B.K.

Only just got to hear about the sad passing of Andy at the weekend, known and discussed many things with him over the last 20+ years & too be honest, you never came away from the conversation thinking anything other than "good guy". Although the common bond with most would be football (Motherwell) there was way much more to the man than that, but none the less, he will be sadly missed in many corners including in here. Condolences to the immediate and wider Paterson family and his group of friends at this empty time.

Thanks Andy, never really left, always read with interest, just don't post these days. Although, this topic was right up my street due to my frequent visits to the area and many work colleagues who live in the vicinity.

Dutch efficiency is even more anal than German efficiency..so that's a Yes !! I I R C the trains sort of run through the night on certain routes, some of the ones up to Friesland carry on through to Denmark and Germany. Although check that these ones stop at some of the smaller stations

If you are heading out to Drachten on 9th July and are looking for any local info give me a shout, I have 3 -4 trips a year to that area (Company HQ is just outside Leeuwarden) about 10 miles from Drachten, Lewi & Groningen are the only 2 decent sized places in the area for a night out, although the whole Friesland area of the Netherlands is not exactly Party Central especially mid week. Not easy to get direct to the heart of the area very quickly from Scotland, my route of choice is the Edin - Ams flight, pick up a hire car & depending on traffic it's a 1 1/2 - 2 hr drive. If doing this go by the A7 then cross the ZuiderZee Dam, basically it is a 20 mile stretch of road that goes straight across the North Sea and about 100 mtrs at its widest point, absolutely stunning (google it). You can also get the NS (Dutch Train) direct from Schiphol Airport to either Lewi or Gron and that takes about 2 hrs but its much cheaper than hiring a car. I can also give you reasonably priced, good hotels in the region if needed. I nearly always stay in the Hardigarijp Hotel in Hurdygayp only because it's handy for the Dutch guys taking me for a drink ! All that said, the beer is good and one of the few places in Central Europe that produces & bottles Whisky is just down the road in a town called Sneek, also the Dutch equivalent of Gin, Jenever, is produced in the Friesland region around Drachten.

Try Fraser Bell ........ http://www.starlinerbandservices.com/ He's based in Paisley

Agree with this x 10 "If the pace he has scared the life out of them" Please explain the following. a) twice in the 1st half, their full back beat him over a 10 yard burst. b) 2nd half, their Right Sided midfielder chased him and caught him when he ran down the line at the full back. c) 2nd half, when the ball broke out from a corner their centre forward beat him to the ball over a 20 - 25 yard run d) Why only twice in 90 mins did he get beyond his man into space ( & one of them was a deflection) Thats 3 out of 11 players that I seen that were no slower than our own speedy gonzalez. I wish folk on here would realise there is more to playing football than being fast, they were fast and streetwise, took up the correct starting position, leaned in when they had to, slight nudge before getting up to speed and doubled up when needed, all easy was to nulify someone who is fast but niave, as well as powder puff. If only it was as simple as pure speed, we could offer Linford Christie and Ballyregan Bob a contract and play them up front with the "HUMP" !!

"MOTM for either hutch or cummings tonight for me. Thought Hately done ok as well and kerr and mchugh actually looked like they gave a shit. Rest were pretty poor with Ojaama the most frustrating as he has yet to learn that there are another ten guys out there to help him and he doesnt have to do everything himself." OK, I'll ask what everyone else is thinking ............ Were you actually at the game ??

I would be more worried about the number of days between the draw and the 1st leg game, depending on where we are drawn to play, as I believe some of these destinations may require a visa. Is this correct ?

