capt_oats

I can only imagine that there's a feeling that we've got latitude in terms of a "triple punishment" argument and that while there was obvious contact Dunne was making an "honest" attempt to play the ball so a yellow would have sufficed. I'd be amazed if our appeal is successful tbh and I'm not sure it's even worth the effort of the process.

Well that explains that then. As you were.

Ciftci? In fairness, if we were (apparently) realistically in for him in January then assuming he hasn't found another club in the near future and Celtic realise they're not going to get shot of him permanently are willing to accept a similar sort of deal then I don't see why Saints couldn't afford him. http://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/sport/football/motherwell-fc/ciftci-very-disappointed-at-not-joining-well-1-4355018 https://stv.tv/sport/football/1379562-motherwell-fail-in-last-gasp-loan-bid-for-celtic-s-nadir-ciftci/ http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/15062305.Motherwell_s_hopes_of_signing_Celtic_striker_Nadir_Ciftci_on_loan_dashed_late_on_deadline_day/

Ticket deal announced for the Cup & League double header in case any of your lot are interested. http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/?p=64331

With you mentioning a loan it's worth noting that Robinson discussed that eventuality way back at the start of the summer. Essentially saying that his plan was to hold some budget back on the off chance that a loan option came up later in the window. Though Blyth didn't contribute to numbers on the field he's a partial wage freed up. I'd imagine there was some sort of settlement but it'd have been mutually beneficial. Robinson's been consistent in talking about another, different striker but needing to move someone out; Moult's still here and was top scorer, Fisher and Newell are both new signings which leaves the bold Herbalife looking like the expendable one. Even more so if Tanner's to be used as a second striker. There's an aspect of me trying to convince myself but with us having apparently been close to getting Ciftci in January and him still sitting counting his money at Parkhead then if we were (realistically) looking at bringing him in on loan with Moult, McDonald, Bowman and Blyth (injured) all on the books I don't see that a similar deal would be prohibitive with our current numbers. The only obvious flaw is Robinson putting a premium on "character" and well...that's hardly Ciftci's defining quality. It seems unlikely but all the same I think Ciftci would have a lovely old time in this Motherwell side. Weirdly I'm pretty relaxed about Cadden as he seems to have his head screwed on enough that he'll move to a good club and I can see us making proper money off him. Between him, his dad and the club I think they've got the next step in his career planned out so him moving and when he moves doesn't seem like it'll be too much of a surprise.Also, though he'd clearly be a massive loss there's a ready made replacement for him at the club in Ross MacLean. It'd be nice to get a season from Cadden at Fir Park where he gets a consistent run of form though. Edit to add: That's Robinson saying that it's likely that we'll be adding to the squad before the end of the window in his pre-match interview there and looking weirdly confident about it. Also edited to add: That's Dunne's red card been appealed. http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1986&newsCategoryID=1&newsID=17125

To be honest I still expect him to move, as I said over on the Aberdeen thread our market for outgoings has always been cross-border and abroad. I think McDonald was pretty much the last key player we sold to another Scottish club so that's pretty much a decade ago. Selling to Aberdeen would just have been an awful (and improbable) shout for a whole multitude of reasons and it's fair to say that the movement in the English leagues is only really just starting in earnest now. I think if some League 1 or lower end Championship mob come along in the next couple of weeks then we'd probably be much more more flexible as there wouldn't be the same issues with selling to a club in the same league and it fits in more with our recruitment "sales pitch". That pathway is pretty much what we're offering when players pitch up at the club. However unless there's been discussion going on "behind the scenes" that hasn't made it to the media it's difficult to see where that interest is going to come from at the moment. I also can't help but revisit Robinson's comment after McHugh signed his deal where he teased: “We continue to discuss extended terms with other players in the squad and hopefully we’ll have some good news there too.” though again, that could easily just be a face value comment from Robinson, he seems much less coded than McGhee in terms of what he says to the press. For all there hasn't been much hype around Moult, we haven't really been talking him up in the same way we did Johnson either. Or at least it hasn't seemed to be as overt. Either way according to Robinson he still wants a striker and a defender. Blyth's already been emptied so looking at the squad you'd think (by process of elimination) that leaves Bowman to move to allow for another forward. Similarly I wonder if a move for Johnson will impact on what we can do in that respect or if we'll just use the sell on for infrastructure or loan repayments to Boyle & Hutchison.

Who knows, maybe that new deal will get signed after all. I'd have thought a wage bump on an extension would be better than nothing. Also, if Marvin moves on from Oxford then that's the equivalent of a sale in terms of income for this window anyway.

