The 99/00 season was a bit of a mixed one for Aberdeen fans. Finishing bottom of the league is certainly not something to celebrate but reaching two cup finals that season is an unbelievable feat but unfortunately it was the two old firm sides who stole the silverware at both League Cup and Scottish Cup finals.
This jersey comes from Cato Guntveit who started for Aberdeen in the League Cup Final at Hampden Park. The Norwegian was brought off at half time after being 1-0 down to Celtic. During the second half, fellow Norwegian Thomas Solberg was sent off and that was the end for Aberdeen.
Guntveit joined Aberdeen at the start of the 99/00 season having arrived from Brann where he would return in 2002 after 69 appearances The Don’s.
During Aberdeen’s run to the League Cup Final, they eliminated teams such as Livingston, Falkirk, Rangers and Dundee United with the last two being a fairly respectable achievement for Aberdeen.
Only avoiding relegation due to Falkirk’s stadium not being up to SPL standards, meaning they would not play their playoff game against Aberdeen. They also managed to qualify for that seasons UEFA Cup Qualifying due to finishing runners up in the Scottish Cup to league champions Rangers.
Coming from Puma, this kit is a classic late 90’s/early 00’s with the tidy white collar that is complimented by a small V-neck. The thick band of Puma badges running down the arms gives it retro vibes, especially with that CIS Cup Final Badge plastered on top of it. Whoever wanted them to be so large should get a pat on the back because they look fantastic as they match the top very well.
Seeing this Moult having another setback to his career made me want to look back at his time at Motherwell and just remind everyone the damage this guy can do.
Arriving at Motherwell from Wrexham, Moult came with a reputation for goals after bagging 23 goals in 37 games for the red dragons. Bagging 15 league goals in his first season at Fir Park, he would help guide the steelmen to a solid 5th place finish under Mark McGhee. Disappointingly finishing 9th in the league in his second season at Motherwell with McGhee getting sacked not to long into his second tenure at Fir Park. Even though this was a disappointing season, Moult still managed to find the back of the net another 15 times in the league even after playing seven less games.
With the departure of Mark McGhee, former assistant manager Stephen Robinson would take control at the club. Unfortunately we never got to see this combination of Moult playing under Robinson for long as he was always destined to leave for a better club, however we are always left with the fond memories from the start of the 17/18 season.
The road to the league cup final wasn’t easy having topped our group, we narrowly pushed for a result against Ross County in extra time. Easily knocking out Aberdeen 3-0 with a stunning goal from Louis Moult after he flicked the ball up facing away from the goal and making Aberdeen goalie Joe Lewis turn it into his own net. A goal from Hartley and another from Moult would see the well play at Hampden but this time against one of Glasgow’s ugly sisters.
Rangers came up next and I speak for all well fans when I say this is probably one of the best goals I’ve seen in claret and amber. With the first half ending 0-0 someone had to step up in the second and who else but our man Louis. A tidy finish from a scramble in the box followed by an absolute belter of a first time chip over put the nail in the coffin for this once dead club.
Unfortunately the final didn’t go in our favour as we got beat off Celtic but we won’t forget everything you done for the ML1 and thanks for making us believe.
Always believe in your soul You’ve got the power to know You’re indestructible Always believe in…… LOUIS MOULT
We’re keeping the Motherwell tops coming since there was clearly a huge demand after posting my Motherwell kit collection a couple of weeks ago.
So this time we have the first Motherwell top to ever feature a sponsor, Scottish Brewers. This was worn during the 82/83 season where Motherwell finished 8th in the Scottish top flight, missing out on the drop by seven points. This league title was won by a strong Dundee Utd team where there was only one point between United, Celtic and Aberdeen.
During the pre season for this season, Motherwell played Leeds at Fir Park where the away side won a comfortable 4-0. The main thing to take away from this game however is that Motherwell had a guest appearance from former European Footballer of the Year George Best after his contract expired with San Jose Earthquakes
This would be the first kit Patrick would make for the well, with their last coming two seasons later in the 84/85 season before moving to Umbro for a season then Matchwinner. Patrick’s kits had similarities as they bolstered a central badge and the branding coming on the sleeves.
