MJC_MKI

The stewards, like the polis will ALWAYS take the easy option to cover their backs at football matches. Remember the Hibs game back in November when they took a tri-colour off a wee boy in the Hibs end? Yet they stood and watched when Celtic fans displayed hundreds when they were here a few months later. And even when they did have to take action against Celtic fans, it took about twenty policemen to run up to the back of the Cooper stand to eject ONE person! Talk about going for "safety in numbers". An absolute joke.

Well, I had totally written us off, but you're thinking of the CIS Semi the following season. I said on here that if we won the game I would buy everyone's ticket for the final. Thankfully I've grown up a little bit since then though and don't post quite such daft shit anymore.

You better believe it they will never forget it. Even now, after them winning the league for three years on the trot since that they are still talking about this Sunday's decider as being "another chance to bury the ghosts of black Sunday". The phrase "Couldn't happen to a better mob" was surely invented for that glorious, glorious day.

Celtic were coming here to Fir Park to win the league championship and be presented with the trophy on our own patch, which our chairman openly welcomed and asked Well fans if they would mind very much giving up the Cooper Stand for this game but was politely told to fuck off. Even so, many of their fans had bought tickets for the home end ensuring a poisonous atmosphere at this game as it would surely be a formality for them seeing as all they needed to do was beat us for the fourth time that season and they would be Champions... But it didn't turn out like that and we all know what happened http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/s...rem/4565659.stm

I think it just makes a mockery of the whole thing when the team that finishes 7th or 8th can finish the season with more points than the team finising 5th or 6th in the table.

Game of the season: The 1-1 draw with Celtic in February in the "Glasgow Celtic Paedophiles" game for atmosphere, but for me it has to be the 3-1 win at St.Mirren the other week there. It was brilliant to see us just playing some really good stuff and giving our bogey side a right good hiding on their own patch and all when we had nothing to play for Goal of the season: Porter at Tannadice, a brilliantly taken goal. Player of the season: Have to go with David Clarkson again. His effort is 2nd to none every single week and he has continued his vast improvement under McGhee to have yet another fine season. Best moment: Seeing us playing European football. Worst Moment: Getting knocked out of the Scottish Cup at the 5th Round again, after playing only one up front in the home game against St.Mirren. Surprise of the year: Beating United 4-0 up at Tannadice. Not many teams have won there this season, including both Old Firm sides so for us to go there and not just beat them, but absolutely maul them 4-0 was quite something. Young player of the year: Hard to pick one really. Overall: Not quite the rollercoaster ride or height hitting of last season, but that was always going to be difficult. It was disappointing that some of our play at times was a shadow of last year but we have shown from time to time that we are capable of playing some good football and are probably a match for anyone else in the league on our day. The biggest let down for me was the Scottish Cup exit against St.Mirren, as our line up in the first game when we played 4-5-1(despite what McGhee said) simply defied belief, and the replay was just a poor, poor game that was always going to be decided by one goal and they ended up getting it. Not the best season, but far from the worst either.

And David Ferrere was the other one of course. Scored a hat trick on his debut against Hibs as a 2nd half substitute and then did absolutely nothing for the remainder of the season. In the case of Francois Dubourdeau, he was also a vastly over rated goalkeeper by some of our fans (including myself at one point I must confess). Apart from the game against Rangers when he played a blinder, he really didn't cover himself in glory and I'm sure he had an absolute stinker when we got gubbed 3-0 at Firhill by Partick near the end of 02/03? Still, he was the man between the sticks the last time we actually beat the Ibrox mob and he played a big, big part in that so I suppose he wasn't all bad.

Of course, he wasn't without his faults, as he was very suspect at dealing with cross balls. However he wasn't any worse than Woods was and he was dropped in favour of him so I just couldn't see the logic in that.

He was treated absolutely disgracefully by the club. I mean it's bad enough he was made redundant but to be relegated to 2nd fiddle to Stephen Gerard Woods when he barely put a foot wrong was ridiculous. I don't know what the story with Eric Black and him was, but there was no explaination as to why he was dropped and Woods kept his place despite his first or 2nd game back in the side being an absolutely calamitous performance at home against St.Johnstone on Boxing Day of that season when he was beaten at his near post twice I think as we lost 2-1.

2-0 to Accies.

