| 3 | Dundee United | 23 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 37 |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 34 |
| 5 | Motherwell | 23 | 9 | 4 | 10 | -9 | 31 |
| 6 | Hibernian | 23 | 7 | 8 | 8 | -2 | 29 |
| 7 | St Mirren | 23 | 8 | 3 | 12 | -11 | 27 |
Jamie Murphy is the first Fir Park star to take part in the MFC TV 10-yard bucket challenge.
The winner, who’ll scoop a fourball at one of Scotland’s top courses as a prize, will be the player who can chip the ball into the bucket in the least amount of shots.
First up is former Scotland U21 star Jamie Murphy – who plays off a 12 at the Milngavie Golf Club.
-WATCH TO SEE HOW LONG IT TOOK THE STRIKER TO CHIP IN-
The Fast Track Tribunal has upheld the suspension offered to Steve Jennings and the midfielder will now miss the next two matches.
The club contested the original offer from the Compliance Officer after notification on Tuesday afternoon.
The player, along with club representatives, were at Hampden today, however the three-person Judicial Panel agreed with the original complaint of ‘Breach of Disciplinary Rule 200’ and the player will now sit out the matches with Hearts at Tynecastle and the Dunfermline fixture at Fir Park.
The club are disappointed with the outcome but respect the judgement of the panel.
Motherwell FC today (Wednesday) notified the SFA of the clubs’ intent to contest the fixed two-match suspension offered to Steve Jennings by the Compliance Officer.
The matter will now be referred to the Judicial Panel with a Fast Track Tribunal convened tomorrow (Thursday, 22nd December).
The club will make no further comment until after that process has been complete.
Scouser Steve Jennings has been confirm as the Cash Converters Player of the Month for November.
Jennings has excelled for the ‘Well throughout November. Together with Keith Lasley is the midfield the former Tranmere man has been instrumental in pushing the team towards 3rd in the league and keeping the gap close behind the Old Firm.
The award was presented to Steve by Laura Scobbie, who voted for Steve at the Cash Converters SPL Facebook page.
For your chance to present the December award, all you need to do is vote for which Motherwell player you think has been our stand-out performer over the last four weeks, and, if you are correct, you could be chosen at random from all entries received to congratulate our star man in person.
To cast your vote, go to Cash Converters Facebook page – Cash Converters SPL or CLICK HERE.
Referee for this Saturday’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Hearts will be the experienced Crawford Allan.
It will be Crawford’s third ‘Well game of the current season, his first was the instantly forgettable 3-0 home defeat at the hands of St Johnstone in September and the other was the 3-2 win in Inverness a month late, goals coming from Shaun Hutchinson, Keith Lasley and Tom Hateley.
He’ll no doubt be a familiar face to Fir Park fans, having handled three games last season too.
He was the man in the middle for the 4-0 win over St Johnstone last November thanks to a hat-trick from Nick Blackman and a single John Sutton strike.
Three months later he was back at Fir Park when a John Sutton penalty was enough to give ‘Well a 1-0 win over local rivals Hamilton Accies. He also handled the 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock in May when Steve Jones’ opener was cancelled out by Willy Aubameyang.
The season previous, he was the man in the middle for the 3-1 success early in Jim Gannon’s reign when John Sutton, Ross Forbes and Shaun Hutchinson gave the ‘Well all three points over Kilmarnock.
Monthly later he officiated the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen when Gary McDonald, who would later be ordered off, cancelled out a Lukas Jutkiewicz opener.
Tragically, Allan took charge of the ‘Well game on the 29th December 2007, forever etched in history as the date when Phil O’Donnell tragically passed away in the 5-3 victory over Dundee United.
Phil’s death had a profound effect on the whistler, a Grade 1 official for eleven seasons, but he won heartfelt praise for the way he handled what was an extremely difficult situation and his sensitive approach is and was appreciated by everyone at Motherwell Football Club.
In another twist of fate, Allan is only one of two referees to have ever refereed a Motherwell away game at Fir Park as the Steelmen faced hosts Gretna during the 2007/2008 campaign.
His record in charge of the ‘Well is a fairly decent one, with the Fir Parkers winning six, drawing four and losing one (the aforementioned defeat by St Johnstone three months ago) of the eleven games in total. In those games, 28 players have seen yellow, thirteen in Claret and Amber, whilst three have been sent for an early bath.
Allan will be ably assisted by Alasdair Ross and Willie Conquer with Frank McDermott on fourth official duties.
At today’s SPL General Meeting, clubs approved changes to SPL rules on safe standing and Unacceptable Conduct.
The SPL Board will now have the ability to approve requests from clubs to pilot safe standing areas for use in Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches.
