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Labour of love
As GLF notches up its quarter-century today, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to look back at some of the enlightened ( ?!!??!) comments that stand out from issues 1-24 ............
Issue 1 - “ We were the only club in the Premier League without a fanzine “. ( Motherwell bring up the rear, again. )
“ Football is all about fairytales ...... I really think Motherwell could clinch a European place. “
( Willie Pettigrew makes a confident prediction. )
Issue 2 - “ Pick this yin oot ! “ (Part 1 of “The Stevie Kirk Story“ is born! )
“ YEESSSSSSSS !!!! Joy unconfined at
TOP OF THE PREMIER for the first time in 14 years. “
( 1-0 victory over R*****s, October 1989 ).
Issue 3 - “ We seem to have lost that killer instinct in front of goal
( Who, surely not the mighty ’Well attackers !!! )
“ With the 1990 competition not too far away, Motherwell
are capable of beating anyone, there’s only one more thing
to say :- SURELY A CUP WIN IS NOT BEYOND US ! “
( GLF call the shots - if still twelve months prematurely !!! )
Issue 4 - “ Boyd and McCart are worth their weight in gold. They have reached a high standard at a relatively early age and can only improve with experience. “
( ‘Well’s next two captains are highlighted. )
“ Is football over priced at £4 ? Yes, 62% (Questionnaire ansa)
Issue 5 - “ Even Airdrie have eclipsed us recently with the ambitious and admirable signing of Owen Coyle. “
( Owen checks out Lanarkshire ).
Issue 6 - “ GLF will continue to show our support for the Claret and Amber Machine and you never know it could be a season of success at
Issue 7 - “ ... were the only team in the current Top Ten that had not sampled European football and I would like to get them into it and I think that they are capable of achieving that. “
( Tommy McLean interview before the Cup run started !!! ).
Issue 8 - “ ... and the GLF team count their winnings for predicting the 0-1 scoreline up North, here’s hoping that re-investing the lolly on a Cup success proves worthwhile. “
( GLF rocks the local bookies !!! ).
Issue 9 - “at least the strip retains a traditional look about it... it is not as drastic a change as Hamilton etc“ (pre-Pony commentary!)
Issue 10 - “ Experiments must begin now aimed at improving the spectacle of football. Why not ban the pass-back to the
‘keeper ? ( First on the ball !!! ).
Issue 11 - “ £6 a throw for sometimes two or three of a household every week just isn’t on. “ ( Try £40 today - inflation !!???!? )
Issue 12 - “ Why is the tactic of continually punting high balls up the park to one of the smallest men in the Premier
League, Dougie Arnott, when he is invariably being marked by one of the tallest players in the league ? “
( Good to see our constructive criticism is listened to !!! )
Issue 13 - “ Airdrie - Bernard Matthews ( both enjoy a good fowl ) Raith Rovers - S.S. Titanic ( both doomed to go down )
( Suggestions for potential shirt sponsors ).
Issue 14 - “ It is interesting to note that R*****s’ catering turnover is larger than Motherwell’s TOTAL turnover. “
( This was BEFORE Gazza’s arrival !!! )
Issue 15 - “ ... now that the European place has been clinched, we may even be going into today’s game with a realistic chance of winning the title “ ( This was said less than 2 YEARS ago!?! )
Issue 16 - “ We still have lots of money in the bank and hopefully this will be spent wisely by the new boss ( McLeish). “
( Answers on the back of a postcard ...... ).
Issue 17 - “ We have also had the sad loss of a true legend in
taken in recent times. "
Issue 18 - “ With Hendry being bought from Spurs, there has been much mention of Klinnsman - well let’s hope John can
have as much of an impact as the German did at Spurs.
( Again, answers on the back of a postcard ...... ).
Issue 19-“it’s only a matter of time until we start hitting the net again & start climbing back towards the top half of the table”
( Eighteen months have passed and we’re still hoping !!! ).
Issue 20 - “ With the two nomads ( Airdrie and Hamilton ) no nearer to securing their own ground, the possibilities of having areal derby fixture are receding fast. “
( Still groundless, but worryingly derby days beckon again!)
Issue 21 - “ ... that Jamie is a Motherwell man who would be quite happy to stay at the club“ ( Confident prediction but wrong)
Issue 22 - “ I thought this time ... I could not continue our ’ unfeasibly optimistic ‘ approach, but I believe the players have risen to the challenge and there is hope for this season. “
( September 1996 - no hope or hopeless ??? ).
Issue 23 - “All we are looking for is for McLeish to pledge his future to Motherwell Football Club or let us know if he is going at the end of the season because at the moment the players and fans are unsure of the situation and it could affect the long-term status of the club & no one man is worth that. ”
(The answer to this question & many more in GLF 26 folks!)
Issue 24 - “ If we can keep the momentum going as it is just now, coupled with a new cutting edge at the end of it, we
should definitely pull away from danger easily enough, with a Cup run surely not out of the question. “
( Wrong with the second part, as for the first ............ ).
So there we have it, the wit and wisdom of Waiting For The Great Leap Forward. We haven’t done too badly all in all, the worry at the moment is what the next 25 issues will bear. Oh well, there’s only one way to find out !!!! ( P.S. to assure your quotes go down in history in Issue 50, start writing your correspondence to us NOW !!!!!!!!!!!! ).
SO, THAT’S WHERE WE’D GOT TO BACK IN FEBRUARY 1997 - READ ON FOR THE STORY FROM ISSUE 25 TO 49 ............
Issue 25 - “Well here we are close to the end of another frustrating season. I am assuming we are heading for a play-off v. Airdrie as this is being written before the Rangers game”.
