Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Archie McSquackle]

I'm still thinking about goalies and you've started on forwards! Samson's experience and subsequent disastrous form overshadows the other poor keepers with relatively low appearances for me.

Dubordeau was probably slightly above average for me but with that blinder against Rangers. The moment that sticks in my craw though is a crappy midweek game petering out to a goalless draw at Kilmarnock and he caught the ball then elbowed the oncoming forward. Completely unnecessary. Red card, penalty and 1nil defeat - just like that.

[MJC]

3 minutes ago, Busta Nut said:

I think the "Forward" is too varied to put them in an order that would settle in my mind.

I'd be too caught up in the shite wans tae.

It would be hard to top Alex Burns for the worst forward I think. 

Hopeless in his first spell then scored against us for Partick Thistle in every game one season then we re-sign him that summer and he looked as hopeless as he was in his previous spell with us.

[Mr. Brightside]

Gerry Britton and everyone's favourite Belgian-Spaniard...

[thisGRAEME]

11 minutes ago, MJC said:

It would be hard to top Alex Burns for the worst forward I think. 

Hopeless in his first spell then scored against us for Partick Thistle in every game one season then we re-sign him that summer and he looked as hopeless as he was in his previous spell with us.

Paul Keegan by fucking miles.

[Pettigrew]

8 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

Paul Keegan by fucking miles.

Shudder at the thought of those 3 Irish League signings of Malpas.  The tiny wee left back would very unsubtly come on whatever Steelmen Online was called at the time and argue with folk about his "performances". 

Halcyon days.

[nsr]

5 minutes ago, Pettigrew said:

The tiny wee left back would very unsubtly come on whatever Steelmen Online was called at the time and argue with folk about his "performances". 

Murphy? 

 

[Pettigrew]

Just now, nsr said:

Murphy? 

 

That's the one!  He was probably the best of the 3, but that's not saying much.

[nsr]

1 minute ago, Pettigrew said:

That's the one!  He was probably the best of the 3, but that's not saying much.

Indeed. Have to admit I didn't know any of our players had ever actually come on to a board like this to defend themselves against criticism  

[well fan for life]

49 minutes ago, Ron Aldo said:

The best performance I think I've seen from a Motherwell centre forward is when Celtic played Victor Wanyama at centre half and big Higdon flung him about like a wet trackie. Glorious.

Lets not forget when he got lifted at the player of the year awards.

The big man spent that whole season kicking centre halfs about like empty fag packets. I mind McPake calling him a fat b*****d just before half time against Hibs which only seemed to anger Higdon who spent the following 45 minutes setting about him like a super heavyweight. 

Following up a season scoring every week by getting lifted for being a steaming riot after scooping the award makes Michael Higdon the ultimate footballing icon imho. 

[thisGRAEME]

3 minutes ago, well fan for life said:

The big man spent that whole season kicking centre halfs about like empty fag packets. I mind McPake calling him a fat b*****d just before half time against Hibs which only seemed to anger Higdon who spent the following 45 minutes setting about him like a super heavyweight. 

Following up a season scoring every week by getting lifted for being a steaming riot after scooping the award makes Michael Higdon the ultimate footballing icon imho. 

It's to my continual disappointment that the camera cuts away as Higdon goes to find him after he scores that overhead kick, because the look on McPake's face was fucking beautiful. He'd clattered into his back early doors, had given him some shit, then didn't get another kick at the ball for the next hour, only for the big man to pull off a move like an elephant on a trampette and make sure McPake knew what time it was. 

McPake was garbage.

[Casagolda]

9 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

It's to my continual disappointment that the camera cuts away as Higdon goes to find him after he scores that overhead kick, because the look on McPake's face was fucking beautiful. He'd clattered into his back early doors, had given him some shit, then didn't get another kick at the ball for the next hour, only for the big man to pull off a move like an elephant on a trampette and make sure McPake knew what time it was. 

McPake was garbage.

[thisGRAEME]

I've made a right c**t of that eh? Mixing up my Higdon moments, what a riddy.

[Desp]

I know it's said regularly on this thread, but f**k me that was an incredible team.  Absolutely incredible. 

Humphrey, Law, Murphy (latterly McFadden), Higdon & Ojamaa ripping teams to shreds.  Lasley kicking everything that moved.  Hateley shooting from corners.  Big Sexy Randolph in the goals.  I was a lucky, lucky b*****d to have witnessed it. They should have won something though. 

[well fan for life]

10 minutes ago, Desp said:

I know it's said regularly on this thread, but f**k me that was an incredible team.  Absolutely incredible. 

