Latest News

Motherwell have today secured the signing of midfielder Nicky Law from English League Two side Rotherham United.

The 23-year old has signed a 2-year deal with the club after his contract expired at the Don Valley Stadium.

Law, subject of a £150,000 offer from Blackpool eighteen months ago, previously played under ‘Well boss Stuart McCall at Bradford City, enjoying two separate loan spells between 2007 and 2009.

The Nottingham born player started his professional career with Sheffield United, progressing through their Youth Academy before making his Premiership debut against Newcastle back in 2006, aged just seventeen.

He played ten times for the Blades over a four year period, the majority of which he spent out on loan at both Yeovil and the two aforementioned separate spells at Valley Parade.

He eventually left Bramall Lane in the summer of 2009 to join Rotherham where he became an immediate hit with a string of impressive performances. He was reportedly chased by bigger English clubs but remained with the Millers, playing 101 games in their promotion bid from League Two.

However, when his contract expired, he opted to move north of the border to once again align himself with Stuart McCall.

Speaking exclusively to motherwellfc.co.uk, Law said, “I am really pleased to be joining Motherwell and lining up with Stuart McCall again.

“I have worked with the manager twice before, both at Sheffield United and at Bradford. He is one of the main reasons why I opted to move here and not stay down south.

“That and Motherwell are a team on the up. Competing in Cup Finals and playing in Europe on a regular basis is something which the club has enjoyed in the past few years and I am desperate to be a part of that.

“I just can’t wait to get going now; the first game can’t come quick enough.”

“MotherwellMOBILE” subscribers learned this news first. Text CLUB MWELL to 88442 now!

The Scottish Premier League and Mitre today announced a four year partnership that will see Mitre continue as official ball supplier until 2015.

Mitre has supplied the SPL with top quality match balls since the start of the league in 1998 and the Mitre TENSILE ball will continue to be used for the 2011/12 season, with each club having a personalised ball printed in club colours and displaying their club badge.

As well as continuing as official ball supplier, Mitre’s partnership with leading sports retailer ACA Sports will enable supporters to purchase each club’s TENSILE ball as Mitre’s Official Online Retail Partners for the SPL.

On the announcement, Neil Doncaster, Chief Executive of the SPL said: “Mitre has been a valued partner of the SPL since 1998 and I am delighted to announce their continued commitment to the SPL for the next four seasons.

“This year the SPL distributed over £17 million to Clydesdale Bank Premier League clubs. We remain focused on supporting SPL clubs financially as much as possible. The partnership with Mitre is an important piece in that jigsaw.

“Over the past 13 seasons of the SPL, 7,651 goals have been scored with Mitre balls and I hope to see many more over the coming seasons.

Gary Hibbert, Managing Director of Mitre, commented on the deal, “The SPL is as passionate and exciting a competition as any and we’re thrilled to extend the deal to be the official ball supplier, continuing our long standing involvement in the Scottish game. We’re looking forward to further successes with the SPL over the next four years and with the additional partnership with ACA Sports – meaning fans can buy replicas of their club’s footballs – this only enhances our offering to fans and clubs.
                                                                                                                             
Mitre’s partnership with leading sports retailer ACA Sports will enable supporters to purchase each club’s tensile ball as well as other ranges of replica balls as Mitre’s Official Online retail partners for the SPL.

ACA Sports Managing Director, Alistair Cameron, said; “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the SPL and Mitre. This landmark deal will allow every fan in the SPL the opportunity to buy their clubs match and replica balls for the first time in the league’s history – something we are all very excited about. “

Steelmen boss Stuart McCall was pleased with how his side looked as the players returned for the first day of pre-season training.

After a mammoth 53-game season, the battle-weary ‘Well squad were given exactly five weeks to recover from what was an excellent 2010/11 campaign.

However, the nature of modern football is that each player works on individual programmes during the close season meaning the days of gut-bursting running during early training sessions are, by and large, a thing of the past.

Talking to motherwellfc.co.uk, McCall said, “Today was the first day; everyone came in this morning, weights were taken and, thankfully, they’ve (the players) all came back in good shape which, to be fair, I expected.