Celtic and Motherwell will represent Scotland in the qualifying stages of the 2012/13 Champions League. Neil Lennon's SPL champions will enter the tournament on the Champions Path at the third qualifying round. Third placed Motherwell are on the Non-Champions Path, also at the third qualifying round, at the expense of Rangers, who have not been recommended for a UEFA Club Licence. Celtic This season's SPL winners need to go through two qualifying rounds to reach the group stages for the first time since 2008/09. Projecting Celtic's potential opponents is a lengthy process. Six teams will enter at the first qualifying round stage, with the three winners joining a further 31 participants in round two. The 17 winners of the second qualifying round will then be joined by Neil Lennon's team, the winners of the Belgian Pro League and the Romanian Liga I. Celtic are guaranteed seeds for the third qualifying round. Basel, should they progress from round two, are likely to be top seeds. At present, it is difficult to project who the unseeded sides, and Celtic's likely opponents, in the third round will be. Taking into account those who have already qualified for the second stage, and guessing those who progress, potential opponents could include HJK Helsinki, Molde FK, NK Maribor, Shamrock Rovers, Linfield, Ekranas or Hapoel Kiryat Shmona. Should they progress, Celtic will again be seeded for the play-off round stage. No further teams enter at this stage, which is contested by the ten winners of the third qualifying round. The third qualifying round will take place on July 31/August 1, with the second leg on August 7/8. Play-off round ties will take place on August 21/22 and August 28/29. Celtic's potential opponents Already qualified for the second stage are Basel (Switzerland), Ironi Kiryat Shmona (Israel), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), BATE Borisov (Belarus), Molde (Norway), Partizan (Serbia), Helsingborg (Sweden), HJK Helsinki (Finland), Shamrock Rovers (Ireland), Ekranas (Lithuania), Ventspils (Latvia), Neftchi Baku (Azerbaijan), Maribor (Slovenia), KR (Iceland), Shakhter Karagrandy (Kazakhstan), Flora Tallinn (Estonia), The New Saints (Wales) and Ulisses (Armenia). Joining them will be the league winners from Czech Republic, Austria, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Bosnia, Hungary, Moldova, Georgia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania. Four of the six participants in the first qualifying round have been confirmed: Linfield (Northern Ireland), B36 Torshavn (Faroe Islands), Lustianos (Andorra) and Valletta (Malta). The league winners from Luxembourg and San Marino will also participate. Motherwell The potential opponents for the Steelmen are far easier to speculate upon. Motherwell go in at the third qualifying round stage along with nine other teams, with the five winners then joining five other opponents in the play-off round. Motherwell will be non-seeds at both stages. It is already clear that two of their potential, seeded opponents will be the teams which finish second and third in the Ukrainian and Portuguese leagues respectively. As it stands, either Shakhtar Donetsk or Dynamo Kiev will finish second in Ukraine, with Benfica, Braga and Sporting Lisbon all in contention to come third in Portugal. Their other potential opponents are dependant on which clubs finish in the applicable league positions and therefore it is not possible to calculate yet which other teams will be seeds and non-seeds. Motherwell then could potentially face the second placed teams from Russia, Holland, Turkey, Denmark, Belgium and Romania, or the winners of the Greek Super League play-off. Should they progress, they will again be unseeded and could either face a team joining them from the third qualifying round stage. Five other teams join in the play-off round: the third placed finishers in France and Italy, the fourth placed team in Spain, German side Borussia Monchengladbach and the fourth placed team in England, or the team which finishes third if Chelsea win this season's Champions League. Like Celtic, their third qualifying round first leg game will take place on July 31/August 1, with the second leg on August 7/8. Play-off round ties will take place on August 21/22 and August 28/29. The draw for the third qualifying round takes place on July 20, with the play-off round draw on August 10. Motherwell's potential opponents Third qualifying round Shakhtar Donetsk or Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) Benfica, Braga or Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Moscow, Spartak Moscow or Anzhi Makhachkala (Russia) Feyenoord, PSV or Heerenveen (Holland) Galatasaray or Fenerbahce (Turkey) Copenhagen, Nordsjaelland, Midtjylland or Horsens (Denmark) Anderlecht, Club Brugge, Genk, Gent, Standard Liege (Belgium) CFR Clug, Rapid Bucharest, Vaslui, Dinamo Bucharest, Steaua Bucharest, Universitatea Cluj, Pandurii Târgu Jiu Otelul Galati (Romania) Panathinaikos, PAOL, Atromitos, AEK Athens (Greece) Play-off round stage Other four winners from third qualifying round stage Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany) Napoli, Udinese, Lazio, Inter, Roma (Italy) Montpellier, PSG, Lille, Lyon (France) Valencia, Malaga, Levante, Atletico Madrid, Mallorca (Spain) Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United or Chelsea (England)

A Dandy Don mate has had an email from the club telling them that their game against Celtic is being played at Lunchtime on the Sunday and is due to be televised. They are not best pleased as there is only 1 train south from Aberdeen to Glasgow that arrives before 12 o'clock, who actually organises these things ?? Meaning the other Semi, which hopefully we will be involved in, will be the Saturday game.

Steve I don't see it that way, I thnk Frazzle has a valid point. We now have one group on the inside and another group on the outside, both allegedly representing the "ordinary" fan, both addressing the same issues and both canvasing the same supporters through the same mediums for the exact same forms of feedback. The King is dead, long live the King !! Do we know who is sitting on the MFC S A C, or is this also the same .

Cheers Andy, I hadn't read any of the other threads or seen anything reported elsewhere. The official site was the only place I could find a fixture that weekend, so wasn't sure if it was the date or time that was incorrect or indeed if I had missed something and the SPL were trying a weekend evening fixture. Thanks for the updated link Alan, that helps me out.

Trying to arrange something at end Jan beginning Feb and do not want to clash with a home game. I noticed that on the official site we are listed as playing St Mirren at 19:45pm on Sat 29th Jan. Was this correct before we got to the L C Semi ?

If ever the players ( & fans ) needed some inspiration, then here it is !

Obviously.............coz by the back o' lunchtime he was blootered !!