Motherwell F.C.

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.

History

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 Maurice Malpas.

Current Squad (season 2006-07)

Club Records

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

Managers

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

Honours

Scottish League Champions: 1931-32.
Scottish Cup Winners: 1952, 1991.
Scottish League Cup Winners: 1950.
Scottish 1st Division Champions: 1981-82, 1984-85.
Scottish 2nd Division Champions: 1953-54, 1968-69.
Milk Cup (Premier) Champions: 1983

External links