Desp Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 Owen Coyle was certainly capped by ROI, but I don't believe he was in the '94 WC squad. He didn't sign for us until about '97 in a swap deal with Jamie Dolan going to Tannadice. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pettigrew Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 14 minutes ago, Desp said: The excitement you felt when you found out Motherwell were going to be the Sportscene game on a Saturday night! Even better when we had tucked away Rangers or Celtic that afternoon. Absolutely - my old man would come in with the papers and would have spotted the BBC vans up in Fir Park Street, always added something extra to the game. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 7 minutes ago, Swello said: Aye - definitely some misty eyes there (although I agree with a lot of it). The early-mid 90's was a classic era for Motherwell, so it's no surprise that it's looked back on fondly from those of us that were there - but there was still a lot of pish games, pish crowds, hordes of foreign diddies being signed all over the league (Hi Elroy! Hiya Bart!) and a virtual abandonment of youth development- and I even think the dreaded 6.05pm Sunday kick off for TV stuff was in the 90's (although TV and its money were much less of a factor). The main thing that I miss from that time is that the chance to properly build a team around good players has really gone for clubs like ours. As soon as we unearth a good player now, they are being linked with a move and usually do so within a year (and usually less) - and that's one of the main reason that the bonds between players and supporters don't really get a chance to form in the way that they did. The fact that 4th tier English clubs can blow us out the water financially is also something that would have been unheard of at that point and the whole circus around football down south has been a negative thing for our game overall. The 6.05pm Sunday kick offs came about in the late nineties, possibly 98 and that's when the TV companies started to take its grip on football. This of course coincided with John Boyle's arrival at Motherwell and the period of overspending which would eventually lead us to the brink. One of the first 6.05pm games I can remember was us v Dundee United on a roasting hot day and Boyle was letting kids in for £1 and adults for a fiver, so the South Stand was packed full of 'Well fans. We won a dreadful game 1-0 with Kai Nyysonen(sp) scoring. It was also around about this time we started playing "Your home town" by Bruce Springsteen at the request of Boyle over the tannoy before every game. Toe curling stuff! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desp Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 1 minute ago, MJC said: It was also around about this time we started playing "Your home town" by Bruce Springsteen at the request of Boyle over the tannoy before every game. Toe curling stuff! @Mitch still requests this to be played at every home game! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 (edited) It's a good point made by swello regarding us being unable to build a team anymore like we did 20 odd years ago. If you think back to then, we'd Phil O'Donnell breaking into the side as a teenager around 89/90 and was with us until 1994. In that time he was considered one of the best up and coming midfield prospects in the country and had scored a goal which helped take us to a Scottish Cup Final win. If that was now he would have been out of Fir Park within weeks of the Cup Final. Then as has already been mentioned we had Tommy Coyne who played with Ireland in a World Cup yet remained at Fir Park for another four years afterwards. Compare that to nowadays; last season we bring two youngsters into the side who immediately shine, yet one has already moved on and the other will be away shortly, it's so frustrating. Edited June 6, 2019 by MJC 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 36 minutes ago, Desp said: The excitement you felt when you found out Motherwell were going to be the Sportscene game on a Saturday night! Even better when we had tucked away Rangers or Celtic that afternoon. This type of thing? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desp Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 (edited) 4 minutes ago, capt_oats said: This type of thing? This game was the only game I ever watched from the 'terracing' below the Main Stand seating. I don't remember too much about the game itself (I turned 7 the month previous) but it felt like it was rammed and it was some bounce about for the goal. Edited June 6, 2019 by Desp 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 Another thing that you just don't see anymore, as is shown in those videos, is the size of our travelling supports. There's a video of a game at Ibrox where we have the entire lower tier of the Broomloan stand and it's more or less full. Again, before TV took its grip but also the pricing was much lower in those days. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 9 minutes ago, Desp said: This game was the only game I ever watched from the 'terracing' below the Main Stand seating. I don't remember too much about the game itself (I turned 7 the month previous) but it felt like it was rammed and it was some bounce about for the goal. In truth it was a shite game in high winds with a great result. The most embarrassing thing was that it was shown live in the nordics for some reason and they were treated to an absolute shiter. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 (edited) 13 minutes ago, MJC said: Another thing that you just don't see anymore, as is shown in those videos, is the size of our travelling supports. There's a video of a game at Ibrox where we have the entire lower tier of the Broomloan stand and it's more or less full. Again, before TV took its grip but also the pricing was much lower in those days. This is actually something that crossed my mind the other day when I saw the tweet from Flow about the ST sales (v.good btw and credit to everyone involved with the campaign, it's been excellent). Apparently last year was our "highest ever" of 4.3k which made me think about that 'core' support and the ceiling that exists as Boyle found out to his cost (literally and figuratively). There's always been a limit to the number of home fans we'll get through the gates and that seems to remain fairly constant (3k-5k?) but it's increasingly clear that the difference between then and now is the away supports. Edited June 6, 2019 by capt_oats 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 6 minutes ago, capt_oats said: This is actually something that crossed my mind the other day when I saw the tweet from Flow about the ST sales (v.good btw and credit to everyone involved with the campaign, it's been excellent). Apparently last year was our "highest ever" of 4.3k which made me think about that 'core' support and the ceiling that exists as Boyle found out to his cost (literally and figuratively). There's always been a limit to the number of home fans we'll get through the gates and that seems to remain fairly constant (3k-5k?) but it's increasingly clear that the difference between then and now is the away supports. I think there has also been a shift to Season Tickets over time - in the past, even a lot of die-hards didn't bother with season tickets as they didn't really offer a huge discount over the walk up price or any real convenience. I would guess now the proportion of 'ticket holders vs walk-up punters has altered rather than the support getting bigger (although you'd hope there is at least some growth in there) - the free kids thing will be a huge driver of this I'd think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desp Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 16 minutes ago, Swello said: The free kids thing will be a huge driver of this I'd think. Indeed. I do wonder how many adult ST's we actually sell. As well as the free kids tickets, you'll also have a number of high school kids who can pick theirs up for £20 as well. Still, it's great to see the overall numbers rising. The more 'Well fans in Fir Park the better. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Aldo Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 I don't buy a season ticket because I don't go to games against the Old Firm. I'm at most other home games so it's more costs effective for me over the course of the season just to pay at the gate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YassinMoutaouakil Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 I'd imagine I'm more or less one of the youngest on this thread- my first game was a loss to 1st Division St Johnstone to put us out the cup in the Malpas season. I've no idea why I ever came back tbh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezz Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 My first game was a 5-0 win against Raith in April 1997 where Coyne got a double. Being 6 years old I don’t really remember it and my earliest ‘proper’ memories are probably from the 2000-01 Billy Davies team so Hidgon, Moult, Porter is probably the order I’d have those 3 in. Some of Higdon’s goals we’re just ludicrous. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busta Nut Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 I couldn't even tell ye about my first game. I was about 2 in 1985 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 35 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said: I'd imagine I'm more or less one of the youngest on this thread- my first game was a loss to 1st Division St Johnstone to put us out the cup in the Malpas season. I've no idea why I ever came back tbh. I feel fucking ancient. My first one was in the first season "back" in the Premier in 85/86 - but I don't remember much. First game I remember clearly was a game a year or two later where we were 3-0 up against Dundee at half time - ended up in a 3-3 draw. Set the tone perfectly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellinwigan Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 Think I was 11 yrs old my first game was away to stenhousemuir in a cup game around 1980/81 We drew 1-1 my uncle Tommy took me and I been a well fan since 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisGRAEME Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 2 hours ago, Desp said: Indeed. I do wonder how many adult ST's we actually sell. As well as the free kids tickets, you'll also have a number of high school kids who can pick theirs up for £20 as well. Still, it's great to see the overall numbers rising. The more 'Well fans in Fir Park the better. Aye, I'm curious simply out of curiosity, rather than trying to do anybody down about the figures. I'm all for the cheapo season tickets for kids, filling the place with kids having a good time with their mates is a very long term good thing. This was my first game, I think: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONeils4Oyarder Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 52 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said: I'd imagine I'm more or less one of the youngest on this thread- my first game was a loss to 1st Division St Johnstone to put us out the cup in the Malpas season. I've no idea why I ever came back tbh. Undoubtedly, thee worst season I have ever watched...and that guy is a p***k of the highest order. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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