star sail

Hartley has just signed for Aberdeen. That 'no money' that McGhee bleets on about goes a long way.

Was thinking the same thing myself. Nice wee stadium. It is hard to tell but they look decent enough going by this footage.

Have a great time. Bring back an away goal or two.

yes but it is not a case of blasting Motherwell, it's a case of giving respect too and having an understanding of the strength of the opposition. I am enjoying every minute of the Euro experience and in some ways our Euro adventures over the last few seasons have re-ignited my passion for the Well but that does not go hand in hand with having a false impression of our chances of progression in this tie.

This guy is bound to meet a sad and sinister end at the hands of Columbian Drug Lords after he sclafs one over the bar in his debut. I miss him already.

I actually find it more refreshing to hear Scottish football fans speaking realistically about our teams chances rather than the 'we have not heard of them so they must be rubbish' dross we have been used to in the past. This team have Swedish and Norwegian first team internationalists playing for them so apart from anything else it would be arrogant and disrespectful to assume that the result is a foregone conclusion. I think all we can say with any confidence is that if Well do progress in this tie it will be the best European result to date. Hopefully not being disrespectful to the likes of Llannelli, Flamurtari and Breadablik but this will be a step up in the standard of opposition. I admire Motherwell89's enthusiasm and optimism and wish I was the same but experiencing the defeat's by My Pa 47 and Katowice as well as watching other Scottish teams in Europe really struggle at this time (eg Rangers v Kaunas) makes me very wary.

The Juke, Scott MacDonald, David Clarkson, Ross McCormick and Chris Porter off the top of my head. Add in Paul Quinn, John Ruddy, Coke and Stephen Hughes from other areas of the park and it's not a bad tally. Sure i will have missed someone.

This makes for very interesting reading Steelboy and actually shatters some of my preconceptions about other leagues in Europe. Will it not be the case however that the Old Firm attendances give a false impression of the health of Scottish attendances? I suppose the same could be said however of the two Lisbon teams in Portugal so it may not be such a big contributing factor. The other issue that is hidden by these figures is that the fact that the Russian, Portugese, Croation and possibly Swedish leagues produce a better standard of player (judging by National sides). This may be down to have a bigger gene pool to pick from however.

He may have. Just remember leaving Fir Park buzzing, thinking we had found the next Esteban Casagolda.

That's him. Think it was maybe actually season 2001/2002 so before Terry Butcher.

No. I don't remember this boy at all. From memory the boy I'm thinking of was small and stocky. A bit like Tattoo from Fantasy Island.

Not really that relevant to the thread but it reminded me about that guy (think he was French) who scored a hat trick against Hibs on his debut then did nothing for the rest of the season. What was his name again? Think it was during Butchers time, maybe before?

. Nice one.

Maybe read what is being said more carefully before getting all aggresive. The respect aspect was in relation to the comments by Ewing Graeme regarding the up and coming Well game. I did also say that we all know the reasons why the McGeady story gets put on the back page, particularly if it's the aquatic deal of the century. Pond Weekly would no doubt go nuts over it. To continue the theme of missing the point completly however, I will agree with you, that printing the McGeady story has fuck all to do with showing disrespect for the game. It is simply a shit story and sensationalism untill such times as there is any substance to the fact that McGeady is going to Villa.

Agreed, I think Radio Scotland do a good job but as an example of where they too get it wrong, I remember driving up to the first Aberdeen v Well game at Pittodrie last season and from 1pm untill we got out the car at 2.50pm they talked exclusively about a takeover at Rangers, a takeover that at the time did not even have any faces associated with it (ie a non story). We had been listening to hear team news of a game that was happening that afternoon and were still waiting as we got out the car. Having said that it is more the written press I would criticise when in comes to so called bad press.

A brilliant example and in todays papers too. This shows in a nutshell the disrespect journalists show to the teams outwith the Old Firm. Over the last few days we have seen the papers full of Martin O Neils comment that Aiden McGeady is a Preimiership standard player. This is a complete non story and yet it is given much more significance than two of the Scottish teams playing in Europe this week. We all know the reasons for it but it is slowly killing the Scottish game. I am sure that Ewing Grahame is much too full of self importance to worry about that.

