What now?

Last updated : 11 May 2002 By FirParkCorner
One of the many things we need to do now is decide what sort of person or group we want in charge of the club for the future. A management buy out from Nevin and Black would not necessarily be a bad thing. That said, it is questionable whether any one man should be in charge of Motherwell again. John Boyle, for all his mistakes, had the best interests of the club at heart. If he so chose, he could have shut the club down completely - what's to say our next owner won't turn out to be a Michael Knighton or Hugh Scott? Given the shaky nature of Scottish football, this is a risk we should not be taking.

What alternatives does that leave us? Well, at the press conference yesterday, John Boyle indicated that he believed a community based system should take over the club. We are going to be practically debt free when Boyle sells, so a supporters trust who are capable of keeping the club on an even keel should be able to take control. Someone with experience in dealing with a football club would be ideal - that could be Pat Nevin - and some local businessmen to actually run the operation could quite easily see this happen. That would also go a long way to easing the rift between the club and the fans.


Pat is gutted


Hopefully recent events will have a galvanising effect on everyone connected with the club. The players will understandably be worried about their futures but they have to realise that short term sacrifices may be required in order to ensure the club survives. There is no point in them taking large salaries for an extra week when cutting their wage could ensure they get paid for months or years to come.

It is certain that we cannot pay out more than we take in any more. If that means getting relegated then the fans have no choice but to accept it - as has been said before, Motherwell in the First Division is much better than no Motherwell at all. The only way out is for our fans to turn up in numbers and put money into the club through programmes and pie sales. The future will be different but that doesn't mean it won't be bright.