Shaka

yes, or you could factor in all the info - our seasons ended, we start in europe in 5 weeks,pre season in 4 wk,MMG is leaving, 5 first team players away,Setanta on dodgy ground and tv deal could go,we would have to sell our best players we have left..... and do some forward planning, quiet word with an agent here + there,internet search (there are several professional databases for players + managers) etc and have a 1 or 2 possibilities, Gannons name has been mentioned for a week or 2 and apparently he was very impressive in his 3 interviews, were 3 interviews really needed? could we have done 2 + announced him yesterday/thursday? Im not unhappy wi Gannon,just think in my opinion it could have been a little quicker

So in these times of no tv deal + having to sell the family silver to survive, your not bothered about a competition that could see us make £400k - £700k for what is effectively 6 pre season friendlies,getting to the 3rd qualifying round could see us get a big team n sum tv time! yes the league is our bread + butter but a large wedge of cash is definately not to be sniffed at

2 weeks to appoint someone who was out of a job therefore no lengthy negotiations with other clubs,plus we knew for a fact MMG was leaving up to 2 weeks before it happened, things could have been concluded faster in my opinion. Im with you on your point that as long as we have a decent squad in place for the league starting il be happy, BUT this is Motherwell, when was the last time you ever seen us conclude major transfer business quickly? and with the fact that anything less than 5-7 players (depending on Quinn+Reynolds position) will see us certainties for relegation, the new boss needs to work hard+fast, still at least we seem to have a decent manager now so lets see what he brings to the table

I wonder if Gannon has any guys in mind from Stockport? They have some cracking players, some out of contract and they are in admin so others going for free/minimal fees, plus with the tiny budget they have surely they arent on very high wages

If we lose Clarky, Quinn + Reynolds we will be left with a squad looking like this - Fraser Saunders,Craigan,Page,Hutchinson,Hammell O`Brien,Lasley,McGarry,Fitzpatrick,Forbes,D.Smith Murphy,Archdeacon,Sutton and youths like McHugh,Meechan,McPake,Lawless,Slane to be honest that squad fills me with absolute terror, to make that squad even competetive (finish 11th) in the SPL were gonna need a Keeper, 2 Defenders,2 Midfielders and at least 1 striker, so thats 6-7 players in. Now how much of this money we rake in will be spent on the transfers needed? £1m? , £500k?, £100k? With how long its taking to pull the fucking finger out and actually get a manager, were missing out on any decent Bosman deals as all these guys are getting tied up now so we are going to HAVE to spend good money or we might as well restructure for the 1st Division cause thats the only place we will be going.Im not against selling these players, and the fees spoken about sound superb but in reality if we sell all 3,unless we spend the whole lot or a vast portion of it on replacements, how much more would relegation cost the club? And I cant believe in a time when we need money our European venture is being dismissed so easily, with the money you get from UEFA for competing in and winning the first 2 rounds we could be £360k - £400k better off with the prospect of a live televised (or 2 games, home+away) game and big home gate against the likes of PSV,Hamburg,Fenerbace, Roma,Lille,Athletic Bilbao we could rake in £750k just for so called "pre season friendlies" as well as having a team who will be flying at the start of the season At the moment we are 7 days away from the 1st competetive game of our season, with no manager, no appointment looking iminent,a squad of 14 players with spl experience and a few promoted youths, the 3 best players in that squad loooking like being away before the week is out and a now tricky tie against what is in all honesty a highland league level team Hmmmmm, MFC Rollercoaster? MFC Car Crash more like

good luck to the burds today, cracking achievement anyway making it through their whole seasons unbeaten, now to top it off with some nice silverware!

He did mention money but in the context of 1 or 2 experienced guys to bring along the youngsters, It sounded like he felt he was hampered at Telstar as their budget was so tiny, he brought through youngsters but didnt have any experienced/leader types to help further. But wether it was actual cash for a transfer or some money for an old head maybe he knows from a previous club for a season loan he isnt looking for stupid amounts, just a modest wage/fee to help out with 1 or 2 guys.

no Idea with Forbes, sure it was only a 1 year contract he signed last summer, he was a guy who always seemed to be a standout in our reserve games last season and the u-19s the year before, and by all accounts he was superb for Dumbarton the 3 months he was there so prety promising, but no idea if he is still here

So after 2 years of MMG in charge we are left with 14 first team players,our best/most influential players gone + with no replacements and little to no development of our youngsters, so much so that we currently have no players between 20+22 breaking through into the team, we have a group of 8 or 9 very good youth players with a combined total of around 4 appearances and nothing apart from Reynolds till you get to Smith,Fitzy,Clarky + Quinn. This for a club who depends on bringing through youngsters! Take ur blinkers off please, McGhee did a great job 1st season,average job last season,brought through no young players and has now left us struggling to put together even a good 6-a-side team, less 3 weeks away from the start of our season, no harm done at all eh

