du_du_dubordeaux

Don't know if the current team is capable of going on a cup run, and even if we had won last night there is no chance we would have beat celtic going on that performance. That was a full strength team we had last night so theres no hidden players that are waiting in the wings. In that game we were missing 4 players that held the team up last season: Phil, rosco, porter and one out of either patterson or lappin. It's impossible to replace that much quality with the budget we have so i'm quite happy with how we're doing in general. Last night, fitzy and hammil were way out their depth. St mirren were puttin balls down their right side all night and getting by with ease. Lappin or/and patterson wouldny have let that go on for so long. We've got a tough run in from now to the split. Inverness are picking up their game which has switched that from an almost guaranteed 3 points to a miby no. We'll just need to get on with it though. Bring on the great unwashed.

I will still be able to make the game but it frustrates me that all those fans who took nights off etc will not be able to make the game because of SKY. TV has taken everything that used to be good about football away. If they know that there is a chance games will be moved, they shouldn't bother to publish dates, that way people wont go taking nights off work that are meaningless. Its no fair that they're allowed to fuck people about so easily.

Was in 5th year at school, place was buzzin, when the bell went me n ma mate headed off tae get ready. Got a bus up wae about 14 other guys, best pre match booze av had in a long while, the driver had tae come off the M8 to let us all oot for a piss at the side ae the road. Anyway took us to tynecastle cause we said we were playin hearts. Whit an idiot. Great time though, I remember all the pubs on the easter road had locked their doors. Plenty hearts fans raging that night as well as we hadnt sold our allocation and they wanted more tickets.

quality night, bus on the way home was surprisingly silent whilst everyone came to terms wae the fact we were goin tae a cup final. Great stuff. Wouldny mind a repeat of that. Why do motherwell always have to do things the hard way though? Wouldnt mind seein the full 120 minutes An area on the forum dedicated to old vids of the well in action would be an idea, as there have been a few that have surfaced over the past week or so.

I canny say i bother too much with the likes of stmirren, hamilton, falkirk etc. I wouldnt say motherwell have a 50:50 rivalry with any team these days. Airdrie are so far out the picture its hard to say that theres much left between both teams. I think, for me though, airdrie would be the closest we have to any sort of balanced rivalry. The bitterness on that stmirren thread towards us is unbelievable. I have read p&b before and there does seem to be a love in between them and falkirk, but I dont think many well fans take notice of this.

I'm sure i've seen motherwell tryin this before Usually on the edge of our own penalty box with 2 minutes to go.

Not had time to read through all the posts, but I feel there could be more communication between the club and outsiders i.e non season ticket holders. Its important for any business to advertise and I dont feel motherwell do enough to "bring in the punters". If i'm not mistaken, when boyle took over motherwell, there were promo leaflets posted through letterboxes all over the town (I may be wrong but i'm sure this happened when we done the "get in for a quid" deal) and there seemed to be a lot more awareness of what was going on at the club. I think the website has been great since its been improved and there is so much more information on it now than ever before, however, like some have already said, sometimes not everyone has a chance to check the web on a daily basis and therefore more emphasis on the old skool "letter in the post" would be nice. Motherwell are starting to slowly move forward, which by anyones standards is a positive sign. I would just like to see the club really giving it a go as far as advertising itself and letting everyone in and around motherwell know why they should be at fir park on a saturday. The cost of getting leaflets printed and put in all the free papers isn't high, its amazing how advertising captures people, and if people know that your getting kids in for nothing, or there is a pie and a pint on in the cooper suite, then that may make them decide to go to the game.

aye, for all he left on bad terms with the support, I think in general, he could win back the fans with some solid performances. Hes a good player, and just needs to get back into the game. Could we afford his wages?

thing is, a dont see why wednesday is gonna be any different, still gonnae be as cold. As far as the whole "give it a day with the sun shining on it" I'd rather the game was called off now than at 5 o'clock when yer half way up the road. Don't think motherwell and it's supporters are in any position to complain about pitches, i've tried to steer away from crackin up about this game as it was ourselves who were facing the wrath at this exact time last season.

14 million would surely be within our grasp after the sale of FP and additional funding. When the coakley deal was on, they were talking about selling motherwell for 10million. Now surely that was mostly for the stadium as a dont know what else ye would pay that kind of money for, its no like the motherwell name is a brand that would sell for that kind of cash. Would be nice to see something different, but I'm not sure if motherwell are up to it. God forbit we end up with a feegee park, stjohnstone barr effort. The words "barr" and "character" just dont go. He's not complaining though, made a fortune.

would that not mean more gate money for them as well? as it would still be a "home" tie??? I remember we were nearly faced with this dilema ourselves last year, there was talk about playin at broomfield Still if it meant getting the game to go ahead then I would have went with that, the longer things like this drag on the closer ye get to the next round.

why are flares banned in this country anyway? Always looks dead hostile in italy etc when they get the old flares on the go. I could understand why people would be against them though as ye canny see whits goin on. Bt they always look good on the tele

haha listen tae aw ae us architects Aye stands a wee bit closer tae the pitch Bigger main stand sounds good, take the capacity tae 12K Add a line ae executive boxes and tart up that roof wae a "Keep cigarettes away from the match" slogan and...sorted. Anyone gid wae photoshop PS that second pic is a belter. Never seen motherwell from that perspective before. The town looks no bad fae there.

