The Scotland Squad
As a Motherwell fan, I think, and I’m sure most ‘Well fans will agree, it’s almost disgraceful that Jamie Smith and Bob Malcolm have been picked ahead of the Kaiser, Pearo, Faddy, Hammell, and even Kinniburgh. However, maybe that is just because we are looking at it from a Motherwell supporter point-of-view. So, if you will, relax a little, forget who the players actually play their club football for, and judge the situation as a proud Scotland fan. Nope – still disgraceful.
The Old Firm In Europe
We’ve all been told that the Old Firm being pathetic in Europe is actually our fault – but in recent years the “crisis” has been totally blamed on the team who plays Rangers/Celtic the week before. “If they had better opposition in the match before the European tie, I doubt they would have went out” became the usual post-match comments as the Old Firm crashed out and had to prepare for a non-European September. This year, however, Celtic have managed to go quite far in the tournament – if their failure is our fault for not giving them competition, surely, after our 2-1 win, we should get all the credit for any successful Celtic European run. Better still, when Celtic get humped by Stuttgart at Parkhead on the 20th of February, they will not be able to blame it on the last domestic opposition – as we will have thrashed them on the 15th.
The League Tables
I still get puzzled whenever I see we’re bottom – how is that possible? When ever player plays their best football we are, in my opinion, the best S.P.L. side outside the Old Firm – we should be challenging for Europe. Unfortunately for us, when ever player plays their worst football we are by far the worst team in the S.P.L. In our only four wins this season we have humiliated Kilmarnock and Hearts, and beaten the Old Firm – how can a team like that be bottom of the S.P.L.? It’s a strange question that doesn’t just confuse ‘Well fans - a few nights ago, I was speaking to a Swansea fan on the internet who didn’t really have a clue about Scottish football. I happened to mention that our four best wins this season had seen us beat Rangers and Celtic, score twelve goals and concede only two. His exact words were “Wow! The last time I checked Scottish football, Rangers and Celtic were dominating! Must be great for a smaller team to be challenging for the title.”
The Predictions
I am the master of making bad predictions. But that is not going to stop me predicting our next four matches.
Motherwell 2 Vs 1 Hibernian – an early Hibs goal will be cancelled out just before half-time. In the last ten minutes, Clarkson will manage to break through the Hibs defence (which looked terrible against Dundee) and stick the ball in the net.
Motherwell 1 Vs 0 Celtic – as we are forced to listen to pundits claim Motherwell can’t do it again, we will. The Steelmen will dominate the match, having at least four penalty claims turned down and six goals ruled out for offside, before the Kaiser scores a twenty-five yard winner around the hour mark.
Motherwell 1 Vs 1 Dunfermline – a superb first half performance will see Motherwell leading by half-time. Unfortunately, someone will give away a free-kick just outside the box and Ged Brannan will punish us.
Clyde 2 Vs 4 Motherwell – if 1991 is anything to go by we’ll see off the challenge of Clyde with a solid 4-2 victory. That night will see us drawn against the next victims in our successful 2003 cup campaign.
The Conclusion
Writing a column is much harder than I first thought – it’s actually quite frustrating. But I can rest assured knowing that there are people out there worse off than me – the ‘Well fans having to read this…