The Greenock Morton Thread - It's Better Than Yours

[Trogdor]

You guys have fair hit form since Hopkin went. What's the secret?

[AyrshireTon]

46 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

You guys have fair hit form since Hopkin went. What's the secret?

Attacking.

A tactic that was lacking somewhat, particularly at Arbroath and the home game against Hearts..

[TONTROOPER]

7 hours ago, MS RR said:

I'm not even sure why St Mirren consider Morton as rivals. St Mirren are actually a proper size club with some form of fan base, whereas Morton are just so tin pot.  

Division 1 title contenders spawned by The Snake....GRANGEMOUTH F.C. 

[TONTROOPER]

31 minutes ago, AyrshireTon said:

Attacking.

A tactic that was lacking somewhat, particularly at Arbroath and the home game against Hearts..

Dunning is just after saying the same.

Way to go.                  

[TONTROOPER]

1 hour ago, Dunning1874 said:

It's good to see some Falkirk fans back here again, they haven't shown up often since they were making alias accounts to celebrate such signing coups as Gregor Buchanan and Charlie Telfer.

Tinpot Morton - swaggering into the playoff positions in the Championship

Not tinpot Falkirk - forced to postpone seaside league games because their stadium is falling to bits

I heard Charlie Telfers name mentioned this week but cant recall what it was in connection with...anyone?

[TONTROOPER]

6 hours ago, Rudolph Hucker said:

 

Not that often you see two crap fishermen trying their luck in the same spot, is it?

 

 

A really 'fly' angler changes his 'fly when that particular 'fly' aint catchin'.

[Get_The_Subs_On]

15 hours ago, Trogdor said:

You guys have fair hit form since Hopkin went. What's the secret?

Coincidence 

The football hasn’t really changed and we still sit too deep. There’s every possibility that we’d have won those two games under Hopkin anyway. Last season we went on a tremendous run post January once things clicked, so it’s not like back to back wins are a miraculous turnaround. 

Dunfermline were pretty ineffective and allowed us to make the game very scrappy - with the players very motivated to give themselves and the fans a lift after a bad week...... and queens already play a scrappy game, which suited us. I think we were close to evens yesterday to beat a team that have been struggling badly. 

Every 3 points is an achievement in this league and I was delighted, but I don’t think we played particularly well, just better than our opponents. 

Im slightly dubious about McElhone being given the job until the end of the season, although I think having Midge, McAllister and McLean about the place is likely very helpful. 

We’ll just need to see how it goes and I hope I’m pleasantly surprised by my fears being unfounded.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Get_The_Subs_On

[Paisley Ton]

17 hours ago, MS RR said:

Beating us 2-0 was one of the best victories in Morton's history, and one of our worst ever defeats. I think that speaks volumes about the difference in stature of both clubs. 

Don't  know about best in history but def a great day out.

Have you paid off McKinnon fully or do you intend finalising settlement with your 1st division Covid grant.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

Listened to Crawford Rae yesterday on the radio - having a real go at journalists (and others) for exaggerating the financial issues at Morton.

Is he correct or is it just him playing down concerns?

[The Ghost of B A R P]

5 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

Listened to Crawford Rae yesterday on the radio - having a real go at journalists (and others) for exaggerating the financial issues at Morton.

Is he correct or is it just him playing down concerns?

Financial problems are nowhere near as bad as was being suggested last week... but the bold Crawford actually fuelled the exaggeration with a borderline hysterical statement when Hopkin left.

He's not the best at this game and it's high time he moved on...

[Ludo*1]

With Josh McPake returning to Rangers, how would you sum his spell up?

[madton]

I'd like to think we are doing all we can to extend it.   Will be gutted if he does go,  he's  been brilliant for us.

Unfortunate not to score a couple of goals but his overall contribution has been excellent.

[The Ghost of B A R P]

1 hour ago, Ludo*1 said:

With Josh McPake returning to Rangers, how would you sum his spell up?

I’d say he’s been good, not brilliant, but we should definitely try to extend.

