GLF 72:Christopher looks over the 'Well scence from May till September.
Change is as Good as a Rest
Even though we all love our football, there are times when we are ready for a few weeks away from it ain't there??
I certainly felt like that as my son 'enjoyed' the second match of his Motherwell-supporting life as we managed to lose the snooze-fest v Kilmarmock on the 23rd May.Even the post-match farewell was half-hearted and despite qualifying through the back-door for the inaugral Europa League competition were you REALLY looking forward to being back in just SIX WEEKS time for the first kick-off of season 2009/10??
Out With The Old ......
Whilst the confusingly ever-popular press tried to whip Motherwell Football Club up into a 'Club In Crisis' we were hardly shedding too many tears as we grabbed our shortened summer sorjoun.We knew there was life after McGhee and Leitch.We were confident we could fill the gaps vacated by such football geniuses as Malcolm, Sheridan, Smith and McLean.We appreciated that proper money finally getting invested in our pitch would pay long-term dividends.Despite there being ultimately no love lost with his last choice, our chairman had made a great 'outside-the-box' appointment and we trusted he could do so again.We were quietly confident that the hiring of "Jim Who?" would prove a better bet than either the usual Scottish suspects or some of the big(gish) names touted by many journalists (and Keevins).We even felt confident that we could turn around the 'embarassment for Scottish Football' that was our first leg defeat to Llanelli.
In with plenty of The New!!
Since then we have enjoyed trips to Wales, Albania and Romania in the best pre-season preparation in memory.We've revelled in the introduction of a gaggle of youngsters that McGhee felt couldn't oust a couple of his jaded favourites last campaign.We achieved our record result in Europe with a sensational showing against Flamurtari.We gave a classy European outfit a real fright for an hour before conceding a penalty.We fought back from behind (twice) to earn a point at Perth with the shock of a Motherwell manager making a bold double sub at half-time.We've seen unknown after unknown effortlessly slot into our squad as some old hands have been forced to play for their place rather than continue to perform averagely.
So are you enjoying your football a hell of a lot more in September than you thought you would be back in June ??Me too !!
As is the Motherwell rollercoaster, our form and results will probably dip in the not-to-distant future, but I reckon if we hang on in there we'll ultimately get plenty out of the season ahead.
Due to our bottom 6 finish last Spring this is our first outing s
ince February.We celebrate our 20th season (is it that long ago since Nick Cusack scored on his debut and jumped into the away support at Tannadice ?!?) and, as long as you support GLF, we'll be here for a while yet.
Love 'n'stuff
Christopher Hutton
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