GLF 60: Eddie produces a list of greats - enjoy!

Brother of Tam, Colin was a bit of a nutter with an awfully dodgy perm, who gave everything he had to the cause despite an alarming lack of skill.Surprisingly he went on to havea decent career as a striker with Partick Thistle and Rangers ( albeit the poorest Rangers team I can recall !!)after leaving Fir Park.

 

 

Not the prettiest of faces and not the prettiest of players was oor Alex.Always seemed to be the guy who filled in for anybody else who happened to be injured or suspended, regardless of what position it was.Best memories of Alex was his late,late,very late equaliser against Brechin City in the Cup at Fir Park,and the ball striking his arm at Ibrox minutes after Ray Farningham had scored our late winner at Castle Greyskull,and ……… getting away with it,much to the annoyance of Mr Terence Butcher.Quality.

 

 

I thought Eric was class as a sweeper in his short time with us.Not the biggest,but his timing in the tackle was top notch,with a special eye for picking a pass out of defence.He reminded me very much of Willie Miller, without the perm. I'm sure he would've become a legend at Fir Park,but April 2002 sadly put an end to such hopes.

 

 

Joe arrived at Fir Park in a double deal with Albert Kidd when we were in the First Division.Big Joe knew his limitations,as did the fans.He headered the way he was looking,cleared his lines with no subtlety and kicked lumps out of any forwards who thought they could get the better of him.Loved the guy,particularly for his almost Oliver Hardyesqe mouser,and his opening day goal against the vile Hun on our return to the Premier League.

 

 

Aaaaah Willie,I look back on you with so much affection.A cornerstone in one of the hardest Motherwell teams I've had the pleasure to watch.I think “ no nonsense ” is the phrase the hacks used to describe that Motherwell outfit.Who can forget the day we went two up at Fir Park against Rangers and McVie ran the length of the East Terracing giving the away support the “V” sign celebrating the second goal,which led to an pitch invasion and the game held up for half an hour or so.Unfortunately for Willie,and more importantly the small band of ‘Well fans,they came back, and put five past us without reply.

 

 

The big man became a Motherwell legend during our spell in the First Division.You must remember the days when we truly played in a yellow shirt,or is my memory fading,like that kit ?I seem to recall he was Joe Carson's “ partner ” in defence which benefited Stevie on two counts,because he looked like the Brazilian with his silky skills who could actually control the ball and pass,AND he looked like a big handsome dude next to his team mate !!!

 

 

Benny arrived on the back of the fiasco that was the 5-6 defeat to the Dandy Dons.The only Surinam international ever to pull on our famous colours had arrived.And we loved him.He was everything a good footballer should be,and to put a tin lid on it,he had Henrik“the magnificent seven ” Larsson in his back pocket every time they met.Ended up playing in a poor St. Johnstone side on the slippery slope.

 

 

Stewart didnae look too offensive next to Big Mad Willie McVie and Mental Peter Millar,but if he took a dislike to you,you soon knew about it.Probably best remembered for his Semi Final goal against the Huns in THAT match in 1976,and sadly for his late own goal at Hampden against Airdrie,which gave them a replay which Rollo Kyle decided should be won by the Diamonds.McLaren played in one of the golden eras of Motherwell and maybe that's why I still look back on him in a favourable light. The last I heard of him he was selling cars for a living.How these heroes of mine have fallen.

 

 

Motherwell don't have many true legends at Centre Half,but Big Graeme is assuredly in thatelite.I don't think I ever saw the Dundonianshirk a tackle,dodge a challenge or duck out an ariel battle in his MFC career.Not content with being a top notch stopper of goals,he was a threat in the opponents box.So outstanding had the big man been,the attraction of Walsall and their megabucks Chairman was too much for Forbes and our full back , Andy Dornan.They packed their bags and headed down the M74 to light up the lower leagues in Engerlund.

 

 

Close your eyes, and picture the scene.It's old Easter Road,the ‘Well fans are scattered around the terracing behind the wire fence. Mio runs the length of the pitch to support a MFC breakaway. The cross comes in,Mio meets it perfectly. The ball's in the net and the fans go wild,as does the scorer who jumps onto the fence and screams.

 

Seventy eight appearances in Claret and Amber,with one goal, and I was there.I saw it. Mio had been a Dundee United legend, and of course played in the 1991 Cup Final for the Arabs.

 

When they had deemed him finished,Motherwell came calling and the rest, as they say,is history. Quite simply he was the most cultured centre back I've ever seen in a Motherwell shirt. He was part of a Fir Park side that so nearly won the Premier League Title and that had played truly breathtaking football.

 

He went on to become a Coach at Fir Park and briefly a co-manager ( and undefeated ! !) with Big Softy, before Eric Black and Terry Butcher took over. Dunno what he's up to now, but surely he's got talent that should be passed on to others.The gift the big Yugoslav had was something I'm grateful to have seen at such close quarters.

 

 

The flip side of the top ten of anything is the dross at the bottom of the pile.Eddie Forrest was plucked from obscurity and promptly showed us why he'd been playing at that level.Guunlagar Jonsson had two awful appearances before getting the bullet.Alex McLeish was well finished and Colin McNair was well,Colin McNair.One guy I did try very hard to like was Kevin Christie,but I failed.After much thought my Scream No. 5 is …….Karl Ready 36 (1) apps, 3 goals.He had no positional sense at all,and continually made Martyn “The Kaiser ” Corrigan look bad,and that's a difficult thing to achieve.A big plus from going into administration was seeing his big Welsh backside disappearing back over the border.

 

 

Scream Team,Dream Team,

1.Stevie Woods1.Keith McRae

2.Peter Carr.2.Martyn Corrigan.

3.Billy Dickson.3.Joe Wark.

4.Allan Mackin4.Brian Martin.

5.Karl Ready5.Miodrag Krivokapic

 

 

Eddie Steelman

 

 

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