wellwisherwinnipeg

In 20 years of playing amateur football, I have never had a ref stop the game for a water break, and we regularly played in 30 + C temperatures. This would not be considered extreme temperatures over here....just a normal summer. In a tournament I remember playing 2 games in 1 day in 35 C heat and never got a break from the ref !!! I have never seen a ref do this in any football match in North America but I guess we are just more used to this type of heat than in parts of Europe. I think it is a great idea though not only for health reasons but it should improve performances. As has been mentioned, the only good thing this ref did !!

Sounds like Gannon's contacts in England are about to pay dividends. ( unlike all the talk of contacts in England and Germany that McGhee assured us he had !! ) Seems we will have 1 signing ASAP ( Humphreys ) with another 3 or so shortly, if rumours are to be believed. Here are a few other unconfirmed rumours I have found ( apologies if posted already ) : 1) Christian Nade - Hearts 2) VAN ZANTEN - Hibs FOR 100K

Thanks H. I found the thread, not a ton of detail as to why though.

I am watching the Scottish Masters live on Setanta Canada ( Sky feed ), currently Sellic vs DU. Tommy Boyd and Andy Walker playing for Sellic. TB just kicked the crap out of Brewster and gave up a penalty. Bizarre that I am watching a live feed from Braehead on Setanta with Setanta UK done. Did MFC not enter a team this year ? If not, why ?

The fact that folk hardly talk about the 'fishel site these days is a testament to the fact that people are generally happy with it. Moaners are always much more loud than happy people ! Back on the mailing list years back, many of us raised our concerns over the poor quality of the site and lack of timely info. It was the last source of Well info for me, behind the "unofficial", FPC and BBC. Now I check it out right away as the info IS timely and the presentation is much more interesting. We now get more info on it than before, even if some moan about the strip and grass updates, that is what the site is designed to do......to give as much Well info as possible and keep the fans engaged and connected. I for one am happy about that. I think the club should should be commended for listening to the fans and taking the site more seriously. Having a dedicated EE like Flow, with links to the fanbase, is also a good move. A few questions... ** Flow; what is the status of putting highlights / video interviews etc on the site ? I remember you saying last year that it was coming soon. I have seen this on a number of wee'er club sites and would love to see it on ours. ** Re the Unofficial (www.motherwellfc.org) ....is it done? It was last updated at the end of January. If I remember, family committments are an issue but will the site return at some point ? I have checked it our for many, mnay years and appreciated the efforts.

It also puts the spotlight on the extreme necessity of MFC to find increased football AND non football revenue streams. The sad reality is that it looks like increasing our fan base substantially is not an option and that limits the possibilities of substantially increasing sponsorship options. So in order to satisfy the demands of the fans for better players, we need to find cash from another source or accept mediocrity / fear of relegation. And just ask Dundee or Partick if it is easy to rebound to the SPL quickly. A well planned complex at Ravenscraig seems to be in the mindset of JB et al, seeing that the future finances in our current state are not too rosy. While the hotel option may or may not be the answer, perhaps a club owned community sports complex is. Maybe this is a way to increase facility usage due to central location easily accessible to the main motorway ?? Junior matches, Scotland team training, Scotland matches vs smaller nationsclub etc.. And of course a club pub should work, perhaps the "Dougie Arms" ??!! Any other ideas out there ?

Your probably right. I really think that JB put alot of weight on the fact that Gannon is used to working with little cash and developing youth but especially the fact that he will know the lower divisions in England and could uncover some diamonds in the rough ( no offense intended to any Airdrie fans ! )

A barrel of laughs, eh SuperSteelman ??

I hope we finalise the Gannon paperwork ASAP and convince Hughes to stay. Sounds like Hughes is trying to convince himself of reasons to stay and having a solid Manager could be the final reason. He is THE guy in the middle and would be very dificult to replace. As much as I would like to see Clarky and McLean stay (less bothered about Quinn), it would be tougher road to replace Hughes in the "engine room" of the park. For many years we have craved a solid playmaker in the middle of the park and now we have one. It would be great to see him in C an A this season and build a team around him. Let's hope Hughes puts off the inevitable "move down south" for a few years.

I don't quite follow that , simply stating that after giving it some thought, MFC have not shown the necessary skills needed to get into the hospitality industry and do it well. So we might as well not get involved at this time and get slaughtered, until we show we can do it well. The niggling issues I highlighted, and others like it, are ones we have been discussing for a long time, back to the mailing list times. As someone who runs a business, I know that taking care of the small stuff is very important to how you are viewed by your customers. I and others just get frustrated when MFC management ignores the small stuff when it is easily fixed. Why not remove the opportunity for people to complain about the club ?

No doubt, but is 6:30 PM close instead of 4:30 PM close not more advantageous to the fans and offer the potential to MFC to sell more gear ? Who is buying in the morning ?

