MelvinBragg

Thought Semple was excellent in the first half but less effective in the second . Liam Grimshaw, I love the guy and on the basis of the group games, he could make a claim to be first pick at right back. And I say that knowing he won't be. But for me, Donnelly was man of the match. A great performance capped by a second goal that was simply magnificent...

I really do think that Donnelly is in Robinson's first eleven. And I think Ilic will end up being first choice ahead of Seedorf....

I think what he's getting at is that St Mirren trousered the fee for Morgan, presumably using it to strengthen the team and retained Morgan for the remainder of the season. Like having your cake and eating it. Hardly seems fair if you're a fan of other teams in the league but argument would be it's up to them to develop their own players that people are willing to pay for six months early and loan back. On the Cadden issue, we'll get some cash but maybe not as much as we'd hoped. Take it on the chin. As others have said, we are no different to any other club in that we probably try and look for any possible advantage in the transfer market...

I'm seeing a lot of discussion of our midfield over the last few games, mainly negative. It's worth talking about. We've gone from a midfield of Gorrin, Campbell and Turnbull to a midfield of Donnelly/Maguire, Campbell and Pokworth. Changing two players in a three man midfield, it's understandable that it will take more than a few games to gel in the same way, irrespective of the quality of the individuals. Gorrin is being held up at the minute as the standard that Donnelly and Maguire should be aspiring to. I liked Gorrin but we're talking about a defensive midfielder who started 16 games for us and picked up 6 yellow cards and a red card. Not flawless. Also worth noting he turns 26 next week Donnelly recently turned 23 and Maguire recently had his 21st birthday. These guys have scope to develop, and I personally don't think they're miles away from Gorrin's level. Those describing them as defenders playing in midfield, I'm assuming have never changed jobs in their career. Tom Hateley was signed as a midfielder, Derek Adams as a striker. Even at a higher level, Vincent Kompany was signed by Man City as a holding midfielder. If the coaching staff feel that Maguire and Donnelly have the skill set for that position (and I gather they've felt for a long time this is Maguire's best position), they see them every day so I reckon they know more than we do. Campbell. I hear on here he's being asked to play further forward. Nonsense. In pretty much all the time he's played for us, he's played alongside a holding midfielder be it Lasley, McHugh or Gorrin. His role has pretty much always been to use his energy to press higher up the field . If he's been slightly further forward the last few games, it's been down to opposition midfields sitting deeper. Polworth. The lack of a killer pass has been mentioned and this probably is focussed on Polworth as the most 'creative' midfielder. He has at least a couple of assists already (and it was his ball that sent Seedorf away for Scott's first on Friday). You can talk about the poor quality of the opposition but that's a double edged sword. We'll play better teams in the league but because of that we'll seldom play teams that sit so deep offering so little space. Also worth noting he has the pressure of replacing a £3m player. Not the same type of player as Turnbull but takes his spot as creator/provider. No one expects Motherwell to bring in players worth £3m so there may be a slight drop off but he's doing ok. Is there room for improvement? It's Motherwell, there always is. But for me, there's a bit more negativity than is required. If we lose our first four league games, then we maybe need to start panicking...

Gorrin was our defensive midfielder, always playing deepest of the three when he played...

I'm sure those at the game will say the performance wasn't the best but we're getting the job done albeit against poorer opposition. Another clean sheet, with a different back four. Another new signing gets off the mark goal wise. Stuff that needs work? Sure but we seem in a better place than many of our rivals...

Goal described as controversial by the BBC. Need to not give the ref a chance to even it up if he feels he got it wrong...

He looked no great shakes at Killie and I have no idea the last time he played a game. No thanks..

You'd wonder whether that signals Scott going out on loan or possibly Danny Johnson? Robinson did say that any further signing would have to be someone who will offer something different and go straight into the first team...

Playing two midfielders is like going into battle with a bow and arrow. Fine if the other guy has a bow and arrow but not if he has a machine gun. Very rarely do teams play with two in central midfield these days because they get outmanned. Even the 4231 which is sometimes quoted as a effective formation, the middle guy in the '3' behind the striker is invariably a midfielder effectively making it a 433. 442 is only used now where the 4 in midfield is a diamond shape or if it's a squinty 442 with one winger and three central midfielders (one may drift wide when attacking). We used the squinty 442 under McGhee when we had Johnson on one wing and Cadden on the other but quite often Cadden would tuck in when we didn't have the ball...

