weeyin

That's a good example. How many people at Fir Park expected Lambert to play a key role in a Champions League winning team? I still remember McAllister taking pelters from some people for not tackling hard enough. His career turned out okay too.

Which takes us back to my original question. Which creative player within our price range will consistently deliver? Or do we not want any creativity in midfield?

He'd be the guy in the middle of the park knocking the ball out wide to the wingers.

Can anybody think of a creative player in our price range that delivers consistently? Even players like Bobby Russell and Davie Cooper drifted out of games for long spells.

Consolidation is the key this year. I'm hopeful Gannon will lay the foundation with a few new players while bringing on some of the youngsters. If we finish 7th or 8th, but with a good base for the following season, I will be happy with that. I just hope the supporters give the man a chance to build and don't demand instant success.

What lack of progress? The guy has harnessed what talent he has to be the top non-OF scorer last season, get into the international squad and swing a move to the Championship. Considering the pelters he took for half of his Motherwell career, that's not too bad.

Clarkson scores goals, and works hard. They say genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. While Clarky will never have the natural talent of a Rosco, to finish top scorer outside the OF in a team that ended up 7th in the league, means the guy has something to offer. People also tend to forget how young he is. Conventional wisdom is that strikers don't peak until they are around 28. That gives the boy another few years of improvement.

Championship defences leak goals. Wolves won the title concdeing 52 goals, Burnley conceded 60 in 5th place and Preston 54. Watford, comfortably in mid-table managed to concede an impressive 72! Compare that to the top teams in the EPL (Man U conceded 24, Liverpool 27, Chelsea 24) and you can see why the promoted teams often struggle. If you are a striker in that league, you are going to get plenty of chances.

Don't sweat it. If there is anything available, the ex-pats will sniff it out and post it here.

The majority of creative players are inconsistent; especially in out price range. I'd rather have someone like Hughes with a grafter beside him, than have 2 grafters.

The state their finances are in, that would actually be a good deal for them. Hope Wattie isn't reading this thread.

Wouldn't touch him, to be honest. A classic case of a guy being over-hyped when he was a youngster at Celtic and, for whatever reason, didn't make the progress that was expected.

Is that code for "The wife made me go to Asda" ?

Ach, dodgy refs, mushrooms on the pitch, losing at home to the Welsh, playing at home in Airdrie - all part of the Dossers European adventure. Makes a nice wee change from Paisley on a Wednesday night.

It was difficult to tell from the dodgy camera work, but the manager and some of the players confirmed that the ref told them it was retaken because of encroachment by the opposition. Robbed or not, no use worrying about it now. We know what needs to be done to win the tie, so let's crack on.

You have to admit, though, that his grasp of the English language has comes on leaps and bounds since he joined.

KTë qiftë arusha qorre!

Don't wear that pink shirt when you're out clubbing in Brighton.

I doubt they'll be selling pies at Fir Park on the 15th.

That should be 'critical', mate.

Not according to JB's last interview. He said there would be no games played on it before the first league game.

A lot of top, unemployed managers apply for jobs like ours when they become vacant. However, their salary demands normally keep them out of the running.

The penalty was only ridiculous if Albania has different rules from the rest of the world. Pulling someone's shirt (while being a very girly thing for a defender to do) is still a foul. We didn't actually complain about the pitch - that was commented on by some reporters. Motherwell suffered from a poor playing surface at home last season, so are quite used to uneven playing surfaces. The style of football we like to play, however, is better played on a flat surface and that will be to our advantage in the second leg. Have you checked on the age of the Motherwell players yet? Or are you hoping that embarrassing comment of yours is forgotten? It sounded like an early excuse in case you lose the second leg. Unfortunately, you will see a lot of teenagers in the Motherwell team, so if you do lose, you will have lost to players who were playing in last year's Under-19 squad.

The Penalty Takers' Dilemma?