WishyWell

Exactly. Most stories for national dailies are written bigger than the space on the page they end up in - especially if it is submitted by a freelance or news agency, who get paid according to the space the published story fills on the page. Even staff reporters write longer than needed, because it is easier for a sub to cut a story down than to lengthen it if it is too short. The basic copy sub will then be given the text and a frame to fit it into, and will then have to decide what to cut out to make it fit. He/she will also rewrite according to the paper's style of writing and style of content. The Sun has a very precise style based on keeping things concise and punchy - it is often said in journalistic circles that it is far harder to write for the Sun than the broadsheets, because it is far easier to cover a story with more words rather than keep the essence of it in a very restricted space. Even after it has been subbed, it will then pass through at least two more levels of subbing, therefore adding at least two more opinions on what the story should focus on, and more changes will ensue. In other words, criticising Scott for missing anything out is way off the mark.

Fixed it for you. It's the only explanation for that comment.

What worries me most about the Old Firm proposal is the level of control it would give them. I would be concerned about how much say it would give them over the money coming into the SPL. The influence they already have is bad enough - if they can widen the gap in TV money received, and then you add in the extra money they get from playing in Europe and sponsorship deals, the existing gap between them and the other clubs will just get bigger and bigger. Considering how often they whine about not doing well in Europe because they don't get much of a challenge domestically, they don't half work hard to maintain, and increase, the imbalance that creates that situation. It is especially galling since the disproportionately large size of the clubs has been achieved in the first place by decades of shamelessly exploiting the bigotry that has blighted our nation. Then they have the cheek every now and again (especially that prize arse Lawell) to bleat about wanting to move to the English league - but only now that they have bled the rest of Scottish football dry like a couple of bloated leaches looking for a new body to suck life from and inject their infection into. Sorry for the rant that this descended into, but this latest bully-boy move by them just reminded me how much I detest the very air breathed by those two hypocritical, self-serving, self-centred, embarrassing, destructive and unbelievably arrogant puddles of scum.

In fairness, that's a bit of an unfair comparison. After all, Kristian is single-handedly taking on Falkirk on Thursday.

I seem to remember, from another thread, that it was Sutton's toilet activities we were interested in. Therefore I'm not paying any attention to this rumour.

Don't know if it's been mentioned but Macca and Luc have been spotted in Fir Park just now.

He said nothing about it this morning on Clyde and I wouldn't expect him to - it's more his style to take a huff and not mention anything to do with us at all. But then I'd prefer it he didn't say anything about us and left the reporting to real journalists, rather than sensationalist hacks who spout every rumour going about so when one comes to pass they can claim they said it first (if there are any real journalists left). It's a sad day when reporters want to become minor celebrities in their own right and then have to live up to the charicature that they have become, rather than just quietly getting on with ferreting out a good story and reporting the facts. Sorry, I'll climb off my soapbox now...

From what I've seen, there are quite a few talented boys throughout the age groups at Fir park, from the 1999s right through to under-19s. The club generally don't shout about them to avoid putting too much pressure on them... and to avoid, especially as they get older, the Press putting too much pressure on them (I remember doing an article for a local paper about the Motherwell youth system and being asked by the club not to mention a 15-year-old called Jamie McFadden). Also, different boys mature as players at different rates or reach their potential at dfifferent ages, so it is difficult to be confident at an early age which ones will make it all the way and which ones will drop just short. This boy does seem to be good for his age (albeit with a more active PR agent that some of the others) and so good luck to him and all of the other promising youngsters at Fir Park - and long may we keep them out of the clutches of the Ugly Sisters in Glasgow.

For the record, the boys going round last week were Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers under-10s, who sent two teams down to a tournament in Lytham St Anne's and won the trophy, with both teams making it to the final and one of them beating last year's champions, Morcambe, who boasted players from Man U and Liverpool. Yesterday, it was three of Motherwell Pro-Youth sqauds: the under-11s, under-12s and under-13s and a few from the older squads. I only know because I was lucky enough to have my boys involved on each occasion - if I'd had to rely on the tannoy, I'd never have known. If there was an emergency announcement, God knows how they would get the message over.

