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What Constitutes A Legend?


the fox
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I find nowadays the term legend is used far too readily so i would like people to think what it takes to acheive this status. Obviously the likes of Cooper O Donnell are no brainers in this category but recently i have scoffed at the suggestion that Corrigan could be a Well legend.

 

However i do think although James McFadden was at Fir Park only a short while a case can be made for him to enter a kind of hall of fame ( not just for swashbuckling but maybe cos the funds from his sale helped escape financial mire) what do other posters think ? :whistling:

 

I personally like stories abourt players i am too young to have seen like Ben Ellis etc

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FWIW, I'm not sure I really consider Coop to be a Motherwell legend... he was certainly one of the most talented footballers I'm ever likely to see at Fir Park, and I've no doubt he thoroughly enjoyed his five years with us. But there was only ever one team for him, and it wasn't Motherwell. (Or Clydebank...)

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I would definately have The Kaiser as a bona fide 'Well legend for a few reasons.

 

Got a really hard time from the fans when he first arrived, but instead of spitting the proverbial dummy, worked his ass off to improve his game, and got them back onside.

 

When we went into administration, stepped up to the plate as the senior player (even though he was mid-twenties), and from a playing perspective, carried our whole side through the worst period in history, led by example, and is one of the most professionally minded players off the field that i've ever witnessed. Whilst we had a team full of youngsters which were entertaining at times, The Kaiser, for me, lifted the whole team on his shoulders and guided it through that whole period.

 

Not to mention the fact that he took a huge pay cut to stay at the club at the time (I think it might have actually been two), and being lucky enough to know him personally it was for the good of the club that he took it and stayed, when he could easily have gone to at the very least another SPL club.

 

Ever since he arrived at Fir Park he was always about the fans. Again this is a personal note, but the one thing he always said to me was to tell him if the fans didnt like him, in which case he would move on. It was pretty much his only concern, and in my opinion it was plain to see that everything he did during his time with us was for the club and the fans.

 

Was, and still is, gutted to have been forced to move on. Unfortunately for him two serious injuries coming around the time of him starting a family (therefore getting injured and not being able to provide for them playing on his mind), coming so close after losing his father (at which point he almost quit the game for good), just meant he wasnt at the top of his game anymore, and for various other reasons had been told he wouldnt feature for the first team again under McGhee/Leitch, he was left with no option but to move on.

 

Added to that, he's in the top 10 all time appearances for our club (i think...if he's not, he's not far off it).

 

I personally would be extremely surprised if anyone could put together any sort of case for him to NOT be considered a 'well legend. Especially if you'd consider Faddy to be one which I dont dispute, but really all he did was be good enough that someone wanted to pay a decent amount of money. If he'd left us and been shite, and not played for Scotland, I doubt he'd be held in as high regard as he is. Again, not de-valuing Faddy at all, I just think think if he is, then The Kaiser most certainly is. I think it's pretty much a given that a player looked up to and respected by someone you'd class as a legend, must also be considered one.

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Obviously the likes of Cooper O Donnell are no brainers in this category but recently i have scoffed at the suggestion that Corrigan could be a Well legend.

Martyn Corrigan will, without doubt, go down as one of our more modern 90's/2000's legends in my opinion. Infact, on a totally personal level, I'd say he was far more deserving than Davie Cooper when you are talking about MOTHERWELL FC. legends (as Davie was, as we all know, a Rangers legend).

 

Martyn played just short of 300 games for the club - most of which he played at an exceptionally high standard. He's the guy that took wage cuts to stay at Motherwell despite having better offers from other SPL teams (who weren't always honest about their approaches to him). We're talking about a guy who walked away from a testimonial because he didn't want to disgrace himself or the club by sitting in the stands or on the bench.

 

Kaiser is, without any question of a doubt in my eyes, one of the very few modern (i.e. last ten years) legends the clubs has!

 

'Flow

 

EDIT: Al beat me too it!

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Couldn't argue with AL B or Flow and would put the Kaiser up there.

 

Also, in my time, I'd also be putting forward Joe Wark and Dougie Arnott, another 2 guys who dedicated their professional careers to the club.

 

No doubt I'll think of many more as we add to this thread

 

 

MON RA DOSSERS

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Agree about Cooper. Never got why everyone thinks of him so highly, maybe down to me never seeing him play, but he was a rangers man first and foremost.

 

McFadden I think is a legend because he lightened up what was very bad time for the club.

 

I'll go as far as to say that we shouldn't have named stand after him etc given we have people more 'Motherwell' than he was but not for one second would I not consider him a Motherwell legend.

 

He was quite simply the most talented player we had in my time watching Motherwell. The influence he had on younger players around him like Tom Boyd and Phil O'Donnell was obvious and the skills he showed transformed us from a rather dour team under Tommy McLean into one well worth watching. For £50k what a bargain. Given he is also one of the 91 cup heroes there is no doubt in my mind.

