GLF 71: Christopher covers all things Motherwell
Sorry, we do Succeed In An Activity Which Needs More Power or Money Than We Have..
..or to put it any a simpler phrase that a certain amount of 'Well fans love to hate, WE PUNCH ABOVE OUR WEIGHT!!!
This mantra seemed to become commonplace during Terry Butchers' reign at our helm where we turned administration into a series of Top Six finishes.Yet many voices bemoaned this view and argued why shouldn't we be regularly finishing above the likes of Hearts/Hibs/Aberdeen/Dundee Utd etc.
The Numbers Don't Lie
Behind the Unmentionable pair, Aberdeen (although only just during a couple of play-off scares) and (by only two years) Hearts, Motherwell have the fifth highest unbroken number of years in the top flight of Scottish Football which if maintained this season will hitting the quarter of a century
mark.With Kilmarnock next on the list and eight years behind us we see clubs such as Dundee Utd and Hibs who have suffered the fate of relegation more recently than our good selves.This flies in the face of Motherwell being only Scotland's 25th biggest town with a population of just over thirty thousand souls whilst the Capital pair have nearly 450,000 to share, Aberdeen over 200,000, Dundee's neighbours nearly 150,000 to split, over 70,000 enjoying the delights of Paisley, more than 50,000 in Livingston and more bodies than us also residing in the likes of Inverness, Kirkcaldy, Ayr, Greenock, Kilmarnock, Perth, Stirling, Dunfermline and Falkirk.I mean, even the forgotten parts of Lanarkshire like Airdrie and Hamilton have more locals than us!!!????
Keeping Up the Good Work
As football seems to split more and more between the multi-billionaires' playgrounds and those who are fighting extinction, I continue to feel what we are getting for our money isn't too shabby.Part of being a football fan is about wanting your team to progress and improve and there's nothing wrong with that but the occasional impassive step back to see the bigger picture can make you feel more grateful for both your past and future.
That sense of realism show signs of blooming following Chris Porter's move back South.As I write this there are still (in the style of Sky Sports News) 34 hours, 17 minutes and 23 seconds of the transfer window left yet I haven't heard anyone bemoan the loss of our top scorer and fulcrum of our attacking philosophy, instead recognises the 400k represents a good deal for the club despite the fact that it looks likely none of Derby's dosh will be used before the deadline.It may turn out that the big man's departure could hamper us in our current targets of Europe/Top Six and Cup glory, but we'll hopefully find another to take over the mantle of that number nine jersey.
Hope you enjoy the penultimate issue of this season and as mentioned hopefully our May-ish offering will be with Hampdenand abroad still in view!!
Love 'n'stuff
Christopher Hutton
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