Motherwell FC: First Impressions

Over the last few weeks I have been on the jobhunt, attending various interviews and tailoring my CV to help my applications. Being able to make a decent first impression can go a long way to ensuring success.

The same can be said of footballers, particularly new signings. When teams sign new players who come with some pedigree, expectations are naturally high. conversely, more obscure signings don't have as much hype around them, so any success is lauded.

Football fans are a fickle bunch though, and as quick as they can love a player, they can turn when things aren't going so well. For as long as I can remember, this has been the case down Fir Park way.

The earliest "hype" signing I remember the Well making was John Hendry. Signed in the summer of 1995, Alex McLeish brought one of Tottenham Hotspur's brightest young talents to Lanarkshire. A striker who had set the Spurs reserve team alight, he was all set to be our star man.

He wasn't. I don't know what he was, but he wasn't that. I think he scored against St Johnstone once and got injured. To put him in perspective, Rangers had just signed Gazza and Bergkamp had joined Arsenal on the same day. Those signings for those teams were legendary. Hendry, not so much.

In the 90s and early 2000s, we did have a knack for signing prolific strikers who failed to deliver. Anyone remember Stephen Halliday? Signed from Carlisle, just didn't cut in at all at Motherwell. Even Alex "Toastie" Burns, upon his return to the club was mince. Having started at Well as a youngster, where he battled for a slot between Coyne, Coyle and Arnott, he left and ended up at Partick.

He rattled in a shedload for Thistle in the First Division until he re-signed at Fir Park, where he jsut could not find his shooting boots at all. After his exploits in Maryhill, we expected so much, but Burns delivered so little.

Even players who were given the tag of "most expensive signings" have mainly turned out to be a bit gash. Shaun McSkimming, for example, while having a few memorable games (well 2 that i remember clearly, MyPa 47 and Partick in the Cup), was a donkey. A lazy midfielder who often let the game go by him, somehow remains one of our all time highest fees. Shocking.

Around that same time, bizarre things were going on. 15 years on, I still can't fathom out how we paid money AND Stevie Kirk for Eddie May. That's right, we gave Falkirk money and a Legend for Eddie May. A man so useless, he played in every position for us. Badly. Really badly.

I'm going to be a bit controversial here and say that a cult Well hero was also a bit of a dud after promising so much. Even meeting him in Asda as a youngster can't escape me thinking that Eliphas Shivute, the Namibian George Weah, was a bit guff.

Sure, he was pacey and tricky, but he just didn't deliver. Looked good in the luminous kit though.

The Kampman/Davies era and John Boyle's endeavours to make us the "Third Force" also brought a lot of expectation from the signings made. While players like Spencer, Brannan, Goram, Kemble and Goodman gained fan favouritism straight away, others didn't fare as well.

Kai Nyssonen scored on his debut on telly against Dundee United in a game that cost only £1 to get in to. Instant hit. Eventual failure. Others signed at this time that were expected to be amazing were Rob Matthei and Jan Michels, who were ok for a bit but injuries and poor form saw them fall out of favour. Michel Doesburg in contrast was a solid right back.

Franz Resch, Mario Doerner. Apparently amazing signings in a close season where I think they were the only signings never even made it to the first team. Out of all of these names though, one name is synonymous with being hyped to the hilt for no reaosn and was a complete and utter fail.

Holm Kraska.

A German defender, bought during the Kampman era again, came with so much praise, it was as if we had found our own Beckenbauer. £40,000 he cost, which for all the plaudits he garnered was a snip. So much so that we even signed him with an injury, guaranteeing his services.

He never played a game.

Of course, first impressions aren't reserved for new signings. Spotting talent coming up from the youth teams is always a pleasure. McFadden, Pearson and Hammell all had "it" from an early age and since the threat of administration, the focus has been on the youngsters coming through.

Granted not all of them will have the talent on first look, but potential is something to be nurtured. As mentioned in other blogs, certain homegrown players who have made instant impacts have petered out or not realised their potential at Motherwell, while others have flourished.

Jamie Murphy this season is playing the best football of his life, after a couple of seasons getting to grips with the SPL. David Clarkson was exactly the same. Clarkie had a whirlwind first season as a pro before hitting a confidence slump. After Scott McDonald (another signing who had an instant impact as a Well hero) left for Celtic, the onus was on him to be our main striker.

