Motherwell Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, which plays in the . Motherwell have not dropped out of the top flight of Scottish football since 1985, and have lifted one trophy in that time – the Scottish Cup in 1991.
Owing to the town's history of steel production, the club is nicknamed "the Steelmen"; or "the Well" for short. Clad in their traditional claret and amber, Motherwell play their home matches at Fir Park and have done so since 1896. The club's main rivals over the years have been Hamilton Academical and Airdrieonians, due in part to their close geographical proximities. These matches are known as the Lanarkshire derby.
The club have won four major trophies in domestic football: the Scottish League title in 1931–32, the Scottish Cup in 1951–52 and 1990–91, and the Scottish League Cup in 1950–51.
Sports Illustrated has suggested Motherwell's fans as the originators of the "Viking Thunder Clap", a supporting chant eventually popularised by the fans of the Iceland national football team, where fans stay silent and let out loud synchronised claps seconds apart, gradually speeding up; the chant received wider international attention during Euro 2016.
History
Beginnings Motherwell was born on 17 May 1886, when representatives of the two main Motherwell works teams Glencairn FC and Alpha F.C. met in Baillie's pub in the town's Merry Street, and decided to merge the two teams with the aim of creating a club to represent the town as a whole at a higher footballing level. Motherwell's debut fixture proved to be a successful one as they overcame Hamilton Academical 3–2.
The early years proved somewhat chaotic as the club had little regular competition to play in, and matches would often start with players short, as men failed to turn up on time after their shifts in the local ironworks. On 5 August 1893, the decision was made to turn professional, and the club was consequently elected to the league, then being the only Lanarkshire side to compete at national level.
Up until 1895, the club had played at a few different venues, including a site at Roman Road, and Dalziel Park. The small pitch and muddy conditions at Dalziel Park were deemed unsuitable and Lord Hamilton granted a lease on a plot of land on his Dalzell estate. This new ground was named Fir Park and has remained the club's home for over 120 years.
The following years saw the club grow, appointing their first and longest serving manager to date, John 'Sailor' Hunter, who would go on to steer the club into its most successful period.
In 1913, the decision was made to change the club's colours from blue to the now signature claret and amber. It is thought this was inspired by the success of Bradford City, who also sport claret and amber, although a more romantic version of events claims them to have been Lord Hamilton of Dalzell's racing colours.
1920s and 1930s successes
Motherwell enjoyed a successful period in the aftermath of World War I, managed by John Hunter. The club placed third in the 1919–20 season and, although narrowly avoiding relegation in 1924–25, they steadily climbed the table and enjoyed seven successive seasons finishing in the top three.
In the summer of 1927, the club made a very successful tour of Spain, winning six out of the eight games they played and losing only one. These results included an emphatic 3–1 victory over Real Madrid and a 2–2 draw with Barcelona. Following their success in Spain, the club went on another summer tour, this time of South America.Motherwell: Beating Argentina & bringing football to South America , BBC Sport, 16 July 2020 After losing only three of their previous ten games, the tour culminated in a 5–0 defeat by a Brazilian League Select side.South American Trip of Motherwell FC 1928 , RSSSF
Motherwell's first (and to this day, only) Scottish League championship came in 1931–32 – with 30 wins in 38 fixtures, scoring 119 goals – a record 52 of which were scored by Willie MacFadyen, who remains to this day the record holder for most goals scored in a single season and one of the club's all-time top goalscorers with 251 goals. The championship was sealed on 23 April 1932, when Rangers could only draw at home against Clyde, handing Motherwell the title without kicking a ball. Between 1904 and 1947, this was also the only League title won by a club outside the Old Firm. In the two seasons following the league title win (1933–34 and 1934–35), 'Well finished runners-up, as they had also been in 1926–27 and 1929–30. They also contested three Scottish Cup finals in this period – in 1931, 1933 and 1939, but lost them all.
Post-World War II period
Following the break-up of the squad after World War II, the club were not instantly successful. It then captured two major trophies in as many years with victories in the 1950 Scottish League Cup final and the 1952 Scottish Cup Final. The club was then relegated for the first time ever at the end of the 1952–53 season, but the club were promoted the next year.
Following their return to the First Division, Bobby Ancell took management of the club in 1955 and presided over an era in which highly regarded Scotland stars including Ian St John and Charlie Aitken played for the club. However, Motherwell were unable to keep their assets, and no trophies were won in Ancell's era. His resignation came in 1965 amidst a downturn in form which eventually saw the club relegated back to the Second Division at the conclusion of the 1967–68 season.
