Welldaft Mk1

My concern is that the vast majority of fans would behave and follow guidelines in terms of social distancing and entering and exiting stadiums. However the younger lads and lassies would likely find it difficult to avoid jumping on one another if we score. Not having a go just know it will be difficult to manage and control. But as heard on news just there it is looking promising as per my original post.

Right now there is an argument to say that home crowds up to 30-40% of capacity should be allowed back for start of the season. That is still 6 weeks away. At the very latest and with a fair wind we are talking some point in September. The Scot Gov has done a very decent job tackling Covid19 and as we move into Phase 3 this week is it even plausible we wait a further 10 weeks before we move into aspects of phase 4 ? Bearing in mind each phase was to be reviewed every 3 weeks. I cannot see how for the next 80 days we are told we have 0 deaths (hopefully) and single figure cases or 0 and we are told we need to wait a further 2 to 3 months. As stated if we can keep the momentum and see no major spikes then early Autumn at the latest for fans to be back at grounds in some capacity.

Such positivity. I would hope we have learned our lesson. I very much suspect any fee will be offset by whatever we are still owed for Kipre and / or we reduce offset against sell on clause. That plus a small cash fee will all that we can afford to offer. Absolutely no way we will be paying hundreds of thousands of £. Not a chance unless the management team are convinced they have a Lawrence shankland mk 11 and as posted above confident of selling Lang on for many multiples of transfer fee. But again I doubt any fee paid will be over £100k in hard cash.

Yes.... Clearly if there was a 2nd spike or outbreak then that would become an issue. Edit to add - not saying full crowds inc away fans will be back but I believe at the very least home crowds early September.

In actuality it will only be the home gates v Livingston, Hamilton and Dundee United as fans will be back in grounds by early September if not before. United will be a hit because as their 1st away game they probably would have brought 1500+. The other two well not really much to add. So anticipated hit will be 2500 x £x. Probably circa £40-£50k. A drop in the ocean v £600k extra we got for finishing 3rd v previous season or the circa £500k we probably got in Furlough payments.

That is actually one of the best jokes I have read this year...

Sky now reporting he has been offered job. Here’s hoping...... To be fair to Bara his record at under 21 level is almost 1 win in 2 so he probably deserves a shot at the job. Good luck to him.

Have also just seen a tweet from Pie & Bovril (St Mirren fan) claiming we have beaten St Mirren to the signing of Mark OHara. Apparently talks went on late into yesterday evening. If true that would be tremendous news. Almost cushion the blow of Robinson being appointed NI Manager !!

I put 2021 in the title which is probably being a tad optimistic. The draw take place on August 10th and we enter in 1st qualifying round due to take place on Thursday August 27th. I looked at Kassies website and there are 94 teams due to play in the 1st qualifying round. With around 30-40% still tbc but with a coefficient of 5.75 we will probably be in the top half of seeded teams. Likely opponents could be Derry City or Bala Town from Wales. Old opponents such as Breidablik of Iceland are in there also. Depending on the draw I expect we would be odds on to get through 1st round, slight favourites for 2nd round and non seeded for 3rd round. It hopefully will count in our favour that we are playing at the end of August with a few league games behind us rather than late July with only a few friendlies. I desperately hope given progress with Covid19 that we may yet get to attend games home or away depending on location. A BIG if but we are still 2 months away so fingers crossed.

According to Sky Sports NI interviews will start this coming Wednesday. You would have to imagine that Robbo will be invited to take part and if he does then he would be part of the process and whilst he could turn it down if offered the role I doubt he would as he would be on up to 3 to 4 times his Well salary. For selfish reasons I think it is too soon for him. He continues to do a good job with us then it won’t be long before a decent gig down south comes up. I hope we are not in for a nasty surprise shortly.

It depends. You can pitch this story from a number of angles and one would have been Tait to come out and say that we had originally agreed a deal but because of Covid we tried (understandably) to renegotiate. Tait says understands this but was disappointed and decided to try his luck elsewhere. I liked Tait as we all did. But at a time when literally millions are losing or going to be losing their jobs or having reduced work weeks or reduced contracts then this is a non story. I work in corporate travel (For now) and almost every company is cutting between 30-50% of staff so forgive me for not getting overly upset at this on behalf of Tait. Edit to add - at a time when from media reports Hibs, Aberdeen and Celtic have asked or will be asking their players to take pay cuts.

Or the whole point is to take a very promising footballer who has the potential to play at a higher level. Give him exposure and if it turns out well we could make a few bob. This is a tried and successfully tested model for us. If youngsters are good enough they will get their chance eventually.

I was discussing this the other day with a friend. Quite simply how much worse off are we since Covid19 hit ? Failure to see out the season would have cost us an estimated £250k based on an old firm game and another 3 or so home games. Yet finishing 3rd has seen us gather an extra £600k v last season plus the sale of Scott at exactly the right time for circa £750k to £1m up front. Then you add into the fact that most of the staff and players have been furloughed that has probably saved the club circa £500k I am not saying we are awash with cash and clearly we will start the season behind closed doors most probably but I think we are probably in rude health for the time being at least !

Tait has done a good job for us and is clearly well liked by the players and fans but he was not 1st choice last season, so that is unlikely to improve next season and he is a year older. Dunne I like also but if he cannot play for us then he is of little use. He has been injured more often than not so I would not want to take another chance with him. It may not happen, but history keeps repeating itself and he plays a handful of games then is out for a long term. Another that needs to move on. All conjecture of course as we have nothing official from the club.....not a sly dig or anything...not at all....

