Juan Kerse

Don't think he would handle the chants of BRRRROAD-FOOT, BRRRROAD-FOOT. From his own fans. But, aye would take him as we are looking sparse at the back.

R.e Higdon - meh, but if he had signed for a rival (Killie, ICT, Hibs, St Johnstone) I think we would all have been muttering - "how did they get him, solid SPL Striker etc, could have done a job at 'Well..." so case closed on the credentials of ths signing on that front. HOWEVER I still feel we need another Striker - and in fact have been 1 short for a while (discounting Casagolda, Jeffers, McHugh who, to be frank have never taken their chances) Am I right in saying that at one point we had Porter, Sutton, Clarkson and McCormack? 4 Excellent Strikers - now we have Higdon and Murphy - and he plays left wing!! I wouldn't grudge 2 Strikers coming in - well 2 'Forwards' anyway - another number 9 to back up MH and a tricky/wingy type forward who can actually create things - like McCormack basically. Them 2, a left winger and a back up Centre Half would do me (Gunning Ideally)

Love the thread. Exactly the same. For a good 2 weeks the only feeling I have had when thinking about the final is my heart actual racing thinking about all the possibilities!! Honestly thinking about kick off, taking the lead or possibly winning gives me the total butterflies. Then there is the thought of the angst of the occassion getting to the team but you try to block that!! But this week it has been just pure excitement of the day!! Luckily work (a high school)has been quiet this week as the students are on study leave and I have been up the road playing Fifa ('Well v Celtic on Legendary, obviously) most days by half 2!! I have arranged to go home for some 'preperation' work at 11 bells tomorrow too so Friday will fly in!! But aye, unbelievable feeling of exitement - amazing to think that Celtic fans will just wake up, go to the game and then go straight home before us - whatever the result!! Always be a 'Well fan!!

Funny that, as I was watching the game there these were two players I thought about. I think we all pretty much know for cast iron definate 9/11 players who will start on Saturday. I am hoping Gunning gets the berth partnering Craigan at CB. Hutchy is good, no doubt I just feel Gunnign is perhaps a bit more mature in his reading of the game, quicker and taller! Hutch had a poor game today to compond these thoughts. Carswell is very promising and only made 1 or 2 mistakes all game today. Miles better than Ross Forbes (albeit Forbes passing today was sensational - shame about the other 90% of his game!) but I think a spot on the bench for Carswell would be more than enough. As it stands my team would be: ------------------Randy----------------------- Saunders-Craigan-Gunning-Hammell -----------Hately--Lasley--Jenno-------- Humph-----------------------------Murph -------------------Sutts----------------------- Subs Hollis Hutchy Carswell Jones Jeffers Naming the bench is actually a tricky job for SM. Deciding who doesn't get a medal - whatever result. Missing out would be Forbes, Page, McHugh which is a bit of a shame but tough titty. Maurice Ross can bolt. Casagolda won't have stopped laughing that he got a game at Celtic Park when he only came over to tile bathroom floors by next Saturday anyway.

I like it!! Sounds exactly like what a cup final club song should sound like!! I take it the club are kind of endorsing this if they are taking a % for Youth Development? It would be smashing if it was mentioned in the official website, any plans for that?

Agreed. I really wasn't bothered watching them lose at ICT. What pleased me greatly was seeing that they CAN be beaten, especially when you get intae them. A confident, league winning Celtic team is not what we want at Hampden. We want a team of bitter losers with the world on their back. When we go 1-0 up they will explode!! However as for the league game at Celtic park - can we not just send out some U15 players who haven't made it and are to be released to kick Izaguire and Commons off the park? Serious question, although perhaps not to such extremes! Will it be in McCall's mind to send out a reserve team to really knacker Celtic for the final knowing it may well be their first choice XI out? Incidently, whenever I even think about the final my heart actually speeds up!! Unbelievable feeling of pure fear and utter excitement!!