Fir Park's appearance is in keeping with the rest of Motherwell, particularly the town centre, ie. stuck in the late 80s/early 90s. However it still has a certain degree of character about it, and when I saw St.Mirren's new ground last week, I couldn't help thinking how I'd hate it for us to have a similar ground like that, as the new St.Mirren Park just looked completely unoriginal and lacked any sort of 'personality'. I know things have got to change and move on etc. and in reality, we probably do need a newer, more modern ground - or at least invest in a half decent pitch protection system - but it just wouldn't feel the same having a stadium like St.Mirren's as our 'home'. No matter what you say about Fir Park - and by God it's a million miles away from being perfect - I would/will miss it if/when we move to a new ground.

That's just crazy to say that we won't be relegated in the next five years unless we went bust. There really is very little, if any difference between the quality of the majority of sides in the top flight just now, and I think it will only get tighter in the next few years if this credit crunch continues the way it's going. Are we really much better than St.Mirren or Falkirk? I think not. Any of six or seven teams could struggle next season, as you've already pointed out, so it could well be a real scrap for survival and predicting that we will definately not be relegated, not just next year but in the next five is just plain unfounded optimism. At this moment in time, I'd say that we are just as likely to be relegated next season than not.

On the subject of Butcher/Malpas/Foran/Kerr. Terry Butcher deserves a lot of respect from Motherwell fans for standing by the club during administration and I can understand why he should get a good reception from our fans before the game. However, the other three can fuck off as far as I'm concerned. I cannot for the life of me understand why any Motherwell fan should cheer or applaud Richie Foran when he is playing against us, as he was a very, very average player when he was with us and a lazy bastard the majority of the times. He certainly does not merit any cult status amongst Motherwell fans.

I thought St.Mirren's ground looked like a typical First division ground when I saw it yesterday. Hopefully they'll soon be playing in a league that fits their stadium.

'Twas a pleasure. Good luck in your bid to avoid relegation.

It certainly is, but it must be worse when you've got ideas way above your station. And what a funny sight that was today watching the St.Mirren hoardes slithering out with 20 minutes to go. Enjoyable sight indeed.

Enjoyed that today, as it's always good to stuff those boneheaded muppets from Paisley. I would absolutely LOVE it if they got relegated now. GIRUY ya filthy Midden basturts

You should never, ever count your chickens before they hatch. We did this two years ago and look what almost happened. This year, whilst unlikely, it is still mathematically possible for us to be relegated and until that is no longer the case, I'll be keeping one eye over my shoulder. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if we failed to win any of the remaining games, but at the same time I'm not convinced that we'll lose every single one either. However, football is a funny game and it ain't over til it's over. One thing I do predict and have predicted since the start of the season is that Hamilton Accies will finish above us in the final standings.

Fair play to him for gaining promotion, as that's nothing to be sniffed at. However I didn't like or respect him when he was here for blowing large sums of money on the likes of John - he's played alongside Klinsmann you know - Hendry, Shaun McSkimming, Andy Roddie and for being the person responsible for bringing Stephen Gerard Woods esq. to Motherwell Football Club, aswell as transforming us from a team capable of finishing 2nd to avoiding relegation by the skin of our teeth in twelve short months, and who then fucked off to Hibs as soon as they approached him. I don't doubt that he's improved as a manager since then but regardless of that, the media never print one bad word about him despite his many, many faults and that is still the case to this day. But hey, give me him over Boris Backpass and his 'Donald Duck' any day of the week.

Surely that doesn't stand for "For God and Ulster" does it?

"Hibs only hope is that we bottle it. "But if we beat St Mirren they won't be getting into the top six because I don't believe they'll beat Rangers. "I've got absolutely no worries about the strength of my team's temperament. "If we failed at any stage in the earlier part of the season then it was because we played poorly, not because our bottle crashed. "You'd need to have a kind of arrogance about you in the first place if you were to run the risk of your bottle crashing.. "My players are too modest to be troubled by ego in that way. They're only mortal beings and humans make mistakes from time to time. "My team has nowhere to crash because they're too honest with themselves. "They've already shown the strength of their minds by going 14 games with only two defeats while riding out all the injury problems we've suffered." FAO Mr McGhee. When you publically say all of the above, especially the bit about our closest rivals only hope being that we ourselves bottle it, then you BETTER win. Otherwise you end up with a face full of egg. That is all.

Aye it was March 2002, although we did lose by the same scoreline to them at FP a year later aswell. Here's the FPC report of it http://www.motherwell-mad.co.uk/news/loadr...CH&id=50463

I think we'll edge a close game 3-2 tomorrow and finally break the live TV jinx. How good it would be to seal a top six finish and possibly send St.Midden a step closer to relegation.

That's the one. Pearson was sent off for a late lunge on Didier Agathe.

No it was the season before that, about a month or so before we went into administration. It was the game that Francois Dubourdeaux made his debut and we lost 4-0.