Interesting time of the year for sure. For sentimental reasons you could make a case for a number of Players Hartley included. But what I like about Robinson is he seems able for the most part to separate sentimentality v pragmatism and will take steps to ensure we have the strongest squad possible when football eventually returns. Cannot remember which seasons in particular but I am sure there have been a few where quite a few players were kept on where based on form alone the majority of fans would have had no issues with them leaving the club. Was Faddy one of those in his last spell ? Would like to have Watt, OHara and Long stay. OHara should happen unless another club tries to hijack. Watt hopefully too. Long will no doubt get more lucrative offers down south but with Covid 19 you never know.

Me too. Listened to the Declan G podcast on what the falk podcast today. Good listen. When asked he said he felt that Robbo was the best Manager in the top flight. Of course he would say that wouldn’t he. But he talks about his meticulous prep and he also mentions how he persuaded him to come to Motherwell rather than St Johnstone by stating clearly he would make him a better player. Sounds simple but big Deccy obvs thought he was quite good as it was so he felt it was refreshing and encouraging to hear him say that. So that alone means he has used his skills to persuade a sought after player to join us and go onto to be a full international and may yet yield us a decent transfer fee. I would give him a 9 out of 10 and hope he does not jump ship to NI this summer or anyone else for that matter. Inevitable other clubs will come in for him. He would be a bigger loss than any player bar Davy T.

The financial discussions on lost income seem to omit a final home game v one of the Old Firm. Which in itself would be worth six figures. I have absolutely no problem with the club pleading poverty. What is the alternative - tell everyone we are awash with cash or even in a healthy position. At a time when we don’t know when we will be playing in front of crowds. At a time when we are releasing players no doubt using the excuse we have a small budget to play with. At a time when we are still hoping to encourage season ticket sales and Well Society donations. If we eventually sell Turnbull for £3m plus and then the next day say we don’t have 2 beans to rub together I might think they are extracting the urine but fine with this message just now.

So much like many if not most posts on any football forum. Motherwell FC is owned by the fans and many on here myself included are seeking clarity on what the club are doing around the GOV furlough scheme. It has substantial implications if for whatever reason we have decided not to seek that assistance even for 1 month. I am hoping they are but for whatever reason have decided not to communicate their position. But since most of the provincial clubs have stated their position why not Motherwell FC ? As the days go on and weeks than this is not going away. Fans are rightly concerned that any money they are putting into the club at this moment in time will meet staff wages when there is an accessible scheme to allow them to help offset this expense during Covid 19 crisis.

There are some staff that will be required to keep the club ticking over but the rest and majority of players are not exactly required at this moment in time sadly.

Exactly my point on the thread with this very topic. You mention it is sensitive and it is for clubs paying millions to players every year, but that is not Motherwell FC. I would imagine our average wage taking the under 21’s into account would be covered by the furlough scheme or a very large %. The reality is that if British Airways can furlough 40,000 employees whilst making hundreds of millions in profit last few years then we should have no issues with it. As stated I hope the club are on top of this as even missing out by a month would have a negative impact of at least a couple of hundred thousand £ v St Mirren, Hibs, Ross County et al. I have renewed my season ticket but can understand some holding off until this is clarified. We will likely all be paying higher taxes (those fortunate to have a job in a few months) to pay off deficit so would want Motherwell to benefit.

Any update on this Q ? I have just seen the Chairman’s update and no mention of our intentions in this regard. I am quite sure that most if not all clubs in top flight have told their fans and media what they are planning. Normally the stock answer would be none of our business but as a fan owned club it absolutely is our business. We are being asked to renew season tickets which I have done as have 1000 or so others. But the income raised would be 100% wiped out from 2-3 months cost of paying salaries in full whilst other clubs in the top flight are utilising the Gov scheme.

This is my point all along. If I am still in a job in a few months time I will be prepared and expect to pay an extra few % over the next how ever many years to help pay back the money that the gov will have borrowed. But by Christ I will be happier paying it if Motherwell FC were beneficiaries along with almost all other clubs in the top flight. So far as I can make out we are one of the few clubs that have not discussed their intentions around furloughing staff and players.

I think we all agree that our wee club and CEO are very good at communicating with the fan base. Now that even the mighty and wealthy Liverpool FC and other top flights clubs have furloughed staff and many cases players what are MFC doing ? Clearly with James Scott money and additional league money we are in a more stable position. I am personally not a fan of rich clubs and players who earn millions taking money from the Govt- but I feel we have do similar. Every penny counts and as selfish as it is I do not want competitors gaining a financial advantage regardless of all the real shit going on around us. I would assume the club are actively discussing options, but I have not yet seen any comments in press or elsewhere.

Ideally we can win but a draw at least so we can stay ahead of Aberdeen and finish in 3rd place when SPFL order postponements or the end of the league / world as we know it. Then we just need to hope this Virus is under control by the time we are due to visit Wales / Ireland or some other random outpost for our Europa tie next season. Assuming anyone is still alive by this point....

I don’t know about Celtic but there fans are certainly taking every opportunity to lay claim to him on Twitter. There were more of their fans reacting to his rehabilitation video than ours ! You do have a point. Celtic and Norwich were prepared to pay £3m+ based on pre op Turnbull. Chances are and we hope he will get back to that level, but until he shows signs of doing so I am not sure anyone will bid for him other than a low ball speculative offer. Of course there may b a gentlemans agreement or similar in place however I very much doubt it.