Quintin Jardine's blog

As I write, Motherwell are playing Celtic at Fir Park, and the official attendance has been announced as 10,440. That is around 25% short of the ground’s current capacity and around 200% short of the attendances that fixture generated when I was a kid. Yes, I know, we have all-seater grounds these days, but even allowing for that unnecessary imposition on supporters, it’s a sad reflection on the decline of what we kid ourselves into thinking is our national game.

By the way, it’s 1 — 1 with fifteen minutes left, but Celtic will score. There is one requirement alone if you want to be a true Motherwell fan. In other matters you can be the sunniest individual on the planet, but when it comes to football, you have to be a fatalist.