LMSL

Photo courtesy Kennedy (via Wikimedia Commons)

It was close season between the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons, and one of the most exciting teams to watch in Scotland was falling into itself.

Having qualified for the inaugural UEFA Europa League qualifiers via the UEFA Fair Play league, many inside and away from Motherwell’s Fir Park ground were not sure what sort of team would take the field for the club’s European qualifiers. With a mass player exodus of much of a progressive squad of previous years in the offing, it looked a difficult time for the Lanarkshire club.

Former Steelemen players the likes of David Clarkson (now at Bristol City), Paul Quinn (Cardiff City) and Graeme Smith (Brighton & Hove Albion) had all been snapped up by clubs south of Hadrian’s Wall, and it wasn’t just the core of the playing personnel that had been pried away from the home dressing room at Fir Park.

Amongst the exodus away from Motherwell was Mark McGhee, the successful manager who had taken the Steelmen to an unprecedented third-place SPL finish in 2007/08 before leaving this past summer to take over the vacant managerial job at Aberdeen.  With a diminishing squad and an apparently rudderless club, then, Motherwell Football Club was in desperate need of a boost.

With the club’s resources being the way they were, the next managerial appointment was always going to be crucial, and club chairman John Boyle seized on what he saw as a great opportunity.

Enter Jim Gannon.

Jim Gannon was available freely after being made redundant from his Stockport County position due to the Hatters’ administration and their subsequent ten-point deduction under Football League rules on such matters, and he was a much sought-after manager even before leaving the Edgeley Park club, where he investigated the possibility of taking over at Brighton and ended up as the Seagulls’ number one candidate.

After being let go by Stockport, then, he didn’t have to wait long for a job – or at least relatively long, given the hardship of unemployment in the current economic climate – and the London-born Irishman was appointed the boss of Motherwell at the end of June 2009.

Gannon didn’t have much time to get comfortable in his new surroundings, though, as Motherwell lost in the first leg of its Europa League first qualifying round match, 1-0, against Welsh side Llanelli just two days after Gannon arrived on the scene.  His new charges subsequently recovered, though, by progressing to the next round with a 3-0 away victory on the southwest coast of Wales.  Gannon’s Steelmen were the cardiac kids in next round, as well, losing the first leg away to KS Flamurtari of Albania by a 1-0 scoreline before pounding the Albanians 8-1 in Airdrie (Note: Fir Park wasn’t available for use in Motherwell’s Europa League qualifiers. -Ed.)

This performance really heralded a new beginning for Motherwell in the post-McGhee era. Despite being knocked out 6-1 on aggregate in the next round of Europa League qualifying against Steaua Bucureşti, Gannon’s  arrival Fir Park has been particularly eye-catching given how successful McGhee had been as club’s last manager. The Steelmen have since started the new SPL campaign brightly, too, for a team much more loaded with energy than tried-and-tested talent.

The Lanarkshire club currently sit in a well-earned fifth spot in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, and they have been in decent form this season, putting in such great performances as a 0-0 draw against visiting (and currently league-leading) Rangers on Sept. 12 and a hard-fought win the following Saturday away to Dundee United, one of this season’s form teams so far.  Motherwell’s youngsters also made a good name for themselves this past Saturday, holding then-leaders Celtic to a 0-0 draw at Parkhead, thus dropping Celtic out of the top spot in the SPL.

Gannon brought in some new recruits to Fir Park, using his knowledge of English football to bring economical but good signings into the club and making sure that they would gel together quickly. One of the most impressive of the new additions has been loan signing John Ruddy, who has impressed so far during his six-month loan from Barclays Premier League side Everton, especially with the way he managed to keep Rangers at bay earlier in the season.  Ruddy had big shoes to fill in replacing Smith, though, who was one of the most underrated keepers in Scottish football over the past few seasons.

Anyway, although still reasonably young, Gannon is an experienced manager, having started his managerial career off in 2004 with Irish side Dundalk. Having also spent some of his playing over in Ireland, he gained experience of the contrasting football cultures of England and Ireland, and he’s now gaining experience in Scotland with Motherwell. Adding to this fine pedigree that the Stockport County legend has, he was until recently one of the few managers in the English lower leagues to hold a full UEFA Pro License.

Alongside another of the new managerial additions to the Scottish game, Celtic’s Tony Mowbray, Gannon has footballing principles. In his time managing Stockport County, he became known as an advocate of free-flowing football in the Coca-Cola Football League, and he also – in an almost Arsène Wenger fashion – criticised teams for being overly physical in their play, which is going to provide much interesting copy for his time in the Scottish game, which itself is known for being physical in places.

Never afraid to speak his mind, Gannon will be a notable addition to the Scottish game, and he will stand for what he believes in. If recent weeks are  anything to go by, then, Gannon should therefore be well-placed for Motherwell to finish in the championship split come the end of the season.

Ross Andrew Gallacher