Al B

Colchester. And he wasn't invited to it, he applied for it. Amongst others, however I dont know those other clubs. Was looking to engineer a way out immediately after the game we got horsed off Hibs at Fir Park. Also, had he not been punted, Ruddy would have been back at Everton in the January window, and Jutkewitz wouldn't have been around to score that screamer against Hibs.

Yeah the McFadden story happens all over the place. If I was to pick 5 guys from my school team and boys club that would have made it, Martyn Corrigan probably wouldn't have been one of them...but there you go. He goes on to carve a pretty successful career and for a few seasons in the middle, be the best player at a decent club, and the rest all end up in normal jobs playing 5's once a week. I've always said the best footballer in the country is probably a plumber or an accountant somewhere.

See if that's the case, my big post from a few minutes ago....forget it. We're a bunch of mongos. Football forum members with internet access spot it, but the professional guys that work for the club and are in charge of doing the fucking deals, haven't a clue? Rid necks all round....

The fact that this guy is 35 is a pretty positive thing for me, and would suggest that McCall is planning ahead for using the younger guys from next season onward. Reasons for me thinking this as follows... Seems to me his thinking is along the lines of "lets just get through this season, and then kick on at the start of next". The state of the squad/finances/etc would suggest that this isnt a bad idea. The guys he's brought in are here til the end of the season, seems this will make sure that it doesnt affect A - the budget for next season, B - the squad size for next season. When you think about it, one thing we dont have is age and experience for the front players and the guys going forward. It's one thing bringing in young guys into the squad but at Motherwell, who are they gonna learn from? Jamie Murphy? Chris Humphrey? This guy comes in at the end of his career, bags of experience, and for 6 months we've basically signed an attacking coach for free to help out our young guys. Helping Murph with his confidence and self belief, helping Humphrey with his decision making...when to ping it in early, when to hold it up...when to cut inside and drive, and when to hit the byline. Basically how to play the man in front of you, rather than just being fast and thats it. This ties in with the idea of a plan to kick on from the start of next season with the core being the young guys...plus a few shrewd signings that can be done much more easily during the close season than in the Jan window. The loan of McHugh would also point towards this. In short, dont have a problem with the guys age, or the length of time he's here. Shows to me that McCall has identified a few of the troubles, and has a medium to long term plan to put that right.

No im not saying I wouldn't go generally, im saying when the games im watching are embarrassingly poor, it's pissing with rain, and we've stooped to a level in this country where the two teams on the park have a handful of players who are genuinely worse than guys I play with on a Thursday night...I wouldn't think twice about staying in the house if I wasn't really losing out on anything. The fact that i'd shelled out around 300 notes for my season ticket however, meant that last Saturday I was sitting in the pishing rain doing exactly that....and thats the only reason.

Flipside of that though and something you'd have to watch, is the fact that I paid a couple of hundred quid-odd for my season ticket...so thats whats keeping me going to games at the moment. I dont want to waste the money that i've paid out. If it had been free/cheap enough that it didn't matter too much, I probably wouldn't be bothering.

We didnt win it.

In a way you're kinda hitting the nail on the head as far as the reason for the downward spiral. The first thing to do on the road to fixing it, is to acknowledge that this isnt a Motherwell problem...it's a Scottish football problem. The people who are staying away arent doing so because Motherwell are shite, they are doing so because Scottish football is shite/overpriced. People won't come back until the product being paid for is worth the amount being paid. That's not just football, thats simple business.

I've been going to Fir Park pretty much constantly for 16 seasons, and to most of the away games in that time. Today I missed a fair chunk of the game even though I was sitting in the Cooper Stand, because I was busy playing Angry Birds on my phone. That's how bad it's become. This isn't a Motherwell-related point....Scottish football is absolutely woeful, and it's actually got to the stage where almost every ground in the league will almost definitely have guys sitting in the crowd who are better at football than a good few of the guys that are on the pitch. My Season Ticket will obviously see me to the end of the season given that i've paid for it already, but verrrryyyyy close to chucking it after that.

I think anyone that signed up to something like that either has too much money or not enough of a life. It's only a game...

Nice little broadcast on Sky Sports there of George Peat saying to Simon from Biffy after they drew Rangers against Celtic... "you're in trouble boy"

And its got two r's.

The irony is that the whole thing revolves around trying to get the best TV deal the clubs possibly can, and yet if they got this shiny, fancy new deal that they are so desperate for, and we all stayed at home to watch it...they would go mental because there were no fans at games. "We need to get the best TV deal possible, but if we do, can you please not watch it?" Mental.

2-0 Dundee

I'm not saying he doesn't have his strengths and abilities. He's obviously made a decent career both domestically and internationally, so he has plenty to offer a side. However like every footballer at every level it's important to know your own strengths and weaknesses. You don't need to have played at a high level or be a coach yourself to know that ideally, passes should stay in the park. And unless you can hit an area of 25 square feet from 30 yards away 100% of the time...you probably should learn that trying to curl a ball and drop it right into the path of a striker from the edge of your own box, isn't for you. Pick another option. I'm not saying he's shite, because I don't think he is. I'm just saying he, like every footballer, should be wise enough to know what's beyond his ability, and then stop trying to do it 84 times in every game.

Maybe he should take it to heart though, and stop trying passes that he doesn't have the ability to pull off?

But if it's not right to suspend Jennings, why would it be right to suspend the ref?

He's quoted as saying Motherwell is a goldmine compared to what he had to work with at Bradford, and he had guys that were on 250 quid a week. All things considered maybe didn't do as badly as it first appears.

I made a c**t of myself, and now even I don't understand what im saying

And right now we'd get 10 million from the same place we'd get 100 million. Naewhere.

Ok, i'll rephrase to suit your pedantry. He's the most naturally gifted footballer in the SPL.

Paddy McCourt is easily the best footballer in the SPL. He'd be playing wherever he wanted eventually, if he could be arsed.

See the folk that are asking for proof....what are you looking for? I mean, someone with a genuine contact and who is genuinely in the know, is gonna be the last person to betray that trust. So...what would satisfy your need for proof? If for example someone says he was interviewed for another job that he applied for, what would it take? Something that's impossible to provide i'll bet...so whats the point?

I've never understood the Leitch wankfest. I thought he was shite as a player when he was here too. Very good at the Craigan-esque passion, but I always felt it covered for the fact that he was a bit crap.