Welldaft Mk1

We bloody well better! Around 8 or 9 First team players have left and we have brought 4 in as replacements with none of them Strikers! We NEED to replace some of the goals that Clarky & Porter got for us last year or we will struggle. The young lads are doing fine, BUT they can only be expected to replace maybe 2 or 3 of the players that have left. IMHO we need 2 strikers to join before the end of the transfer window.

Surprised to see a few posts saying we need a right back and central defender or no further signings. The post above is spot on. We have not replaced Porter, Clarkson or Sheridan who was on loan. 3 strikers who scored 20+ goals last year between them. IMHO we need no fewer than 2 strikers one of whom must have more than just potential. Flamurtari was an exception and our midfielders wont get that space again in the SPL.

Those are the pictures of the midget ones!!! I think they must feed them raw meat. They had arms as big as my legs.

This truly is an enigma. Most clubs are pleading poverty on the basis that the improved Setanta deal went belly up. Yet as has been pointed out we will get the same amount (approx) next year as we have for the past few seasons. Then people say (as above) what if clubs budgeted on the new improved deal. My question is show me any club that appears to have significantly strengthened their squad from last season???????? I cannot think of any - maybe DDee Utd. The Well have got rid of the majority of big earners, have taken in an extra £1.2m + any money from the European run. As I pointed out on another thread I would be very surprised if Everton were looking for £25ok for Ruddy given he really never played for them. Only Celtic work that transfer logic i.e buy someone for £500k - don't play them and 3 years later they are worth £1.5m!!! I would think if there is any fee involved it would be around the £100-£150k mark tops. If so then I would consider signing him up asap.

I would be surprised were that the case. Everton paid £250k for him many years ago and he hardly played for them if at all. Not sure how that adds up to £500k. Mind you if he performs like he did against Steaua then he may well be worth £500k. I would hope that if we have the option to buy, which I believe we have - that the price would have been agreed in advance as part of the loan deal.

Just back from Bucharest. It was an enjoyable trip and the City itself was absolutely fine. Never seen so many Bentleys in one city and that includes London. Those who have money obviously have loads of it.........The nightlife was good and the people by and large were very accomodating and as for the girls The Romanian robocops were a sight to behold. You would not want to have an arguement with them. The game itself was a little uncomfortable viewing as from the get go you could see a humping may have been on the cards. Thanks to Ruddy we narrowly avoided one. I say get him signed now! It is hard to judge the players when playing a team of that level. They were a decent outfit, but that also had to be combined with the atmosphere the away fans created and it was a good test for most of our young players. I think they probably will score away from home, but if we give a better account of ourselves and get a draw or narrow win then that is as much as can be hoped for. I thought by and large everyone put in a decent shift and coke looked fairly assured on the ball. Humphreys had a bit of a mare and was more culpable for the second goal than anyone else. Right now IMHO O'Brien is a better player and should have started. Also surprised Hammell did not start as he naturally has more experience and when he did come on as with O'Brien we looked a little more solid than the first half. All in all a great trip and despite the result - hopefully we will be better prepared for the SPL season and the first game v St Johnstone.

Just back from Bucharest and I have to say that hearing the news really put a dampener on the day and trip. Just could not believe yet another Well player had gone from us. Always liked Mowgli. Along with the likes of Doogie, maybe it is because I am vertically challenged myself I always like the wee guys. RIP Mowgli.

I am not getting too carried away just yet. If we beat Steaua over two legs then fine, but I think we need to see where we are after a couple of months of SPL action to judge exactly what impact JG is making. His management style is rather brusque and I am quite sure he will/has upset a few players already. He fell out with quite a few at Stockport. Would not be surprised to see some fall out over the coming months. That said he is not here to make friends. Brian Clough was hated by quite a few players but he got results and that is what we as fans are primarily concerned about.

What in Romania? All being well we are due into Bucharest at around 00.20 on Thursday morning. We are staying at the Hilton Athenee Palace. Don't know where it is in Bucharest - but fairly central I think.

ChasserB - It will be at least 30C during the day on Thursday. And anyway I do not want to see your white knobbly knees I am down south on business tomorrow but will try to catch up with you around 7pm tomorrow night or Wed morning. When does the charter flight leave Glasgow airport?

Boggy - How many Steaua fans will go the the match? Given that Motherwell are not exactly glamour opposition! What is the capacity at the stadium?

