Lobey_Dosser

There will be interest on the back of his Scotland performances.

Cadden’s injury came at a really bad time. That combined with the required compensation would have significantly reduced his options at the end of his contract. He could easily have stayed at Motherwell for another year but was well within his rights to experience a new way of life in America. It’s just a shame it hasn’t worked out for him as well as the likes of Lewis Morgan who is doing excellent in Miami. If he can’t force his way into the Columbus’ team, it would be no surprise to see him end up at the likes of Hibs, Aberdeen or Hearts.

The reluctance to bring Turnbull off the bench during an abysmal Celtic performance yesterday suggests to me that he isn’t up to speed yet. He looked out of sorts in Perth and then couldn’t get a game in front of Campbell, Ferguson of McCrorie for a crunch u21 match against Czech Rep. He’ll come good but he wasn’t exactly flying when he departed Fir Park.

I’m not sure what the criteria is but I’d think a small group sitting for their lunch for example, albeit socially distanced, would be enough to count as close contact. Tierney and Christie had to self isolate for being in the same room as Armstrong despite keeping their distance. Then there is training itself, plenty close contact there but that doesn’t seem to count.

Frustrating but postponements during a pandemic are going to increase in frequency as the transmission rate rises. We don’t know the circumstances yet but you’d expect further detail to follow given the late notice. While testing is weekly, there is obviously nothing to stop an individual showing symptoms and having an additional test on the eve or day of the game. What I don’t understand however is why it’s safe for the lower league fixtures to go ahead without regular testing. SPFL need to pin down what happens in the event that the season can’t be concluded.

What a week with outstanding contributions from Gallagher and O’Donnell over all 3 games. At a time when good defending at all levels appears to be on short supply, it’s refreshing to see such a well drilled performance. Credit to Clarke and the players. Hopefully we can rest Gallagher and O’Donnell prior to Belgrade.

Reserve/youth players would not have been tested in time for the game. There’s no way it could have gone ahead.

Both of them impressive. That was an enjoyable watch in the 2nd half.

Interesting watching the Scotland u21s against Czech Republic. Gemmill has always liked playing Campbell in an advanced midfield role so he can lead the press. Tonight is the first time I’ve seen us for a while though and Campbell was playing like a 2nd striker alongside the impressive Hornby. He done a job for the team in what was a great result but I’m sure he’d rather be in the heart of midfield. As for his next move. He’s not the model professional bursting his balls every day to get a move to Aberdeen or Hibs. No disrespect to those clubs but to develop further as a player, he needs to move to a better league. I don’t think he’ll be short of offers.

I don’t particularly rate McBurnie as a striker but I wouldn’t question his commitment to Scotland. There’s been the odd mishap but he’s clearly proud to be Scottish and wants to do well for his country. His parents wouldn’t be travelling to friendlies in Mexico and Peru if he was half arsed.

Well played Gallagher, solid throughout. Looked far more comfortable in the middle of the three and showed that he can be a leader. Buzzing! Roll on Serbia.

Good luck to them both. Huge opportunity.

Declan must be in with a shout of starting tonight. With Tierney and McKenna out, the other centre half options tonight are Cooper, Porteous and er, McTominay... Not much competition for O’Donnell either with Palmer and Forrest out.

If I remember right, Campbell originally signed a contract to 2021 a good few years ago. He then signed on improved terms in 2019 but there was no extension to the term. The plan would always have been to leave in 2021 at the latest and while the world is very different since he last signed, there is no reason to think the plan has changed. The new contract offer will simply ensure compensation.

Is it not the case that league games take priority over cup games in the fixture calendar? We’ve already had at least one cup game in England forfeited due to Covid while league games have been rescheduled. It looks like we are doing the same in Scotland. It puts the cup competitions on shaky ground heading into the winter, while the fixtures are likely to pile up in the league. Ideally, at least one of the cups would have been scrapped this season but nobody is willing to concede ground. I can therefore understand why it’s one rule for the cups, and another for the league. In my mind, the only way a league game should be forfeited is if there has been a severe breach in Covid protocol.

That doesn’t sound great at all for Moult unfortunately. Watching the Celtic highlights there, Turnbull looks to have slotted in seamlessly.

I don’t think today is a day to be overly critical. Yes, the level of performance was pathetic but it wasn’t entirely surprising given the trip to Israel. Looking at the bigger picture though, there is little to get excited about. We are most likely to lose Campbell soon which will mark the end of an era where we excelled in the youth development department. We are then left with a mixed bag of players, few of whom we have any real affection for. The team may do well enough but one thing for sure is that we’ll rarely cause an upset against one of the big two. For whatever reason, the days of us raising our game against them seem to be long gone unfortunately.

No wonder we aren’t pushing for the return of fans...

There was always a risk of a hangover today and so it’s proved. No complaints over the Rangers penalties but Campbell should have had one too. Tactically, a back 3 was always asking for trouble against 3 forwards but whatever the shape, we’re having to rely on an out of sorts Gallagher and O’Donnell alongside a dumpling who was presumably brought in as cover. Keep it respectable Motherwell.

Soundbites from the likes of Lennon and the Aberdeen owner aside, I don’t get the impression top flight clubs in Scotland aren’t genuinely pushing for fans to return. Our own club has been relatively quiet. Acknowledging that capacity could never be above 20-25% until the virus is fully under control, there’s little to be gained from the bigger clubs pushing this. Yes, 2,500 in Fir Park or 10,000 in Ibrox would be good for the welfare of the fans that got to see their team but it’s not great financially. Maybe if the clubs sit tight and toe the line, the UK and Scottish Government may be more open to providing financial support.

There could be a variety of reasons for Gallagher’s loss of form but the absence of Hartley’s influence can’t be underestimated. While Hartley was far from flawless, he did a good job of talking those around him through the game. As for O’Donnell, he’s been terribly disappointing after his impressive debut at Easter Road. He’s always looked a wee bit out his depth for Scotland but I expected him to be a standout for us. Oneils40yarder was right all along.

It was refreshing to see fans at the super cup last night. 15,500 tickets were sold for a 67,000 seater in Budapest although I don’t think it went down well with local authorities. In isolation, 20% capacity at stadiums should be viable and does lessen the argument around transportation etc. However, it’s not going to be contemplated at a time when cases are rising significantly. In hindsight, Jul/Aug was the time to make a significant move on this. Also, it’s not worth comparing with pubs and restaurants. Think it’s pretty clear that if Scotland had the fiscal power to provide dedicated support to hospitality, we’d have introduced far more stringent measures this week.

If we had any depth to our defensive options, I’d be dropping Declan. Instead, I’ll settle for his pal being displaced. I’m not expecting much from this game as we’ll likely be low on energy but I have a faint hope that Watt, Long and Lang can give them a hard time,

So frustrating. They were there for the taking but you can’t afford to make the stupid mistakes we did. Gallagher deserves an absolute rollicking, he’s been below par all season and that was unacceptable from our captain. Hopefully this team get pumped in the next round, horrible cunts.

I’m not one to moan about refs but that should have been red with the reaction. Big fan of Long but what a stupid foul to concede. Then O’Donnell shouldn’t be losing his man, hopefully he can make amends in the 2nd half. Intae them Motherwell, nothing to fear here.