The collar on this top is very 1980’s as it is overly large while using a deep V-neck and using horizontal amber stripes against the claret of the kit. There isn’t too much to say about the kit other than the thick block amber in the middle surrounded by claret with the amber stripe running down the side of the top.
From winning league titles with Juventus and Lazio to being relegated with Middlesbrough and Derby, the career of Fabrizio Ravanelli has had its highs and lows.
Starting his career in Italy, 1986, with Perugia before making moves to Avellino, Casertana and Reggiana. It would be in 1992 where Fabrizio would gain his big money move to Juventus and become a cult hero after scoring in Juventus’ 95/96 Champions League final win, in Rome.
After playing over 100 times for The Old Lady, Ravanelli got a move to England but not for one of the big 6, instead it was a £7million bid from Middlesbrough. Unfortunately Boro were relegated however Ravanelli was one of the leagues top scorers and also took Middlesbrough to both League Cup and FA Cup Finals where they were beaten by Leicester and Chelsea.
A brief stint in France saw the Italian finish second in Ligue 1 with Olympique De Marseille before moving back to Italy and winning another Scudetto with Lazio and adding a Coppa Italia winners medal to his collection. Then moving back to England for a brief time with Derby and another relegation followed.
The strangest move on this list however is when he made a move up north to Scotland to play for Dundee. Only playing a total of 5 games for the Dee, scoring a hat-trick against Clyde in the League Cup. Ravanelli was sacked alongside other top earners after the club were no longer able to pay their wages.
Luckily I’ve managed to get my hands one of those 5 jerseys and what a jersey this is to be honest. I’m all for XARA jerseys and this can get added to that pile. Unfortunately the Magners sponsor patch ruins it which is no fault to XARA as they make up for it by using a neat collar and a sash along the chest to match.
As the new Motherwell top has just recently been released I thought that there was no better reason for me to fork out mine and the old man’s collection of Well’ tops and talk about a few of my personal favourites.
First up we’ve got one of the oldest from the collection with the away top from the 87-89 seasons. Made by Matchwinner, this Well top looks way ahead of its time with the two thick claret and amber stripes along the shoulders. The collar also looks great as it features a mainly claret collar with a smaller amber trim wrapping round the neck. The one thing that does show this jerseys age is the badge on the centre of the chest that has been embroidered onto the top instead of nowadays where it is usually a patch stuck on. What better sponsor to have on the front than Ian Skelly.
Next up we’ve got another away top but this time it’s from the 99/00 season and is made by Xara who now unfortunately don’t produce football kits as they made a few memorable Motherwell kits such as this one. This was the second time ‘The Steelmen’ had ever had a black away kit and definitely one of the first in recent memory not to feature either claret or amber throughout. A black kit with tiny tramlines running up and down the top that included the Xara ‘X’ every so often. Similar thin black lines were used at the edge of the white collar to give the shirt that bit more detail. You also can’t beat an embroidered MFC badge on an away kit.
Taking the third spot on our list is the only home top to feature and it’s Admiral’s first Well top coming in the 91/92 season although the second season it was played in as it is the same top as the famous 90/91 Scottish Cup winners top with the difference being instead of Ian Skelly as the sponsor, it’s phone company Motorola. You can read more on this when I covered the 91′ semi final top not too long ago.
One of my favourite tops that is a bit love or hate for some Motherwell fans but I think it is stunning. The only Hummel top to feature on this list but its a cracker. Being used in the 92/93 and 93/94, Hummel only made the home and away for these seasons before moving on. Keeping the Motorola in black along the front, it’s behind the brand that is the unusual part with the white and claret diagonal broken stripes makes this jersey unmissable. The claret collar with amber trim really completes this top along with the proper Well badge.
Last but not least and my personal favourite Motherwell FC jersey has to be the black away kit from 05/06 that features a Zoom Airlines sponsor along the thick claret sash. Fitted with a thick claret collar with a black and claret trim to match the shirt and a pretty deep V-neck makes this recent design feel old school along with the claret and amber trim around the baggy sleeves.
This is my favourite top as I was the mascot at the time this jersey came out and it’s always nice to look back at pictures of my younger self kicking a ball about the famous carpet of Fir Park. Here is a pic of a young specky me modelling the jersey and a fan.
