How's Eck doing?
This is our third season under the guidance of Alex McLeish. More importantly, as this is the third and final year of his contract, this is the season which will probably make or break him in his Motherwell career.
In his first season he took the team to the runners up spot in the league and another potential UEFA cup run. Critics said that it was Tommy McLean's team that had finished second. When McLeish changed to his own 4-4-2 from the previous season's successful 3-5-2 we crashed 6-1 at Tannadice.
Next season we looked forward to another successful year. Unfortunately we got off to a bad start and as the injuries piled up we were drawn back into our more accustomed end of the table. Despite this there wasn't any real call for Alex to resign as most people pointed to our incredibly long injury list.
This season started fairly well in terms of results but the fans could see that the team was struggling. We slipped from third to mid table to just above the relegation zone. At the half way mark we are in eighth place but Raith and Kilmarnock are just behind us with games in hand. Lack of goals seems to be the problem again although our defence looks unusually shaky.
Motherwell aren't a big club so most realistic fans knew that we wouldn't be challenging for second and third forever. Mid-table would be acceptable but we demand to see 100% from each and every player. We also want to see the results from what we do in training. Motherwell must be the worst team in Scotland at taking throw-ins and our free kick shooting is abysmal. So what's gone wrong? A couple of seasons ago we were one of the best sides in Scotland. Next season we could be one of the best sides in the first division.
We built our success around a solid defence, playing three at the back. This changes to four for some games, mainly due to injuries. So far this season, I think we have given away nine daft goals. A third of our current total. The midfield is missing two of our best players and as they left under the Bosman ruling we received no fee. The youngsters thrown in to replace them are doing well but they have still a couple of years to go before they fulfil their potential. Up front we have plenty of forwards but very few goals. Due to yet more injuries we haven't been able to give a settled partnership an extended run. At the time of writing our leading goalscorer has only played seven games.
For 'Well fans who can remember back to really bad times when we were £800,000 in debt, this could be deja vu. If we get relegated the already low home attendances could be cut by half and we wouldn't have the four sell out games against the old firm. The chairman has said that the club has no money and having declared his intentions of leaving, he won't put any more of his own cash into the club. The only other way that cash could be generated is by the sale of players. A quick glance through our teamsheet will show that this option won't make a lot either. However, it might only take a few thousand to sign one of the free transfers which we currently can't afford. A new face in the dressing room could give us the lift we need to escape relegation.
Having painted a rather bleak assessment of the club's future I would like to offer some encouragement. Trouble is, though there are very few encouraging signs. At times like this it is easy to call for the managers head but who would replace him? A renowned manager wouldn't touch us with a stick and do we want another cheap appointment like McLeish? We have enough of the youth team in the squad already so the only thing to change is the way we play. To cut out the afore mentioned defensive mistakes we could keep the ball in the opponents' half, but that would mean playing the long ball. I totally agree with playing the long ball to clear our lines but I would like to see us pass it about when we're in their half. Motherwell fans won't stand for balls being continually thumped into the box. This ugly method got Falkirk deservedly relegated last season.
We are constantly told that we have one of the most promising young managers in the country. Now is time for Alex to prove that. So, if any of you bright GLF readers know how to improve our present situation, answers on a postcard please . . .
Derek Wilson
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