Goggles & Flippers

Haw Wideo, someone's off to case his gaff

You saying we're part of the establishment now?

Cheers, just watched it there. McManus was hardly in it, and McFadden squared a decent ball for McHugh, don't know what you lot are all talking about! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Al is suggesting that McFadden's reputation earned through his ability means opposition tactics will be to tighten/double up on him opposed to anyone else due to his perceived ability to change games. Consequently this gives the rest of our players more freedom and the chance of losing their markers/covering players. Not everything in football is as binary as shite/good.

Are the BBC uploading highlights on a Sunday night this season or have things changed on that front again? I can't keep up.

and mine too

Keepers, haven't seen enough of either to comment. Defence Is picking itself with Hammell, McManus, Hutchison and Ramsden/Kerr. McCall has cited issues with being outplayed in midfield in most of our pre-season games (well from the snippets I've seen on the official site). For that reason I see a midfield of Vigurs, Carswell, Lasley & Lawson with McFadden dropping back to help. Sutton up front as a target man. If we're chasing it, then whoever's being least effective in midfield would be subbed. However could see Ramsden/Kerr sacrificed to a back three as the two centre halves are imposing and you've got speed from Hammell for a degree of cover. Alternative is ZFA on with McFadden pushed to a more forward position in support. I can't see Henri feature unless he's being doing something in training to impress.

£2.3million according to here for POD. Motherwell Transfer Fee Database Looking through it over the years there are some shockers.

As far as I understand it, you go to a meeting and voice your suggestions/concerns/opinions. If not possible you write to Alison or a board member or a fellow society member and ask them to act as a proxy and communicate it on your behalf. Alternative is you come on a forum and poke holes/cry conspiracies. Totally agree with Tweed on this one, a defining missing element was a decent number of £25,000 business' signing up, which looks like its being addressed with a new approach. Combine that with the club's reliance on the 3,000-4,000 core support, yet again milking the easy targets. We have a further 3-5k regular but lapsed attenders from past 10-15 years plus a further 5k occasional "fair weather" fans and 10k of people who would identify with the club but would only attend cup finals etc. Add to that the the disinterested/disenfranchised/newly arrived in the area and those who wouldn't consider the club unless they are engaged directly in the local area (Bellshill/Motherwell/Wishaw and outlying towns) minus the hardened old firm fans = 50k more. These people are harder to get involved but importantly, its a new revenue stream not a well tested and tired one.

We applaud the club for its openness, certainly heads and shoulders above any other I can think of in the SPL. However when we sell a player there is no mention of a sell on clause or further kickbacks doesn't mean they aren't in place, surely the club is allowed to keep a few bit and pieces close to its chest. We all were pretty unanimous that The Rangers FC (est. 2012) should be demoted, the club said "OK, however there's going to be a shortfall, you're going to have to help us make it up". Ideally I reckon they would have prefered it would be through increased gates (500 from the Board statement I recall). We didn't manage to get those floating supporters and the lapsed to commit despite the success on the park, consequently we run at a loss. We now have a management in place who can countenance a loss if in any way its going to affect the club's sustainability, that means unfortunately players see out their contracts and move on for free as any canny agent will tell them, "if you have no transfer fee, then we can get you a higher wage". Its odd how one extra round in the Scottish Cup and Ross County/ICT being replaced by Hearts/Hibs in the top six would have made a big difference to our balance sheet. Personally I reckon within the next 5 years, 6-10 clubs in Scotland's top 4 leagues will go bust and wind up due to unsustainability, I don't think for a minute Motherwell is one of them.

Always makes me smile when I read "some people" when it should read "I". Do you not think that as a former assistant manager and the relatively small sector he works in of 100-120 jobs in the UK (half being off limits as they've got long term appointees or poison chalices) it would make sense to burn his bridges and snub a club going about seeking his services in the correct manner? By which I mean they approach the club formally and request it opposed to sneeky shit. Don't you think the way he conducts himself both in post match interviews and any general dealings show his character is incomparable with that of McGhee and the two coffin dodgers? Of course there is no pleasing some people. I for one am happy to retain his services and if he does move on I wish him all the best as he's a gentleman who has created an atmosphere which make our little club that little bit more attractive for a player. There were cries of impending doom when he was appointed by many, when Jennings waved goodbye, etc. and here we are, a club with 3,000 core support enjoying success that most others in the league outwith Celtic would snap our fingers off for. If he does end up at Rangers like Law eventually I'll look back at what he did while in claret and amber and be thankful we had them during this period opposed to being labelling them a Judas for moving on for more money and greater opportunity (Granted Law may have to wait a couple of years for that), because few people on this forum would do anything different in their own career progression.

