Al B

Cadden and Reynolds are definites. For some reason Stevie Saunders sticks in my mind although I might be completely making that up. As an interesting aside, there's a couple of 'Well fans who haven't played for us. Rab Douglas and Lee Miller. Big Rab has a Motherwell tattoo, and back in the first McGhee era there's a photo of Lee Miller celebrating a goal for Hearts with a "Live The Dream" wristband clearly visible. Anyone know of any others?

At no point have I mentioned other teams or other anything. All i'm saying that "things even themselves out over a season" doesn't relate to a "one-for-one" scenario. It just seemed that some people were waiting on us getting a penalty that shouldn't have been, because we were on the sore end of that scenario (for example), when it doesn't work like that. It can be evened out by something that's got nothing to do with a penalty. Much in the same sense that if you lose a £10 note in the street, it doesn't mean that at some point you are due to find a £10 note in the street. If you then win a tenners worth of petrol in a Tesco competition you can't still feel that things haven't evened themselves out just because you didn't find a tenner in the street.

That's not what it means either. It means your own positives and negatives will balance themselves out over a long enough period of time. For example, in one game we might have a goal disallowed when it crossed the line, but in another game 4 months later we might score from a corner that should have been a goal kick.

There surely aren't people who think that "things even them out over the season" relates to a one-for-one basis, are there? It doesn't mean if you get a dodgy penalty awarded against you, then you are due one for you. It just relates to your overall luck evening out.

The current away top is my favourite one ever.

I'm half intending on becoming a broken record with this, but I still believe McHugh and Kipre are playing in each others positions.

My goal is pretty much the same every season. I look for us to win more games than we lose, and score more goals than we concede. Over the years I've found that if you hit those two you've had a good season, and it's a good base to begin from to have a great one.

Curtis Main's problem isn't that the ref's are continually giving fouls against him, it's that 80% of them are actually stupid, niggly wee fouls that he's trying to get away with. He's an absolute unit of a boy so he'd have much more success in actually contesting every 50/50 ball, as opposed to an arm across here, a dunt in the back there... Reminds me of Scott McDonald in some ways, in that his main goal was often to try and win fouls at the edge of the box as opposed to taking advantage of already actually having the ball in a good position. The amount of positions for potential on-target shots he passed up in favour of trying to win a foul that we either didn't get or put into the stand was frightening.

Kipre absolutely strolled it. Caught too high up the park for Hibs' second but in fairness, someone's got to look like they want to go forward.

I'd be increasingly tempted to start training Kipre into the McHugh role when Hartley is fit enough to play. He's a great centre half but he's also got tools we aren't using, whilst trying to find them in other players that don't.

Hartley?

Also a big fan of Jake Taylor marking himself out of a game.

You surely must concede though, that this depends on the quality of player you're man-marking out the game? Additionally, It might well be the less-talented boys that carry it out, but someone has to carry it out and if you've got someone that's happy to do it and can do it with the desired effect of removing an opposing threat, then that's as much of an asset to the side as the "more talented" boys that can then enjoy the resultant chance to play. In my opinion of course. There's much more to it especially at professional level, than the old managers cliche of "if he goes for a pish son, I want you in the bogs next to him". Talented players can lose a marker that doesn't have the ability to do it, without too much trouble. (I'm not putting Dougie Imrie in that talented category btw....just a general point). I like Andy Rose, and if someone's going to be asked to do that role i'd rather it was him than someone that does have attacking qualities, as we'd then be down an attacking player.

On a related, but also unrelated note...one of the best man-marking jobs I've ever seen at our level was Jonny Page on Merouane Zemmama against Hibs at a time when Zemmama was bossing games. I genuinely don't think he touched the ball up against Page and was eventually hooked.

Somewhere in the UK, Jamie Redknapp's head is exploding.

You can look/ask for however much you like. it doesn't matter if no-one's willing to pay it. There's no way we will get anywhere near 7 figures for Chris Cadden, and that's not a slight on the guy at all, it's just not the market we're in. We'll be focusing on sell-on percentages as opposed to the fee, that's where the potential for making money is. Sacrificing a couple of hundred grand in the short term, to play the long game. If we can't deal in big fees as part of our small pond, drop our assets into the big pond and then make sure we get a cut.

Disagree. Think it was estimated that our development fee due would be circa 650k and most seem to assume this means we'd be looking for more than that as a result. We'd be more looking at 4-500k with significant sell-on percentage in order to boost the total gain. If we take the development fee then that's our lot.

I don't blame you, I unfollowed Kylie Jenner when she started going out with someone, and physically blocked her when i'd heard that she got pregnant. Boiled my blood that she'd let someone else touch her and the fact that she has meant that my thoughts of her have been sullied somewhat. Cow. Did the same with Zayn when he left 1D and I'll always blame him for splitting them up. Defos his fault and every time he comes on the radio it gets switched off cos I hate remembering what he did. I just don't need to see the whole "oooh your new solo song is so great Zayn....when will you do a solo tour Zayn..." from all his new "fans". I bet they don't even know all the words to his verses in 1D and I don't want that stuff popping up on my feed every day. Stick to your guns sister, don't let the grown-ups tell us how we should feel...they just don't get how hard it is being a teenager these days. PM me if u need 2 talk bbz xx

I'd take Ciftci in a second. A great player who hasn't played well for ages....ticking that first box is the bit that's difficult, the second part is what coaching is and Louis Moult is evidence that we can get that bit right. I think a part of our striker problem is that we've been trying to coach things into players who just don't have the raw tools. Moult is the example of where we can take a striker that does, and for me Ciftci falls into that category.

First time for everything.

Very, very well said. It's bizarre to think how high the percentage of Motherwell fans will be, who have never known us to have a long-term regular left-back that wasn't Stevie Hammell. Unbelievable service and the best first touch i've ever seen.

Maybe you don't remember it as well as you think...

This is a game that's got Craig Tanner all over it

As much as there's been comment surrounding the issues being minimum wage staff getting underpaid, I've heard from a few Falkirk fans that their involvement in this revolves around Will Vaulks playing for digs when he first arrived at TFS.

That's not true, I did. Got a text from my mate from Stoke saying "I hear you've just signed a guy I play 5's with?"