Our away support in the scottish cup is top notch. Lower clubs such as morton and QOS (as was mentioned above) have also got good cup attendances. When I think of some of the crowds we've took to away games in the SC in the past 5/6 years: Airdrie couple of years back Kilmarnock Clyde stjohnstone stranraer - that cup run back in 2003 (I think that was the order) Hearts last year All of these games must have been followed by 3000+ well fans. Always great to see. Think its hard to aim for a good cup run as they are all one off games and there are always surprise teams that will cut yer throat. Its easy to set your sights on a place in the league but ye couldnt possibly say where yel end up in the cup. Hopefully the final this year.

Your right, it probably wont so we'll have to grin and bear it i'm afraid. Exciting stadiums would take you into the 30 million mark in my estimation. So if yev got a few million kickin about in an ISA.... Like I've already said, almondvale gets a lot of stick, but since its completion with 3 of the corners filled in (one by an office block of some sort) I recon it could hold an atmosphere. The days of buildin big south stands are gone, that thing hardly ever gets filled now. I'd like to see us aiming at the 12K mark for capacity, allowing us to take advantage of the old firm support, cup supports (look at what morton/QOS brought) and additional big games (see Aberdeen, Nancy for examples) It would be nice to have all the add ons, nice facade, two tier stands with boxes etc etc. What we should really be looking to do though is to build a stadium within our budget that will allow for adding in things like boxes or extra seats when the finance becomes available or if the clubs fanbase ever grows. Surely it cant be difficult to leave room for expansion rather than build it "aw in a wanner" If a stadium like almondvale was tarted up a bit i.e get rid of the plastic look about it, then it would be fit for any SPL club outwith the big city clubs.

As was said above about sports bars etc - would be great to see something different. Fir park may be fit for a game of football but thats it. Unfortunately football post 90's is about money making and we need to be in the mix otherwise we'll get left behind big time. As far as the stadium design goes - almondvale gets a lot of stick for being a lego land etc but since it had three of its corners filled in its probably one of the better new age grounds. As has been said in this thread already, that south stand we have has done nothing for our pitch and is only full when the OF come to town (or a cup game) so scrap the idea of huge stands. Ye can talk about pish atmosphere in all these grounds till the coos come hame, but fact is if theres no fans to make an atmosphere then ye wont get one. The atmosphere at the hearts game was horrendous, if ye had closed ur eyes ye could be forgiven for thinking it was a hamilton clyde game ye were at . If these lego lands were full to capacity every week it wouldny matter a single bit whether corners are filled in or how steep the stands are etc (however for lower crowds these factors can affect the acoustics and should be looked in to - but probably wont be)

The east stand isnt even a stand, its a covered terrace with seats added. The main stand was built in the 60's? The term fit for purpose gets used a lot, but everyones requirements for something to be "fit for purpose are different" The east stand is probably the best place to go to in fir park for atmosphere, however in the 21st century it has no place. The catering facilities are inadequate, the level at which you can see the park is inadequate, theres one entrance and one exit etc. Now although this doesnt bother me as such, it doesnt say much about where the club's ambitions lie, when teams like falkirk, stmirren etc who we are above in terms of league status, have better equipped grounds. If ye sell out a game, for instance nancy game, and theres a possibility of attracting a few more season ticket holders who decide they want to come and see us every week, its not much of an incentive if they canny get a pie n bovril in time, canny see the game for a support pole or because they need tae stand up tae see the other end of the park. People need to start realising that there are other ways of generating cash throughout the year. If the stadium is in a favourable location a bar should always attract revenue especially at weekends. Fine, forget hotels, bigger and more modern function suites will always bring in cash though. Heard somewhere that stmirren have built 5 a side parks. Again guaranteed revenue. Went to falkirk no that long back, they have a club superstore right in the heart of their town. Why have we never done anything like this? Its amazin what advertising does to people, and if youve got a club shop staring people in the face, its a great way to sell your product. Not just strips and scarves but for advertising promotional offers, special admission prices, season tickets. When boyle came in he was paying players like spencer/ goram/ brannan ridicuous sums of money and the team didnt even make europe. Millions was spent on over rated players. Think of where the club could have been if that money had have been put to good use. The PR at motherwell has always been poor, ask any season ticket holder how they've been treated with regards to being informed about club matters. It's second rate and unprofessional.