1970s recovery and the McLean era
Motherwell were immediately promoted back to the First Division in 1969, maintaining a mid-table position. The 18-team First Division was superseded by a new 10-team Premier League for the 1975–76 season, at which time they were managed by Willie McLean and his assistant Craig Brown (who would become manager almost 35 years later). Under their management, Motherwell improved to fourth in the table with players such as Bobby Graham, Willie Pettigrew and Bobby Watson. The most notable cup run of that period was the 1975–76 Scottish Cup where they eliminated Celtic and lost out in the semi-final to Rangers.
1980 and 90s
Relegation down to the now-First Division and promotion back to the Premier League occurred twice in the early 1980s, before a decade under manager Tommy McLean (brother of Willie) culminated in a Scottish Cup win in 1991. However, similarly to the Ancell era, Scotland internationalist Tom Boyd was sold in the close season after the cup win. Results faded for two years before reaching another two season zenith immediately following the signing of Paul Lambert with third (1993–94) and second-placed (1994–95) Premier League finishes. The 1995 runners-up finish was the club's highest finish since 1933–34.
With Tommy McLean's departure to Hearts in 1994, much of his squad was broken up; a large fee in particular was paid by Celtic for Phil O'Donnell. Much of this money was reinvested in the squad, while the club cycled through managers including Alex McLeish and Harri Kampman. At this point, in August 1998, John Boyle bought the club, taking over from John Chapman. Billy Davies was appointed as manager, and large transfer fees were paid for prominent players including ex-Scotland internationals John Spencer and Andy Goram. The investment though failed to provide results on the pitch.
2000–2009 By the end of Davies' tenure the club were in financial trouble. Eric Black was briefly in charge with the club floating near the foot of the table before it was placed in administration in April 2002 with losses approaching GBP 2 million yearly."Motherwell in turmoil" BBC Sport, 24 April 2002 Black resigned, and was replaced by Terry Butcher. The club's outlook remained bleak as they were forced to make redundant or release 19 players and replace them with younger players; Boyle also placed the club up for sale."Motherwell axe 19 players" BBC Sport, 29 April 2002 Relegation in 2002–03 – normally automatic following a last-place finish in the league – was avoided on a technicality, as First Division winners Falkirk lacked a stadium meeting Premier League regulations."Falkirk denied promotion" BBC Sport, 23 May 2003
Despite the lack of resources, a number of young talented players were found to play for the club; crucially, when many of these moved on, including Stephen Pearson and James McFadden, they brought revenue in the form of transfer fees, and with John Boyle waiving the club's personal debt to him, its financial future was assured by the conclusion of the 2004–05 season with the club's yearly losses falling to one of the lowest figures in the Premier League"Scottish Soccer Clubs Still In Debt" World Soccer, 18 January 2005 and the club coming out of administration in time to avoid a ten-point Premier League penalty which was being phased in for teams in administration."Motherwell plans still on course" BBC Sport, 27 January 2004 On the field, the club also managed to reach the League Cup final, although they were comprehensively defeated by Rangers. Butcher moved on to Sydney FC at the end of the 2005–06 season, and was succeeded by his assistant Maurice Malpas. Malpas' stint at the club lasted just one season before his resignation in May 2007. After a short period with Scott Leitch as caretaker manager, Mark McGhee was appointed to the position.McGhee named new Motherwell boss BBC Sport, 18 June 2007 In his first season as manager, McGhee would take the club to third in the league, and thus qualify for the UEFA Cup for the first time in 13 years, where they would be beaten by French side Nancy 3–0 on aggregate. Mark McGhee left Motherwell for the vacant managerial position at Aberdeen in June 2009, and was replaced by Jim Gannon. Former Scotland manager Craig Brown took over when Gannon left.
2010–present Brown helped the club finish fifth in the SPL and qualify for Europe. The 2010–11 season saw the club in the Europa League and they defeated Breiðablik and Aalesunds before losing in the Play-off round to Odense preventing them from reaching the group stages of the competition. Brown left Motherwell for Aberdeen on 10 December 2010. Stuart McCall was named as his successor. This season saw the club reach the Scottish Cup Final where they were defeated 3–0 by Celtic.
The 2011–12 season saw Motherwell reach the qualifying round of the Champions League for the first time. They finished third, one place outside the normal two spots allocated to the SPL for the Champions League. However the club was awarded a place because the club that had finished above them, Rangers, went into administration and were prevented by UEFA from playing in European competitions. In the draw for the third qualification round of the Champions League, Motherwell were drawn against Greek heavyweights Panathanaikos. This ended in disappointment, as Motherwell were knocked out after losing 2–0 at home and then 3–0 away. The 2012–13 season brought even greater success in the SPL as the club finished second in the table and once again qualified for the Europa League. It also saw striker Michael Higdon win the PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year award. Goalkeeper Darren Randolph (second year running), defender Shaun Hutchinson and midfielder Nicky Law were selected for the PFA Scotland Team of the Year.