MOTHERWELL FC: WE'LL BE FINE IN THE SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP

We'll be fine in the Scottish Premiership.

The most positive of a handful of plus points taken from last night's defeat to FC Kuban Krasnodar, is the fact that despite lacking width and and pace, Stuart McCall's side should have no problem in gaining a top six finish this season.

The result was disappointing, made more so by the first half performance that by all accounts matched the Russians, with a 0-0 score line at the midway point just about deserved. However, as soon as they kicked off the second half, the visitors upped their rate of play to a level that the Steelmen couldn't.

Ivelin Popov's first goal was the definition of clinicism. The one time that FC Kuban had managed to get in behind and deliver a quality cross, the ball ended up in the net via the toe of their top scorer from last season. Preventable? Yes, but the signs of the quality in the Russian side had been shown in first half flashes, before Ibrahima Balde's ball in to the corridor of uncertainty created a slight air of inevitability.

Having cracked the bar from distance in the first half, Balde looked the standout for the away side, and he was to be involved in the move that not only undone The Steelmen's attempted resurgence, but also brought back horrible memories of last year's Euro campaign.

A great bit of play between Vigurs and McFadden resulted in a corner, when Faddy's strike from the edge of the box was deflected wide. The ball was cleared, Stevie Hammell misplaced his ball back in and almost immediately, 7000 fans came down with the worst collective case of Deja Vu in sports history.

Balde broke at speed up the right hand side, and with only one defender back to prevent three attackers getting on the end of the pass, Popov popped up to secure his brace from 12 yards and almost certainly fired the Kubantsy in to the Europa League play off round.

Frustratingly, there was a feeling that the side that earned the Europa League berth last term could have possibly garnered a better result. There's no doubt the pace and width of last year's side would have caused their left and right backs issues and the tenacity and bite of certain players would have had the fans on their feet more often. That was not the case though, and with the competitive season underway, thoughts of past successes need to be put to the side for now.

With the tie at 0-2, McCall's side have the hardest of tasks to progress in Europe. For the first 50 minutes, despite a couple of shakes, The Well were a match for the side that has talent on  27 times their wage bill. A side that could afford to have Djibril Cisse on the bench for the biggest game in their 85 year history shows that despite being an "unknown" side, they were full of quality.

Quality that, barring one side in the Scottish Premiership, The Well are unlikely to face domestically this season. It's disheartening to be going in to the second leg two away goals behind, but come Sunday, MFC have a great chance to recover and set an early marker on the all new Scottish Premiership.

And there is no reason they shouldn't.  

With the Pre season games giving everyone a decent run out, the team that started last night was about as strong as McCall and Black could have made it. The surprise inclusion of Lee Hollis paid off, as the rarely used keeper made two great saves from Popov and Cisse in the second half to keep the scoreline down. With An international goalie in Gunnar Nielesen his competition this season, it seems the number one jersey is Hollis' to throw away as the season begins.

The back four were for the most part solid with Shaun Hutchinson a stand out yet again. With the imposing Balde the focus of their long ball play, Hutchinson stood tall and battled for every ball in the air with the massive striker. Having learned his trade from Stephen Craigan, having Stephen McManus beside him this season can only see him get better.

McManus himself had a great game in terms of positioning, tackling and distribution, everything you would expect from a seasoned European performer. Ramsden seems to be settled in the right back position and Steven Hammell, minus the blip for the second goal, was Steven Hammell.

It is in the middle of the park that the biggest difference between last term and this term is going to be seen. With only Zaine Francis- Angol offering any width, the majority of the Well play came through the middle, with the County boys, Lawson and Vigurs charged with playing piercing and penetrative balls forward. Lawson didn't see much of the ball in the early exchanges, but as the game progressed, his passing got sharper and more adventurous.

Vigurs, who also started off fairly quiet, was keen to test Belemov in the Kuban goal at any chance and after finding his range, had a good few efforts on goal, that had the keeper scrambling. His link up play with McFadden, who was frustrated at every turn, was a joy to watch at times, and in the SPFL, should create some great moments in the coming season.

Keith Lasley put in a great shift in the middle, bombing forward at times and at one point found himself at the bye-line crossing for Sutton. It was a big night for the skipper and the occasion didn't get to him as he tussled with Kabore and Tsorayev in the middle of the park. With John Sutton on his own up front, the Kuban defence did a good job on huckling him for the 90 minutes, but the complexion of the game could have changed at the death, had his header from ZFA's left wing cross been a few millimetres closer to goal.

As his powerful effort spun off his forehead, it looked destined to be the smallest of life lines going in to the second leg until it cracked the post and bounced away to safety, The European goal remaining elusive for McCall's side.

The despondency of the result and the way the second goal had been lost was evident at the final whistle from fans ad players alike, but with Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday lunchtime to come, the players need to react quickly and get their heads around putting on a display worth the first points of the SPFL season. Hibs themselves will still be hurting from their Europa exit last week, and will be hungry to begin getting over their Malmo mauling.

With every other side playing before The Well and the Hibees, Stuart McCall will get a good view of how the rival clubs will be set out this season. On last night's showing, he has built a very capable side, that once it gels more will keep The Well in the top six and challenge for Europe once more.

MOTHERWELL FC: IT'S BEEN A WHILE...

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!

MOTHERWELL FC: ENTERTAINMENT IS FOUND IN THE LACK OF DEFENSIVE ABILITY

As Josh Magennis got the final touch on Andy Considine's blooter in to the ground, deep in to injury time at Pittodrie on Sunday, 3 pairs of hands were thrown headwards in disbelief. Those hands had been clenched in to jubilant fists only 10 minutes earlier as Nicky Law looked to have secured a well earned win for The Steelmen, which would propel Stuart McCall's side three points clear of Hibs and four ahead of Celtic, ahead of next Saturday's match versus the current Champions.

"Motherwell have snatched a third to take all three points back to Lanarkshire!" I boomed down the MFCTV mic as Law and co celebrated in front of a dissenting home crowd, some of whom had fixed their gaze on Graham, Flow and I in the gantry. Many in front of us began to leave, as we gave it big licks for two minutes, exclaiming it was no less than we deserved.

Then Niall McGinn scored from a free header, and that cockiness, smugness and stupidity that I was exuding took a hefty knock. Us three, plus the hearty band of travelling fans who had trekked up to the Granite City had gone from confident winners, to the squeakiest of squeaky bummed panic merchants in 120 seconds.

It was inevitable that when Jamie Langfield lofted his free kick towards the Well box that something bad was going to go down, and for the second time this season, a late late leveller has left Motherwell feeling that they have lost all three points when it has really been two.

I don't buy in to the "play Motherwell to break a duck/lift a curse/turn your season around" patter anymore, but it did have some resonance yesterday, particularly given the Dons as the opposition. Just shy of 13 years ago, Ebbe Skovdhal's dismal Dons travelled to Fir Park on a Wednesday night, having failed to win any of their SPL games ahead of the clash. Not only did they get the win that night, but Robbie Winters claimed a hat trick, as did Well's John Spencer. 

The irony of such a high scoring game was that the two goalies that night, Goram and Leighton, were two of the modern great at International level, meaning that the defending must have been very suspect indeed.

As it was yesterday. With the Aberdeen fans been bereft of net bulging action at home this season, it was a stick on that this game would follow suit, but thanks to some woeful marking and positioning, they were treated to a veritable goal fest.Each of the six goals scored were highly preventable, with the defending for the three Well goals by The Dons' defence probably the worse.

Three set pieces gifted Motherwell three goals, which Craig Brown was quick to lament after the game. Having kept out all visitors in recent weeks he was dismayed at the lack of prevention used by his experienced defence. Considine, Reynolds and Anderson have done and should have done much better when Higdon poked home, when Hutchinson got his sizeable dome to Hateley's corner and Law bundled the third in after Cummins and Murphy tried to force the ball past Langfield.

Not that I am complaining. I was loving the ineptitude of their backline. Not so much ours though.

Motherwell were the better team throughout, and could have been forgiven for switching off to allow Gavin Rae to score from Hayes' cross so early on, had they held out for the 3-1 win. The quality of Fraser's cross for the second can't be argued, but with Hutchinson getting caught under the ball, similar to Cummins last week against Dundee, it gave McGinn the easiest of headers to place in to the net.

If only the defence could have clenched themselves as tight as the gluteals of every Motherwell fan going in to injury time, then this blog may have been a celebration of staying top of the league, regardless of the outcome of the game against Celtic on Saturday. But that's fitba. You win some, you lose some, you draw some from the jaws of victory in a game you deserve to have won. It happens.

With Ibrox to come on Wednesday, a similarly attack minded performance will go a long way to getting to the next round of the League Cup. I'm not going to go in to all the permutations of how and why we can beat this incarnation of rangers, despite us having not won their this decade, nay, this century. By and large we have ground out results this season and been deserving of a win in others, and but for misfortune, we could have held on for just a few seconds more against Aberdeen and St Mirren to be more than one point ahead at the top of the SPL.

Perhaps on Wednesday, it's our time to lift a hoodoo.

Up The Well!

MOTHERWELL FC: DOING THE HIGGY WHEN WE'RE TOP OF THE LEAGUE

Six games. Three draws, three wins, out of Europe, but Top of the SPL. Not too much to grumble about so far in this season where every team is going to suffer, where Armageddon is imminent and Scottish Football is set to implode on itself without the blue side of Glasgow turning up once or twice to bouncy bouncy their money in to our gate receipts.

 

It may still be early on in the season, but the hand wringing, wailing and gnashing of teeth which darkened the summer as the SFA and SPL failed to really get to grips with the Ibrox saga, has yet to be proved. Sure financially, there are a number of clubs who will miss the money that having both sides of the Old Firm in the league would bring, and there may still be cause for worry of administration, liquidation or whatever other financial meltdowns are abound, but for now, the SPL is proving to be as exciting and as closely matched as it has been for some time.

 

As  a Well fan, it will never not be exciting being at the top of the league, and having done so amidst a grueling, if somewhat underwhelming, Euro adventure, makes it more impressive. Playing 8 games in the first 4-5 weeks of the season, jaunting from Dingwall to Athens to Kilmarnock to Valencia, with some stops at home between, no doubt took it's toll on some (if not all) of the players. Those like Randolph, Ojamaa and Francis-Angol have also clocked up a power of air miles in this time, representing their nations in International battle.

 

To those who have given their all over the last two month's there can be no greater credit than sitting atop the domestic division, looking down on the chasing pack. But it has not been pretty getting there. Ross County away looked to be two points dropped in a lacklustre display, until it became evident that Derek Adams men would cause frustration to every team they came up against so far.

 

Bob McHugh's leveller against St Johnstone earned a hard fought point off the back of the trip to Greece, before the 2-1 win over Killie showed signs of some great counter attacking football.The home draw with St Mirren was a sickener having held on for so long to a 2nd minute lead, only to chuck it in injury time having gone a man down, before Higgy struck his magnificent treble against Inverness. Despite the emphatic win, the game was much closer than intimated, a common occurrence with ICT last season.

 

Saturday's win was a proper smash and grab job, at times neither side seemed interested in keeping possession, but when the game and The Well needed a spark, they got it when Henrik Ojamaa bowled in to the fray. It's been far too long since we've seen the pistols bang banging, he didn't even get them out when he scored a late double against St Johnstone at the end of last season, but his work rate has set up Higgy for vital goals in the last two games when he has come on as a sub. It would seem that there's nothing currently better than, as the fans chanted, "Doing The Higgy When We're Top Of The League".

 

With the transfer window now closed, it was a bit of a shock that nobody left, particularly those in the final year of their contract. The only standout amongst those in the early stages of the season has been Randolph, arguably our most bankable asset. Murphy and Humphrey have underperformed so far, and Shaun Hutchinson showed his rawness probably at the most inopportune time with two red cards in two games, possibly dulling down interest in the lad. Offers for he and Nicky Law were knocked back as being derisory, but performances throughout the team have perhaps not shown the true value that these players are worth, hence they are still at Fir Park.

 

I quipped after the Dundee game that it's a sign of a great team when they can win ugly, and while that was rather tongue in cheek, abit of it stands true. While we haven't played like the Scottish Barcelona of late, we've ground out results and made the most of the start to the season. Others have too. Dundee's win over Hearts was their first of the season, thanks to their first goal of the term, a penalty, which they defended for the rest for the game. Hibs have made a decent start with Leigh Griffith's earning plaudits for seemingly reigning himself in a bit. Dundee United haven't hit the heights expected of them as yet while St Mirren sit third. With Celtic minds on European glory, their complacency resulted in a first SPL win of the season for St Johnstone.

 

While the title will no doubt end up back at Celtic Park once they are dumped out of the UCL, it's up to the other teams in the league to battle away at the top end. The number of draws and coupon buster results that have happened over the last few weeks has shown that it will be a tight league this year, but with the number of draws on show, a sequence of wins for one or two teams could see an early breakaway emerge. Had Hibs not won at the weekend, The Well may well have been four points clear at the top. Alas, it is just the one.

 

With a jaunt up to Aberdeen on Sunday, Stuart McCall's men will know what they need to do to stay top before the visit of Celtic the following week. Having a great record in the SPL against Aberdeen over the last few years and The Dons seemingly very shot shy at the moment, it's another great chance for three points, however, defensively, they have been pretty good and have conceded about as many as they have scored. It may be the case that a ground out win will be required yet again, to stay at the summit.

 

Up The Well!

MOTHERWELL FC: TUESDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Even on the afternoon after the night before, it still seems absurd, mental and ri-goddamn-diculous, that Motherwell FC are competing in the UEFA Champion's League. The word competing has been used correctly here, as while 0-2 down after the first leg, The Steelmen played to the best of their abilities, and no one in Claret and Amber can fault anyone who contributed to a cracking Champion's league debut. The result does however mean that we are left with an Acropolis sized trial to overcome. Despite putting in an Herculean effort against the giants of Greek football, Panathinaikos, Stuart McCall's first foray in to UEFA's premier club competition ended in defeat.

To be fair, it wasn't an unexpected shoreline, but what the performance roused, was a sense of belief that the men in Claret and Amber were capable of causing an upset. The two goals conceded were highly preventable, but on another night, Chris Humphrey's 20 yarder dips a few inches lower and crashes in off the underside of the bar; Michael Higdon gets a bit more direction on his header and plonks the ball behind the goalie; Henrik Ojamaa loses his gifted but selfish nuance, just once, and plays in Jamie Murphy to further his tally as the club's all time top European goal scorer.

However, on this night, under the dull Lanarkshire floodlit sky, those chances didn't find a way past a solid Pana back line. Velasquez and Boumsong took most things in their stride, and with the pace at which Sissoko, Lazaros and Toche could break, those missed opportunities transitioned from buoying the crowd, to frustrating them in equal measure as the game went on. Having far more posession and making far more chances than most home fans would have expected, swelled the noisy crowd in to belief that something could happen, but, alas, it was not to be. To go to Athens and overcome that two goal deficit, would go down in the annuls of MFC history as one of the greatest results in the Club's history.

While only Nostradamus would be able to predict such a ludicrous turn around, it is important that the players go to the the home of the Parthenon with the belief that they can do it. Otherwise, the plucky and lucky bunch of revellers making the pilgrimage will be nursing their Ouzo induced headaches with what might have been. Unfortunately funds and other commitments will not allow me to make the trip, but having had the pleasure of commentating for MFCTV for last night's game and getting one of the best seats in the house to do it form, has meant that my Champion's League experience was fantastic. (Although, there is a 99.9% chance that the commentary didn't actually go out to anyone...)

It was one of the busiest Media boxes I've seen at Fir Park for quite some time, and huddled up right next to my self and Graham "The Mouth of Motherwell" Barnstaple, were our Greek counterparts. After much faffing about trying to find a power supply, our plate smashing pals finally got settled, and got their own broadcast underway. They had screeds and screeds of what looked like the matrix on their computers, which they claimed was their own alphabet, although, bizarrely, there seems to be no Greek translation or spelling of "Jennigs" or "Craygen".

Despite seeing their team under the cosh for spells in the game, they weren't very loud or animated at either of the goals. Certainly nowhere near as jubilant as Graham and I would have been had The well managed to find the back of the net. Come the end of the game, they praised the skill, but not the style of Sissoko, and Velasquez powerful performance at the back, while singling out Law and Ramsden as the star men for the home side. With the latter looking fairly composed in his first competitive outing, Lawsy stole the show with his directness and eagerness to get forward and create. If he can do the same at the Olympic Stadium next week, he could be the catalyst for one of the all time great European comebacks.

Hopefully, I'll have trawled the web or found a pub with Al-Jazeera, to find a stream of next weeks match, which comes after a lengthy trip to Dingwall for the start of this season's SPL campaign. Ross County may be celebrating raising the title flag, but by no means will they be in party mode as they look to add to their highland history. McCall may opt to mix things about to rest players ahead of Athens, if he can afford that luxury. Regardless of the outcome of the trip north, the eyes of us all will be firmly on the return leg next week, with hope spurring everyone on. While dropping in to the Europa League is not the worst consequence of losing the current tie, realizing the dream of staying in the Champion's League that little bit longer, would taste that little bit sweeter.

Up The Well

MOTHEWELL FC: NEARLY THERE...

It's the morning after the night before and the morning of the night to come. Last night, a few hundred Well fans and a choice select of the Motherwell media team screamed with joy twice in absolute joy; once when Michael Higdon reacted quickest to Jamie McDonald spilling Jamie Murphy's dipping strike, and once again, when Alan Winter blew for Full Time.

 While it was Taps Aff in the away end, the restrictions of a headset and mic prevented me from partaking in that type of celebration. Instead, I joyously gushed about what I had just witnessed to the handful of listeners on MFCTV and my commentary colleague Graham "Mouth of Motherwell" Barnstaple. The much maligned Michael was now the messiah, having delivered the goal which sees Motherwell Football Club teetering on the edge of the unknown and unthinkable Champion's League qualifiers.

 A Dundee United win at Ibrox tonight, will pull us back form the edge slightly, while a home win will tip us right in to the gaping jaws of elite European football. It's slightly ironic that the demise of RFC has put us in this coveted position, and we are now depending on them to not lose in order to secure this mystical berth, ahead of our own trip to Govan at the weekend. But thoughts of tonight and Saturday's upcoming games were put to the side for the immediate aftermath of what could have been a tetchy Tuesday at Tynecastle.

 With Motherwell, having our destiny in the palm of our own hands finds us often spilling what we are carrying at the crucial moment. And at times last night, before Higgy's goal, it looked like Gorgie could be the scene of an uncomfortable drop, as Hearts came out of the traps and looked mouch more composed on their home turf. As has been the norm of late, the midfield and defence restricted our opponents to pot shots form distance, which rarely troubled Randolph in the middle of our goal.

 When Taouil latched on to the rebound from Templeton's blocked effort, a sharp intake of breath travelled out to the listeners of MFCTV form both myself and Graham, but we had need not worry ourselves. On a nervous night, the breaks stayed in favour of those in Claret and Amber, and it was a breakaway of great quality which gave us the winner. Jennings, who has been understated all season in the role he carries out manfully and to the hilt, won a hard, typifying challenge in the middle of the park to win posession, and from that challenge, the ball was worked to Murphy on the left.

 As Murph ghosted in from the wing, his shot looked from the gantry, like it would be an easy take for McDonald. The bounce of the ball in front of the Jambo's goalie was enough to panic him in to a parry and to much Maroon dismay, The Don stroked home. As Graham and I lost our professional composure amidst the gathered media and Hearts fans around us, the travelling faithful's noise was pitched even louder. Like a locomotive, they had used the team's season of performances to stoke their vocals and noise up in the corner, carrying the side to the heights they have hit. Higdon's goal was the proverbial woot woot of the metaphorical vessel, hurtling towards lands unknown.

 Hearts looked stunned and try as they might they could not break down the well rearguard. Hutchinson in particular was a behemoth at the back, while Clancy looked as composed and assured as he has been all season. Regardless of what was thrown at Motherwell, they hung on until the final toot of Winter's whistle, at which point the joy and emotion in the fans spilled to the players. To a man, they mobbed Higdon as the SKY cameras focussed on the former St Mirren man. I doubt 12 months ago, the big Scouser could have envisaged out scoring himself and setting Motherwell up for a crack att the Champion's League. But he has.

 It's testament to his ethic and effort that he is now a Fir Park hero. Eyebrows were raised at his signing, and while taking some time to find the net for the Well, he became the punching bag for many unpleased with certain results. Whether his celebration at Tannadice was intended as a "getitupye" to the Well fans or not, "The Higgy" may now be seen as as much of an iconic 'Well gesture as Faddy's streak and rat tail, Colin O'Neill's Hugo Sanchez and Sieb swinging on the bar. 400 arms bent at the elbows in an upward motion, as Higdon was led to the SKY studio, prove that.

 That motion of a fist being moved upward, against the oppression of whatever you want to fight is indicative of Motherwell punching above their weight. Something we have said for so long, when our league position or cup runs have belied our own thoughts and beliefs about our club. A foray in to Europe will definitely be "above our weight", but we shouldn't be looking to punch at it; merely we should enjoy it. The players have worked so so hard this season to get us there, and it has been a great season to be involved in with what I have done at the club.

 If Rangers do the job tonight, then that feeling of a job well done by all in Claret and Amber will carry in to our next 2 games, and while we'd like to keep the good run going, we can't be too harsh on McCall's men if we have a little dip, knowing fine well what awaits us. (Although, to be fair, from a personal level, commentating on Well's first win at Ibrox in 15 years would be pretty damn special...) For those that travelled through to Tynecastle, for those of a Claret and Amber persuasion who watched on SKY, for those who listened to Graham and I nervously stumble through commentary, last night was one of those historic nights in motherwell folklore.

While not having the thrills of a Cup Final, or the drama of a 6-6 game with a wonder strike in the last minute to level, it had as much emotion and heart as any fixture as important to the club would conjure up. All eyes are on Ibrox tonight, but you can't help but feel that the 1st of May 2012 will be remembered as the night that Motherwell FC qualified for the Champion's League.

 Up The Well!!

KJ WellCast 2604

KJ WellCast 2604

MOTHERWELL FC: SQUEAKY BUM TIME

Four games to go. Sunday is now consigned to the history books and it is time to move on. St Johnstone are next on The Well hitlist, and who better to be playing than a team bereft of their star man? Albeit, Celtic were without many of their star men, as have Rangers been in the last few outings against them, and to an extent Kilmarnock after they won the League Cup...actually, maybe that's not such a blessing after all...

For the last few years, our post split games haven't really meant much. Last year, we sacrificed pushing up the league to focus on the Scottish Cup final, the year before that, our European aspirations were already pretty much confirmed before the 6-6 game and Jutkiewicz's magnificent leveller. Anything we have been fighting for has usually been wrapped up 1 or 2 games in, with the pressure off for the last few matches.

This year though, we do not have that luxury. At time of writing, we are 3 points clear of Dundee United, with an untimely drop in form seeing us only gain 1 point from the last 12, scoring only twice in the process. Murmuring of the same ilk as in January is abound on the forums about how we are going to bottle the chance at the Champion's League and how McCall should be chopped for it. This is nonsense.

While recently there have been sub par performances, dips in form are to be expected in a tired team. Counting out suspensions and injuries, Randolph, Hateley, Hammell, Law, Jennings, Higdon and Ojamaa have never or hardly had a weekend off this season, while red cards to Keith Lasley would surely have seen him play a fair few games more. With a squad of Motherwell's size and budget, rotation has not been an option for McCall, that other managers seem to be able to afford.

I'm not putting that forward as an excuse, but it will certainly take it's toll on a team. What the players need to do now though, is take forward the motivation that playing in Europe can bring to them as a team and individually. From a club standpoint, the financial reward of making the CL qualifiers would be a huge boost, where even falling at the first hurdle would see us in the Europa competition. This money could see us potentially sign up our best and most consistent players for longer, as well as being able to offer decent money for better players, who could be coaxed by the lure of European competition.

Another reason for them to perform is the fact that some of the remaining games are live on TV, and at this business end of the season, SKYand ESPN are the best shop windows around. While not wanting to lose the likes of Randolph, Jennings, Murphy, Humphrey et al, if they want to move on, they need to show their potential, and doing it against the statistically best teams in the league, live on telly, will give them a great chance to make a mark.

I would imagine that they would also feel obligated to do it for the fans. While the East and Cooper stand were nowhere near full on Sunday, for various reasons, the overall turn out while we have been rising high in the league hasn't been the greatest. However, the fans that have turned out have been loud and proud to be shouting on The Well. The lads at the far end of the East Stand have outdone themselves this season with their banners and behaviour, despite getting huckled by security jobsworths at Tannadice and Pittodrie. The players themselves are spurred on by these displays and what better way to pay them back for their support, than to make the Andy Capp banner pictures a reality.

The converse to this is that United, St Johnstone and Hearts will all be feeling that they can catch the Well based on their form versus ours. Peter Houston's men are in pole position to catch us, and their superior goal difference would mean that drawing level on points would be enough to knock us out of that CL spot. A defeat at the weekend, coupled with a United win over Hearts, will see that scenario play out. With that game happening before ours, the team will know what is expected of them. A Hearts win would take a little pressure off, but they must go all out for the win, regardless of events at Tannadice.

As exciting as it would be for it to go down to Motherwell v Dundee United on the last day for a crack at the unbelievable, the gaffer, the squad and the fans will be hoping it does not come to that. Realistically, I reckon it may come to that, but a win at the weekend will go some way to preventing it. More often than not this season, our own results, as well as those of our closest rivals have gone our way. What I would give for that to continue.

So, in closing, the players and the gaffer need to steel themselves for the next four battles, as a shot at the unexpected, however brief it may be, will offer a great experience for the team and fans alike. This weekend will be vital in the realisation of this.

Four games to go. Saturday is the now, is holding on to third the future...?

Up The Well

MOTHERWELL FC: A FAIRLY DRAUGHT FREE TRANSFER WINDOW…

MOTHERWELL FC: A FAIRLY DRAUGHT FREE TRANSFER WINDOW…

It’s February 2nd and Motherwell FC have just closed what was a fairly quiet, but eventful transfer window. A time of year which usually sees a mass panic amongst certain clubs over expected losses of players, a period of excitement for those who usually make some key additions to their squads, or, if you’re a Motherwell fan, a month of hoping not to lose key players, and not expecting to bring many in.

The summer transfer window always seems to be more fruitful down Fir Park way, as the players brought in are done so to shape the season ahead. It is very rare that a winter window signing goes on to make much of an impact at Motherwell. In past years, the likes of Chris Porter, Lukas Jutkiewicz, Nick Blackman, Darren Randolph, Steve Jennings, Tom Hateley, Nicky Law etc have all been summer signings who have had decent short and long term success at The Well. With the exception of Scott McDonald, we’ve never really brought in anyone influential post Christmas.

The likes of Allan Gow, Trevor Molloy, Danny Murphy, something Keegan, Lewis Grabban and a host of other players surplus to their teams mid season, have failed to make much of an impact in the run in. It could be argued that Gavin Gunning bucked that trend last year, but his indifferent displays, may have led him to Tannadice instead of Lanarkshire this season.

However, the one signing we have made permanent as of today, could be one of the most significant in the club’s recent history. Henrik Ojamaa has committed himself to a 2 and a bit year contract, tieing him to the club which has already propelled him in to the SPL spotlight. In just 4 games and 2 starts, Henrik has notched 4 goals and 3 assists, and by unleashing the guns, has become a firm fan’s favourite. In the space of a month, he has become the sparkiest thing at Fir Park for an age.

His tenacity, his strength, his speed, his link up play, has all been spot on so far. He has created a buzz around the club and has lifted the fans, particularly those who have been going to home games all season, out of a slump in confidence in the team. Just short of 2 weeks ago, Motherwell had slumped to the lowly depths of 5th in the table on goal difference. Enter Ojamaa, and we are now 6 points clear in 3rd place, still with a game in hand. 7 points from 9 and 6 of those at home, scoring just as many goals, shows there has been a marked improvement from pre Ojamaa times.

Our mini Christmas slump was enough to get the boo boys out in force, but any Motherwell fan will tell you that December is never a good month for us. In the last 2 season’s we have lost our manager around Christmas time, which has caused a shake up. This season, we suffered a temporary blip in form since losing 3 league games on the bounce. Those games weren’t games we had a right to win.

Hearts away on Christmas Eve was always going to be a toughy, Ibrox (as has been the case for 15 years) was never going to see us bounce back, and Inverness needed a Tade wonder goal to beat us. However, since little Henrik burst on to the scene against Queen’s Park, the bite and grit in the team has been upped, and has turned our home form around in the space of a week.

Early on against Dunfermline, we were down to 10 men, yet dominated the game for spells amd scored 3 great goals. On Saturday, St Johnstone came to Fir Park and with Ojamaa’s 2 goals and a brilliant Keith Lasley strike, we put the 3-0 drubbing at home to the Saints from earlier in the season well and truly to bed. Not only was it a great win, but it pushed us further away from Steve Lomas side in 3rd place.

The Ojamaa factor has seen a higher level of performance from the side and how much of a bearing his introduction to the team has had on his new team mates is open to interpretation. What can not be denied though is that the home fans now have something to cheer about, where earlier in the season they did not.

Estonian flags rippled in the East Stand in homage to Henrik. A” Stop! Ojamaa Time!” banner fluttered alongside a Stevie Hammell tribute and the ever present Craigan portrait. This shows how much he has endeared himself to the home faithful in such a short space of time. He just needs to keep it up for the next 2 and a half years…

The only other major bit of transfer chat was Jamie Murphy turning down a move to Blackpool after the clubs had agreed a fee. It was a bold move by Murph, as many others in his position, may have been all set for the seaside as soon as the opportunity arose. It says much for his character that he considered all of the elements of the deal, before deciding to remain at Fir Park, until the summer at least.

Speculation surrounding the deal ranges from it being a half million pound bid, to £250k, but on the same wage he is on at Fir Park. The fact is that, for himself, Jamie decided that the SPL at this moment is better for him than a move down south. How this effects his performance for the rest of the season, only time will tell. The fact the club had agreed a fee may play on his mind that we were willing to let him go. Perhaps, he sees himself that his overall game needs work and that wouldn’t be developed warming a bench by the Pleasure Beach. Regardless of his reasoning for staying, I’m sure he will be given a rapturous applause come Saturday against Greenock Morton.

This weekend’s Scottish Cup game is one for the nostalgists, as it brings back memories of the 1991 Quarter final which Motherwell eventually won on penalties. While there is perhaps a different kind of gulf between the sides some 22 years on, Morton will be right up for it, as I would hope will McCall’s men. Having made it all the way to Hampden last year, only to come up short in the final, the likes of Jennings, Randolph, Humphrey, Hammell, Lasley and Craigan especially, will be wanting to get back there more than ever. A win on Saturday will put us in with a great shout and will lift the team and fans in what has already been a decent season.

Third place is pretty much as good as it is going to get in the SPL these days, and with Ojamaa inspiring confidence, the rest of the side back to playing entertaining attacking football, and Darren Randolph only getting beat by wonder goals it seems, then I’m confident that we can eclipse the top 6 finish and Cup Final disappointment of last year.

But for now, I’m looking forward to seeing what Saturday brings. Hopefully it will involve a pyow pyow or a bang bang or two.

Up The Well!

MOTHERWELL FC: HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY WELL-Y CHRISTMAS

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!

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!

MOTHERWELL FC: QUITE A SOMBRE BLOG...

Haven't blogged on The Well for a while due to being super busy with lots of other stuff going on, so I suppose now is as good a time as any for a catch up. Not a lot has changed in the world of Motherwell FC since my last blog, we have fallen to third since losing to Celtic a few weeks back and have re-signed Stephen Hughes, but that's really it.

Despite the Celtic loss, the season has continued in the same vein as it began. We have ground out results away from home, while finding it a little bit tougher at Fir Park. It's hard to believe we are now in to the 2nd round of SPL games, and have only played 3 home games that have had a 3pm Saturday kick off. the opening day win over Inverness, the heavy defeat to St Johnstone and the weekend's draw with Dundee United are the only home games we've had with a traditional kick off, with the rest being lunchtimes, Sundays, Sunday lunchtimes or midweek fixtures. Is it possibel that the change in kick off times week i week out is breaking the team's momentum, therefore resulting in below par Fir Park performances? Probably not, but it certainly makes it frustrating for the fans.

This Friday night sees yet another home game played at an unusual time, when Hibs visit for the secodn time this season. Pat Fenlon's first game in charge of the Hibees will be played under floodlight to a crowd paying an encouraging reduced price, nullifying the whole idea behind Friday Night Football. The experiment is to see if it is a success, but reducing the costs will surely not give the desired answers to that question. From a club point of view, it is a good idea to generate interest in the club, and if it brings a few hundred more through the gates, then it may serve well in the long run, but from an SPL point of view, I don't think it will garner the facts they need to implement it permanently.

Anyone making their way to Fir Park on Friday night, will get a chance to have a look at the "10" artwork, commemroating Phil O'Donnell on the side of the POD Stand. Erected by the MST on Saturday, it has split opinion on it's aesthetics, but just ahving the meorial there has been received positively by the fans. It was rather poignant (at leats I felt it was) that it was put up last weekend, just hours before news broke on the death of Gary Speed.

When Elaine came down the stairs to tell me she had heard some Welsh footballer had died, I was thinking someone a bti older like Neville Southall or John Toshack or even Ian Rush. When I found out it was the Welsh manager, i was taken aback, more than I thought I would be. I quickly put on Sky Sports News and sure enough the ashen faced presenters were intervieiwng former colleagues of Speed, their voices cracking in disbelief on muffled phone lines. I turned over to the Swansea v Aston Villa game and again the commentators had that reverential tone reserved only for tragedy.

Watching the minutes silence, which turned in to a minutes appreciation, it was hard not to have a lump in my throat. Many of the Swansea and Villa players and staff had known or been in contact with Gary Speed at some point in their careers, Shay Given probably the closest to him due to the time they spent at Newcastle. As the players lined up around the centre circle, the emotion running through all of them was tangible. The eulogy the PA man gave to signal the 60 seconds of remembrance, followed by the mascot kicking the ball off the centre circle while all around bowed their heads, to me at least, raised a smile. Not through morbidness or anything like that, but it kind fo embodied the sentiment that every player and manager seemed to emit. Going ahead with the game is what he would have wanted.

The day Phil died, I was relying on Firparkcorner.com and the BBC website to tell me what had happened. I was at work, selling phones to kids and students whose Christmas money was burning mobile shaped holes in their pockets. I had been getting excited every time the goals showed up on the screen, Clarkson having a great game, that would go unseen. The BBC said that Phil had collapsed and was taken to Wishaw general. while rumour and conjecture spiralled on the forums as to his wellbeing. It wasn't until I got in to my mate Jamie's car and got back to our flat, that I found out he'd gone. I was numb and disbelieving that this could happen. It brought back memories of finding out Davie Cooper had died, or even young Andy Thompson, and was brought back to memory when Jamie Dolan and Paul McGrillen departed.

For a generation of Well fans, this was one of the darkest days in the club's history, as the Uncle Phil played such a vital part in one of our brightest. With Gary Speed, his future was just beginning. Every report has listed his achievements, so I'm not going to regurgitate them, but it was his work with the Welsh national team, that was looking to cast his legacy in stone. We'll never know if his influence from his playing days would spark a revolution in the Valleys that would lead them to the World Cup, but he certainly had them on their way, most recently with a 4-1 win over Norway. being drawn with scotland in the qualifiers was soemthing Speed had been vocal about welcoming in the past few weeks, and form all around him, he seemed to be loving life. A life that he took himself.

This is a blog, not a forum for me to go in to my thoughts on suicide, moreso as there are no facts to back up any particular reason as to why he would do it. I can kind of compare it to former wrestler, Chris Benoit. The Candian grappler took his own life, after killing his wife and son about 4 years ago, when he was due to be made Champion on of the WWE's brands. At first, the WWE came out in praise of his attributes and accomplishments, before knowing the ins and outs of his and his family's death. In a complete U-turn, they scrubbed Benoit from their history books and DVDs.

Now I am not saying that Gary Speed was capable of the same thing, but no matter the outcome of the inquest, I will choose to remember him as a footballer over any other attribute he had. While not being a hero as such of mine, someone as well lauded as Gary Speed should be remembered for what he gave to the game we love.

Sorry for bringing everyone down with this by the way, just wanted to get my thoughs out on it.

Anyway, here's to this Friday and another 3 points for the Well!

KJ

MOTHERWELL FC: COMING IN YOUR EYES.

This weekend sees the focus down Fir Park way turn televisual. Not only do The Well face Kilmarnock in a lunch time kick off on Sky on saturday, but Friday sees the launch of MFC TV, Motherwell's online stop for all things visual.

It has been a long while in the oven for Alan "Flow" Burrows, the main man at Motherwell when it comes to media, and if it is successful, should hopefully enhance the ways in which we supporters can enjoy our club. With a monthly subscription of £4.99, fans can get access to classic highlights, up to date footage, club centric interviews, coverage of the U-19 teams endeavours and much more.

Viewers will also get to hear the dulcet tones of Graham Barnstaple and Alex Horsburgh on match days for a Motherwell tinged Radio coverage on match days. As well as myself and occasionally Alan Temple on reporting and Tweeting duties, the match day experience, home and away, is going to be significantly better than what it is at present.

The subscription will be a 2 way thing, providing those who pay for it with a vast amount of footage of all things claret and amber, with their money going towards helping the club finaincially. Other SPL sides have their own video sections with varying degrees of coverage, but MFC TV seems to be going all out with what it is offerring.

As someone who probably spends more time online during a working day than he probably should, this will be a welcome distraction for me at lunch times, if I am able to watch some archived highlights, interviews and so on along with my Pot Noodle. Trolling Youtube for 'Well related stuff will be a thing of the past. I can see it becoming bookmarked alongside TV-links.eu and NHL.com for my mid day viewing pleasure.

And hopefully I won't be the only one. The online channel's success will rely mainly on the fans who subscribe, and having seen a fair bit of the work that has gone in to it, I really do hope that a lot of fans come on board for it. For those who have signed up to The Well Society, I believe they get it as part of one of their packages, so have already helped contribute to it's quality.

Hopefully the first radio broadcast will bring with it a result as Kilmarnock come to FP tomorrow lunchtime. If I wasn't at the game, I'd be really tempted to have it on on the Sky with the MFC TV commentary blocking out the audio drivel from the TV.

Based on how the season has panned out, it should be a cracker of a game. Based on it being live on TV, it probably won't. Hopefully Killie will be as generous as they were in the second half of their game last week and cave at the back. Tim Clancy lines up against his ex team mates for the first time, and I would maybe fancy him to trouble them from set pieces. He has come close in the last few games and has been solid in the last 3 or 4 matches alongside Craigan.

With Hutchinson almost back to full fitness, Stuart McCall certainly has a dilemma. Does Hutch walk back in to the team, or will Tim keep him benched? Would both play, moving Hateley in to midfield at the expense of someone else? It's defnitiely a tough call.

The performance of Michael Higdon in the last 2 games has been far better than in his last home game agaisnt Aberdeen. I would hope the boo boys would be off his back by now, or at leats enough to let him settle in to the game tomorrow. If he shows the tenacity and workrate of last week, then hopefully he will be cheered off the park as opposed to heckled like last time.

It's rare that a game against Kilmarnock is billed as a potentially entertaining match, but the way both teams are playing, it should be. Heffernan and Shiels have been on top form and if Cammy Bell is fit, it could be a battle fo the goalie's just like at Rugby Park in August. Attacking wise, I'd say both teams are as dangerous as one another, but at the back is where I see Motherwell winning out. Losing 3 second half goals from an unthinkable position last week will hopefully be lingering in the Killie backline's minds, and if deployed correctly, Murphy, Humphrey and maybe even Daley should run them ragged.

I'm going for a 2-0 home win, that would see us 6 points clear of Celtic and 4 behind Rangers for a few hours at least. I'll just need to work out which way to watch the highlights.

Up The Well!!

The KJ WellCast 3 Part 1 with Flemi and Morton

The KJ WellCast 3 Part 1 with Flemi and Morton by krisjack. Uploaded with SoundCloud iPhone

MOTHERWELL FC: QUITE A LARGE METAPHORICAL BLOG ABOUT PHONES AND FOOTBALL

MOTHERWELL FC: QUITE A LARGE METAPHORICAL BLOG ABOUT PHONES AND FOOTBALL

Originally I was going to write this week's blog comparing the Old Firm and Motherwell and the lack of acknowledgement motherwell have had in ebing second in the SPL, with the launch of the new iPhone. Then Steve Jobs died and I thought it would maybe be a little disrespectful. Then Steve Jennings got arrested and I considered blogging my thoughts on that, but with no real facts other than that he got sent off and bets were made, I thought it would maybe end up a little libellous. So I went back to my original idea of ragging on the iPhone.

I've worked in mobiles for 6 years and the impact that the iPhone has had on the industry is staggering. However, it does split opinion due to it's blanket appeal to an initial niche market. The way that it has taken over the mobile world is testament to the genius and innovation of Steve Jobs who passed away this week. While using an iPhone myself, I am by no means an Apple enthusiast, but make use of the varied things it is capable of doing. I know that other phones can do the same things I use it for, but I got a fairly good discounted staff deal on it, so price was a factor in my choosing. the following blog may make me seem hypocritcal, but i stand by it.

So, working in the mobile phone industry like I do, the most frustrating time of year is nigh upon me and my colleagues. Each year Apple release their latest wunderkind of a phone, leaving Applephiles and technophobes frothing at the thumbs in anticipation of it.

From first look at the iPhone 4S, it is not as impressive as some were hoping for. Indeed a number of current smartphones are doing similar, if not better things than the new iPhone, with the 4S looking to be an intermediary phone before the inevitable iPhone 5 next year.

In the mobile sales industry, it is very easy to sell the iPhone. Everyone has one, so everyone else wants one, regardless of the cost, what they need it for and what it does. In my role, I am encouraged to find the customers needs over their wants, usually resulting in me trying to get them away from thinking Apple.

It is only because the iPhone is such an iconic bit of kit, that most people want it, without understanding that there are many phones that can do what the customer needs the phone to do that would be cheaper and better suited to them. Alas, they all want iPhone.

Where does this tie in with Motherwell FC? Well, it's a tenuous link, but here goes...

All the focus of last weekend's SPL results was on the fact that Rangers would go 10 points clear of Celtic if they were to win and their green and white foes lost. That, indeed, is a fact. While Celtic's defeat to Hearts perhaps wasn't a shock, it certainly wasn't expected either. Off the back of a decent performance against Udinese, and with Tynecastle being the sight of the attack on neil lennon last season, Celtic should by all accounts have been more up for the fight. Already 10 points behind Rangers form the previous day, they should have gone at Hearts to show some mettle.

But they didn't. Fat Kris Commons got himself sent off for being a twat and they got beat 2-0. At this early stage in the season, Celtic have a huge 10 point deficit to make up to catch Rangers in the battle for 1st and 2nd. Celtic are certainly coming off second best so far, being so far behind Rangers in 3rd place.....that's right 3rd place. 10 points behind in THIRD. Not 10 points behind in SECOND place.

That's because Motherwell are sitting proudly in 2nd, only 9 points behind the leaders. This is down to Motherwell having more points than Celtic, and getting a crucial 3-1 away win at Tannadice last weekend to keep them there. This is where the first bit starts to make sense.

The Old Firm are like iPhones. They have a core, staunch fan base that will do anything to prove their love for their brand. They attract followers who have the philosophies, whether positive or negative, ingrained in their fibre. They can not see past what they believe in. At the other end of the spectrum, they attract fans which like to take the easy route, they like the status of associating themselves with the particular product over it's functionality. Every year there is a new version of both teams and phone and for all the hype surrounding them, the performance is markedly similar.

Both the Old Firm and iPhones/Apple can do very little wrong in the eyes of the media, even when underperforming. The signal issue that dogged the iPhone 4 threatened to tarnish Apple's reputation of releasing premium handsets, but a clever marketing ploy to sell more accessories glossed over this. The problems of the Old Firm, while by no means glossed over by the media, do have a certain bias leaned towards them. Indeed, very little praise was heaped on Hearts for their win at the weekend, as the focus shifted to Celtic's shortcomings, such is the nature of the coverage of our league.

All of this is understandable. As the most popular brands within their field, they will attract a large share of interest based on what they produce, whether good or bad. What this then creates is an unbalanced playing field for their competitors, where ignorance and poor judgement takes over.

Very few people have congratulated Motherwell on getting to this stage of the season splitting the Old Firm. Likewise, not many people are hailing the advances in mobile technologies that don't come from Apple HQ. The majority of conversations I will be forced to have with customers at work in the coming months will centre on the iPhone 4S. Regardless of how much I tell them that they can have a less costly phone that does the same thing, sometimes better things, they will revert to wanting Steve Jobs' last creation.

It's the same when talking to Rangers and Celtic fans about why they support their side of the division. I don't have exact figures, but I would imagine that Celtic and Rangers have as many, if not more fans, who never go to see there teams at home or away. they support from afar, happy to see a team that they perhaps support because their Grandad did, or because they think it's cool to be a gloryhunter, without actually experincing it for themselves. In know way am I being ignorant to the costings of being a football fan, as it is an expensive sport to follow, particularly if you are a follower of the Old Firm.

Again this is a similar thing I speak of with customers re their choice of phone. If you want premium, you pay premium. What many of them don't understand, is that while they want the premium because it is premium, they don't need it. They want an iPhone for Facebook. Get a cheap Samsung. They need a 64GB iPhone for emailing. Get a Blackberry. Cheaper, better suited alternatives are available. If you can afford to not take advantage of all the benefits of it that is fine too. The point I am making is that people who see success in something they don't particularly require can be blinkered to other things that do the job just as well.

The appeal of always being on top is there for those who like the easy, safe option. For everything else there are alternatives, and as such, they should be acknowledged just as much. At my previous place of mobile phone employment, I got in a shedload of trouble for not getting fully behind the iPhone, as I had the viewpoint that we had other better performing phones that we could sell just as well if given the same backing by the company. I am not sorry for it and still hold to that philosophy.

Maybe I just love an underdog story, being a Motherwell fan, I am well versed in it. But all I am asking is for people to give credit where it is due. You take Rangers and Celtic out of the SPL, which they are forever saying they wish for, and Motherwell are running away with the league. The football from not only Motherwell (in patches this season), but from Kilmarnock, St Johnstone, St Mirren (earlier stages), has been very good, and not enough credit has been given to them for it.

While the focus of the SPL will always be on the plights of Rangers and Celtic, merit needs to be given to the teams who stand toe to toe with them. While they may not have the brand awareness or the award/trophy winning history of their more dominant competitors, Motherwell offer an alternative to the norm, a different operating system but performing the same function. Just like phones these days all do the same thing but with little tweaks here and there, the SPL consists of 12 teams not 2. Consider them every now and then.

I could go on and on extending this metaphor, but I think that will do. The SPL frustrates me just as much as my job as so much focus is put on on particular brand or product, that it makes it hard for anything else to get noticed. hopefully, come the end of the season, the underdogs will be making themselves just as noticed as the old familiar ones.

KJ

Up The Well!

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