Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[KnightswoodBear]

Do any of the Well fans on here know of anywhere that I'd be able to find any kind of memorabilia from the 91 Cup Final?

I've got a mate turning 40 next month and wanted to try and find something for him.  I've DM'd the club on Twitter but not heard anything back.  Even if someone knew of anyone better to get in touch with at the club rather than their general Twitter account. 

 

[well fan for life]

13 minutes ago, KnightswoodBear said:

Do any of the Well fans on here know of anywhere that I'd be able to find any kind of memorabilia from the 91 Cup Final?

I've got a mate turning 40 next month and wanted to try and find something for him.  I've DM'd the club on Twitter but not heard anything back.  Even if someone knew of anyone better to get in touch with at the club rather than their general Twitter account. 

 

There's a lad on instagram collects old Motherwell shirts, not sure about other memorabilia but he might be worth a message. His @ is steelmansean.

[Swello]

2 hours ago, Casagolda said:

Link

Some more Robinson chat this morning, this time from Gallagher on the back of his Scotland debut. 

Have to say, I was delighted when we signed him this summer. I thought he’d be a decent replacement for Aldred but he’s gone beyond that- certainly never envisaged he’d work his way into the Scotland reckoning.

His age/past probably counts against him, otherwise I imagine he wouldn’t be here(not for long anyway). Was good to see his form rewarded with a Scotland cap though, even if some fortunate timing has played it’s part. 

The other main thing for me was that it was a case of a Motherwell player doing well and actually getting into the Scotland squad (and more importantly, team) - that's been a *really* rare thing over the years.

Scottish Football received wisdom is that if you are Scottish and playing well for Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hibs or Hearts - then a call-up is in the post, nae bother. The tier below those clubs - which over the past decade has really been Motherwell, Killie and St Johnstone - hasn't really existed in the eyes of successive Scotland managers. 

I'd personally be more inclined to care about the international team if players in our league - most of whom would be desperate to play - got called up when they did well in our league rather than as a last resort when we can't find anyone in English football to make up the numbers...

 

 

[Desp]

8 minutes ago, Swello said:

The other main thing for me was that it was a case of a Motherwell player doing well and actually getting into the Scotland squad (and more importantly, team) - that's been a *really* rare thing over the years.

I read on Saturday that Gallagher was the first Motherwell player to appear in a competitive Scotland game since Stephen Pearson against the Netherlands in November 2003.

[nsr]

34 minutes ago, Swello said:

Scottish Football received wisdom is that if you are Scottish and have played at some point in the last ten years for Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hibs or Hearts - then a call-up is in the post, nae bother. The tier below those clubs - which over the past decade has really been Motherwell, Killie and St Johnstone - hasn't really existed in the eyes of successive Scotland managers. 

FTFY

[thisGRAEME]

7 minutes ago, Desp said:

I read on Saturday that Gallagher was the first Motherwell player to appear in a competitive Scotland game since Stephen Pearson against the Netherlands in November 2003.

Given that it came from SPLStats, I wouldn't argue this.

While I take the point on this from @Swello, there aren't many I look back on and think 'Aye, hard done by' in an international sense. Reynolds I was put out by at the time, particularly when Kenneth got a call-up, but ultimately, he wasn't a Scotland player. I can't think of many more that have missed out. Even in our teams that finished second and were brilliant, Lasley/Hammell...nah, not internationalists for me, as much as I loved them. 

Arguably Turnbull/Campbell in with a shout, but that's an area where we've got nothing but bodies. Broadly, with some exceptions, players at our level (also St. Johnstone, Livi, Killie et al) are there because they're not of that quality. Maybe if they played there, they might get to it, but I've always been of the opinion that International football isn't a finishing school where you improve players, it's where you play your best players.

[crazylegsjoe]

I started going to Motherwell games in 1997 and looking back on it rationally, I would say that Martyn Corrigan is probably the only player in that time who wasn't capped, but should feel aggrieved about it.

[thisGRAEME]

38 minutes ago, crazylegsjoe said:

I started going to Motherwell games in 1997 and looking back on it rationally, I would say that Martyn Corrigan is probably the only player in that time who wasn't capped, but should feel aggrieved about it.

Corrigan is the one that sticks out for me, really, but I'm never sure if that's just because I think he's dead sound for taking the hit and staying with us. 

The fact that we had Berti's revolving door at the time and Mo Ross getting consistent selection, I think there's probably a case for that.