He’s always willing to take the ball and puts defenders under immediate pressure; but, as with a lot of young players, the initial threat doesn’t translate into end product often enough.

[vikingTON]

Nicky Cadden minus any reliable end product and we've got about 17 million sand-dancers for that position anyway. Not bothered too much then.

Edited December 29, 2020 by vikingTON

[Dunning1874]

He's been fine without being great overall, although there were some good performances. Some of his close control and ability to move us up the park with the ball at his feet was impressive, but too often after getting us into the attacking third by superbly taking the ball with his back to goal then beating a man he'd then overdo it by trying to take on a man too many or just make an arse of the final ball.

It's not unlikely that he'll improve his end product with more first team football and if he did that I could see him being a success at a higher level, but at the moment I don't think a like for like change with Nesbitt taking his place is a downgrade.

[The Ghost of B A R P]

There won’t be a Morton supporter remotely unhappy with 14 points from 9, particularly after the events of a couple of weeks ago. The next month will set the tone for the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, here’s a view on how individual players have performed so far...

McAdams - If I was writing this yesterday, the verdict would have been entirely positive. He’s done much better than anybody would have expected and made some fantastic saves. Any keeper will make a rick now and again, especially at his age, so as long as it doesn’t impact on his confidence. In October, I was arguing we should bring in a first-choice keeper; would now be happy to see a cheap-ish, preferably experienced back-up.

Ledger - Nothing fancy, but definitely no ringer. A back four where he sits and lets Strapp get forward on the other side is absolutely fine by me.

McLean - This is where it gets interesting... Don’t want to tempt fate, but he’s looked this year every inch the experienced, dependable centre-half he very much didn’t last year, when he looked a (slow) five yards from the glue factory. Thought at first that was due to playing in a three, but has looked just as comfortable in a two. Hats off.

Fjortoft - Unfortunate to be out of the team and I hope that and the wee twitter moment aren’t a prelude to him being away in January. Has looked good when he’s played (with the exception of the stint at right-back at Raith) and will surely come back in when the games pile up for McLean.

McGinty - If it was hats off to McLean, it’s now time to be eating the hats... Most surprising turnaround of all from last year. The clueless perma-panic, with no touch and no positional sense, has mysteriously vanished, to be replaced with the player every club who’ve signed him presumably thought they were getting. Along with the three above, makes us totally dominant in the air and has looked pretty assured with the ball at his feet. Remarkable.

Strapp - One of our most reliable players at a very young age, great attitude, and plenty of ability. It doesn’t always go for him, but he still makes a contribution when not at his best. Might seem counter-intuitive in these Covid times, but we should be offering a three-year deal to keep him or benefit as and when he moves on.

McAlister - Another who has possibly looked better a year older. The tantrums are (mostly) gone and, although he’s quite often unremarkable, he’s now giving us that bit of stability a limited team need.

Lyon - Real ability, which we’re starting to see again after an early-season fear that Hopkin didn’t fancy him. Strength, running power, always takes the ball. Another we should be making an exception for and offering a longer-term deal.

Jacobs - Like McAlister, has done ok without standing out. Will no doubt come back in as the games rack up.

Muirhead - What can you say? Early season he looked like a comic imposter, useless up front and laughable as a ‘wing-back’. People (me included) were calling him one of the worst players ever to play for us... Suddenly, as a conventional left-mid, he looks like a perfectly reasonable option; still a bit wasteful and frustrating when he’s on the ball, but no more than any of the alternatives for that slot. Verdict: play him there or not at all.

Salkeld - Different case from Muirhead, but has also suffered from uncertainty as to his best position. His strengths are his running power and his attitude (and a wee knack for a goal), so conventional right-mid might just be the answer.

McPake - Looks like he’s now away and has been discussed above.

Orsi - Possibly our strangest player. At times, he looks as if he’s never seen a ball or, worse, doesn’t know where to run when he doesn’t have it. He does, however, annoy the f**k out of the defenders he’s up against and definitely relieves pressure on those behind him with the incessant running. If he could add a goal or two more regularly than he has done, he might just deserve the cult-status the yoof have prematurely accorded him...

