What Motherwell must do with the Lennon Miller millions

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. And, also, for the small matter that the club have banked a record fee at the end of it all.
It was one of the great debates swirling around Motherwell all summer; which would happen first, Lennon Miller being sold or the Pig Iron pub up Brandon Parade opening its doors? We should have known better.
Thankfully, there are other hostelries in the town available for any Motherwell fans seeking a consolatory pint after the departure of one of the finest young talents to have come through the club, and four and a half million or so reasons why his loss from the team isn't the end of the world.
It is a great shame of course that we won't get to see Miller strut his stuff in this side being built by Jens Berthel Askou, which would surely complement his skillset and allow him to shine even more than he managed previously, but whisper it – the midfield has actually coped fine without him.
In fact, that triumvirate of Elliott Watt, Lukas Fadinger and Callum Slattery looks far and away the strongest part of the team, and a match for just about any other engine room in the country.
(Image: SNS Group) So, whatever portion of the Miller millions is invested back into the team, replacing him won't be the top priority.
What should be, though? In terms of the squad, there will be money freed up to bolster the backline and the striking position. A ball playing centre back would be high on my wishlist, as well as a striker to provide competition (and not just back-up) to Apostolos Stamatelopoulos.
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The Berthel Askou reign has got off to a more than encouraging start, but the manager deserves the resource to add those finishing touches, and bring a greater goal threat into the team.
That being said, this is where the board should take a breath, and resist the urge to go full John Boyle.
When David Turnbull was sold, we were told that the £3.25m Motherwell banked from Celtic was a 'revolutionary' amount of money for the club. Now, granted, no one could have foreseen a global pandemic, and the money that was ploughed into the pitch was certainly well spent, but the material changes to the club's infrastructure that were mooted never quite came to fruition.
This time, that has to be the priority. Improvements to the training facilities, or dare I say it, even a purpose-built training ground, should be top of the agenda.
Of course, the stadium itself could be doing with a little TLC. Some further improvements to the disabled facilities would be welcome. It's no secret either that the Phil O'Donnell Stand in particular is a continual drain on finances, and could actually be doing with being pulled down, but suggestions that the money be used to build a replacement may be a little fanciful.
I have it on good authority that when the club explored some options for doing just that, the minimum cost was coming in at around £5-6m for a St Mirren-style Main Stand, and that's not factoring in the loss of revenue as the stand itself is being built from tickets and hospitality.
So, a more modest investment on the POD Stand and elsewhere to keep Fir Park ticking along seems, sadly, more realistic. The more impactful investment would lie elsewhere.
The Miller sale has done much to bolster the club's reputation as the best place in Scotland for young players to flourish, and for me, the club should look to cement that status. Through investing in the training and academy facilities, Motherwell becomes a more desirable location for first team players, yes, but also to young prospects and their parents.
Hats off to the academy staff, who have done a tremendous job nurturing Miller's talent despite the limitations of what they have to work with. If they had a base where academy and first team players can train and eat together without having to carpool it from Fir Park to Dalziel Park, then who knows what they could achieve. Or how many top prospects they could attract.
Things like this may seem small from the outside, but even with the club's well-earned standing as one of the best pathways for young players in the country, they can tip the scales when parents are weighing up the pros and cons of where to send their little prodigies.
Developing the next Miller has to be the priority.
(Image: SNS Group) As for the lad himself, I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing him all the best at Udinese. And I'm certain I'm not alone in my relief that he didn't end up at either side of the Old Firm.
With the greatest of respect to both Celtic and Rangers, I didn't much enjoy watching David Turnbull ping a 25-yarder into the top bin against Motherwell at Fir Park, and had no desire to see Miller come and control the game for the opposition either.
For him, I can think of no better place than Serie A, where so many Scots have flourished of late, for him to continue his journey.
It's a little crazy to think that at the end of his five-year deal with Udinese he'll still only be 23, but hopefully he will show the world what he showed the Motherwell fans and he gets yet another big-money move, banking the club another tidy sum into the bargain.
Maybe then the board can build a new Main Stand, or splash out 750 grand on Ronan Hale. But for now, the Lennon Miller Training Centre has a nice ring to it.