GLF 66: Graham looks at recent football happenings from a 'Well point of view.
A View from the Press Box
REAL FANS - I have to laugh at Setanta's radio ads asking you to prove you're a real football fan by tuning into their programme starting at 4:30pm on a Saturday! Surely a real fan will be at a game and is being deprived the opportunity of seeing a game on television.
Once again the real fan has been "shafted" by the TV companies with games now spread across two subscription channels (assuming you want to watch English games as well as the SPL).I never thought I would be fed up with football on TV, but with the companies desperate to show games every night they show some rubbish and you have to select carefully what you want to watch.BUT please don't insult us that "real" fans need to be tuning into their channel…..
MADE IN MOTHERWELL - the night of the win in Paris I don't suppose I was the only one who was thrilled that the win was made in Motherwell. Three players on the park had come through our Youth System; McFadden, Pearson and McCulloch. These guys have shown that a properly run youth programme is essential for a club like ours, with these three players generating almost £3 million for us.
I also had to grudgingly accept that we had to give credit to Alex McLeish and Andy Watson who started their managerial partnership at Fir Park. You wonder what impact being at Fir Park will have on MarK McGhee's career (next Scotland Manager after McLeish?).
When watching TV we also had Gary McAllister in the Sky studio and then Nevin on the BBC, both with Motherwell connections, along with Craig Paterson as a co-commentator.
The nation should be grateful……
LEE MCCULLOCH - had a quick chat to Lee after the Lithuania game at Hampden and pulled him up for claiming he had signed for his boyhood heroes after telling us in 91 magazine that he was a Motherwell boy.He was forced to admit he was feeding the masses what they wanted to hear to ensure he was accepted at Ibrox.
Not sure this was what I really wanted to hear or whether it really was good enough!!
FIFA WORLD RANKINGS - I had a real problem with this list where we're about 83rd in the world, believing at that time we were much lower than we should be! Now that we are 14th in the rankings I still have a problem with them, as I think this is far too high for us.When we were sitting 23rd or 25th I thought that was about right. I guess that we in the absence of anything else these rankings are the only way of covering all of the confederations within FIFA and comparing each country.
Being 14th won't do our chances of making the World Cup in 2010 any harm given that we could be a second seed when the draw is made (if we keep this up maybe even a first seed).
SPL TEAMS IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - isn't it funny when our teams in the Champions League (okay, I mean Rangers and Celtic) lose to someone they claim the SPL isn't strong enough to test them on a regular basis.
But when they beat AC Milan or draw with Barcelona or whoever there is no praise for that same SPL which must have helped them get ready for these games as well.
MAGUIRE OR MCGARRY - like many Motherwell fans I get frustrated when I read team lines that show Maguire instead of McGarry. This started early last season when for some reason the Press Association ran with this, this means people like the BBC, Sporting Life etc run with it. We finally got this fixed last season, but for some reason it has come back this season!! I know many have complained and hopefully by the time you read this it has been corrected again.
One other site who use this information is the stats site Soccerbase, this means Stephen Maguire now has appearances for games he didn't play in, and also Stephen McGarry is short of appearances for games he did play in!!
Another to suffer is Darren Smith who has two entries in soccerbase, he has 15 appearances as Darren Lee Smith and then 12 as Darren Smith.
Stattos beware!!!!
LEAGUE CUP SEMI DRAW- was this cock up really worthy of the coverage it was given in the tabloid press. I know it was a bit embarrassing but was nothing else happening in the world that day!Having said that, how hard is it to pull four balls from a bag (oo-er missus) and get the four names right?Even if the presiding officer had forgotten his specs wasn't there someone else in the room who could have read them out for him.
You wonder how they will fix it for next season, printing the teams names and placing them in a plastic ball. I think this is the method preferred by UEFA, FIFA and possibly even the SFA.
IAN BRINES - I am as paranoid as the next provincial club supporter when it comes to referees and the Old Firm but poor Mr Brines showed that refs don't favour them, they are just rank rotten.In our cup quarter final against Rangers he took incompetence to a higher level. I don't know if he managed to get any decision right on the night.
How many of the NINE bookings were warranted, but after booking McGarry in only ten minutes he backed himself into a corner.
How can someone handle the ball in the box only for the decision to be given outside the box?
Why can't Motherwell take a quick free kick when three Rangers players have run off the field to celebrate an offside goal?
Only Mr Brines will know the answer to these questions, and a host more we could have asked after this particular performance.It also got me thinking of what would've happened if this had been in England, or anywhere else in the world. Down south he may even have come out and apologised himself, or the FA may have come out in criticism and suspended him for this.
Up here the SFA seem to defend the indefensible at times, look at the reaction to the decision of the ref at Hamilton who gave a goal and then changed his mind after pressure from the Accies players.What do the SFA do, they defend the referee by saying he came to the right decision, albeit the wrong way.As Morton Manager Jim McInally said this is almost giving players the right to challenge decisions in the hope that the ref or his assistant might change the decision.
We suffered from this last season when a goal at Tannadice was given and then ruled offside after pressure from Dundee Utd players.
Is anarchy about to break out?And what would happen if this was to take place during an Old Firm game, I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Graham Barnstaple
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