Gorrin did a decent job for a few months but people seem to forget he had a knack of going to ground in the tackle and picking up too many yellow cards. Not saying Donnelly is necessarily the answer, but let's not turn Gorrin into Ngolo Kante....

It seems that Robinson feels that Cole is a wide player. Also was Long not said to be able to play anywhere in the front three? I reckon Semple could also fill in at a push...

Actually thought Donnelly looked as good as Polworth tonight and felt that Polworth got caught in possession a few times in the first half. Also despite what you said, felt Donnelly won his fair share of headers...

Not sure why, but I have a slightly bad feeling about tonight. Hope I'm wrong but just a slight concern that we might come a cropper...

To be fair, only one of Gillespie or Carson can play, Tanner is injured, Kipre was sold and Rose moved back for family reasons. Aldred and Aribiyi were generally successful loan signings, so the fact that only Dunne, Carson or Gillespie and Donnelly might start tonight doesn't say that they've been his only successful signings so far. I wasn't a fan but you could even argue that Main has moved to a bigger club on leaving so doesn't suggest that he was a disastrous signing. With a few notable exceptions (mainly at left back) most of Robinson's signings have contributed something in their time here...

The guy Leighton played as a trialist in a game for Celtic this summer. Would certainly suggest he has options other than us. A case of wait and see but seems unlikely...

Suspect a few of the Levante and Nancy players went on to have decent careers. Not sure Hyypia played that game... EDIT I stand corrected, just checked...

Or like Fisher and Taylor-Sinclair, we find clubs to take them off our hands....

Agree with pretty much all of this. In the last few seasons, we've sold a guy we got as a trialist, a guy we got from Wrexham and a guy we got from Kidderminster for over £2m. That's before you consider Johnson's sell on. Add in the money Moult and Kipre helped make us by helping us get to cup finals, the money that Johnson helped us make (save?) by winning the playoffs, I think it helps pay for the 'mistakes'. And on that subject, the club does have a knack of remedying the situation quickly if it's not working out. You didn't see the likes of Alex Fisher, Taylor-Sinckair, Jacob Blyth, Lee Lucas or Wes Fletcher hanging around picking up a wage for too long ...

So shut down something that makes the club (a business, whether you like it or not) more money than it costs? While also providing players like Campbell, Turnbull, Maguire, Scott and Semple? You talk as if the academy has done nothing for us. The point I was trying to make is that the academy has allowed us to make the money to keep the club going, in this summer's case without weakening the first team greatly. But clearly that doesn't fit in with your agenda ...

While it's obviously frustrating to lose these young players before we even get a chance to see them play, there is another way to look at this. For a while, we as fans were bemoaning losing our best players for a pittance. Think of the fees we received for Mark Reynolds, Jamie Murphy and Paul Quinn. At that point, we were losing crucial first team players for fees that we're now receiving for guys who've never played a game for us (and I do know that you have to take inflation into account). This summer, looking at Hastie, McAlear and McKinstry, we're looking at bringing in north of £750k in transfer fees. That's for a guy who has played a dozen or so games for us and two youngsters with potential. Prior to this summer, to bring in that kind of cash we'd be looking at selling a crucial first team player like Moult, Kipre or Johnson. Money isn't everything, I know, but transfer revenue is crucial to our survival and development. The fact that we can bring in that kind of cash without significantly weakening our first eleven is a positive. Could we have got more down the line for McAlear or McKinstry? Possibly, but they could equally have gone down the road of Ross Maclean, Dom Thomas, Ross Forbes or Robbie Leitch. I imagine that we will see sell-ob benefits of McAlear and McKinstry deals further down the line should they develop well. If they don't though, we have done well to get fees on the basis of their potential...

I'm assuming, as with McKinstry, we'd be due a development fee..?

You could say the same for Barraclough, Brown and McGhee (second time around). Article makes it sound like we were a team that had only been in the Premier a couple of seasons and we had never been secure in it till he took over...

Forgot Polworth and there is the slim possibility that Tanner may return...

That's what I'd heard regarding the full backs as well. Could simply have been a bad day at the office for Tait or possibly a need to readjust having played on the left for most of the last two seasons...