MOTHERWELL FC: WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!!

MOTHERWELL FC: WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!!

As the title suggests, now that we have lost to St Johnstone and Hibs in the space of 4 days, we are destined for a relegation battle for the rest of the season. Out of the League Cup, losing goals at a rate of knotts, lazy players, not enough dig, inept tactics, subs not coming on soon enough... Motherwell are back to being genuinely rubbish.

Or so you would think going by the reaction of a number of Well fans to our last 2 games. A number o four faithful support, including myself, are becoming more and more miffed at not "competing" against the Old Firm, moreso in light of Falkirk pumping Rangers out on Wednesday night. However, that is something we go through every season, so while it hurts, it is a little expected.

The loss to St Johnstone however has had many up in arms. The players showed little of the signs of the skills we have seen of them for the most part of this season, and they knew it. St Johnstone were the better team on the day and out fought us in every area. Cliche ahoy, it was a bad day at the office.

Tuesday night's game needed a reaction from the players and to a certain extent the Well fans got it, although some of them refuse to see it. After playing very poorly and being 1-0 down after around 20 minutes, the lads finally kicked in to gear and by half time were 2-1 up. This was done by playing the type of football the fans had become accustomed to from the start of the season.

It was a game that had more chances than the glorious 6-6 game of 2 seasons ago. The defending by both teams was just as shocking as that night, meaning that the forwards for both teams created, scored and missed a host of chances. The lousy defending showed how harsh it can be when Craigan's dallying on the half way line led to the equaliser.

Despite McHugh having his legit goal disallowed, The Well crashed out of the cup on penalties, the cruelest way for a game of so much excitement to end. The inquests then began.

Since Tuesday night I have read about how McCall is rewarding losers by playing them each week, how his tactics don't suit the players capabilities, how he is not giving the youngsters a chance, and mainly how Higdon is a fat waste of a jersey. This makes me irate.

I know Motherwell fans are not the only fans who are a fickle bunch most of the time but seriously: GET A GRIP.

Yes, the last 3 results have been disappointing, and we haven't been at out best, bit we are Motherwell, not Barcelona. If we had players capable of being brilliant in every position every single week, then we wouldn't have these players at all. Currently, we sit 3rd in the SPL and are only out of the cup due to the spot kick lottery.

Now, Nicky Law, the Motherwell Messi, arguably the best player in the squad missed the decisive penalty. In fact, during the match, he had 2 or 3 chances to score but fired wise or had his efforts saved. Probably more chances and clearer cut chances than Michael Higdon had. That's the Michael Higdon who set up our first by jumping to nod Hateley's corner to Lasley, and scored our second with a clinical strike from outside the box.

Yet Michael Higdon, our top scorer this season with 4 goals in his last 6 games has been vilified for not trying hard enough and has become almost a Townsley-esque blame figure for an element of our support.

He is our main threat up front and as such, we would probably like him to get amongst he goals a bit more. Yes he is a little slow, almost Sutton slow, but he's a different player. I've read how his flick ons don't find his team mates, and that he's taller standing still than he is jumping. The boy won pretty much every header he went for against Hibs and when McHugh came on, he latched on to the majority of flicks that Higdon gave him.

Murphy and Humphrey were too far away from Higdon on almost every occasion, meaning that the big (not fat, solid) man's work went to waste.

Now, before anyone starts, I am not having a go at the others to defend Higdon, but I am viewing things a little less blinkered than some. Every player has their off day, and Higdon as well as others had that on Saturday. Tuesday was a different game and a different performance. If that was a league game, we draw it 2-2. If McHugh's non offside header is given, we win 3-2. But, because we lost on penalties and are out the cup, a state of emergency is declared.

We need to consider a few things. At the back we are currently a bit gash. Clancy is as much of a centre back as I am (I'm not), Saunders and Hutchinson are recovering from injury and Craigan is the only experienced man at the back we have. Johnny Page should be in consideration to come in in Clancy's place, but Stu Mc hasn't deployed him as yet. Does this make McCall tactically naive? No, it mean's he is trusting a more experienced player, albeit out of position, but a player who has plenty of SPL games under his belt in comparison.

Now, it may not be working, but it's McCall's call. Clancy looked good against Dunfermline but has been shaky since. He'll get over it and if he doesn't, and McCall doesn't address it, them we can start to really panic.