I was in kilmarnock a few months ago and read in their local newspaper the kilmarnock standard that there is a hell of a lot more money coming into the club since they built the hotel and launched their own brand of sports wear which bears the year of the clubs establishment. I recon hotels, conference facilities, and added business/office space would work wherever there is other business (and thats what part of RC is supposed to be about) The initial cost would be substantial however, money that we probably dont/wont have. As for the whole franchise thing. That doesnt fly with me. Have you seen how far away ravenscraig is fae fir park? If ye moved the stadium tae north motherwell ye would be further away from the current location than if it was moved to RC. So that means that the only worry some people have is the whole concept of crossing a border into a new area. If motherwell moved their park up the road to netherton, there is no way I would stop following them (as many of our fans come from wishaw) so whats so different about RC (which in many peoples book is still motherwell) I wouldnt say I'm in total favour of a move to RC just now though as I personally have concerns about this "masterplan" ever getting finished properly. RC could either work or not work and obviously if we were to move at this point in time, we would be taking a gamble on the place turning out to be what it says its gonna be like - good chance that it won't. An extreme case would be the thing getting half finished and motherwell fc is left in a half finished brown field site for decades - which would surely reduce attendances and see us relegated. Like I said its an extreme case but its something to be considered. Whether its RC or not, we need to move out ae fir park. IMO There is no money or space to properly develop the place and we're spending more and more money every year on mending holes in the roof so to speak.

where abouts do the current youth set up train? Also, how much do new training facilities cost these days? Think st mirren will benefit a great deal from having their own place to train.

ye could get oan tae that roof nae bother.

Just read the whole thread there and am interested in many of the points which have been brought up. I have a bad feeling that the college will be the only thing up at RC for a long while to come. I remember hearing not that long back that corus (one of the main bodies pumping money into this) are facing financial hardship (as are many companies at this point in time) and obv this will lead to cost cutting and possibly even a stalling of the development. This, paired with the fact that NLC are useless when it comes to initiative (as can be seen from our surrounding councils) doesnt make good reading. 10 - 12 years ago the motherwell times had the new motherwell shopping centre plastered on the front of its pages. Scottish Labour were going to see us ok, we'd have the ravenscraig finished by 2008, and a eurostar service from... eurocentral Where are we now? still in the same place we were ten fucking years ago I am in favour of a move to ravenscraig, however, I am only in favour of a move to "the ravenscraig masterplan complete with railways, shopping centres, rollercoasters and honeymoon breaks with a sea view" and no the craigneuk annex. If we move up there in the next 3 years and theres still fuck all built (which I wouldnt be surprised at) then we end up with a stadium in the middle ae a desert with no transport, no houses, no pubs/restraunts, no people, nothing. So maybe the time is not right to move, unless somewhere else in motherwell can be flattened. This has become more a thread about the mystery that is "ravenscraig" rather than the facilities we would want, but a few interesting points made. Also to the poster who mentioned about the dual carriageway being built over the west coast main line. I heard about this a good few years back and tried to find documentation on it but couldnt. It makes sense, but i'd be interested to see the plans for this if you know where a could find them.

I suppose it all comes down to how long youve watched the well. I started watchin motherwell early 90's Has to be faddy for me. Imagine what damage we could have caused last season if he was in that team.

I can never understand people who dont enjoy enjoyable things like singing/banter at the fitba. We're all motherwell fans, and we know that glory isn't a common occurrence. So if we canny celebrate finishing 3rd, winnin the cup, being in europe, on a regular basis, then what are we suppsed to do? Sit there and boo every second man? moan about everything under the sun??? For me, goin to a well game is more of a lifestyle than just watching a team. Its about gettin up in the morning, gettin yer mates together, intae the pub, have a laf, go tae the game, git a sing song. If it wasny for that I doubt I would bother with football never mind motherwell and would probably watch it from the comfort of ma home. The well boys are really about the only thing that brightens up the club when the football is quite frankly pish. So to all those who keep the singin goin and try to create an atmosphere. Oan yersel. PS The banners are gid as well and I hope to see all ae them displayed at the scottish cup final this year B)

all fair and well calling for mcghees head if youve got someone to replace him with. Personally I will judge MM on his january activity. We need players - and have done for ages now - more injuries will come. There wont be a lot of money available (which isnt surprising what with boyles stake in zoom costing him a fortune) and we cant affort a ross mccormack (million pound player) A lot has changed from last year and folk need to remember that. McGhee is gonna have to start building from the bottom again and the only way to do that is by giving the youngsters a chance because there is very little money to spend. There are always going to be negative vibes coming from both the club, the manager, players and fans when a team is at the bottom end of the league but theres no use dwelling on them and moaning about daft things. This will be a judge of character for everyone involved at motherwell fc especially mcghee and the players. Back to basics Mark. Mone the well

Agree with you, our weather is not something to be desired in order to play good football, but surely it doesny end there. If the weather is the best excuse we have for producing sub standard players then we've got no chance. Spose i'm venturing away from the match itself (and thats what this thread is about) but it frustrates me having to watch, no just motherwell, but every other scottish team, whether in europe or domestically, and every time, see this football being played. Maybe last year was jst a dream. Malpas/mcleish football has returned to fir park. Hopefully this is a blip and we can freshen our ideas up come january. But its not that far away and i'm hoping mcghee has something up his sleve.