MelvinBragg

While clearly a player who pretty much always gave 100%, for me Ojamaa was not offering value for what I suspect we were paying hin. If we can bring in a young, hungry replacement for less cash, it might turn out to be the best thing for us. And I suspect it will mean Erwin and Moore get more opportunities. No bad thing...

Sounds promising but needs to make good on it...

Ross County, Partick Thistle and St Mirren have all managed to bring players in during this window. You can quibble about the pedigree of their signings but as I've stated on the relegation thread, we tend to get hung up on where our signings are from rather than whether they can come in and do a specific job for us...

If the Dayton-Vigurs swap is off, I'd certainly hope that we had a plan B in place. It seems strange that the only player we apparently have on trial is a defender. Irrespective of your opinion of the various options we have, centre half is an area we have the most candidates. Centre midfield or the wings seem in more pressing need of reinforcements...

47 in 8 minutes, then gave up. Like you, managed to miss a current member of out first team...

Did I say it would be fair for him to be judged on this January window? It won't be fair but it's the facts. I appreciate that it's difficult to bring players in but other clubs seem to be managing to freshen up their squad. There are players available and having stated that he was going to bring in at least a couple of new faces, he now has to back that up with action. Performances haven't picked up consistently since his arrival and he's being judged on that. He has to work on the training field to get the best out of what he has, but results are suggestng that that isn't going to be enough. He will be judged on how the team does from now until the end of the season. That may depend on the squad he has available to him as of midnight next Monday... Oh, and he applied for the job of catching the anvil...

I don't know enough about the club's finances to say whether administration is likely or not. What I would say is that 14 or 15 players out of contract isn't something I see as a problem but an opportunity. Some of those out of contract are likely to be among the higher earners. I'm thinking of Nielsen, Lawson, Ainsworth, Vigurs. Cheaper players doesn't necessarily mean worse players. General consensus is that Twardzik is a slightly better keeper than Nielsen. Who is earning more? Who has contributed more this season, Carswell or Lawson? Law or Ramsden at right back isn't a massive difference except in how much they earn. A few on here would rather start Erwin than Sutton. Who earns more? As fans we get overly concerned about the pedigree of new signings. Who have they played for before? Club going for the cheap option? Have we even heard of this guy? Can we not sign an available former player? Perhaps the club have been guilty of the same thinking recently? Personally I'd never heard of a few of Inverness', Dundee's or Partick's signings but they seem to be doing better than our "name" players. Lazy approach to scouting? Maybe and maybe this summer offers a chance to address this and change our thinking...

Apparently in the Express this morning that we're trying to extend Ojaama's loan. Must confess that I think the money would be better spent elsewhere...

Cerny was never mentioned officially by the club. The Dayton-Vigurs swap was (I think) mentioned by Scott Burns who rarely gets Motherwell stuff wrong so that story had a bit more credibility but again was never officially confirmed. I'll not judge Baraclough in this transfer window until midnight next Monday. A 32yo centre half from Alfreton in on trial doesn't bode well given we already have extended O'Brien's loan but I won't worry unless we actually sign him. I think, and I'm sure Baraclough and the club are aware of this, a lot of fans are going to judge Baraclough's appointment on how he does this transfer window and the team he can put out after it. Big week...

Allegedly...

Thing is, cutting your cloth doesn't necessarily mean relegation. Are Partick Thistle, Hamilton, St Johnstone or Kilmarnock spending significantly more than us? No, probably not. But Hamilton and St Johnstone in particular are making every penny count. Can we say the same about Motherwell? Nielsen, Lawson, Ainsworth, Ojaama, McManus. All probably among higher earners at the club who haven't contributed accordingly. This summer offers an opportunity to address that. It's about spending smart, not spending big. Finding players who will offer a good return for what we're paying them, either on the park or in a fee when they're sold on. People are always keen to point out contracts offered to the likes of McHugh, Cummins and Angol as examples of the money the club has wasted. For me, these deals are at the bottom of the list in terms of money wasted. We can only hope with a new manager and new faces at boardroom level, we see a new approach. Expenditure on playing staff has to be value for money. At points this season we've had Nielsen, Lawson and Ainsworth all on the bench. That's a lot of money going to waste when Stewart, Leitch and Thomas are available to offer backup. I refuse to accept that a smaller budget means less quality. It just means you have to scout better, spend smarter and be more imaginative than the other teams. That's the challenge this close season, irrespective of whether we stay up or not. Let's hope the new owner and manager are up to it...