It took until McGhee's first season for him to start hitting the peaks he had in his first run in the team and spurred on by the death of his uncle, Phil O'Donnell, he became an important player, hitting double figures 2 seasons in a row.

The fans and forums were constantly on his back during his slump, but Clarkie can now be held in great regard as another alumni of the Well youth movement. if Murphy continues in that vein this season, then he too will join that club.

In the past when prolific scorers failed to deliver when we signed them, the last few years has been the opposite. Chris Porter was signed from Oldham by McGhee as a player lacking fitness and goals. A season and a half later, he had scored almost 30 goals and signed for Derby. Lukasz Jutkiewicz had been sent on loan to about 6 clubs over 2 seasons by Everton, scoring once in the process. A season at Well and he's got confidence back and is firing them in for Coventry in the Championship.

The SPL is definitely seen as a developing ground for lower league English talent, with so many players leaving the Scottish game to play in the Championship and Premiership. The first impressions these teams get of these players are based on the performances up here and how well they do on their debuts. It's a shop window which benefits both parties by giving players a chance to shine for clubs before making them a bit of money by selling on or league positions.

Without Jutkiewicz and Ruddy last season, we'd have been stumped. Replacing them was going to be hard but Randolph and Blackman have been just as effective thus far. The impression they have already had on the Well fans is that they will be vital to our season.

As will Alan Gow. The consensus of the fans for Gow is that he is "not match fit" just yet. It's a fair point to make, but I think he will be pivotal for us if we can keep him in January. He's had some poor games, but his control and running are great. He needs to be a little less greedy but that will come. When he signed, I had high hopes for him and although he had glass legs, once he is fit, he'll do us a turn. His late winner against Dundee United will kick start his season.

If not, I'll write a "How wrong was I?" blog when he leaves in January.

Up The Wel!!!

Motherwell FC: First Impressions

Over the last few weeks I have been on the jobhunt, attending various interviews and tailoring my CV to help my applications. Being able to make a decent first impression can go a long way to ensuring success.

The same can be said of footballers, particularly new signings. When teams sign new players who come with some pedigree, expectations are naturally high. conversely, more obscure signings don't have as much hype around them, so any success is lauded.

Football fans are a fickle bunch though, and as quick as they can love a player, they can turn when things aren't going so well. For as long as I can remember, this has been the case down Fir Park way.

The earliest "hype" signing I remember the Well making was John Hendry. Signed in the summer of 1995, Alex McLeish brought one of Tottenham Hotspur's brightest young talents to Lanarkshire. A striker who had set the Spurs reserve team alight, he was all set to be our star man.

He wasn't. I don't know what he was, but he wasn't that. I think he scored against St Johnstone once and got injured. To put him in perspective, Rangers had just signed Gazza and Bergkamp had joined Arsenal on the same day. Those signings for those teams were legendary. Hendry, not so much.

In the 90s and early 2000s, we did have a knack for signing prolific strikers who failed to deliver. Anyone remember Stephen Halliday? Signed from Carlisle, just didn't cut in at all at Motherwell. Even Alex "Toastie" Burns, upon his return to the club was mince. Having started at Well as a youngster, where he battled for a slot between Coyne, Coyle and Arnott, he left and ended up at Partick.

He rattled in a shedload for Thistle in the First Division until he re-signed at Fir Park, where he jsut could not find his shooting boots at all. After his exploits in Maryhill, we expected so much, but Burns delivered so little.

Even players who were given the tag of "most expensive signings" have mainly turned out to be a bit gash. Shaun McSkimming, for example, while having a few memorable games (well 2 that i remember clearly, MyPa 47 and Partick in the Cup), was a donkey. A lazy midfielder who often let the game go by him, somehow remains one of our all time highest fees. Shocking.

Around that same time, bizarre things were going on. 15 years on, I still can't fathom out how we paid money AND Stevie Kirk for Eddie May. That's right, we gave Falkirk money and a Legend for Eddie May. A man so useless, he played in every position for us. Badly. Really badly.

I'm going to be a bit controversial here and say that a cult Well hero was also a bit of a dud after promising so much. Even meeting him in Asda as a youngster can't escape me thinking that Eliphas Shivute, the Namibian George Weah, was a bit guff.

Sure, he was pacey and tricky, but he just didn't deliver. Looked good in the luminous kit though.