Actually, and this is not a 'new' suggestion but what happened to Bruce Springstein's 'My Hometown'? This used to play on the tannoy and at FP so has a bit of history and is very fitting.

Who were they? Yabba's Turd and Fatcalf? Or Rickoza, he would fit nicely in a window...

Seconded

Don't think I can agree with that Al. Yes a 4-3-3/4-5-1 'McGhee' CAN be offensive but it is terribly difficult to execute perfectly. Is a 4-4-2 more offensive because of an extra Striker? In a word, yes! I can assure you that John Sutton will look like a lonely soul up front on his own on a big Hampden pitch. Even at the 'beginning' of the final third he will have no-one to link up with and sitting in front of the defense in a 4-5-1 will be Las, Jenno and Hately, hardly the most attacking players. Having Franny to link up with and THEN bring in the wide players would be more attacking as it would offer more options in the box when the ball eventually comes in; Front Post, Centre and the opposite Winger on the back post etc.. I do concede that we perhaps will have to play a 4-5-1, your argument for CH occupying Izaguire is a sound one. However, if we are 1-0 down with 10 to play SM will bring on Franny Jeffers and go 4-4-2, telling it's own story about which is the more attacking formation...

Been thinking the exact same. We NEED to get in about them, creating early chances. 25 minutes at 0-0 and a few 'well chances is a ll it will take for their fans to usettle, lennon to start volleying touchline debris, Scott Brown to start losing the plot and Mulgrew to realise who he is and where he is. BUT for that to happen we MUST play 4-4-2, with Murphy, Humphrey, Jeffers AND Sutts all playing, with Jeffers dropping deep to help out as his hold up play and ball retention is different gravy. Starting to really believe!!

Exactly. I cringe when folk start talking about a new 'club song' or 'anthem' to be sung for a big game. Songs aren't created over night. Even if eveyone on this sight agreed to sing 'hey jude' at full time (fuck knows why) you would still have 15,500 folk wondering what the fuck was going on. Don't get me wrong, I do look upon anthems such as Sunshine on Leith or You'll never walk alone with a little envy but we can't and won't be able to create one for everyone to sing in 3 weeks. We don't need to create atmosphere or compose memories, I will be as happy as fuck screaming 'Well 'Well SUPER 'Well after our 3 goals, at the final whistle, when Craggs lifts the trophy and on the lap of honour! Why do we need a new song to have memories of that?

Nah, that would be cheating and we would get fucked HOWEVER nothing wrong with giving a few key members of the squad a rest if they feel a wee 'niggle'. Apart from taking a skelping to get us into Europe we have a cup final and are surely well within our right to rest players - as long as they have a wee 'niggle' - but after nearly 50 games who wouldn't get a club doctor's lone for a 'niggle'... Forbes, Page, Casagolda, McHugh etc.. all to start.

If they were ridiclulously cheap, like near enough half price then possibly yes. We need to try it, or something equally as bold rather than the same old product and prices perhaps with bells on, that will only lead to us all sitting moaning about crowds but rejecting ideas because they 'wouldn't work' - how do we know, it hasn't been done before! What we do know is that there are 11000 people in the catchment area of Fir Park that will pay to see Motherwell, see European games, or the Dundee Utd £5 game. The punters are there. If a market exists then they exist to be exploited with clever and innovative marketing.

