Season Preview

Rangers - no ex Dossers are playing for the Govan mafia this season but they are managed by Alex McLeish. 'Well fans need no extra reason to hate Rangers but when they fail, McLeish will be another reason to laugh heartily. Big Eck has continued his trend of having a good start but things will surely turn sour this season. They are a clear second favourites in the league and that is the only thing of importance to them. Ginger on the dole? Probably sometime around March.

Livingston - things will almost certainly prove tougher this time for last seasons surprise package. They changed their entire side when they arrived in the SPL but have lost their inspiration in David Fernandez. They were trying to secure the services of an Argentinean when the FPC team went on their holidays and they did well to persuade Quino not to move to Hearts. Livingston will not finish third again this season but it would take an exceptionally bad start to have them fighting off relegation come the business end of the season. They are our first opponents and if we can steal a point from Almondvale on August 3rd, we will be doing very well indeed.

Aberdeen - anything other than third place will be a big disappointment for the Reds. Ebbe Skovdahl has made slow but steady progress during his time in charge and he has developed a very impressive young team. They are the blueprint for Motherwell to follow but we proved last season we were capable of beating them with our own youngsters. They have had an extra season or two to develop and if things progress smoothly with our own youth system, we should be challenging them on a regular basis soon. It will be interesting to see if the Dons can hold onto their youngsters - obviously they will not be close to the old firm in the league but would be a smart bet in the cups.

Hearts - the boys in maroon are still skint but they produced some solid performances last year to secure fifth. The temporary signing of Ricardo Fuller turned out to be a masterstroke and a lot will depend on how they cope with his absence. Even without him, Hearts have enough talent to be well clear of the relegation zone. Anti Niemi can steal games on his own and Pressley, Severin, Kirk and Wales are a sufficient supporting cast to ensure that the Jambos will sadly be in the top half yet again.

Dunfermline - are not our favourite club at the moment. They are a group of average players who gel superbly and form a team much greater than the sum of its parts. Whether they can maintain an incredible run from the middle of last season or not is another matter though and questions have to be asked of their financial stability. Rumours suggest they are around £9m in debt and plan to solve their problems by building a hotel in Dunfermline. Hmm. Can they continue to pay people like Stevie Crawford - good but by no means great - several thousand pounds each week? They will also miss the influential captaincy of Iain Ferguson - a bad start could see them near the bottom but anything worse than ninth overall would still be surprising.

Kilmarnock - always a popular club among 'Well fans and not just because we took two wins and a draw off them last season. They always charge reasonable admission prices and deserve special credit for cutting costs when it was announced we were going into administration in April. That day their generosity extended to the pitch and we rampaged to a 4-1 win. If that was symbolic of their attitude to new manager Jim Jefferies, they could be in for a very long season indeed. Sour faced Jefferies rarely comes a cropper though and it is likely that some good signings and useful young players will seem them through. Killie are arguably the third most successful side in the last half-decade or so but these things rarely last in Scottish football. It could well be their turn to suffer a few seasons in the lower reaches of the league.

Dundee United - despite appearing to be absolutely woeful when they played us, United finished comfortably above us in the league. Alex Smith is not proving totally popular with the Arabs though and if his gamble of signing Alan Smart doesn't pay off, he could well be the first managerial casualty of the season. They open with an emotional game at Firhill and a defeat could have them up against it early. They are definitely one of the teams we will be looking to take points off and could well prove our salvation next May.

Dundee - things are not looking good in the city of Dundee. With United struggling, Dundee should be smiling but that is not the case. Bonneti's foreigners ultimately proved no better than Jocky Scott's battling sides and Ivano the spiv was sacked last week. His replacement Jim Duffy returns for another spell at Dens although 'Well fans will be hoping he can reproduce the managerial form he showed with Hibs. Dundee have lots of talented players but will be looking to trim a wage bill that must be substantial. It is also doubtful if Ivano's players will fancy turning out for another manager - they have already shown that they don't like Fir Park on wet Janaury nights. Another team who could fall through the relegation trapdoor before us.

Hibs - the curse of third place struck the Easter Road side last year and their season never gained momentum. A great effort against AEK Athens in the UEFA Cup disguised some early problems and by the time McLeish the rat deserted the ship, Hibees were fairly relieved to see him go. Their performance against Ayr in the semi final of the League Cup was one of the most pathetic sights I've ever had the miss-fortune to witness but Bobby Williamson has the tactical nous to ensure they improve. The football at Easter Road will be far from pretty this season but Hibs will be well organised and very hard to beat. They might fall just short of being top six material but don't expect them to be scrapping it out at the bottom.

Partick Thistle - the media's favourite cuddly toy will fight all year long but it might not be enough. They are signing some new players but they are also relying on Stephen Craigen in their defence - he may have improved but he was not and never will be SPL quality. Ex-'Well striker Alex Burns is another who is a good First Division player but apart from us, he will not score against many sides. Thistle start their season with two relegation six pointers - United at Firhill and then us at Fir Park. Everyone in Motherwell will breathe a little easier if they have no points out of their first six.

That's who we're up against but do we have what it takes to survive? The answer is definitely 'yes' but whether we can produce the goods on a regular enough basis to do so is another matter. Looking through our team, Leitch and Lehmann are crucial players that are prone to injury. Stevie Hammell, Keith Lasley, Stephen Pearson and Jamie McFadden are all potentially stars that could flicker brightly one game before vanishing in the next. Our first choice 'keeper, the unpredictable Stevie Woods may come to our rescue again and deserves to have the wholehearted support of the fans. Our defence is threadbare and has little experience. If we go with our expected first choice XI, Derek Adams is likely to be the only experienced player on the bench. A worker yes, and a player who has battled through a dip in form to win back some of his critics.

Ironically, the cause of our problem - financial difficulty and interim administration - may also prove to be our greatest strength. The attitude of 'Well fans has gone through an incredible transformation since the days of John Boyle and high expectations. Hard work from the players is appreciated and their flaws are now tolerated. The large barriers between underachieving players and overly critical fans have been shattered and there is now a spirit of one for all and all for one in the stands and on the pitch at Fir Park. We may not be very good all the time, but this is our team trying their hearts out and we are proud of them. Who knows if that will still be the case when a new owner arrives or even in the gloom of a bleak November without a win. What is important is that it exists just now and just might be enough to springboard us away from relegation. Of course, the passion of fans will help but it will not be the deciding factor. Ultimately, injury and suspension may tear through our paper-thin squad - by far the smallest in the SPL - and that threat is why we will correctly be favourites to go down.

At this point I could easily sign off this article with a vague paragraph that talks a lot but says nothing. However, you've read enough of that in the rest of the piece, so here are the categorical FPC predictions for the year 2002/03.

SPL: Scottish Cup: Celtic League Cup: Aberdeen
1. Celtic
2. Rangers
3. Aberdeen
4. Hearts
5. Livingston
6. Hibs
7. Dunfermline
8. Kilmarnock
9. Dundee United
10. Partick Thistle
11. MOTHERWELL
12. Dundee