weeyin

Even if we ended up with only 2 centre backs we could easily switch to a back 4. Taylor-Sinclair as a left back, and Tait as right back. (I feel like I typed "back" a lot there).

Because we set up as normal against Hibs. Frear on the bench after being one of our best players in preseason, and brought on with bench-warmer Bigi to chase a lost cause. And watching us struggling against Clyde in the wind and on plastic because nobody was smart enough to put their foot on the ball and play short passes. And Hartley talking about having to battle against Accies. Exactly the same as last season. I'll be delighted if I'm wrong, but I don't see much likely to change in our style this season.

I suppose it depends if you want to be entertained for your £24 quid. There's a balance to be struck, but we're not there yet. There was plenty of football in the team that won the cup. Enough to beat Celtic at Parkhead in the league and take 4 off them in the semi at Hampden.

True - but our line up will be closer to the one that lost badly in December. Minus Tanner. I'm not saying we can't win it - I'm saying that we win it by not getting dragged down their level in a needless battle.

Of course. I just meant that after being on the first team fringe last season, he must have thought he had a chance of pushing on this season; particularly because he wasn't loaned out at the start of the League Cup campaign like our other loanees. Until we signed 3 more central defenders.

I know it was end of season, but our easiest victory was when we played them off the park in our last game. The times when we've struggled (like the game in December) is when we were drawn into a battle and dragged down to their level.

Would be fun to see Frear, Bigi, Campbell, Rodriguez, Cadden line up, but I'm sure it will more like Tait, Rose, Campbell, McHugh, Cadden (with Grimshaw as cover).

The transfer policy was, as a first priority, to get some depth to the squad. I can see the sense in that given the issue we had last season when we lost 4 or 5 players, and we've probably achieved that aim. We seem to have gone overboard with defenders, though, expecially once Dunne is fit. And it looks like we are dependent on Tanner coming back for any creativity up top.

Barry Maguire will be wishing he'd gone out on loan.

I don't have any doubts about the quality of Aldred or his attitude. I just worry about the balance of our defence, and the balance of the midfield in front of it.

Don't worry - Robinson will make sure our best player in the League Cup group won't be anywhere near a starting slot. He'll be keeping the bench warm beside Bigi and Gorrin. Lucky for us Templeton got his big money move to Burton Albion, but anyone with pace on either wing is going to cause us problems I think. Tait is great going forward, but not exactly nippy when tracking back.

Although, gubbing them is always a bonus.

The transfer window falls within EU law because of the following decision in the European Court of Justice (for basketball, but applies across all sports): "it established the principle that the restriction may be justified as late season transfers could substantially alter the sporting strength of teams in the course of the championship and thus call into question the proper functioning of sporting competition. It can therefore be concluded that a proportionate restriction on when a player can be transferred is compatible with EU law." Financial regulation and reporting requirements for private companies are a different kettle of fish.

Are you trying to convince me that we didn't rely on Dunne and Kipré's pace multiple times to get us out of trouble? Because we have the same wingbacks this season. Like I said before, I thought he was an excellent stand-in for Hartley, but our lack of pace at the back was something Robinson worked hard to improve last season.

As long as we don't face strikers quicker than my old granny, that should be fine. Without Dunne and Kipré we really need some pace in that defence.

If we were looking to replace Hartley, maybe.

#MeToo

They could make anything a condition of membership, but it still doesn't make it legally enforcable.

I think the problem is that privately held companies (which most clubs are), have no obligation to disclose anything like that. Anything the SFA comes up with would not be enforcable.

Attitudes like this are one of the reasons it's difficult to give youngsters game time. (And in case people forget, Cadden is 21). Fraser Kerr was a Motherwell youth player until he joined Birmingham. I don't remember anyone giving him a pass because he was "one of our own".

We've sold 1 player who we'd barely miss if Dunne was fit. Hardly a firesale.

We know clubs have bid for Carson and we knocked them back. Time will tell if the bidders undervalued him or we overvalued him.

Better chance of a sell on % for us. Better career opportunities for the player.

On a different note, what do we think Carson's worth? I see Chelsea signing a keeper for £71 million, and Liverpool spending £65 million (or whatever it was) and think the market has become inflated. Then I see Joe Hart being sold for only £3.5 million - I know he has his dodgy moments, but he's had 266 first team starts for Man City and 75 England caps. So by these valuations Carson is either worth about £10 million, or £250k.

No deal. Send him to Villa for 2 million.