Andy_P

I don't know if he'll get it but I'm sure he will closer to the top of list than many will give him credit for. A big question would be as how to much if any AFCB want to deviate from the way that Eddie Howe managed the club but if they are looking for someone broadly in the same mould then I would think Robinson would tick a few of the boxes. He has the former player connection, he is considered to be of the same intensity and forensic eye for detail mould as Howe, and perhaps significantly he would be seen as an ambitious manager viewing the job as a progression and one which, even if the Bournemouth board drastically downsized, would still present him with resources and opportunities he's never had before, as opposed to some of the candidates mentioned who would be going there thinking they are operating on a comparitive shoestring. I must admit I am a little concerned at this one.

I wouldn't disagree with any of that Dave. It was more a thought that, whilst not ideal, there are one or two options Gallagher among them.

I might well be off the mark but I have it in my mind that Gallagher played right-back for Livi in the 3-2 game on the last day of the season before he joined us. I would need to confess he was largely unknown to me beforehand and the reports that he was about join obviously made him one to look out for in that game. But I then seem to remember hearing, I can only presume it would have been on the radio going over Fir Park, that he was going to be playing full-back and thinking the "scouting" of him might not be a true reflection seeing as he would be out of position. That could of course be tosh that somehow I've imagined to be true.

I wouldn't necessarily assume David Turnbull would be in from the off. I think he's not also easing himself back in after the eight months out, he's also easing himself in after the follow up op on the back of the eight months out. I still think there will be further period of gradually building him back up until he's routinely doing full nineties again.

I don't know anything in terms of sponsorship but not wearing current kits in pre-season isn't a complete rarity for us. I can remember a few images of bounce games where we have training kit on and I can even mind one or two public friendlies where we've stuck to the training gear. I noticed Accies didn't play in their first team kit on Saturday either. I'm sure it's no more than being as efficient as possible in use of the first team kit.

Probably should have set this up a couple of weeks ago actually but well, kind of out of the habit a bit!

Just on the fitness point about Robinson, I think you're right with the observation but I remember in pre-seasons past that that he occasionally had them going into games on the back of fairly extensive training sessions. The one that sticks in my mind in particular was the Barrow friendly that we lost and apparently they had a double session before we played them that evening. I have no idea whether that might have been the case yesterday or how rigorous the sessions have been for them this season but worth remembering that a flogged looking team in pre-season might appear so for a reason.

I struggle to watch Donnelly's interviews as my eyes are constantly drawn to the ginger beard and black hair contradiction.

This confusion perhaps stems from the team-sheet Rangers issued. The commentator Rory Hamilton tweeted an image of the team-sheet which had trialist in brackets after McGinley's name.

8pm ko now apparently

Also going to be shown on Premier Sports if that is of use to anyone who isn't a season ticket holder or one of the overseas crew.

If it's been stated it's a private bounce game then why not respect that? They've stated they'll post information and images/footage if they can thereafter. As tempting as it might be, I can't imagine it would do much for the cause of getting grounds open as early as possible if a few hundred people all take the same approach and pitch up at friendlies trying to sneak a peak at the game.

Be careful what you wish for. I have heard it said that when there was a similar rule previously back in the SPL days about two subs having to be U21 or whatever, many clubs were not fans. Players were listed as subs simply because they had to be, the manager had no intention whatsoever of playing them unless absolutely forced. It also created scenarios akin to that of Dom Thomas, seeing as he's topical and all, where players that might have benefited from the experience of going out on loan and playing with a lower league team required to be retained in case they were needed to help the club meet the two youngsters obligation.

I think it also has to be borne in mind that this is by no means a normal season that is looming upon us. Whereas four strikers, if indeed that transpires, or what appears to be an additional body or two in midfield and defence might be seen as excessive in normal circumstances these are not however normal circumstances. I think we are seeing a degree of contingency planning built in to the squad building in considering however many European fixtures we might feature in (although in reality there is every chance we might end up with less games than had we played a League Cup group stage - but you still need to be set up for them nonetheless), the abbreviated number of weeks available to get the league campaign concluded and the absence of the winter break. And there also remains the potential for the campaign to be disrupted further through weather or a second Covid-19 spike. It's perhaps not something we could support normally but it seems sensible to me given the variables we know of to be well covered.

