Lobey_Dosser

Haven’t seen anything of Rangers outwith the draw at Aberdeen but results and general noise would suggest they are in the best shape they’ve ever been (sevco that is). Would be lovely if Gerrard was to have his first slip at Fir Park but I can’t see it, the lack of pace in our back three will be targeted by any half decent team.

I’ve felt like that for about 5 years now. It gets depressing though when you know only exceptional talents will get a sniff of first team action.

Delighted to have Tom Aldred back, hopefully he can replicate last seasons loan. Interesting to see how we shape up at the back now.

Doing our wee bit for the Scottish coefficient by going easy on Hibs today. Imagine they were anywhere near full pelt. Next couple of signings are key. If they aren’t of first 11 quality, the grim football may not deliver the success it did last season.

New season but it looks like we’ll need to continue the trend of making half time subs.

I hope Cadden can get his move this month, think it would be mutually beneficial to both club and player. The early closure of English window could prove to be a real hinderence though. Maybe Rangers or Celtic will come calling late August...

Not bad middle to front but a back 3 that has Hartley on the left would result in a few doings. I don’t see how we can confidently go with a 3 without the athleticism of Dunne.

All the best to Cedric, he clearly has the attributes to go far in the game. I think it was important for his own career progression, that he made the step up this summer. If he hits the ground running at Wigan, he’ll be getting touted for a £5mil+ move next summer. As for Motherwell, we’ve probably known for some time that this transfer was coming. Here’s hoping we are ready to invest in enhancing the first 11.

McGeough is away to Sunderland. Their new addition to midfield, Stevie Mallan, is highly rated. To compete with Hibs, you need to track their movement off the ball. I reckon they’ll be saving their legs for Molde though.

Would love a player like Stuart Elliott nowadays. Him and Faddy had a great partnership upfront for a wee while.

I think Hibs are set for an excellent season but given their European adventures and the stresses that brings, this should be a perfect time to play them. I’d expect Kamberi to be rested and McLaren’s deal is yet to be completed so they may be light of options upfront. Unfortunately however, we appear to be in a state of flux with a growing injury list, key players potentially on the move and others struggling for fitness. A 0-0 would do us fine.

Always appeared likely Kipre would move this summer. And it’s been clear from the league cup appearances, that his mind has been elsewhere. Good luck to him, nice little earner for Motherwell.

League - 8th. Top 6 is sewn up. League cup - quarters Scottish Cup - last 16 Young player of the year - Campbell Player of the year - Carson if he stays, otherwise McHugh. Top Goalscorer - Tanner Season wishes - Kipre to be sold for good money. Cadden and Campbell to be capped for Scotland. At least one of our youngsters (most likely Turnbull) to break into the 1st team.

Plastic. Here’s hoping it’s no windy.

Not one of our youngsters has made the bench in the last 3 cup games. Our transfer policy this summer surely can’t sit well with all at the club.

Frear, not looking full of confidence but our sole source of creativity.

Alarm bells ringing on the way out of a baltic Broadwood today. The defence, which was our key strength last season, is an utter shambles. Hartley shouldn’t have been given the captaincy if there were doubts over his recovery from injury. Fingers crossed McHugh’s injury isn’t a bad one. Going forward, we have very little quality and absolutely no guile. Frear was the one bright spot. I’m hoping Main is one of these big strikers that takes time to get up to speed but I’m not convinced. Meanwhile, none of the new signings look like they are ready to hit the ground running. Early days but there isn’t much to get optimistic about at present, particularly when reliable players like Campbell and Kipre look off the boil.

Loss of Dunne for at least 3 months is a big blow. His electric pace got us out of trouble on many occasions last season. Interesting to see if we can stick with a back three in his absence.

Tomorrow is the first time I’ll see us this season but amidst the desire for a wee bit more creativity, I think it’s worth bearing in mind that none of our strikers, despite their stature, actually excel at attacking the ball in the air. From what I’ve seen of Main, Bowman and Sammon, they are more likely to score from a nicely threaded pass. Yet Robinson often talks about crosses into the box.

With 3 centre halves starting and umpteen ballwinning midfielders to choose from, I’d like to think we could give one creative player a bit of freedom.

Four of our new signings that are reportedly lacking fitness (rather than quality?) failed to get off the bench yesterday. Our transfer policy this summer to strengthen 12-18 goes against the model of the club imo as it limits the development of Turnbull, Hastie, MacLean, Maguire, Livingstone & co.

Coming away from Hampden in May, the one bright spot was the performance of BigI. His absence from the squad, never mind the team is a real shame. That in conjunction with our underwhelming transfer activity suggests we are in for a long season of grim football.

Sums up my thoughts perfectly. If he’s a replacement for Bowman, I’d view that as an upgrade. If Conor is the final piece of the jigsaw however, then deary fucking me. I expected us to build on the foundations of last season by introducing a bit of craft to our play but the signings to date have been underwhelming.

The news about the captaincy was fairly inevitable but McHugh and Robinson have dealt with it in the best fashion possible. It will be interesting to see how significant a role McHugh has to play this season. Regarding our pursuit of a forward, is there any possibility we could be in for Jai Quitongo? Out of contract at Morton but I assume compensation will be a barrier.

Watt would come with similar pros and cons to Ciftci. I’d be more than happy to see us invest in such quality. Having said that he doesn’t quite meet the description of a forward that Robinson is seemingly pursuing. Either way, I hope the striker we bring in has a bit of proven quality as we have no idea whether Danny Johnson will be able to make the step-up. If we were genuinely in for Ciftci and O’Halloran earlier this summer, there should be some room in the budget for a striker of decent calibre.