“Gone are the days when I used to play when you would have eight weeks off and come back in a stone or so overweight.

“Players are more sensible and are given programmes to do throughout the summer and first impressions today are positive to say the least.”

There were plenty of familiar faces amongst those being put through their paces at Dalziel Park this morning.

Indeed, the only new addition was that of former St Mirren ace Michael Higdon, who replaced striker John Sutton who opted to join Hearts at the tail end of last month.

McCall explained, in detail, his thoughts on the squad and his hopes and aspirations ahead of the season starting on July 23rd against Inverness Caley at Fir Park.

“I am pleased in one respect that we’ve not lost too many who had such a successful season last year,” he said.

“John Sutton was perhaps one who we would like to have kept but we’ve already replaced him with the excellent Michael Higdon.

“You look around the league and Kilmarnock and St Johnstone are bringing a lot of faces which can obviously be good for any club. But you’ve got to remember that they’ve lost quite a few, particularly in the case of Kilmarnock.

“We’ve managed to retain the core of our squad which I am really pleased about. Again, this season we’re probably going to look at carrying a squad that is possibly small in quantity but large in quality. When you go down that road, you’ve obviously got to be lucky with injuries and suspensions but I am happy with what we have.

“We’ll add a midfield player at the end of this week who is still under contract in England. That’ll leave us strong in that area of the park, particularly as young Stuart Carswell has pushed himself into contention and Ross Forbes has returned for pre-season in great shape.

“Beyond that, our budget extends to one, maybe two more faces. We’ve only really got five defenders so that remains a priority. Of course every manager would like more players but we’ve got a budget that the club simply won’t go beyond and rightly so. As much as our overall budget from last season has remained the same, we took the conscious call to tie a lot of our younger talent down to two and three year contracts.

“In that instance, players’ wages increase in the second and third year and that has happened to us, so much so it’s probably the combined equivalent of a first-team player. Our fans, I am sure, are sensible enough to grasp that and it’s a strategy that will, I am absolutely certain, pay-off and bear fruit in the long term.

“Every year you’ve obviously got to try and improve your squad but there’s no point filling the place with players who aren’t good enough; just to have numbers. Particularly if you are hopeful that some of your more promising kids, like Carswell, will break through and give you something extra. Some of the fringe guys – players like Jonathan Page and Robert McHugh – will also be given a chance to prove themselves as the club have invested in these guys.”

Motherwell’s first-team squad returned for pre-season training as Stuart McCall’s men aim for a repeat of last season’s success.

As ever, our friends from SNSPix were at Dalziel Park to capture the best and worst of the action.

[svgallery name=”preseason280611″]

Gordon Young’s Under 19s side will start the new season with a home clash against Hearts on Saturday August 13th.

The Jambos narrowly missed out on the title last season, losing out on the last day despite beating Rangers 1-0 at Riccarton, and will prove sturdy opposition for the young Steelmen side.

The youths will then face Kilmarnock away the following week before St Johnstone visit the Creamery Park at the end of August.

Other notable fixture include Celtic at home in early December, the only scheduled game that month, and Rangers on the final day of the season at the end of March.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL U19s FIXTURE LIST

Please note that dates are subject to change.

Motherwell Football Club are delighted to showcase the new PUMA home strip for the 2011/2012 season.

It is Motherwell’s second year with manufacturing giants and the first with new principle sponsors Cash Converters.

The kit retains a traditional claret and amber look and feel with a commissioned badge celebrating the clubs’ formation 125 years ago.

Motherwell’s retail manager Alan Provan said, “We are very pleased to be launching the new PUMA home kit in what is a historic season for the club.

“PUMA have successfully managed to marry together their design with the traditional style of Motherwell FC.  It was vital that we maintained a look which stayed true to the heritage of the club.

“We are also very excited about the commemorative badge that we have introduced for this season which pays homage to the two clubs (Glencairn and Alpha) from which Motherwell FC was formed in 1886.

“Both teams are mentioned around the crest; it is a nice touch and we will be using it on a variety of 125th anniversary products throughout this very significant milestone year.”

