Gadgey

Based on what evidence? Honestly not meaning to be controversial or sound like a stuck record, but there's little evidence to suggest that a league 1 club (even the top ones) has signed or willing to sign a CB for the figures you suggest. Granted, as the deadline gets closer and things get crazier, it's not unfeasible that we may manage to get something closer to £500k eluded to in the press for Henaghan. But a number of factors would need to be at play. None of which, we fans are ever likely to know. Agreed, championship clubs have more cash to burn and they would be the ones to have in the bidding war. But for a CB that most likely wouldn't walk into a starting 11 of an upper league 1 team, I would suspect Burrows et al will be hoping for a deal with a league 1 side comprising add ons that replicates the Marvin windfall.

Wasn't it Cardiff?

Quite right to be standing by your convictions. You'll be waiting a long while before the club achieve your expectations though. There's a small issue of market forces and they most certainly are not in our favour.

Stay the fuck away

Craig clay last minute equaliser

An oxford fan blog piss take to an all familiar story. http://oxblogger.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/george-lawrences-shorts-i-like-to-move.html George Lawrence's Shorts - I like to move it Marv it Saturday 12 August Perspective is everything in football. Take resting Premier League giants Portsmouth - Sol Campbell lifting the FA Cup is big, but far away, Danny Rose is small but very close. This can get confusing, especially when getting annihilated 3-0 with goals from a Tap-in Thomas, a wonder strike from van Kessel and a crowning moment from The Hipsters' Choice, Josh Ruffles Ruffels. Afterwards Eveals confirmed that Portuguese village team Hull had put in an offer for Marvin Johnson. He's rejected it screaming "I WANT MORE MONEY TO BUY ANGORA RABBITS". Crack out the castanets, another transfer tango begins. Monday 14 August When GLS was a boy, teenagers spent their time sniffing glue and looking at pictures of Linda Lusardi in a sexy cave girl outfit. Now they set up Twitter accounts called things like EFL Transfer Zone, promising to give you all the latest transfer gossip theyve read in national newspapers or made up themselves. Soft porn will never be the same again. The latest revelation is that Movin Marvin Johnson is demanding a Marv, er, move; "I need to play in the City of Culture, I hear 'A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine' is a triumph" he's alleged to have said. Tuesday 15 August Now Marvin aint movin or at least not at the moment, according to official fan gobshites Oxvox. He hasnt formally asked for a transfer and his agent isnt the same agent who hustled his move from Motherwell. So, that puts that one to bed once and for all. Wednesday 16 August Erm, on, off, not on at the moment, wish it didnt happen at all. Eveals has decided the way to stop teams poaching his best players is by not having a transfer window, at least not one during the season. Eveals spends his summers in his secret underground lair plotting the destruction of the club, so nobody would be able to get to him anyway. Cunning. Thursday 17 August PClot has an eye for spotting an old banger liable to break down on first use. First 84 year-old Mike Williamson, now a 23 year old Rover Metro for the week's worst trainer. A small has-been from the 90s with bad tracking? You might like to think of it as Martin Gray with wheels. Saturday 19 August Marvin wasnt movin much on Saturday as we lost to S****horpe. He was injured with a tight hamstring. That didn't stop his girlfriend from posting a picture of them on Instagram having a lovely day out together, #nofilter #familytime #blimeyhousesinhullarecheap. Monday 21 August In an avalanche of apostrophes, now Movin is movin to Birminham according to teen online soothsayer OxBible. Arry Redknapp has sabotaged Portuguese village side Hull with a £2.5m deal. KerCHING! All that Movin needs to do now is to hope his injured tight hamstring has cleared up sufficiently to pass a medical. Tuesday 22 August Meanwhile, in a surprise move - not least to the permanently bewildered striker himself, Kane Hemmings has gone to Mansfield on loan with the view to a permanent deal. Apparently he's quite happy, because he knows some of the players there like 'Macca' and 'Digger' as well as other members of Auf Wierdeshen Pet. The boy wizard Alfie Potter is there too apparently. The mystic Oxbible predicted this by reading the countless forum posts weeks ago linking Hemmings to the Stags. Hes also been looking into the tea leaves and is now predicting Marvin Emnes is on his way in, as originally predicted by a wholly reliable fake Oxford Mail Twitter account two or three weeks ago. So, in summary, Marvins movin before we start movin for Marvin. Keep up. Wednesday 23 August Not since GLS spent a whole lunch hour cross-checking James Henry's arm tattoo has a picture been analysed so much. PClot took the team go-karting on Wednesday as a team building exercise, posting a picture of the happy band on Twitter. Who was lurking in the background obscured by the hand of Xemi? Was it Movin' Marvin? Thursday 24 August Why yes, not only is movin' Marvin not movin', he's been movin' in trainin' following his "injured" "tight hamstrin'". Seriously, this is a catapostrophe. PClot is pleading with Movin' to focus on playin' well for Oxford and not be distracted by the transfer speculation that, of course, doesn't exist because he's not for sale and only Portugese village team Hull have had a sniff. Also, back in training, in a world where nobody knew he wasn't out of training in the first place, is Tap In Thomas. Apparently he's looking sharp and has even been seen trying some long range from almost four yards out.