When Daley came on on Tuesday night, it was like The Hump MK2. All the running of his Jamaican compatriot with a bit more battle in him. His pace is certainly an asset and looks like his final ball and attacking nuance is better than Humphrey. This could be the kick up the arse Humpo needs as he has to compete with an experienced international. Hopefully he will help bring Chris' game on, as to call back to earlier, if he was the full package , he wouldn't be playing for us.

The more experienced players like Jennings, Hammell and Craigan have been out of sorts in the last 2 games, but dips in form are to be expected. As long as they don't continue to be so poor the the panic button doesnt need to be hit just yet.

All I'm saying is, angry Well fans, chill out a bit. We are in a lofty position, have a good, if thin squad, who have had some poor results in the last 10 days. We'll get past it. We have been in far worse predicaments than this and I feel our successes last season are the barometer at which we are being measured this season.

There has been much talk of #bouncebackability on Twitter and around Fir Park and this Saturday's game against Aberdeen is probably the ideal game to try and bounce back from last weeks dissappointments. The Dons are in a far worse situation than we are, what with being at the wrong end of the table and their current crop of players intent on tarnishing their 1980s driven reputation. Obviously they will be hurting at going out to 2nd Division East Fife and may have a point to prove.

The events of last season, when Aberdeen poached Brown and Knox away, as well as Blackman and the altercation with John Boyle, should lead to a great atmosphere amongst the fans. While the players will be professional, they know how much of lift for the fans it will be to get it right up them and have a right go. If they aren't fired up for this one and under perform, then I wi admit changes may need to be made.

But I have full confidence in a victory over the Dandy Dons this Saturday and I hope everyone who reads this can get back to supporting the team that sits proudly in 3rd place in the SPL.

Up The Well!!!

The KJ WellCast: Reviews, Previews and Interviews

The KJ WellCast: Reviews, Previews and Interviews by krisjack. Uploaded with SoundCloud iPhone

The KJ WellCast Episode 1 with Flemi and BLJ

KJ WellCast with BLJ and Flemi by krisjack. Uploaded with SoundCloud iPhone

MOTHERWELL FC: MOANS AND MONEY

After an International Break, which courted better controversy than displays by Scotland, it’s back to the good old SPL this weekend. The games against Czech Republic and Lithuania did little to set the purple heather alight in terms of the results and the performances, giving the Tartan Army a Victoria Beckham type of slim, slimmest of chances at reaching Euro 2012.

The pundits have latched on to Levein’s statement of “progression” for Scotland under his stewardship, and that the World Cup is now the main aim. The former Dundee United and Hearts manager was hired to guide the nation to next years European Championships, and that should have been his priority. If I was hired to hit a yearly target (which I sort of am) and was failing at that (which I don’t think I am anymore), I would never think of using the excuse that in actual fact, I am preparing for next year’s target.

8 points from 6 games, which before Lithuania was 5 from 5. 97^th minute winners against the worst team in the group. Playing Czech Republic with no strikers. Looking for fault in anyone but those in our national shirt and tracksuits. It’s not good enough. The blinkered Scotland fan will look back at the Czech game and claim that as we were “cheated” in a game which would have given us a bit of hope, that is why we are not going to qualify. I believe it stems back to Levein’s appointment.

He was the cheap, safe choice. It is probably testament to his tactical nous that unlike predecessors McLeish and Smith, who had the whole nation excited about our national team for the first time in a while, that no big clubs are trying to prize Craig away from the Scotland set up. While the makeshift team that disposed of the Hearts All-Stars got the job done, the whole game was flat. Fletcher’s penalty miss summed up the atmosphere of Hampden, where as frustrating as not scoring it was, it was kind of just accepted. Naismith took his goal well, Bannan was impressive and Goodwillie ploughed the lone furrow to a decent standard, minus the service form his colleagues and the enthusiasm if the crowd.

The likes of Adam, Brown and Miller were missing, but that is academic. I’m pretty sure the game would still have been a slog with them in the team. It pains me to contemplate that the missing spark, the mark of quality, the game changer was oddly tanned, Turkey disliking, Cardiff striker Kenny Miller. Where’s James McFadden when you need him?

He’s one of three places actually. He’s either on his way to Wolves after knocking back Aberdeen, slaying Dinosaurs in a bid to bring pride back to the national team (according to www.fitbathatba.com and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLWPyfpow2g ) or pumping money in to The ‘Well Society. Two out of three of those have truth backing them, I’ll let you pick which ones.The news that The Fad had reportedly invested some money in to Motherwell’s new Community Ownership project, was one of the highlights of it’s launch on Monday night. Having read a number of reports on it and trying to figure out what it entailed, I’m not going to lie, I’m still trying to get my head around it. Perhaps if I was more financially astute I could figure it out. Despite working with numbers and costs and VAT on a daily basis, my understanding of investment and shares is pretty poor.

