[If You Had The Chance To Improve The Club...]

Pool tables, decent tv and decent pints in the cooper suite and have it operating as a pub/members club. Open maybe 3-4 nights per week + on big games outwith those days.

 

Potentially a wee bit of an earner, but conscious of taking business away from JD's - don't care much for the Fir Park Club myself.

 

Football idol - fans go along to a few pre-arranged friendly matches and get a game amongst each other, have judges (coaches) there. Select an 11 out of the best lot and get them to play a wee match against maybe the reserves / under-19's or something and one or two lucky folk get to train with the club with all the gear etc for a month, and if they impress, get a chance to win a wee 6 month deal or something.

 

Not necessarily gonna yield the next ronaldo but there are a lot of good junior/amateur players out there and you never know! Also would gain exposure in the press as a result and give a really positive vibe of the club, even if none of the players are good enough to take on necessarily.

 

Just a couple of things i've thought of.

 

To be honest, I think the club do a good job with the limited resources they have and the size of our support. A number of things we can rightly praise them on:

 

1. a first class website, probably one of the best looking and most functional in Scotland. If not even the best.

2. Away trip packages when we were in europe - professionally run, and well equipped to deal with just the right size of support there.

3. Collaborating with the trust and other groups to have things like the open forum nights. How many clubs do you know where the manager, chief exec and the like will turn up for these kind of things?

4. Open communication - on here and in other mediums. We are an SPL team. We log onto an unofficial forum. The chief exec of said club posts on here and reads a lot of the thread. That deserves a lot of credit IMO. Especially since Leeann re-iterates time and again of her open door policy with regard emails and discussions with fans.

5. The team. The team deserves a lot of credit for the way they go about their business. On and off the pitch. We are a team that tries to play football and gives opponents the respect they deserve - but not too much And our players are a credit to the club off the park in terms of doing work for charity, the community and generally behaving in the professional and polite manner we'd expect of them.

6. Youth development - a fantastic setup we have with such limited resources. Not really much more needing to be said about that.

 

 

The general nags I have are more ones that are generic to Scottish football as a whole, and are something we can't really do something about without either A. a change in mentality in the game overall or B. a huge injection to our finances. Such as:

 

1. Ticket prices. We can't lower ours if no-one else will do the same. It'd kill us.

2. Safe standing areas - I believe the legislation may change on this in future years.

3. The stadium and pitch - Not a lot we can do about it except patch up when we need to. We simply can't afford to either rebuild fir park or move to a new stadium the way that our club and the land value's finances are at the moment.

4. Cheaper replica kit - again, seems to be standard across the board.

5. More exciting football - needs a league restructure and football association legislative changes.

 

 

All in all I'd say I'm very proud to support Motherwell, and I think they deserve a lot of credit for what they do. From the players to Leeann, 'Flow, Wilma and the girls, JP etc etc. For me anyway, it seems like myself and the vast majority of people are pissed off at the football club inadvertantly due to issues outwith the club's direct control. I sincerely believe that if there was a way to significantly reduce entry prices and make the game a much more attractive prospect to us in terms of competitiveness and experience, they'd jump on it in a flash.

 

Great post Gaag. Counteracts all the negativity that is often projected on these boards. It's great to be a Well fan.

[Craigan Injury]

It's not an ideal time to have Craigan injured - on top of Saunders and Hammell - but from what I've seen to date, Jonathan Page appears a genuine prospect. I'd be happy with a back four of - Hately, Hutchison, Page and Gunning. The only concern is who is left on the bench for cover? The Cypriot guy doesn't appear to have materialised yet.

[Rangers Vs Motherwell Discussion Thread]

I agree Murphy should start match on the bench, along with Jeffers. I'd start with Jones on the left wing and Casagolda up front with Sutton. I hope Las is back to partner Jenno in the middle of the park. If Page has to come in to cover defence, I think he'll do OK.Like the Hampden match, the best way to play Rangers is to have a go at them. I think Rangers are weaker without McCulloch slugging it out in midfield.

[The Francis Jeffers Thread]

HE'S BIG

HE'S SCOUSE

HE LOOKS LIKE MICKEY MOUSE

IT'S FRANNY JEFFERS, FRANNY JEFFERS

 

Frannie Baws, Frannie Baws.

[The Francis Jeffers Thread]

I consider myself an optimist - but even I'm dubious about playing Jeffers. It's a big risk. In contrast, I think the risk of relegation is low. So why not go with Casagolda and McHugh? Save cash for rebuilding the side in the Summer.

[So The Question Of The Day Casagolda Or Jeffers]

Casagolda's match fit. Jeffers isn't.

[Ins & Outs]

I think we should go with the current squad now and keep money in the kitty til Summer time.

[Hamilton And St Mirren]

Agreed. However I cannot see us picking up more than 4 points out of those two games to be honest.

 

I can. We may have slipped down a peg or two, but we are still a better side than anything below us in the league.

[Kilmarnock]

Jennings. I propose he gets a new contract and made club captain.