The Kampman/Davies era and John Boyle's endeavours to make us the "Third Force" also brought a lot of expectation from the signings made. While players like Spencer, Brannan, Goram, Kemble and Goodman gained fan favouritism straight away, others didn't fare as well.

Kai Nyssonen scored on his debut on telly against Dundee United in a game that cost only £1 to get in to. Instant hit. Eventual failure. Others signed at this time that were expected to be amazing were Rob Matthei and Jan Michels, who were ok for a bit but injuries and poor form saw them fall out of favour. Michel Doesburg in contrast was a solid right back.

Franz Resch, Mario Doerner. Apparently amazing signings in a close season where I think they were the only signings never even made it to the first team. Out of all of these names though, one name is synonymous with being hyped to the hilt for no reaosn and was a complete and utter fail.

Holm Kraska.

A German defender, bought during the Kampman era again, came with so much praise, it was as if we had found our own Beckenbauer. £40,000 he cost, which for all the plaudits he garnered was a snip. So much so that we even signed him with an injury, guaranteeing his services.

He never played a game.

Of course, first impressions aren't reserved for new signings. Spotting talent coming up from the youth teams is always a pleasure. McFadden, Pearson and Hammell all had "it" from an early age and since the threat of administration, the focus has been on the youngsters coming through.

Granted not all of them will have the talent on first look, but potential is something to be nurtured. As mentioned in other blogs, certain homegrown players who have made instant impacts have petered out or not realised their potential at Motherwell, while others have flourished.

Jamie Murphy this season is playing the best football of his life, after a couple of seasons getting to grips with the SPL. David Clarkson was exactly the same. Clarkie had a whirlwind first season as a pro before hitting a confidence slump. After Scott McDonald (another signing who had an instant impact as a Well hero) left for Celtic, the onus was on him to be our main striker.

It took until McGhee's first season for him to start hitting the peaks he had in his first run in the team and spurred on by the death of his uncle, Phil O'Donnell, he became an important player, hitting double figures 2 seasons in a row.

The fans and forums were constantly on his back during his slump, but Clarkie can now be held in great regard as another alumni of the Well youth movement. if Murphy continues in that vein this season, then he too will join that club.

In the past when prolific scorers failed to deliver when we signed them, the last few years has been the opposite. Chris Porter was signed from Oldham by McGhee as a player lacking fitness and goals. A season and a half later, he had scored almost 30 goals and signed for Derby. Lukasz Jutkiewicz had been sent on loan to about 6 clubs over 2 seasons by Everton, scoring once in the process. A season at Well and he's got confidence back and is firing them in for Coventry in the Championship.

The SPL is definitely seen as a developing ground for lower league English talent, with so many players leaving the Scottish game to play in the Championship and Premiership. The first impressions these teams get of these players are based on the performances up here and how well they do on their debuts. It's a shop window which benefits both parties by giving players a chance to shine for clubs before making them a bit of money by selling on or league positions.

Without Jutkiewicz and Ruddy last season, we'd have been stumped. Replacing them was going to be hard but Randolph and Blackman have been just as effective thus far. The impression they have already had on the Well fans is that they will be vital to our season.

As will Alan Gow. The consensus of the fans for Gow is that he is "not match fit" just yet. It's a fair point to make, but I think he will be pivotal for us if we can keep him in January. He's had some poor games, but his control and running are great. He needs to be a little less greedy but that will come. When he signed, I had high hopes for him and although he had glass legs, once he is fit, he'll do us a turn. His late winner against Dundee United will kick start his season.

If not, I'll write a "How wrong was I?" blog when he leaves in January.

Up The Wel!!!

Motherwell FC: Gatecrashing The Govan

I'd sat in the away end at a Motherwell game previously. I was about 11 and friends of the family were down from Aberdeen for the weekend. Conveniently, The Well were at home to The Dons. So as not to be sussed out, I decided for the first time ever not to wear anything Claret and Amber.

I wouldn't imagine the Aberdeen fans would have turned on an 11 year old in the wrong stand, but better safe than sorry. Instead, I wore my blue Motherwell goalie top under a jacket zipped up as high as it would go. The game finished 2-2, with Alex Burns scoring a double and I remember having to go to the toilet after we'd equalised both times, just to celebrate.

14 years on and the same fate befell me. On the weekend of my engagement party, where my fiance's family made the trek over from Northern Ireland, it was fitting that we had Rangers at Ibrox. It was even more fitting that Robert, my soon to be Father In Law, has a good friend who managed to get us tickets to the game. In the Govan Stand.