In my opinion, I think that Community Ownership is probably a good thing as it should make for some innovative ideas going forward and allows the fans a chance to be able to contribute to the Club they love. If I could afford it, I’d probably chip in as best I could. I’d imagine that there has been a slight surge in EuroMillions tickets sold in Lanarkshire this week, to see if anyone can realistically pump a Romanov amount of money in to our club.

I’d imagine it’s something that crosses a lot of football fans minds, the notion of owning their club and how they would run it. I would not have the first clue on how to do it, so if I had the money, I’d probably pay someone who did to do it, while taking all of the credit. I’d maybe go a bit John Boyle about it and try and invest as much as I could to make Motherwell the true Third Force in Scottish Football, but only if it wouldn’t jade the fans.

Man City for example, have almost all of the world’s economy at their disposal, but the majority of their fans who have seen relegation, struggle and the loss of their original Maine Road are still pretty grounded. They accept that they are possibly one of the richest clubs in the world,but you still see them shuffling in to the Etihad wearing flatcaps and Brother sponsored strips. Their fans don’t seem to feel like they have an entitlement to win every game. Yes, they will get frustrated that a team of such stars may not perform to their best each week, but they accept that.

Compare that to Chelsea, who up until really this millennium, were never really title contenders in the EPL. Now 2 bad results means their boss’s jacket is on a shoogly peg and their fans are pulling on it’s sleeves. They have grown to rely on Abramovic and his oodles of Russian money which I forget the name of, in order to win and compete in the most expensive games in European football and buy the best that world football has to offer.

I’d much rather the fans were content with my investment, while making sure the Club is financially stable and try and bring in at least 1 marquee siging per season, while keeping the focus on Youth Development. No matter how much money anyone ever pumps in to Motherwell FC, we would never have the profile or catchment of fans that the Old Firm have, based on history and heritage.

To that end, the club would need to keep creating it’s own legacy and I’d like to see that done by focussing on the youngsters, giving them the best facilities and training they can get to better themselves. Gordon Young is doing a greta job in bringing through future stars, whether they play for Motherwell or anyone else, and his enthusiasm and eye for a prodigy needs to be encouraged in future coaches as well.

So, yeah, I’d make the club stable, fund them enough to compete every year, give the fans some excitement each year with a big signing and invest in youth. Would this make our league and national team better? Who knows. People complain about a myriad of things that are making the SPL as bad as the Irish League, but maybe if we were more positive about our game as opposed to bashing it all the time, then maybe it wouldn’t seem so bad. These dark days of Scottish Football are only here this season due to Celtic and rangers being out of Europe already.

If the heavy hitters in the Scottish sporting media took off their green and blue specs and looked at how teams like Motherwell, Kilmarnock, St Mirren and more are trying to play the game this season, then they will see the games are not all bad. It may not be as skill packed as La Liga, or as tactically minded as Serie A, but there is still football to be enjoyed up and down the country. The state of our game may look bleak, but the clouds, they are a-clearing.

Motherwell take on Celtic at Parkhead this weekend in a 2^nd versus 3^rd match, where a Well win would be a major step towards staying up “there” for a decent chunk of the season. They can be beat as St Johnstone proved, but by playing ugly. If we try and play them at football ala the Rangers game, then we may get a hiding. Hopefully not though, so that my latest podcast gives me something to crow about!

My blog is now home to The KJ WellCast, with the first proper episode hopefully being recorded in the aftermath of Parkhead tomorrow. No doubt, links will be free flowing to it all week.

So, thanks for reading and keep your ears peeled in the next few days for some irreverent Motherwell based banter.

Up The Well!!

MOTHERWELL FC: MORE OF THE SAME PLEASE MR MCCALL!

MOTHERWELL FC: MORE OF THE SAME PLEASE, MR MCCALL

Six weeks in to the season, 7 games played, 1 defeat, 2^nd in the league, 8 goals in the last 2 games, 5 clean sheets and 0 players lost from the squad that has started so well. Some pretty good looking numbers there. Add to that the 2 major additions to the team in Law and Higdon (as well as Clancy and Daley), and you could say that we are the strongest that we have been since the beginning of the McGhee era.