Wiki and other websites state that some places - hotels etc accept Euros but not that many. Going to buy some Romanian Lei here in UK and the rest over there as the exchange rate is supposedly a lot better. Mind out for the pickpockets especially on public transport. Bucharest is as safe a city as London but petty crime is quite high. Any wallets etc in zipped pockets - usual common sense stuff when in a big city - not unlike Motherwell actually

I would hope for a few more but who knows. Certainly more than made the trip to Albania. The limited time to plan will certainly count against many as will cost and lack of holidays. Whilst Nancy was maybe closer to home - certainly not more accessible but more affordable. Steaua Bucharest is without doubt a more attractive tie. God only knows what will happen if we get through this tie (long shot IMHO) and get an even more attractive proposition - AS Roma?? For me it would have to be Everton or I will have no holidays left, no money left and probably no wife left either!!

Care to expand on these comments? You obviously have insider knowledge?

Probably closer to 300 than 500. But the point about 1 weeks notice is spot on. Who would have thought this would have been a problem for us this season.

Another 3 = 16. Huge numbers........... That said around 2000 travelled to Llanelli and I think the similar thread only added up to 3-400. Assuming the charter is fully taken up then I would imagine 2-300 travelling independently. My guess would be anywhere between 3-500 tops. It would be nice to know what is happenning re tickets for those who are not going on the club charter. 2 working days to sort it out............

That would indeed be the case if he were under contract. Unfortunately it appears as if HE IS NOT. I am sure I read in one of the papers today that he would like to stay at Motherwell. Problem is - if he keeps playing the way he is of late then he is/will attract interest of many other clubs. If that happens it will be Ross McCormack all over again. All we will be due is compensation. Which at the going rate for a Motherwell player is likely to be £56.79p

The flight from Edinburgh cost £330 return KLM all the way. Suited me as departure is not till 4pm ish on the Wednesday afternoon. Can work half a day that way. Plus meeting up with a chum (I use the term loosely ) who is connecting with the Amsterdam flight coming from London.

People like to moan - even after we have recorded our largest ever European win It does not make commercial sense to charter a flight for the club, but it does in terms of ease of transfer with only one flight there and one back. As Flow says in effect by charging supporters under £500 they (being the club) are subsidising the trip for the fans. Yes it works out in that the club are also getting nearly £50,000 towards the cost of the flight. But that is what we as fans do. We buy tickets and replica tops etc The easiest way to get to Romania with the minimum of fuss is to go on the club charter. For some that is very attractive as they don't have time to faff about searching the web etc etc. As it happens I am making my own way across because I live in the East and I cannot get away before Wednesday lunch time. Otherwise I would have taken the charter.

Well that and the fact that I keep bringing up - that when I travelled to Finland for the Mypa game - I never thought it would be another 13 years till the next trip v Nancy. 13 years is a long time. Of course I know that next year we will be in the Champions League Let's be honest our chances of getting through this tie are slim. Not impossible but slim. We still have a team of kids pretty much and I would be surprised - albeit pleasantly if we got through to the next round. Flying out of Edinburgh with KLM on Wednesday afternoon. Connecting with 8.30ish flight from Amstredam to Bucharest. Gets in at 00.20 Thursday morning. I know another Well fan from London connecting with this flight. Would imagine a few from Glasgow also??????????

They both looked excellent - but I have a pertinent question - what is their contract situation at the club? I assume both are under contract?? If so for how long?? If not we could end up losing them fairly promptly.

I agree with the whole post Ya Bezzer. Hammy is a decent player and I suspect he will play left back against Steaua away. He defo has a future for us. As much as I trust Gannon I would be disappointed if Hammell was discarded. Not going too happen IMHO.

I would say our priorities are most definitely a goalkeeper which i agrre with you on - but we defo need a couple of strikers - surprised you never mentioned that. Having lost Porter, Clarkson and Sheridan - we cannot go through the season with Sutton and Murphy with McGarry as back up!

You forgot about Murphy. That said I think we now have a fair selection in midfield and we need to turn out attention to signing a GoalKeeper, Strikers x 2/3, a right back and possibly a dominant central defender. Still 4 or 5 to come in hopefully.

I agree - I never quite understand why we make 2-3 times as much noise away from home with half the crowd. In Llanelli with 1800 fans it was a non-stop sing song. Imagine if we could replicate that tomorrow night with 3500+. The early goal v Llanelli made a difference I am sure and we all pretty much knew we were going to win on the night. Tomorrow night will not be so easy - but let's make some noise