[Casagolda]

I thought Casagolda looked alright against Killie. He worked hard but had to feed off scraps. I don't honestly think Sutton could have done anything more if he had started last night. Since he's signed up til the end of the season, why not give him a run in the team to see what he can do?

[Ins & Outs]

Former Everton striker Francis Jeffers is being offered a surprise return to British football with Stuart McCall's Scottish Premier League side Motherwell after a spell in Australia with Newcastle Jets.

Full story: Daily Mirror

 

A very big, and I suspect, expensive risk. Jeffers has had so many last chances, its hard to see him ever showing his potential talent. An injury prone, enigma.

 

I honestly don't see us declining into a relegation battle, so why not give Casagolda and McHugh (once fit) a chance. Neither are going to develop as mere late subs.

[Tactics]

It's early days yet. I do think McCall is going for caution first though. It's a shame cos we don't half look good going forward.

[Rangers]

Jennings for 90 minutes hard graft. Though special mention to Lasley for his running and goal. Missed him recently.

[Bookies Investigate Red Card]

I was just thinking about the Jennings enquiry walking out of the ground yesterday. Last month, steve was Scottish football's social leper. Four weeks later, he's man of the match at Hampden. Given the publicity this story got, there should at least be a statement issued from the bookies on the outcome of their enquiry.

[Derek Adams...]

I think we should give Derek Adams a break. I won't be a hypocrite. I swore at Adams on numerous occasions in the past.

[Hutchy]

With Hutch and Saunders in the side, I now get excited when we win a corner. At last, we have a variety of aerial threat. It's been a while since I felt that.

[Steve Jones]

Too early to say. How much football has he played recently? Let's give the guy a few games before commenting.

[Hibernian]

I agree with the sponsors -I thought Sutton worked tirelessly, especially when lefy on his own up front in the second half.

[Entrance Prices]

Within 2 hours of posting an idea to copy Germany, feedback indicates a positive picture. Cut prices, increase demand and raise new revenue. The future of Scottish football depends on encouraging old fans back, and attracting new interest. I often hear young guys talking about how they "don't follow Scottish football". This implies they have no real feel for live games and are instead attracted by the glamour of England and Spain on the telly.

 

The SPL and SFA have got develop a decent product and market it properly. You won't do that maintaining the status quo of Rangers, Celtic and a handfull of also rans in a 10 team league.

 

Does anyone know more about Dutch football? It's a small country, also dominated by 2/3 big teams.

[Entrance Prices]

Rather than winge about high ticket prices and value for money, can I ask a genuine question? How is German football financed?

 

The Bundeslige attracts huge gates and fans pay only a fraction of what we pay in Scotland. My son met a Bayern Munich fan who pays around €150 for his season ticket - that includes 6 Champions League games!

 

I appreciate Germany is a much larger country than Scotland, but nevertheless, I think we are talking about a relevant equation here. Lower prices leads to larger gates, and enables clubs to flourish.

 

Does anyone know what the situation is like in smaller European countries like Holland and Belgium?

 

Everyone shares the same belief that we need to market Scottish football effectively; increase attendances and attract revenue from TV. So rather than moaning about the status quo and making do with what we have got, I advocate researching what works better elsewhere, and trying it here.

[Ins & Outs]

see stephen hughes is now out of favour and has been told to look for another club

 

You just posted before I did. My only concern is Hughes will not be match fit, so I'm not sure what contribution he could make over the next few months. I certainly don't think we should expect the same player we had 2 years ago.

 

So far, most of the players we have been linked with, appear to come from the general pool of available, free talent. I wonder what connections Stuart McCall has himself. His knowledge of the lower English leagues were supposed to have been a prerequisite of the job.

[Blackman, Gow and Fitzpatrick]

I don't think Blackman makes or breaks our season. I'm a bit narked with Broon but hold nothing against Blackman. Thanks Nick for your 10 goals. Good luck with your career at Blackburn.

 

I don't think we were out done with Fitzy. He will have been attracted by a long term contract and regular first team football. He won't be missed.

 

Where does all this doom come from - "we won't sign anyone"? Wit more and more British sides trimming their squads, I think there is plenty of half decent players, like Blackman, looking for a contract or a loan. Give McCall a chance.

[Marc Fitzpatrick]

Great move for both parties. This frees up the wage bill to sign a decent, left sided midfielder. There's been loads of criticism for Fitzy - including from me. I hope regular, first team football in the First Division will help him realise his potential.

 

But see all that patter about decent, no-nonsense, honest, unglamorous, does all the dirty work, midfielder? That just reads as second rate. Lasley and Jennings do all the spade work in the middle of the park too - but play at a level comparable with SPL opposition.

 

Cheers Marc

[Dundee]

I'm perplexed. Two people have voted for Fitzy. I'm all for democracy but can care in the community be taken too far?

[Blackman, Gow and Fitzpatrick]

If Murphy and Sutton keep playing like they did today, Blackman wouldn't get a look in anyway.

 

Delighted Gow's gone.

 

Hopefully Fitzpatrick gets handed a new deal this week.

 

Hopefully Fitzpatrick will get handed a P45 and McCall will free up a wage to sign a left sided midfielder who at least matches the quality of the rest of the squad.