The Greenock Morton Thread - It's Better Than Yours

[vikingTON]

Award him February's as well. 

[Jamie_M]

Big Dick's impending Manager of the Year award is currently sitting on a wobbly shelf.

[WeeDubsEnd]

He's pulled us up by the bootstrings you can't ask for anything else on the park... Its just crazy how quickly its turned around for us what is Sir Dougie sticking in the water?? 

[Rudolph Hucker]

It's a well-deserved award. Six games into his first managerial job - I wonder there's ever been an earlier Manager of the Month award made? 

[Dunning1874]

Gavin Reilly is player of the month as well. Will this juggernaut allow anyone else in the division to receive recognition again?

It's a no from me.

[vikingTON]

Sir Douglas Imrie recording more league points in six games (14), than Gus 'gormless tit' McPherson and his useless backroom staff managed in the entire first half of the season (13). 

Sir Douglas has recorded more league wins in six matches (4), than Gus 'useless tit' McPherson managed in 25. 

Grant him freedom of the city. 

[vikingTON]

On 07/02/2022 at 14:05, virginton said:

Award him February's as well. 

[Stellaboz]

What has Imrie done at Morton? Nobody can look at that squad and say aye, there's a team worth staying up. Is it style of play, motivation, kick up arse, other, bit of all?

[Dunning1874]

24 minutes ago, Stellaboz said:

What has Imrie done at Morton? Nobody can look at that squad and say aye, there's a team worth staying up. Is it style of play, motivation, kick up arse, other, bit of all?

All of the above. The change in mentality really can't be overstated going from a manager who shrugs his shoulders at defeats and says we couldn't possibly hope for better to one who is furious when we draw, but putting it down to the kick up the arse alone would cheapen it.

Every individual player there has improved, including the likes of Muirhead and Blues who'd never looked good enough for the Championship before he showed. He's getting an improvement out of individuals, he's an improvement tactically for the team as a whole. He's not dogmatically stuck to one style of play or formation and isn't slow to change it when it isn't working (unlike David Hopkin on both counts), but when he has made changes it's been through actually identifying something and trying to fix/exploit it rather than throwing shit at a wall and hoping something sticks (unlike Gus MacPherson).

It's still early days but the list of facts on the league form already is quite staggering:

Won more points in 6 games than we had in 18 before he arrived

More wins in 6 games than MacPherson managed in 24

Immediately taken the club on the best run of form in 5 years having taken over while sitting bottom of the league

The best start of any Morton manager in 20 years

That manager 20 years ago was John McCormack, who was managing in the Third Division; if you were to discount him on the grounds of being the only Morton manager to get the job at so low a level, Imrie has had the best first six league games of any manager in Morton’s history.

We still need to see how we'll respond when we inevitably suffer a league defeat and whether we can bounce back from it, while we might also have to deal with Imrie having a touchline ban once the SFA rule on his charges, but we've only got reasons for positivity so far. No one could have seen four wins and two draws as a realistic target for a new manager inheriting the shambles he did.

[AsimButtHitsASix]

It ain't tactical changes. Well not in formation anyway. Of all the ridiculous formations Gus tried by throwing his spaghetti hoops at a wall the 5-2-3 style nonsense was his worst and I had the fear when it was the one Imrie went with (some would call it 5-3-2 or 3-5-2 but Oliver isn't really doing a midfielder's job).

But he picked players for those positions and got them to do what they are good at. Even someone like Muirhead probably can't do a job in that formation but has been instrumental coming on and changing it up.

Apart from the obvious change in mentality it just seems to be asking players to do what they're good at instead of asking Scotland's best left back to play centre back, Zico Blues as an anchor man or Gozie and Reilly to rely on random punts into the corner.

[Mr.Blue]

2 hours ago, Stellaboz said:

What has Imrie done at Morton? Nobody can look at that squad and say aye, there's a team worth staying up. Is it style of play, motivation, kick up arse, other, bit of all?

Id argue that on paper it was a team worth staying up and McPherson just made a rip roaring c**t of it. Tactically inept and just clueless overall. He had no ambition, tried and failed to set low expectations and so much more. Imrie has come in and done the polar opposite. 

