Tam Cowan On Saturday’S Match
The Website Team managed to catch up with BBC presenter and Motherwell fanatic Tam Cowan after his radio show on Wednesday night, and he kindly took the time to talk about Saturday’s upcoming Scottish Cup clash….
“I know Dunfermline and Hibs fans would object if they weren’t picked as the live Sky TV game, but to be honest, there’s not a lot about that tie that excites me. Clyde v Motherwell is a cracker though.”
“In all honesty, having spoken to Alan Kernaghan at great length after the show on Monday I’d have to say I’m a wee bit worried. Alan was very confident – he probably won’t like me saying that in case anyone thinks he was over confident but he really fancied his side’s chances.”
“If Clyde win this I would hardly call it giant-killing, you’ve got a team at the bottom of the SPL and a team punching above their weight and doing very well in the First Division.”
“I think as long as Motherwell score first we’ll be alright, but maybe if it starts getting a bit hairy our lack of experience may count against us. Clyde have a lot of experienced guys like Alan, Willie Falconer, Paul Kane and Andy Millen, all of whom will probably play.”
“I’d heard great stuff about Leigh Hinds, so the fact that he’s away should be a plus point for us.”
“I’ve not seen Clyde recently except on Scotsport. In a way that’s the refreshing thing about this game though – it’s somewhere different to go to and a different team to watch. Motherwell have been in the Premier League for nearly 20 years now, and I know some fans wouldn’t mind a change of scenery.”
“We played Kilmarnock in the Cup just after we played them in the league, and I know you’re meant to say that league points are more important but I was more happy with the Cup win. The way it’s panning out this year there are a lot of Premier League teams already out, and if you take Rangers and Celtic out of the equation that Cup could be anybody’s.”
“I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you about Clyde’s recent Cup record, but ever since we won the Cup in 1991 we’ve done absolutely nothing in any Cup competition. Motherwell fans will have this in mind on Saturday. A lot of credit should go to the club for running the free buses again, and we took well over 2000 to Kilmarnock so we should have a good support on Saturday. I hope there’s a right good crowd, and everyone that’s thinking about coming out does so.”
“For old time’s sake, I hope Clyde are selling Snowballs at the ground on Saturday! The one thing I can remember about the 1983 Cup tie at Shawfield was the boys walking about selling Snowballs for 10p! I’d never seen that at a football ground before. Pat Nevin ran the show in the replay, and tore us apart.”
“Motherwell have had the most bizarre season – we’ve been bottom of the league for long spells including 9 straight defeats, we’ve beaten Rangers and Celtic and also Hearts 6-1, and have now beaten every team in the top 6 but still struggle against the bottom 6, we’re in administration and we have the most talked about player in Scottish football – James McFadden.”
“McFadden is desperate to play and seems to have learned his lesson now. He’s at an age when he’s dying to play football and is sick of watching from the stands. He is genuinely someone who brightens up a game and I think he’s a fantastic player. The Clyde fans should enjoy seeing him waltz round Paul Kane and Andy Millen!”
“Stephen Cosgrove came in last summer with a load of others signed by Billy Davies, but he hardly played so he’s not going to be someone that gets booed by the Motherwell support or anything. I’ve been reading that he’s out to prove something to Terry Butcher so he’ll maybe rattle the ball into the Motherwell dugout or something like that!”
“Willie Falconer is a classic guy that half the punters like and half hate, but he did alright at Fir Park. He’s more than likely to be the guy that would get a goal against us right enough.”
“I’ll predict 3-1 to Motherwell, with own goals from Falconer, Cosgrove and Kernaghan.”