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As the transfer period heated up, I managed to grab a couple players I had heavily scouted during the season. Mark Gallagher was a 21 year old Striker that was the top scorer in Division 2 for Stranraer. They finally allowed a purchase after he wouldn't sign a new contract- he cost a modest 160k. Even less expensive was another defender I had my eye on- Mark Slater from Ross County. For 55K he was a bargain to add depth.
I remember wincing when I found out that Celtic had purchased Emile Heskey for 4.4 Million from Liverpool. I knew our backline would have difficulty dealing with him and he improved their frontline immensely.
It didn't help them in their first match though as Celtic was beaten 3-2 at St.Johnstone. We managed to pull off a nail-biting 2-1 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie. Aberdeen had early pressure and Darren Young came close a couple times, but Steven Nicholas scored late in the half to give us the halftime lead. Shortly after he subbed on for a tiring Martin Wood, Jermaine McSporran split the defense for a wonder goal and a 2-0 lead. Aberdeen rallied and Russell Anderson headed in a corner past Brownie to get close. We fended off their attacks in the late stages of the match and finally finished the win. The win, coupled with Rangers 5-1 win over Dundee, boosted both of us back atop the SPL- though we still had an edge because we are even on differential, but we have scored more goals. The win also featured the return of Billy McKinlay.
Oh yes, you did have to bring that up. I know, I know- it's your job to describe both the good and the bad. No matter, it doesn't mean as much in the course of time. Yes, it was a debacle and we were roundly chuckled at by the press. I can remember a lot of the discussion- Motherwell thinks they can contend, when they can't even beat an undermanned Division 1 Clyde at Fir Park. Not only not beat them- they swatted us good. I took full blame of course- and I deserved the heat I got. Remember what I told you about manager making choices on winning with less than his best squad? Well, my choice in that match was pretty poor. It didn't help that their keeper- Kevin Budinauckas- was on fire that match- he wound the MOM. A lot of people forget we outshot them 13-5, but that is easy to forget when 3 of those 5 went past John Connolly and we couldn't break Clyde's clean sheet. I did make a bad choice in throwing Paul Parkin into play at rightback. Martyn Corrigan had just suffered a knee injury that would keep him out 3 weeks and I thought this would be a good time to see what Parkin was made of. All he proved to me that match was that at 18, he wasn't ready for first team play. Brian Hagen gave them the first half lead when Connolly was yellow carded for pulling Brian Crawford down in the area. We had plenty of good chances to open the 2nd half, but Allan Grant scored for them- and we were getting a bit desperate. I pushed our attack and that allowed Crawford to break past and score the clinching goal for them. The 3-0 loss was tough for our Fir Park faithful to take- but I hoped our club had learned that heart and determination can take you to unexpected places as they watched Clyde celebrate the Scottish Cup 3rd round win.
It didn't help that our next home match against Kilmarnock was postponed because of heavy sleet- the pitch was just unplayable, so it was unavoidable. We dropped back to 3rd, as both Rangers and Celtic won while we sat idle.
Edinburgh was our next stop as we visited Hibs. It was another somewhat frustrating match for us. We held the halftime lead on goals from Martin Wood and Kevin Twaddle, sandwiched around a goal by Grant Brebner for them. We had been a bit unlucky, since if the posts had been kinder or Mike Franks a little less sharp in net, we would have had at least one more goal. It turned out we needed that other goal as Allen Smart caught Brownie a bit out of position and lobbed a ball over him for the equalizer. We wound up stuck with a 2-2 draw, when it could have been a win.
Our makeup match with Kilmarnock was a midweek affair and though it hailed the pitch was still passable- even at the end of the match. We struck for three goals in a six minute stretch early in the first half as Michael Craig, Stephen Pearson and Steven Nicholas all scored. We needed all the goals we could get as Iain Durrant was unstoppable for them. Durrant scored later in the first half and early in the 2nd half to bring Kilmarnock back to a one-goal deficit. Things were looking a little nervy, but Willie Howie (subbed on for tiring Pearson) made a spectacular run and his goal made the final margin 4-2. It wasn't our best effort, but at that point it was a much needed win.
That reminds me, do you want to hear a funny story? The day after that match I had to be away from training to attend a fundraiser. While I was there someone came up to me and asked me if I had heard that Archibald had been hurt- that he had broken his leg and would be out 6 months. I immediately rushed to the phone and called Mark Shanks my Assistant Manager. Shanks was roaring when he told me it wasn't 'Alan' that got hurt- it was his cousin Shaun- who was a leftback on Clydesbank. I was breathing a huge sigh of relief, even though the chuckles from the rest of the staff when I came back were a bit hard to take.
