English sides chase Goram
Motherwell FC News
| May 2001 |
| Thursday, May 31 |
| Five English clubs are believed to be interested in former ‘Well goalkeeper Andy Goram. The 37-year-old is available on a free after his short-term contract with Manchester United expired last week, and Middlesbrough, Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke and Wigan have already expressed an interest in him. |
Mark Brown, a local lad and Motherwell fan, has spoken of his move to Fir Park:
“I’m excited signing for my home town team and hopefully getting a chance to play some football after being at Rangers where I’ve not really played that much. I’m now getting the chance to challenge for a first-team place and that was the biggest incentive for choosing Motherwell. I was four years full-time at Ibrox and played five first-team games in the last few years and was on the bench a lot. I’m 20 years old now and I felt I wanted to try to push for first-team football somewhere. That didn’t look possible at Ibrox with Stefan Klos there. I just felt I needed a move to try and further my career.
“I’m now looking forward to pre-season training on the 25th of June and challenging for that first-team position. Stevie Woods and Jon Connolly are two good ‘keepers but I’ll give it my best shot and hopefully convince the manager that I’m worth a place in the team. I learned a lot in my time at Ibrox training with the likes of Stefan Klos, and Andy Goram in my first year, and don’t regret going there.
“I was a Motherwell fan as a boy and went to the Cup Final in 1991, and most of my family support the team. Apart from the game I remember all the shops covered in claret and amber and the street party after the victory. It was just such a good time for the club.
“A lot of players have left the club recently but they still have a few experienced players and some very good youngsters. A few more players will come in and hopefully we will be able to do a good job and get a high league position next season.”
BD added:
“I’m delighted that Mark is coming here. I think he is a fantastic young goalkeeper and I think he will be a great addition to our squad. We are very fortunate as he had a few offers to go down south and had a couple of offers in Scotland. The boy’s heart lies with Motherwell as he’s a local boy. He is the right type we want at this club – a great lad and a very hard-working boy.
“I think he was unfortunate at Ibrox. He’s played in the first team there and played very well but just couldn’t get back in. From my point of view, I’m delighted we have the opportunity to bring in a very talented goalkeeper and a player who I believe will go on and be very successful in football.
“We have Stevie Woods and Jon Connolly and now Mark Brown. They will all fight for the number one position. It’s up to each and every one to go and do the necessary stuff to make it their own jersey.”
Derek Townsley has confirmed he is quitting Fir Park, and blamed the fans who he claimed made his life hell. The 28 year-old Englishman, who signed from Queen of the South two years ago, has vowed never to pull on a claret and amber jersey again after refusing to forgive a large section of our support for the abuse he and his family received.
Speaking in today’s Daily Express he hit out at ‘Well fans, saying:
“I was going through a bad patch and it all came to a head the night we beat Queen’s Park in the League Cup. That was the straw which broke the camel’s back. I didn’t mind playing through the abuse but it is a different ball game when my wife and young son have to sit there and listen to it. I draw the line there because to me my family are the most important thing in my life. It was just pure hatred. I asked them not to come to the games because I didn’t want them listening to that every week. It becomes a sad day when I can’t share the highs of my career with my family.
“Everybody makes mistakes on the park but I was also getting it for my general play when I had done nothing wrong. Everyone kept saying to me that it was only a small minority of the fans but it wasn’t, it was the majority of them who were on my back all the time. I would say the decent fans are in the minority, the other 80 per cent are a waste of time. Half of them wouldn’t know a football if it hit them on the head.
“Teams now know that the Motherwell players are scared to make a mistake, and at times it is more intimidating for the home side than it is for the visitors. Teams know that and they play on it. Look at John Davies, you couldn’t meet a nicer guy but because he was the manager’s brother he was never given a chance. Even if he’d scored a hat-trick he still wouldn’t have been accepted.
“When you go to other SPL grounds, the home fans are never as bad as they are at Motherwell. The opposition fans always get behind their team but at Motherwell they seem to be waiting for you to make a mistake. The gaffer brought in a lot of players from the lower leagues in basement buys because he hasn’t had a lot of money to spend, but the Motherwell fans seem to be looking for £500,000 signings all the time. If you look at the players Billy and David McParland have brought in from the lower leagues, then they should be given credit for the job they have done, not subjected to abuse all the time.
Billy has done a great job at Motherwell and I think the work he puts in is actually underestimated by a lot of people. He is a top-class coach and I have him to thank for giving me my big break. He stood by me when things weren’t going right when others might have punted me or shoved me in the reserves, and I will never forget that. The staff and the players are a great crew who I will miss, but I certainly won’t miss the fans.”
Is Townsley talking crap, or does he have a point? Have your say on our Forum.
The club are continuing their efforts in getting our younger players signed up on longer-term contracts. James McFadden and Steven Pearson have both signed two-year extensions while Kevin McDonald, Bryan Dempsie, David Clarke and John Fallon have all signed one-year extensions to their existing deals.
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