El Grew

Just viewed the 'highlights' of ICT game and it was interesting to note that both ICT goals again resulted from some classic 'Micky Mouse' defending from Messrs Hammell, Quinn and Reynolds. Apologies to Micky Mouse. Ah, some things just never change!!!

Ah crystal balls!

£5 million!!!????

Totally agree.

Pure pish. The only players he brought in that were of any use were McCormack Porter and Hughes and two have gone and one is about to go. From the others you mention, my views on them are well documented on previous posts but with Fitzpatrick, DL Smith, McGarry x 2 and O'Brien, Quinn and Craigan and no new signings then its the First Division next stop. You can disagree until you are blue in the face mate I don't honestly care.

£22 for a meaningless end of season game with our manager struggling to motivate players, on what is looking likely to be thoroughly wet and miserable day!! Eh, I think I'll pass.

Season Ticket Sales Are Up!!! Aye right! Pay as you go for me and pick and choose my games from now on. Lets face it there won't be any problem getting a seat for ANY game at FP.

From BBS Website Motherwell manager Mark McGhee admits out-of-contract duo Stephen Hughes and Graeme Smith are likely to move on. However, he hopes to secure on-loan Maros Klimpl on a permanent deal. "Maros wants to stay and we're trying to negotiate something," he said. "It's a case of trying to get a financial deal that allows us to get him." McGhee also suggested that he had missed out with offers for Livingston pair Dave MacKay and Murray Davidson who have joined St Johnstone. "Financially, these are really difficult times and we're going to have to look to the boys coming up from the youth system, which I think is going to become more important for everyone," added McGhee, who was recently priced out of a move for Queen of the South striker Stephen Dobbie. "We tried to sign a couple of players yesterday who we weren't able to afford and who look as though they've ended up signing for St Johnstone, so that's our problem and we have to cut our cloth. "The youth system is really where our squad is going to be coming from, because we aren't going to be out there buying and selling lots of players." Former Rangers pair Hughes and Smith have been impressive performers for Motherwell this season and McGhee is planning ahead for next season without them. "I'm anticipating they'll leave, but I haven't heard that they've signed for anyone and there are offers on the table," he said. Slovakian defensive midfielder Klimpl will be free to leave Danish side FC Midtjylland in the summer. And season ticket sales are up? Well I for one will certainly not be renewing my season ticket to watch more of the same shite that has been served up this season. This team needs major surgery and has not been strengthened since Mark McGhee arrived. So now we are going to be reduced to bringing in youths to the SPL!! Well the only place that will lead to, will be relegation. And lets face it if we can't cut it then maybe it would be better to let others in who could. FFS we are supposed to be competing in the top league in Scotland and we have now been outbid twice, twice mind you, for the same two players by First Division Teams. Apparently both were signed for £50K. Not a King's Ransom and it also seems as though the terms offered to the players in question were better than we are able to offer. Remember McGhee has been chasing one of these tow for the best part of a year!!!Mismanagement on a grand scale at FP continues in my view and the sooner Boyle gets out the better. Our club has been made a laughing stock by this man (consider the pitch fiasco this season and all the half-arsed 'initiatives') and now this. Well he'll be getting no more money from me to waste and If I was Mark McGhee I'd be on the high road out of FP toute suite.

Seconded!

My grandfather, father and uncles were all 'Well supporters. My grandfather saw them with the League and my dad and uncles the League Cup and Scottish Cup. It was in the blood as they say. Going to school at Knowetop and being so close to FP only made the heart grow fonder. Best years for me were the 70's when we were in the Texaco Cup - magic nights, looking forward all day at school in anticipation, walking up to the ground, seeing the floodlights, smelling the wintergreen, huge crowds and, strangely, the expectation that we would win. I remember one sneaking out of school early, to get into FP (the gates were open) to see the last 15 minutes of a Scottish Cup replay against Ayr Utd - played midweek with afternoon ko due to power cuts caused by miners strike - which we won and in front of a crowd of 12,000!! Eventually "kept up the bloodline" when we won the Cup in 1991.

Without wishing to get carried away because the opposition were (surprisingly) very poor considering their position, but yes a much better performance and result today. I've said for a long time that we would only see the best of Stephen Hughes when Keith Lasley played in midfield beside him and that Jamie Murphy is good enough to command a regular first team spot. And on today's performance this was proved right. Credit where credit's due but I wonder how much the possiblity of European footbal next season 'helped' the players 'get up' for the game. However, if we can keep Hughes and Klimpl for next season then IMO our midfield would look quite good with Lasley playing anchor man, Klimpl with a roaving role and Hughes playing as close to the strikers as possible where he is most effective. There is the nucleus of good team at FP it just needs MM to recognise that and build on it now.