We had a televised Saturday night match against last place Livingston and I was really hoping for a strong showing to blunt the continuing criticism on the Clyde loss. The match started badly for us as Eddie Forrest was redcarded for holding Stephen Whalen at 14 minutes. We managed to adjust to playing with 10 men, but they had a lot of pressure on us in the first half. Brownie was very good though and we still clung to the clean sheet at half. Our superior talent made a difference as we started taking the play to them in the 2nd half. We may have been a man short on our attacks, but our swirling passing attack was giving them problems. But, it was another hot keeper we were facing and Gary McGlynn- who earned the MOM- kept our good chances out. The unlikely hero for us turned out to be Barry McLaughlin, who had come on for Jermaine McSporran when Forrest was redcarded. At 81 minutes he headed a Keith Lasley free kick and McGlynn could only get a piece of it- not enough to prevent it from going into the net for the match winner in our hard fought 1-0 win.
We had reached the February respite- European Cup play and International Play- back in 1st place thanks to the gritty win over Livingston. We still had a long road, but the squad did believe they were contenders now.
With Dunfermline next at Fir Park, I thought it was time to gain some rest for 1st line players with the stretch drive and Playoff Group play looming. I had also rested some in Livingston match. Stephen Pearson demonstrated how he could control a match when he was playing well- he was a force in the midfield as we stymied their attempts to attck. Pearson also scored our first goal of the day when he blitzed through and headed a cross from Scott Leitch past Andy Stewart for a quick lead. Despite having the better of the play, the score stayed the same until the late stages of the match when Keith Lasley half-volleyed a cross from Steven Hammell to make the final margin 2-0.
During the week afterwards I found myself in a dilemma. The Board had decided we were serious contenders at that point and upped the ante- placing an additional 12.5 Million in the transfer funds (was up to 13.5 with their additional funding). Almost to the moment they made it known to me- I received a transfer offer from the Rangers on Kevin Twaddle for 2.6 Million with another 525K after 50 appearances. If we hadn't received the additional funds, I likely would have found it impossible not to accept the offer- but with the funds in hand it was another story. Twaddle was 30, having his finest season by far, and likely at the peak of his value. He was also one of our team leaders and our forwards hadn't performed nearly as well when he wasn't up front. Take the money and possibly screw up the team chemistry and finishing up front? It was a tough call. No, I didn't consult anyone on it- it was my decision to make, and if anyone felt the heat- it should be me.
In the end, I decided to accept the offer conditionally. My conditions were to reduce the appearances to 10 before the 425K fee kicked in and to request they include rightback Maurice Ross on exchange. Yes, I remember well the furor that caused- the accusations of selling out on the title chances, etc... It was all a lot of bull. Why did I take the offer? Several reasons actually. One was Twaddle had already proven very injury prone during the season. He also had lost stamina and was turning into a 60 minute player. Lastly, I thought he wouldn't be effective against European competition and that was my ultimate goal in getting this young club ready. I felt if I could get Ross in the bargain- a rightback I had admired quite a bit and tried to get before- then it would work out for the best. I was somewhat confident that we could pair Michael Craig and Martin Wood up front. It was amazing how quickly it fizzled out- at least that is what I thought at the time. I heard later the only reason the Rangers made the offer was to see if they could tip the applecart a bit and stir up the players. They had the kind of money to throw around that way. Actually, both Kevin and I wound up relieved that the deal went sour- he really did want to stay with us.
With the funds from the Board, I had started an immediate pursuit of another forward in case the deal went through and found Steven Milne not being used by Dundee and ready for a chance. The 4 Million bid was a bit more than I wanted to make for him- but he was a well rounded youngster who had already started proving his mettle in under-21 competition, and it seemed a ripe time to get him if I could. He ended up agreeing to a not-too-exorbitant contract and I ok'd the money. At the very least it took away a weapon in Dundee's arsenal and gave us a young forward who already had more experience at high levels.
In the midst of that turmoil we hosted Dundee United. They were in a bit of turmoil of their own as Charlie Miller had been constantly criticized lately in the press and one way or another the entire club was embroiled in the dispute. I felt fortunate that Twaddle handled his whole situation with aplomb. I selected him as Captain for the match and he privately thanked me for the confidence and then went out on the pitch and set up Martin Wood for his 15th goal of the season to give us the lead. Dundee pressed us hard in the match- it was almost a bit of desperation spurring them on. Brownie was sharp and the backline did a good job in defensive coverage as we kept our clean sheet. Mark Kerr salted away the win when he volleyed a winner on a pass from Wood. We found out why they were so desperate after the match when Manager Alex Smith received the dreaded 'vote of confidence'.