In the weeks leading up to it, the impending game served as banter between us on Facebook. As the game approached, Motherwell were ripping it up away from home, while Rangers were not performing to their best, but still keeping up their 100% record. The odds were obviously stacked in Rangers favour, as they are most of the time at home, but our away form meant we could potentially cause an upset.

As Elaine and myself greeted her folks off the bus, after the hugs and handshakes, the first subject of conversation was that "Motherwell could have a good chance today." This was based on Rangers being without the likes of McGregor, Jelavic, McCulloch etc plus the players involved in the Scotland games would be tired. Motherwell in contrast had pretty much a full strength team to pick from, with only Craigan having midweek excursions.

We discussed Blackman's away form, Randolph being a solid replacement for John Ruddy and Chris Humphrey's pace as we took the Subway to Ibrox. I told Robert how my nephew had bumped in to Humphrey in ASDA last week and had told the wee man how he was going "to do Papac". That such confidence exists in the squad made me smile. As supporters, we see our players as heroes and it's good that they have the belief in themselves that we hope they have.

Upon arrival at Ibrox, we met Tom who got our tickets and his wife and son, Sandra and Jed. I'd met them once before, but now had a better chance to impress them in front of Robert. I had to reel myself in a couple of times when talking about The Well and I think I managed to do so quite well. Of course there were the obligatory digs about watching a real team play blah blah blah but I just kept joking about how I'd be more concerned about my behaviour if Rangers scored than if Motherwell did.

As we took our seats, Motherwell were warming up to our right. We had a cracking view as I identified the Well players for Robert's benefit, basically pointing out that the alleged danger men were the ones with the fancy boots (Humphrey, Hateley, Murphy) and that the slowest man on the park was John Sutton. We also discussed how Stewart Kerr could probably still be playing after retiring at such a young age. Robert in turn told of the many times he and Tom had been to Ibrox in their youth, recalling games, goals and scorers in a similar vein to the way I have in my blogs. That's what makes football such a universal thing, the ability to remember the smallest of details based on an emotional connection to it.

As both teams lined up before kick off, I heard the band of Motherwell fans down to my right singing before being drowned out by the 40 odd thousand home fans. Very little singing in the tier I was in though. Maybe as a ringer in the ranks, I was expecting there to be more vigour in their support, getting behind their team and cheering them on. After all, as Champions, you would expect the supporters to cheer them on accordingly.

But no. It wasn't silent exactly, but it wasn't rousing by any means. Maybe my East Stand upbringing has spoiled me for atmosphere and noisy support.

The first half was a strange experience. After almost blowing my cover when Naismith went down under a challenge form Reynolds to no free kick, the boy on the other side of me had something to say. "Nah, he was looking for it, he needs to play the whistle" I retorted. From then on, every decision for or against Rangers illicited a comment from my new found friend, which I would respond to before clarifying to Robert that I was keeping the boy going.

It was a fairly even first 45 minutes, with only Randolph saving from Whittaker to have me worried about. Most Rangers attacks ended with Lafferty or Weiss being crowded out at the edge of our box or the wrong ball being played by Edu. In contrast, our attacking play wasn't too shaky. Humphrey was doing well but not "doing" Papac on the right, while Hammell and Murphy got some decent balls in from the left. Blackman was looking lively, however his "straight-erm challenges" on Whittaker and Weir were irking the boy next to me.

Cue more agreed criticism of the Ranger's players along the lines of "that's poor,Lafferty", "Naismith is showboating too much, he's not playing Spain now" and "how did Edu lose that race to Sutton?". I was doing well.

With 3 minutes to the break, Murphy beat Whittaker to the byeline and lobbed a cross to the 6 yard box. Blackman beat Weir to the ball and headed in off the underside of the bar. Bar a few grumbles, there was a hush all around me. The Well fans could be heard in full voice as Blackman slid on his knees at the corner flag before being mobbed by his team mates.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't remain quiet any longer. I leaned back in my seat before rocking forward. As i opened my mouth, I could feel Robert tense up with concern that I may out myself. with one deep breath i let out a roar.

"THAT IS SHOCKING DEFENDING RANGERS! RUBBISH, UTTER RUBBISH!"

As i composed myself, I nudged Robert. "That's the kind of acting the BBC got from me on Garrow's Law" I smugly said. The half time whistle blew and we filtered down to the wee nook where we had to get Tom and co.

