ascender

That's why I thought the Whittaker signing would make sense to cover for Hutton and also be able to play right midfield. I do think people have been a bit harsh on Ian Murray. When he first came here and played LB for a while, I thought he did very well defensively and going forward. I think he also did well playing as a holding midfielder after that, but then he started to get moved around, dropped, then injured and we've not seen much from him since.

There's just no talk of anything official at the moment, everyone is guessing. But back at the time of the Boumsong deal there was lots of gossip around about how dodgy it was, so people are just putting 2+2 together. Also, its the only dealing we've had with Newcastle and Souness was in charge at the time.

Did he not get injured again during the last transfer window meaning any moves for him weren't possible?

WS said this week that he and Buffel are expected to be back by September. I know he said that he had a double hernia, but also some other things which I can't remember. Very worrying though given the length of time he's already been out and his age.

Its all speculation, but it was suggested as soon as he signed for us that he'd be off to the EPL very soon. Suddenly the player's value rocketed and some people mentioned at the time that we didn't see much of the cash for his fee.

Just been emailed this at work by a "hilarious" Hibbee.

Yip, that's what I'm thinking. Interesting to see what comes out about this one though. As for the title, I just saw a wee bit of it in the preview "We've been raided by". I thought it was maybe some club had come in and given us cash for Sionko & Sebo. Unfortunately not.

And to think that yesterday I posted about how great the official website was doing. Not a peep on it about this while Newcastle have already issued a statement clarifying that the club itself aren't the subject of the investigation.

Or not, as I'm assuming this is to do with the Boumsong deal. DM will be squeaky clean no doubt as he's not that stupid.

Nice report Pete.

I wonder what position McCulloch was playing in? Good to see him getting on the scoresheet and a header from a corner? Hopefully he can give us some sort of aerial threat which is something we've missed for a while now.

I was about to say the same, I can't believe how on the ball the official site is for once. Pre-season games are notoriously difficult to read anything in to. It really is just a case for players to try and get match fit and for the management team to try things out and get a look at players. I've seen us have some amazing pre-season results followed by a bad year and vice versa. Good to see Sebo scoring.

So, will Naismith be here by the end of next week? Starting to look like it might happen again after all.

Like others have said, the back 5 is sorted. You can also probably say that Boyd, Fergie and Hemdani are definitely going to play. So that leaves 3 positions up for grabs and that's the big unknown just now. TBH I don't know enough about any of our signings really to say where they will play or where they can play, not even what side they prefer. I think our squad is a lot stronger than last season which is the main thing, but its going to be really interesting to see who plays and who is left out. There's also probably 3 or 4 players who will have to make the most of pre-season if they want to be involved I think. Sebo, Burke & Buffel come to mind with guys like Burke also needing to pull their finger out. Definitely encouraging to have a larger squad at last.

I was thinking about Beasley and McCulloch out wide with Ferguson and Hemdani/Thomson in the middle. Novo is a trier with great workrate, but he just lacks the composure to be a real threat whether playing out wide or up front. If the new signings play well, he'll be a squad player at best. Up front I'd have thought it would be D'Archeville and Boyd. Boyd is a stick-on to be in one of the positions, so its a case of who plays with him.

I'd hope that one of our signings could give given a chance on the right side of midfield tbh.

There's certainly options now which is a start. I think whether Sebo starts or not will depend on how he does in pre-season matches. McCulloch is also right footed, so could slot in to a few of the positions. TBH I don't know enough about our summer signings to say where they might play, so its going to be a very interesting pre-season seeing how they all fit in.

I have to say that its disappointing to see the reaction to this signing on other forums. Even on the BBC News page about it, the current comment from their debates is "I can't believe we paid 2.25M for this donkey". I really hope McCulloch is given a chance to prove himself by the fans.

I know its a minor thing, but there's been lots of really positive comments from the new signings. Morale and expectations seem to be really high at the moment and I can't remember that in recent times.

Ponroy has gone. Squad is looking a lot better, but, and i'm going to sound like a stuck record, I still think our centre midfield is far too defensive looking and just not creative enough.

LM seems to have been one of WS key targets, so it'll be interesting to see where he plays him tbh.

I agree Gribz. Even though the fees in England have gone bonkers, McCulloch seems to be getting a lot of flak from Bears because of who he is. He's been a regular in the Premiership and at International level. He's reaching his peak (in theory), so I think we're just paying the going rate. At least this is a player WS knows, so its more of a low risk deal for us than many we've done in the past.

What is his best position anyway? I'm confused as I always thought he was LM, but I've seen people say he can play in the centre and up front. Seems to be a threat from set pieces though which is something else we've lacked for years. Now, all we need is someone who can actually take a decent corner kick.

Apparently we're still interested in Whittaker and another forward if we can't get Naismith, so our squad could be looking much stronger come the start of the season.

WS must see something in him and he's worked with him enough to know, so that's good enough for me. He's also a big lad, which is something else I think we've been missing recently and can be a real asset in the SPL. Welcome to Ibrox Lee.