MJC_MKI

If we can score an away goal then we've got an outside chance. We really are "punching above our weight" this time but you never know. Looking forward to it.

Fuck McGhee. He is no longer anything to do with Motherwell FC so let's just forget about him. Respect him for the job he did here, but move on. Whatever happens to us this season will happen and whatever we do will not be to "show McGhee how wrong he was". He was always going to move on to a bigger club at some time and he has done that so good luck to him. I know his departure and some of the comments he made throughout last season left a bad taste in the mouth, but that was then and this is now, he's gone so get over it! He has had far too many posts and threads on this and other Motherwell forums dedicated to him and what he has done, not done, said or not said. Forget him!

Mark McGhee is the best manager we've had here at Motherwell in recent memory and Jim Gannon has a hard act to follow if he is to take us to anywhere near the heights that McGhee took us. 3rd placed finish just one year after avoiding relagation by a bawhair, and in the same season that our club captain collapsed and died on the playing field. I didn't like his attitude either, but no one can argue with what McGhee achieved for us on the park so this "Gannon's a much better manager all round" nonsense really is cringeworthy. In time, he may prove to be a better manager for us, but that is a tall order, and at this stage, not even a month into his reign, we cannot possibly tell if he is indeed better than McGhee was. I just hope to Christ that Gannon and the players aren't getting as carried away as some of our fans are just now about the result the other night.

Yes, me. Tonight was superb and I take nothing away from the performance, but remember we were playing a very poor Albanian side and as good as it was to win 8-1, we've still got a bit to go yet. Our defending at times was poor especially in the second half and a better side could have put a few more past us. We still need to strengthen the squad aswell as we can't go with that side tonight through the entire season. It was brilliant to see us put eight past that side tonight and I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is certainly promising for the new season, especially going by the performances of some of the youngsters out there tonight like Slane, Forbes, Murphy and McHugh, who were all excellent. I was particularly impressed with Paul Slane, he really does look like a player and a bit, but he is only young yet so we need to be patient. However, tonight does not give a pointer as to how our SPL campaign will go, but like I say, it was promising and very enjoyable. Well done Gannon and the lads, that was a very good night's work.

I'm sure it was Falkirk. Did Stevie Kirk not score for them against us that day? Plus, that would have been around about the time where we couldn't buy a win against Thistle so I'm sure it wasn't them. edit: According to soccerbase, we beat Falkirk 5-3 at home on 8th October 1994, but it doesn't give the scorer details. http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=238113

Clarkson's hat trick against Dundee Utd in January '04 was one of my favourite Motherwell games of the last decade. We were 0-1 down at half time and had barely kicked our own arses but we came out in the 2nd half and Clarkson turned it on big style and we ended up winning 3-1. His third goal was the best of the lot that day, he outpaced the defense, beat the last man and fired it past Paul Gallacher at his near post. This was also the game that Phil O'Donnell returned for his second spell as a Motherwell player so it really was a great day all round.

It all depends on who we sign during the next month before the season kicks off, but I honestly think we are in for a bit of a bottom six scrap in season 09/10 and I'd take survival from relegation right now. During this summer we have lost our manager - and let's not kid ourselves here, McGhee was a good manager for us - and several key players like Clarkson, Quinn, Smith, Hughes & Klimpl to add to the loss of McCormack last summer and Chris Porter in January. You can't lose players like that and not expect to struggle so Mr Gannon really does have a task on his hands to keep us in the SPL, although the early signs appear to be promising as our new boss certainly talks a good game so here's hoping he can sort out our threadbare squad. We need to be realistic, a top six finish and especially a European placed finish is highly unlikely as there are three, possibly four other sides who are far better equipped than ourselves to do that. On the other hand though, there are also a good few sides who are no better, if not worse off than we are and I expect to see Kilmarnock, St.Mirren and Accies struggle this season aswell. A great deal hinges on the transfer activity between now and the transfer window at the end of August.

Our domestic season starts on 15th August, so we've got a bit of time yet to strengthen our squad. While it's enjoyable to be playing in Europe, I think most of us would put our domestic fortunes ahead of our European ones, as we all know that we aren't going to go far in the Europa League and the most important thing for clubs like us is being able to fend of relegation and hold our own in the domestic league.

CAN we do it? Yes of course we can, in the same way that we CAN beat St.Mirren or Kilmarnock or Falkirk on our day. However, WILL we do it? That is a different question altogether. This will be no foregone conclusion and our task will be made exceptionally difficult if we concede an away goal, which let's face it, is very, very probable given our defensive frailties. My personal view is that if we concede a goal next week then we're out as I don't see us scoring three.

As long as we can get on the scoresheet, even if we lost by only a single goal deficit like 2-1 or 3-2 etc. then I'd be happy. We'd stand a decent chance of over turning that scoreline back at 'home' so we need to keep it as tight as possible at the back and hope for a goal or two on the break.

Team; Stevie Woods Kevin Christie Karl Ready Gulli Jonsson Franz Resch Andy Roddie Jan Michels Joni Lethonan Shaun McSkimming Mario Dorner Stephen Halliday Managed by Maurice Malpas and assisted by Paul Hegarty and Donald Duck

McGhee knew as far back as last summer that he would be leaving at the end of the season IMO, that's why he made no serious effort to rebuild the squad or bring in reinforcements in the January window, instead looking to loan deals to take us to the end of the campaign. I think he was always holding out to see if he could land the Celtic job, as I'm sure Strachan would have kept him up to speed with his intentions to stand down from the job at Parkhead, so I reckon McGhee had his eyes on that job long before the end of May.

I'd take a 1-0 win and a clean sheet right now thanks very much.

Welcome to Motherwell Jim Gannon Now go and get us a team together for the start of the SPL season.

