one m in motherwell

Right, who's got Hindrek's phone number?

We were sitting beside Hutch' family at the County game, and from speaking to his dad, he's more than happy to stay but understands that if a big enough offer comes in then the club won't really have any other option but to sell him.

He's always struck me as someone who just could not be arsed, pure and simply. Knew exactly where the goal was, which was fine at a team like Rangers where he had a consistently good supply. As Melvin says, I don't think we're going to be blessed with such flair next season. I'd much rather bring on someone like Moore, or make a cheeky bid for someone like Stevie May than take on someone like Boyd, no matter what they've done in the past. Team spirit seems to be one of the major factors behind our success over the past few years, and the likes of Boyd just don't strike me as fitting into that.

I'm sure the shortlist will consist of the usual randoms, Gary Mac will probably be on it, might Sbragia be tempted this time too? Pressley is a non-starter, for the reasons already stated. He's not long joined Coventry, so short of him getting punted in the very near future, he's hardly going to want to leave? My preference would be Adams...although admittedly that's very unlikely. We'll no doubt end up with someone who none of us have thought of, who'll bring along a stack of players who we'll also never have heard of - such is the Motherwell way.

Again, I can't say I'm particularly enthused by any lower league manager, but that's not to say they wouldn't do a job. A lot of us weren't exactly thrilled when McCall took over, but its turned out ok! No point in worrying - if he goes, he goes. Clubs like ours operate on 2-3 year cycles in any case, sometimes longer, this is just the start of another one.

Nah, I wouldn't be convinced. I think there's always a danger that you automatically assume that a 'leader' on the pitch, like Craigan, would translate into a good manager. For what it's worth, I think he'd be a good man-manager and would certainly be able to get a team going (similar to Butcher, I suppose), but does he have any coaching experience? I wouldn't be averse to Hartley if it came to it, but I'd be concerned that he's a little untested at a decent level. Going down the English lower league route has served us well in the past, both in terms of getting a manager who has something to prove, but also in giving us a pool of relatively unknown talent that can be tapped into. I still think McCall will stay - with Pulis now leaving Stoke I would imagine he'd also be slightly higher up the pecking order for Sheffield Utd.

As long as he likes, I love the guy Seriously though, he's not had the benefit of a full preseason and regular games to get himself up to fitness for a while - it did take him a while to get up to match sharpness, but once he did, you can't argue that he was a massive boost to the side. You only have to look at how good he was (and incidentally how much the team was lifted) when he got up to speed, I would have thought he'll still be an attractive prospect to a good few sides. Whether he signs a long term contract is one thing, but I can see him signing on until January at least.

I'd completely forgotten about Carswell there. I'm liking the way he's developing as a player, so I reckon he could become a very important body for us next season. Lawson seems to finally be a replacement for Jennings, so I guess Carswell is possibly being groomed as a short to medium term replacement for Lasley? Not sure how many seasons the silver fox has left in him... In terms of versatility, we could be seeing a lot more of ZFA on the left, can't see him ousting Hammy quite yet, and he's always seemed more effective as a left mid/winger in the few times we've seen him. I agree with your point regarding a striker - we've still got McHugh, and we also may have Moore pushing for a first team place. So despite my previous post, things might not be so bad after all!

Can't remember where I heard McGovern mentioned, but I wouldn't be too keen. Let's be honest, it's easy to put two and two together whenever you read that so-and-so has been linked with us, but there have been too many times recently when we've convinced ourselves a deal is done only for someone to pip us at the last minute - Ryan Stevenson last year, Samson just the other week? (Although with both of those, I can't say I've been too disappointed). Whenever we reach the end of the 2-year contract, it all gets a bit silly for a while which is understandable given the apparent state we find ourselves in, and the number of players we may have to sign. That said, if Faddy and Higgy were to re-sign, and Ojamaa, Hutch etc. stayed, we'd probably be looking at: 1 x GK 2 x RB 1 x DC 2 x MC - one each in a Law/Jennings mould 1 x RW 1 x ST Idealistic I know, but we have to wait and see...

Such a frustrating player. A huge threat on his day, and probably one of our biggest assets when he's been in the mood, but doesn't half make you tear your hair out! Will be sad to see him leave as I think he offers something genuinely unique in the SPL, not many others with that level of pace. Good to see that the rumours of signings are developing nicely. I'd imagine the goalie will either be Cisak or McGovern, and as long as the striker isn't Tade then I don't really mind!