More so after today, I just hope all the Clarkson doubters will start to appreciate how lucky we are to have a proven SPL striker that wants to play for us. There is no doubt that as a consistent goal scorer he will attract attention from other clubs both inside the SPL and from down south. Just remember the number of to class strikers we have lost in the past - McBride, Deans, Pettigrew, McClair, Walker, McDonald. I for one would hate to see Davie's name added to that list.

Daily Express reports that Dundee offered £75K for both Livi players but that the players can't agree personal terms and that Mark McGhee has been alerted and may seek to increase Motherwell's offer to get them both.

St Mirren 1 V Motherwell 3 = argument/discussion superflous.

I just hope that if the 3 'Well players get to play in the forthcoming International that we get a better outcome than the last time this happened. Wembley, 1961 and Ian St John, Pat Quinn and Bert McCann all played for Scotland against the Auld Enemy. The outcome was arguably the worst ever result in our International History --> 9-3 (mind you Iran and Costa Rica run it damned close). Pat Quinn actually scored Scotland's 4rd goal.

Ah..... Roger Hynd. Those were the days my friends!! Who can remember the chant from the Rangers fans of "Roger, Roger Shut Your Mouth" ? Yuk...!!! Still makes me cringe.

Well done to David. A great personal honour for him and a great honour for the club too. Good luck.

David Clarkson is certainly not the most skilful player we've ever had at FP but when it comes to playing for the jersey and putting his heart into things then IMO he's up there with the best of them. Remember this is a young man who came into the SPL to play for us at the lowest point in our history and due to circumstances, was over-played for someone as young. Although he's now still only 23 he could be regarded as a veteran and if every player that played in C&A put as much into every game as he does then I think we'd all be very happy.

This guy had more money to spend whilst manager at FP than anyone before or since, close to £1 Million if memory serves and blew it. Some of his purchases - Andy (he's my brother-in-law) Roddie...........£100,000 Sean McSkimming.....................................£150,000 Mitchel Van Der Gaag................................£500,000 I think we at least re-couped most of the Van Der Gaag money when he was transferred out.

This guy had more money to spend whilst manager at FP than anyone before or since - £1 Million if memory serves and blew it. Andy Roddie Sean McSkimming Mitchel Van Der Gaag

There has been much criticism aimed at the club, chairman, manager, players etc. this season, and I hold up my hands as one who has added his voice to this on occasions. Having been a supporter for more years than I care to admit, through thick and thin (more the latter than the former) I began asking myself, that all things considered, was I being over-critical of the club. We all obviously have a passion for MFC and want the very best for them but perhaps sometimes, we just expect too much given the limited resources available to them. A little research revealed an interesting, if perhaps already obvious fact which I use as supporting evidence. Since the Premier League came into being at the beginning of season 1975/76 (33 seasons now) the average finishing positions of the various clubs from that time up until the end of last season, have been as follows: 1. Rangers 2. Celtic 3. Aberdeen 4. Hearts 5. Dundee Utd 6. Hibs 7. Kilmarnock 8. Motherwell 9. St Mirren 10. Dundee 11. St Johnstone 12. Inverness ------------------ 13. Partick 14. Livingston 15. Dunfermline 16. Falkirk 17. Hamilton The 6 city clubs finishing 1 to 6. So, is this then the natural order of Scottish football? I suppose the only surprise for me was to discover that we were not 7th and that Kilmarnock occupied that place. Being realistic then, should we regard any finish we have in the SPL above 8th, as a successful season for us? Analysis revealed that we have only done this on 12 occasions out of 33. So I would argue that on the basis of this evidence, the answer would appear to be yes and, that if we manage to finish 7th this season then it really will have been a successful one for us and maybe we should look at things in this light.

I know we are rank at present and a lot of different players have been getting pelters but having watched the highlights of the Falkirk game, we seem to have lost another two poor goals from a defensive standpoint. IMO, one player who should be getting pelters but seems to mainly avoid them, is Mark Reynolds who if memory serves, hasn't missed a game this season. His performances this season for me have underlined that whatever his best position turns out to be, it most certainly is not a centre-back. I believe he was originally a left-back before being asked to fill in at centre-back a couple of seasons ago and has perhaps gained the position by default. He has pluses and minuses. Pluses - he's quite pacy and a decent tackler. Minuses - useless in the air, lacks physical strength and can't pass (not the only one). I truly think MM has to re-think his defence and consider Reynolds for either left back or defensive midfield.

Rumour has it the pitch was to blame - it had grass on it.

I think the silence speaks volumes! Either that or there were not many of C&A persuasion present.

Sorry Jam 20 but I can't agree with you on this one. I really think that those players who won't re-sign with the club's best offer and a reasonable deadline for doing so (one month) should be told to exit stage left so that the manager can then move on and consider other candidates either already at the club or from other clubs. Anyway, I forecast right now, that there won't exactly be a plethora of clubs waiting to take them on with better terms.