Yes, the halls are decked, Wenceslas is enjoying Steven's feast and little drummer boys have gifts for you, right up in there bums! It's Christmas week and the giving of gifts has begun!
What's that SPL/SFA? You want to give Steve Jennings a gift? Quite right, after all he did get punched in the belly off of Jim ( Only one leopard print jacket away from getting a gig on The Crystal Maze) Goodwin at the weekend, and after all your attempts to suspend him in the last 12 months, I would say he deserves something from you. Oh, wait, it's an offer of a 2 game ban for touching Goodwin in the face, after almost having his legs taken off at the knee? I wouldn't bet on him appreciating the gesture....
Despite my facetious little sketch there, I do find it rather diabolical that Jenno has been taken to task for his involvement in Saturday's melee. He was booked at the time, which was more likely for the hack on McLean than for anything else, but for him to incur the same charge as Goodwin is ridiculous. I am all in favour of the fast track disciplinary system, when it is used to good effect for the purpose it is fit for, and I can see why Jennings has been collared, as the rules state you can't lift your hands to an opponent, BUT, Goodwin's clear stomach buster was intended to be far more than a wee scrunched face.
Aluko and Pawlett have rightly been carpeted for diving, while Gary O'Connor got away with the exact same thing. With Pawlett, I'd imagine his red card will be appealed and he will get banned for the dive, which is a ridiculous state of affairs as well. I just think they need to find a line and stick to it. Fast tracking is all well and good, but it is resulting in players getting harsher sentences than they would merit if caught in a game. The punishments are not fitting the crime. Santa, if you are listening, please give the SPL/SFA a clue and some consistency, I'd imagine they'd be thankful of it.
This time of year usually brings with it Claret and Amber gifts galore. In my younger days, I could always bank on getting that season's away kit off my Aunt Helen, which was a tradition for many a year. I remember getting the luminous Shivute kit and going up the park after Christmas lunch to play football in the dark, to see if it would glow. It didn't, it got absolutely mockit. That tradition seems to have carried on with my nephew Aiden, who will no doubt be enveloped in the Lucky Silver kit come Sunday morning, as well as a host of other Well related goodies.
The range of stuff in The Well Shop just now is actually pretty sweet and I'm sure many Well fans will awake to some Puma made garments on Christmas day. While not a massive fan of trackie tops, I am quite impressed with the fare we have, even the cheekily named "Hampden" white tracksuit. Other than the kits for this season, the claret post match polo is probably the nicest bit of Well wear I've seen for a while. (Mum, if you're reading this...medium). I'll probably have a rake around in there before shooting off to Tynecastle on Saturday morning.
The Club has got in on the festive spirit by putting on free buses for the Supporters Association to make the trip to Edinburgh, which is a great move. Our away performances have been far superior to our home form, and the noise of the lads who regularly travel is fed upon by the team. By incentivising a few hundred more fans to travel East, we can hopefully treat them to a fine display at a stadium we do not always get a result in. I have only been to Tynie once before,and it ended in a 2-0 defeat with Kevin Christie being sent off. Hopefully Christmas Eve will give us a festive away win.
Finally, here's my Motherwell Santa list for this year.
7 points from the next 9, (Hearts, Dunfermline, Rangers...)
Another Scottish Cup run, with more than the Elgin game at home.
Inverness to make the Top Six for another weekend in the Highlands.
To not lose any key players in January.
Bring in quality where needed in the window.
To stay 3rd for the rest of the season, if not higher....
Not much to ask for is it?
Merry Christmas folks and have a Happy New Year when it comes! The Podcast will be back better than before in the New Year and will be looking for contributions from my readers, so keep your eyes and ears peeled in 2012.
Up The Well!
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Friday, 16 December 2011
MOTHERWELL FC: ALWAYS LOOK ON THE....
Agenda, stance and perspective are a wonderful thing. As the year looks to slip away under the snow dirfts and general #Bawbaggery of the weather, I've become rather contemplative about what 2011 has thrown up for me. If I look at it from one stance, it's been a bit of a shiter of a year.