Isn't it just no matter how good you are there is a healthy disregard south of the border for the level of our game and quality of the players in it? The Sheffield United forum digging into us and the standard of the achievements that McCall has attained, Ruddy getting interviewed by some smug prick in a regional English football show after his move to Norwich, etc. are prime examples of this. Isn't it just we see a player, think they could do a job at the Brighton's and Nottingham Forest's of this world, unfortunately they aren't seen the same way down south and carry less of a premium? Case in point being Murphy, there were people on these boards suggesting that he was easily a +£1m player. Law's moved, we'll replace him like we did with Coke, Jennings and a host of all other players that too many predicted impending doom after their loss. I can only imagine playing in front of 45k baying bigots and picking up a healthy bit of cash compared to what he was on here were the draws for him. He's probably been sold into the "help us rebuild into a force again in European football" pish. It's not fair to say anything about what was a good servant to our club when we don't know what other offers were on the table for him. On paper it appears a lack of ambition, however if the only other hat in the ring was Cheltenham Town on £500 more than we were paying him then it makes sense.

If I was him I'd be sitting thinking the following ..... Season 1 - Came in halfway through, got a Scottish Cup Final and top 6 Season 2 - Best of the rest, despite losing some valuable squad members, brought in a couple of decent lads with Law sticking out (had worked with him before and knew he had something) and Higgy especially in the second year of his deal. Season 3 - Best of the rest, lost a couple of key players and due to their performances and a few may also be headed elsewhere. Got the Scotland backroom job and respect from my peers in award nominations and in the press. Season 4 - Looking to do pretty much a partial rebuild as performances over the past year in particular have ensured that a number of players can move on to make an extra cash despite enhanced offers. The club needs to sell one young asset per year to progress and remain financially viable as income from 4,500 core fans, prize money and telly only goes so far. This could involve Ojamaa or Hutch as these are our best hopes. Been out the loop in the English lower leagues for 2.5 years now, knowledge is more in Scottish game. Team at present needs 6-8 resignings/new faces/youth team promotions and stands as: ----------------- Hollis ------------------ ? - Hutch - Ramsden - Hammell ? -- Lasley -- Carswell -- Lawson ---------- Ojamma ---- ? ------------- Bench GK? Cummins ZFA McHugh ? ? ? Ambition - I'd ask myself, how will the rest of the division do next year? Will our competitors lose a number of their key players too? If so, then what are our chances of attaining top 6 again? Will that raise my stock both here and down south further? Will staying in Scotland cement my standing or do I see myself settling in an environment that everyone seems to say is a pleasure to be involved in? Do I harbour ambitions of managing at the very top level, would staying put for another few years help with that or not? Is the grass really greener at Sheffield Utd? I wasn't given a baptism of fire at Motherwell, there was a strong core of players, covering a wide age range with a high morale level. Will I enter a similar situation of have to take two steps back (resulting in criticism from the impatient) to go one forward? I'd probably have a rebuild here too granted with greater resources. Do I want to put my family through another move and upheaval to potentially be cut adrift in 6-12 months time if it doesn't go to plan? If so, would my stock recover (McGhee?), if so, how long will it take and will I get back into a working environment like Motherwell? Will I have burned my bridges?

It's just typical of supporting this team that those in form hit the headlines due to their form as their contracts run out, it woulda been nice if Higgy lit the heather alight the season before last when in mid contract. Only one that surprised me was Randolph not going in the last 2 windows (he made SPL team of the year last year too) and I can't imagine he wasn't on a few radars. Looking back over 20 years the last players we cashed in on in any way were Tom Boyd (1.06m) POD (2.33m), Steve McMillan (704k), Lee McCulloch (880k), Pearo (462k), Faddy (1.45m), Jim Patterson (528k), Skippy (836k) Chris Porter (528k) and Clarky (836k). Of course these are the headline figures that are published not every transfer will be or take into account add ons such as future transfers or appearance money. Think of all the other quality players who left on a free or for buttons. Football finances have changed in that period, as has the general standard south of the border as money has trickled down. The most highly rated Well player back in the day would be expected to sign for a Premiership or Championship club at least. But we also had a national team that went to World Cup's and had 8,500 to 9,000 at FP every fortnight.