Let's leave the discord here please folks.

Being the nosey bugger I am I noticed Motherwell trending on Twitter. Some good entertainment to be had watching our fans fight amongst themselves, fight with Rangers fans, be belittled by both Rangers and Celtic fans and belittle Rangers and Celtic fans. Nothing different to any other day I hear you say. One tweet did stick out though as regards the mention way earlier about Shane Ferguson. Stellar club we are and all but we surely don't have English Championship players, with the rewards which that playing in that league can bring, threatening to go on strike to join us do we?

I wouldn't dismiss the sell on fee for Kipre just yet. It remains to be seen how severe their situation is, what interest there is in them and how the look to re-shape. There will be vultures swooping attempting to take advantage of their situation but not all of those bids will be accepted - I remember Kilmarnock trying to sign Martyn Corrigan for buttons and being hunted when we were in administration. It may be as one of the younger members of their squad there will be other players on bigger wages who Wigan will look to move on first, and again it could mirror our own situation where some of those with potential with a view to maximising their value further down the line if they maintain progress.

We're all just going to take the Daily Record's account at it's absolutely not at all sensationalist word are we?

A head full of nonsense!

Sure, things hadn't been great in the run up to the League Cup game. Only wins since the opening day were a 1-0 win over Killie from a penalty and scraping past East Fife in the previous round of the Cup. We'd also lost to Hamilton on the Saturday. For the Morton game Moult, McDonald, Lasley and Ainsworth were all on the bench and only a 90th minute equaliser took it to extra-time. We still managed to blow it and lost 3-2. There was a side story of the police and stewards being completely OTT whilst all this was going on but that's another story. Barraclough was dismissed pretty quickly in the days following the game and it emerged that there had an altercation in the dressing room which was mooted to have been a factor with punches having said to have been thrown. I don't know if names were actually confirmed but Lionel Ainsworth and Stephen Robinson were speculated to have been two of those involved.

The Fletcher reference is a statement of fact rather than any slight on his abilities. As Melvin has alluded to, but for the injury who knows how their respective Motherwell careers may have turned out. I would personally disagree with you on the selection element for Inverness. Of course I can only speak for myself but having seen neither of them before the pre-season games I took in (Livingston rings a bell) to me even then Moult looked the more impressive of the two. On fans refusing to give him a chance and the comparison with McCall that's an interest point to consider but by the same token we should remember there was a lot of goodwill and admiration for him as we went into the new season for managing to keep us up and the manner of those play-off victories.

The Fletcher injury which kept him out for a few weeks made that particular decision for him I think and when Moult started scoring he never looked back. But Bara had McDonald there signed Clarkson, Moult and Fletcher and then within a couple of weeks of the season starting signed Robinson too. There comes a point when having options becomes throwing mud at a wall and seeing if something sticks. But yeah the Fletcher/Moult thing is a bit of your sliding doors type moment isn't it.

And chose Wes Fletcher ahead of him.

He deserves to be fondly remembered for guiding us through the play-offs, but by the same token he's lucky he has that play-off to be remembered fondly. Without the play-offs you are looking at a massive turnover of players that delivered only slightly less inconsistency than the manager before him before nosediving when he had his stamp on the team. When you reflect on it it seems most unlike Motherwell to get rid of a manager so early in his tenure and before September was even out but putting yourself back in the time it certainly seemed the right thing to do. It was dire in the few months of that new season. He was backed and was allowed to bring in a number of players in January and he was similarly backed in the summer and signed player after player after player but with seemingly no idea what his strongest team was. Results and performances were largely awful. Getting out of jail at East Fife on a night he endured some of the most stinging abuse at close quarters I've heard a Motherwell manager receive at a game suggested he'd lost some of the support even then. Meekly losing a third successive derby at Hamilton. And the Cappielow result and subsequent events in the dressing room was obviously the final straw. It wasn't a surprise at all that corrective action was taken. But, all that other stuff has largely faded and we're left with the memories of two of the most memorable wins of that era so he'll always have a special place. Good old stegosaurus fan Baraclough.

True, as a consequence of an unprecedented situation. That's a wee bit away from "always announcing cuts" though.