Andy_P

Whether you could call it a defined procedure I don't know but there was talk in the past that your placing from the previous season - that being whether you were top six or bottom has a bearing on what you might get this year. If the same six teams from last season finished top six then I'm sure I've heard it said that, that allows them to balance out the fixtures so you get 19 home and 19 away. It's when one or more of the teams differ then that's where you start getting the imbalance of some getting 20 home games and others 18. Obviously as Stu says though the very first fixture to be scheduled is the last Old Firm game and everything else thereafter is worked around that.

First of all, of behalf of all the Mods and Admin. a big thank you to everyone who has responded so positively to our proposals with pledges and expressions of interest. When I tallied up the maximum amounts people were prepared to pledge this morning we had upwards of £1100 pledged which is fantastic and allows us to focus on securing a Claret membership for the site. Anything we receive over and above that will be held in account and used to either go towards a second membership or for future annual fees which come in at £150 per year for the Claret membership. That can be decided at a later stage. We intend do the formal business of the form filling and payment of the first installment shortly before the end of March which will allow us roughly three weeks from today to collect monies towards that first payment. Payment can be sent via Paypal to:- Andrew.Paterson9@btinternet.com I've set up an account to hold any monies received so if you wanted to send a cheque instead of using Paypal, or if another means of passing on your contribution is better for you, then PM me and we can get something sorted. If using Paypal please remember to include your username on here, your real name and contact details of your choosing should I need to get in touch. Dunno if it'll save you a few seconds if you can paste and copy this..... USERNAME: REAL NAME: CONTACT DETAILS: I gather there can be fees involved in sending and receiving money via Paypal so please mark your payment as a gift so there are no deductions taken from your contribution. If by the end of March the club haven't hit the £250,000 target, as soon as I receive any monies that have been passed to them back I'll get that returned to those who have contributed ASAP. Of course we are going to hit that target and all of us at Steelmen Online can be happy in the knowledge that individually or collectively we've played a part in helping that happen. Thanks again for your support!

I remember that one as well Milo. Those three days really encapsulated life under Alex McLeish once Tommy McLean's side has peaked. Beating Celtic with an outfield player in goals was as likely as losing to Raith Rovers with a complement. Six wins in a row was as likely as six defeats in a row. Six games without conceding was as likely as six without scoring.

Typo with the date there Underboyle? Before my time but I've always read that the "new" Main Stand only came about after sales of players in the early sixties?

I find these awards can be a bit hit and miss sometimes and I'm always slightly suspicious that there's more at play than simply an interpretation of who is most deserving. Although that's more so with regards the monthly awards to be fair. I don't know if I would ever go as far as saying I had sympathy with those who have to make the decision but its clearly subjective as to what you consider is the more admirable achievement. Is it a "superpower" collecting the gold medal or a "diddy team" who might not necessarily win anything but who have still enjoyed a cracking season? With Celtic winning the league for the first time in four years I'd be really surprised if Neil Lennon didn't get it, particularly now that he's personally added fuel to the fire that they aren't getting sufficient credit for their season. And admittedly there is a fair case for him turning that double figures deficit they faced into a 20 odd game unbeaten run. But chuck in the fact Mixu won it last season and I just don't see a diddy club manager getting the nod this season much as, as things stand, the case for McCall is every bit as strong as it is for Neil Lennon.

Didn't see that one turning out to be anything like as comfortable a victory as it proved to be in the end. I didn't think there was a huge amount between the teams up until we got ahead, although as soon as we scored we really came into our own and it was all Motherwell after that. I don't know if you could say Dunfermline were playing at their peak in that opening hour but MFC certainly weren't and you knew there was still a couple of gears that we could hopefully go up. That's another of the pleasing aspects of the team at the moment, there are a number of match winners across the team and even if one or two aren't firing on all cylinders there is still a fair bit of quality in the squad to help see us through on occasions like these. Wee bit of fortune for the first with Smith somehow failing to keep Higgy's effort out but no denying the quality of the second both in terms of the build up and the finish, We could easily had added a few more goals as we switched between spells of some good possession football and playing shooty in. A very enjoyable ending to what was building up towards an awkward and frustrating afternoon.

Your thoughts and votes please folks...

Yeah, Easy Target is spot on Vic. Whether its a long-standing forum member or someone signing up just to get involved it all contributes to help MFC reach their £250k initial target. The more the merrier!

Yeah, you could certainly do that if that's what's best for you Netherton. Plan would be to have a cut off point at some stage in good time to before the end of March whereby we can see where we are in terms of both pledges and formally submit the papers along with any monies collected to MFC. After that point we would then collect any remaining monies due over a period of time to be paid to MFC in up to 3 further installments.

We're still working away quietly in the background on things Snap19. We'll shortly start collecting the contributions and issue a paypal address that money can be forwarded to. Our plan has been to give it a few days to an indication of what the level of interest would be from the site users and therefore see what would be the most appropriate Well Society membership for us, before we actually asked people to send any money. In a similar way to what the club are saying though we don't need the full £xxxx from every forum member that's taking part received and banked and with the club by the end of March. As with individual memberships we have the opportunity to pay an amount before March and 3 further subsequent installments thereafter. But yeah we'll be moving soon on the paypal address soon.

Jamie Pollock's goal for Clyde last night about 3 minutes in.... Click on Clyde 28th Feb

Even if we did win it you'd be back on here within two hours of full-time telling us how Motherwell had ruined your summer as you'd be worrying about defence of the Cup ending in tears by someone like Gala Fairydean.

In similar vein, reading through today's tweets and Herald jounro Graeme McPherson has suggested some potential viewing for 'Well fans later in the evening...

