SPL Fanzone: Season review

Season highlight

Hearing the Champions League music played at Fir Park when the teams came out on the last day of the season. A real moment when the hairs stood up on the back of your neck and the unbelievable culmination of a simply brilliant campaign.

Season lowlight

Losing in the Scottish Cup to a terrible Aberdeen side. Going out of the cup always hurts but to a Dons team as bad as they are was a real sore one.

Manager’s report card

Stuart McCall made excellent signings but there was slight concern about how long he took to change things when it became clear 4-3-3 was leaving Higdon isolated, and his substitution policy is bizarre – we must make fewer than anyone else in the division. 8/10

Player of the season

Too many to choose from but Steve Jennings is probably the player who makes us tick most. We could just about cover an absence anywhere else but when he was missing we just struggled to perform.

Expectations for next season

It will be worse than this one! Short of winning something, finishing second or reaching a European group stage, we simply can’t match this year.

What needs to be on the club’s summer shopping list?

Sadly a goalkeeper is likely as Randolph will surely move on. Replacing Hutchinson and Jennings, should they leave, will be difficult but, if we keep our squad intact, we need only add some depth. Improving on our first eleven seems unrealistic given our budget restrictions.

What was the worst moment of the 2011/12 season?

The pathetic reaction of so many in the game – media and players alike – that Scottish football needs Rangers to survive. Anything beyond a quick look at the headline figures proves this is utter nonsense.

And what was the best?

Stuart Cosgrove getting one over Graham Spiers on BBC. Spiers’ view that Scottish football needs Rangers and our game would descend to a level on par with Ireland and Wales was taken apart with surgical precision. “Got the figures for that Graham? No? Well, I do and you’re talking rot.” Marvellous.

John Wilson

SPL Fanzone: Season review - Motherwell