Another milestone in the couple week stretch before our next match was finally signing Mark Kerr off a contract that had a minimum fee release. Despite the hefty fee he carried, I knew if I couldn't get that excluded from his contract we would likely have lost him in the next couple of seasons. The Board's additional funding gave me the funds to offer him a substantial signing bonus to get the clause removed.
Celtic won the League Cup final as they handily defeated undermanned Dundee United by a 3-1 margin, so they were on a roll coming into our match against them at Fir Park. The midweek tilt was an important test for us- as we neared the Playoff Group matches. Mostly what I was looking for was the determination and focus that we needed to have for an entire match against Celtic or Rangers. That was exactly what they offered and we stunned Celtic in a closely played 2-0 win. In this match, Brownie outdueled Robert Douglass and because he played better- the club played with more confidence. It was a scoreless first half with them having the better chances, but our players were fighting for every advantage and Celtic could tell they were in for a tussle. The 2nd half played much the same as the first, but we earned ourselves a goal when Martyn Corrigan blistered a shot past Douglass off a brilliant pass from Mark Kerr. When Abel Xavier was redcarded at 83 minutes, you could tell it was a hammer blow to their confidence. We put the match away when Stephen Pearson ran past Paul Lambert and Stilian Petrov to make the final margin 2-0. It was a tremendous confidence booster to play this well against Celtic and win.
In the last week before the transfer deadline, we managed another signing that I considered a bargain. Scott Ritchie, who had capped on the National side, was languishing on the bench at Manchester City. I offered them 600K and they were happy to allow him to move back to Scotland. I was not quite sure how to fit him in on the backline, but getting his kind of quality for what I considered a modest transfer amount was the kind of moves we needed to make to have the necessary depth.
Our last road match before the Playoff Group matches was a trip to Tynecastle to tangle with Hearts. Our midfield was superb in the match with Mark Kerr- Stephen Pearson- Steven Nicholas really smothering the Hearts attack. Antti Niemi really kept Hearts in the match in the early stages, as we had many good chances. We were finally able to get on the board when Kevin Twaddle skimmed a low shot that trickled through Niemi to give us the lead at halftime. We took firm control when Stephen Pearson scored early in the 2nd half. The down notes to the match were the loss of both Martin Wood and Steven Milne (who had subbed on for Wood) to injuries for the next couple of weeks. The loss insured Hearts would be playing with the bottom group and not the Playoff Group.
Do you remember all the controversy when Kilmarnock became a PLC? That was when it happened. They probably should have waited until after the season to announce it- but I guess it didn't make all that much difference in the course of things.
We were really playing well as we headed into the Playoff Group matches. It showed as we rolled over Dundee at Fir Park by a 4-0 margin. Billy McKinlay picked a fine time to score his first ever goal for us to give us the halftime lead. We stormed out into the 2nd half as Mark Kerr headed one in and then Kevin Twaddle converted a penalty kick after Gavin Rea fouled Mark Gallagher in the area. Keith Lasley, subbing on for Kerr, rounded out the win with another goal late. The loss made it very difficult for 4th place Dundee to finish in the a top 3 position.
Our first match in the Playoff Group was hosting 6th place St.Johnstone and it turned into a disaster. It was closely played and we went to halftime scoreless. It was easy to see the nervousness that we had- and it had shown in a lack of opportunities in the first half. We played better to start the 2nd half and after Marc McCulloch had clattered Steven Nicholas in the area, Kevin Twaddle converted the penalty and we took the lead. At 80 minutes, in what I believe was a make-up call, the referee redcarded Brownie for tangling with Darren Jackson in the area. Tommy Lovenkrands converted the penalty and we were back to 1-1, which is where it ended up. Worse for us was the fact that Brownie's redcard meant an automatic 1 match suspension- to be served against Celtic. I appealed the decision, but was declined in public and laughed at in private. His suspension meant that John Connolly would have to start the Celtic match and that we wouldn't have a proper backup keeper-- because I didn't have a 3rd keeper after the sale of Woods.
The match at Celtic Park had everything any fan could have wanted. We were heavy underdogs, especially without Brownie in net, and Celtic was 3rd place and needed the win to pull us down and for them to possibly move up on Rangers. I have to give John Connolly all the credit in the world. He stepped in to a difficult situation and really played well. We were trailing at half because Joos Valgaeren had again headed in a corner. I was mad as hell about that goal because I had spent at least a couple times talking about how he had beaten us in the Cup competition and that we had to pay attention to him. We were very fortunate not be down 3-0 at half as Connolly had stopped both Emile Heskey and Chris Sutton in key situations. Sutton again came close to open the 2nd half and Connolly again managed to tip it around the post. We stunned the huge Celtic crowd by striking for a pair of goals in a five minute stretch. Stephen Pearson headed past Robert Douglass for his 10th of the season and then Billy McKinlay drove a low shot home. Celtic came back with a furious rally and we just couldn't withstand them. Olivier Tebily headed past Connolly for his 1st goal of the season to equalize midway through the half. They wanted the win badly and we were tiring under the intense pressure. It appeared they had snatched the win when Sutton deflected a Heskey cross past Connolly at 83 minutes, but to the huge howl of the Celtic crowd- he was ruled offside and the goal taken away. By that point, I had decided we mostly just needed to survive and split the points- Heskey came close again to take everyone's breath away- but that was the last good chance and we wound up with the 2-2 draw. Rangers had beaten St.Johnstone 2-1 and we were now even, but still ahead of them on goal differential.