Farewell and good luck Clarky boy. A player who's come on leaps and bounds in his time here and gave us 110% every single time he took to the field. We will miss him greatly I fear.

Ach that's what football's all about. Going to watch your team playing in the freezing cold, rain and snow. It just wouldn't be the same in the summer.

It was a strange set up with the Republic of Ireland though wasn't it? Bobby Robson was involved in some kind of management role aswell, supposedly as a kind of 'mentor' to Staunton but it was never known how much of a say he actually had in things.

Steve Staunton would certainly be an interesting appointment for us. He has experience of management, which is what we desperately need, and he also would no doubt have 'contacts' which could help us recruit players. He is a well kent person in football from his time with Liverpool and Rep of Ireland etc. I just hope that whoever gets the job, gets it soon.

Difficult start, away AGAIN on the opening day of the season. Still, we've not lost at McDiarmid Park since that 5-0 thumping in Billy Davies debut so it's been a fairly happy hunting ground for us in recent times. First home game is against Killie and surprise, surprise, we play Aberdeen, at Pittodrie on August 29th. You just knew we wouldn't get through the first month without meeting Mr McGhee didn't you? Have to wait until 21st November before we can welcome him back to Fir Park though.

Whatever anyone thinks of Mark McGhee the person, it cannot be argued that Mark McGhee, the manager, was probably the best manager we've had in the last fifteen or so years. The football he had us playing, particularly in his first season was at times sublime and even though we didn't hit those heights in his second season, we still showed what we were capable of in glimpses. Add to that, he gave us European football, not once but twice and that is something that we could only have dreamed of a couple of years back. All this, and he inherited a squad, and club on it's knees and in the depths of depression after a woeful campaign in 2006/07, where problems on and off the park dogged the club all season long, yet turned things around in a way even the most optimistic of Motherwell fans could not have hoped for. Also, his public handling of the Phil O'Donnell tragedy was also extremely good and sincere and that is something that should not be forgotten, so Mark McGhee does deserve some respect from Motherwell fans. However, on the flip side, his constant public broadcasting of his interest in other jobs, ie. Scotland, Hearts and most of all, Celtic was infuriating, made all the worse by the fact that he openly said that he didn't care what the Motherwell fans thought after some criticised him during a match last season. I don't have a problem with him or anyone else at Motherwell wanting to move to a bigger club to better themselves, but I don't want that person to constantly talk about this in public, through newspaper articles and on Radio shows, as McGhee did frequently. It just shows a complete lack of respect for the club, especially when that club took him from nowhere two years ago and brought him back into the game. I have to say, I found his "I want the Celtic job" at his Aberdeen welcoming conference the other day just as sickening as anything else he's come out with. Has he no respect for anyone but himself? Even the club that made him as a player? Anway, Mark McGhee is gone now and we move on. Motherwell FC was here long before he was and hopefully will be here long after. I will remember Mark McGhee in years to come as a good manager but with a poor attitude.

I wish McGhee good luck and thank him for his time here. He did a tremendous job in taking us to 3rd place last season and safely avoiding relegation this year. He also conducted himself very well during the Phil O'Donnell tragedy and was a credit to himself and the club. However, I don't like, or respect the man as he clearly has no respect for anyone else but himself as his "Aberdeen are second choice" speech in his welcoming press conference tells you. It really does take a brass neck and arrogance of the very first degree to come out with a remark like that just minutes after you've signed for a new club. Not surprising in the slightest as that is the type of thing McGhee has come out with for the last two years that he was here, but I just think that shows a complete lack of respect for the fans of the club that employ him to say that. No doubting whatsoever that he is a very good manager, and I'm sure he'll do well at Aberdeen, but it's all "Me, Me Me" with Mr McGhee.

This is just a ridiculous situation. We are less than a month away from playing a European fixture, we have a threadbare squad in urgent need of reinforcements, players likely to be leaving and a manager who is sitting, biding his time to see if he can land one particular job if someone else doesn't get it, and if not then he's going to another job at another club. Nearly a whole week has passed by with McGhee being "poised to be named as new Aberdeen manager" while Celtic "battle it out with West Brom over compensation" and we are no further forward than we were last Friday. It's as obvious as the nose on the end of your face that McGhee has no intention of signing for Aberdeen until the Celtic manager's position is filled and he still has a chance, no matter how outside, of landing that job, and that he also has no intentions of staying here if either one of those jobs becomes available to him. Fair fucks to McGhee, he has played Motherwell FC like fucking mugs and done a great job at it, from getting a payrise over his flirtations with the Hearts job last year to leaving us in no man's land this year. I tell you what, if both of those moves fell through for him, I don't think he'd think twice about 'hanging on' at Fir Park until his next potential move came up for him. The man has absolutely no interest in anyone but himself.

I've said since Saturday that this Mowbray deal will fall through and it looks more and more likey. That is only going to draw this whole saga out even longer as it will probably mean that McGhee won't be appointed at Aberdeen until Celtic have their manager sorted out.

I just laugh at Keevins, it's the best way I think. It did worry me though that he said that McGhee wouldn't be in Aberdeen until Thursday at the earliest. What's the hold up I wonder? Are Aberdeen, or indeed is McGhee waiting on Celtic to officially appoint Mowbray, something that looks as though it may stall, as they don't want to pay the £2M compensation to West Brom? Just picture this scenario for a minute. Say McGhee was appointed by Aberdeen, officially signed on the dotted line and paraded as their new manager. Then the Mowbray deal at Celtic falls through, so Celtic target McGhee once again, now Aberdeen manager. Do you think McGhee would leave Aberdeen to go to Celtic should they come in for him even though he's just been appointed at Aberdeen? Not saying that would happen but given McGhee's track record for 'loyalty', could you rule out him doing something like that?