Big buff was more than just a centre half, he was a cracking footballer.

[quote name="CoF" post="502434" timestamp="150281514 We don't seem quite as savvy in that market yet - either that or we're getting the market value but fans tend to see our own boys through claret and amber tinted spectacles. Yeh, you get the odd "how the fuck did they manage to get that much" moment but the over all evidence most definitely suggests the latter.

You're quite right, I was only thinking this season. He's done both!!! So for the purpose of debate, surely those stats make a strong argument for 3 at the back?

I would agree with all but one thing. He hasn't plugged a leaky defence....he's gone out and built a new one. It's still very early doors and it's easy to carried away but I haven't felt this enthused by the opening performances of a season in a hellova long time. I'll feel even better when the transfer window is shut.

I'm pretty sure he just had an off day. McHugh will be vital for us in midfield this season

All one line of it. You never used to be this negative. In fact, I used to enjoy reading your posts. It was your balance that I thought brought some sanity to this forum in the past. For reasons best known to you, you've chosen to become hyper critical. Of course, a matter for you.

I honestly don't know what's happened to you lately mate, but you really are a buzz kill. Yes, some things could've been better like ball retention but I don't agree with the majority of what you say here and certainly not in the manner you present it. Equally, I can't agree with other posters decrying the quality of Dunne, Fisher and Bowman. I thought they did ok and the latter 2 were thwarted by the same thin margins that work for a striker on another day. But of course, if folk want to decide with conviction that Dunne is clueless, Fisher is pish and Bowman is worse than a man down on the first day of the season, then they clearly know more about football than me.

I don't think you can blame him for not.

Aye, like the one we should've got in the first half

That is a really soft penalty

We've certainly ridden our luck with windass hitting the woodwork twice and we're really frail defensively on the right. To the teams credit though, after that obviously nervous start, they are trying to play the game the right way and getting the ball moving on the deck. That cross for the goal (from Tanner?) was an absolute fucking peach. Quietly optimistic for the second half. Could be a proper humdinger!!!

My point exactly....put in a far better way

Agreed Weeyin, i just thought it was interesting just how polarised fan opinions are of their own and other players, and of other leagues. I think the other thing that has to be bourne in mind is that the market to which we would aim to sell Moult is a particularly slow one. Again, just looking at league 1, with the very odd exception, almost entirely every signing is an out of contract free. According to transfermkt, so far, only 5 players have been bought for cash, three midfielders, one winger and one centre forward. Some good players have moved for free because there's just not the money flowing around. https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jumplist/transfers/wettbewerb/GB3 Perhaps even more concerning for our hopes of achieving top dollar for Louis is the estimated value and trend of sales of that leagues top scorers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/league-one/top-scorers Of the top 10 scorers in league 1 last season, 5 start this season in the championship with 3 on promotion but most telling, the other 2 (James Vaughan 24 goals and Matty Taylor 16 goals) for fees of £480k and release clause of £300k respectively. So in essence, I think it all boils down to what is Louis Moult worth to us as a football club. It just might make more sense in this market to keep him and let him go for free.