On the fringes:

Nesbitt - Will now no doubt start more regularly in place of McPake... and maybe playing more centrally will be the making of him. Definitely has ability, but needs to make it count much more often.

McGuffie - Very little on which to judge him, but I’d like to see him getting a shot in place of Muirhead on the left. There’s ability there and we need to find out if he can do the basic defensive/shape things on top of that.

Omar - Isn’t a right-back. Isn’t a centre-mid. Whether he’s a credible attacking midfielder (left or central) at this level, we don’t know, cos we haven’t seen him there.

Maciver - Thought early season he might establish himself as a regular starter, but there’s something ineffective about him (despite decent strength and mobility). I’m going to take a punt and speculate that he might be a bit ‘too nice’ and will never have Orsi’s scrappy combativeness. Shame.

Colville - Beginning to think this isn’t the league for him. There’s ability there, but he’s too often on the fringes of games, not going to sit deep and hold, maybe not good enough to be an attacking option. In normal times, a player you’d be happy to have in the squad; in these times, I’ll reluctantly say he wouldn’t be missed.

Blues - McElhone at least seems to realise what Hopkin didn’t: he’s nowhere near a Championship player. Let him go and get a game in L1 or L2 and no hard feelings, eh?

I’d love to be able to say something about James Wallace... but I can’t. If we’re paying him any more than washers, well, we can’t afford him...

Overall, a couple of ‘thanks and goodbyes’, with a keeper and another defender coming in, and we’ll be absolutely fine.

Only thing that might change the course of the season would be pulling an upgrade at centre-forward in the loan market... but you could say that for just about every team in the league and I won’t be holding my breath.

Mon the fuckin Ton...

[Edited to add that I completely forgot about Gary Oliver... no further comment necessary.]

Edited December 31, 2020 by The Ghost of B A R P

[GiGi]

Get the popcorn out lads.

[Dunning1874]

Dave MacKinnon surely away as Chief Executive then. Another farcical soap opera episode to add to the many we've had in the last few years and this could turn very ugly, but ultimately in terms of the takeover getting him out the road now is a good thing and clears the way for MCT.

Considering the events of the last month or so, I imagine anyone who'd previously thought we might benefit from having someone not directly linked with Golden Casket remaining in position for a while to assist with the transition would have already changed their minds and thought MCT needed to clear the decks on day one post-takeover anyway. In case there was any lingering doubt about that, MacKinnon's alleged behaviour here has shown that he should be nowhere near the club.

[DAFC.]

What's the chances of this game given the go-ahead on Saturday? Can we just give you the inevitable 2-0 victory to save the hassle?

[Alibi]

On 30/12/2020 at 15:44, The Ghost of B A R P said:

There won’t be a Morton supporter remotely unhappy with 14 points from 9, particularly after the events of a couple of weeks ago. The next month will set the tone for the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, here’s a view on how individual players have performed so far...

McAdams - If I was writing this yesterday, the verdict would have been entirely positive. He’s done much better than anybody would have expected and made some fantastic saves. Any keeper will make a rick now and again, especially at his age, so as long as it doesn’t impact on his confidence. In October, I was arguing we should bring in a first-choice keeper; would now be happy to see a cheap-ish, preferably experienced back-up.

Ledger - Nothing fancy, but definitely no ringer. A back four where he sits and lets Strapp get forward on the other side is absolutely fine by me.

McLean - This is where it gets interesting... Don’t want to tempt fate, but he’s looked this year every inch the experienced, dependable centre-half he very much didn’t last year, when he looked a (slow) five yards from the glue factory. Thought at first that was due to playing in a three, but has looked just as comfortable in a two. Hats off.

Fjortoft - Unfortunate to be out of the team and I hope that and the wee twitter moment aren’t a prelude to him being away in January. Has looked good when he’s played (with the exception of the stint at right-back at Raith) and will surely come back in when the games pile up for McLean.

