capt_oats

Ahhhhhh...the app on my iPad totally fucked that.

I think you're right and I doubt it'll be Aberdeen given they've just brought in a midfielder.

I'd be surprised if we managed to get Bannigan but wouldn't be surprised if we'd spoken to him (if that makes sense?). He's been out of action for a while, Thistle fans may have a better idea of his injury and ETA for return than me and while we could probably offer more money I'm not sure it'd be enough to justify moving to another mid-table Premiership side. If it's true he's been training with Thistle as part of his injury rehab then you'd think he'd probably reciprocate by extending for a year or something. On Pearson, it'd definitely be a blow but the only consolation is that he missed a fair chunk of last season and eventually managed to be effective. McDonald is the one player that I had hoped we'd retain however if he moves I'd rather it was to a team that wasn't in the same league.

Law was being linked with Bradford now McCall's there. Edit: http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/06/24/report-bradford-city-side-line-up-deal-for-nicky-law-following-r/

Pearson on his way then. http://m.heraldscotland.com/sport/14580789.EXCLUSIVE__Motherwell_to_confirm_exit_of_India_bound_Stephen_Pearson/?ref=twtrec

Without getting ahead of myself I'm quietly impressed by these signings as well. As Busta says Tait and Heneghan were both viewed as being one of the best at their respective clubs and Blyth gives us a different option, it'd be fair to say that he's a considered signing relative to the squad. Though he's been bounced about on loans whilst he's not prolific in the way Moult seemed to be he's still scored a few and you'd probably argue he's been brought in as much for his presence. I think what interests me most is hearing that in Heneghan's case we've been following him since January (probably when Brighton came on the scene for Hall) all of them seem to have been our first choices. It doesn't look like we've just taken a punt and we'll see how it goes.

Looking at Tait's Instagram he seems to bloody love Crossfit and though he's not 6ft+ like the other two he's a unit. From listening to his interview on MFC's YouTube it was great to hear him say that he's a defender, his job is to stop goals. A full back who actually knows how to defend will be a welcome addition.

I know there were posts saying the Firhill pitch wasn't looking that good but fucking hell...

Just getting a chance to read the club's spiel. Tait's on a 3 year deal, Blyth on a 2 year +1 option, Heneghan on a 2 year deal. Looking at Grimbsy's forum Tait seems to have had a really good season and is pretty well regarded at that level. A 3 year deal is a fair commitment from us. Good to see we've gone out and brought in an actual full back though, it's been a while. Looking forward to seeing all 3.

That'd be my guess as well. McDonald & Hammell confirming for next year would be nice too.Edit: it's not Brill. Third player was Jacob Blyth the striker from Leicester. Tait and Heneghan both confirmed.

Maybe the Express have been looking at the players Alan Burrows is following on Twitter as well? He's represented by an agency that we seem to be building a relationship with anyway. Same agency as Tait, who we'be also been strongly linked with.

It's an interesting bit of spiel in so much as McGhee states that he'll be a "key" player for us next season and highlights that he's one of our most effective players but there's quite a heavy emphasis on his coaching roles and him setting the tone in the squad. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if we brought in a couple of midfielders at the very least (possibly more if Pearson's leaving) and had Lasley starting the season before starting to rotate once the team's bedded in a bit.

There's your Keith Lasley extending his deal for another year. http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2016/06/22/lasley-extends-his-stay/

The Beach Boys - Help Me Rhonda

I see that's Tait saying his goodbyes to Grimsby. General consensus among their fans was that he's Fir Park bound.

I'm also hoping that this is the case. Looking at it had we moved Samson on we'd now be in a position where we'd be looking for 2 goalkeepers rather than 1. The balance is whether or not both those prospective options would be better than Samson. Obviously I'm just speculating but weighing it up I get the feeling that we've offered him terms as a kind of insurance, rather than gambling on us being able to bring in two goalkeepers we've retained him as an option where we know what we've got and allows us to focus on recruiting the one player for the position. Given we went through last pre-season with the prospect of Dan Twardzik being our first choice for the opening fixtures then I'd say that we're still in a better position with Samson as one of the two than we were with Twardzik. The question is what sort of level the other goalkeeper we bring in is.

Thistle's new strip is pretty interesting. Hopefully the photo isn't doing it justice and it looks better on. Definitely see where folk are coming from on the marmite thing, as far as I can see it's definitely a change from what your lot have done historically.

The whole thing with Samson is just weird. We had Ripley & Twardzik on our books last season, Samson got out his deal with Killie, signed for us in mid-September then sat on the bench until we played Hearts at the end of April and County at the end of May. So 7 months without a first team game. We released Twardzik in January and actively chose to extend Ripley's loan at the same time to the end of the season so we clearly didn't fancy him as a first choice then. It kind of feels as if having brought him in and not played him that we're obliged to give him a shot.

I believe McGhee's choice of phrase was that "Samson will start the season as first choice." Make of that what you will. We're apparently looking at bringing in another keeper to compete with him. Brill is the one who's been touted but who knows tbh.

Suggestions a couple of weeks ago that Josh Law is another who's on his way.

You'd think that our preference would be that he didn't join a team in the same league though again it depends on who's genuinely interested. Having said that if Ben Hall can get a move to Brighton and Robbie Leitch is apparently looking at a 3 year deal with Burnley then surely someone in England would be willing to take a punt on Ainsworth if all they're being asked to do is take over his contract and at worst chip in a nominal fee?

Yeah Slane was the one I thought of but I wasn't sure whether moving to their development team would count. Prior to that McDonald to Celtic in 2007 seems to be the most recent I can find.

Saw that. Given the Plymouth rumours from a while back I'd think we're definitely looking to move him on and get him off the wage bill. Agree that it'd be surprising if me sold him to a team that'd be considered a direct rival but I suppose it's dictated by which teams are interested. There is absolutely no point in keeping a high earner sat on the bench. Out of curiosity who was the last player we had under contract that we sold to a direct rival/team in the same league?

Mercury Rev - Opus 40

Agree with Desp above. I've a lot of time for Alan Burrows but while I understand the points he's trying to make and that in making them they were/are intended as a robust defence of MFC's interests on further reflection his comments seem ill advised. They seem more like a knee-jerk reaction because they've not reverted to "how things were done before" which for a fairly progressive COO is a bit naive. If things didn't work out the way you had assumed they would then don't draw attention to your misjudgement publicly. That said it's by no means the worst thing in the world and it's not particularly damaging it's just that hanging the argument round the financial/sporting disadvantage line seems a bit weak.