Agreed but it's not just the SPL and SFA that seem to think that change is bad. Remember Graeme Spiers article not so long ago speaking of Motherwell as a yo-yo club with nothing but self interest regarding league reconstruction. I think it was an article in response to Craig Browns comments on league reconstruction. The press in Scotland have possibly the greatest power in our game (as regards creating the atmosphere in which our game operates) and could if they were responsible enough have an influence on the future of the game in this country. Unfortunately they are so obsessed with stories (or non stories) regarding the Old Firm that they completely ignore the bigger picture.

The problems in football go beyond anything that the people at Motherwell can solve. There are different factors affecting the game worldwide and specific factors that cause problems for the game in Scotland. The biggest problem Motherwell as a club faces is it's proximity to Glasgow. I find it depressing to stand at Motherwell station at 5.30pm on a Saturday eve to see trains from Glasgow offload a few thousand Rangers and Celtic supporting Motherwell residents. This is a historical problem and there is nothing Motherwell can do to fix it. From what I see and hear the people at Motherwell try very hard to make the business viable and they have not been shy over the years to try new initiatives. For me the only way forward is to keep investing in the young players. Hopefully Motherwell could be seen as a centre of excellence for young players such that the most talanted youngsters in the country would choose Motherwell as a club to sign for. I think supporters need something to buy into and given that the Old Firm have a strangle hold on the SPL, I think that the next best thing for a support is to have the satisfaction of seeing the next James McFadden develop under the Fir Park floodlights giving us some thrills and spills along the way. Whichever way is up Leann Dempster has a hell of a difficult job and we can't expect miracles.

I have big concerns about our defense at the moment. Losing sixteen goals in five games at the end of last season may be a freak but I have seen nothing to suggest that we are any more solid at the back. I suppose the arguement is that we have played 180 mins in Europe and not conceeded but we could have lost four or five goals across the two games had Briedablik been more clinical in front of goal. What concerns me further is that Craig Brown seems to feel that the strength of the team lies in the two central defenders. That may suggest playing the same tactics again in Norway. The success last night I felt was down to Jennings being superb and a large slice of good fortune. If Aalesunds are a step up in quality (which we have to assume they are given that they are a pro team) I am going to go for a 1-0 or 2-0 defeat in Norway as I can't see us keeping a clean sheet and with one up front (though Murphy was immense last night) the chances of scoring are slim. May be overly negative but those are my thoughts.

That was my initial reading too but I think what was meant was that the Norwegians play on the Sunday so Craig Brown has to get up to see that game. Not 100% sure but that was my understanding.

This is like watching a game of Junior football. Most worrying is the long ball tatics Motherwell are employing. Hit it over the top of Murphy and let him run for it seems to be the tactic. Would like to see Well take control and pass it about a bit in the last ten minutes. If the Norwegians are even half decent we could struggle.

As a club Motherwell can't be to judgemental on this one given crimes of admin past, but ofcourse have every right to go after the money. Only concern is that after the last hard line taken by the club (and strongly worded club statement) regarding post split fixtures, hee haw happened so not holding out too much hope that the club will ever see this money.

I would expect Rangers, Celtic, Hibs, Dundee Utd, Hearts and Aberdeen to make up the top six so best I am hoping for is best of the rest. We have had a very succesful few seasons and the danger is that we begin to expect on a regular basis. Reality is that we are punching above our weight. Would love to reach the play off's in the Europa Cup (can we dream of the group stage?) and as far as domestic cups are concerned, not going out to a lower division team would be a good start.

I think that it will be almost impossible to tread water this year. For all Gannon had his faults he pulled a rabbit out of the hat with the squad he assembled last summer at such short notice. The three players you mention will not be replaced I fear and with Hearts and Aberdeen looking at the likes of Paul Hartley (thought McGhee had no money?) they are bound to be more competitive this season (I assume). Brown and Knox have a real task in front of them this year I fear but then I do tend to be pessimistic. Don't think we will be relegation fodder however.

I think he was asking the question about who we think were the best players not those who played most often. Smith probably played most games in goals over the last 10 years but nobody has picked him yet. There is no right or wrong only opinions my friend.