DreamOakTree1

It was quite a prominent article with photo in one of the Sundays, the Sunday Mail I think. George said Morton have been great for him, taking him from an unhappy stint at ICT to a greatly enjoyable time at Cappielow. He said he’ll wait till the last ball is kicked this season before thinking through his options. I get the feeling if we sell the idea we’re going for promotion then he’ll stay.

I think that Dougie's comment that he'd prefer to manage in the SPL with Morton, coupled with the board's 3 year plan to be serious promotion contenders, are interrelated in that they will make our summer decisions on the squad crucial to both issues. This could also extend to George Oakley's statement that he will carefully consider his future this summer. Dougie will have some very important decisions to make, as will some of his players, to get the squad in shape for a promotion push. I'd like to see us keep the core of our squad but we may need to release a few players to make room for the difference makers we will need to challenge in what should be an even more competitive division next season. I'd like to see us keep Mullen, Murdoch, Baird, O'Connor, Strapp (if fully fit), Crawford, Blues, Wilson (if fully fit), King, Quitongo (if fully fit), Bearne, Oakley, Davies and Garrity. I'm not sure what's happening with McGrattan and O'Boy, Harkness and Keay but Dougie surely will. To make room for new additions I could see Dougie releasing French, Broadfoot, Power, Gillespie and Boyd, not sure about Waters and MacDonald. Muirhead is the usual enigma due to his consistent goals return v his overall commitment to the team effort. I'd then hope we could bring in an accomplished RB (Grimshaw?), CB and possibly another Striker, but mainly the game changing creative attacking midfielder that we've been crying out for.

Sounds promising! Perhaps Dougie was just posting a timely reminder which isn't a bad thing.

I think the reporter may have twisted his words to what I said, but Dougie’s actual quote was as you’ve said,: he’d rather do it with Morton. Either way I hope the board take heed and give him the support he needs, although that may prove difficult.

Dougie's just said he wants to manage in the SPL with or without Morton. Is this a message to the board that he'll need their backing to make a real challenge next season?

Did you see the puny nick of Dougie when he took his top off after scoring v Celtic? He couldn’t punch his way out of a paper bag!

Have you not been following Dougie’s attitude towards our academy graduates?

Don’t you mean Imrie’s kept Darragh on the bench? wideshoe and his like need to be punted pronto! The talk of the likes of Garrity, McGrattan and King joining that exodus on the basis of recent performances is ridiculous. They all contributed plenty when brought in during our unbeaten run, but can’t be expected to share the blame with dad’s army for the latest slump. They’re our future so get behind them FFS.

There will be a few arses getting kicked in that dressing room and at training on Monday. I’m just not sure who’ll be kicking Dougie’s. I’ll volunteer if no one else fancies it!

Great result for The Ton against a rejuvenated QP and kudos to Dougie for starting Bearne, who has undoubted touches of class in his locker. Make this the start of another unbeaten run and we’re on our way!

I took Raith e/w before the season started, did the same with QP last year.

I see George back to his best and 2-1 Morton. Back to 4th place!

Did I see Union Jack flags in the crowd? If so what was that about?

The ref v airdrie just stood and watched hatchet jobs all over the pitch, which validates your point.

I know it’s not a popular theory with Ton fans, but the fact that Raith are showing some ambition contributes greatly to attendances. Since our board announced our 3 year plan is top 16 in Scotland our form has collapsed as we’ve gone from the board’s holy grail of 16th to 18th. For players and fans that sort of statement kills off any momentum you may have built, and makes the fans’ 50/50 decision on whether or not to attend a match a much easier one to make. in my view it was an absolutely pathetic statement to make, given the progress we’d been making up until that point. Someone needs to give the negative person who came up with that idea the biggest shake of their life, or we might as well not bother turning up!

Cheers Ad Lib. Sounds simple enough even for me!

I have to say again I’m very surprised at the modest targets that similar clubs to ourselves have. Did anyone hear Ange Posticoglou’s response to the journalist who asked him if he’s targeting top four? He said that’s not a specific enough target as you need to aim for first place and see where it takes you. Contrast that with Derek McInnes saying he wants to reach the Scottish Cup Final. Why not just extend that ambition to winning the cup? Similarly he started each season as Aberdeen Manager by saying he was targeting third place. I just don’t understand that mindset as no-one would criticise him for targeting first and finishing second or third.

My brother thinks he remembers you Toby. He reckons we met you on the train to an Elgin v Morton game. He said you told us you were from East Kilbride and you used to go to a variety of games as EK didn’t have a team in the top divisions. Then you decided to support Morton as you loved the Cappielow atmosphere. If so that’s a great story!

Is it pay at the gate? I’m going to head over from Croftfoot for the match.

I'm not sure airdrie were deliberately being that clever, calculated and cynical, but they pretty much targetted our best players and, even though they coudn't beat us, they effectively stopped us from winning any of our next three games while they've caught up. What was most surprising was the ref watched them do it.

I'm a lot of things but that's not one of them, probably being the opposite has got me into a bit of bother at times. Our work involves a lot of setting and meeting targets, so my colleagues are pretty much aligned with what I'm saying regarding setting a high bar and having a specific target, rather than a very vague one such as "top sixteen". They also realise they don't need a passport to leave Inverclyde and can say they've worked in places like Holland and Norway without their honesty being questioned.

If Dougie gets back to his usual positive self and motivates the players, we can win this one. Jack Bearne had the right attitude in his post-match interview. That’s the spirit we’ll require in our next two matches!

You make some valid points there Chippyminton. I'm surprised though to find that fans of similarly placed clubs have similarly modest ambitions, or perhaps they're just being realistic as you say. My question was really meant to ask fans of other clubs what their board's targets are, or three year plans if they have them. We could then compare these with the Morton board's targets. I stated that I thought there would be around 20 club boards with higher ambitions then ours, but from what you and some other fans are saying, that may not be the case.

If that was the case then why would I be barred from the Morton Forum for telling the truth? Similarly why would you bother responding? Anyway outside of these forums some people do happen to care what I think. I made the exact same point at work and everyone gets it 100%.

Brilliant heart on his sleeve article by Brian Graham in today’s Sunday Mail, best I’ve read for a while. I’ve followed his career since he broke through at Morton and was given an unfathomable time of it by our fans. I told his Dad Danny that Brian has a 1 in 3 scoring rate throughout his career, and he replied “1 in 2”. I looked it up and he’s correct! Phenomenal return at every level he’s played at! When he scores against Morton he celebrates like a maniac, which I love about him! Not against my club but against some of our horrible so called fans.