something major to justify it. A condition of being donated land to create a new Stadium comes across as more likely than adopting an English team's colours. Then again, maybe Lord Hamilton was a bid Bradford fan.

Pretty sure Arsenal recalled Biereth in January and then sent him overseas that same month? As far as Celtic are concerned, I guess if Aberdeen were willing to pay a reasonable fee and/or pay a larger portion of his wages than us then it is a no brainer. Not sure how much say Welsh would have at the end of the day. Remember he is only with us because Celtic shat all over him at the end of last season and stopped him returning to Belgium.. But sitting in the Stand for 18 months....if Celtic so decided...would not benefit him either. Guess we will find out soon.

Thanks. The numbers explanation could lessen the impact but only if we do not sell out our full allocation. If we don't sell out then nobody needs to be disadvantaged. That is a loophole the SPFL will probably look to close. Do all Clubs advise SPFL of their allocations to visiting Clubs at season start? How else would the Authorities know how many tickets were heading our way to start with? Or what reduction to apply. How many tickets do Dundee usually allocate to us. Thousands? 500? And are Dundee able to increase the numbers as they see fit? If the 'Group' are coughing up it sounds to me like those Authorities are not happy with that approach as it means MFC escape a financial penalty. In other words they opted to fine MFC, but in a round about way? And they wanted fans banned. But the only solution moving forward is either that the fans' pyro stops or is allowed at all football grounds. The latter is not going to happen.

On the basis we are selling out away fixtures, please inform us how reducing that allocation by 50 will not result in 50 fans missing out. What am I missing? Also, if the Club are having to meet the cost of those 50 tickets to ensure United are not penalised please explain why that will not cost the Club financially. And maybe also comment as to why part of the reason for the sanction is that both Clubs " failed to identify and/or take proportionate disciplinary measures against the supporters responsible for the pyrotechnic displays."

He is worth a listen, if only to highlight how lucky we are at present. He is evidence dinosaurs still exist.

Was it not Ian McCall on Sportsound who was mouthing off about Askou being disrespectful? Then the media jumped on board but didn't really push it. Now it's being used to motivate Hibs players for Saturday. A bit like when the media fired us up by pointing out Celtic needed a five goal win at Fir Park to go top. McCall probably did not understand the comments being made as they were about modern planning and tactics.

I think that is a fair and balanced summary. As one who voted against the Barmack proposal (even though my first name is Colin!) I think the caution expressed in your comments is valid. No doubt we are currently in a much better and more stable position than we were when Barmack first raised his head. Partly due to the Miller monies but also down to the efforts of both Boards. The recent Society update highlighted various improvements that have taken place. You mention Finance, and apologies if I missed the info, but how does our contributing membership numbers and the Society's Bank Balance today compare to way back then? In short, what growth has taken place? Positive news in those areas can only help to reassure all those with MFC at heart.

The actual reality is that Celtic are six points adrift in a League they usually win at a canter, having deservedly lost to the League leaders home and away. They have lost 6 League matches this half season which is one less than they lost in the previous two full League seasons combined. They failed to turn up for a Cup Final and were outplayed by a team that currently sits third bottom in the League. On the evidence of their visit to Fir Park, several players look disinterested and the others look bewildered at the tactics they are being asked to follow. They lost to us for the first time in a decade. Following a defeat to their detested rivals they are now managerless and the person responsible for recruitment has also been sacked (Those departures although welcomed cause further uncertainty). And those rivals who a few weeks ago were dead and buried are now equal on points with Celtic. So for a Club like Celtic that is most certainly a crisis. That does not mean they don't have the resources and desire to turn things round. They could well do so. The Media hysteria is a result of that crisis but not the cause of it. The cause is their performance on the pitch combined with a Board that is disconnected with the views of the majority of their fans. And long may it continue.