Whoa there! Keep your fantasies to yourself please, missy. That's the sort of comment that gives us old guys palpitations...

Just a suggestion. If you had ever heard me sing, you'd know if i ever tried I'd have the ground cleared in under a minute.

You can keep yer Gerard and Fabregas, 'Cos Maros Klimpl will kick your ass. You can run away, but make it fast, Or Maros Klimpl will kick your ass. You better get used to a plaster cast, 'Cos Maros Klimpl will kick your ass. In the tunnel, or on the grass, Maros Kilmpl will kick your ass Can you spot a theme developing here...?

I suppose it all comes down to why you go to games. I go because Motherwell are my team and whenever I can watch them I do.

Agreed - especially as two news agencies were chasing the story for the nationals after it appeared in the EK News. They were desperately trying to find the woman on the basis that several neighbours had told them it wasn't as straightforward as it had been reported. I'm not saying the boy should get off with being disciplined in whatever way is appropriate by the club (bearing in mind the court thought a £150 fine was appropriate) as the basic fact of what he did was wrong, but we don't know the full circumstances and it is difficult to judge whether his career should be destroyed or not without knowing them.

There was a nice bit at half-time, too, when Daz spotted an older man (his grandfather?) and stopped to talk to him - he could have been perfectly pleasant and said "Great to see you but I've got to get inside with the team", but instead was quite obviously delighted to see him, gave him a hug and talked for a minute before heading in after the others. No hint of the 'big-headed professional footballer' attitude, just a genuinely nice and natural boy and a credit to claret and amber.

Black boots/trainers for football. White trainers for poncy things like tennis, croquet, badminton, etc. No messin'.

That would be particulary appropriate as he does have a face that already looks as if it has received a few kickings too many.

Joint award: Willie P and Joe Wark.

Just a few snippets from the last few months for you: 1. Jim O'Brien has been given a few starts and threatens to look like a decent player. 2. Steven Craigan went out injured and was replaced eventually by someone with the same name, who looks just like him, but who has miraculously managed to stabilise the defence. 3. Maros Klimpl has been converted from a centre-half who looked almost as much of an accident waiting to happen as Steven McManus (probably coming from an enthusiastic eager-to-please attitude that saw him chasing down and crunching any opposition player who came near the ball) into a midfield destroyer/cult hero/regular man-of-the-match contender, due to his enthusiastic eager-to-please attitude that sees him chasing down and crunching any opposition player who comes near the ball. 4. As a result of Snippet 3, Boab has disappeared. 5. Ports went off to join Cloughie jnr at Derby, saying all the right things, and was replaced by a loan signing from Celtic, Kellyann Sheridan, who is quite physical for a girl, charges around enthusiastically, and scored a cracker against Inverness. 6. Accies are still irritating turds, with Billy Reid and James McCarthy ahead of the pack in the race to be Turd of the Year and Young Turd of the Year, respectively. 7. Coach hasn't punched anyone (that we know of). 8. The Old Firm are delightfully shite. 9. Fizzy scored with his head and Coach scored with his left foot. And for a trio of surprising but wonderful occurrences, Stretch returned to first team action as if he had never been away, after 25 years out injured. 10. In a tribute to the fallen heroes of the First World War, the Fir Park surface has been removed and replaced with the Somme battlefield. This act of remembrance serves a double purpose in that we can use it to get it right up Smeltic, whose players don't like playing on it and whose fans don't like British acts of remembrance. Hope this helps.

It was well known at the Hamilton Advertiser at the time that the Accies players hated playing on the artificial pitch, but the paper were too scared to print that in case the top brass at the club fell out with them.