I managed to not be to buoyant as I was well aware that there was still a second half to come. we discussed the weak links in Rangers performance and noted Blackman's contribution. Apparently it is a tradition of theirs to do the quiz in the programme at half time. In confident mood, I helped my team to a victory in that. Not only had I gatecrashed the Govan, but my team were 1-0 up and I'd just bested 8 other Rangers fans in a quiz primarily about Rangers v Motherwell games. What could go wrong?

As this is a blog and not a match report, I don't have to be impartial, so there will be no mention of the events of the second half. The first half had been horrible but brilliant at the same time, but give me Fir Park any day. The next time the teams meet is on Boxing Day at Fir Park and I'm going to miss the game as I'll be in Northern Ireland with the in-laws again. This home game will technically be another away one for me, but we'll take the points on that occasion.

Up The Well!!!

Motherwell FC: Away Days

MOTHERWELL FC: AWAY DAYS

As much as I love setting foot in Fir Park of a Saturday, (or more recently a Wednesday or Thursday) there’s something different about going to away games. Maybe it’s because everyone knows it’s harder to beat a team on their own patch as you are giving up “home advantage”. It serves as a motivation for a team to be able to get the bragging rights over a team by overturning them on their own turf.

This gives rise to the underdog spirit amongst those teams towards the wrong end of the table, where a win away from home against a much more fancied team can provide a catalyst for their season and maybe see them not featuring last on Sportscene.

An away win can be made all the more sweeter, if it involves a hefty amount of travel. An arduous trek to Inverness, and a comfortable win, means that no matter how bad the weather gets on the way back, the trip has been worth it. Even travelling a short distance can reap great rewards for an away win.

Derby games against the likes of Accies and probably more importantly Airdrie (on the rare occasion those happen), helps us to keep the rivalries going. Hearing Well fans sing about being the Pride of Lanarkshire, echoes loudest away from home, and rings in the ears of the home fans who wanted to lay claim to that title.

Every team has a bogey team away from home and for years, to me at least, trips to Tynecastle served to make that point. Hearts are normally a hard team to beat at home, for any team, but it seemed like The Mighty Well had gone an age without winning in Gorgie.

I’ve only been there once and we were on the end of a 2-0 defeat that saw Kevin Christie sent off. I’d had the hope that because it was my first away game of the season that it’d be rewarded with a victory. It wasn’t.

I had to wait 8 years before seeing us beat Hearts away from Fir Park and even then it wasn’t at Tynecastle. It was in the CIS Semi at Easter Road I spoke of a few weeks back. To be honest, I would happily relive that match every time against Hearts. Go 2 goals up, let them back in and then crush them with the last kick of the ball.

In recent years, Tynecastle has been a happy hunting ground, with our most recent win coming a few weeks ago, where Blackman and Sutton gave us a comfortable victory. This result was the catalyst for this blog.

This season we have performed exceptionally well away from home. Even in the Europa games, the boys created memories for all those who travelled. Even harking back to Nancy, a narrow away defeat was probably the away highlight of many Well fans supporting lives.

At this point I will state that I’ve never been to an away European game, didn’t even mange Llanelli, as I was moonlighting as a Georgian peasant for the BBC.

In the SPL, we have a cracking away record, with Randolph and the defence standing resolute. Wins at Kilmarnock, St Johnstone and Hearts, have seen Chris Humphrey come on to a game and Nick Blackman getting amongst the goals. His beauty against St Johnstone was criminally overlooked in Chick Young’s goal of the month compilation on the BBC. Maybe that was due to us turning over his beloved Buddies at Fir Park the previous Saturday.

Hopefully this run will continue and see us stretch the unbeaten away run, akin to the streaks I spoke of in last weeks blog. Unfortunately on Saturday this will be tested at an away ground where we haven’t been victorious for 13 years.

As Rangers’ fans arrived at Ibrox on May Day 1997, they were expecting to party. The script was written that a lowly Motherwell would be fodder for Rangers, as they equalled Celtic’s 9 In A Row league winning streak.

My previous visit to Ibrox had seen us win 2-0 and had me singing my 9 year old heart out all the way home. Too much shouting had seen me end up with the flu, meaning I missed out on the trip 2 years later.

