MelvinBragg

Indeed it was. David Murphy was Hibs much better left back...

Irony being a half is all he's good for...

Sure we'll see a few names being bandied about on here and on FPC, some exciting and some underwhelming. Just need to wait and see who actually arrives. You try not to prejudge players but there are names that have been touted that I'm less keen on than others...

McCourt and Harkins? Guess we won't be the fittest team in the league next season then...

I suspect it's Lawson they're talking about. Possibly in relation to Ross County. Kind of outlining who Adams needs to replace..

Thing is, in the absence of Wallace and Mulgrew, you could say give a young left back a chance for Scotland but who is there? I couldn't tell you who plays there for the U21s. McHattie at Hearts and Douglas at Utd (now Poznan) are the two names that you could throw in there. But if Scotland want to avoid the loss of confidence a hammering would bring then a steady old head isn't the worst idea in the world...

Aye, because players never say one thing to the press and another in private...

I'm told he has said that he'd "never go back to Motherwell under any circumstances". No idea why but from a good source...

Going back to Dundee Utd on loan as soon as they sell Russell is what I hear. Although Celtic are also keeping an eye on the situation should they get a bid for Hooper...

In what way is he different to Tim Clancy who helped us to third place in terms of his pedigree? By the way, I'm not advocating signing him, just think it's important to remember we've picked up players before that were discarded by other sides in the SPL and we've found that their manager had been hasty...

Didn't realise he had signed for Killie. Agree with much of what you said though...

I recon we've more chance of seeing Pearson one day than Clarkson. Speaking of former players, I'll just put this out there. Given we've lost (or look like we're losing) a lot of our creative players, and he was training at the club until recently, there must be a temptation to see what Paul Slane is looking for in a deal... Not that it'd be something I'd do but might the club look at it...?

With that you're working on the assumption that every manager can see the same potential in players. Hateley was released and knocked back by several clubs and has been good enough to play a couple of hundred games for Motherwell in a very successful period. Clancy, Ojaama and Scott McDonald are another three either knocked back by other SPL clubs or deemed surplus to requirements there...

Clarkson won't come back, Pearson is still featuring for his club down South. Only realistic one is Kenneth and "no, thanks" to that one..

A vision of our future? Were they not stripped of all their better players by clubs with more money...? Or maybe just shows how consistent we've been...

Maybe we have other targets. Or maybe we're getting signals that Higdon will stay and are focussing our efforts on replacing Law, Humphrey and Hateley who have left or seem more likely to leave. Certainly seems to be the case with the names we're hearing through rumours...

I'd imagine that we'll not be making an approach until we know what's happening with Higdon...

No preference for either but what I will say is this. I grew up surrounded by Rangers supporters. Did that make me Rangers minded. No, if anything it meant I hated losing to them more and hated them more. Now I know people on both sides so feel as if I hate both equally. So option A for me. Suggestion that most Well fans favour one or the other is, in my opinion, utterly ridiculous...

If we lose Hateley, we lose an option for centre midfield so not a bad thing necessarily...

If we sign those two and keep Higdon then we'll be laughing...

Having stood with Frazzle at the games for as long as I can remember, I can confirm that he's an equal opportunity hater of the Old Firm. Hateley, it's a funny one. A guy who's played that many games under different managers obviously has something to offer. His father could have been Pele but if he hadn't performed, he wouldn't have played as often. But for some reason, he hasn't been embraced by the Well support as much as others in the team who've contributed less. Is it who his father is? Maybe. Is it the perception that he earns more than others who contribute more? Maybe. I don't dislike the guy but I don't think he's ever going to be a favourite of mine. But if he were to sign a new contract, I'd be perfectly happy. We're never going to be in a position to happily let go solid SPL performers because guys like that offer the base for our flair players to work from. The last few months have seen some of the best football I've seen at Fir Park. I don't think I'll be talking down any of the players that leave. Smacks of St Mirren and Oldham fans when we signed Higdon and Porter saying "Aye, yer welcome to them..". Let's be better than that. These guys have given us some wonderful moments. They deserve our respect...

I'll wait for official confirmation given STV isn't the most reliable source. But if he stays, question is, can he convince Higdon (or any others) to follow suit?

I kind of know what you mean. If we're to change manager in the next year or two (which if McCall continues his good work, is likely), now would be the best time to do it. A new manager coming in would have a strong base to start with in Hutchinson, Lasley, Hammell and Ramsden but scope to build his own team round about that...

Did McCall not say recently he'd turned down approaches front Burnley and Blackburn..? Claims which haven't been denied. Actions of a man desperate for a move..?

Don't get me wrong, I give as much credence to the rumours on Titter (no typo) as I do to steelboy's. My instinct still says he'll be at Bramall Lane next season and that there may be a degree of hard negotiation going on here. But again, I wouldn't blame him for that. Before I would move jobs, I'd want to ensure the best conditions I could. At least it shows he's not jumping ship for the first offer that comes along. Despite what steelboy wants us to believe...