capt_oats

Assuming we're a club who post attendances based on numbers who have actually come through the gate I've always guessed that the disparity in attendance vs ST holders is down to a fair chunk of the ST number being either the free kids tickets and/or the £20 Junior tickets. You're probably far more likely to have a wean be temperamental and decide they don't want to go (for whatever reason) or it's just a case of being easier to sack off going to a game if you've only paid £20 for the season than if you've paid £300+, £400+. I mean, I could be wrong but that's always seemed the most logical explanation to me. Prior to the whole pandemic and the like apparently our record number sold was 4,488 in 2019/20. https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2020/07/06/lets-break-our-season-ticket-record/ According to Dempster speaking in 2013, STs were around 2,500 in 2008.

Alexander's line was “We want to carry, maybe, two or three more players than we first planned because of the issues with Covid - they are not going away." to me that would have meant running with a squad of 25-ish based on his comments last season about preferring to run with a relatively tight group. We were on 29 bodies, that's down to 28 with Johnston's loan. Assuming Chairman Flao is good on his word that the other young players around the team go out on loan as well (subject to them being recovered from injuries etc) that should be another 3 and bring the squad down to 25. After that I suppose it depends on whether certain players actually want to play or if they'll be happy sat in the stands as a squad of 25 means you've got 7 sat out of the matchday squad (assuming everyone is fit). As I said earlier we're at the point where realistically Crawford and Lawless don't even make the bench most weeks. Kelly SOD Ojala Johansen Carroll Slattery Donnelly Goss Roberts KVV Watt Subs (7 from): Fox, Lamie, Mugabi, O'Connor, McGinley, Grimshaw, Maguire, O'Hara, Crawford, Parker, Woolery, Lawless, Amaluzor, Shields That's a pool of 14 subs/reserves. It's not difficult to imagine trimming one or two if a Championship club wanted to take them off our hand on loan.

Johnston to QoTSA on loan

Exceptionally dull post but I see we've a new 'Head of Medical'. Alan Nixon mentioned it a while back but he's on the Staff page of the official now. Dave Rhodes formerly at Salford. https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/squad/first-team/ Also, I see Max Johnston's been moved down into the Reserves squad https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/squad/reserves/

Folk had a laugh at the bold Greg on his wild Tommy Wright/Graham Alexander take but he's not wrong here and Robert Thomson's central point is certainly true. Monetising and getting value for your playing assets is a skill. Changed days for us certainly. For all the snark around our player branding documents and what not when you compare how the club handled the Turnbull negotiation/sale and knee knack fall out vs St Johnstone's shitshow last night it puts things into context.

Because we are massive.

Aye, it probably is. I think I was looking at it from a POV where, when you look at the incomings, the jury is probably out on half of them? The plus point as you say are that the players we've obviously brought in to drop in to the starting XI all seem to have something about them and in the case of Kelly and Roberts have proven themselves "at our level". To your point about the fall-out of the Airdrie game, 100%. We're now realistically in a place where Crawford and Lawless don't even make the bench most weeks.

It feels like we've at least addressed the issues that a lot of folk had. Whether we've addressed them successfully...hmmmmm? Folk were worried about the idea of Mugabi and Lamie being our first pick CB pairing, we've brought 2 CBs in and 1 more for additional cover. Looking at a squad depth chart it looks like players that we know probably aren't good enough to be starting for us have been bumped down into squad roles. There are still aspects like the midfield unit being unconvincing but with us having been in for Gotts it at least suggests we were attempting to address that area. Overall the main doubts are still around the obvious punts, which stands to reason and even in the case of someone like Woolery the addition of Roberts should hopefully soften that and allow him to find his feet. On the face of it the window's probably a solid enough C+ that's probably artificially inflated upwards towards a B grade when you start looking at some of the wild shit going down at certain other clubs. Here are the contract expirations for the squad as is: January 22 - Mich'el Parker (1) 2022 - Scott Fox, Peter Morrison, Ricki Lamie, Bevis Mugabi, Darragh O'Connor, Nathan McGinley, Liam Grimshaw, Barry Maguire, Mark O'Hara, Robbie Crawford, Liam Donnelly, Steven Lawless, Justin Amaluzor, Tony Watt (14) 2023 - Stephen O'Donnell, Jake Carroll, Juhani Ojala, Max Johnston, David Devine, Dean Cornelius, Sean Goss, Kevin Van Veen (8) 2024 - Liam Kelly, Sondre Solholm Johansen, Calum Slattery, Kaiyne Woolery, Connor Shields (5) Loan - Jordan Roberts (1) Total: 29 My big takeaway there is 10 year deal for Tony Watt please. Immediately.