Playing Fifa on the Mega Drive and listening to Super ScoreBoard, I jumped about my bedroom in equal parts amazement and frustration, at the fact we had done it again but I wasn’t there to see it. Going back in to school after the long weekend, I was beaming ear to ear at my rangers’ loving friends. They weren’t too pleased.

It didn’t take long for them to get that win and they duly did so away at Tannadice a week later, while Well escaped the dreaded relegation play offs with a draw v Partick. Since then, we have had a fair few skelpings and a few draws and narrow defeats, but haven’t registered a win in Govan.

Last year’s 2 games at Ibrox mustered up 13 goals between them, a 6-1 mauling and then the epic 3-3 draw just days after the 6-6 Hibs game. Hopefully the defence will hold up a lot better this weekend than last season and maybe we will get the rub of the green.

In recent years, we have been unable to take points off some of the worst Gers’ teams in recent history and while they have their 100% record intact, key players are missing. McGregor is serving his one match suspension after being brilliant for Scotland versus Spain. This could be the biggest loss for Rangers as he has been in great form, although Alexander is no novice.

With Jelavic missing too, the dependence will fall on Miller and Lafferty to conjour something up against Craigan and Reynolds and the rest of our back line. Hopefully the occasion will not get to the players and see our attacking players play as they have in recent weeks.

Murphy was in decent form for the Scotland Under 21s this past week, Humphrey’s improvements have been well documented in the press and Blackman will want to continue his away form. If we can stay tight at the back and expose them on the break, we should give them a real game.

It would be even more special as I will be in attendance for the first time in 15 years. Next week’s blog will write itself based on Saturday’s experience and will be a lot more interesting. Not just because it will be the first blog I’ll have written for the site as a reflection on a match, but because i will be going with my soon to be Father-In-Law.

Sat in the Rangers end.

Up The Well!!!!!

Follow me on Twitter : krisjack85

Motherwell FC: Hoodoo Chile

Superstition has it's place in many a facet of life, but sports people seem to have the onus on bizarre behaviours and beliefs in order to find them luck. Former Tennis superstar Goran Ivanesivic would need to repeat the exact routine he had on the day of a win, the day after, so as to keep his luck running. That included watching same TV shows, eating same meals and going the same places.

Tiger Woods always wears a red T-shirt on the last day of a tournament, which has proven lucky for him, as when he wears no shirt at all, his luck really does run out. Michael Jordan wore lucky throughout his career. The same pair was worn from his college basketball days right up to his 6th NBA Championship winning game.

Kolo Toure once delayed the second half of a game due to his superstition of being the last out the dressing room. William Gallas was recieving treatment and Toure refused to leave before Gallas was mended. Whether these behaviours are based on predicted outcomes or just on general mentalness remains to be seen, but for those who have them they serve a purpose.

At school, i referred to it as a tradition as opposed to a superstition, when playing 7s at lunchtime. I'd put my right goalie glove on first, then the left and upon leaving the dressing room, I'd fingertip the ironic "This Is The Bernabeu" sign above the door out to the pitch. Firstly, it was to give me a good stretch and secondly was a last grasp at the hope of not getting a tanking as our team, Kyoto Purple Sanga, was gash.

Full of Motherwell fans, (Frazz, Borthwick, Morton, Ev, Paton, Kennedy and myself) and some Arsenal and Rangers fans, we were by no means the cream of the school footballing crop. No matter how many times we took to the ash park to play our peers, the tradition of slapping the sign rarely worked. Our own ineptness up front and at the back and Borthwick's reckless sliding tackles on the gravelly pitch, often left him with holes in his kness and us with holes in the defence.

Given that players from other teams were allowed to ref the games, we suffered many unjust defeats; having goals disallowed that shouldn't have been and conceding goals that hit the post or went wide. (No nets, scuppering us on these occasions). The only time the tradition worked was one game against the teachers.

An early surprise goal from Paton put us in a 1 goal lead, which we defended to the hilt. wave after wave of frustration was soaked up by having all 7 of us behind the ball. With a few minutes remaining, a good old stramash in the box somehow resulted in a penalty to the teachers.

After much complaint and gamesmanship form both teams, Fergie Robson (history teacher allegedly once on the books of Aston Villa) placed the ball on the spot. His staggered run up failed to decieve me as I guessed correctly. My sleeve rolled up as my arm stretched along the ground to my right, scraping my elbow in the process. My gloved hand tipped the ball round the post to a stupendous cheer. (As disliked as our team was, the teachers were hated more).

