one m in motherwell

You again? What happens will happen and all the wailing and gnashing of teeth won't make the slightest bit of difference. The season has - literally - just finished, and we've somehow managed to dig out a top six finish, which is no mean feat considering the gloom we all felt around August/September time when the Baraclough Curse was showing itself again. We've made contract offers for players who clearly have the experience necessary to help develop the raw but clearly talented younger players we have coming through. I've no doubt that this will be augmented by signings elsewhere - bear in mind that there's no guarantee any of the existing folk will re-sign - and I'm far more comfortable about McGhee's potential transfer dealings than our previous manager. Today was abysmal, but ultimately, does it matter? The hard work will be done over the next couple of months and I think we're kidding ourselves if we think the team that started today - in mindset of nothing else - will be similar to that we'll see next season. Relegation is a long way off, but please, don't let me stop your rantings.

Gomis is only on loan, so, y'know...

Aye, playoff last season to finishing fifth this year...alarm bells started ringing for me as soon as we started winning games, I have to say. Nobody is doubting the fact that the club needs to have some kind of succession plan, but for a club like us there is little point in suddenly ditching everyone over the age of 33 and replacing them with folk from the U20s. It has to be a gradual thing - we've seen Hall come on leaps and bounds through his partnership with McManus, and there's no doubt that Cadden has also benefitted from playing alongside Lasley. Both of those guys are now seen as first team players - would they have developed in the same way if they'd just been thrown on with little or no assistance? I'd also take issue with your point about culpability - we've played poorly many times this year (albeit, not nearly so much since McGhee took over), but can you honestly point to games where one or two of the five players in question have definitively cost us the game? I'd agree with you that time is up for Faddy. Samson is a bit of an unknown; I'd have no qualms about him starting as our number one next year but if he left, we'd get someone else. Tends to be the way it works. I personally don't see where the risk is in giving Hammell and Lasley new deals - another year for both as player/coaches? Sounds fine to me. I genuinely don't think they've been as bad as you clearly think. What it does point to however is how we've failed to augment these positions in recent years. Take left back - we tried Zaine Francis-Angol, we've got Joe Chalmers just now, but neither has come close to getting in front of Hammell. In Lasley's case, we've never adequately replaced Steve Jennings or Nicky Law, so we've had to rely on Keith for probably longer than we otherwise would have. There's also the question of previous management - McCall was never one to bring through the younger players particularly, and neither was Baraclough - so what's our alternative? Ultimately there's been a bit of a shift in emphasis over the past year - the transition to fan ownership will inevitably (to my mind) require some cloth-cutting, but so be it - if we need to maintain a core of older players to help bring through the next sellable prospects, then fine.

Also interesting to hear McGhee's comments re. Dom Thomas, effectively that they want to try and bring him through a lot more than they've done up until now (I believe the phrase 'work his nuts off' was used?). Comes back to the usual question about where he plays - talking amongst ourselves last night, consensus was that a role just behind the striker would be most effective, but he's suffered up to now in that the McDonald - Moult pairing has been a shoe-in. Be interesting to see us experiment a wee bit over the summer and the league cup games with an alternative: GK - ??? DL - Hammell (assuming he signs) DC - McManus (same) DC - Hall DR - Law 2 x MC - two of Lasley/Pearo/Cadden/Alan Campbell ML - Marv MR - Lionel AMC - Dom ST - Louis Moult This is all assuming the five that have been made offers sign. Not thinking that we'd suddenly not play Skippy but the above is pretty much the only way I can see Dom being accommodated.

Yeah, definitely. For once we have assets on medium-long term contracts, so we would be assured of a good return if someone did want them. As much as I love both of them, it's the model we need to be working to in the future. That, together with the continued development and sale of our younger players, should see us alright. (Not that I want any of them to go anytime soon!)

If the prospect of Gomis long term came up, I wouldn't be too disappointed if we signed him, he clearly has something to offer. I can see McGhee wanting to freshen up in a couple of positions but I think the emergence of Cadden and Hall this season has plugged two of the gaps I would have said needed looking at. Kennedy, if he pushes on, offers another option in the centre and at RB but there's probably a need for another right-sided defender (we all know the question marks over Law's role in the side). A new striker, assuming Moore and Faddy are out of the picture, wouldn't do any harm, but I don't know enough about the U-20s to know whether there's anyone there looking to step up. All told, we probably aren't going to see another whole-scale clearout this summer, despite what I've posted before on this subject. A full pre-season should have the squad ticking over nicely, and I suppose a lot will depend on whether Moult and Johnson are still here - a strong finish to the season from both of them and I'd be pleasantly surprised if they stayed around.

