Leeann Dempster Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Given the frustrations of today, I felt it appropriate to post. Of course we are not happy about the way Mike's loan has played out. I can tell you with certainty that this is perhaps one of the most disappointing days I have had here at the club since I started. Should we have waited on the ITC (player paperwork clearance from the SFA) before we went live with the loan news? With the benefit of hindsight? Absolutely. This has been a harsh lesson learned for us all. The truth is that we were too keen to get the 'good news' out to our fans first, via our own media channels before it was tweeted, put on facebook or posted on news websites by others so, with what we genuinely believed to be a relatively straightforward registration, we published without clearance. We all know how this has turned out in the end and it is not pleasing in any way. I will say that I think many of the comments posted here in relation to this loan to be really harsh on the club and the people involved. I understand your frustrations but I would urge some perspective. We have taken positive advantage of the cross border technicalities very much to our benefit in the last 2 years. Darren Randolph, Chris Porter, Giles Coke and others. But on this occasion, we missed the fact that an emergency loan within another association counts as 'played for' when it would not have if it had been here in Scotland. I am really disappointed we missed it but it has happened to us and we are not the first and nor will we be the last to find that we have interpreted the rules incorrectly. This is not an excuse – just the truth. What I would say to you all though is that I believe our club is in a really positive position in respect of contracts length, players tied to the club and a strategy that sits alongside this transfer planning. There has been a conscious change in direction on length of deals offered, positions and overall development. I am saying this tonight not to balance the above situation but to highlight that we do have a plan in respect of our squad and we do know where we are going with it. With the best will in the world, mistakes, oversights, rules that are misinterpreted happen. So to move forward, we have an open forum on Monday night – if you want to come along and air your views then I would urge you to do so. Cooper Bar, Monday 24th at 7pm – main topic League reconstruction but clearly other issues will be covered. We are the first club to speak directly to our supporters in respect of the SPL reconstruction so come along – after the main discussion there are no topics off the table as far as I am concerned. I will happily answer, to the best of my ability, any questions you have. I have been quietly reading these boards now for over 2 years and in that time I have tried to utilise this direct route to supporters positively for the club. The posts generate vigorous debate and ultimately offer insights and ideas that we might not have occurred to us. I do think though that some people wait for something, anything inside the club to go wrong and then thrive on the opportunity to cut us down. The posts and debate can be hugely positive but also sometimes hugely demoralizing. I am not saying that we don't want to be criticised or questioned, far from it. I mean this now as much as I ever have - please speak to me directly, either on match day, by email or by phone and I will answer your questions. You may well not like what you hear but I will do my best to answer you. I will finish off by saying that tomorrow we have a match here against Hibernian, we need to focus on the game now and give Stuart and the team who are here our full support to help them win on the day. We are trying our very best to get players in before the window closes but we will wait this time until we have the clearance before we tell you all – a harsh lesson learned. Leeann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Yet another huge, bitter, and possibly even embarrassing blow to the Motherwell fans. Every aspect is fast becoming an unfunny joke. I'm scared at what will be the next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn_Broomfield Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Same thing just happened with Celtic, James Vaughan can't sign because of the same rule. At least we are not alone. It's not the same thing. Celtic enquired and found out he couldn't play. We on the other hand, had Grella at training, paraded him to the press before finding out we had made an arse of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingu Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Given the frustrations of today, I felt it appropriate to post. ...... Leeann Leanne Thanks for an honest post that pretty much hits the nail on the head I think. It is disappointing, but we don't know how the loan deal would have panned out anyway. In isolation it is far from the big deal people are making it out to be. However there is a caveat in that I think the reaction has been influenced by a buildup of things that have irked supporters recently. Another poster listed them, and I'm in doubt you'll be aware of them, but amongst others include the Jim Gannon saga, the Mark Mcghee saga, the Craig Brown saga, Nick Blackman coming and going, urine soaked concourses, league reconstruction debates, pricing compared to overall quality, and some disappointing results and performances on the pitch. It is often a case of being told one thing (although not neccessarily by the club) and something else happening. Although I wont be in attendance on Monday due to other committments, I think you should maybe take these things in combination to understand why a lot of fans backs are up over this incident. It would be good to hear some debate or feedback from the club particualrly in relation to facilities (East and POD stands) and pricing, with fans input, especially with the opportunity for change as presented by the SPL right now. As it stands, it's simply another disheartening story for the supporters. Anyway that's my tuppence worth, thanks again for posting when you probably didn't have to, and long may fan/board interaction continue. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotts Well Fan Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Leanne many thanks for coming on to explain the situation. Unfortunate but there you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepper Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Suggested reading for those at the Club. "Transfer Rules for Dummies" "Loan Signings Made Easy" and finally "How Not To Make A Complete Arse of Yourself & Your Club" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc88 Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Yet another huge, bitter, and possibly even embarrassing blow to the Motherwell fans. Every aspect is fast becoming an unfunny joke. I'm scared at what will be the next. How? No one cares except what appears to be the majority of fans on here. A similar thing happened with kyle letheran last season but no one was overly bothered because he was signed as a back up. Now when we sign someone who appears to be more than a back up its an outrage/joke/embarrassment/disgrace etc? Its a blow and I think most of you are letting that take over the fact that this really isn't a big deal. Support the club ffs. I for one am fed up of moaning support and people on here branding OUR club a disgrace for this nothing incident tops it off. If he had been shite, there would be people on here branding mccall a disgrace for bringing him in. Onwards and upwards. EDIT: none of that necessarily aimed at you milo, just wanted to highlight the point you made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siebsbarmyarmy Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 That's a fair post Leanne and I for one appreciate your honesty but what I hope is that from reading the boards that you appreciate the frustration we Motherwell fans are feeling at the moment! For want of a better word for the past couple of months I feel like we have been completely shafted and haven't felt this low about football since the dreaded Malpas era. I'm sure you must be worried at the amount of fans who are showing a complete apathy towards Motherwell and Scottish football in general! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rab_mackinnon Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thanks for posting lianne it's refreshing to have such a quick reaction to this unfortunate situation by the club. We understand things go wrong he is without sin cast the first stone and all that. Our frustrations no doubt are equal to your own in terms of where the club is at just now. Keep plodding away we might not say it often but we do appreciate yours and all those inside the clubs endeavour to make things right and improve our club for the better. Rome was not built in a day thanks again ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosser1886 Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Mistakes were made, lessons have been learned. Lets move on eh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Yet another huge, bitter, and possibly even embarrassing blow to the Motherwell fans.Oh come on. It has given you another opportunity to come on here with your Victor Meldrew impression. How can that be disappointing for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 you really couldny make this shit up between this and the whole brown contract fiasco somebody should be held accountable for these mistakes absolute fuckin amatuers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Big deal. We'll get another forward in on loan and McHugh will be back at Partick for his loan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superward Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Jeezo, it's not the end of the world! Annoying? Yes. A bit embarrassing? Maybe. Reason for all this gnashing of teeth? Naw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickoza Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Anyone not think Leeds are to blame here? Seems too easy to get tore into our own team sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Friends brought this up the other day and dismissed it as nonsense as we thought the club would surely check these types of things out before going public. Complete red neck and sums up the whole of Scottish football perfectly. No wonder our teams are all shite, no fans come to games and within the next 10 years we'l be watching something similar to the Irish league. The pish thing about it is, whos really surprised?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry David Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Total embarrassment. Amateurish. Time to pack it in. Joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddiesteelman Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 See if you're all that embarrassed about this fiasco, and embarrassed about the Groundsman, and embarrassed about the Board of Directors, and embarrassed about the standard of players on the park, and embarrassed about the nick of Fir Park, and embarrassed about the average attendance of MFC......then what the hell are you doing on a MFC supporters forum. Seriously, get a life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 See if you're all that embarrassed about this fiasco, and embarrassed about the Groundsman, and embarrassed about the Board of Directors, and embarrassed about the standard of players on the park, and embarrassed about the nick of Fir Park, and embarrassed about the average attendance of MFC......then what the hell are you doing on a MFC supporters forum. Seriously, get a life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 At least when the replacement loan forward is brought in we can all moan like fuck that he's nowhere near as good as Grella. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn_Broomfield Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 See if you're all that embarrassed about this fiasco, and embarrassed about the Groundsman, and embarrassed about the Board of Directors, and embarrassed about the standard of players on the park, and embarrassed about the nick of Fir Park, and embarrassed about the average attendance of MFC......then what the hell are you doing on a MFC supporters forum. Seriously, get a life. They're on discussing these points obviously with fellw fans who feel the same. See if you're not embarrassed by this, not embarrassed by shit groundstaff that can't do their job, a board tighter than a duck's arse, not embarrassed by guys that can't pass to each other and don't know what a first touch is, not embarrassed by a Stadium that will be shut down in the next few years, not embarrassed by crowds fucking off in their droves. Then Motherwell can rely on you and your dug watching games in SPL 2 in 5 years time, because very few will allow the shit excuses and general shiteness to wash in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wishaeboy1 Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Big disappointment and any of us are fully within our rights as a fan to say whatever we want about it, especially on a fan board. We should remember though that all at our club are in it for the good of the club - we are on the same side. As for Leeann, we are lucky to have a Chief Exec who recognises the meaning of humility and takes the fans seriously enough to speak direct. Forget it Leeann and focus on whats next. All I would add - for what its worth - is that I really wish everyone would pull together and be positive about Motherwell. Tonnes of things have been thrown at us in the last few years, we could control next to none of them. What we do control is the spirit of our club that knows where we are from, punches well above our weight and takes pride in the style of our play at our best. We produce young talent and we provide a stage for old guys to have a last hurrah. You all know what I mean. I will never forget faddy driving us over the line for that win at Killie after administration. And I will never forget coop's guile taking us to safety against Falkirk when we needed a leader at a tough time. I will never forget Lukas strike to hit 6 against Hibs. And of course, I will never forget the gut wrench as Phil dropped on the pitch against United or the sense of utter pride in my club that followed as people from across the planet recognised what it meant. I could go on like all you could. Tomorrow we play a club with an attendance average that more than doubles ours. Lets make it our mission to talk our club up not down and get our mates along to join us at the game. All that matters is beating Hibs tomorrow (a club with a gate average more than twice ours). Come on Ye 'Well - I believe in you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddiesteelman Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Apart from the standard of Groundsman , nothing has changed much at Fir Park since I first went in '68 !!! I'm more embarrassed about some folk on here spending way too much time and effort slating the Club for everything and anything that isn't up to scratch as they see it. If you're no' happy, go and watch Airdrie or Celtic or Rangers or Motherwell Miners, and gie us all some peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadywellToi Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I read Leeann's post with interest, who is she kidding ..... as Pingu addressed in the Grella thread, this is what he said in his BBC interview: "Other strikers coming here and getting a move further up in Scottish football" The blonde, colonial, donut munching fanny was ditched for this outrageous sentence. I love the fact the club now have a zero tolerance, no nonsense policy on players who come out with idiotic statements. Don't believe this FIFA regulations stuff, he was sent packing for his rambling tongue. I for one am impressed that we've grown balls again. Casagolda .... Stockport come and get me ..... you're getting a voodoo doll made up by Porteous at present, prepare for some pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosser1886 Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 donut munching fanny Worth the entry fee alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts