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!

Sent From My iPhone

MOTHERWELL FC: WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!!

MOTHERWELL FC: WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Up The Well!!!

The KJ WellCast: Reviews, Previews and Interviews

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

The KJ WellCast Episode 1 with Flemi and BLJ

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

MOTHERWELL FC: MOANS AND MONEY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Up The Well!!