Kilmarnock fired Bobby Williamson that week. It was unusual to see a Manager fired at this time of the season, but I heard after the fact that it was pretty much a player's revolt. Yes, that was what I had heard too- that he ****ed off his co-captains by berating them. It pays to remember who your player's respect... They did name Jim Jefferies quickly as his replacement- he had been at Bradford City.
I was proud that Steven Nicholas earned his 1st Cap that week when he subbed on in Scotland's 3-2 loss to Greece. He was pleased as punch when he came back to Fir Park- though the loss had been a bit painful.
Our last home match was against 5th place Aberdeen and we dearly needed a win, as we still had Rangers and Dundee on the road as our final two matches. Kevin Twaddle repaid all debts with a stellar performance in the match as he led us to the win. He scored two goals in the first half in a span of two minutes and then completed his hat-trick early in the 2nd half to wind up with all 3 goals in our 3-0 win. The fans gave him a standing ovation when I pulled him not long after the hat-trick and his eyes certainly welled up a bit at the fans reception. In the other key match of the day, Rangers defeated Celtic at Ibrox 2-0 on goals from Lorenzo Amoruso and Stephen Hughes as they completly neutralized Celtic's powerful forwards. We have to face Dundee first and then hopefully will play them for the Championship in the final match of the season. They have to travel to Aberdeen, so I expected that we would need to beat Dundee to have a chance.
Dundee was already assured of a 4th place finish as they hosted us, so their real motivation for the match was both revenge and to knock us off our 1st place spot. I expected a very tough, physical match and that is what we wound up with. We played an excellent first half and held a 1-0 lead on Martin Wood's goal. Dundee rallied to open the 2nd half and Patrizio Billio split our defense before rocketing a shot past Brownie to even the match at 55 minutes. Keith Lasley, who had subbed on for a tiring Mark Kerr, then scored the biggest goal of his career- it was also his 10th of the season- with a volley past Jamie Langfield at 63 minutes. Dundee gave us their best shot in the late stages of the match- and Juan Sara saw his screamer bounce off the cross-bar- but Brownie was steady and we held on for the close 2-1 win. The win sets up our Ibrox showdown with Rangers for the Title as they easily thumped Aberdeen 4-1.
Ibrox was bright with a brilliantly sunny day- about the best you could ask for in early May. It was completely sold out for this title showdown, but you could sense the undercurrent of the home fans echoed that of the press- that it would be the powerful Rangers handling the upstarts for the title. I know the press considered us upstarts still at that point- but I was really convinced that despite our youth, we were a battle tested club by then. We had fought through the long season and had many ups and downs, but the squad had shown tons of heart and determination. I wasn't worried about that, but I was worried about early nervousness, and as it turned out- the entire match was pretty much a heart-stopper for both clubs.
We did have one advantage going into the match. We were one goal ahead of Rangers on differential, so they had to beat us to win the title- if we drew, then we would gain the title.
Rangers had a brilliant chance right away as Arthur Numan crossed to Stephen Hughes and he outleaped Alan Archibald- but Brownie snagged it and held on for the save. At 14 minutes, the referee whistled Brownie for bashing into Tore Andre Flo in the area and I held my breath when he reached for the card- it was yellow. I remember sighing with relief, despite the ensuing penalty, because a redcard there would have doomed us. When Brownie saved Shota Arveladze's penalty kick and Mark Kerr cleared the ball away- you could sense the huge cloud lifted off our club- and the stunned crowd of Ibrox. At 18 minutes, it was Stefan Klos to the rescue for the Rangers as he parried Kevin Twaddle's hard shot and then tipped Mark Kerr's rising rebound shot over the net. On the ensuing corner, Steven Nicholas soared above Ronald de Boer and though Klos got a bit of it- it trickled into the net to give us the 1-0 lead. Shortly after Martin Wood missed inches wide and Twaddle was very unlucky as his 25 yard blast eluded Klos, but bounced off the post. Fernando Ricksen missed just wide at 32 minutes, and Brownie denied a Barry Ferguson free kick, before Hughes drilled one off the post in a burst of Ranger pressure. In the 39th minute it was Klos again as he made a dazzling stop of Twaddle after Mark Kerr had zinged a nice pass in to him. Klos was also equal to the good chance we had on a corner in extra time, as he smothered the ball before Nicholas could do anything.
