The Greenock Morton Thread - It's Better Than Yours

[The Ghost of B A R P]

Agree with all of the above on Ledger: he’s the classic Steady Eddie at centre-back; RB only in emergencies, please.

Will reserve judgement on McAdams until we see the replacement*... and until we see where he goes: if he signs for e.g. Dundee for more money, fine; but if he signs for Ayr for more money, it’ll be further confirmation that squad-building is once again going to be very difficult.

[* And let’s hope we don’t repeat last season’s moronic gamble on going with one keeper.]

[gmfc]

28 minutes ago, The Ghost of B A R P said:

Agree with all of the above on Ledger: he’s the classic Steady Eddie at centre-back; RB only in emergencies, please.

Will reserve judgement on McAdams until we see the replacement*... and until we see where he goes: if he signs for e.g. Dundee for more money, fine; but if he signs for Ayr for more money, it’ll be further confirmation that squad-building is once again going to be very difficult.

[* And let’s hope we don’t repeat last season’s moronic gamble on going with one keeper.]

The last part of your post will not happen McPherson was more or less scathing on that debacle.

[vikingTON]

If we could get a left-sided version of Ledger to cover Strapp's position/compete for a centre back spot then we'd have the defence sorted. 

There's definitely better out there than McAdams but it'll take a good eye and a bit of luck to land one.

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

[The Ghost of B A R P]

Mixed picture elsewhere in terms of squad-building, but some movement at Cappielow would be very welcome.

Immediate priorities: goalkeeper, centre-mid,  centre-forward, two wide attacking players (all to come in as potential starters).

Next: back-up keeper, left-sided defender (plus this weird feeling I have that McPherson might sign another right-back).

That would give us a core squad of 18, with youth as back-up.

Let's see if they can make any sense at all of the 'quality over quantity' plan.

[Dunning1874]

Aye, obviously we have no idea what MacPherson's plan is in terms of formation, if he's going to revert to a back three, persist with the 4-3-3 of the playoffs or something else, but looking at where we are just now in each position and what the cover is:

Goalkeepers - Wylie

Full/wing backs - Strapp, Hynes (Ledger)

Centre backs - Ledger, McLean, Lithgow

Central midfield - Jacobs, Lyon, Blues, McGrattan, Garrity

Wide midfielders/wingers - none

Forwards - Muirhead, Oliver, Easdale

This is assuming Butler and Colville are away, as the only players we haven't heard about yet.

First choice goalkeeper, a centre back who can also cover left back, ideally to start ahead of McLean & Lithgow, a couple of central midfielders (effectively one a McGinn replacement and one a Colville replacement), two or three wide options and two centre forwards better than Oliver and Muirhead.

That'd give 18/19 plus the four youngsters as cover. That should do, but if there's anything more in the budget after that then full back and central midfield cover (the further down the pecking order Blues goes the better). I'd be fine having Wylie as cover but if we want to get him out on loan to a decent level then a second choice keeper who could double as a coach is fine. Provided that wage is being spent on someone who is a) actually a qualified coach and b) actually fit enough to sit on the bench, neither of which applies to Butler.

I do still wonder if Strapp and/or Lyon might be sold this summer. Removing two of the four players in the squad as it stands who are undoubtedly good enough to start every week would leave no margin for error in what's already a massive rebuild.

[vikingTON]

Lyon's current transfer value is zero. 

[madton]

Aye can't see anyone paying money for Lyon which I'm happy with as we all know what he can do on his day. Strapp possibly, but not sure the few clubs who can afford him(in Scotland) will actually want/need him. Of course he could go down south.

Fully expect both to be here next season.

 

 

 

[Dunning1874]

Yeah the odds of anyone offering a fee that would actually make selling either of them worthwhile are miniscule, especially in Lyon's case. I wouldn't like to think either of them would, but there is the concern that one of them pulls a Bachirou and we lose them for a token fee anyway.

[Jamie_M]

Aye, Morton have done a great job lately of ensuring nobody will come in for our assets - benching Lyon for most of the season in favour of Blues and latterly having McGinty at left back with Strapp either out of position or also bombed out.

[#Gary]

2 hours ago, Dunning1874 said:

Yeah the odds of anyone offering a fee that would actually make selling either of them worthwhile are miniscule, especially in Lyon's case. I wouldn't like to think either of them would, but there is the concern that one of them pulls a Bachirou and we lose them for a token fee anyway.

Heard McPherson put the feelers out recently..

[The Ghost of B A R P]

5 hours ago, Dunning1874 said:

Aye, obviously we have no idea what MacPherson's plan is in terms of formation, if he's going to revert to a back three, persist with the 4-3-3 of the playoffs or something else, but looking at where we are just now in each position and what the cover is:

Goalkeepers - Wylie

Full/wing backs - Strapp, Hynes (Ledger)

Centre backs - Ledger, McLean, Lithgow

Central midfield - Jacobs, Lyon, Blues, McGrattan, Garrity

Wide midfielders/wingers - none

Forwards - Muirhead, Oliver, Easdale

This is assuming Butler and Colville are away, as the only players we haven't heard about yet.

First choice goalkeeper, a centre back who can also cover left back, ideally to start ahead of McLean & Lithgow, a couple of central midfielders (effectively one a McGinn replacement and one a Colville replacement), two or three wide options and two centre forwards better than Oliver and Muirhead.