Supposedly 25%

Aye, he's been chronic. Even allowing for the fact he's been coming back from injury. There's a very good case for us starting Fisher just now. As far as our squad goes there's nothing to suggest we're particularly anxious about Moult leaving. We've just binned Jacob Blyth and there's various rumours that we're open to offers for Ryan Bowman with Robinson looking at bringing in another striker to replace him. I'm sure we've got back up plans should Moult leave but we were clear that Aberdeen's (only?) bid was nowhere near our valuation and I think we've been pretty comfortable with that. Had you made the group stages for the Europa league there may have been sense in looking at meeting our valuation but even then... In honesty, I think the whole "he wants to leave the club" thing has been misinterpreted by a lot of Dons fans as a "come and get me" plea. Of course he wants to leave, he signed with Motherwell with a view to furthering his career. Basically what he said the other month around the time there was speculation about the bid from Aberdeen was what everyone around Motherwell knows. The sales pitch we give players is that we'll give them a platform and if an opportunity comes along that benefits the player and Motherwell in so much as our valuation is met and it's a step up in their career then we won't stand in their way. However our valuation needs to be met and from the player's point of view then I'd think that unless it's Celtic (or possibly Rangers) who are showing a genuine interest, which in itself is unlikely, that pathway is more likely to be geared towards moving from Scotland to the Championship/League 1 in England. However the acknowledgement is that it's got to benefit both parties. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the club, player and his agent have an unofficial figure agreed as to what we'd accept. The problem for Aberdeen is that it's unlikely that you'd be prepared to pay it. In all seriousness, if Motherwell are asking for even a structured deal worth £650k for Moult it's unlikely Aberdeen would pay that (nor should they). Motherwell's valuation is clearly focused on the English market, as I've mentioned before the bulk of our outgoings either transfers or under freedom of contract are cross-border or abroad; Johnson to Oxford, Pearson to Atletico de Kolkata, Hall to Brighton, Erwin to Leeds, Hutchinson to Fulham, Randolph to Birmingham, Porter to Derby, McCormack and Quinn to Cardiff, Anier to Erzgebirge Aue, Ojamaa to Legia Warsaw, Higdon to N.E.C Nijmegen, Humphrey to Preston, Reynolds to Sheffield Wednesday. There are very few key players who have been under contract that we've sold to other Scottish clubs. The obvious counter is "but Motherwell can't afford not to cash in, they're a selling club"...Sutton scored more goals than Moult and left for free, Higdon scored more goals than Moult and got POTY and left for free, we told Scott McDonald to sit on his arse when offers came in for him twice last season and he left for free. It's our stated business model that we bring players in with a view to developing and selling for profit but equally we've shown over the past few seasons we're totally fine with kb'ing offers that don't suit us. I'll be 100% honest, if you're able to get Stevie May in then Aberdeen would be absolutely mental to be paying what we're reported to be asking for Moult.

Off the back of the point about how "we wouldn't have won that game last season" re: the League Cup game last night I just had a quick check, obviously not directly related but semi-interesting all the same. At this point last season ie: 4 Betfred Cup group games, 1 league game and 1 knock out game our goals had come from 5 players: Johnson 4 Moult 2 McDonald 2 Cadden 2 Ainsworth 1 Total: 11 This season as of now we've seen 10 different scorers: Cadden 4 Bowman 2 Moult 2 Frear 2 Heneghan 1 Tanner 1 Dunne 1 Tait 1 Bigirimana 1 MacLean 1 Total: 16 You should probably factor in that the knock out round game last season was against Celtic whereas (with all due respect) this season we were drawn against County but still...

I'll take a win in the cup and a draw in the league please.

absolutely sensational shout from Acciesworld given he's out injured for 6 months.

That statement in full.

The Blyth has left the building. It is done. https://twitter.com/MotherwellFC/status/894926635165777920

Aye. That was part that rang particularly true for me too.

Off the back of the recent #engagement stuff here's an interview with the bold Murrant: http://sportsmarketingscotland.co.uk/interview-with-motherwell-ryan-murrant/

They also signed another striker on Friday so, again, read into that what you want. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40831922 It also seems the boy they signed from Man. Utd recently wasn't available to play yesterday due to a knock.

I see that's Preston just brought in a new forward. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40831922

Aye, 3 strikers on the bench against Berwick and he was patched for the boy we publicly announced had been signed for the u20s. If that's not a *hint* I don't know what is. His record at that level is good enough that you can see why there might actually be genuine interest in him. We've an offer on the table for Moult, whether or not he signs is a different story, it's clear he's still wanted. Fisher is just in the door and Blyth is...well he's Blyth. We clearly need another option and unfortunately for the Geordie Ribery he seems the most likely for us to be able to get off the books. Listening to Robinson's interview today he wants another striker and another defender. Neither of those will happen unless there's some sort of movement.

Just going to chuck this one out there: there's a thread on a Wrexham fan site and they seem quite convinced that they're in for Bowman and that he may be signing with them soon. From the sound of things they've been in for him before he joined us and there's a lot about him moving that would make sense. With us having signed Moult from Wrexham there's obviously a relationship there and while Bowman's struggled up here he's scored a ton of goals at National League level.

If my reading of things is correct they didn't tell him to GTF they just held off on signing him until his situation became clear. As far as I'm aware there was still chat this week that he might sign but it all hinged on his injury/treatment, that was before he pitched up at Lennoxtown looking at coaching roles with Celtic. Absolutely bizarre scenes that McInnes is coming out in the press announcing that the player might retire before Maloney does tbh: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40805276

Apparently the new signing is Milan Nitrianský from Bohemians 1905 (according to Graeme McGarry's tweet). https://twitter.com/Graeme_McGarry/status/893392846757257217

Just seen the club posting the latest #fanengagement stuff, Moult and Tanner hand delivering season books to kids. Fair fucks, that's absolutely outstanding work IMO. By all accounts ST sales are up and everything but that sort of stuff is simple to set up and is a pretty great look. I'm just trying to imagine the buzz I'd have got as a wee guy if Cooper had turned up at my door with a season ticket. I'd have been fleein' for weeks.

Seems to have been the case re: injury. Robinson references it in the bit of blurb about his signing. Seems we had him in to look at him for a while a couple of weeks ago but has been bouncing a few clubs since he was released by City at the end of the season. He was on trial at Bradford and was at Chesterfield last week. I don't know whether or not Stevie Hammell's injury at the weekend has expedited things a bit.

We've just signed Ellis Plummer who was apparently with you guys for a short while. What's the script with him? Any good?