This ranges from the mundanity of having to commute for over an hour each way, each day to work and putting weight back on which I'd tried hard to banish forever, to more serious matters. The more serious matters being having to move out of a flat which wasn't too great to begin with, due to what the Beano or The Dandy would describe as a dastardly villain.
Watching an episode of Glee used to end with me feeling a bit dirty as it was a guilty pleasure, but only one of them ended with my downstairs gem of a neighbour "allegedly" setting fire to my abode. Apparently, in a Spinal Tap like way, you can't fingerprint scorch marks. Anyways, that was probably the primary low, exacerbated by the stress of trying to find a new place to live. On top of this, saving for our impending wedding has not gone quite as to plan as we would have hoped, and earning less than I know I could be in my current job has put a dampener on my exponential spending. Indeed, to top the year off, I failed at the second hurdle to get a job, that I hoped would set up 2012 as a year to remember.
If I was a pessimist, I would look at that year and give a good old Ron Simmons style "DAMN!". However, that is one perspective. Another perspective could be that 2011 has been a pretty darn good year.
I moved back home in to the welcoming arms of my family, who I needed for a lot of support during previously mentioned times. I have a steady job, which, while I am looking to find something that gives me a better wage, is a job which pays me enough to let me get by and afford some luxuries. I live in a cracking wee house with the woman I love, which we are slowly but surely making a home. We went to Canada in April which was amazing and have recently purchased our first car, which I can drive, having passed my driving test 8 years after failing due to someone else's incompetence. I have grown within my job, to a level where I can do it to a decent level, and have also gained part time work with the football club that is closest to my heart.
And this is where the football stuff kicks in. Throughout the good and bad of the last 12 months, there has been one constant (other than my Mrs), the like of which I haven't seen in the 17 years I've been going to Fir Park. Motherwell Football Club have had one of the most successful 12 months I have been grateful to be a part of.
When Stuart McCall took over from Craig Brown 52 weeks ago, the club was in a bit of a suspended state. Having given his word that he would stick by us, Pa Broon left to count corner kicks in Aberdeen. When McCall came in, many had trepidation over his appointment, but a year on, there is no doubt he is Mr Right, not just Mr Right Now, as perhaps Brown and Knox had been. From December to May, Stu Mc took us to Hampden twice and gave us a fantastic run in the Scottish Cup, culminating in our first Scottish Cup Final in 20 years. The result was dissapointing, and some thought the ceiling had been hit too early. However, since the arse end of July, he has kept us in the upper echelons of the SPL, thanks to the team ethic he has instilled at the club.
This has been aided by the experienced core of our team. Messrs Craigan, Lasley and Hammell have been in outstanding form this season, bringing on the players around about them. The tenacity of players like Jennings, Hutchinson and Murphy has been evident in varying forms throughout the year, and the signings of Nicky Law, Omar Daley and Tim Clancy have had impacts that have spurred the team on to some outstanding performances as well as hard ground wins.
Pundits always say the sign of a good team is when they can get a victory when they don't play at their best. The games this season at Inverness and Aberdeen are examples of that. Tom Hateley's late winner against Caley was one of the most joyous goals I have ever seen scored by a Well player, as it signified the fight that the team has. Having lost only 4 games all season, 3 to the Old Firm, no 'Well fan should have reason to gripe.
But they will. There is always something, whether it's Michael Higdon's weight/jumping/running/ability being questioned, Chris Humphrey's hot and cold blowing or whatever they muster up in the chat rooms, there will always be a negative to cuddle all of our positives. But that's where perspective kicks in again.
Everyone has the agency to look at things from whatever angle they want, and while sometimes things get a bit heavy, other times they are purely majestical. So, when the time comes to put 2011 to bed, in some ways I'll be glad to see the back of it, and in others, I'll be wishing it could stay up a little longer.