It was still a slightly apprehensive club at halftime- I could sense they couldn't believe that we were ahead of Rangers and that they thought the roof might fall in anytime. All I asked them to do was go out and play with the same kind of heart and effort they had shown all season- and let the chips fall where they may. Brownie again stymied Arveladze when he picked up a loose ball and came in alone in the opening moments of the 2nd half. Wood and Twaddle both missed over the net in middling chances for us as we managed a small amount of pressure. The huge crowd could sense the growing desperation on the Rangers part- but like me could also sense that our youngsters were starting to wear down under the pressure of the match. The whole damm place exploded when Neil McCann caught our backline looking the wrong way with a sensational cross that left Michael Ball with an easy tap-in for his 1st ever goal as a Ranger. The crowd, mostly quiet for much of the match, was now buzzing and every little nuance of play was generating enthusiasm or booing depending on the circumstance.
It was about as intense a glare as the spotlight could ever offer- would we wilt?
'Gers were piling on the pressure, but we were working hard on defense and denying them good chances. Ronald de Boer missed inches wide with a 20 yard blast at 83 minutes- but that had been their first real shot since the goal. Fernando Ricksen went by Kerr on the dribble, but when he boomed his shot- Steven Hammell was there to deflect it away off his body. With time running out in extra time, Rangers got a bounce and had one more corner. McCann's soaring, curving ball went into the near post, but when Stephen Pearson headed it back out to midfield and the whistle blew ending the match- it was very quiet in Ibrox. Our players just stood around a moment- most of them too tired to really realize it- and then there was bedlam as our reserves and the players not dressed for the match ran onto the pitch and began our celebration. The draw was our ticket to the title.
Apologies to readers- a bad floppy meant I lost the final table and stats
01-16-2004, 10:46 AM
When We Were Lions (Lisbon Lions Challenge) Post #14
Thanks Educated- the whole match was a nail-biter, because they have a lot of offensive weapons on 'Gers
***
What did the win mean to me? When? Oh, at the time. Well, to be truthful it took a day or so to sink in. The celebration after the match, the cavalcade back to Motherwell and Fir Park, the celebrations there- those were all grand and a good time- but it hadn't begun to sink in yet. I was proud as hell that we had fought and won, and in the back of my mind the justification for my Scottish bent was now partially fulfilled, but mostly I was thinking already about the summer and a chance to play in Champions League next season. Here are some pictures from Ibrox and the celebration in Motherwell after. We all looked pretty happy, don't we? The squad was so young back then I have a hard time believing it had sunk in for them either.
Yes, I did get a lot of criticism for beginning player moves so soon after winning, but people have to remember football is a business as well as a sport and the best time to begin thinning out your roster is as soon as your season has ended. We had quite a large fund remaining- since the Board's generous contribution, which I had really only used to get Steven Milne and re-sign Mark Kerr- so we were able to look seriously at some players that were now ready to consider playing for us, with us having won the SPL title and on our way to Champs Cup next season.
I remember being surprised as I watch Dortmund upset heavily favored Barcelona in extra time in the UEFA Final that season. Amoroso scored the lone goal and the German side held Barca away from their net- manhandled them to put it bluntly.
I actually went to see Lazio battle Real Madrid in the Champions Cup Final, since it was at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Lazio beat them 2-1 in extra time when Fabiano Liverani scored, but Hernan Jorge Crespo was the star of the match. I also was on hand to watch Celtic take their fair share of revenge against Rangers as they drubbed them 3-0 in the Scottish Cup Final. Heskey had a pair of goals and Chris Sutton the other as they rolled over the 'Gers.
In the awards, Heskey was inexplicably named Scottish Player of the Year- despite having come over midseason, with Chris Sutton runner-up and Tore Andre Flo finishing in 3rd. Motherwell players swept the ballot of the Young Player of the Year as Stephen Pearson won, Steven Nicholas finished 2nd and Richard Montgomery 3rd. We placed 7 players on the Players Team of the Year for the SPL. Kevin Twaddle, Stephen Pearson, Steven Nicholas, Mark Kerr, Richard Montgomery, Alan Archibald and Mark Brown were all named Starters on the squad.
