MelvinBragg

An option that I'm pretty sure we won't use. The number of midfielders we have at the club with apparently another to come in and the fact that I'm not sure where MacLean fits into the system we use means I can't see him coming back to Motherwell. A bit unfortunate for him as he's shown promise in most of his appearances...

Or Gordon fucking-Mair...

Dunne, Grimshaw and Main are all players who have been slated by fans of their clubs down South and have come in and did a job for us so not overly worried by Doncaster fans' reviews of him. Hopefully he fills a problem position although on paper Hendrie looked like he fit the bill. Turnbull is still pretty young but rumours of MacLean and Gordon going out on loan makes it seem like a matter of time before we release them...

Will depend on what Robinson meant by a player of stature...

My first reaction on hearing Robinson's description of the midfielder we're after was 'Bye Bigi'...

Only problem with the jester outfit was the shorts...

I reckon there are four players in our first team squad that we could possibly get money for. Unfortunately the two that we might struggle to replace are, I reckon, Carson and Kipré and those two are the ones we're most likely to get bids for. Cadden and Campbell are the other two. Cadden, we can and should be looking to replace with a natural left wing back. Campbell is a fantastic player and will get better but we do have bodies in the midfield who can do similar jobs even if not to the same level. So I'd agree, Cadden would be the ideal player to sell But as I said in my earlier post, the question remains if there will be any interest...

I had heard a rumour a few weeks back that O'Halloran was coming in a swap deal for Chris Cadden. Person who told me this was pretty convinced this would happen. It makes me wonder if there is any interest in Cadden. Out of contract next summer (and I know we'd still be due compensation), surely for our current model to work (and for the benefit of his own career), we need to be looking for bids for him...

I wasn't actually having a go at you. More the culture in the clubs in Scotland which leads to guys like Ross MacLean with around 20 career appearances at the age of 21, leads to us offering Ali Crawford a contract when we have David Turnbull on the books. Clearly I'm embracing the role of resident sorearse this summer. Just feel as if we hold our young players back at times. With our U20s being reasonably successful recently, I'd like to see more of them. Robinson is right in that you can't flood the team with them but I'm pretty sure Livingstone could have done as good a job at wing back as Frear. From his brief appearances, pretty sure any of our U20s could have contributed as much as Petravicius. Rant over for now...

Turned 19 a few months back. Or to put it another way, he's only nine months younger than Allan Campbell. Or three months older than David Turnbull. I know players develop at different rates and in different positions but the 'he's only 19' argument is a conservative one that holds back player development in this country. Not suggesting it's the only factor but it plays a part...

Going by Goodwin's quotes, we've not written Hastie off but then again what we say in public may be different to what we say in private. Certainly League One to the Premier League would be a jump so games at Championship level might not be a bad idea. However as Steelboy points out, it's pretty difficult for any winger to get a game for us in our favoured 352 formation. An established professional like Frear struggles to get game time, something that doesn't bode well for Hastie. As an aside, I gather MacLean sees himself as a centre midfielder in a similar role that Tanner played but I think his time has come and gone given how little game time he got last season...

Naw, but in the absence of anything else to discuss, we've had worse debates on here...

Had only a quick glance at his stats. Closer look at Soccerbase suggests you're closer to the truth although under other comps they have him scoring 7 goals in 0 starts and 0 sub appearances. He must be good if he can score 7 without playing. Maybe I'm just an old curmudgeon but it's not a signing that would excite me...

It was very much a tongue in cheek comment from myself about strikers from the north east of England. Just struck me that if were to sign the lad Johnson, all three of our first team strikers would be from that area. If they can score goals, they can be from Mars for all I care...

Kind of hope not. Only five league goals season just finished. Obviously if Robinson thinks he can do a job then I'll wait and see what he can do. Would be nice to have a striker who wasn't from the north east of England...

Where did you read/see that?

Talking to Accies' fans, Crawford for the last couple of seasons has only turned it on when it seemed to suit him. They're not that upset to see him go. Would assume signing Crawford would see at least one midfielder leave. Can't see us switching to that particular back four given we've a natural right back in Tait. For me, the signing of Donnelly suggests more that either Kipré is away this summer or that Maguire is out of the plans following mixed performances. Really looking to see us sign a natural left wing back but it's been quiet on that position...

I think we'd need to move a couple on before we'd look at signing another couple of midfielders . Will Bigirimana move on? Grimshaw and Rose have just signed new deals. Will we get a decent bid for Campbell? We also have Turnbull coming through. Irrespective of whether you think we have the right balance in midfield (I don't), difficult to see us bringing in two more bodies there...

I share your view. Never been convinced by him. Don't really see us offering £50k for a player that I don't see us developing in the same way as Moult or Johnson either, irrespective of how well we've done financially this season...

Ciftci will be a divisive signing if he joins permanently. There were brief glimpses during his loan spell that hinted at what he could offer. But those glimpses were all too brief and rare. I know he had injury issues but the fact in a game as big as the Scottish Cup semi-final, he was on the bench behind Bowman and Main doesn't suggest a player that could make a difference in the big games. I'd imagine that the wages he would be looking for, we'd want someone who would be a key player for that money. At the moment, I'm undecided...

I could live with that in claret and white as an away kit...

I suspect Cadden will leave but suspect his replacement will be a left wing back. Not to say that Cadden hasn't spent much time in centre midfield but Bigirimana has spent more time there and he's barely played. Can't really see Grimshaw or Rose being deployed at wing back...

You begin to wonder if the club has been made aware of a planned bid for Campbell. Certainly clubs will be aware of him and a good showing at this tournament might see him leave. Might explain the renewals for both Rose and Grimshaw...

Lewis Grabban playing in the Championship play-off final..

Not wishing to seem cynical but I heard a rumour of a cash bid for one of our players from an Old Firm side. Story flagged up to say 'take what we offer, you have debts to pay'?