MelvinBragg

Davies and McLeish, it was their first job. Butcher, right time right place, lucky with the players we had coming through. And when he took over, we needed a rabblerousing "us against the world" manager. Like I said, right time, right place...

Ah, already the analysis of the Gannon regime begins. I think we need to see where Gannon's career goes from here to see whether we've missed out on a footballing visionary or whether what we witnessed is to become a pattern in that he can't settle at any club as he has a habit of upsetting the applecart. But anyway, my two cents worth... I don't really see where the suggestion that his desire for fitness in the players is where the players had a problem with him. As Malky says, I think a lot of this stems from the fact that McGarry was one of those cast aside. And ignores the perseverance with Ross "60 minutes" Forbes. Malky is also right when he says that the likes of Lasley and Craigan hardly have Richie Foran's reputation for excess. We played the ball on the deck under Gannon. Not the first Motherwell manager to do this. Unfortunately he seemed unable to add much of a cutting edge. The ball was not moved quickly enough. This idea that Gannon is some kind of Arsene Wenger visionary that Scottish football just didn't understand, well as I said earlier, it's still to be proven. His signings have very much been a mixed bag, and some of his tactical decisions during games were puzzling at best. Maybe given time he could have got the team playing his way, and it would have been superb. Maybe not. But it doesn't really matter. Because it would appear he didn't want to be here in the long term. He alienated Craigan very early in his regime. Ditched Lasley almost as quickly. If alienating players was the reason for his leaving, it would have happened a lot sooner. Fact is he left because he couldn't get on with the board and they felt he wasn't committed. Whether he was a footballing genius or not, it seems it was never going to happen here...

I'm glad this thread was started as I had completely forgot that Saturday's game was live on telly. Had I not read this, I'd be turning up at about quarter to three at FP on Saturday. Of course, after the game I might not be so thankful for the reminder...

Technically was Gordon Young not in charge for the Hearts game? Did Brown not make it clear that Young would take any credit for that game...?

Glad to hear that most folk think that Coke and Lasley played well together. Playing Coke alongside either Lasley or Jennings does look on paper like the kind of midfield partnership that could serve us well. But seriously how Motherwell lives has Keith Lasley got? Written off under McGhee, written off under Gannon. And he keeps coming back. Drop him at your peril...

Aye, we have a manager who's been given scope to sign players. I suspect Brown will be given til the end of the season, so there's no need for him to rush back...

Just playing devil's advocate here, Frazzle, but maybe he thought it was too much for the trust to achieve or even aim for whereas perhaps he thinks that the club would be in a better position to actually cost/investiagte it as a possibility... Just a thought...

If Killie players were complaining of Jeffries' bullying, what will they make of Tommy McLean?

Not suggesting he would, big man, but were he about to sign a new contract or at least thinking about it and came on here to see himself described as an ungrateful wee fanny (I'm paraphrasing, you understand) then he might think "Mibbe no...". I'm reminded of the reasons that Duncan Shearer never signed for us in the first place...

Correct for two points. It's all very well saying that people qualified a lot of their statements with "IF he leaves" or saying it's a minority who were having a go, but were I Paul Slane reading this I'd be off anywhere else, boyhood heroes or not...

Is he jumping? Or being pushed? Haven't heard any word of this...

I find the back row is fine for that...

I'll assume I'm the first guy. Which is fine. Don't you know a football stadium is no place for rational sense...??

Did McGlinchey not play for Scotland at the same U20 tournament that Reynolds did? A red-headed winger if memory serves correctly? I remember watching some of those games and thinking that the guy was simply not good enough. He might have improved since then, mind you...

So he's away then. Good. Let's move on...

They've spent millions on the facilities, not players. Now they need to find players to get the benefit out of the facilities. As you say, within their rights. To use this in conjunction with the argument about weakening other teams though is a nonsense. Slane is not a first team player. I refuse to call anyone who has not started at least 5 league games in his career a first team player. Slane has not started one. If you think Slane has that much potential, the people you should be pissed off at are Motherwell, not Celtic. He wasn't tied to a contract early enough in order that this couldn't happen...

To be fair, if they don't have the players there at 18-19, it is McCart's job to source them from elsewhere. He's not been there that long. If he goes in and thinks that there's not much talent at all levels up to U19, then he has to try and find them. And from a very young age, players of the talent he is looking for will already be signed at other clubs. So where is he going to get them? You've guessed it, other clubs. Let's all dry our eyes here, shall we. Is it any different to us picking up Steven Saunders or Gary Smith from Queens Park to come and sit in our under 19s. Let's all climb of the moral high ground, shall we...?

Did I not tell you about Gannon leaving?? Does that make me a source??

My thoughts exactly. At no point has it been made clear that Slane wants to leave. Yet some people on here have hom tried, convicted and labelled. Couldn't blame him if he hread all the stuff on here and wanted to leave...

While I reckon that Gannon had to go, I think some of the players need to show a bit of common sense. There was quite a high profile local news story of people getting their jotters where I work because of comments about senior staff on facebook/bebo. Could be why McGarry was let go quite so easily. That and the lack of fitness obviously...

Dunno, from what I hear our CB partnership is likely to be Moore and Hutchison for a bit...

I figure we'd need Moore if Reynolds was being sold. Or maybe Craigan is going to be out for a while? How old is Craig Moore anyway? I'd have thought about 36?

Craigan will be staying. I don't see him getting a deal anywhere in January for various reasons. Lasley, I think, might stay. I don't think he's suddenly going to become a first team regular again but I think the fact that he's not totally persona non grata might convince him to hang around at a club he loves. As for the others in the squad, who knows? O'Brien seems to have one foot out the door. I think we'll only know who Brown and Knox rate when everyone is fit. Will Coke feature? Will Humphrey? Time will tell...

We live in hope. I hope that when Brown and Knox get their feet under table we'll see more of Slane and Humphrey and with no disrespect to him, I really hope that McGarry was a Gordon Young choice...

Quite frankly the suggestion of putting a Greggs franchise at Fir Park is a terrible one. I already spend enough money at the football...