I had this very conversation with some charlton fans before the game today and whilst they had all heard of Louis Moult, it is fair to say that he most certainly divided opinion. All agreed that they'd want a striker who averages 15 goals a season but many were concerned by his considered fragility i.e. Groin and perceived lightness of weight. Motherwell are reported to want something in the region of £750k which, in the main, is well out of the reach of all but a couple of league 1 sides. Any team at that level spending that kind of cash will be wanting the proven article and despite what many users of this forum think, the majority of fans (granted not professionals) still consider a 15 goal striker in the spl a bit of a punt. The majority of championship sides could afford the price tag but would Louis want to join the majority of those or more importantly, would they want him? Sorry for sounding like a miserable sod (cos I'm really not) I think if they/he did, he'd be gone by now. The English lower leagues love their big strong target men and their quick runners. Louis is neither of them. It's a different type of game to the spl in so many respects. Quick runner Theo Robinson was a regular and (according to my Southend season ticket holder mate) decent performer whilst Josh Magennis and Tony Watt present the target for fast charlton wingers. Both those teams will be in or around play offs this season and due to the type of player he is, Louis would have to fight to get into the starting 11 of either of those sides. Personally, I think it is that level of club that Louis Moult is likely to end up at where he can hope to push on or get promoted to the championship. Maybe my claret and amber specs are blurring my vision but I would love to see him come to the valley for a fee that Motherwell are happy with and for him to prove all of the doubters wrong but it's reasonable to suggest like Al B has, that not everyone has a pair of claret and amber specs.