We are going to dive deep into four of ex-Motherwell players, two from recent memory and two from back in the 70’s, that have made the move to the over the Atlantic to America.
Starting off we’ve got current Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Andy Rose. Arriving from Coventry City before arriving at Fir Park, Rose would go on to play 40 league matches for Motherwell while helping them reach both League Cup final and Scottish Cup final, where they would put up a fight but would be beaten on both occasions by Celtic.
Rose would leave Motherwell in the winter of 2018 to join Whitecaps where he has played 38 games. When at Motherwell I felt that Rose was a consistent performer and really helped the club getting to both cup finals.
Another player that was part of those two finals is Motherwell academy graduate Chris Cadden. Playing over 110 games for the steelmen, Cadden has also been capped 12 times for the Scotland under 21’s and even gaining two first team caps in friendly games against Peru and Mexico.
After leaving Motherwell, Cadden was picked up by Columbus Crew and immediately loaned out for the 19/20 season to Oxford United before returning to be part of the squad that would win the 2020 MLS Cup. In January 2021, Cadden returned to Scotland to play for Edinburgh side Hibernian.
However before these two, Motherwell had another two players during the 1970’s that have took the trip across the ocean. First off was defender Willie Watson who started out at Manchester Utd before moving to Maimi Toros on loan just before his move to his hometown of Motherwell where he would play over 100 games before moving to Dundee and eventually back over to America to play for indoor side Phoenix Inferno.
The last player to have moved was centre half Willie McVie who played for Motherwell between 1975-1979, racking up an impressive 87 appearances before moving to Canada to play for Toronto Blizzard in the NASL.
Regular subscribers to The Kit Rail will know that we’ve already covered Willie Pettigrew with his stunning Dundee United 1981 Scottish Cup Final Jersey. For that reason we are covering Willie’s full Scotland international career, from the under 23’s through to his last full cap.
Scotland Under 23’s
He made his international debut for the under 23 side, at the age of 21, in a friendly match in Sweden that was played on the 16th of April 1975. Scotland won this fixture 2-1.
A European Championship clash in Romania would see Willie score his first international goal in another 2-1 win coming on the 31st of May 1975.
Next up would be a double header against Denmark with Scotland securing a crucial 1-0 win away, on the 2nd of September 1975, and adding yet another victory, this time beating the Danish 4-1 on the 28th of October 1975.
Pettigrew ended the international calendar year with another European Championship Victory, grabbing himself a brace in a 4-0 destruction of Romania at Brockville on the 16th of December 1975. This result saw Scotland top their group and continue through the tournament.
Willie’s sixth and penultimate under 23 cap would come against Wales at Wrexhams Racecourse Ground on the 4th of February. During this game, Willie would score another brace to secure a narrow 3-2 victory for the Scots. We covered this match when we featured the Joey Jones jersey not too long ago.
The last cap to come for Willie Pettigrew would be in the second leg of the Under 23 European Championship Quarter Finals as Scotland took on The Netherlands in front of an amazing 32,000 fans at Easter Road, home of Hibernian, on the 24th of March 1976. Scotland lost the first game 2-0 (a game that Willie missed due to injury). Scotland would win the second game 2-0 but would lose on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate score. You can find more details on this match as we covered it during the Jan Everse jersey.
In all Willie started 7 games at under 23 level winning all seven and grabbing himself five goals in the process.
Full International Career
2 weeks after his last under 23 cap, Willie would make his full international debut and what a debut it would be.
A home friendly versus Switzerland on the 7th of April 1976 would see Willie net his first goal after only 2 minutes. This would be the only goal of the game as Scotland would win the game 1-0. This game has also been covered as we featured Rene Hasler earlier this week.
Cap number two would again see Willie find the net, scoring the first goal in a 3-1 win over Wales at Hampden Park on the 6th of May 1976. You can see more of this game and jersey on Terry Yorath’s page on the The Kit Rail.
A few days later would come cap number three which would see Scotland beat Northern Ireland convincingly in a 3-0 win at Hampden Park with goals from Gemmill, Masson and Dalglish.
Willie would have to wait six months for cap number four which would be a world cup qualifier against Wales. We would see another victory for Scotland and Pettigrew as the Scots would beat Wales 1-0.
