Greenock Morton v Raith Rovers 01/10/16

[CALDERON]

It is funny how fans foam at the mouth when they see him. I remember the season after he played for us, folk were single handedly blaming him for us losing the league,which isn't really the case. Mcglynn totally lost his shit.

Shite keeper for us though.

 

 

[Paco]

It's more McNeil's attitude that bothers me than anything else. When he first came back to Stark's with Livi, he was interviewed and said something along the lines of "I think they blame me for not going up but I didn't do anything wrong in the run-in". If a player isn't any good I can accept it, but a complete refusal to even acknowledge it is the sign of a madman. He was dire. Even away from the day at EEP he cost us a win at Dens Park (probably the biggest blow to our hopes) and threw away two points at home to Cowdenbeath with a late blunder. He even nearly scored an OG from his own goal kick that game, somehow, narrowly missing his post and going out for a corner. He was absolutely shite.

Having said that, he generally got the better of us at Livi, mostly because we had that spell where they'd hump us every time we met. Hopefully we can get the better of him this time.

Don't see McManus scoring here. As well as he can play (he was terrific on Saturday) he just doesn't seem to be a goalscorer at all.

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

5 minutes ago, Paco said:

It's more McNeil's attitude that bothers me than anything else. When he first came back to Stark's with Livi, he was interviewed and said something along the lines of "I think they blame me for not going up but I didn't do anything wrong in the run-in". If a player isn't any good I can accept it, but a complete refusal to even acknowledge it is the sign of a madman. He was dire. Even away from the day at EEP he cost us a win at Dens Park (probably the biggest blow to our hopes) and threw away two points at home to Cowdenbeath with a late blunder. He even nearly scored an OG from his own goal kick that game, somehow, narrowly missing his post and going out for a corner. He was absolutely shite.

Having said that, he generally got the better of us at Livi, mostly because we had that spell where they'd hump us every time we met. Hopefully we can get the better of him this time.

Don't see McManus scoring here. As well as he can play (he was terrific on Saturday) he just doesn't seem to be a goalscorer at all.

4/5/2013 is a good watch for his multi flap to let Graham in to score a late winner.

http://livingstonfc.co.uk/livitv/livitv-2013-14/

[HIT THE CHANNEL]

Not sure about this one.

13/21 is a decent start for us. Anything above 15 points a quarter is excellent going so a win here would give us really good confidence and little pressure going into the home game against Hibs. We have been very hit or miss so far, and a few times in the one game! the first 30 mins  compared to the last 60 at tannadice and then the first 60 and last 30 at home on Saturday were absolutely night and day! Even against St Mirren we didn't finish the game well. Falkirk was abject and Queens not great - the only game we played well for the full 90 in the league (I think? feel free to correct me if i'm wrong) was away at Ayr on the opening day.

I had a look at Morton's fixtures and see that your last game of Q1 is away at Queens. 6/21 isn't the best of starts points-wise, but has it been merited? Or has this been a slow start and this Morton side has got a bit more quality and look like it will be comfortably mid-table (i.e. winning/picking up a lot of points at  home against most teams outside of Hibs, United)?

We have some nice bits of quality in the side and am confident if we play well we will shade it - my concern is that we will have another 20/30 minute spell where we are atrocious and ship a goal or two!

Anyway, looking forward to the game and some beers before it. Living in Glasgow this trip is about a third of my travel time to get to San Starko so a 'home' game for me! 

f**k it, 0-2

[Scosha]

21 minutes ago, HIT THE CHANNEL said:

 

I had a look at Morton's fixtures and see that your last game of Q1 is away at Queens. 6/21 isn't the best of starts points-wise, but has it been merited? Or has this been a slow start and this Morton side has got a bit more quality and look like it will be comfortably mid-table (i.e. winning/picking up a lot of points at  home against most teams outside of Hibs, United)?

 

We chucked away 4 points in our first 2 games against St Mirren and Falkirk. Went in at half time in both games 1-0 up then invited pressure for the entire second half and both teams deservedly got an equaliser in the last 10 minutes. Failed to turn up for the game against Hibs at ER but you don't expect to take any points from there. Dumbarton game at home we were poor, and Ayr away was appalling and led to an 8/10 shame game at full time. Dunfermline at home was good to get the win but it wasn't pretty. 

We're more than capable of holding our own, but Duffy's tactics and his failure to sign a decent striker has hampered us. Finishing with 6 points after the first quarter would be a disaster. 

[CALDERON]

Draw would be fine here to be honest, first priority is to make it two games unbeaten and try and establish some consistency again. 

[madton]

Really need a win here. It's getting quite congested in the bottom half and we should be aiming to win games likes this at home.

If we want to challenge for 4th, we need to improve.. We have shown in glimpses that we can be decent this season but far too inconsistent. The recent additions of Gunning and Murdoch will help and Tidser and Pepper are not far away from returning which will be a welcome boost.

