Staying Power

[numpty]

http://www.sundayherald.com/sport/shfootba...aying_power.php

 

MOTHERWELL: A third-place finish may be hard to repeat but, argues Stewart Fisher, the club are punching above their weight

 

MOTHERWELL IS only Scotland's 25th biggest town, yet it has sustained a local football team capable of 24 successive seasons in the Scottish top flight. Their opponents on Monday night, Kilmarnock, have racked up 16 campaigns, despite more populous towns such as Ayr and Greenock having gone 31 and 21 years respectively without so much as troubling this exalted tier. You might have thought that such achievements represent phenomenal provincial success and deserve universal acclaim. The only problem is that occasionally these heroic mid-level clubs outperform themselves and give their supporters reason to hope for more. Motherwell really should have known better.

 

Whether or not this virus called "second-season syndrome" actually exists outwith the ranks of the media, the Lanarkshire side are exhibiting some of the classic symptoms.

 

They were clearly Scotland's third-best side last season, third place in the SPL being secured by no fewer than seven points, despite having to deal with the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of club captain Phil O'Donnell.

 

This season, not only did they find one of their stand-out performers, Ross McCormack, cherrypicked by Cardiff, but others are nearing the end of their contracts, and it was well nigh impossible for them to go through the season with just 15 outfield players starting games, as they did during the previous campaign. And, even when their strongest personnel has been available, it has not been certain which Motherwell side would pitch up.

 

In two different periods at the club, midfielder Keith Lasley is well-acquainted enough with the limitations of life in Lanarkshire to offer his opinion.

 

"I have been at Motherwell seven, eight years and last year was definitely the best I have been involved in," Lasley said. "You don't want it to be a one-off but for a club like Motherwell it is a great achievement to finish third. For a club like ours on a budget it is like winning the league. The manager here ha nothing like the budget to bring players in that the manager of Hearts or Aberdeen has available. So maybe the expectations are not realistic in that sense but the fans come and see that there have only been one or two changes in the players. They expect to see the same brand of football and to see us winning the same games."

 

However, this season, injuries, suspensions, loss of form, the intrusion of a brief Uefa Cup run have all interfered with the continued progress of the club.

 

"We were all on the same wavelength last season - you could see that in games. It was maybe just a one-off," said Lasley.

 

Had events taken a different course, Lasley could now be attempting to keep punching above his weight as a Kilmarnock player. After his release from an unhappy spell at Plymouth, he trained with Jim Jefferies' side for a fortnight, and was mulling over a contract offer from the Ayrshire club when Motherwell came calling and he decided to opt for the club where he made his name. At least he had the good sense to make his peace with Jefferies before leaving.

 

"I was supposed to be signing for Blackpool actually but different circumstances happened there," Lasley recalled. "I came back up the road and Killie gave me training facilities and I was impressed with everything there. I was really close to signing until I got a call from Motherwell and things changed after that.

 

"I was in two minds at first, to be honest. The two offers were slightly different in terms of length and other things. It was more just a decision where I wanted to play but it was close. I had a few things in my mind, mainly the whole thing about going back somewhere you have been before. But once I spoke to a few people including Maurice Malpas, who was the manager at the time, I decided to do it and I am happy I made the decision.

 

"I spoke to Jim after it and he understood my decision," Lasley added. "I made sure I told him before I actually signed for Motherwell. I think he appreciated that and things ended amicably, there wasn't any bad blood there which was the way I wanted it."

 

Even when Motherwell haven't been winning they have still been capable of generating headlines. Mark McGhee's decision to withdraw Lasley during a defeat at Falkirk earlier in the season led to jeers from the travelling support, and McGhee countering with the rather ill-advised riposte of "as if I give a monkey's what they think". To be fair to the player, Lasley's testimony supports his manager.

 

"I was rubbish that day," he said. "That is the top and bottom of it. I would like to think I have a good relationship with the fans but the manager is the manager and at the end of the day he was quite right to take me off that day because I wasn't playing well. We were losing the game and he wanted to bring on a more attacking player. I told the manager when I came off I was mince so he was quite right to take me off."

 

McGhee himself is not a believer in the existence of "second-season syndrome", even though Motherwell is not the first club on his managerial career at which events have conspired against him after a lightning start. Things would all have been different on his part had he taken up the offer of the Hearts job in the summer - even if the Motherwell boss is unsurprised by the Tynecastle club's recent form - but McGhee hopes to use his determination to stay on to help persuade the likes of Graeme Smith, Stephen Hughes and Chris Porter to extend their contracts beyond the summer.

 

"I'm not surprised Hearts are third and had I gone there I'd have expected them to be third," McGhee said. "I looked closely at their squad and saw one that was strong enough to compete at this end of the table where they failed last year.

 

"But I took this job on," he added. "I keep citing myself as an example to say there is something here that's worth staying for. If Stephen fulfils his potential he could move to a top Championship club or maybe get into the Premiership. But if he goes somewhere like Leicester as he did the last time and the manager changes again he ends up back up the road having lost his opportunity again."

