'WELL SUNGLASSES
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9.30pm

Looks like we've signed Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Andy Reid.  Three of our young players have been picked for the Scotland Under 19 Milk Cup squad to take place in N. Ireland at the end of July, and Reid is listed as a Motherwell player.  The other two are Paul Quinn and David Clarkson.

10.25am

Our fixture list for season 2003/04 is now available, assuming of course we are playing in the SPL...

Ahead of this evening's meeting at Hampden, where an SFA panel will rule on the validity of the SPL's decision to deny Falkirk promotion, new signing Stephen Craigan believes the football governing body will find in Motherwell's favour:
"I sympathise with my fellow professionals at Falkirk. But I trust in football's rules protecting my club because Falkirk didn't do enough to meet the SPL's criteria for entry. I'll stand by the club either way but Falkirk have known the rules governing seating capacity for years without meeting them. Motherwell deserve not to lose their privileges, like a share of the TV deal with the BBC."

Club director Andrew Lappin said that relegation would result in the loss of 25% of Motherwell's annual turnover:
"The longer this issue drags on, the greater the uncertainty that surrounds the club - and the last thing we want is any more uncertainty. We are trying to sell season tickets on the assumption we will be a Premier League club next season. More people turn out to watch a team that is winning more matches than it loses, regardless of the division they are playing in. But that is not a theory I would like to put to the test at Fir Park over the coming months.

"What we can't understand is that Falkirk have been to the Office of Fair Trading and now say it is fundamentally wrong to deny them promotion if they are the First Division champions. But it was the OFT who helped the SPL draw up the constitution which we used to vote against Falkirk on the basis that they did not fulfil the criteria for entering the Premier League. Motherwell admit to using our `Get out of jail' card by surviving in the top 12. So why are we on trial again?"

An article in today's Herald seems to offer Falkirk fresh hope, as apparently a top law firm believes The Bairns have a solid case based on Britain's competition laws.

On a different subject, former Motherwell loan player Richard Offiong, who has recently returned to Newcastle United, says he would love to see James McFadden at St James' Park:
"I would definitely like to see James at Newcastle. He's a great player. I think he could do very well at St James' Park and he wouldn't be daunted by the prospect of the Champions League or the Premiership. James is a great lad and doesn't let fame go to his head."

Cast your vote in our TWO new Opinion Polls:

Which area of the team most needs strengthening over the close season?

and

Who is your Player of the Year?