Motherwell F.C.
John Boyle |
manager =
Maurice Malpas |
assistant manager = |
league =
Scottish Premier League |
season = 2005-06 |
position =
SPL, 8th |
shirtsupplier= |
shirtsponsors= |
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Motherwell Football Club is a
Scottish football team based in the town of
Motherwell,
North Lanarkshire. They play home matches at
Fir Park and are currently members of the
Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by former
Scotland international
Maurice Malpas.
Motherwell were founded in
1886 from an amalgamation of two factory based teams, Glencairn and Alpha. In
1893, the club turned professional and joined the newly formed
Scottish Second Division and in their first game, Motherwell defeated
Hamilton Academical 4-1. In
1895 Motherwell moved to their Fir Park stadium.
In
1913, Motherwell adopted the colours of claret and amber which they use today and are the only club in Scotland to do so. Motherwell originally wore blue but subsequently changed to claret and amber, wearing those colours for the first time on 23 August, 1913 in a game with Celtic. Contemporary opinion was that 'while the new colours were distinctive they were by no means pretty!'. It has been suggested that one reason for the colour change was due to the fact that blue was such a common colour and one which was subject to frequent clashes with opposing teams such as
Rangers and
Kilmarnock. It was originally thought that claret and amber were chosen because they were the racing colours of Lord Hamilton. This explanation has subsequently been discounted. It may be the case that Motherwell copied the colours from
Bradford City, English FA Cup winners in 1911 and a strong English First Division club with many Scottish connections at that time. Bradford City is the only other professional club in Great Britain to wear the unique claret and amber colours.
After the
First World War, under manager
John 'Sailor' Hunter, Motherwell began to show themselves as a force in Scottish Football, reaching the Scottish Cup finals in 1931, 1933 and 1939 and winning the League in 1931/32.
Willie MacFadyen scoring 52 goals in that season, which is still a Scottish record.
After the
Second World War, with
George Stevenson at the helm, Motherwell defeated
Hibernian 3-0 to win the
League Cup with goals from
Archie Kelly,
Willie Watters and
Jim Forrest. That season, they also reached the
Scottish Cup final only to be defeated by
Celtic. Two seasons later, Motherwell defeated
Dundee 4-0 to become
1952 Scottish Cup winners with goals from Wilson Humphries,
Archie Kelly,
Willie Redpath and
Jimmy Watson.
In
1955,
Bobby Ancell took over as manager and created a team which was to be known as the 'Ancell Babes' with players such as
Charlie Aitken,
Ian St. John and
Pat Quinn. Motherwell were relegated in 1968 but were promoted back the next season under
Bobby Howitt.
Willie McLean,
Roger Hynd,
Ally McLeod,
David Hay,
Jock Wallace and
Bobby Watson all came and went before
Tommy McLean was appointed manager in 1984. In his first season, Motherwell were promoted to the Premier League and almost reached the Scottish Cup final.
In
1991, Motherwell did reach the final and won the
Scottish Cup defeating
Dundee United 4-3 in a memorable final with goals from Phil O'Donnell, Stevie Kirk, Iain Ferguson and Ian Angus.
Alex McLeish,
Harri Kampman,
Billy Davies all had spells as manager.
Eric Black also had a spell in charge but resigned after the club went into interim administration, with assistant manager
Terry Butcher taking over. However, the club's fortunes on the park were looking bleak, and the team finished bottom of the
Scottish Premier League at the end of the 2002/2003 season, and faced relegation to the
First Division. However, owing to
Falkirk's stadium not meeting SPL criteria, and a proposed groundshare with
Airdrie United being rejected by the SPL, Motherwell were able to remain in the SPL. Motherwell have recently become known for their production of good young players such as
James McFadden who is now with
Everton and
Stephen Pearson who is now with Celtic.
During the 2004 season Motherwell came out of administration.
In season
2004-
05, Motherwell reached their first League Cup final for 50 years after winning 4 games away from home, 3 of which were against
S.P.L sides. However, in the final they were beaten 5-1 by
Rangers.
On the last day of the
2004-05 SPL season Motherwell pulled off a shock by beating title contenders Celtic with 2 goals from Australian striker
Scott McDonald and handing the league title to Rangers.
In the end of
season 2005-06 manager Terry Butcher departed to join
Australian club
Sydney FC, he was replaced by his assistant Maurice Malpas, who whom brought in former alliance Paul Hegarty as his assistant.
*
Biggest win: 12 - 1 v
Dundee United,
Scottish League Division 2,
January 23 1954 *
Biggest defeat: 0 - 8 v
Aberdeen,
Scottish League Premier Division,
March 26 1979*
Highest home attendance: 35,632 v
Rangers,
Scottish Cup Quarter-Final replay,
March 12 1952 *
Most capped player: Stephen Craigan (17 for
Northern Ireland)
*
Most League appearances: Bob Ferrier (626, 1918-37)
*
Most League goals: Hugh Ferguson (283, 1916-25)
*
Most League goals in a season: Willie MacFadyen (52 in
1931-32)
*
Transfer fee paid: £500,000 for
John Spencer from
Everton, January
1999 *
Transfer fee received: £1.75 million for
Phil O'Donnell to
Celtic, September
1994*John Hunter 1910-46
*George Stevenson 1946-55
*Bobby Ancell 1955-65
*Bobby Howitt 1965-72
*
Ian St John 1972-75
*Willie McLean 1975-78
*Roger Hynd 1978-79
*
Ally McLeod 1979-81
*
David Hay 1981-82
*
Jock Wallace 1982-83
*Bobby Watson 1983-84
*
Tommy McLean 1984-94
*
Alex McLeish 1994-98
*
Harri Kampman 1998
*
Billy Davies 1998-2001
*
Eric Black 2001-02
*
Terry Butcher 2002-06
*
Maurice Malpas 2006-present
*
Scottish League Champions: 1931-32.
*
Scottish Cup Winners: 1952, 1991.
*
Scottish League Cup Winners: 1951.
*
Scottish 1st Division Champions: 1981-82, 1984-85.
*
Scottish 2nd Division Champions: 1953-54, 1968-69.
*
Milk Cup (Premier) Champions: 1983
*
Official site*
WELLnet History of the club indepth*
WellTrustFC.net*
Firparkcorner*
Unofficial Motherwell FC Homepage