We haven't lost at home yet- 6 games ( 4 wins 2 draws) so we should be confident of taking 3 points.

McManus is bound to score. Our last 4 games have been 2-1 to the home team. Lets hope that trend continues.

[Jamie_M]

54 minutes ago, madton said:

challenge for 4th.

MADton

 

[madton]

2 hours ago, Jamie_M said:

 

Haha Surely as a club our aim this year is still 4th? After all, the chat from Cappielow was they wanted to improve on last season!

I agree its easier said than done, and right now we we should be more worried about finishing bottom but I'm a lot more optimistic than I was after the last few games and the recent additions. 

[WSDR 88]

Because I'm a total tube, I missed Saturday's game there, but caught up with the highlights on my lunch today, some cracking stuff being played. I'm making the journey through on Saturday, so hopefully we continue to play the ball on the deck as that's when we're at our best I believe.

Morton fans, there was a Bowing Club tweeting about drinks etc with a pool table not far from the ground. How is it? Worth firing there for pints or is there other recommendations? Cheers in advance.

Biased away win, 1-2.

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

Stick on Barr to score against us.

[cornbeef]

1 hour ago, madton said:

Haha Surely as a club our aim this year is still 4th? After all, the chat from Cappielow was they wanted to improve on last season!

I agree its easier said than done, and right now we we should be more worried about finishing bottom but I'm a lot more optimistic than I was after the last few games and the recent additions. 

Chat is cheap. How were they hoping to improve by promoting a few youth players and buying a some lucky dips from the Juniors and elsewhere ?  We've had most of our back line out through injury,  forcing them basically to sign Gunning -  and with Tidser and Pepper out there was an opening for Murdoch on a short contract. We're still waiting for a recognised striker at this stage. Excuse me if I seem cynical... but I see NO ambition to improve on last years showing. On the contrary there are signs of 'winging' it in the manner which lead to our relegation last time.

As I've said often enough - I will never badmouth Dougie or the Raes,  but they've clearly run out of steam and this has been reflected in the dwindling support over the past few years. They never really got the gates they were anticipating when they were flashing the cash so sustainability is the only game in town now.

[ashton]

47 minutes ago, cornbeef said:

Chat is cheap. How were they hoping to improve by promoting a few youth players and buying a some lucky dips from the Juniors and elsewhere ?  We've had most of our back line out through injury,  forcing them basically to sign Gunning -  and with Tidser and Pepper out there was an opening for Murdoch on a short contract. We're still waiting for a recognised striker at this stage. Excuse me if I seem cynical... but I see NO ambition to improve on last years showing. On the contrary there are signs of 'winging' it in the manner which lead to our relegation last time.

As I've said often enough - I will never badmouth Dougie or the Raes,  but they've clearly run out of steam and this has been reflected in the dwindling support over the past few years. They never really got the gates they were anticipating when they were flashing the cash so sustainability is the only game in town now.

What is it about 'Dougie and the Raes' that makes so many unwilling to 'badmouth' them?

Is it just symptomatic of the general apathy that pervades Inverclyde? Anybody who cares to look objectively can see that Jim Duffy is cash strapped yet the majority still wants to put the boot into the wrong victim. The Raes are not paupers. If they are not willing to fund the club adequately as benevolent local business people they should be honest about that instead of engaging the services of Hawke, Robinson and Co to paper over the cracks.

It is long past time for change.

Oh - and we will almost certainly lose this Saturday against a Club which is at best our peer in Scottish football.

[cornbeef]

53 minutes ago, ashton said:

What is it about 'Dougie and the Raes' that makes so many unwilling to 'badmouth' them?

Is it just symptomatic of the general apathy that pervades Inverclyde? Anybody who cares to look objectively can see that Jim Duffy is cash strapped yet the majority still wants to put the boot into the wrong victim. The Raes are not paupers. If they are not willing to fund the club adequately as benevolent local business people they should be honest about that instead of engaging the services of Hawke, Robinson and Co to paper over the cracks.

It is long past time for change.

Oh - and we will almost certainly lose this Saturday against a Club which is at best our peer in Scottish football.

Dougie and the Rays...makes them sound like a 60's band (and I suppose they are, actually)  

It's something to do with the delicate matter of Dougies age and alleged failing health and the fact that I still thank him for stepping up at the time of our greatest need, and continuing to 'sustain' us in the (alleged) absence of other interested parties. I believe that there are interested parties close at hand - so what machinations are taking place there, I know not.

So no, I wont badmouth... but I'm perfectly happy to say that change is certainly needed at the top, because I love my home team just as much as Dougie does.

[ashton]

23 minutes ago, cornbeef said:

Dougie and the Rays...makes them sound like a 60's band (and I suppose they are, actually)  

It's something to do with the delicate matter of Dougies age and alleged failing health and the fact that I still thank him for stepping up at the time of our greatest need, and continuing to 'sustain' us in the (alleged) absence of other interested parties. I believe that there are interested parties close at hand - so what machinations are taking place there, I know not.