The player moves started right after that. Tom Cowan was let go on free to St.Johnstone. Derek Clarke was off to Napoli in Italy for 550K. Paul Harvey signed on Bosman with Hearts. The two new players I brought in were Neil Scally 525K from Ayr and Ross Forsyth 725K from St.Johnstone. In effect we swapped a 32 year old Cowan for the 19 year old Forsyth as Hammell's backup at Leftback. Scally was brought on board because I wanted another younger DMC to apprentice with Billy McKinlay and Scott Leitch (along with Billy Macdonald that is).
Celtic raided us during that stretch. You don't remember who that was? It was Martyn Corrigan that they nabbed- he was about the last player on the club with a minimum fee release, so they bid it and I was forced to let him go. To be honest, I thought Maurice Ross might turn out to be a superior rightback, but he wasn't due to join us from Rangers until July 1st. That was why I pursued Craig McEwan- I had tried to land him before the season, but Ayr wouldn't part with him then. This time he was on the transfer list at his request- it was a bargain to land him for 230K and I believed he could develop into a valuable rightback at the time.
01-21-2004, 10:25 AM
When We Were Lions (Lisbon Lions Challenge) Post #18
After the summer respite, we were back to training for the new season. The Board was very optimistic and wanted to see us do well both domestically and in Europe. There was a 13 Million transfer fund for me to tap into- to fill any holes.
The announcement of the European placements surprised me- we were the sole Scottish representitive in Champions Cup competition. Apparently Rangers hadn't fared well in recent years. Rangers, Celtic and Dundee are all placed in UEFA Cup Competition. Aberdeen was the Inter-toto qualifier.
For some odd reason Dundee United waited until early July to fire Alex Smith. Despite the fact he had been on shaky ground for quite awhile, it was still a bit stunning to see the Chairman utter that it was because of "Poor League Position"- I mean that takes a lot of gall to call it that way, when the League hasn't even started. It was shortly after they named Graeme Souness as their new manager.
In a result that wasn't too surprising, but still was entertaining to watch- Brazil edged France 1-0 to win the World Cup. Ronaldo scored the lone goal before he had to leave with an injury.
To try to ease some of the exposure to Europe- we played all our friendlies against European Clubs. We did ok- I wasn't worried much about winning, more was worried about realizing the tempo of European clubs would be higher than they were used to against most Scottish Clubs. I wasn't worried too much in that regard, since we played an up tempo attacking-passing style, and our overall speed was good.
We made a couple 'rounding out' additions to the club before the friendlies. The most important of those was adding Kiegan Parker for 2.2 Million. I was convinced at the time that he was the best young forward in Scotland- he was only 20 and had Capped during the year- and was eager to add him. We also added Roddy McKenzie on Bosman as our 3rd keeper. I wasn't looking for one of the other young Scottish keepers- I already had two that I liked- so was instead looking for someone who could be content in the number 3 spot- yet still have enough talent to fill in if needed. McKenzie fit the bill nicely and was happy to sign. Maurice Ross finally arrived from Rangers and would be our starting rightback. Also arriving, almost a stealth signing, was midfielder Philip Creaney. Our last big signing before the friendlies brought another midfielder I liked a lot- Stephen Whalen on board for 1.1 Million. His cost was offset by the sale of Stephen Cosgrove to Luton for 1.2 Million. We also released a few of the youngsters, since they didn't appear to be working out and none of coaches were sold on their bright futures.
We found out early that we would be playing either NI powerhouse Linfield or Portugese side Benfica in the 3rd round of the Champions Cup. It looked like an unlucky draw- given some of the other powderpuff clubs that were also in the draw, but it also seemed like a worthy test for us to start with- and hopefully gain some confidence with.
What was the squad like heading into the season? Mostly I would say they were ready. Ready for Europe, ready for League play, ready for a long- grinding season. The previous season had proven to them that they could be a good club, now they needed to prove it again- like all good clubs do. I thought we had enough depth now to be able to handle the rigors of Europe added to the League play- but the proof would be on the pitch and not on paper.
Our keepers were again Brownie, John Connolly and new addition McKenzie. Our starting backline was going to be Steven Hammell, Alan Archibald, Richard Montgomery and Maurice Ross. Depth on the backline would come from Ross Forsyth, Paul Ritchie, Eddie Forrest, Brian McAllister, Barry McLaughlin, Mark Slater, Brian Dempsie and Craig McEwan. The starting midfield would again be Mark Kerr, Stephen Pearson, Steven Nicholas and Billy McKinlay. The midfield depth would be Keith Lasley, Martin Fotheringham, Stephen Whalen, Willie Howie, Stuart Davidson, Philip Creaney, Kevin McDonald, Paul Lindsey, Scott Leitch, Neil Scally and Billy Macdonald. Up front was new addition Kiegan Parker, Kevin Twaddle, Martin Wood, Steven Milne, Jermaine McSporran, Michael Craig, Jason Young, and Mark Gallagher. At that point I still had 11 Million in transfer funds- so had the option to get a player if I thought we needed him.