Humphrey, Law, Murphy (latterly McFadden), Higdon & Ojamaa ripping teams to shreds.  Lasley kicking everything that moved.  Hateley shooting from corners.  Big Sexy Randolph in the goals.  I was a lucky, lucky b*****d to have witnessed it. They should have won something though. 

It was an absolutely surreal time. I mind walking in to Fir Park every week wondering whether we'd score 3 or 4 regardless of the opposition. 

Higdon was like watching someone play FIFA on too easy a setting for a whole season. 

[steelmen]

Had a chat with a friend a few weeks back, and the discussion was a bit like this and who we thought would win..

McLean’s team(coyne and co)v McCall’s team (as above) v McGhee’s team (first time and playing on actual grass)

[Pettigrew]

26 minutes ago, steelmen said:

Had a chat with a friend a few weeks back, and the discussion was a bit like this and who we thought would win..

McLean’s team(coyne and co)v McCall’s team (as above) v McGhee’s team (first time and playing on actual grass)

Be tempted to throw in season one of McLeish to the mix when he took Tommy's core team to second, before he really starting signing folk and it all going TU.

Had forgotten this game entirely

[Desp]

25 minutes ago, steelmen said:

Had a chat with a friend a few weeks back, and the discussion was a bit like this and who we thought would win..

McLean’s team(coyne and co)v McCall’s team (as above) v McGhee’s team (first time and playing on actual grass)

Three wonderful sides.  Genuinely not a clue which side would better the other, because they were all very different.

The mid 90s side was just a proper footballing side.  Ball playing defenders in Mio & big Buff, wing-backs who'd get up and down all day long, wonderful technicians in Lambert & Davies, alongside the energy of O'Donnell, and the best front two I'm ever likely to see at Fir Park in Coyne & Arnott.

McGhee's first side was just explosive.  The plan was to get the ball down, and have you tucked away within half an hour.  When it worked, it was an absolute joy to watch.  The front three of McCormack, Clarkson & Porter just had the perfect balance of everything you'd want in forward players.

The McCall side is probably Scottish Football's version of Kevin Keegan's Newcastle side of 15 years previous.  Full on, baws oot, you score three, we'll score four.  Gave us some brilliant football to watch, but just missed out on that defining triumph they should have got. 

I'll always look towards the mid 90s team as the no.1 for me, but I think nostalgia and the fact I was of primary school age makes them seem a bit more magical.  Spent hours in the streets pretending I was Tommy Coyne or Dougie Arnott.

[capt_oats]

15 minutes ago, Desp said:

Three wonderful sides.  Genuinely not a clue which side would better the other, because they were all very different.

The mid 90s side was just a proper footballing side.  Ball playing defenders in Mio & big Buff, wing-backs who'd get up and down all day long, wonderful technicians in Lambert & Davies, alongside the energy of O'Donnell, and the best front two I'm ever likely to see at Fir Park in Coyne & Arnott.

McGhee's first side was just explosive.  The plan was to get the ball down, and have you tucked away within half an hour.  When it worked, it was an absolute joy to watch.  The front three of McCormack, Clarkson & Porter just had the perfect balance of everything you'd want in forward players.

The McCall side is probably Scottish Football's version of Kevin Keegan's Newcastle side of 15 years previous.  Full on, baws oot, you score three, we'll score four.  Gave us some brilliant football to watch, but just missed out on that defining triumph they should have got. 

I'll always look towards the mid 90s team as the no.1 for me, but I think nostalgia and the fact I was of primary school age makes them seem a bit more magical.  Spent hours in the streets pretending I was Tommy Coyne or Dougie Arnott.

100% same for me...

Instinctively I thought the mid-90s side but it's for exactly the same reasons. 

[Pettigrew]

I think part of the magic of that mid 90s side was the transformation of them under McLean who took them from propping up the table not that long after the cup win to playing a wonderful, cultured brand of football.    Signing Tommy Coyne and then later Mio and Lambert were pivotal moments on that journey.  

McLeish perhaps made them even more fluent in his first season (game at Ibrox I linked above would support that).

[crazylegsjoe]

I'm almost as gutted about being too young to witness the 1993/94 season as I am the 1991 Scottish Cup Win.

I think what elevates the nineties team from those other two teams is that they actually came close to winning the league. The 2007/08 season and 2012/13 season are the two best sides I've had the pleasure of seeing, but at no point were either in any danger of challenging for a league title over a season.

It's quite mental to comprehend that only picking up one point in our final three games against Dundee United, Raith Rovers and St. Johnstone was what ended up losing us the league title.