MOTHERWELL FC: THE SEASON TO COME...
I’m going to be Nostradamus today and predict what the first half of 2011 will bring for Motherwell Football Club. I’ll try to be realistic and not too over the top with my optimism. We all have our hopes and wishes, but being a Well fan, you get used to inconsistency messing those up.
This was originally going to be last week’s blog, alas the League Reconstruction thing took precedence. It has however, given me an extra week to mull over and reconsider some of my visions for the future.
As a preface, I’m going to address the events which have lead to my views on what is to happen in the 5 months, moreso the next month or so.
Stuart McCall’s reign so far has been a mixed bag. A draw and a loss in the league and a win in the cup isn’t as bad as 2 league losses and being knocked out of the cup by lower league opposition could have been. The win on Sunday versus Dundee brought smiles back to the faces of many Well fans, particularly the return to form of Jamie Murphy.
Scoring one and setting up Sutton for his brace showed the quality the boy has. Indeed, the whole team acquitted themselves well in what the media were viewing as the most likely cup upset, due to our form against lesser teams than ourselves.
The midweek loss to Dundee United, to be honest came as no surprise. Despite being reasonably successful at Tannadice in recent seasons, it’s not normally a happy hunting ground. United have gained a bit of form and from the reports I’ve read, were victorious over a Motherwell team who didn’t turn up, again with Murphy looking most likely and Randolph having a decent game.
The game was accompanied by the news that Marc Fitzpatrick was left out due to him signing for Ross County. Apparently the money they had offered was the same as what Mr Boyle had, but the contract term was better at Dingwall. A Marmite player if ever there was one, Fitzy will go down in our Club’s history for THAT goal against Hearst in 2005. I wish him luck and good fortune at Ross County, where hopefully he’ll discover his potential.
This news came on the same day that we had lost out on a player to English Non League team Fleetwood Town. On paper that looks really bad on the club, but considering they have just had a massive amount of money invested in them ala Gretna, and the locality of the team to the player, then it is perhaps not that bad.
The release of Alan Gow was probably the right decision too. Like Fitzpatrick, he split opinion, but it just didn’t work out for him at us. The occasional fancy flick and beating of players with no end result, in my opinion, does not merit the sizeable wage he commanded. Thanks for the goal in the CIS Cup though.
Blackman signing for Aberdeen was a bit disappointing when I read it yesterday. It was always unlikely that he would come back to us, but for him to go further North, sticks in my craw a bit. No doubt he will do well up there and probably do a Delomeaux and score against us every time he plays us. On the plus side, he should be Cup Tied for the CIS Semi and Final...
This picks up on one of the things form my last blog. Loan players are not the property of the club they are loaned to, therefore, they only act as short term gain. In Blackman’s case, the gain he gave us stopped at the same time Brown and Knox left for up north.
This, in my opinion, is the event that will shape the rest of our season under McCall. Under Brown, things were stable, not without drama, but stable enough that we were challenging for the top 6. In the space of a month, we have come off the rails TO AN EXTENT. It is now up to McCall to play with the hand he’s been dealt.
So, with all that in mind, here’s how 2011 will pan out for Motherwell FC.
JANUARY.
The loss of Gow, Blackman and Fitzpatrick frees up wages. Rumours that Casagolda wants away are quelled when he scores a last minute equaliser versus Inverness. Suddenly, the predicted Messiah shows his resurrective powers. The squad is bolstered by some loanees, probably one from Rangers, due to the Ibrox connection. Reynolds will leave for the Championship for around £100,000 to fund this.
We get retribution on Hibs for their narrow win on the opening day before drawing with St Johnstone away. Humphrey stars in both games
The CIS Semi v Rangers will see us hold out on a 1-0 win thanks to Craigan playing a blinder at the back,(He’s due it against them...) and Sutton popping up with the important winner. Aberdeen will also controversially edge out Celtic, getting revenge for their 9-0 gubbing.
FEBRUARY.