Did steelboy write this article? http://www.thefootballlife.co.uk/post/163370695926/spfl-201718-season-preview-motherwell-get-last SPFL 2017/18 Season Preview - Motherwell: Get Last Season Tae It seems odd to say it now, but not all that long ago, Motherwell were consistently in Europe, consistently challenging at the right end of the table as opposed to coming close to falling out of it. Once the Stuart McCall era went to hell, Motherwell have been a team of little else but false beginnings. Ian Baraclough created a positive attacking side that was a mess any time they were pressured at the back. Mark McGhee never resolved that and paid for that with his job, becoming a meme in the process. Stephen Robinson has one hell of a task on his hands. Motherwell, last season, were a joke. Successive big defeats and errors from defenders who talked the talked but were incapable of walking the walk culminated in the famous Get this tae incident at Aberdeen last season. That, possibly, wasnt the nadir of last season as Well came uncomfortably close to the playoff spot. Robinson took over as a permanent solution after a fairly dismal failure trying to go it alone in England. Is there any cause to expect better in Scotland? Stephen Robinson has been busy in the transfer market - nine players have come to Fir Park this summer so far and you would expect that not to be the end of it. Motherwell come into this season after having three poor ones and Robinsons task this season is less to try to recoup former glories and more just to make sure that, this season, the word relegation isnt uttered at any point. But with a side that lacked composure at that back last season, that task doesnt look like it will be an easy one. Motherwells key issue remains the defence. Craig Samsons departure as goalkeeper was met by fans with joy but replacing him with Trevor Carson is not exactly convincing. Carsons recent time has been as a goalkeeper at mid to low table English League Two clubs spending last season playing half of Hartlepools games in a season where they dropped out of the football league altogether. Motherwell have plenty of history picking up rough diamonds from the lower reaches of the English leagues but Carsons record of not being a steady number one at the wrong end of the lowest tier would suggest he will not be one of them. In front of him, the defence is not solid. Robinson may have quietly dropped Stephen McManus, but still has to use Stevie Hammell who, at 35, is no longer effective enough to maintain a solid back line. On the opposite flank, Richard Tait will play out of position bt showed enough last season before injury to suggest that he will be able to continue his progress and grow into a real asset for the side. Charles Dunne, signed on a free from Oldham, will likely allow Tait to go back to the right flank (and move Hammell out) in time but it is concerning that he was not chosen for BetFred Cup duty and Tait played out of position instead.. In the centre, Ben Heneghan seems likely to do the same and Robinson has gambled on Leicester youth reject Cedric Kipre to partner him. Banking on a player from England who has literally zero in the way of first team experience is worrying and something which has bitten Motherwell in the backside regularly with Messrs L Laing and Z Jules. While Kipre could develop into a solid player, backing him so early in his career to make a difference is an extremely risky bet given that it is bound to take him time to come up to speed in terms of the rigours of first team football. The back-ups, aside from Stephen McManus (who has lost too much pace to be of much utility nowadays), are all young academy players with only Jack McMillan having more than ten senior appearances for the club. Its quite difficult, then, to see how Motherwells abysmal defensive record improving much. Aside from Inverness, they were the worst team defensively in the division by some considerable distance. Barring either Robinson showing organisational skills that havent shown themselves so far (Motherwell kept the same amount of League clean sheets in the 14 games before his arrival as in the 14 games he managed after arriving) or him having discovered a gem of a player in Kipre (or a future signing) with untapped talent that hasnt shown itself so far, its hard to come up with an argument to say that Motherwell will be any less weak at the back than last season. Anomalies such as the 7-2 to Aberdeen may not happen but that doesnt bring the goals conceded count down much and any team that is going to concede a minimum of 55 goals in a season is always going to be hanging around the wrong end of the table. That would be enough were it the only issue. Midfield has a similar issue in depth and reliance in the youth set up (albeit, the midfield is arguably the strongest part of this academy crop). The end of Keith Lasleys career robs them of a certain handsomeness in midfield but the new recruits of Andy Rose (with significant MLS experience) and Gael Bigirimana (who managed to make it at Coventry and came close at Newcastle) may not be of a standard to lift the team all by themselves, but both have the pedigree and background to suggest they will be able to make an impact at the club. Added to that, Chris Cadden is continuing his progression and may well do so further as Robinson appears willing to trial him in the centre where he can be more effective (although Hearts remain interested in him) and Well should be able to get a full season out of Carl McHugh after having his face cut open did him in for a period of last term. They should, at the very least, have strength in the centre of midfield be it from a holding or from an attacking perspective. That is where the good news ends. Louis Moults time at Motherwell has to be automatically suffixed with the words for now. He has been constantly linked away and interviews the player himself has given suggest that he doesnt have any intention of staying at the club past this season at most and if someone wouldnt mind arranging a transfer for him right now, that would be very good please and thank you. With Scott McDonald gone, Moult departing would be a catastrophic turn of events. Alex Fisher showed at Inverness he has the ability to do something at this level, but Moult is one of the few players in the league who has the goalscoring ability to keep a team up all by himself. In a side with the issues that Motherwell has, that is absolutely invaluable and Motherwells season will be defined not by struggles in the next few months, but in the struggle to the end of August in terms of keeping Moult at the club until at least May. Keep him, and Motherwells chances will be immeasurably improved. Lose him and they will be in some trouble. Having also lost over the summer Dom Thomas, Lionel Ainsworth and Stephen Pearson, Motherwell also look a little less creative out wide. Without McDonald needling, Ainsworth crossing and Pearson thrusting, Motherwell suddenly look almost solely reliant on Louis Moult to do everything. Motherwell, in some eyes, will be challenging for the top six. After all, they have redeeming features in attack that many other sides dont (namely, Louis Moult). But those strengths are more than offset by their weaknesses at the back. Furthermore, the likelihood of those redeeming features in attack being taken away from them by other clubs seems far more probable than the likelihood of the defence suddenly looking magically competent after three seasons where it has often been a running joke. The Steelmen are left with the probability of yet another season of struggle ahead. At the end of last season, I noted on twitter that, with the players leaving on a free and the likelihood that Moult would be off, Motherwell possibly had the weakest squad in the division. Now we come into the new season and, while enough has been done to avoid that conclusion, Motherwell arent far from the weakest side in the league. They lack the spirit and defensive depth of Accies, who will no doubt be down there, but have more cutting edge - even if Moult were to go, Alex Fisher showed himself more a poacher than any attacker Accies have. Even in July, the first Lanarkshire derby of the season in mid-October jumps out as the stereotypical relegation six pointer, even if Well do benefit from a schedule which means six of their first eight games are at Fir Park. The bookies have Motherwell an incredible 4/6 to be in the top six this season but, for me, Motherwell appear nailed on for the bottom six. The only question is just how bad it could get.

I'm surprised that anyone could be so astonished that a player (particularly a foreign player) may choose not to join motherwell. Also, I guess it must've been a no brainer when the offer to go back home presented itself. I feel no sense of loss for nothing we never had. What did cause the sharp intake of air was to see that a player that would walk into our team has gone to a third tier French team.

Just watched the YouTube highlights. I know I'm a happy clappy who only saw the carefully selected match events through a c&a tinted lense but that was really encouraging. Some lovely link up play with great movement off the ball bringing good goal opportunities. Yes, our finishing could have been better but I think the Morton goalie deserves a lot of credit for the one on ones. Taits goal is an unusual one. You rarely see a RB/RWB in so far out of position to meet such a rebound and we'll not see many right backs deliver such a sweet finish on the left peg at any level of football. I would absolutely love to see them play like that against the h*n. It's almost an entirely new team, do they have a new attitude to the big games? I bloody hope so and I guess only time will tell.

Agreed....but it's not a new phenomenon