Still, the transfer fee will be very welcome!
Since he made his scoring debut against Queen's Park in January 2012 Henrik soon became a regular starter in the team and it soon became obvious that we would do well to hold on to his talents. He scored four in his first five appearances and was given a two and a half year contract within a month. His ability as a provider played a big part in Higdon's achievements in the season just past.
At the start of 2012/13 Motherwell fans were wondering how the team would cope with the loss of Craigan, Jennings and Clancy, yet we finished the SPL in second place. The manager rightly takes credit for filling the gaps and inspiring the team for delivering a wonderful season but he'll be facing and even bigger challenge as he starts to build a side for 2013/14. A year ago we had Murphy, Randolph, Humphrey, Law, and Ojamaa in the squad. Now they have gone and the chances are that Higdon will join them. McCall has a lot of work ahead.
There's nothing worse than to see a team filled with success (and the promise of more) dismantled without reaching its peak. We'll never know how the players who served so well last season would have done in the Europa League or the SPL. Could they have succeeded in one of the cups?
Motherwell will start the new campaign with an untested eleven and there's simply no way of predicting how we'll fare. The one saving grace about Ojamaa's departure is that we'll receive a healthy transfer fee. The other leavers were free agents and it will be in that group that McCall will be hunting as he tries to identify replacements. The oft repeated phrase "Motherwell is a selling club" implies that we will, on occasion, lose one of our best to another club and thankfully we'll not see Ojamaa return to tear our defence apart.
There will be plenty of calls on the transfer fee. The manager will be hoping for a boost to his playing budget but the club's finances could use a top up to counter the losses incurred in the last two seasons. The Well Society will also hope that some funds might be added to the 'war chest' and speed the fan takeover.
Ojamaa made an important contribution during his short spell with us and we wish him all the best for the future.