I remember hoping for a glorious start to the new season- or at least a win to help buoy our confidence...
01-23-2004, 10:10 AM
When We Were Lions (Lisbon Lions Challenge) Post #19
I was surprised at how many in the press were writing off the Rangers chances before the season. This was the same club that we went to the wire with and though there was obviously some discontent on the club- I figured them still as the club to beat.
I watched the first leg of the Linfield-Benfica 2nd round Champs Cup Group because it was in Linfield and came away very impressed with Benefica. They stomped on the Northern Ireland side for a 5-1 win and featured five different scorers- including explosive winger Simao and midfielder Beto. I knew we would have our hands full with them, as they were certain to get past Linfield now.
Our first match of the season was at Easter Road Stadium against Hibs in a televised tilt. We didn't put forth our best showing as we squandered a two-goal lead and let Grant Brebner score the equalizer midway through the 2nd half after we had taken the lead on goals from Kevin Twaddle and Stephen Pearson. Hibs looked like a stronger club this season, but there weren't any excuses for a 2-2 draw in a match we should have won.
I managed to catch the score of the Benfica-Linfield match and wasn't surprised that Benefica defeated them 3-1 to send them to play us. The first leg is at home, which I didn't know whether to regard as a big advantage- since it would have been easier to get them to focus on the road. Shouldn't complain I know- but the lack of experience was my main worry heading into Europe.
Our first home match wasn't any better than the Hibs match as we again gave away a two-goal lead and wound up with another 2-2 draw. Kevin Twaddle and Kiegan Parker (his first for us) had put us up 2-0, but Dundee United roared back when Steven Thompson and David Hannah scored for them. Brownie had saved a penalty kick in the opening moments of the match on Hannah, but we also had the match-winner ruled off when Stephen Whalen was whistled for offside. I was incensed on the call, since it was on a rebound and the initial shot wasn't offside. How in the hell could they make that call? Paul Gallacher stymied us in the closing stages- I wasn't unhappy with our play- we had played extremely well. I was unhappy with the refereeing though, I thought it was spotty work at best.
We were very jittery in the opening stages of hosting Benfica. Beto hit the each post once and Simao, Zlatko Zhovic and Mantorras all came close but Brownie was showing he was very sharp for the match with some excellent work. After their initial pressure we settled down a bit, but they weren't allowing us any good chances. They were doing an excellent job marking out our midfield and it was disrupting our passing game. It was an up-n-down battle on the pitch as we weren't allowing them much room either. It was a huge boost to us when Alan Archibald started with a sensational pass that Steven Hammell ran onto, Hammell then crossed beautifully and Mark Kerr headed past Robert Enke. The huge Fir Park crowd (it was a record crowd) exploded and though Benfica came close twice more in the closing moments- they were celebrating our 1-0 halftime lead. It had been a pretty rough first half and Benfica was already sporting three yellow cards, but that didn't seem to dent their aggressiveness in the 2nd half. It wound up working to our advantage when Paulo Medeira knocked Steven Nicholas off the ball. Fortunately it bounced right to Kiegan Parker and he blasted it home for our 2nd goal. Benfica lost a little of their concentration with that goal and we put together a spectacular passing play that saw Mark Kerr loft one for the streaking Parker and Kiegan deflected it past the out of position Henke- and just like that it was 3-0. I remember my main concern at that point was to try and keep them off the board. That was why I subbed on Steven Milne (for a tiring Twaddle) and outside my typical choices subbed on Scott Leitch for Steven Nicholas- I wanted both Leitch and McKinlay in the match for defensive coverage in the midfield. It wound up working a charm when Argel took down Milne in the area and Maurice Ross converted the penalty kick for his 1st ever goal. The celebration was wonderful when we ran the time out on our 4-0 win and left Benfica a huge mountain to climb in the 2nd leg.
It was a surprise to see Martin O'Neill leave Celtic for Leeds that week. Because of the coaching domino, David O'Leary had abandoned Leeds for Manchester United the previous week, the Celtic job is now open. It was interesting to see how fast and with who they filled it. Nobody expected Tommy Svensson of Tromso to wind up with the job- but he was who they tabbed.
