daver

Ally Mauchlen?

I was shocked when I heard this morning. When he was breaking into the team he lived up the road from me and I used to see him walking by fairly regularly (must have been before he could drive). It seems like only yesterday as do many of his goals. Strangely the abiding memory I have is not of one of his many goals for us but when he played for Falkirk against us. Standing behind the goals at Brockville, we had the perfect view as he received the ball in the penalty box, knocked it towards the bye line and was tackled about knee height (possibly Philliben) and went down. Incredibly the ref gave a bye kick and he got up, screamed for the penalty he deserved, then shook his head and got on with the game. He took more than his fair share of knocks but always got up and continued to give 100% and obviously loved playing the game for as long as his legs would allow.

Game over. I know it is meant as a sporting gesture but there can't be anything more patronising than clapping a team off the park after you've thumped them.

I did think that was a bit strange at first but I don't think it's the done thing to be looking at pictures of young children unless you've got a good reason eg. being a parent. I'm not sure how welcome Garry O'Connor will be at Tynecastle!

I know we're going a bit off topic and should really have better things to do on a friday night, but some of those pictures on the official site are tremendous, particularly when shown as a t-shirt. The picture of Buther and Scott McDonald, be-decked in claret and amber after Skippy Sunday looks particularly bizarre considering his subsequent career. Some of what's available would get you arrested for stalking and some of it would scare the kids (some classic Willie Pettigrew photos).

And Paul McGrillen for his late substitute's contribution to the first leg. To think we qualified this time through the Fair Play award!

I left north-west Glasgow at 6:55 and got there in time (just). If you're going on the A8, try taking the Carnbroe turn-off. When I got to the queue at the industrial estate, I turned right into the housing estate where a lot of others were parking. A bit of a walk but I still made it in time without having to run!

The Shimmy King did so many shimmies at the back post that one defender (maybe Rogan - it was a very long way from us) fell over and Bonner just looked mesmerised. As for injuries, I twisted my ankle and went down in the middle of a heaving, jumping away support after a goal at Cappielow. It was probably the cup replay in 91 and luckily I was hauled up before being trampled. That really is a cracking shed Morton have.

Following speculation linking Hughes with Aberdeena few weeks ago, McGhee was quoted as saying that Hughes was too expensive as he had been offered 7k a week (widely thought to be from Norwich) and turned that down. It seems he has been punted around and can't find, unsurprisingly, a better offer. I don't think anyone can blame him for taking that kind of money. A few seasons of that on top of what he's already earned and he should be made for life.

6ft 4. That would have Mark McGhee very excited! He doesn't have the greatest pedigree mind you, but at least Gannon can have a look at him. Gannon did make a comment after the first Llanelli game that we were a bit lightwieght and he seems to be trying to address that.

The names Frank McAvennie and Mo Johnston spring to mind!

I don't know how to do the link, but there's a bit on Northampton Town's website disputing Motherwell's claim that he has signed for us. They say their new contract offer was accepted by his agent by his email. He certainly sounds the part - a 6ft attacking, creative midfielder.

Is that not because he was one of the very few Well fans going to Albania. I think he said he was driving which prompted some helpful Albanian to post some pics of their roads! So he's probably not returned home yet. [Edit: having looked at the Club Trip thread (and Fatcalf's post above) it was an Andy Harrow from Budapest. It may or may not be the same guy but I wouldn't have thought we have too many fans in that neck of the woods. I would imagine his living room floor has already been well and truly claimed by those that know him.] Out of interest, if (and it's a big if) we get through to the next round, how long would it take to get to Bucharest in a beer-laden bus leaving a pub in Motherwell? You know, the type where the chemical loo packs it in before reaching England. Sounds like a fun trip.

Sol Bamba will win more than his fair share of headers but, although he's quick, he's a liability on the ground. Much as he would have improved our defending at set-pieces when we went for him, I would have been petrified every time someone knocked the ball past him - although he's got pace he tends to take the player down or mis-time his challenge. I wasn't surprised in the slightest when he got sent off for two yellows on his Hibs debut. As for Klimpl, we've both moved on from last season and normally things are better just left that way. Thanks for your contribution and good luck for the future.

I see the announcement on the BBC has changed. What was a two year deal worth £65m i.e. £32.5m / year (significantly better than the previous deal and even better than the future deal agreed with Setanta) has now become a 5 year £65m deal i.e. £13m / year which is pretty similar to what the SPL previously had. Just the small matter of £19.5m a year different.

The claim that McCormack is another one from the Motherwell academy is stretching it a bit, to say the least. However he certainly came to the fore with us after rarely featuring for Rangers (other than the Champions League tap in they keep mentioning).

I always look to Darren's first run with the ball when he comes on. He seems a bit of a one trick pony, putting the head down and trying to out-sprint and out-muscle the left-back. If it works he gets the confidence and goes on to have an effective game. If it fails, in the case of say, Easton at Accies or Kalvenes at United who were stronger and faster (thankfully for him they've both now moved on),then you can wave goodbye to him for that game as he doesn't have another tactic for beating a man.

The important thing about that is he was offered a contract. If Shrewsbury had not offered him a new contract then he would be a free agent. As for Nade, yes he's powerful but he has a tendency to freeze and snatch his shots. His goalscoring record is terrible for a Hearts centre forward.

I'm assuming the club will be significantly out of pocket due to this. Does anybody have any idea what Canterbury were paying the club and if payments were up to date?

I can see the game on their website but how do you manage to download it? Do you need particular software or am I missing something obvious on the website?

Much as there may not be any real danger to travelling fans, it is unlikely that more than a few fans will travel. With less than a week to organise a trip to a place that is pretty awkward to get to, very few will go. Flights are likely to cost a fortune at this late stage even just for the trip to London for the connecting flight.

Special AKA referred to the incident in Nancy in an earlier post. One guy (and his companion) seemed hell-bent on causing a fight over seats, to the extent he assualted someone trying to keep the peace. Never seen either of them before or since and it left a bad taste in the mouth. I didn't go to Wales but I know this incident put a right dampener on the whole trip for a lot of people. There seems a few versions of events flying about but, it doesn't matter if there was any provocation or not, you don't assualt a frail, elderly gent. End of story.

It was good to see a few locals involved as well. How long was the walk?

There's a few of the llanelli fans praising the march to the ground on their club's forum with a link to some Youtube footage. There's some very 'refreshed' looking people on that march!

By the description he sits in an aisle seat in the Cooper. Hope he's ok.