McGhee’s team may have boasted the talents of McCormack, Porter, Hughes, Clarkson, O’Donnell et al, which on paper is definitely a more attractive team than the current crop, but by jove these lads are giving it their all. Being at the summit means that everyone comes after you, and while in the past, players would have shirked at this, McCall’s group seem to be using it as motivation, to prove they deserve to be there.

In the SPL, we all know that playing pretty isn’t the be all and end all, and certainly against St Mirren and to an extent Hearts, we just shaded the wins. Having missed both these games, I can only go on what I’ve been told by others. In the 5 games I’ve witnessed, barring the Kilmarnock game, I’d say the brand of pass and move football the team are playing is perhaps the best in the league.

Despite going down 3-0 to Rangers, they posed threat through the speed at which they broke up field after sustaining pressure. For the majority of that game, Law, Lasley, Jennings, Hammell and the rest sprayed some neat passes about and made some good running, albeit with no end product. The Inverness, Clyde and Dunfermline games did have the deserved ending and the scuddings those teams have taken off the back of that, are why The Well are where they are.

With no one away on International duty, the squad has some time to relax and be injury free come the visit to Parkhead next weekend. The majority of their squad will be called up for their respective countries, which may give way to fatigue and frustration on their part. Having not been to Parkhead in over a decade, I am looking forward to this visit with a certain degree of optimism.

Results against Celtic have been easier to come by than against Rangers, even when the blue half”of Glasgow have had “poor” squads when facing us. St Johnstone’s win over the Sellic shows that they can be beat, even by a team that has no goal scorers in it. The unpredictability of the SPL may just throw up another shock. A shock at least for non Motherwell fans.

Everyone who has watched The Well this season knows what this group of players are capable of. Consistency is the key. Perhaps the players have given that extra bit of effort to show themselves off in the transfer window, but they need to maintain this standard of football now that we are half way through the first cycle of games.

The backing that the fans have given so far this season has been awesome as well and is a driving force for the boys on the pitch. Confidence in themselves and one another is one thing, but knowing they have the belief of the fans, manifest in shouts, cheers and ridiculous songs to the theme tunes of Sunday night soaps, can only inspire them when they are on the park. A glance at the Tweets of our social networking squad show that they really are reacting to the chants and the drum and the banners on display at this season’s games.

The difference it made to Chris Humphrey against Dunfermline last weekend is proof that getting behind the players makes a difference. Having tried and tried and tried in the first half to cut inside and get a shot away, his head could have dropped and he could have faded out the game as he has done in the past. Instead, at the start of the second half, with the wind of the travelling support behind him, he tornadoed through their defence before firing in off the post.

It’s a goal that he has pretty much tried to score in every game he’s played in Claret and Amber and it finally paid off. Hopefully, like with Higdon, this will herald a potency to his game this season, that he has lacked in the last 2.

If we can keep everyone fit, and keep them playing with the passion and commitment they have so far, then this could be a season to savour. Traditionally we struggle in the winter months, but if we rack up enough wins before the darkness hits, we should be ok. It would be ridiculous to suggest that we will be in Champions League contention come March, when the SPL will probably resume it’s usual shape, but going on what has gone before so far, I’d say a top 4 finish isn’t too much of a stretch.

Having lost no one in this window, prolonged success may see us diminish in January. Murphy and Randolph will, I imagine, be the 2 hot picks from our squad, both of whom would be pretty darn hard to replace, unless we get good money for them. We can but hope that the prodigal McFadden will be fit enough to consider a six month deal to get his career back on track after injury, if we lose our big players.

But, for now, we have a cracking set of players, who have set a fairly high bar in the first 7 games. The next few games after Celtic all give us home advantage over St Johnstone and Aberdeen in the league, and Hibs in the League Cup. I wager the Hibs game to be the trickiest, as their luck needs to turn at some point…but I think we’ll still send them crashing out, maybe take penalties though.

With the Scotland games up this week, I wish Levein’s men all the best. At this moment in time, as patriotic as I am, I am club over country, but despite not really being a fan of Levein, I want 2 wins from 2. The Czech game will be a tough test, but hopefully , hopefully, they can bring Scottish Football out of it’s current funk.

Up The Well! (and the Tartan Army!)

KJ WellCast 1 p2

KJ WellCast 1 p2 by krisjack

KJ WellCast 1

KJ WellCast 1 by krisjack