That'd give 18/19 plus the four youngsters as cover. That should do, but if there's anything more in the budget after that then full back and central midfield cover (the further down the pecking order Blues goes the better). I'd be fine having Wylie as cover but if we want to get him out on loan to a decent level then a second choice keeper who could double as a coach is fine. Provided that wage is being spent on someone who is a) actually a qualified coach and b) actually fit enough to sit on the bench, neither of which applies to Butler.

I do still wonder if Strapp and/or Lyon might be sold this summer. Removing two of the four players in the squad as it stands who are undoubtedly good enough to start every week would leave no margin for error in what's already a massive rebuild.

I think we'll get one more in centre-mid and I'll be (pleasantly) surprised if the additional left-sided defender is a starter. Still think there's as much chance of a first-choice right-back coming in (although it would be nowhere near my top priority).

Up front, I'm counting Muirhead as a 'wide forward'... we need two more of them, plus one central striker who makes Oliver the guy who comes off the bench more often than not.*

We finished last season with maybe 14 players who had a credible chance of starting. Won't be surprised to see us starting this one in the same way, with a handful there to sit on the bench and cover for injuries, plus boys.

I think we'd all rather that than the bloated nonsense we lavished our modest budget on last year.

 

* This is all predicated on him sticking with 4-3-3; surely that lesson has been learned.

[Dunning1874]

I reckon that if he isn't planning to make Hynes a starter, or at least try him there in the League Cup to see how he does initially, he'll just use Ledger at right back. I hope that's not the case though.

Edited June 16, 2021 by Dunning1874

[The Ghost of B A R P]

Aye, seems mental that a guy on a two-year contract effectively has a four-game audition in his position. If he is no more than back-up material (and you have to think that's more likely than not), we'll need to make a signing there.

What are the odds on the assistant manager's boy fitting the bill? And has anyone seen him play?

 

[DreamOakTree1]

Ross Millen looked okay to me in the live tv matches I saw him in, not as good as Ledger though. I’ve got a feeling Gus could be looking at playing 3 at the back with Hynes and Strapp as wing backs, or at least having it as an option. 
I’m not sure he’s looking for two better strikers than Muirhead and Oliver, as he’s just signed them both up. If he’s going for “quality over quantity” then he couldn’t afford to waste two of his limited number of signing options to then replace them. 
We appear to have quite a solid defensive foundation in place for this level, albeit with a decent goalkeeper needed to complete it. 

[The Ghost of B A R P]

2 hours ago, DreamOakTree1 said:

Ross Millen looked okay to me in the live tv matches I saw him in, not as good as Ledger though. I’ve got a feeling Gus could be looking at playing 3 at the back with Hynes and Strapp as wing backs, or at least having it as an option. 
I’m not sure he’s looking for two better strikers than Muirhead and Oliver, as he’s just signed them both up. If he’s going for “quality over quantity” then he couldn’t afford to waste two of his limited number of signing options to then replace them. 
We appear to have quite a solid defensive foundation in place for this level, albeit with a decent goalkeeper needed to complete it. 

Muirhead isn't a 'striker'... he showed last season he has no idea how to play centre-forward.

If he plays -- and he very well might -- it should be high up on the left hand side with a wee bit of license to wander. That's where he was playing when I first saw him for Hearts... at which point most people thought the guy had a real future in football.

We absolutely need to sign someone who's better through the middle than Oliver; and we absolutely need to sign credible (i.e. better) replacements for McGuffie and Nesbitt. If we don't get that right, no amount of 'solid defensive formation' will see us finish above 9th.

[Tri-TON]

Heard McPherson put the feelers out recently..

My mate works with his mother in law. He's in Greenock for the next 2 weeks 'visiting'...and he hates Nottingham.

Let's bring in Erik Paartalu on a loan deal too whilst we are at it.

[madton]

Must be on a right good salary down there, doubt  £500 quid a week will tempt him. He might prefer to sit it out and take a wage even though he's free to leave .

Be a great signing if we pulled it off, maybe a loan deal would suit all parties.

 

[vikingTON]

If he has one year left on his contract then it makes no sense for Nottingham Forest to send him out on loan; they'd get no benefit from future value and covering £500 a week wages is meaningless small change for them.

The onus would be on Bachirou to mutually terminate his contract if he wants to rebuild his career, but I doubt he'll have entirely dropped off the radar. 

The most likely outcome in that scenario would be six weeks of training and playing as a trialist before snaking us for Dundee or Kilmarnock. 

[DreamOakTree1]

12 hours ago, The Ghost of B A R P said:

Muirhead isn't a 'striker'... he showed last season he has no idea how to play centre-forward.

If he plays -- and he very well might -- it should be high up on the left hand side with a wee bit of license to wander. That's where he was playing when I first saw him for Hearts... at which point most people thought the guy had a real future in football.

We absolutely need to sign someone who's better through the middle than Oliver; and we absolutely need to sign credible (i.e. better) replacements for McGuffie and Nesbitt. If we don't get that right, no amount of 'solid defensive formation' will see us finish above 9th.

I’ll need to bow to your superior knowledge of Muirhead. It was Gus’s referring to him as “excellent” in the striking role after the first game against Airdrie that made me think that after the second game that Gus re-signed him with that role in mind. He also scored 5 in his last 8 games, which were spread out over this year, as he hardly started a game. My reference to a solid foundation is that’s it’s a good way to start building a squad. I realise we need to add to the creative side, although I’m unsure why Gus re-signed Oliver if he’s planning to replace him before our first game.