With a Cup Final to look forward to, we start to pick up league points against the teams below us, Casagolda and the loanees bolstering the squad. Rangers get us back for the putting them out the Cup by putting 4 past Randolph for the 3rd time this season. Hutchison comes in to replace Reynolds and shows the promise he did under Gannon. He stays fit as well.
The reaaranged game v Aberdeen will be a heated affair after all that’s gone on. Another score draw will see the obligatory Blackman goal cancelled out by Murphy. Jennings and Hartley will have a bit of handbags and most will say we were lucky to get the draw.
The next round of the Scottish Cup gives us a scare when Threave or Stenhousmuir take an early lead, but a Murphy hat-trick puts us in to the next round. Murphy’s form sees the press link him with the Old Firm and a couple of premiership struggler type teams. Wigan probably.
By this time, 3rd place is well and truly Hearts, but results start to favour us and we end the month in 5th after drawing with Celtic at home. McCall is named Manager of the Month.
MARCH.
As the race for a Top 6 finish heats up, we slightly lose our way again, with the Manager of the Month award bringing its curse with it. 2 draws v Killie and Inverness in the league see the focus shifted to the CIS Final.
The media begin to unsettle the squad again as they start bringing up Jenno-Gate again as the investigation finally comes to light. Murphy, Hateley and Hutchison are all being linked with moves away on regular basis.
Motherwell Football Club lift their first silverware for 20 years as they defeat Aberdeen 3-2 in Extra Time to lift the CIS Cup. Stephen Craigan scores a bullet header and after lifting the Cup announces he is retiring to become McCall’s number 2 for next season.
APRIL.
The Cup win spurs us on to an unbeaten April. In the league at least. We beat Aberdeen once again, draw away to Hearts and beat Dundee United at home.
We fall at the next hurdle in the Scottish Cup, putting the double out of contention. The points amassed since Christmas see us 1 position above where we started the year, finishing 5th before the split. Inverness go off the boil when Rooney leaves in January, meaning we finish above them , after knocked out the Top 6 by Dundee United.
MAY.
The post-split fixtures work out OK for us, playing Rangers at home on the second last day, and Kilmarnock away on the last. The battle for 4th is between ourselves and Kilmarnock as they have a sticky patch in February. On the final day, we get a 2-0 win in Ayrshire, giving us 4th place.
Thanks to one of the Old Firm winning the Scottish Cup, we just manage a Europa place for a 4th year straight.
Jamie Murphy scores his last goal for us before being bought by one of the teams promoted to the English Premiership. Humphrey, Hateley and Jennings also move to Championship teams, along with Craigan’s retirement, leaving Stuart McCall with a massive rebuild on his hands for the 2011/2012 season.
I know I said at the top of the page that I was going to be realistic and not too happy clappy, but having watched Motherwell for 16 seasons, we always have a rough Christmas period. 3rd place is really unachievable, but 4th isn’t. The wheels will come off the teams around us and once McCall gets comfortable and adds his own touch to the team, things will fall in to place.
We are not the worst team in this league by a mile (even though we sometimes play like it), but Brown’s departure has knocked any momentum out of the team that it had. McCall has a task to rally the players from the funk they are in, but I believe he can do it.
Budgets may be tight, contracts may be running out, but the core of the team is still there. Impact wise, it’s only really Blackman that is a loss to us. Perhaps we will bring in another loan striker or maybe McCall will put faith in McHugh or Gary Smith. I think the players who began to shine under Gannon will start to see some first team action, as it is about time.
They have impressed in the past and an extended run in the team would do them good. Hutchison, Pollock, even Saunders being played in centre defence may prove fruitful.
I believe we have had our bad patch. We have 2 Cups to compete for and our league assault begins again against Inverness on Saturday. Undoubtedly a tough game, but a winnable one, nonetheless.
Come 4:45pm tomorrow, all of this blog could be irrelevant. Fingers crossed, it’s not.
Up The Well!!!
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