 

Motherwell, on the other hand, is the kind of place where they like to make the most of their chances. It will take some turn of events if the Lanarkshire club are not celebrating their unbroken quarter century this time next year.

[Optimus Prime]

This article falls at the first hurdle sad to say. The author should really have acquainted himself with the geography of Lanarkshire before putting pen to paper. Motherwell was never a burgh in its own right but was only ever one along with Wishaw. Combined, they had/have a population larger than similar former burghs like Hamilton, Kilmarnock, Ayr and Kirkcaldy. 0/10 Mr Fisher.

[Wellfan1984]

I'm trying to find where he mentions Motherwell as a burgh in the first paragraph? Have I gone blind?

 

And you need to learn your history mate as Motherwell was a burgh from 1865 to 1920, when it merged with Wishaw.

[Optimus Prime]

He doesn't mention the word "burgh" of course and as far as I know you haven't gone blind. I stand corrected about the historical status of Motherwell and thanks for that. For much of its history though it has been connected to Wishaw. But in effect Motherwell was and is the same settlement as Wishaw, albeit with its own identity. Its part of a continuous urban area which also includes the likes of Craigneuk, Cambusnethan and Newarthill.

 

The area's development is similar, in some ways, to that of Glasgow which grew and absorbed villages like Partick. On the east coast, we don't normally confine Hibs' influence purely to the port of Leith which to all intents and purposes is part of Edinburgh. In the late 19th century Leith had a population of about 55,000 and I doubt if it has changed much since then given that it is surrounded by Edinburgh.

 

In short, my point is that you can't use artificial and outdated boundaries and relate them to football teams. The article also fails to take into account the catchment areas of football teams.

[Wellfan1984]

I agree with everything you say, although the "Support your local club brigade" on this forum will not be happy with you last paragraph

 

I think he is just highlighting that clubs that should be bigger than us have not and will not in the near future be so

[MelvinBragg]

Personally I'm waiting for the outrage about the "punching above their weight" comment in the article. The thrust of the article is right though. Other than Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts, we are currently in the longest unbroken run in the SPL. That means in our time in the SPL, both Dundee clubs, Hibs, St Mirren, Kilmarnock, Dunfermline and Falkirk - all clubs larger or of a comparable size to Motherwell - have seen time in the first division. We really should count our blessings sometimes.

 

The article does, however, skirt around the issue of the fact that performance levels in the same group of players have dropped substantially this season. McCormack is a loss, this is true. But the type of player he was is a rare thing for a provincial club in Scotland. Which other SPL side has a player with that kind of creative spark this season? The key should have been for us to find a way to win games as Kilmarnock, St Mirren and Falkirk do, without relying on one individual. Again we have been lucky at Fir Park, in that in the last few years we have seen two such players in McFadden and McCormack. Perhaps rather than continue to pursue the 4-3-3 without the right type of player, the management should have been trying to mould a solid 4-4-2 team that could grind out results...

[fatcalf]

Still amazes me that 'Support your local club' and 'punching above your weight' are dismissed as negative. That's what we are and that's what we do and have been doing for decades.

[Frazzie]

I don't think it's as simple as saying that the size and success of the football team can be measured against the population of the catchment area. I think we lose out on that one aswell, as our catchment area touches borders with that of two huge, mega succesful sides. Not to mention the lure of vile hatred and sectarianism that makes it appeal to the knuckle-draggers in our part of the country.

 

For example, I reckon there'll be far less Old Firm fans per head up in Inverurie than there is even in Motherwell itself due to the difference in location and mindset.

 

Frazzle

[Tweed]

I think the best way to measure catchment area is to measure home attendances. Hamilton is bigger than Motherwell yet has smaller attendances. Everything else is about equal given Hamilton being attached to Blantyre and Bothwell compared to Motherwell with Wishaw and its many subsidiaries. Both are of equal proximity to Glasgow and its venim. There may be less OF fans per head in Inverurie but in the grand scheme of things who you support has often got little to do with whose ranks you come through. Success comes from a mixture of investment, ability, good fortune, the ability of the people running your club both on and off the pitch, location and population, proximity to rival, fans and good luck and there is no recipe that is guaranteeing success just one that makes it more likely. Given that so many of the clubs that are listed as having gone down have so much more than us in some of these things it is remarkable that we have gone as long in the top flight but good luck has served us well on a number of occasions as we could/should have been down several times but them are the breaks.

[du_du_dubordeaux]

Quite an interesting article I would say.

 

What melvin said about us being only behind the OF hearts and aberdeen as far as how long we've been in the top flight really brings it home how consistently stable our club has been, fair enough we've had a few lucky escapes but every team gets lucky breaks.

 

What interests me most is the question of what sets us apart from other towns bigger, or of the same size as our own? Why are we a cut above towns like ayr, hamilton, greenock etc?

 

I have a fear, however, that if we were to ever get relegated, that it would be a long journey back up. I think we are far from that in this present era, but we really need to start making headway as far as keeping up with clubs financially off the park. I may sound like a broken record here, but we are falling behind, and while other teams have got money coming in to help them through any recession that we may enter, the only income we have is the football matches. We need cash fae somewhere.