GLF 68: Geoff Baby ponders the future. McGhee or not McGhee? That is the question.
Future
Looking six months ahead, what does the future hold?McGhee or not McGhee, that is the question.This time last year we were in the depths of despair under Maurice Malpazzz.What McGhee has done since is truly remarkable, regardless of where we finish in the table.So where do we stand now?
There's no doubt that many a chairman will have looked at Mark's achievements with a degree of jealousy.John Boyle will have looked at his achievements with a degree of satisfaction and vindication that Mark was the right choice.Success at a club like Motherwell leaves us open to being plundered by richer clubs, of whom there are many.We can't offer the financial inducements to manager or players that other teams can.What can we offer instead?A winning team, a good league position, a hope that we can build on our success and maybe even Europe.
Would an English club be tempted by McGhee?Probably; he has a proven track record down south but I think clubs would still give it a lot of thought before committing themselves.Scottish clubs, on the other hand, would jump at Mark if he became available which, given our finances, he probably is.
He wouldn't step down in Scotland but if the manager's post became available at Celtic or Aberdeen I'd expect him to leave.I have discounted the Hearts job because no manager with an ounce of intelligence would work under Mad Romanov.
If we manage to keep Mark would we then go down the route that his previous clubs in England have gone.A good starting season then going wrong trying to follow that up.We may not have the money to satisfy his ambition.Keeping him could then prove detrimental to the club.Although I would be more than willing to take the chance that he builds on this first season.
On the player front we will no doubt see some players leaving and some arriving before August.Ross McCormack seems to have ideas above his station.There's no doubt he has talent, when applied, but is it always applied to the benefit of the team?Has he got the talent to play in the Premiership?It's good that he's ambitious and has confidence in his ability but he has not proved consistently capable of playing at Premiership level.
We have also made noises about needing to bring in seven players to challenge for first team places.That means spending money but hopefully not over-committing.We must stay within our means.If we can pick up players like Stephen Hughes and Chris Porter then good and well.I pray that we will not be looking at the Trevor Molloys of this world again.
Where do we need players?All over the park would be my answer, despite our lofty league position this year.We need a keeper to challenge Buzz.McGhee appears to be no fan of McLean so we need cover at the back, particularly to give us some height and aggression.We need midfielders, our options are limited in this area.I'm a big fan of Keith Lasley even if the boss isn't, but he can't get into the side past players who do not display his level of consistency.Will we keep Malcolm?Can we rely on Fitzpatrick, McGarry and Darren Smith?We need a couple of players who will walk straight into our first team in the middle of the park. Up front we could well be losing McCormack.That leaves us Clarkson and Porter plus the relatively raw Murphy.Porter has a year left on his contract so could, in effect, go any time, particularly if we want to piss off Oldham by making some money.Clarkson has had a good season by his standards but he's had one of those before, and it was a good while ago.So I would think that two forwards, if Ross goes, is our requirement at the top end of the park.
If McGhee is still here to carry on his vision and to bring players in then good and well.If we have to go down a new manager route then we'll probably leave things to the last minute in our usual fashion.Whatever happens we'll still be here following the team next season.Let's hope its another good one.And it's not often we can say that.
Geoff Baby
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