Having done a power of writing
for various outlets over the last month or so, I have ended up neglecting the
place where it all began, my blog. Today, seems about the right time to get back
in to the blogosphere and get my own thoughts and opinions across on a few
things that my other work doesn't allow or give me opportunity
to.
Having split myself between my
media role at Motherwell FC and my STV blog/column on the Elite Ice Hockey
League, I have been slowly building and building a firm body of work to project
me to where I want to be. There's nothing wrong with being a Business to
Business phone salesman, but writing and commentating and commenting on sports
is what I want to do, and by and large, I am doing the right things to get me
there.
It's just taking
ages.
The experience that I am
gaining from it is immense though. While not claiming to be bezzie mates with
any of the players at MFC, the majority of the first team are aware of who I am
and what I do, and the occasional head nod or "alright" from them in passing
still has me feeling like a fan. Even though my current Well heroes are mainly
younger than me, I still feel like 10 year old me, the wee boy that would
clamber to the front of the East Stand to get Dougie Arnott's autograph on my
programme or show Stevie Woods the unflattering caricature I had drawn of him
waving to the crowd, while the ball whistles past
him.
From a "professional" point of
view, writing match reports, programme reports, player profiles etc is really
bringing on my writing to where I want it to be. I've always been good with
words (if not typing) and while some things can seem somewhat repetitive
(there's only so many words you can use for "kick" without using the actual word
"kick" in a sentence describing a shot at goal), my turn of phrase is getting
better and hopefully that comes across in the reports that go up after games and
in to the programme.
Commentary is not something I'd
really given much thought to when I came on board at MFC. It was something I was
always willing to do, but due to a slight speech impediment (can't roll my Rs)
wasn't sure I'd be able to pull it off to great effect. When the opportunity
arose in January, in a 1-0 defeat to Inverness, I grabbed it with both hands,
despite my Jamie Oliver tongue, and have not looked back since. I absolutely
love doing it.
I often feel like the boy in
Father Ted that presents the Euro Song show, an alcoholic, stuttering, slavering
wreck until the curtain goes up and then he is the consummate professional. As
soon as Graham "The Mouth of Motherwell" Barnstaple, my co-commentator, puts us
on air, I seem to change from my usual low Lanarkian-Weegie drawl, to a slightly
clearer sounding, more annunciated Lanarkian-Weegie timbre. Hopefully the MFCTV
subscribers are becoming accustomed to my voice and mannerisms when they tune
in, as I appreciate, Graham and I can be somewhat of an acquired
taste.
(I've also yet to get my own Broadcast Pseudonym, "The Mouth" fit's Graham well, not just from his ranty ways, but now that he is Chairman of the Well Society, his words come with some sort of authority I guess.)
We have built up a great
camaraderie on air, which I believe helps the flow of the broadcast, and is
helping me to find my broadcast voice in this capacity. having dabbled in
podcasting last season, my main worry was that I wasn't speaking clearly enough
to really embark upon such a road, but with almost a year of doing MFCTV comms,
it's is a great string to add to my
bow.
This weekend sees the MFCTV
team travel to Inverness to broadcast from the Tulloch Stadium, for a game that
may be quite a toughy for The Well. With ICT in fine form, and the Steelmen
somewhat struggling, I very much doubt there will be a repeat of the 4-1 win
over the Caley Jags that I missed while in Malta. Likewise, I am not so
confident in a repeat of our jaunt up the A9 last season, where we stole a win
from El Tel's side.
Had I been on comms for that
game, I very much doubt I'd have been asked back. Having ventured up to
Inverness with my mates on the Friday, to say i was fragile on the Saturday was
an understatement. Being far from a hardened drinker, a night of Jaeger-Bombs
and JD and Cokes, were probably correctly followed up by just having to do a
match report and Twitter updates on the
game.
It meant i didn't have to talk
to anyone with the risk of vomiting on them, and it meant I could keep my
emotions in check, reducing movement and the risk of emptying at the other end.
As the game played out, with Keith Lasley scoring from the Moray Firth and Tom
Hateley lashing in a late free kick for the winner, I'm pretty sure I'd have
ruined the Glensound Radio Unit, as I exclaimed that we'd
won.
Perhaps not the most
professional moment of my sports writing to date, but an experience nonetheless.
The same pilgrimage is being made this weekend and I am stating now, that i will
not be in a similar state come kick off on
Sunday....
It's an important game for The
Well, as the pressure begins to mount after some not so great results. It can be
argued that we are going through an unlucky spell, what with the Hibs debacle,
losing to a late goal versus Dundee United and only netting one in 18 attempts
against Dundee last time out. The luck has got to change at some point. Some
have said that we are due to give a team a roasting, but having already beaten
the form team in the SPL 4-1 at Fir Park, I doubt a hiding will be delivered
this weekend. I'd be happy with a
draw.
The one thing that I would ask
for is a goal, any kind of goal, from Henrik Ojamaa. He's cutting about in games
just now like the "Little Engine That Could" bursting his Estonian arse for the
side to create, but he just can't find the net himself. It has been over twenty
games since we last saw the pistols, and I for one would love to be doing my
best Mick Foley impression on Sunday. It was on the tip of my tongue at St
Johnstone and again when he hit the post and bar against United, and I pray that
I can shoot the soundbite out properly this
weekend.
The players have received a
fair bit of stick on forums and whatnot throughout this poor spell and I think
that is indicative of the situation that we have found ourselves in. Graham
mentions it most weeks to me that this generation of Well fans are spoiled, as
by and large, barring the administration times, things have been comparably
rosy. Regular top six finishes, European jaunts, two Cup Finals (albeit
disappointing ones) in the last few years; all a far cry from relegation and
bottom of the table battles.
Yes, this season hasn't seen us
hit the heady heights of last, and yes we haven't really found replacements for
Craigan and Jennings, and it could be argued that certain substitutions have
been incorrect or ill timed, but we will come out the end of this. I don't
believe at this moment in time that we will be involved in a relegation battle,
just as I don't believe that Hibernian and Aberdeen will be able to keep up their
good form for the rest of the season. Both of those sides are performing where
they "should be" for once, and fair play to them for it. But in my view, I don't
think it can last. As the first round of SPL games have been and gone, it shows
that any team is capable of taking points off any other this season, in what has
been a very open and coupon busting term so
far.
You can look at recent results
with ifs and buts, but the same conclusion can be made that things just aren't
going Well's way at this time, but I don't think it's through lack of effort on
the team's part. this is no happy clappy statement, just calling it how I see
it.
So for this weekend, get behind
The Well in the Highlands so that the journey back down the A9 isn't as grim as
what it's forecast to be.
That's probably enough
scattergun writing for the time being, cheers for
reading.
KJ
Up The
Well!