Mon The Well and Mon 2012, give me your best shot!
This ranges from the mundanity of having to commute for over an hour each way, each day to work and putting weight back on which I'd tried hard to banish forever, to more serious matters. The more serious matters being having to move out of a flat which wasn't too great to begin with, due to what the Beano or The Dandy would describe as a dastardly villain.
Watching an episode of Glee used to end with me feeling a bit dirty as it was a guilty pleasure, but only one of them ended with my downstairs gem of a neighbour "allegedly" setting fire to my abode. Apparently, in a Spinal Tap like way, you can't fingerprint scorch marks. Anyways, that was probably the primary low, exacerbated by the stress of trying to find a new place to live. On top of this, saving for our impending wedding has not gone quite as to plan as we would have hoped, and earning less than I know I could be in my current job has put a dampener on my exponential spending. Indeed, to top the year off, I failed at the second hurdle to get a job, that I hoped would set up 2012 as a year to remember.
If I was a pessimist, I would look at that year and give a good old Ron Simmons style "DAMN!". However, that is one perspective. Another perspective could be that 2011 has been a pretty darn good year.
I moved back home in to the welcoming arms of my family, who I needed for a lot of support during previously mentioned times. I have a steady job, which, while I am looking to find something that gives me a better wage, is a job which pays me enough to let me get by and afford some luxuries. I live in a cracking wee house with the woman I love, which we are slowly but surely making a home. We went to Canada in April which was amazing and have recently purchased our first car, which I can drive, having passed my driving test 8 years after failing due to someone else's incompetence. I have grown within my job, to a level where I can do it to a decent level, and have also gained part time work with the football club that is closest to my heart.
And this is where the football stuff kicks in. Throughout the good and bad of the last 12 months, there has been one constant (other than my Mrs), the like of which I haven't seen in the 17 years I've been going to Fir Park. Motherwell Football Club have had one of the most successful 12 months I have been grateful to be a part of.
When Stuart McCall took over from Craig Brown 52 weeks ago, the club was in a bit of a suspended state. Having given his word that he would stick by us, Pa Broon left to count corner kicks in Aberdeen. When McCall came in, many had trepidation over his appointment, but a year on, there is no doubt he is Mr Right, not just Mr Right Now, as perhaps Brown and Knox had been. From December to May, Stu Mc took us to Hampden twice and gave us a fantastic run in the Scottish Cup, culminating in our first Scottish Cup Final in 20 years. The result was dissapointing, and some thought the ceiling had been hit too early. However, since the arse end of July, he has kept us in the upper echelons of the SPL, thanks to the team ethic he has instilled at the club.
This has been aided by the experienced core of our team. Messrs Craigan, Lasley and Hammell have been in outstanding form this season, bringing on the players around about them. The tenacity of players like Jennings, Hutchinson and Murphy has been evident in varying forms throughout the year, and the signings of Nicky Law, Omar Daley and Tim Clancy have had impacts that have spurred the team on to some outstanding performances as well as hard ground wins.
Pundits always say the sign of a good team is when they can get a victory when they don't play at their best. The games this season at Inverness and Aberdeen are examples of that. Tom Hateley's late winner against Caley was one of the most joyous goals I have ever seen scored by a Well player, as it signified the fight that the team has. Having lost only 4 games all season, 3 to the Old Firm, no 'Well fan should have reason to gripe.
But they will. There is always something, whether it's Michael Higdon's weight/jumping/running/ability being questioned, Chris Humphrey's hot and cold blowing or whatever they muster up in the chat rooms, there will always be a negative to cuddle all of our positives. But that's where perspective kicks in again.
Everyone has the agency to look at things from whatever angle they want, and while sometimes things get a bit heavy, other times they are purely majestical. So, when the time comes to put 2011 to bed, in some ways I'll be glad to see the back of it, and in others, I'll be wishing it could stay up a little longer.
Mon The Well and Mon 2012, give me your best shot!
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