As the rest of KPS rallied around me for the save, the teachers complained that it should be retaken for encroachment. Encroachment. At 7s. On an Ash Park. At Lunchtime. A retake was ordered and alas, the penalty went in. For a brief moment, The Bernabeu had lucked out for us. The game ended in a draw, but it felt like a defeat.

As Motherwell fans, we were all too used to superstition and hoodoo. Every team probably feels it, but for Motherwell, if a team is in need of breaking a hoodoo or a run of bad luck, Fir Park is the place to come to smash it.

My first ever game, as mentioned a few weeks ago ended both Motherwell's unbeaten run of 1994 and Aberdeen's abysmal away record of the same year. Indeed, a few seasons later, a similar run by both teams ended in the most bizarre of games. Aberdeen came to Fir Park on a Wednesday night, ironically after another school game gubbing where I'd injured my elbow.

The game just had this really weird feeling about it. Even before kick off, I had some sort of weird anticipation that it was going to be a strange game. We'd made a decent start to the season under Billy Davies while Ebbe Skhovdahl was failing to rally the Northern Reds to points.

The game went by in somewhat of a haze. Goals were just flying in from everywhere and at half time, we had conceded 4 goals and Goodman and Spencer had scored 2 for the Well. At half time, I remember being baffled as to how we had lost so many goals against a team that had been struggling to get shots on target in their last few games, let alone goals.

The second half continued in the same vein, back and forth with both Robbie Winters and Spenny completing their hat-tricks. A Shaun Teale penalty to make it 6-5 was as close as we could bring it back and Aberdeen had undone their hoodoo in a remarkable way. The Hibs game last season brought back memories of that night, but ended in a far more enjoyable way.

We can also come across as being our own worst enemies with our own hoodoos regarding beaten/unbeaten runs. Games we believe we should be able to win, those "6 pointers" and "kickstart the season" games, rarely materialised when growing up. I remeber a game at home against Livingston, where we had been playing poorly and this was seen to be the game to change our season. We got horsed 5-1, with Khled Kemas scoring an audacious 30 yarder to give us one positive.

Horrible defeats to rubbish Dundee and Kilmarnock teams over the years emphasise the point that in the past, "must win" games became " dead on lose" games. Thankfully over the past few seasons, this hoodoo been killed off. While last seasons lengthy unbeaten run under Gannon and subsequent defeated streak that caused the fans to turn on him was a bummer, the old "new manager gets results" superstition came in to play. (Despite the blip in the Cup at Inverness).

The one hoodoo that we have struggled with to a large scale is being on television. We just can not seem to get a result in front of the cameras, although we very rarely put on a poor display for the armchair viewers. I remember watching us get hammered 7-1 by Celtic on Sky after breaking my wrist in another goalkeeping accident, where Larsson ruled the show, but that was erased by Faddy night when he ripped them apart in the 2-1 win.

We put Aberdeen out the League Cup a few years ago on the BBC. Brian Kerr scored a goal in that game, which the press used to make him out to be our best player, which sort of went to his head. St Mirren put us out a cup competition a couple of years ago on Sky. Me and Frazz watched it in an empty pub in the Merchant City cursing fat billy Mehmet.

We've run Celtic and Rangers close on telly a few times, but haven't had a win against them on the box for a while. Mark Reynolds seems to enjoy televised Old Firm games, as he's scored the opening goal in a few of them. The last 2 games of last season showed that we are value for money as well, managing to score and ship 9 goals over both matches.

These hoodoos are brilliant for commentators and statisticians. Every week on Match Of The Day, former England striker and crisp peddler Gary Lineker, gives the viewers some ridiculous stat based on the last time one of the teams scored 2 goals in a match against whoever or some 2 teams have never had a 0-0 draw with each other, before suggesting that this doesn't happen in the game about to be viewed.

It provides more interest in the game and should promote entertainment in the game. More often than not, it doesn't and a 0-0 is the outcome.

Hoodoo's and superstitions I hope to see this season include, Jamie Murphy and John Sutton scoring double figures like last season, Randolph keeping up his away clean sheet record, and us getting to Hampden 20 years since our last Scottish Cup win, with a super sub scoring in every round.

Also, I'd like to see us beat Rangers at home on Boxing Day, with my Rangers supporting Father In Law to be, on ESPN!

Up The Well!