 

I was rarely more disappointed than when he missed out on Italia 90 with injury after playing his way back into Scotland fold in the claret and amber.

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You can't tell who is a legend until about 100 years after they are gone. If people are still talking about them, then they *might* be a legend.

 

For me, Davie Cooper was a footballing legend who happened to play at Motherwell. Joe Wark, Wullie P and their ilk were Motherwell legends.

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In context of football very few names will be considered legendary 100 years after their time if people still talking abut them is the criteria. Pele, Maradonna...

 

Hell the 52 cup team isn't that long ago and they all Motherwell legends but most of us would have to look them up for reminders of their names, Redpath, Humphries, Watson and I had to look up Kelly just to get the fourth name on the scoresheet, certainly couldn't do the whole team off the top of my head.

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Like many above I'd see the Kaiser is definitely more of a Motherwell legend than Cooper. I'd say Faddy has the potential to be a Scotland legend but you can't really say he's of worthy of Motherwell legend status....when he comes back and finishes his career here winning us a few trophies then we can re-evaluate :angry:

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I HATE when people use the word legend to describe just anyone, especially those who have passed on to whom it is merely a sympathy vote. There are very few worthy of such a tag and in my relatively recent days watching the 'well i think Kaiser Corrigan is the only one. Also, although i have seen players such as Stevie Kirk playing im really too young to remember them clearly.

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Agreed, what Al_B said there sums up perfectly my feelings on the Kaiser and how he became "Mr Motherwell" in my eyes.

 

These days, I think it's very difficult to describe a player as a club legend and is done so far far too often. However, the term footballing legend is more likely these days as a lot of players change club. For example, if faddy's goal in france had resulted in us getting to the Euro's then he would've instantly became a scottish footballing legend, writing himself into folklore. It's not always about how long or how consistent they play, but very often a split second in a players career can escalate him into the upper echelons of fans minds.

 

For me, what makes a legend is also about what wonderful thing they do in their careers, as well as how they carry themselves off.

 

To my mind that's how the likes of Henrik Larsson, Brian Laudrup, Davie Cooper etc will go down as footballing legends over some other fantastic players who carry themselves with disdain and aren't professional in the slightest.

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Motherwell legends:-

 

- John "Sailor" Hunter

- The entire 1932 League Winning Squad

- George Stevenson

- The entire 1952 Scottish Cup Winning Team

- The entire 1951 League Cup Winning Team

- Tommy McLean

- The entire 1991 Scottish Cup Winning Team

- The Ancell Babes

- Charlie Aitken

- Joe Wark

- Willie Pettigrew

- Martyn Corrigan

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Motherwell legends:-

 

- John "Sailor" Hunter

- The entire 1932 League Winning Squad

- George Stevenson

- The entire 1952 Scottish Cup Winning Team

- The entire 1951 League Cup Winning Team

- Tommy McLean

- The entire 1991 Scottish Cup Winning Team

- The Ancell Babes

- Charlie Aitken

- Joe Wark

- Willie Pettigrew

- Martyn Corrigan

ME..!!

 

There you go, sorted...!! :woop:

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Hugh Sproat deserves a mention

 

Shuggy Shuggy swing on the bar, don't get that kind of banter these days with players. Plus he looked like a rocker more than a goalie.

 

Bobby Graham, class act (ok bobby get the beers up) he made Willie Pettigrew ya know :woop:

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Bobby Graham, class act (ok bobby get the beers up) he made Willie Pettigrew ya know :unsure:

 

C'mon now, you can't say that on a public forum when you know that "journalists" from low-dealing scum rags might be watching. We'll know where to put the blame if the Sun runs a "Bobby Graham was Willie Pettigrew's Dad" headline tomorrow.

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Motherwell legends:-

 

- John "Sailor" Hunter

- The entire 1932 League Winning Squad

- George Stevenson

- The entire 1952 Scottish Cup Winning Team

- The entire 1951 League Cup Winning Team

- Tommy McLean

- The entire 1991 Scottish Cup Winning Team

- The Ancell Babes

- Charlie Aitken

- Joe Wark

- Willie Pettigrew

- Martyn Corrigan

 

 

 

 

[LEG-END]1.a nonhistorical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.

 

Certainely agree with this list, theres so many players who deserve to be fondly remembered but are not classed as legends. I don't know if i right in saying,but if motherwell won league cup in 2005 no matter how many games all the squad played in they would be instant legends. Same goes for League campaign in 1994/95.

I think its hard classing a legend i think its just the players that knuckle down and play consistently well. theres players such as stevie woods who made hundreds of apperances in 9 years but would be hardly classed a legend, no disrespect.

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