Even setting aside the cross for the Said goal, SOD was outstanding. Other than one early last ditch clearance which fell to a Celtic player, he strolled through the game and brought a calmness to the defence. Never rushed and looked to be thoroughly enjoying himself. Two incidents stood out for me...once when he calmy ushered the ball out for a corner when Celtic players were snapping at his heels and the other when Said picked him up after his goal. The joy Said showed when scoring was infectious.

Agree with this. No conspiracy but certainly incompetence is an issue with referees and VAR officials. We recall examples of when Motherwell were wronged, but speaking to fans of other Clubs they can easily trot out numerous examples involving their own team. No doubt there is a subconscious fear of calling it wrong and the subsequent media reaction. That does play a part. More so if the OF are disadvantaged. But all teams suffer, including Rangers at times. Maybe just less so. The fact they were denied a Cup Final win by poor officials is a recent example. Even Collum acknowledged that error. Or does pointing out that fact also make me a closet Rangers fan? Or a Liv fan for pointing out how harshly they have been treated all season? Or a Dundee Utd fan if I sometimes agree with Goodwin? Whilst Collum is in charge and there is no accountability nothing will change. VAR or no VAR. Sadly it is something we as fans can do nothing about.

Seasons greetings to all. Enjoy.

That is why Welsh not starting baffled me and why I think Askou got it wrong. Welsh is the only Centre Back we have that has the confidence and ability to push up and then pass the ball accurately into our midfield. And he has the pace others do not possess. Starting McGinn and Gordon as a pairing was the reason we saw so many negative passes along the back line. Also meant, especially on our left side, that our wide players could not charge forward. Made it so comfortable for St Mirren. Welsh simply has to start on Saturday.

Focusing on yesterday it appears that on here at least Ap Stam, our lack of a goal threat and Ward are being cited as the root cause of that performance. In fact some appear to be revelling in that reasoning. Ap Stam did not have a great game and we need improvement, but he and Ward were far from the worst players on view. Being let of lightly by most are Watt, Maswanhise, Fadinger, Longolo and McGinn who delivered far less than Stam and Ward. In fact Maswanhise, Watt and Longolo turned in performances almost as dire as they did against Livi. Except yesterday they did not have the convenient excuse of an artificial surface that seemingly affected their ability to run or pass the ball. On a Managerial comparison, Askou was completely out thought by Robinson who devised a system that negated the advantage we thought we would have given the larger playing surface. Can I suggest Robinson learned more from our earlier meeting than Askou did? Looked to me that Saints were perfectly happy to surrender space out wide knowing that we would more often than not slow the game down and eventually meekly surrender the ball. Time after time. Team selection wise, given the hype regarding the threat the Saints giants pose, I get why Askou selected Gordon. But not selecting Welsh and retaining McGinn was a huge error in my opinion. Welsh is the only Centre Back we have with the ability to pass the ball forward (through a pressing opposition) to the feet of our midfield/forwards. Driving us upfield. What we saw first half was the ball repeatedly played along the back line making it almost impossible for Said and Longolo to press forward quickly. On the right side, Katroumbis was a bit more effective offensively but sadly he received poor support from Maswanhise. I think Askou acknowledged that situation at Half Time which is why Welsh appeared. Why else bring on a Centre Back when losing 2-0? I also think Slattery should have started or at least been brought on along with Welsh. So, No, I don't believe Stam and Ward were the main reason we fell short yesterday. Far from it. Too many of our players had possibly their worst performance of the season, not assisted by team selection. I'm far from jumping ship as regards our new approach, but previous Managers were rightly slated for not having a plan B to revert to in times of need. So far I have seen nothing to suggest that Askou is any different. We have a difficult run of games coming up and we are far too predictable. Hopefully we will see some tactical changes that give opposition Managers food for thought. Surely that can be the case without moving away from our possession/passing approach. It was far too easy for Robinson and his players yesterday. Having said all that, it is astounding how one piece of refereeing incompetence can change the dynamics of a game.

Adult Public on mine as well. Even though it was bought as an Old Fart concession.