Willie’s fifth and final cap would come on the 27th of April 1977 and would see Scotland run out as winners in a 3-1 victory against Sweden with goals coming from Hartford, Dalglish and Joe Crag.
Willie would play five times for his country, scoring two goals in the process and would be in the winning team on all five occasions. If you add Willie’s under 23 appearances, you end up with an impressive 12 games representing Scotland, 12 victories and a highly commendable 7 goals.
Arriving from Motherwell for £100,000, in 1979, after scoring 80 goals in 166 appearances, Pettigrew was known as one of the most clinical finishers in Scotland. It is during his time at Motherwell where he would be called up by the national team, earing five caps, where he would be competing for a place against the likes of Kenny Dalgleish, Joe Jordan and Derek Johnstone.
During his time in Dundee, Willie would lift the Scottish League Cup back to back in his first and second years at the club where United would almost win the cup double in the 80-81 season getting so far as the final before Rangers would beat them 4-1 at Hampden in the replay as the original fixture ended 0-0 after extra time. Davie Dodds would score the only goal for Dundee United during the game.
After the final Dundee United would cash in on Pettigrew, making a profit after selling him to Hearts for £120,000. It is here where Pettigrew would help Hearts gain promotion to the top flight.
This kit resembles the Netherlands 76′ that is also on the website. As both are made by Adidas and use very similar colours although Adidas moved with the times and over the next five years they would introduce their own branding on the front of the shirt and on each of the numbers used on the back. The collar has also changed from a round neck to a more modern ‘V’ neck with a large collar being black to contrast the bright tangerine colour of the top.
September 2005 saw Scotland overcome Norway in the hope of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but unfortunately it would be Norway that would progress to a second round with Italy gaining automatic qualification. During the qualification phase, McFadden would score twice in wins against Moldova and Slovenia.
In this game against Norway, Kenny Miller would score a first half brace with McFadden assisting the first with a headed flick before Miller poked it home. McFadden would be substituted in the 72nd minute for striker Craig Beattie after being booked earlier in the game. Norway would score their only goal of the game in the 89th minute with a drive from the edge of the box leaving a nervous Scotland team to finish the game.
Credit – (1) Pinterest McFadden – left, Miller – centre and Fletcher – right
This Diadora jersey is simple but instantly recognisable as a Scotland top, mainly down to the colours used being light blue with a navy and white stripe. The spots on the top of the shoulder also matching the navy on the sleeve. The spots on the shoulder also changed colour as the players heated up during the game.
James would go on to play 48 times for Scotland over an eight year international career, with his first cap coming at the age of 19, against South Africa, while playing for his first club Motherwell. McFadden would become a regular in the Scotland set up scoring some vital goals, with the winner in both 1-0 wins over the Netherlands and France being his most notable.
After his retirement, James would become a coach for the national side where he would work under Alex McLeish from 2018 to 2019.
Qualifying for Euro 2008 was a hard ask for Scotland as they were placed in Group B with the previous World Cup champions Italy and the runners up France. With a few shock results coming Scotland’s way, beating France home and away, qualification was looking possible but due to disappointing results against Ukraine and Georgia, Scotland would make it 10 years since qualifying for a major tournament. Even though there was heartache for Scotland, Faddy would score four during the qualification phase with his legacy being cemented with his long range strike in Paris that would give Scotland a 1-0 win over France.
This top was worn by James in September 2006 where he would play just the twenty minutes before having to depart the pitch due to injury, with current Motherwell manager Graeme Alexander coming off the bench. Scotland would still win the game 2-1, helping their early qualification hopes.
When Scotland played Lithuania back at home in Glasgow, McFadden would score a superb goal that secured a 3-1 win after a quick throw in was taken from the right, Kris Boyd would lay it off at the edge of the box and after three touches McFadden would have the keeper picking the ball out the back of the net.
Looking at this top from a distance, it is quite ordinary but seeing it up close you will find some hidden gems from Diadora, as on the front there is a darker saltire on the chest but also the word alba on the bottom of the back with a lion rampant underneath. The word alba is the Scottish-Gaelic term for Scotland first used in ancient Greek and Latin texts meaning ‘Albion’ to refer to Britain as a whole.
THE KIT RAIL 