Toxteth O'Grady

Ross County away up first https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2020/07/06/2020-21-starts-with-trip-to-ross-county/

BBC confirming Robinson was interviewed for NI job https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53170329

https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/18507188.ricki-lamie-poised-sign-motherwell-following-livingston-departure/

Today's BBC Gossip:

I have never been so nervous before a football match as I was that night.

BBC article on Paul Lambert's time at Borussia Dortmund: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52624318

https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2020/05/25/our-season-ticket-pledge-to-you/ OUR SEASON TICKET PLEDGE TO YOU 14:03 Our season ticket pledge to you We’re pledging that everyone who buys a season ticket for 2020/21 will get the full value of their purchase. Almost 1,800 of you have already got your tickets for the campaign, far surpassing sales figures at this stage in normal years. We understand that there is still no clarity over when football will resume for us, nor any prediction over when supporters will be able to attend matches again. With that in mind, we will guarantee everyone who purchases, or has already purchased, a season ticket for 2020/21 will get the chance to attend 19 home league matches, whenever that is possible. If that is not possible in 2020/21, we will offer you the chance to claim the credit value of the missing games back. This can either be used against the value of your season ticket for 2021/22, or if you don’t renew next year, you can claim the equivalent number of match tickets for games in 2021/22. If matches are initially played behind closed doors, we pledge that you will not be adversely impacted. For example, if five matches are played behind closed doors in 2020/21, you can choose to either have the value of those matches deducted from your season ticket cost for 2021/22, or we will give you the equivalent amount of match tickets for games in that season. Everyone who buys a new season ticket will also be given free entry to our first UEFA Europa League match. Our Early Bird discount period on 2020/21 season tickets is available until 31 May. Don’t miss out. To buy, please use our online purchasing service at tickets.motherwellfc.co.uk if you can. You can also call us between 10am and 3pm, Monday to Friday, on 01698 333333. “Fans have responded brilliantly to buy season tickets so far, despite there being uncertainty over when Fir Park will be open again to watch football,” chief executive Alan Burrows said. “Although that situation hasn’t changed, we hope that this guarantee will encourage other supporters to now commit to buying for 2020/21, and help the club prepare for what lies ahead. “If you can afford to do so, please buy your season ticket now.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52709540

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mark-gillespie-plays-canny-newcastle-21996832

https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2020/04/30/a-further-update-from-the-chairman/

Scott Burns seems to think so https://mobile.twitter.com/ScottBurns75/status/1250868059008573441

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/mark-gillespie-shock-newcastle-united-21868704 Mark Gillespie being linked with Newcastle.

https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/sport/football/peterborough-united/peterborough-united-agree-sell-midfielder-motherwell-full-back-set-return-london-road-hibernian-2538079 Mark O'Hara to sign a permanent deal?

https://mobile.twitter.com/MotherwellFC/status/1247591601892982784 Motherwell FC @MotherwellFC You're backing your club. No matter what. We've sold more season tickets in 24 hours than we did in the first three weeks last year. If you can, buy or renew yours now. https://bit.ly/2UNvaOU