McGinty - If it was hats off to McLean, it’s now time to be eating the hats... Most surprising turnaround of all from last year. The clueless perma-panic, with no touch and no positional sense, has mysteriously vanished, to be replaced with the player every club who’ve signed him presumably thought they were getting. Along with the three above, makes us totally dominant in the air and has looked pretty assured with the ball at his feet. Remarkable.

Strapp - One of our most reliable players at a very young age, great attitude, and plenty of ability. It doesn’t always go for him, but he still makes a contribution when not at his best. Might seem counter-intuitive in these Covid times, but we should be offering a three-year deal to keep him or benefit as and when he moves on.

McAlister - Another who has possibly looked better a year older. The tantrums are (mostly) gone and, although he’s quite often unremarkable, he’s now giving us that bit of stability a limited team need.

Lyon - Real ability, which we’re starting to see again after an early-season fear that Hopkin didn’t fancy him. Strength, running power, always takes the ball. Another we should be making an exception for and offering a longer-term deal.

Jacobs - Like McAlister, has done ok without standing out. Will no doubt come back in as the games rack up.

Muirhead - What can you say? Early season he looked like a comic imposter, useless up front and laughable as a ‘wing-back’. People (me included) were calling him one of the worst players ever to play for us... Suddenly, as a conventional left-mid, he looks like a perfectly reasonable option; still a bit wasteful and frustrating when he’s on the ball, but no more than any of the alternatives for that slot. Verdict: play him there or not at all.

Salkeld - Different case from Muirhead, but has also suffered from uncertainty as to his best position. His strengths are his running power and his attitude (and a wee knack for a goal), so conventional right-mid might just be the answer.

McPake - Looks like he’s now away and has been discussed above.

Orsi - Possibly our strangest player. At times, he looks as if he’s never seen a ball or, worse, doesn’t know where to run when he doesn’t have it. He does, however, annoy the f**k out of the defenders he’s up against and definitely relieves pressure on those behind him with the incessant running. If he could add a goal or two more regularly than he has done, he might just deserve the cult-status the yoof have prematurely accorded him...

On the fringes:

Nesbitt - Will now no doubt start more regularly in place of McPake... and maybe playing more centrally will be the making of him. Definitely has ability, but needs to make it count much more often.

McGuffie - Very little on which to judge him, but I’d like to see him getting a shot in place of Muirhead on the left. There’s ability there and we need to find out if he can do the basic defensive/shape things on top of that.

Omar - Isn’t a right-back. Isn’t a centre-mid. Whether he’s a credible attacking midfielder (left or central) at this level, we don’t know, cos we haven’t seen him there.

Maciver - Thought early season he might establish himself as a regular starter, but there’s something ineffective about him (despite decent strength and mobility). I’m going to take a punt and speculate that he might be a bit ‘too nice’ and will never have Orsi’s scrappy combativeness. Shame.

Colville - Beginning to think this isn’t the league for him. There’s ability there, but he’s too often on the fringes of games, not going to sit deep and hold, maybe not good enough to be an attacking option. In normal times, a player you’d be happy to have in the squad; in these times, I’ll reluctantly say he wouldn’t be missed.

Blues - McElhone at least seems to realise what Hopkin didn’t: he’s nowhere near a Championship player. Let him go and get a game in L1 or L2 and no hard feelings, eh?

I’d love to be able to say something about James Wallace... but I can’t. If we’re paying him any more than washers, well, we can’t afford him...

Overall, a couple of ‘thanks and goodbyes’, with a keeper and another defender coming in, and we’ll be absolutely fine.

Only thing that might change the course of the season would be pulling an upgrade at centre-forward in the loan market... but you could say that for just about every team in the league and I won’t be holding my breath.

Mon the fuckin Ton...

[Edited to add that I completely forgot about Gary Oliver... no further comment necessary.]

Agree with most of that, but I think Colville is a decent player - he has a sort of slow-motion running style but he has good feet and a ferocious shot.  I'd far rather see him taking direct free kicks than Muirhead. I don't think we've seen the best of him and he maybe needs to be a bit more assertive, but there's definitely a player there.  I'd rate him higher than Salkeld for example, but maybe he gets dragged down somewhat by the low standard of our league.