On The Other Side
On The Other Side
In recent years, Motherwell fans have been very suspicious of the press. This is due to a number of articles that basically suggested we will never amount to anything and should be quite content to fight relegation every season. There were the 'revelations' about Andy Goram which miraculously avoided mentioning his then current employers at the time and any article by Jim Traynor seemed to stick the knife into either Motherwell FC or its supporters. At the end of last season, I began writing the Motherwell content on a football website. It didn't involve a great deal but meant that I had to write reports for every game that we played - not a hardship, as I rarely missed any. This continued into this season before the publishers helped to arrange press passes for away games.
This posed a problem. On one hand, I had been given a 'golden ticket' that would get me in to almost any away game free of charge and bucket load of complimentary stuff - team sheets, programmes, tea, coffee, pies etc. Against this, my principles screamed that I would be selling my soul to the devil (or at least Rupert Murdoch). I was a true fan who had always paid his way in. The prospect of spending games sitting beside some of the more infamous writers was not an appealing one. After many hours of thought and soul searching, I made a decision: the principles were in the bin and I was a journalist.
The first game I applied for was the Raith Rovers cup tie. With more hope than expectation, I went to their reception and announced who I was; "There you go, sir" and I was handed a brown envelope. Inside was a ticket that I showed to the security guard who waved me through without blinking. In fairness, this was probably not the best place to start my journalistic career. The old stand at Raith gives you enough leg room to get your knees above your ears; it was freezing - in August - and we needed penalties to beat the first division strugglers. However, I just about enjoyed the experience and was prepared to try my luck at Kilmarnock on the next Saturday.
This was probably the best game so far. Not only did we win, but I also had a lovely finger buffet at half time and I went to the press conference after the match. I sat quietly, terrified of saying anything that would reveal my true character. A couple of pages of scribbled notes later and I rushed out of the stand with the comments of Shaun Teale and Billy Davies. All in a days work for your reporter.
The next game of note was the friendly at Airdrie. I was in the stand and looking around before I noticed that the press facilities were closed. The steward I asked was particularly helpful, telling me that he didn't know what was going on and that I should just sit anywhere. At this point, I have to say that I was actually in the homeend opposite the Motherwell fans. I found a quiet spot in the middle and sat on my hands. As Townsley and Halliday showed the natives just who was Lanarkshire's premier team I kept a passive face showing and a big grin hidden. Another challenge overcome successfully.
The next opportunity of a free game was the 2-0 win at Tannadice. For some reason they didn't have my ticket ready and I had to negotiate for a good 10-20 minutes before the let me in. This was Benito Kemble's debut, and the professional journalists were asking me for information about him! I managed to bluff my way through and they were further impressed by me having Motherwell to win that day at a very healthy 9/2. The post match conference led to BD and Benito bringing out the usual cliches but Billy couldn't hide how pleased he was. He strode into the press room feeling about 10 feet tall and unable to conceal a Cheshire cat like grin.
I have avoided going to all ticket matches so far just in case I'm not allowed in. The thought of missing a game is a risk too far for me to take. This meant that the last match I was at for business rather than pleasure was the Hearts game at Tynecastle. On arrival, I was told that I didn't have a press ticket waiting but that the secretary, Douglas Dalgleish, would speak to me shortly. He explained that they couldn't accommodate all the journalists that applied for tickets and he was asking the SPL for clarification on internet reporters. I was contemplating my first failure when he produced a ticket for the main stand. I gratefully accepted it and went to sit with the Hearts fans. To my astonishment, I found that they whine, complain and moan even more than our home support. When McSwegan nodded them ahead I leapt to my feet with only a slight delay. When Spencer equalised I almost tore the seat out of the ground but I managed to look as devastated as the other natives. I had a close escape when Derek Townsley missed a sitter but thankfully everyone else was standing up to abuse their right back.
I have no regrets about accepting complimentary entrance into games - and I haven't even needed to sit beside anyone from the Daily Record. Here's to internet journalism!
Derek Wilson
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