I thought Gomis looked very strong on Saturday, very calm on the ball (if anything a bit too calm on a couple of occasions). Ultimately he's been brought in to do a job short term, and he's performed well so far. Not set the heather on fire but then again we weren't expecting him to come in and save our season considering our preferred midfield pairing is Lasley and Pearson. The next few weeks will be interesting to see whether McGhee pairs him with Lasley - too similar perhaps?

Thoroughly enjoyed that today - had moments where we faded in and out of the game but, unlike earlier in the season, we were able to pull ourselves together, knuckle down and get a result. Moult (as usual) was phenomenal, the guy's work rate is unbelievable. Gomis looked a class act - so cool on the ball and a much needed calm head at times in the midfield. Aside from these guys, the one who impressed me most was Kennedy - first time I've actually seen him in the flesh, but I thought he was excellent...did he miss a ball all day? Added comedy points for looking the least like a footballer out of the entire squad. The Robson red card was pretty funny all things considered - not too sure what happened as it didn't even look as though Skippy was nipping at him too much? Brilliant all round performance, with other results going our way the top 6 is ours to throw away. Europe is not out of the question!

Part time clubs and most of the Bundesliga, but that's cool.

I see the U20s have a trialist playing for them today. Are we allowed to play overage trialists in the Development League? Any idea who he might be?

I can see Hammell being offered another deal, but Lasley will probably step back into the coaching side. McManus, to my mind, should definitely stay for another season purely because we don't have anyone who looks capable of stepping up. For all his frailties he has been beneficial in terms of Hall's development, and I don't think we're ready to pair the latter with Kennedy or a.n.other. Needless to say, a centre back and a right back is probably a must this Summer. Other than that I don't really disagree with the shopping list Steelboy mentioned. Gomis will be away so the need for midfield cover remains (especially if Lasley goes), and given that Clarkson, Faddy and probably Fletcher will be away too, we need some new blood up front. Again, it's probably more a case of getting rid as much as it is bringing the right folk in this year.

His brother.

I'm sure we won't be the only ones interested, but that would be a tremendous signing if it came off. Fits in perfectly with our apparent development philosophy too.

It's more of a backup for Skippy rather than Moult. I can't find fault with anything he's done this season, yes, he's been a bit off form recently but that's not necessarily any fault of his own. My point related more to the need for a faster, more agile striker to link up with him (much in the same way as Skippy was first time round, and Dougie Arnott before that).

That's got the potential to be an excellent side. The problem thus far with playing Ainsworth and Johnson is that we've had little cover in the centre of the park - bringing in Gomis to kick folk will help in that sense. I'd perhaps be tempted to put Gomis in the centre and bring in Cadden instead of Lasley, and swap Skippy for Moult, but otherwise ok. As much as I disagreed with McGhee's reaction the other night, there's still a big chance for Lionel to step up. There's a reason we've been playing Marvin ahead of him after all.

I suspect that's correct. I've not seen enough of Fletcher to form much of an opinion, but it strikes me that we need some back up for the 'nippy wee guy' role that Skippy plays (or at least did in his younger days). We've obviously got a good bit of pace in midfield with Johnson and Lionel, but not much up front. Someone a bit more lively through the middle would offer us a different dimension - as good as Pearson is he can't do it all himself!

Well, he's not, but cool.

Ooh! That sounds suspiciously like some ITK chat. C'mon, spill...

All joking aside, another forward would be worthwhile. I'm not counting Faddy (whatever happens on that front) but another body wouldn't do any harm...

Come home big man!

I'm not sure how much we can read into folk we've missed out on recently. A lot of these will have been targets identified by Baraclough, most likely it'll be a couple of randoms we've never heard of. I wouldn't be surprised at another Grimshaw-esque loan deal from an EPL side.

Articulate fraudster. Or just 'Ian Baraclough'

Unfortunately, I think moving on is the right move for Clarky - I was OK with him coming back but that was before we'd signed about 40 other strikers, it was clear he wasn't going to get a chance. A great servant to the club over the years but I think the championship is probably his level now. In terms of forward cover, we are ironically a wee bit light now - with Mackin and Moore out on loan, that only leaves us with Skippy, Moult and Fletcher. Faddy may sign on until the summer but realistically what can he offer?

So much better than us that we were able to do them at Fir Park just before Christmas. Sure thing, champ.

I see Nicky Law has been told he's free to leave...