WIth the player sponsorship the prize at the end of it was I think getting the players shirt and the invite to the sponsors evening. Each increment of £5 donated got you 1 chance at winning the prize so if come the end of Mr A had chucked in £20 he would have 4 tickets in the raffle, if B had chucked in £5 he would have 1. Our prize is the benefits package that goes with whatever Well Society membership the generosity of the forum members allow us to purchase. I'm sure Steve Diggle is using the same principle with his £25 increments suggestion. Chuck in £25 you get 1 shot at winning the benefits, chuck in £50 you get 2 etc.

I wouldn't say I would want to sit in the home end of any of our opposition. However given the prospect of getting to watch a Motherwell away game at no expense to me when current circumstances meant I would otherwise have missed out, I was only too happy to accept the kind offer. I had no qualms to be honest going in there. Going into any home end you do so knowing exactly how what you are likely to be going into and how you need to conduct yourself.

Shitey camera phone photo of our support yesterday...

Steelmen Online Well Society Membership There's obviously been a lot of debate on the forum about the Well Society. Like the majority of Motherwell fans we're supportive of the aims of the Society and we've recently made enquiries with MFC about the possibility of setting up a membership on behalf of Steelmen Online site users. I'm pleased to say they've given us the go ahead. The club are still keen for as many people as possible to become Well Society members in their own right of course – and they've asked us to remind you that you can pay an individual membership in installments you don't need to pay the full whack before the end of March - but it's been noticeable that whilst a lot of 'Well fans are eager to support the Well Society not all are currently in a position to do so. It's supporters in this situation we hope our plan will appeal most to. At this stage we're keen to see how many, if any, forum members would be interested in getting involved and what kind of sums people would be prepared to put in. The primary target obviously has to be enough to go for the Steel level membership. Further down the line there will be things to consider like the benefits package that comes with the Steel membership. We had enquired about spreading those benefits amongst those who sign up for our membership but the club have intimated for easiness they would prefer the benefits went to one individual. We would look to raffle in the same way we've done with player sponsorship prizes in the past. There will also come a point where we will need to vote on stuff and we'll set up a sub forum for the members for any debate and discussion that's required before we decide upon any voting intentions. Once we've got an idea of how many are keen and we get the necessary numbers to proceed we'll publish a paypal account for folk to send money to. So... Who's interested and how much would you be prepared to put in? *** Contribute via Paypal to:- Andrew.Paterson9@btinternet.com Remember to mark your donation as a gift and include your username, real name and contact details*** *** For cheques and other methods of contribute PM me ***

Much like Brazilian says I've seen us come out a whole lot worse off than that. I was fortunate enough to get a freebie in the home end and we actually seemed to get a fair bit of credit from their supporters around us. One remarked that we were a good side and another gave us credit for being the only side other than Hearts to come to Celtic Park with two forwards and trying to make a contest of it. I felt we were generally comfortable but looked fairly lightweight when we got anywhere near their goal. You did get the impression that once they found the net it would be very difficult for us to turn it around and so it proved. A good effort nonetheless. No huge discernible difference in class considering the difference in sums spent building the respective sides and we played a lot of good decent possession football. Disappointing to lose ofcourse but in the grand scheme of things, not one to lose much sleep over,

Your thoughts and votes please folks....

I got the same exactly the same answer as well when I smirked and asked one at work "Bit of a dilemma for you the morra then?"

Your thoughts and votes please folks....

I don't know whether he meant it or not but I was amazed when I heard that said. And he went on to repeat it as well in the re-run too! He's just carried the ball from the half way line, weaved his way through about half a dozen challenges and been heavily involved in the set up of a fantastically well worked goal. And the Beeb commentator chooses to highlight a possible break of the ball? Away to fuck! I kind of half joked with the old man on Sunday that if you replaced Motherwell with Barcelona and Ojamaa with Messi you'ld be looking at goal of month candidate. But there is a serious point in there somewhere that its entirely in keeping with the way Scottish football is covered that'll talk of a lucky break of the ball before gushing praise at a fantastic goal.

Prices confirmed then for the Aberdeen Cup game. £15, £10 and £5. Can't grumble with that at all!

Would seem a little odd giving him a contract to 2014 if he didn't think he'd something about him no?

I think we should win but I believe it may be trickier than perhaps the respective league positions suggest it should be. I would hope for a fast start from us to give Hibs and what's expected to be a really healthy travelling support as little encouragement as possible. Whereas in current circumstances they might be travelling to the shire with maybe 500 or so tops, the fact there will be a couple of thousand cheering them on could go two ways. It could either be a seeping pore of negativity if we could have a fast start or an extra man if they get their noses in front. I'm ever wary also of Garry O'Connor who regardless of his, Hibs or Motherwell's form always seems to be something of a thorn in our side. Ofcourse with our own form we should be going into it in full confidence and in no way should we be overly fearful of Hibs. Team selection is an interesting one. I would be disappointed if McCall chose to break up the existing back four after three successive clean sheets. Further to that since the Dunfermline game Randolph has only beaten by two top class strikes and a penalty and clearly his defence have contributed to that. Assuming he does indeed stick with the current defence the most obvious change for me is one that a few have already stated that being Carswell for Lasley. Again it would seem odd to move Nicky Law centrally when he's suddenly added goals to his game from out wide. Whilst I wouldn't be too upset to see Ross Forbes get a chance I thought it significant that when we dropped to 5 subbies for the Cup game it was Carswell and not Forbes who got the nod for the bench. Chuck in the fact that Carswell has signed that new deal and I think the momentum lies with him rather than Rossco. Scoreline 2-1 'Well with Higgy and Henrik on the scoresheet, O'Connor for them.