This was the last game before a new maximum attendance was imposed for safety reasons, and since it was close to, if not bang on, a full house that day, it made it impossible to better it afterwards. My wee brother was the mascot that day, the team got in their faces and put them in their place when they thought they just had to turn up and show us how much better they were than us, and it turned out a most excellent day. Incidentally, games against St Mirren in the 70s/80s always seemed to be kicking matches more than any other fixture, with both sides fully participating, not just this game.

Unless you're James McCarthy...

Me too. I always have a particular soft spot for anyone from that team. I'm off to Amazon now...

Ok, Well Up For It!, there you go (don't know how to upload an image, so I've just scanned in the text): 13th February, 1998 Dear Mr Gullit, I was saddened to hear last night that you had left Chelsea, as I felt that the style of play you introduced to the English Premiership was a breath of fresh air, certainly for the neutral Scottish football fan who just wants to watch an entertaining game. However, this does open up an interesting possibility. Motherwell FC, who will next year be one of the founder members of the new Scottish Premiership, lost their manager this week, and I would urge you to give serious consideration to the reasons I give below for you to apply for this vacant post as player-manager. If you join the club in this capacity, I feel that the benefits to the club and to Scottish football are obvious, with your proven track record both as a player and a manager and with your standing in football in general. At first glance, you may not consider there to be many benefits to yourself. On closer inspection, however, there are several attractions for you: • Next season (1998-99) marks a new era in Scottish football, with the establishment of a new and more competitive top league and more money for each of the top ten clubs involved; • Motherwell fans love players and managers with flair and skill - for instance, the late Davie Cooper was idolised during his time at the club, and attracted greater attendances through his presence; • Motherwell has potential, under the right manager, to grow - although the club is near the foot of the Premier League at the moment, in recent years they finished third and second in the league, and could possibly have won it if they had possessed more self-belief; • There is also potential for the fan base to grow. There is a solid core of loyal fans at them moment, but the club loses many more football followers to Rangers and Celtic each week. However, it is getting harder each year for people to get seats at Rangers and Celtic games, and if Motherwell could become a viable alternative, then many of these fans could be won back. For example, when Motherwell won the Scottish Cup in 1991, they easily sold out of their allocation of tickets for the final at the national stadium, and the entire town, men, women and children, went 'cup crazy'. There is a great deal of affection in the town for the football club, and the club needs to take advantage of that; • Flair players flourish in Scottish football, and are highly regarded for their skills throughout the country - take the examples of Brian Laudrup and Paul Gascoigne, for instance. Motherwell must achieve its potential in order to survive, and the names being suggested for the manager's position have neither the experience at the top level of management and playing to achieve this. You have, and I would urge you to consider contacting the club and enquiring about the possibility of joining them. I would emphasise that I have no official connection with the club, but I am worried that the board of directors would feel that you would not consider the club as a possibility and would not consider contacting you themselves. I, however, remember that when you joined Chelsea, you stated your feeling that the challenge would be the adventure, and for Motherwell this would certainly be the case. For that reason, I can offer the following contact: Alan Dick, Director and Secretary, at Fir Park, Fir Park Street, Motherwell, Lanarkshire, tel.: 01698 333333. If this has sparked some interest in you, I would ask you to act quickly, before the board commits itself to another route. If you decide that it is of no interest to you, may I take this chance to wish you luck and happiness in your future, and thank you for the enjoyment you have brought to me both through your playing and management.

Right story - just the timings are slightly wrong. It was in February 1998 and Gullit had just left Chelsea. Motherwell were looking for a new manager after McLeish and the board were meeting on a Sunday to discuss possible candidates. In a fit of optimism, I sent a fax to Gullit's agent the Friday before (ironically, Friday the 13th), enclosing a letter to the big man urging him to consider the Motherwell job. I talked up the club as much as I could and reminded him that, when he joined Chelsea, he had said that "the challenge would be the adventure" - and pointed out that, at Motherwell, this would certainly be the case! I faxed it off and promptly forgot about it - then couldn't believe it when I later heard that he actually had contacted the club! I still have a copy of the letter to remind me of the value of a "Why not...?" attitude! And what did Motherwell do at the time. One word. Kampman.