Motherwells Greatest 100

[SteelmaninOZ]

27 minutes ago, MFCL84 said:

Any list would have to include Tommy Coyne, James McFadden, Davie Cooper, Phil O'Donnell, Keith McCrae, Joe Wark, Willie Pettigrew, Bobby Graham, Bobby Watson, Brian Heron, Vic Davidson, Paul Lambert, Brian Martin, etc.....

Good list there to start 👍

[Kmcalpin]

I've arbitrarily identified about 105 candidates so far but it'll take quite some time to sort out an order. Criteria, for me, are appearances, goals scored and international appearances. Its obviously difficult to rate players from bygone eras that I've never seen, and avoid recency bias. 

[Mad Dog]

....and Tommy Boyd?

[Orinoco]

He just missed out! He is down at number 666

[yosemite sam]

11 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

He just missed out! He is down at number 666

He must have moved up, I'm sure he was at 1034.

[Kmcalpin]

34 minutes ago, Mad Dog said:

....and Tommy Boyd?

I thought long and hard about him and he'll be in my best 100, due solely to his on the field performances. .  

[weeyin]

Sometimes you need to separate the art from the artist.

I watched Tom Boyd lift the Scottish Cup, and everyone involved in that campaign should be a candidate.

I give zero stuffs what he did after that.

[mio]

I’m sure he must have done at some point but personally I have never heard him say one positive thing about Motherwell.

considering I watched a couple of seasons pre-cooper of him aimlessly running around midfield, I think I deserve an apology at least.

[Spiderpig]

2 hours ago, weeyin said:

 

I give zero stuffs what he did after that.

Most people feel the same but the mans an obnoxious prick as soon as he joined Celtic his previous career did not exist, as a member of the 91 team he should be a club legend, but going full darkside and turning into a fud in doing so means he should be nowhere near the list.

[dennyc]

5 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

I thought long and hard about him and he'll be in my best 100, due solely to his on the field performances. .  

Very few have captained us to Cup success so on that basis Boyd would have to make my list. Grudgingly.  Fan favourite is not a top criteria for me (although it is a factor)  and ranks well below being part of a major League or Cup winning squad. Subject to appearing in a decent number of games. 

For me 'Greatest' equates to performance, achievement and contribution. Tough choices and given I would include all/most of our trophy winning squads plus many of the Ancell players I guess I would have to exclude a good number of players who have entertained me over the years. Whilst including dozens that I did not have the good fortune to see in the flesh. 

It really is an impossible task. For instance, with one spot left would it be an entertainer like Tommy Coyne who I loved watching or Stephen Craigen who holds the record for most capped player. Or Stephen O'Donnell as the player most capped by Scotland whilst with us and who made us all proud with his performance at the Euros.  

Good discussions though. Thought provoking.

 

[Stuwell2]

4 hours ago, mio said:

I’m sure he must have done at some point but personally I have never heard him say one positive thing about Motherwell.

A few years ago my brother was given a hospitality table at Parkhead for a Motherwell game and Boyd was one of the ex Celtic players doing the rounds of the table when he got to the one full of Well fans he sat down chatted and had a laugh talking about his time at Motherwell. He spent so long that one of the other guys had to come over and ask him to go talk with other tables. 
I get that he’s reported to have said things and I don’t agree with that but I’ve got to give him his due on that occasion. 

[mio]

Just now, Stuwell2 said:

A few years ago my brother was given a hospitality table at Parkhead for a Motherwell game and Boyd was one of the ex Celtic players doing the rounds of the table when he got to the one full of Well fans he sat down chatted and had a laugh talking about his time at Motherwell. He spent so long that one of the other guys had to come over and ask him to go talk with other tables. 
I get that he’s reported to have said things and I don’t agree with that but I’ve got to give him his due on that occasion. 

Well that’s not so bad, I’m glad that happened.

As I said I’m sure he has spoken well of us in the past but I’d never heard him do it.

[texanwellfan]

13 hours ago, dennyc said:

Very few have captained us to Cup success so on that basis Boyd would have to make my list. Grudgingly.  Fan favourite is not a top criteria for me (although it is a factor)  and ranks well below being part of a major League or Cup winning squad. Subject to appearing in a decent number of games. 

For me 'Greatest' equates to performance, achievement and contribution. Tough choices and given I would include all/most of our trophy winning squads plus many of the Ancell players I guess I would have to exclude a good number of players who have entertained me over the years. Whilst including dozens that I did not have the good fortune to see in the flesh. 

It really is an impossible task. For instance, with one spot left would it be an entertainer like Tommy Coyne who I loved watching or Stephen Craigen who holds the record for most capped player. Or Stephen O'Donnell as the player most capped by Scotland whilst with us and who made us all proud with his performance at the Euros.  

Good discussions though. Thought provoking.

 

I’m not even sure the same person would pick the same 100 if we done it every year. 