Roger Harrison from PUMA said, “The new Motherwell kit is a refined and classic design that features the PUMA two stripe. As well as looking good, it has excellent technical features that will give the players the confidence to perform on the pitch. ”

Russell Thomas from genesissports added, “We are really pleased with the kit and our partnership with Motherwell FC and we look forward to serving the Club throughout the 2011/12 season.”

Strips are available to pre-order now for a late July launch both in store and online from www.motherwelldirect.co.uk.

The new PUMA 2011/2012 away kit will be showcased in the next few weeks with an early August release.

PRE-ORDER YOUR 2011/12 HOME KIT NOW

Motherwell will play Partick Thistle at Fir Park on Wednesday 13th July (KO 7.45pm) in Stephen Craigan’s testimonial match.

The 54-times capped Northern Irishman, who has turned out a total of 351 times in Claret and Amber, will be a part of a Motherwell side that will face Craigan’s only other senior side – Thistle – to celebrate his fifteen seasons at Fir Park.

Further information on ticketing arrangements etc will be confirmed soon.

Motherwell will face Greenock Morton at Cappielow in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday 5th July (KO 7.45pm).

The Steelmen’s last competitive game in Greenock was almost seven years ago (August 2004) in the CIS Cup Second Round. The then manager Terry Butcher guided his side to a comfortable 3-0 win courtesy of goals from Jim Paterson, David Clarkson and a Kevin McBride penalty.

It was the first game on the road to an eventual final appearance at Hampden some seven months later.

Incredibly, Motherwell’s last league visit to Cappielow was over twenty-three years ago – January 1988 – where a Paul Smith brace helped ‘Well to a 2-0 win.

It’s the third confirmed game of the clubs’ pre-season schedule with other games against Dumbarton (A) on Saturday 9th July and Leeds Utd (H) on Saturday 16th July already pencilled in.

Ticket information to follow…

Prices for the home friendly with English Championship side Leeds United can now be confirmed.

Simon Grayson’s talented side, including Scottish Internationals Robert Snodgrass and former ‘Well ace Ross McCormack, will visit Fir Park on Saturday 16th July 2011 – kick-off 3pm.

Tickets for the match will be priced at:

ALL STANDS:

*Concessions are listed as Over 60s, Under 16s and Full Time Students with a valid matriculation card.

Fans who wish to confirm their seat and beat the queues on the day will have an opportunity to pre-purchase tickets from the Fir Park Ticket Office from Monday 27th June 2011 either by:

• Phoning the ticket hotline on 01698 333 333 (Option 2)
• Booking online at http://motherwellfc.iristickets.co.uk/
• Visiting the Chapman Building in person – Click Here for opening times

Away fans will also have an opportunity to pre-purchase tickets direct from Leeds Utd with details to be confirmed.

There are some fantastic and unique Scottish Cup Final lots currently up for action on the clubs’ own eBay store.

The club’s official eBay store is full of claret and amber goodies you won’t find anywhere else!

From signed merchandise to hospitality packages and money can’t buy experiences, fans have the chance to get their hands on some exclusive Motherwell memorabilia?

Previous auctions have included match-worn shirts, signed footballs, programmes, tickets, and even sponsor rights. Right now, we have a genuine player-issue warm-up top complete with Cup Final embroidery.

There is also Mark Reynolds’ European top worn against Icelandic Champions Breidablik. A unique item in that it was the only time the club wore the ‘chooselife’ sponsors logo on the front of the shirt.

Last, but by no means least, we have an actual, Scottish Cup Final ‘blood shirt’ for you to bid on. The top, complete with embroidery, Scottish Cup Final sleeve badges, Cash Converters logo on the back and Phil O’Donnell’s signature on the right breast, is totally unique and one not to miss out on.

CLICK HERE to browse everything at our official eBay store.

The club also run charity auctions from time to time where all proceeds go towards one of the many local charities we support.

If you wish to donate an item please contact us on 01698 333 333 or email bid@motherwellfc.co.uk.

Standard eBay terms and conditions apply to any purchases.