So no, I wont badmouth... but I'm perfectly happy to say that change is certainly needed at the top, because I love my home team just as much as Dougie does.

We will probably never know the truth about the final days of 'Save the Ton'. There were other hats in the ring including a consortium led by Allan McGraw but once Dougie saw himself on the centre spot with that mike there was no stopping him! ..

...and there's been no stopping him since!

Dearie me! 

[HIT THE CHANNEL]

16 hours ago, WSDR 88 said:

Because I'm a total tube, I missed Saturday's game there, but caught up with the highlights on my lunch today, some cracking stuff being played. I'm making the journey through on Saturday, so hopefully we continue to play the ball on the deck as that's when we're at our best I believe.

Morton fans, there was a Bowing Club tweeting about drinks etc with a pool table not far from the ground. How is it? Worth firing there for pints or is there other recommendations? Cheers in advance.

Biased away win, 1-2.

I can't speak for the Bowling Club, although I see on google maps it is just a 10 minute walk. The Norseman however can't be beaten on location, 20 yards from the turnstiles - it's also very cheap, so dilapidated that it is a 'must see' and if I recall shows the football! 'Ton fans, is this still the case? I see Dundeh v Celtic is on BT and Swansea v Liverpool is on Sky - will the Norseman (or the bowling club for that matter) be showing these game(s)? 

[Dunning1874]

On 27/09/2016 at 10:51, HIT THE CHANNEL said:

 

I had a look at Morton's fixtures and see that your last game of Q1 is away at Queens. 6/21 isn't the best of starts points-wise, but has it been merited? Or has this been a slow start and this Morton side has got a bit more quality and look like it will be comfortably mid-table (i.e. winning/picking up a lot of points at  home against most teams outside of Hibs, United)?

Hard to say if it was just a case of a slow start and beating Dunfermline was us turning the corner, or if such a poor points return over a quarter will be par for the course, but being a pessimist I'm leaning towards and fearing the latter.

I've mentioned this a few times but our record against sides outwith the relegation battle last season was abysmal. 2 points v St Mirren, 1 v Falkirk, 0 v Raith. 28 of our 43 points came from the bottom three with another 7 from Queen of the South, the only mid-table side we performed well against. With a stronger bottom half of the league this season - Dunfermline are crap but they're nowhere near as bad as Livingston and while Ayr are Ayr you can expect them to be much better than Alloa were last season - we really need to considerably improve our record against mid-table sides to even stay clear of relegation, never mind push for the top four, while continuing to take the vast majority of points against the relegation battlers.

We've already lost to Ayr and only got a draw with Dumbarton as a result of them having a goal disallowed for no reason, while we threw away wins against St. Mirren and Falkirk. We also unquestionably have a weaker squad than last season, where despite the vastly superior attacking options we had then we still only managed 39 goals. There clearly is great potential in the squad as our League Cup results show, but if we don't start delivering those kind of performances in the league soon we're in trouble. League Cup results and beating Dunfermline have deservedly taken the pressure off Duffy, but failing to win in our next three games - Raith, QoS, St. Mirren - will put it right back on. A win this Saturday would be a sign that we genuinely can take results from the mid-table pack and we'd have some optimism on the back of that.

[Cowshed118]

I can't speak for the Bowling Club, although I see on google maps it is just a 10 minute walk. The Norseman however can't be beaten on location, 20 yards from the turnstiles - it's also very cheap, so dilapidated that it is a 'must see' and if I recall shows the football! 'Ton fans, is this still the case? I see Dundeh v Celtic is on BT and Swansea v Liverpool is on Sky - will the Norseman (or the bowling club for that matter) be showing these game(s)? 

Aye it has BT

[Rudolph Hucker]

On 27/09/2016 at 20:18, ashton said:

We will probably never know the truth about the final days of 'Save the Ton'. There were other hats in the ring including a consortium led by Allan McGraw but once Dougie saw himself on the centre spot with that mike there was no stopping him! ..

...and there's been no stopping him since!

Dearie me! 

Did auld Doogie shite in your porridge or something when you were both wee boys?  You don't have be delighted with what he does at the club, and few are, but for years you've been exhibiting a near-pathalogical level of personal dislike for the old boy.

Could be maybe that he's a successful businessman in his own right, while you're a failure and a creepy, vindictive old internet stalker?  mmmm, that's a toughie.......

[Dr Watson]

46 minutes ago, Rudolph Hucker said:

Did auld Doogie shite in your porridge or something when you were both wee boys?  You don't have be delighted with what he does at the club, and few are, but for years you've been exhibiting a near-pathalogical level of personal dislike for the old boy.

Could be maybe that he's a successful businessman in his own right, while you're a failure and a creepy, vindictive old internet stalker?  mmmm, that's a toughie.......

I'm surprised you've still not drowned in all those tears yet.