(Ye of little faith, as Owen Coyle’s double stopped the party)
Issue 26 - “ CRAIGAN - I first saw this young player when I went to watch the reserves against Celtic last season. He was impressive in that game ...... this young man has a big
future with Motherwell. “
(A wee bit of a hiatus in between, but he’s back to try again)
Issue 27 -“I do believe that there’s no point in taking points off the Old Firm when so far we have taken NONE from
big games & the ones that the players should be most up
for, this would mean Old Firm points would be a bonus.
It’s time we realised the importance of these games,
particularly at home, and treated them with the importance
they deserve. “ ( Written in 1997, still relevant last season. )
Issue 28 - “Let’s hope that our new manager gets the full backing of the Board that Alex never seemed to have in recent times.”
( Don’t think that Harri Kampman would agree that he did!!)
Issue 29 - “ When he took over from Tommy McLean in July ‘94 he inherited a good playing squad who had finished near
the top of the league and playing in the UEFA Cup.
When he left, we had a team fighting to stay in the Premier Division and after spending a fair amount of money we still had a squad over-balanced with older players. “ ( A concise review of the reign of Mr McLeish.)
Issue 30 - “ Boyle is obviously a very successful businessman and hopefully that will pay off when he is running the club. I don’t expect him to invest huge sums of his personal fortune in us but a couple of million would be nice !!!!!! “.
( A few million later, and the gruesome story unravelled ).
Issue 31 -“Harri Kampmaan. When people assess his record they’ll compare him with greats like Roger Hynd & Jock Wallace”
( The Finn goes down in the anals of
Issue 32 - “ Great to read in the paper that the club will be giving Dougie Arnott & Chris McCart well deserved testimonials Both gave the ’Well the best days of their careers and hopefully we will manage to come up with decent opponents to give these two heroes a send-off they will never forget”
( Over four and a half years on - doesn’t look too likely ...... )
Issue 33 - “ It’s surely unacceptable that we’ve had six red cards so far this season ...... This is an area that the management need to sort out for next season. “ ( Only six - pah, wimps !!!!!! ).
Issue 34 - “ ...... & Kevin Twaddle, who has went down with glandular fever. Actually, to be fair, I think that Kevin will be a
great addition when he’s back fully fit. “
( One of those unanswered questions, we never found out ).
Issue 35 - “ But John Boyle has continued his recent spell in the press spotlight, confirming his interest in the proposed ‘merger’ with our beloved neighbours. “ ( Lanarkshire Dis - United?)
Issue 36 - “ Hopefully as you read this, we’ll still be in shooting distance of a European slot. “ ( Close, but no cigar last day)
Issue 37 - “ ...... but it’s still an area that is crying out for someone who can tackle well and get forward to score goals. “
(Commentary on our midfield 3 years ago-has it changed?)
Issue 38 - “ ...... but there’s still a long way to go and a Top Six place isn’t out of the question. But our squad lacks sufficient
depth to allow too many players to have an off day, so
players who are selected must be consistent and work
together as a team to achieve success. “
( Sentiment aired three years ago, very much applies today)
Issue 39 - “ If the future is for us to blood guys like Keith Lasley and James McFadden et al, then hopefully it will be a positive sign.
( The first batch come off the
Issue 40 - “ Alongside our flair players’ inability to influence games have come the departures of some of our major players, protracted contractual negotiations, dismal home form & gloomy financial reports predicting tough times ahead”
( So, just another average week on
Issue 41 - “ David Murray once famously said that for every penny spent at Parkhead, he would spend two. John Boyle would be a fool to try and live in that kind of financial league & he is no fool. Success should be a long-term aim at ‘Well
which is why we have made strides to improve our kids
teams at all levels. “
Issue 42 - “ Karl Ready appears to be as scary as he looks and has already been issued with more cards than the
( In time he became a massive liability of the park too ...... )
Issue 43 - “ ...... remember that you heard it here first when back in August we made our cover star a certain young man who was in the Under 21 team at the time and posed the
question “ Can Faddy wing it into the first team ? “ ...... we
could have one of the brightest stars in the country here. “
(The GLF Monday Nite posse bring you the exclusives first!)
Issue 44 - “ It might seem a million miles away at the moment, but if this entire episode in our history allows us to recover
from the spiralling costs and debts that seemed to have
completely overtaken our club, then hopefully in the not
too distant future we’ll be able to look back at this having
been a big step, if not a great leap forward, in the well-being of Motherwell Football Club. “
( Looking for the sliver lining post - admin announcement)
Issue 45 - “ Partridge seems a decent, solid if uninspiring sort. Kemas and Sengewald, well who knows? The name Holm Kraska springs to mind. Surely the ‘ mighty ‘ ‘Well
cannae get stung twice with the same bee ?? “ ( Erm ...... ?!?!?)
Issue 46 - “ I now believe that we are in safe hands for the future ...... and maybe one day he will be up there as a Motherwell legend, as the boss who led us out of the financial mire onto a more stable playing platform. “
(The dreaded GLF vote of confidence for Mr Terry Butcher)
Issue 47 - “ As we reach the break, we can only reflect on yet another typical Motherwell season so far. Depths of despair,
joyous heights. Would we have it any other way ? “
Issue 48 - “ It was going to be a tough season, we knew that, but remembering twelve months ago, just to be in with a
fighting chance of staying up is a testament to the sterling efforts of terry Butcher, Chris McCart and the backroom staff at the club - and, of course, the superb efforts of the young squad. “
(Season 2002/03 summed up)
Issue 49 - “The young players will have a full season’s experience behind them and we need to ensure that our disciplinary problems are improved to allow us to keep our best eleven on the park. “
( Everything is as above - at time of press !!! )
Christopher Hutton
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