MJC_MKI

I know it means nothing, but there's something about that scoreline - Motherwell 1-0 Man Utd - that just sounds so good. Was Sir Alex there?

Great to hear!

Given our record in Cup competition against first division teams in recent years, there's no reason why they shouldn't be confident. This is exactly the type of game that we usually fuck up in. Themselves, St.Johnstone, Dundee and Ayr Utd have all came to Fir Park as first division sides and knocked us out of the Cup, twice in Ayr's case. This is a very tricky tie for us and one that we could well slip up on if we're not careful. We rarely get an easy game at home against that lot and even when they were a 2nd division team back in the late 90s, we threw away a 2-0 lead against them in the League Cup and needed penalties to beat them. Not too confident about this one atall.

It's very early days yet but it's a case of so far, so good from Jim Gannon. His attitude and approach, both on and off the park is very refreshing and it's been great to see youngsters like Forbes, Slane & Hutchinson break into the first team and hold down places at the expense of more experienced players such as Craigan, Lasley, McGarry etc...We're unbeaten in the SPL and we're now into September! When did that last happen? However, I don't buy into this 'we've got a better manager than McGhee' line just yet. It's far too early to say that. JG might well turn out to be a better Motherwell manager than his predecessor, but let's not get carried away here. We finished 3rd in the SPL in McGhee's first season here and played some of the best football in the league. Like him or not, our former manager is a tough act to follow and I'm not going to compare him to McGhee until this season is over. The jury is still out on his signings, although Giles Coke does appear to be the pick of the bunch from what we've seen thus far. I'm still concerned about the defence though, as we still lack that commanding, no nonsense center half and Craigan isn't getting any younger, or better for that matter. I don't think we'll get into the top six, I just feel that given that our squad is relatively small and also made up of a number of 'rookies' that we will at times struggle and go through some bad patches and that might well see us being sucked right into the relegation dogfight. On the flipside of that though, from what I've seen so far I think we have enough about us to get ourselves out of trouble and have good patches that might see us in contention to finish in the top half of the table, but more importantly, keep ourselves clear of the foot and pick up enough points to ensure that we safely avoid the drop come May. So, in Jim Gannon we trust? I think so...

Okay, I stand corrected. St.Johnstone or St.Mirren away then.

What's the betting we'll end up with either Killie or St.Mirren away?

Absolutely, he didn't conduct himself atall well last season and did everything but say that he couldn't wait to leave the club and he does deserve abuse for that from Motherwell fans. However to chant about him being a Paedophile? That's just downright stupid.

Full time: 0-0. I'll take that!

If anyone's going to win it it's going to be them. We're not in this anymore.

Our corners are awful.

Sutton on for Hammell.

Claret & Amber tinted...erm...hearing?

At the same time we have only won four out of the last fifteen. I just think that the 'McGhee factor' will work against us today. They're not a bad side are Aberdeen, and McGhee will want to get one over on us and given that they have home advantage, I fancy them to take the points. We played well last week, but remember we were slightly fortunate to take a point from St.Johnstone a fortnight ago as our defending was poor and they missed a few sitters. I'd love us to go up there and stick it to McGhee today, but I just can't see us doing it. If Hutchinson is out then that is blow for us.

2-0 to the Dons. Pittodrie has never been a happy hunting ground for us and Aberdeen aren't a bad side. McGhee will be desperate not to lose to us and I don't think he will.

Pat Nevin's winner against the Jambos at Fir Park in the re-arranged game back in 99 after the first match was abandoned. We wore that black change kit that night and the score was locked at 1-1 when our 'Chief Executive' curled a beauty into the corner to empty the South Stand in a matter of minutes. Their keeper Gilles Rousset had also been sent off that night for handball outside the box. On the point of last minute goals AGAINST us then Kilmarnock are fucking notorious for it. I remember us pumelling them on New Years day once only for that big Kevin McGowne to score in the last minute to beat us 2-1. Fat Sally (McCoist) also scored for them that day. And then there was the game that Stevie Woods let them back into it when he whacked a clearance of Scott Leitch's arse to give Paul Wright a tap in. We then went on to absolutey dominate the second half, only to squander chance after chance and then in the last minute, they waltz up field and Christophe Cocard beat Woods at his near post to give them the points. And there's been many, many more... However, we did score a last gasp leveller against at FP them to get a 2-2 draw after they'd played us off the park in 2001 or 2002 after Junkie McLaren thought' he'd won the game for them with a late goal to put them 2-1 so they've not had it all their way.

Well I wish he was our 'big diddy', as he's exactly what we need just now(or at least one of them) - a big, strong centre forward who is good in the air, can hold the ball up and score plenty of goals.