Possibly, but they're both very different types of players.

Burrows has been saying to his reply guys that we're done for tonight. Whether that means we're done, done and won't be looking at free agents IDK. I suppose the fact we were linked with Gotts instinctively makes you think that we feel we're short of something in that area.

Actually now you mention it, Barrow's news story had it worded that "Young midfield star Robbie Gotts has penned a two-year deal after leaving Leeds United..." so presumably he's been paid up and released. Same with the other Leeds u23 they announced earlier this evening. There were a couple of reports floating around earlier that a nominal fee would be due.

I noticed that Barrow have announced him on a two year deal. Given all our "priority" signings have been on shree year deals (and if we've been speaking to him for over a month he'd fall into that bracket) I wonder if he just maybe didn't fancy committing long term up here, since I'd guess that's what we'd be offering if we were paying Leeds a fee for him. He was born in Harrogate and has been at Leeds for 15 years so I can get why he'd maybe be swayed by the idea of staying closer to home (relatively speaking). f**k knows though.

So this is our business: Transfers In: 27/05/21 - Connor Shields (from QoTS) 21/06/21 - Justin Amaluzor (from Maidstone United) 22/06/21 - Kaiyne Woolery (from Tranmere Rovers) 02/07/21 - Kevin Van Veen (from Scunthorpe United) 05/07/21 - Liam Kelly (from QPR) 13/07/21 - Darragh O'Connor (from Leicester) 16/07/21 - Mich'el Parker (unattached) 24/07/21 - Callum Slattery (from Southampton - undisclosed fee) 29/07/21 - Juhani Ojala (from Vejle BK) 26/08/21 - Sean Goss (from Shrewsbury Town) 31/08/21 - Sondre Solholm Johansen (from Mjøndalen - undisclosed fee) Loans In: 31/08/21 - Jordan Roberts (from Heart of Midlothian) Loans Out: TBC Transfers Out: 08/07/21 - Trevor Carson (to Dundee United) By my guess the squad looks something like this, 29 players as it stands: I mean, I'd guess the chances of us actually ever seeing Parker are nil and there's a chance Grimshaw becomes a midfield option rather than RB but generally that's it.

It's apparently been confirmed by Leeds DoF. There's another Leeds u23 player joining them as well. That's annoying but tbf looking at the way we've been chucking shree year deals at our priority targets I'd imagine he'd have a decent offer on the table. If he doesn't fancy relocating up here then that's on him.

SOD denied entry into Denmark because he's had the vid. According to the SSN ticker, the new reports are a bit more vague saying it's down to Denmark's covid protocols.

If Roberts is on the way back that surely makes Lawless toast?

I'd guess this answers any questions about squad size. We've got loans lined up for folk to the lower leagues.

Oh aye? Hopeful of "at least" one more in.

From what I can tell the GBE being granted means the work permit is a question of the paperwork getting processed. It's a shree year deal as well. United did the same with the Finnish boy they signed. They announced him as having signed and indicated that they were going through the process of obtaining the visa. I'd imagine Ben Banks has got this info directly from Burrows/the club.

Technically not. He received his Governing Body Endorsement on Thursday. The work permit is still to be formally ratified but as far as I can tell the GBE makes it a matter of procedure.