I'm not so sure. I reckon he'd be a great manager for us, but Roy McGregor isn't short of a few pence, I reckon that on purely financial terms they'd be able to put together a fairly attractive package for him. Was there not a bit of bad blood with Adams when he left for Aberdeen too? Hartley, I dunno, can't really see him quite at SPL level yet, but you never know. What about Allan Johnston? Of course, this is all complete conjecture as our mulleted leader isn't going anywhere!

Normally we wait until after the season's finished before the spurious rumours start...In saying that, he'd be good likes!

Not the worst bit of business. Ramsden has been solid if unspectacular this season, so I'm more than happy to have him on board for next season.

To be honest I'm of much the same opinion - were we not linked with him years back, way before Celtic? Would be worth a punt if only to add another member to the 'Footballers who don't look like Footballers' Club, after Higgy.

I noticed that Paddy McCourt is leaving Celtic this summer. Thoughts?

I think a lot of how Carswell gets on may depend on Lasley's fitness next season. There have been a few times this season (especially in the past few weeks) when he's looked a little less sharp than previously, nothing instantly to get worried about but enough to get you thinking that he's perhaps on the decline. I love him to bits, though, before the boo boys set on me! We do need a replacement for Law (Harkins?) but I wouldn't be averse to letting Carswell fill that role, at least for the short term. Fun and games, as ever.

Don't know too much about Lawson but good to see us moving quickly. I still reckon we'll see some folk come up from down south, whether loanees or permanent deals, given how little depth we have in the squad.

I fucking love Motherwell!

The two choirs were great to see! And a big fuck you to the steward who waded in after they started up - what a jobsworth! As a few others have said, won at a canter today and it had the air of a pre-season friendly. Humphrey was great in the first half but faded slightly in the second - although not sufficiently to justify the abuse the two warmers behind me were giving him later in the game. Ramsden as well stood out - solid and put in a few well timed challenges. Higginbotham showed just enough to perhaps justify some interest from our side in him next season, and Carswell finally looks like he's ready to step up to more regular first team games. Looks like he's bulked up a bit too which is a good thing. A few folk talking about Vigurs to us for next season - any news about this? All in all a good performance - great to see Higgy, Law and Randolph get the send off they deserved. Part of the best 'Well side I've seen in the past 10 years.

I actually think it's a pretty shrewd piece of business. He's a proven keeper at SPL level (albeit at a pretty poor team), and I doubt his wages will be particularly high. We've certainly been spoiled by Ruddy and Randolph over the past few years, but it's not like we've got a particularly great pedigree of actually making any money from the players we've brought up from England. I suppose my point is that whilst Samson perhaps doesn't have the same 'excitement' factor as an untested keeper from down south who we know nothing about, it's a solid signing. With any luck, this may give us scope to spend a little bit more of the wage budget on a replacement for Law. I'd be confident enough with McHugh and Moore as strikers (if Higgy goes, which I'm not convinced he will), but we'd need someone to make them tick. I don't think we need to particularly worried about next season. Our last rebuilding exercise under Gannon worked out pretty well, so there's no reason to suggest that this won't happen again.

To be honest, I doubt any significant talks have even started yet - I would have thought both the management team and the out-of-contract players would be waiting to see how the league and European qualification panned out before getting stuck in. Given how open this season has been (Celtic aside - and look at our performances against them), you might think some of the folk might see a wee sniff at a title challenge next year if everyone stays together. Sadly the majority of the decision will come down to money, but for a player to hawk themselves about with a league winner's medal would give them a fair bit of clout. I can see Randy and probably Law going, but I have a funny feeling Higdon will stay. As for Faddy...well, we can dream, can't we?

Just got to hope our guys have a little bit more ambition than that. To be honest Hateley is the only one I can see at Ibrox.

I doubt we'll see anyone else leave in this window. Murphy's departure will have steadied the ship cash-wise, but I imagine there will be a few PCAs announced between now and the end of the season. Although I hope - and I stress hope - that the lure of European football and the general 'shop window' feel that the SPL has may be enough for us either to recruit some half decent replacements, or will sway some of the first-teamers to re-sign. I was encouraged by Randy's comments the other day, hopefully some others will realise that getting first team (& European) football is a better bet than sitting on the bench for a Championship/League 1 side.

Can't have been that good, or: a) He would still be at Real Madrid b) We would have signed him!