I was referring to getting bumped from your seat repeatedly by a season ticket holder saying "that's ma seat", yet there was no name on the seat. This has happened numerous times to me after deliberately choosing a "free" seat. I can't blame the season ticket holder but if the club are to use a name plate system, they should keep them up to date. The ideal solution is simply to assign seats via a ticket purchased like is common over here. No confusion, no potential bother to your paying customer.

While I still think the concept could work if done properly and bring in extra cash to MFC, your use of the phrase "best left to the experts" caused me to think twice. Ours is a club that : ** takes months to replace the P in park, only as a result of pressure from the fans. ** can't be bothered to replace season ticket holders name plates on their seats, causing needless bother for fans. ** Insists on opening the club shop in morning when most are at work and refuse to open over supper time after work when most could actually visit it. ** my personal favourite, puitting up with a brutal PA system that not only does not inform fans, but irritates them !! If we were looking to generate extra cash at Ravenscraig, mibee we should stick to the only guaranteed money earner, a pub !!

I agree, from what I have learned about him he seems to be a good fit for us. If JB pulls it off, he should be commended for another shrewd move. But really, who cares if he is English / (or Irish for that matter)! Is he a good manager, will he help the Well, that is what counts. I assume you were "joking" but this outdated parochial attitude does Scotland no favours !

I agree that Boothroy and Gannon could offer us alot and their contacts in England outside the Premiership could be useful to us. If we are looking for a breath of fresh air with different attitudes, I wouldn't worry about their lack of Scottish experience, that might be an advantage. As long as we get an assistant with Scottish experience to complelent the manager, we should be okay. I also agree with others who have commented on the quality of applicants as compared to the uninspiring guys at Hibs, Falkirk and Aberdeen. Perhaps as a result of 2 sucessive years in Europe.... perhaps as a result of a shrewd bit of business by our supremo JB ?? I think the JB boo birds should give him some credit on this one.

At least a hotel near the Ravenscraig Stadium would have a chance given the proximity to Strathclyde Park and easy access to the main motorway. Killie have neither of these factors in their favour. If the entertainment opportunities were enhanced in the planned Ravenscraig townsite, a hotel could work for MFC as long as it were in the budget category similar to a Travelodge. MFC buying a Travelodge franchise with a bar could make sense as it is cheaper than the Holiday Inn competition. Speaking as a tourist, I almost exclusively choose Travelodge for comfort and value as most hotel prices in UK are ridiculous IMHO. Budget hotels are the wave of the future replacing the now overpriced B & B's that often do not offer value. Travelodge also offer REAL budget prices unlike so called budget prices like Premier Inn etc... They are located in some less than fashionable locales in UK and are sucessful. ( No, I do not own shares in TL , just offering my travel experiences from countless visits ). A budget hotel near the main motorway would offer a central Scotland location near Glasgow, close to Edinburgh and with easy access to the Borders / England by car and train. I wouldn't write off this idea just yet, as long as it is done properly, it could still work.

Bit of a laugh really ....Kilmarnock are not at the top of my holiday plans !! Only draw are their pies and I have yet to get one as they are sold out at half time when I have been there .

I am not sure what is going on in Canada as apparently Setanta International is not affected, not sure why. I am still watching it and the statement on the NA Setanta site says its business as usual. I assume they got enough subscribers over here to fit the business model and keep going, but who will provide the content ? I guess they are in waiting mode for ESPN ( TSN in Canada ) to buy the rights ??

While I understand MFC are not made of money but that PA system is a disgrace. It is an essential part of the match, not a luxury. It's not like the fans are demanding self serve toasters to brown their hot dog buns ! Surley it can't cost that much to fix it ??!! While I only get to a game or 2 a summer (it's a long swim across the pond), the pathetic sound in the east stand always stands out and leaves a negative impression. It just smells hokie and unprofessional. While Twitter is a nice option for those interested in it ( not me ) and kudos for MFC for a progressive move, please take care of the basics first !

I agree Dave, MM has elevated our style of play and for that we should be grateful. He has done so not with a big budget but by making some shrewd acquisitions but mostly badgered our players into fitness and instilled a belief that they could be better. This will be very hard to replace IMHO. While I am sad he is moving on to a marginally bigger club, I think the sentimental lure was huge and he likely thinks he has a better probability of getting to Europe on a regular basis.I can't begrudge him the chance of managing his old club but suspect he will be using it as a stepping stone to get a job down in England in the near future. That is his ultimate goal, Aberdeen just presented itself at the right time for him. As for Leitch, money talks as they say but I suspect he is relishing the learning experience working alongside MM. He probably is prepping for his own foray into management. I can't really blame him for that nor question his loyalty. First and foremost, he must do what is best for his career. Now if he starts up the "Motherwell man" talk the next time he is looking for work then that is another story. Best of luck to the guys. Let's hope we can get another guy in who is football astute and is a good man manager / motivator.