[andalg]

The league winning teams and cup winning teams would need to be included

[Spiderpig]

Lets be honest as Motherwell fans we should think that every player who has played for the club since 1886 is the greatest.

But as we know thats not strictly true, so it would probably be easier to list the dross we have seen over the years. The criteria would also be easier ie "they were feckin hopeless as footballers" being the only one.

[Happy Dosser]

This Motherwell's Greatest is a great piece of fun, as we know it can never be definitive. Personally, I would have to include anyone who played in the league and cup-winning teams (including LC) because they proved they achieved at the top level in their era.   There can't be anyone still alive who saw the league champions, although I worked with an old guy who had. Stevenson and Ferrier were sought after by several English clubs in a blank-cheque fashion (notably Arsenal) and Willie McFadyen scored an unsurpassed record 52 goals when we won the league.

My Dear Old Dad would tease me by saying John McMenemy was a haddie who missed more than he scored, but then my father  was an Accies fan who I don't think grasped JM's main function, which, as an IR,  was to put it on a plate for WMcF. He also boasted he was the happiest man in Motherwell as he worked an extra time-and-a-half shift as a mechanic in Taggart's garage next to FP as Clyde crushed us 0-4 in the 1939 Cup Final. 

If we include all the trophy-winning teams, it would be  all down to the personal opinion of supporters who have seen the younger generations of MFC players, which is where the fun comes in.

Faîtes vos jeux and Tongs ya bass!

 

[Kmcalpin]

Well, I've finally finished my personal 100.  A very hard and subjective task. Everyone will have different views but I took into account the number of appearances; number of goals scored (where applicable); international recognition; and trophy winners. It was especially hard to rate players I'd never seen in the flesh and those of bygone times, some of whom I hadn't heard of. I had to rely written accounts of our early players. The chances are, if I started again I'd come up with something slightly different. How do you rate someone who made many appearances for our club i.e. a stalwart such as Willie MacCallum against a brief but brilliant "shooting star" like Lennon Miller? Personal bias also came into it. Incidentally, Louis Moult came in at 101. 

1    Hughie Ferguson    
2    Bobby Ferrier    
3    George Stevenson    
4    Alan McClory    
5    Willie McFadyen    
6    Hugh Wales    
7    Alan Craig    
8    Ben Ellis    
9    Willie Telfer    
10    Johnny McMenemy    
11    Johnny Johnman    
12    Johnny Murdoch    
13    John Blair    
14    Andy Paton    
15    Willie Redpath    
16    Willie Kilmarnock    
17    Archie Shaw    
18    Johnny Johnston    
19    Jimmy Watson    
20    Archie Kelly    
21    Johnny Aitkenhead    
22    Joe Wark    
23    Steve Kirk    
24    Davie Cooper    
25    Willie Rankin    
26    Ian St John    
27    Willie Hunter    
28    Bert McCann    
29    Wilson Humphries    
30    Willie Pettigrew    
31    Chris McCart    
32    Jim Forrest    
33    Bobby Graham    
34    Dougie Arnott    
35    Phil O'Donnell    
36    Tom Boyd    
37    Charlie Aitken    
38    Pat Quinn    
39    Andy Weir    
40    Tommy Sloan    
41    Ally Maxwell    
42    Charlie Cox    
43    Eli Just    
44    Lennon Miller    
45    Paul Lambert    
46    Craig Paterson    
47    Luc Nijholt    
48    John Martis    
49    James McFadden    
50    Scott MacDonald    
51    Tom Forsyth    
52    David Turnbull    
53    Steve Hammell    
54    Keith Lasley    
55    Stephen Craigan    
56    Rab MacKinnon    
57    Keith McRae    
58    Darren Randolph    
59    Joe McBride    
60    Brian Martin    
61    Martyn Corrigan    
62    Colin Hampton    
63    Donald Mcleod    
64    John Gahagan    
65    Duncan Ogilvie    
66    Gary MacAllister    
67    Stephen O'Donnell    
68    Bobby Watson    
69    Dixie Deans    
70    Iain Gardiner    
71    Tommy Coyne    
72    KVV    
73    Hugh McNeil    
74    Craig Brown    
75    Willie MacCallum    
76    George Nicol    
77    David Clarkson    
78    Robert Stewart    
79    Peter Millar    
80    Bobby Russell    
81    Willie McSeveney    
82    Davie Whiteford    
83    Bobby MacCallum    
84    Pat Delaney    
85    Stephen Pearson    
86    Peter McCloy    
87    Mio Krivocapic    
88    Gregor Stevens    
89    Graham Forbes    
90    Francis McStay    
91    George Robertson    
92    Hutton Bremner    
93    Bobby Roberts    
94    Vic Davidson    
95    Gordon Bremner    
96    Tommy Mackenzie    
97    Dick Little    
98    Duncan Finlayson    
99    Jackie Hunter    
100    Walter Cowan    

 

  

[Happy Dosser]

A tremendous piece of work: thanks for all that effort.

Wot, no Bob Malcolm 🤣?