The end of the season is a hard time for football fans. We want excitement, we want matches that matter and yet for Motherwell fans the next six games are friendlies. What is even worse is that we don't even get the benefit of trying to see where we need to improve because it is abundantly clear already. The U19s do seem reasonably promising but Maurice Malpas clearly doesn't think they are yet ready for first team football.
However there is a worrying phenomenon that is starting to place. Not only are we not playing the kids but also other clubs in the meaningless positions are reluctant to throw their own boys in. Previously club managers would always make noises about wanting to finish as high as possible but this was simply talk; in practice the games had all the pace of a kickabout on the beach and the kids from all clubs could be broken into the first team in a relaxed environment. Now the need for cash is that desperate that the kids aren't being picked above senior pros because the clubs need the extra £80k or so which comes from finishing one place higher in the league.
While the clubs do need the money this is a sad indictment again of the short-term nature that has taken over the game. Clubs refuse to lower prices to guarantee their flow of future 'customers' because they cannot risk falling behind the competition even for a season. In the same way would Motherwell (and other clubs of course) not benefit more in the long term by blooding the likes of Connolly and Coakley - even if just to confirm they're not good enough - rather than playing the same established professionals that landed you in mid-table anonymity in the first place?
The decision to play Scott McDonald is probably correct, as he is the one player we have that could win a game from nowhere. It is one thing weakening your team to experiment, quite another to tie one hand behind your back. But why on earth are we playing Brian Kerr? Regardless of why his time here hasn't quite lived up to expectations, he simply isn't a vital piece for us and it seems clear he will be off in the summer. Why not even give Kevin McBride a run in low-pressure games to see how he handles the midfield when he knows he doesn't have just 15 minutes every month to prove himself?
Sadly football is all about money these days and we will no doubt be chasing every last penny by trying to finish as high up the league as we can. As ever, the decisions made by Malpas will be judged simply on results. If we finish 7th or 8th and pick up £160k more and a League Cup seeding, he'll have got it right. But if we finish 10th despite passing on the chance to experiment it'll be yet another black mark against his name.