There is a lot of truth in what EddieSteelman said above and I agree, this season could well be a struggle for us and I would take avoiding relegation right now if offered. I'm not writing off our season just now and saying that I expect us to be relegated and we've no chance etc. but we must remember the players, and manager, that we have lost over the summer and we don't know how the new regime and his recruits will cope with SPL football. With the squad we have just now, I am worried for us, as we are very, very light in certain areas, namely the right back, central defence and strikeforce, so I reckon that's good reason for concern. As for today, I'm going for 2-1 to St.Johnstone. It's always difficult to play the newly promoted side on the first day of the season and I just don't see us winning this one. But hey, I stand to be corrected and I'll be absolutely delighted if I'm proved wrong. Here's to the new season and the rollercoaster ahead!

Don't forget, aswell as paying out ridiculous salaries to money grabbing mercenaries like Spencer & Goram etc. we also knocked back a bid of £1M from Hearts for Lee McCulloch toward the end of 1999. At the time we were delighted that we had knocked back such a large bid, but in reality when you combine that with what we were paying out, then it was always going to come to a head at some point. The way I always saw it was that John Boyle was extremely reckless in his early days at the club. I admire his ambition, but he wasn't being realistic as there was no way that we could attract the support that he wanted to, even when he slashed the gate prices for the whole of 98/99, given the amount of potential fans that we lose to Celtic & Rangers. Likewise with paying out the wages we did to players who either were only here for the money(Spencer & Goram) or who weren't good enough to justify the money that they were earning(McMillan, McCulloch, Goodman etc). However, Boyle has clearly learned from his mistakes and has to be commended for, a) writing off the debt, and b) making sure that we stayed on a sure footing financially. Like him or not, we are in a more secure financial state than we were when he first arrived at the club back in 1998. It was a hard time for the club and I firmly believe that had we been relegated in 2003 then we would have found it very difficult to come back from it, especially to get back into the top flight, but we got a break and we took it. We didn't cheat, it wasn't our fault that Falkirk's stadium didn't fit the criteria, it was simply a large slice of luck which we were able to benefit from, and thank God we did. The 02/03 season was, as has been said, one of the most exciting seasons we've had in the last twenty odd years, as it was so good to see youngsters like Faddy, Pearson & Clarkson all breaking into the side and giving it their all, and as a result we got some wonderful days that season, like beating Celtic & Rangers(and don't forget, this was the last Motherwell team to actually do this to this date), thumping Hearts 6-1 and of course that magnificent Scottish Cup run where at one point it really looked like we could be on course to go all the way. It was also a season when I think the support as a whole and the club was closer together than ever before and it really did show that the Motherwell supporters will do their bit for the club when needed and answered the club's calls with the "Well Worth Saving" campaign. We are still feeling the effects of this period in the club's history, which is why we don't pay out wages that are, never mind 'big' but in some cases, alot smaller than other clubs in the SPL pay out, and yet despite this, we have only had one season since 2003 where we have actually been seriously threatened by relegation, which I think says a lot. When you add in that we have also reached a major final and two semis aswell as qualify for European football twice, then it really is something. Supporting Motherwell FC frustrates the hell out of me a lot of the time because of on and off the park issues, but I never want to see us going through what we did back in 2002 when the future of the club was in doubt, as the thought of the club not being there was horrible.

I think we will struggle this season and would take avoiding relegation right now if offered. Given the players we've lost and the size of the squad, it is hard to see us doing anything else but struggle. We have a squad made up of youngsters and players from the lower leagues in England and we don't know how they will cope with the SPL. I'm not saying that I expect us to be relegated at this stage, but I certainly don't think we will be top six either. I reckon we'll finish around 9th or 10th and if we do that, then Gannon will have done well in his first season up here.

Dundee United

That 5-0 defeat in Davies' first game was indeed our last defeat in Perth. The last time we played up there was the Scottish Cup game in 2004 when McDonald made his debut and we won 3-0. We also won our last league fixture up there back in March 2002 just before we went into admin when we won 2-0. We've actually won the last four games that we've played up there, so that report that we haven't won since Jim Griffin's days is complete nonsense.

That's it exactly. We were never in a million years going to go any great distance in Europe as we don't have the money or the resources to compete at that level. Steaua Bucharest are a much, much better side and a much bigger club than we are so we were always unlikely to do anything against them. As long as we hold our own in the SPL this season and comfortably avoid relegation then we'll be doing well considering the players, and manager, that we have lost during this close season. Whatever else this European campaign has been, it will have given those players, especially the young players a massive string to their bows and the experience they will have gained will hold them in good stead for the season ahead, as will the match practice.

Shocking to think that yet another player who came through our youth ranks in the early 1990s and was part of the Cup winning Squad has now lost his life. Rest in Peace

1) 9th 2) Quarter Finals 3) 4th Round 4) Won't get past Steaua Bucharest(which there is no shame in)

They are a team with a European pedigree and a much bigger club than we are, so going by that, it appears to be a tall order. However, as you say none of us really know how good a football team they actually are so anything is possible yet. One thing's for sure, they will be a far better outfit than the previous two sides we've played so we will need to raise our game considerably. It would be quite something to be able to say that we knocked Steaua Bucharest out of Europe. As I said, if we can get on the scoresheet in Bucharest then we will give ourselves a chance.