The only away European game I don't have any sort of memorabilia from is Stjarnan. I am fairly sure no programmes were issued, but does anyone have a match ticket or maybe a teamsheet they'd be willing to part with?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8158959/Hearts-owner-Ann-Budge-rejects-takeover-offer-Barnsley-chief.html Hearts owner Ann Budge rejects takeover offer from Paul Conway after Barnsley chief eyed talks with cash-strapped Scottish clubs rocked by coronavirus shutdown Ann Budge has turned down the offer of Hearts takeover talks with Paul Conway Premiership rivals Motherwell poised to reject approach from Barnsley chief The American businessman is in the market to add an SPFL team to his portfolio By STEPHEN MCGOWAN FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 06:21, 27 March 2020 | UPDATED: 08:13, 27 March 2020 Ann Budge has turned down the offer of Hearts takeover talks with Barnsley chief Paul Conway. And Premiership rivals Motherwell are also poised to reject an approach from the owners of the English Championship club. As Sportsmail first revealed, American businessman Conway is in the market to add an SPFL team to a footballing portfolio which already incorporates Barnsley and Swiss club FC Thun. A bid to buy Scottish Championship strugglers Partick Thistle last year was frustrated by dual ownership rules. With the SFA willing to relax the regulations to attract investment to a Scottish game stricken by the coronavirus crisis, however, Conway has already made overtures to Hearts and Motherwell. And, after releasing a strongly worded statement defending the Edinburgh club's request to staff to accept a 50 per cent pay cut, Tynecastle owner Budge reiterated plans to hand over her 75.1% stake in the club to fans' group Foundation of Hearts later this year. 'I did receive a call from Paul and indeed over recent months I have received similar calls from a number of other would-be investors,' she told Sportsmail. 'In line with my contractual commitment to the fans to transfer ownership of Hearts to them, other than informing the Hearts board of the approaches, I have pursued none of them.' Sportsmail can also reveal that a colleague of Conway's also made contact with Premiership rivals Motherwell in recent days. Debt-free for the first time in 40 years following the January sale of James Scott to Hull City for £1.5million the Lanarkshire club believe they can withstand the temporary loss of income wrought by the suspension of Scottish football. Willing to hold talks with any SPFL clubs with realistic ambitions of top tier football, however, Conway said: 'We want to take this opportunity in the current environment to say to clubs in Scotland, 'we are open for business.' 'We are hearing there might be more flexibility with regard to dual ownership, which might be a good thing during this difficult period for clubs. 'We can move fast for the right opportunity in the Scottish league and we are open to creative deals. 'To that end we have told the SFA and the league to feel free to get the word out that we are open to conversations with Scottish clubs.' Both the SFA and the English Football League have explicit rules governing individuals in charge of a club controlling or having a major say in another British side without written consent. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley obtained permission to take a 10 per cent financial stake in Rangers - but was charged by the governing body when he tried to install his own directors on the Ibrox board. Frustrated by the same rules when he tried to secure a 55 per cent stake in Partick Thistle last year Conway travelled to Glasgow for talks on four separate occasions before the Championship club were eventually purchased for fans by late lottery winner Colin Weir. To avoid lightning striking twice Conway has entered correspondence with the SFA over a relaxation of the rules - with the governing body now willing to consider allowing existing owners of British clubs to take up a 24.9 per cent stake in a Scottish team.

25 years to the day since Davie Cooper died Still my favourite Motherwell player.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/celtic-target-david-turnbull-undergoes-21732220 A second (minor) operation for the "Celtic target"

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/5402153/tony-watt-motherwell-extend-contract-silence-doubters/ WELL WISHER Tony Watt wants extended Motherwell stay as he aims to silence doubters Roger Hannah 18 Mar 2020, 22:35Updated: 18 Mar 2020, 22:35 TONY WATT can’t tell fans when he’ll next pull on a Motherwell jersey as the coronavirus crisis bites deep into Scottish football. But the far-travelled strike star is determined to answer his critics by wearing the Steelmen’s shirt for some time to come. Tony Watt celebrates after scoring for MotherwellCredit: Andy Barr - The Sun Glasgow The Scotland cap has played for 12 clubs in five countries since kicking off his career at Airdrie a decade ago. Still only 26, he knows the cynics say he has “untapped potential” that’s still to be fulfilled. But he reckons extending his stay at Fir Park for at least another two years will finally silence the doubters. Watt said: “I need to be somewhere for a period of time. I tried to do it at St Johnstone last year but, for one or two reasons, it didn’t work out. “I feel I’ve been lucky with the set-up at Motherwell, coming back to Scotland after my time in Bulgaria, with them in third place. “I need to be at a club for two years — minimum. If I can play well enough, I need to be somewhere to make a mark rather than having this untapped potential. “Everyone says, ‘Oh, he’s got ability but he’s not done it’. “I need to put positive words in people’s mouths by staying in one place for a long period of time and not moving.” Watt has scored twice in six games for Well since penning a short-term deal after his January exit from CSKA Sofia. After time in Belgium, England and Wales, the frontman would love to put down roots in Lanarkshire. And despite the uncertainty gripping the game right now, he’s already spoken to Stephen Robinson and the Fir Park hierarchy about extending his stay. He added: “The manager had me in after a day and said, ‘I like you, I know what I can get out you’. “I was in his office a week ago and he was saying those things again. “You can see why Motherwell are where they are with the demands on the players. “He has been so good with me and I’d like to pay him back. “The quality is there as well and, if they do get Europe, it’s totally deserved. “I’m out of contract soon but the club has been good and told me I’m there to the summer with a view to next year. “You trust what they say and trust how they look after you. It’s a good club and I’ve not really worried.” Watt and his team-mates are training alone after their home clash with Aberdeen was the first top-flight game called off by the outbreak six days ago. They won’t return to Fir Park until Monday at the earliest but have a strict training schedule to keep them fit in case the season does resume. Watt revealed: “It feels strange. We were preparing for the Aberdeen game when we got a text telling us to stay away until Monday. "Things escalated and we have now been told to stay away until this Monday. “It’s been madness — something that I never, ever expected would happen. “We have been given a programme with options to run on treadmills, track or road. We have weight programmes online on our phones to go through everything. “The sports scientist, Andy Boles, has been spot on with it all. “It’s week by week for us all at the moment. We will play it by ear with the government and nothing has been confirmed in terms of a return. “The club will decide if we’re in in ones or twos or all in together when we go back. There is no certainty and no one has an answer. “The first day we’re back, we’ll be tested and, if they see a gap in fitness, it will leave a bad taste. “If you go back unfit, you can’t fool anybody. They will see straight away and be unhappy. “For your own career, you have to go back in good shape so we are all taking the advice seriously.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51870540 Champions League and Europa League suspended

