GLF 66: Christopher sees some parallels between Motherwell and Scotland
So Far So Good - but have YOUR ambitions changed ???
Despite never professing to be a loyal foot soldier of the Tartan Army (a mixture of previous managers' blinkered squad selections and the fact that supporting one infuriating and consistently self-destructing team is surely enough for any sane person to bear), I am writing this piece less than twenty-four hours after our nation's latest glorious failure and find myself drawing parallels between our club and national teams' current fortunes.
From Zeroes To Heroes
Previous disastrous managers;For Berti Vogts see Maurice Malpas.Previous boss been around for a while, relatively successful but decides it's time to move on (Craig Brown/Terry Butcher).New man with strong previous track record steps in, yet chooses to play uninspiring football, drafts in new players to the squad who should never have pulled on a dark blue/claret and amber jersey (Scotland - Tommy Miller? Derek McInnes? Gareth Williams?Motherwell - Danny Murphy? Trevor Molloy? Paul Keegan?).Singularly monotone press conferences suck all spirit and enthusiasm out of players and supporters.
Ends in tears
New high-impact managers; For Alex McLeish see Mark McGhee.Young former Aberdeen players who have made their mistakes earlier in club careers (cheers Eck......) grab fresh chance with both hands and perform better than anyone would have expected.Hopes raised from initial focus on not finishing bottom to believing they would finish towards the top.Scotland were so near yet so far, as for the 'Well - only time will tell......
Optimism versus Realism
I'm not for a minute claiming we're stratying into 'Faddiator' territory down Fir Park way quite yet, but surely a balance must be struck between the initial fear for the current campaign due to a lack of new faces to bolster the underachievers from the class of 2006/07, and the current euphoria that sees our fans considering us finishing anywhere from sixth to third.
Let's keep our collective feet on the ground but at the same time enjoy having our heads back in the air rather than in our hands as we watch our favourites.The football we're witnessing just now is as good as we have enjoyed for many a long year, with genuine free-flowing, attractive and entertaining football being the norm rather than the exception meaning we are getting our moneys-worth rather than tipping up to be depressed and bored like last season- let's not spoil it all by putting the horse before the cart as regards our ambitions.
Thanks for buying this issue - on behalf of everyone at GLF we wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we'll see you with issue 67 in 2008!!!!!!!!
Love 'n'stuff
Christopher Hutton
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