That's how I got involved in Motherwell. It was a scheme where the club sent tickets to High Schools and we 'bought' them off the school for a pound a game. Our whole family were Rangers 'fans', only attending the odd game at Ibrox if we were lucky, then I started going through this scheme, just for something to do. 13 years later me, my Dad and my Sister are all die hard 'Well fans! So it does work, and is a SERIOUS investment in the future. Anyway, my main point is about the 'supervision' technicalities. You say under 12s need to be supervised, that's Primary School age, fair enough. What about High School age, 12+ surely they could be let in for £1 a game? (not free, consumers don't respond well to free goods or services, they lose all sense of value) Additionally, a point about pricing structures that I have mentioned over and over again, the much fabled 'Bradford' scheme whereby the club set a rather large target of people to really get the ground busy, say 7,000. If the club get so many people signing up to an UBER cheap ST, say £129 then that's the price. For every 250 people short of the target then the price increases by £10. So if 4750 sign up the price is £179 (5x250 short = £129+50). Now with a quick calculation off the top of my head this would bring in roughly the same amount of ST income as at the moment, but with more bums on seats and the many, many benefits that brings to the club, players and fans. I have always said that one of the biggest follies of our national game is letting a plastic seat sit empty inside for £0 when someone outside willing to pay £10 for it. Bradford done this and more than doubled their home gates, this when they dropped down the leagues and were playing chronic football, haha just realised it would have been our man Stuarty Mac there at them time, ask him about it!! The marketing of such a scheme would need to be executed with flair, however if a buzz is created about such a revolutionary price for a football season ticket it could take off. Just like when there is a queue out the door of a cinema to see a movie on opening night, are people there to watch the movie or just be part of the queue...?

Did someone say something there?

'Sake, the fitba' is pish and results have been poor but he has been in 7 WEEKS. Get a grip of yourself man, it's football at the end of the day, a game - it takes time to figure out and it will be a lot easier if sad wanks like you aren't foaming at the mouth after 2 months. He AT LEAST needs the summer to get some boys in and clear the crap from the squad. I hope he does a 'Gannon' and uses his 'contacts' to bring in guys ffrom down south, 'cause no doubt about it they have more ability than some of the duffers we have up here. Our best players in the last couple of seasons have arguably included: Ruddy Randolph Jennings Jutkiewicz Blackman etc... , even Humphrey at times, all brought in from down south. Let McCall get more guys of his own in, even Jeffers has looked better than most from what I've seen and heard so McCall should be given a shot at getting more signings in, he obviously does have the all important 'contacts'.

Ach, shite. I was actually getting a tiny bit optimistic about what's left of the season thinking how good 9 points in 7 days would be and that we would be in fourth. Then we go and lose a no-brainer, nailed on home win, the Motherwell way. But nah, fuck it, we are pure pish if we can't score a single goal from open play at home against the two worst teams in the league. That was a horrible, horrible result last night and we will get pumped rotten on Sunday, I might not even watch it in my front fucking room let alone go to it.

Once again, Al, I'm sitting here nodding away as I read your post. EXACTLY how I feel about the whole thing. I find it hard to get motivated at the moment for the same old SPL crap, but for Scotland games it is a chance to escape that. For a couple of days before and after a Scotland game MY team is in the papers/telly and everyone is talking about MY team. I love that and it's why I am always involved, got London/Dublin/Spain all booked up yet I can't be dicked going to the Accies game this weekend, tells it's own story I guess.

Who put sand in your vagina? Wind your neck in min.

Because he's a c**t.

I was gona post the exact same thing untill I saw your post!! And an hour and three quarters is pretty much the exact amount of drinking time I like before a fitba' match so I'll be staying put, on my couch with a few beers watching the game for fuck all. Nice times.

If anything yesterday's result should have been a wake up call for any punters who still don;t want a bigger league. We are always liable to get absolutley pumped at Ibrox, or Celtic Park so let's just keep it down to once a season at each ground eh? Who would happily swap a horrible trip to Ibrox for a day out in Kirkcaldy, Greenock or Maryhill? I am so fed up of the same away games every other week I just don't even dream of bothering to go. AS for the OTT reaction on this thread, ffs guys wind the necks in a bit. Rangers have 20/30 times the budget we have. It's like Lanark United coming to Fir Park in comparison! I guess some folk just love a moan.

Well said Al, well fucking said. We are scraping the barrel for goals at the moment and have to take a punt. This is a decent punt. You don't move to Arsenal for £8,000,000 if you don't have talent, yes his career didn't work out too well but when have we ever signed a player as high profile, who has cost so much in his career and has been capped for England? A great chance for both parties.