The amendments to the existing Unacceptable Conduct rules were put forward following discussions within the Joint Action Group and are part of football’s commitment to protect and maintain the good reputation of the game in Scotland.
The definition of “Unacceptable Conduct” within the SPL Rules has been extended to include ‘using words, conduct or displaying any writing or other thing which indicates support for, or affiliation to, or celebration of, or opposition to an organisation proscribed in terms of the Terrorism Act 2000’.
A number of amendments to the accompanying guidance notes which set out the minimum standards expected of SPL clubs in relation to tackling Unacceptable Conduct will also be introduced.
Where a charge is to be laid that a club has not met the requirements of the Unacceptable Conduct rules, the case will be heard by an Independent Commission.
Neil Doncaster, Chief Executive of the SPL, said: “Since I joined the SPL in 2009, there has been widespread support amongst fans to re-introduce safe standing areas. I am delighted that we have been able to respond positively to supporters’ views on improving the match day experience.
“Changes to our rules on Unacceptable Conduct ‘raise the bar’ in terms of what is expected of clubs and shows our clubs are committed to playing their part in tackling Unacceptable Conduct.”
Further information
Safe Standing
Approval for safe standing areas will also be required from local Safety Committees and the Police.
Unacceptable Conduct
The amendments to the accompanying guidance notes will place requirements on SPL clubs to:
Any Independent Commission will be chaired by an advocate or solicitor of at least ten years standing.
Should a club be found to have failed to meet the requirements of the Unacceptable Conduct rules, the Independent Commission will have the power to apply a wide range of sanctions, including warnings, fines, annulment of results, points deductions, prohibitions from supporters attending matches and playing of matches behind closed doors or at other venues, amongst others.
Click here to find out more on current SPL rules.
Motherwell Football Club are delighted to offer fans the opportunity to travel to Tynecastle this Saturday free of charge.
The Christmas Eve fixture is vital for Motherwell in the race to secure a top-six position and, as a thank you to supporters who have followed the club in such numbers, with such noise, colour and passion, the club will fully subsidise all Supporters Association coaches travelling to Edinburgh.
“2011 has been an exhilarating year for Motherwell fans and in return the fans have stepped up for the team,” said Chief Executive Leeann Dempster.
“Attendances are up, atmosphere is superb home and away and the spirit of the club is growing. We are about to launch our new membership scheme and we have huge optimism for 2012.
“As a club we know we have to strive every day to do more for our fans and to attract new ones. We also know that times are tight financially and there is only so much we can ask our fans to do. The Board met with the management team this week to thank Stuart and Kenny sincerely for all they have done so far. Almost as important as the results on the pitch is the team spirit they have given us off it.
“We are now calling all Motherwell fans to show up in the best numbers you can for Saturday’s game against a talented St Mirren side.
“Today we also announce that we will put on free buses for all fans for the Christmas Eve game at Hearts. These are two huge games that could set us up for a busy holiday season calendar.
“The Board want to thank the fans, including the Supporters Association for their assistance with this initiative, for all they have done for the club so far, and put a marker down for 2012 that we will do all we can to make this the premier family and community club in Scotland.”
To secure your seat to Tynecastle, get in touch with your local branch.
All the goals from Fir Park as Motherwell and St Mirren shared the points in an entertaining 1-1 draw – Michael Higdon and Jim Goodwin grabbing the goals.
-CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE GOALS ON MFC TV-
Stuart McCall was quick to praise both sides in an entertaining 1-1 draw with St Mirren at Fir Park this afternoon.
Motherwell opened the scoring shortly after the interval when Michael Higdon rose to meet a Nicky Law cross to head home his ninth of the campaign.
However, eleven minutes later, Jim Goodwin struck a thunderous long range effort high past Darren Randolph to level.
Both teams battled as play swung from one end to another. However, neither team could get a decisive second forcing McCall to settle for a point.
“It was a terrific game of football, there were no lulls, there were quick free-kicks, quick throw-ins,” he said.
“Both sets of players deserve an awful amount of credit, not only for making it a competitive game, it was a hard one to referee, but end to end. Both teams in the last 10 minutes were looking to win the game.
“I thought it would be cruel on any side to have lost. We scored a really good goal, great move and their goal was a terrific goal. It would have been nice once we got one to kick on and at times we played some really good stuff, but likewise so did they.
“It was a really good advert for Scottish football. I enjoyed it, if you can as a manager.”
-WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON MFC TV-
Pictures from the 1-1 draw with St Mirren in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at Fir Park.
These action shots and more are available to buy online at www.motherwellpics.com.
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