[Swello]

Yeh - I'm not trying to make the point that we've been particularly hard done to in terms of people being ignored (it was the early and mid-90's where that was last strongly the case) - just that Gallacher (and the Killie boys obviously) getting in the team feels significant given the rarity of town club players being picked over the years. There should be the same expectation levels that if a player is a stand-out in our league, it shouldn't matter if they are at a larger club or not..

 

[well fan for life]

Corrigan is the one that sticks out for me, really, but I'm never sure if that's just because I think he's dead sound for taking the hit and staying with us. 
The fact that we had Berti's revolving door at the time and Mo Ross getting consistent selection, I think there's probably a case for that.

Think this is fair enough. Corrigan was outstanding for us for years at a time when everyone and their granny got a cap.

As much as I love Richard Tait, even I thought the calls for him to be picked for Scotland last year were...a bit much.

[Neil86]

in the Mccall era, maybe Jamie Murphy could have been in with a shout? in fact it baffles how long it took Jamie Murphy to get a call up full stop. 

[crazylegsjoe]

Don't get me wrong, he was a cracking young player for us, but as with most young players, he suffered badly from inconsistency. I think often his good form at Motherwell came in spurts and he could often be nullified on days where he wasn't on it, particularly against Celtic and Rangers. 

If you were asking which of our players of that era most deserved to be capped, he'd certainly have been ahead of Steven Saunders, but viewing it rationally, between a mixture of their own ability and those in front of them in the pecking order, no one particularly deserved a cap then in my eyes, to be honest.

[well fan for life]

4 minutes ago, crazylegsjoe said:

Don't get me wrong, he was a cracking young player for us, but as with most young players, he suffered badly from inconsistency. I think often his good form at Motherwell came in spurts and he could often be nullified on days where he wasn't on it, particularly against Celtic and Rangers. 

If you were asking which of our players of that era most deserved to be capped, he'd certainly have been ahead of Steven Saunders, but viewing it rationally, between a mixture of their own ability and those in front of them in the pecking order, no one particularly deserved a cap then in my eyes, to be honest.

Jesus wept. I'd forgotten Saunders got called up. 

[thisGRAEME]

3 hours ago, well fan for life said:

As much as I love Richard Tait, even I thought the calls for him to be picked for Scotland last year were...a bit much.

 

A bit of a sliding doors moment, that. I reckon it must've been pretty tight between him and Stephen O'Donnell, as I don't think there was a huge amount between the two of them. O'Donnell probably a bit pacier, and perhaps a bit more solid defensively, whereas Tait has a better delivery and being two-footed has been a weirdly useful trait for us as well.

O'Donnell went and as such, had the jersey and has collected a few caps, had Tait gone, I think he'd have done pretty similarly, and have a few caps himself.

[Casagolda]

I think for a Motherwell player to be called up, in general, you need a bit of good timing. You have to be in form, at a time when a gap opens up due to injuries/suspensions for others.

Which is pretty much what has happened for Gallagher. As has been pointed out by already, generally speaking, I don’t think our players are at that level. Some might develop and get there, however chances are it’ll probably be after they’ve left Fir Park. 

I think in my time watching Motherwell, I’d say Faddy and Turnbull are the only two who instantly stick out as players I thought should be in the Scotland squad on merit- even while they were still at Fir Park. 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Casagolda

[steelmen]

I would much rather see a player from one of the unfashionable teams in Scotland than a second rate English guy who has a Scottish granny getting a call up / game just because he plays in the English leagues.

Gallagher deserves his call ups and game because he has been one of the better Scottish centre half’s this season. Doesn’t matter who he plays for if your playing well you should get a chance.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Steven Saunders should have had 100 caps.

[Gianfranco]

If it wasn’t for the injuries he’d be playing alongside Ramos at Real Madrid.

[neildrake]

I often think if you are a defender at one of the smaller clubs, Well, Killie  St Johnstone  etc then your job is harder than a defender at Celtic. One of the most bizarre call ups recently was the boy Hendry of Celtic. He had played almost every game in a Dundee side getting battered every week, got transferred to Celtic in January and after being in and out of Celtics team got capped. Now Celtic are trying to punt him. With Declan in the side I have taken an interest again on how Scotland get on.

[Swami]

I’d imagine Robinson will be among the front runners for the Tottenham job now.