Did you see much mention of the match after the win against Benfica at Fir Park? No? I thought so. Many people ignore what our match at Aberdeen showed, but if they had really looked at it- well the other contenders should have sat up and paid attention. In the match at Pittodrie I went with many of the 2nd liners and it paid off handsomely as we beat Aberdeen 4-1 for our first League win after the two draws that started the season. Mark Kerr gave us the lead and then Stephen Whalen finally got his first goal (after the one ruled off), but Darren Mackie brought them back to a 2-1 deficit at halftime. It was very closely played in the opening portions of the 2nd half but our bench led us to the win as subs Michael Craig and Willie Howie both chipped in with goals to close out the match. Why should they have paid attention? Because, if our reserves could respond like this- it meant we had enough depth to concentrate on both our Europe adventure and the League as well.
I also managed to negotiate new contracts with both Kiegan Parker and Maurice Ross during the week. Both of them had minimum fee releases and their new contracts were specifically to remove those from the picture. Both were happy at the dressing room atmosphere and the personnel- and were willing to tie their fate to ours for the next few seasons.
The weekend Fir Park match against Hearts was an important one as well. Stephen Pearson had scored twice in the first half to give us the lead, but Hearts came on strong in the 2nd half and Bobby Ford scored in his debut to put them only a goal down. We didn't crumble this time and played very strong defense as Brownie made a couple sensational stops to keep them at one goal. In the late stages our superior fitness won out and we held on for the 2-1 win. In the key match of the day Celtic stayed undefeated when they beat Rangers 2-1 at Ibrox. The match winning goal came after Michael Ball was redcarded for a two footed tackle on Mohammed Sylla in the area and Chris Sutton converted the penalty kick.
Our trip to Lisbon was both exciting and inspirational. I brought in a few of the original Celtic squad- the 'Real' Lisbon Lions to talk to our young squad about their experiences here- and how to prepare for European competition. After they left, the coaching staff went over every aspect of our plans for the match- we were going to be aggressive- I felt if we could gain a goal, advancement was assured. Even if we couldn't score, I wanted us to try and take the match to them- to put pressure on them.
Our execution of the plan was flawless and Benfica really disappointed the large home crowd by winding up on their back heels the entire match. We pressured and prodded them from the opening whistle and only good play by Robert Enke and kind bounces off the posts kept us from getting at least a goal. You can more fully understand how well we played when I tell you that they only had 2 shots on Brownie at the 80 minute mark- and neither were on net. At 82 minutes, Steven Milne finally headed one that Enke couldn't snag and his goal ensured our place in the Champions Cup Group Play. We finished out for the 1-0 win and an impressive 5-0 aggregate sending off of Benfica. In the Group draw- we wound up in Group 1. It appeared to be a challenging group including Manchester United, Galatasary and Dinamo Kiev.
We were right back into the fray with our trip to Celtic. It is hard to imagine how we played so well against Benfica and then turned around and played like a train wreck at Celtic. It was embarassing and humiliating. Things looked good when Robert Douglas clipped Kevin Twaddle's foot and earned a redcard. Twaddle converted the penalty to leave the crowd stunned. But they were roaring a couple minutes later when Didier Agathe cut through our backline like swiss cheese and easily beat Brownie. Things went from bad to worse. We got *another* penalty when Barry John Corr was called for pushing Kiegan Parker, but he saved Twaddle's penalty kick. We just plain lost our concentration and focus from that moment on. Neil Lennon and Bobby Petta both scored as they carved our defense up- despite having only 10 men. I tried to get us to be more aggressive, but that backfired as well when Brownie- who had his worst match ever- just plain missed two shots in the 2nd half and Lennon's 2nd goal and Chris Sutton's goal sent us back to Fir Park with a dreadful 5-1 rout. It was a long, quiet trip back from that match. As we discussed the match after we got back to Fir Park, I made my point that it wasn't the loss that was so disappointing- we knew going in that Celtic was going to be difficult to beat- but the loss of focus on our part handed Celtic an 8 goal differential advantage- something we certainly can't afford. At least the loss came early in the season- and we have time to shake it off- it would have been devastating to lose this type of match later in the season.
A brighter moment was when Kevin Twaddle earned his 1st Cap against Belgium. Steven Nicholas scored his 1st National goal, but it wasn't enough as Belgium dumped Scotland by a 2-1 margin. They went out and defeated weak sister Moldova by a 3-1 margin in their next European Championship Group contest.
Against last placed Dunfermline, I again went with the 2nd line- though I kept Brownie in goal- since I wanted him to get right back in the saddle after Celtic knocked him off. Brownie played well and kept the clean sheet. Marco Ruitenbeek earned MOM honors, but he couldn't snare a first half header from Brian McAllister. That was McAllister's first goal here and it was the lone goal in the match- that was much more uneven than the 1-0 margin would have indicated. In a shocker, St.Johnstone edged Celtic 1-0 to hand them their first loss of the season. Rangers, Dundee and us were all very happy to see Celtic lose- they were points ahead of all of us.
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