The police wouldn't let Motherwell fans walk up past the Main Stand to Gorgie Road after the game. Similarly, Hearts fans weren't allowed to go in the other direction. Seemed completely OTT to me, and meant I had a long walk back to my car.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51721467 Motherwell: Manager Stephen Robinson keen to reward club's loyalty after assault case 31 minutes ago Motherwell have gone eight matches without victory Scottish Premiership: Motherwell v Ross County Venue: Fir Park Stadium, Motherwell Date: Wednesday, 4 March Kick-off: 19:45 GMT Coverage: Updates on BBC Radio Scotland 810MW/DAB/online & the BBC Sport Scotland website Stephen Robinson says "a weight has been lifted off me" as he pledged to repay Motherwell for their loyalty throughout his domestic abuse case. The Motherwell manager was cleared on Friday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of assaulting partner Robyn Lauchlan on 13 December last year. Robinson insists the case had no bearing on Motherwell's form, with the club on an eight-game winless run. "It was very stressful on all my family and everyone involved in it," he said. "But justice has been done and we can draw a line under it. (Chief executive) Alan Burrows and (chairman) Jim McMahon, the whole board, have been fantastic with myself and my family, and I can't ask for any more. "I put my brave face on, which you have to. My determination is to reward those people for their loyalty to me and make sure we finish strongly this season." Robinson admits the backing of the fans was a major boost - especially when they were chanting his name. "It's been absolutely huge," he said. "I don't get too emotional but I have to say at Dundee walking down when the crowd were at the back of the stand, it's very emotional. I am more desperate than anyone to turn these results around and give them a season to remember." Motherwell remain third in the Scottish Premiership despite taking just two points from their last six matches, and Robinson says the downturn in results cannot be pinned on the battle to clear his name. "The club have been fantastic," he said. "They were unwavering in their support for me. They knew what I was doing, they see my work ethic and all the staff's work ethic. That didn't change throughout this. "There were numerous reasons why we weren't winning - loss of form, suspensions and injuries, and everyone forgot to mention we lost Devante Cole and James Scott, and Chris Long for long periods."

Not guilty https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/5333668/motherwell-stephen-robinson-trial-assault-cleared/

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/rickie-lamie-wanted-motherwell-stephen-21579097 Rickie Lamie wanted by Motherwell as Stephen Robinson eyes pre-contract transfer for Livingston star The Fir Park club want to reunite the centre-back with former Livi team-mate Declan Gallagher. By Scott Burns 09:32, 26 FEB 2020 Motherwell want to land Ricki Lamie from Livingston . The Steelmen are looking to do a deal to sign the defender who is out of contract in the summer. Well boss Stephen Robinson took Declan Gallagher from Livi last season and now wants to team him up with Lamie. There is also interest from England in the centre-back but Motherwell look to have stolen a march. The Fir Park outfit are looking to get a pre-contract done that will see Lamie move for nothing in the summer. Gallagher has already made the move west Livingston had wanted to open talks with the 26-year-old over a new deal but he had indicated he wanted to keep his options open. Since then he has fallen down the pecking order at Livi. The Staggies were willing to pay a fee but Lamie turned down that move because he wasn’t keen on a move to the Highlands. A move to Fir Park would mean the former Morton defender is able remain in the central belt. The move could also have the potential of European football if third-placed Motherwell keep themselves up at the top end of the Premiership.

Cash gates will be in operation