I'd be in favour of giving Watt a run at left back as well. If Pearson is going to be used at left midfield and if Vigurs moves on, should we be looking at centre midfield? Lawson and Leitch both remain unavailable, Lasley might be back sooner rather than later but in the past few weeks, we've had to use Reid or Ramsden in there. Of course, it may be that if we bring Dayton in for Vigurs them he'll play left wing and Pearson will play centrally. Given the talk of maybe two new faces, it'll be interesting to see what Baraclough sees as the priorities...

Given Erwin and Moore have apparently showed well in the last couple of games and we now have Pearson adding a bit of running, what are people's thoughts on extending Ojaama's loan? Money better spent elsewhere?

How did we line up on Saturday? I gather that Kerr played (well) at centre back but who played right back and who was in midfield?

Just need to wait and see what those at the game to clear up the formation and who's playing where. Mind you, that's not been clear to me at some games I've been at this season...

Given we have two young wingers, we could have maybe started one of them. No point in playing Sutton if you're not going to play someone to put crosses into the box...

I suspect Law at right midfield, Reid at centre midfield and Kerr at right back...

And what would we do with the other four or five right backs we've got? Doesn't seem like the most sensible use of our limited resources...

Just feel that McCall was slated for not using young players and short term thinking. Bringing in a defender on loan where a young player has looked decent seems a return to that kind of thinking...

Wouldn't be in favour of the Ben Gordon move. Why not? One of the many valid reasons given in the thread on the subject of why we struggle as a selling club was that our young players don't get enough game time. Luke Watt has played two games (against the top two teams in the league) and hasn't looked out of place. Signing a left back on loan and sticking Watt back in the U20s seems like the kind of short term thinking many have been slating the club for...

Nielsen Law Ramsden O'Brien Hammell (Watt if Hammell unavailable) Lasley (Carswell if unavailable) Pearson Cadden Moore Thomas Sutton Plenty of energy in the midfield. Can understand Sutton hasn't been fantastic but people are suggesting we start Thomas and Cadden and at the same time suggesting dropping a proven goalscorer who thrives on crosses into the box. Strikes me as odd... If McManus and Ainsworth ever play for Motherwell again, it'll be too soon...

Right now, we need a Fitzpatrick type figure. Runs all day, tackles and scraps. People forget how many games Fitzpatrick played in the Mark McGhee team that people consider among the best they've seen. Or Jamie Dolan in 93/94. Every team needs an unglamorous midfielder to do the spadework. Unfortunately this season, often the unglamorous midfielder doing the spadework is lining up alongside a full back or centre half in midfield...

I tend to agree. Kerr and O'Brien? Poor but at least seem to put the effort in. McManus? Poor and doesn't seem to give a shit. If we're looking to battle the drop, having players who don't seem to give a shit in the first team every week sends the wrong message to the rest of the players...

I agree on Vigurs, McManus and Ainsworth. Kerr and Reid at least give 100%, and we may need a couple of guys like that in the run in. As others have stated, 4-0 defeats to Celtic are nothing new. Concern is the number of times we're shipping that number of goals to other teams. I thought that there were slightly encouraging signs against Aberdeen but the Dundee game was a massive setback in terms of confidence. Concerned also with Lasley's absence. As indifferent as his form has been, tonight's lineup showed that we're not overburdened with options in there. Law, Ramsden and Reid are not the answer. If Lasley is unavailable for the next few games, I'd be tempted to play Carswell and Pearson as a 2 in a 4231 with Thomas, Moore and Cadden in front of them. Give the young guys a chance. Can't do any worse than the experienced guys have been doing. If we are going to go down, let's plan for the future as we do it...

People finally seeing through Ainsworth. About time...