We need the RIGHT man, experience as a manager isnt the most important thing,no previous managerial experience didnt/hasnt hampered the likes of Roberto Di Matteo, Roberto Martinez,Darren Ferguson,John Hughes etc, Boyle needs to look + weigh up the pros+cons what we need is someone with the following assets - 1.ability to develop youngsters, the lifeblood of our club 2.ability to mould a tough to beat team weather that be good defensively or offensively 3.ability to work to tight budgets 4.ability to bring in good players quickly as our season starts in less than 3 weeks (contacts/knowledge that actually produces results instead of 2 years of blethering) 5.mental toughness 6.able to whet the apetite of the fans (more season books,tickets,merch sold is better for club) 7.out of work meaning no compo payments to me, I personally say Luc Nijholt + Jim Gannon would be the outstanding candidates with Jimmy Calderwood a good outsider

thats the thing I was worried about when I found that out, but he is still at Red Bull,their coach has gone so he might be able to go as well, and a year or two at us could be just the ticket for him getting a big job in holland intstead of offers for interim posts. The guy is keen on us so I think if we came in he would listen, it would be a McGhee situation in that we know he would only be here a couple years before going onto better things but from the articles ive read on him he seems anything but a media whore like McGhee, and the biggest plus points in the Feyenoord article is that they were after him as he would be cheap to get, small wage and he is real good at motiviting a squad and getting them playing well together, sounds damn good to me

Luc Nijholt was on the verge of becomming interim manager of Feyenoord in january as their coach left + Leo Beenhakker isnt in till july, he had almost 3 seasons as manager of Stormvogels Telstar so decent manager experience, his work at AZ with their youth system is bearing fruit now and he has had stints at AZ + Red Bull as assistant to Louis Van Gaal + Co Adrianse respectively. 3 years management experience where he did well on a tiny budget, assistant experience with 2 big european clubs to 2 world class managers and experience cultivating + developing youth talent! Does Ian McCall, Gordon Chisholm,Gary McAllister,Terry Butcher,Brian Reid, etc have a CV like that? Call the big man now!!!!!!

he gave us europe where his strange team choices + tactics ensured we were papped out after 1 tie without a single bit of fight, he gave us early cup exits to shite lower league teams,he gave us constant headlines about his beloved Celtic / whoring himself for any job around,and he has now left us with a squad thinner than Dick Advocaats hair. although he did give us a commanding centre half, no wait, he gave us 2 years of talking about a commanding centre half! The guy did a good job here, 3rd place was phenomenal and some of the players + football here over the last 2 years has been great but there has been a lot of shite to go with it. And he has made a huge mistake going to the Sheep, 3rd place + regular cup finals/trophies is the LEAST those living in the 80`s bawbags will demand.

doubt we could match his wage demands but Steve Coppell would be amazing,what about Bruce Rioch? has done a superb job in scandinavia recently but again prob out of range. best seeing who applies for the job 1st,could be a surprise or two like MMG last time This could be quite good for us tho, the new guy is going to have to rebuild after losing Klimpl,Smith + Hughes as well as any other possible deprtures and having a squad which would struggle to honour a team in the Tennents Sixes, so as well as the compo for MMG, Boyle is gonna have to put his hand in his pocket again like he did for MMG at the start

knew someone would say that, lol

anyone reckon Steve Coppell would fancy taking a small pay cut? lol

apparently just announced on Moray Firth Radio sports news that barring any last minute hiccups, Mark McGhee is to be announced as Aberdeen manager on Tuesday!

aye the top is mint, and the training + leisure gear is cracking too! well done guys

ay,amber shorts, but the hoop returns

We can only afford 50k in two installments? come on now,thats fuckin embarassing. And as I said earlier,a complete lack of foresight here, that Davidson boy has a lot of potential and even 1 good season in the SPL could see offers around £100k+ for him making any investment in him worthwhile

if offered he`d be off like a bat out of hell, I think he has been getting frustrated more over the last month + is possibly looking to go, losing Dobbie after apparently 6 months of groundwork, losing 2 players to St fucking Johnstone + looking like losing Smith,Hughes + Klimpl at least this summer with fuck all to replace them, plus not bothering to go out + clap the fans after the game yesterday,i just feel he`s scunnered

Morais would do well on the wing, and Pavels Mihadjuks id take in a heartbeat, theres your dominant centre half there! 6`2 and wins the majority of headers, plus not a bad player into the bargian. Imrie could be a decent player but is a total cock goblin

Hughes + Porter wages were PART covered, judging by the extra £1m added onto this years wage bill according to the AGM financial figures a fair portion was covered by the club itself (yes there was MMG + Leitch`s new deals and some bonuses but £20k per week worth? dont think so!) Therefore this cash should be freed up. Also this scaremongering about the Setanta deal is pish, even with the SPL getting £100m instead of £125m, its STILL almost double our current deal, Id hardly plead poverty!!

went for a magical mystery tour in Luxembourg city on way to Frankfurt Hahn after Nancy game when the motorway was closed, and I must say, the Ladies of the night are something else! not that we stopped, but not bad to look at when going round in circles lost at 2 in the morning

id much prefer loans from Premiership/Championship teams than old firm. The 1 thing I dont like bout old firm players is we weaken our team when we play Rangers or Celtic as that player cant play against his parent club.