GLF 52: A view from the seaside
Blackpool Rock
MOTHERWELL.What a great time to be a Motherwell supporter.Guaranteed top six place.Out of administration.Lots of young talent breaking through. We’d all have settled for eleventh place and still existing yet here we are bitterly disappointed not to have made it to the Scottish Cup semi - final.Again.As well as giving credit to Bryan Jackson we must also praise the management and coaching staff at Fir Park for their monumental achievements this year.Terry Butcher for Manager of the Year ?He probably would be in any country except Scotland where sheer weight of numbers will give it to Father Martin.Now we need to build on our successes of this year.Perhaps by now one or two of the outstanding contracts will be signed and sealed.Last thing we need is to be rebuilding.Hopefully the players out of contract will appreciate the opportunity for success available at Fir Park and stick around for a while.
BLACKPOOLWith the season over as far as promotion and relegation went, suddenly Blackpool started to pick up a few wins.What does that tell me?It says that the players don’t have the bottle for a fight.No doubt the club will try and attract season ticket sales on the back of a late run and promises of players to come.In the words of The Who, I won’t get fooled again.There was the joy of the LDV Cup Final win.Blackpool are undefeated at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, and after three visits I’m not sure which other teams can make such a claim. This year was another fine day of drinking and merriment, all enjoyed in the company of a life -size David Dickinson cut out. Well, he is tangerine coloured after all.Yet again the stadium did Cardiff proud.Anyone who was at the Wales v Scotland game can testify to the atmosphere that can be created.
HammellI noticed that Stevie Hammell had registered his disappointment at not getting a call - up to the full Scotland squad.He says he has given up hoping and waiting.Chin up, Stevie.Once we get rid of that numptie manager (bloody Quashie and Canero, I ask you) then maybe we’ll get someone with a bit more knowledge who’ll appreciate your skills.It seems that the bold Bertie is still intent on finding his best team and how long has he been in charge now ?
LarssonHis career in Scotland is almost over, thank heavens.For years I have said that it’s easy for him to score in the Scottish League but he has never had the bottle to test his skills at a higher level.Now we’ll see if he really has got what it takes or if he just wanted to be a big fish in a little pool.
LambertI spoke to Andy Roddie when I went to see East Stirling play Peterhead.Look, Motherwell weren’t playing and it was the chance to see the home team lose their 100th goal of the season, which duly happened.Andy was happy to talk about his time at Motherwell and told of Paul Lambert being allowed to leave after Motherwell refused to raise his wages by a meagre £50 a week. Considering we lost out on transfer money that’s one we may well regret in retrospect.From Paul’s point of view he would never have picked up a European Cup medal, although his career went distinctly downhill after he joined Celtic.On his own Motherwell days Roddie reflected that the connection with Alex McLeish certainly didn’t work in his favour but insisted he enjoyed his time here.Shaun McSkimming and Greig Denham also took time out to talk and Yir Elder won the half time draw so a good day all round.
Come On Ye Well
Up The Pool
Geoff Baby
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