[Accies1]

On 20/12/2021 at 20:16, Accies1 said:

A lot of Accies fans wanted Imrie to take over from Rice. Its obviously an unknown quantity but what you, and every club in the bottom half,  need is a bit of dig and desire and I'm sure Dougie will give you that. I doubt he'll be as good as Alex Neil but I expect him to have a similar attitude to management as he did, if he's half as good as Neil you'll be onto a winner. 

I'll change my initial observation slightly. 

 

"Every Accies fan wishes Imrie took over from Rice."

[port-ton]

Team shape is a big thing for me too. Under gus we'd never get players in the box yet we'd still get caught out on the counter attack, especially at our own corners. 

Today there was a time where we had 5 players in and around their box yet when Queens broke we had 5 players back and thwarted the counter attack easily. 

We are no prime Barcelona but he's playing percentage football brilliantly under him. Set pieces, corners and throw ins are key to putting pressure on teams  and then in open play we get players forward in to dangerous positions so the opposition rarely get a break or the chance to feel comfortable at any point. 

Gus played percentage football too but it was hoof the ball to gozie or aimlessly down the line and hope something comes of it with 8 men behind the ball, an infinitely lower percentage chance of success than what we've been doing under Dougie. 

Still improvements to be made regarding shape, namely the sometimes gaping hole between our midfield and defence that's costing us but I have every faith given what I've seen that Dougie knows that as well as anybody. 

[AsimButtHitsASix]

1 hour ago, Mr.Blue said:

Id argue that on paper it was a team worth staying up and McPherson just made a rip roaring c**t of it. 

As useless as Gus was I never thought this team would stay up without some big changes. The fact Imrie's managed this with, really, only on change at right back has been phenomonal



I understand that's not going to stay that way forever but, if we kept that up, we'd finish the season on 55 points which would be enough for the play offs in the last three years. I know we're not gonna manage that but the way Raith and Caley Thistle are playing I keep thinking otherwise.

 

[vikingTON]

6 hours ago, Stellaboz said:

What has Imrie done at Morton? Nobody can look at that squad and say aye, there's a team worth staying up. Is it style of play, motivation, kick up arse, other, bit of all?

Your astonishment is entirely valid - nobody can look at our squad and see an obviously good team. So here's my explanation: 

Gus 'useless tit' McPherson set everyone behind the ball and just shelled it to Ugwu (if fit) with little support and hoped for the best. We would then likely concede 1/2 goals at most, which would stop us from winning because we were creating nothing from open play. 2 wins in 18 matches demonstrates this. We were shit, but organised, turgid shit.

The Imrie Revolution is based on nothing more complex than getting lots of players in the opposition third/penalty box whenever possible. Which sounds ludicrously straightforward, yet our previous, negative tit did the exact opposite. Our wing backs now play as high up the park as possible and launch excellent crosses into the box. Strapp should have got assists for at least two superb crosses today. Meanwhile, Ugwu now has two or three different options whenever he gets on the ball. The midfield three (especially Blues) are ready to support and break beyond the forward line, which would never have happened before. That's where the winner came from today. 

Sir Douglas is certainly getting a lot out of a limited team, but it's not just some Mr. Motivator trick. He's (mostly) winning the tactical battle, which makes up for the weaknesses in a squad that still isn't outstanding. 

Edited February 13, 2022 by vikingTON

[Alibi]

When you consider that Mcpherson had Lewis Strapp and Reece Lyon on the bench rather than starting, you can see one reason why were were doing so badly.  both players are now back in the team and playing outstandingly well most games.  Not just that , but players like Blues and Muirhead, who were regarded as pretty poor, are now showing what they can do.  The improvement in Blues in particular has been amazing.  I think a lot of that is being used to do things that they can do rather than just running around aimlessly.  The addition of a decent right back has also opened up a new avenue from which to launch attacks.  Imrie has re-tuned the orchestra, and he's conducting his own symphony.  As a bonus, the players and the fans aren't at loggerheads any more - They are putting on a show for us every week.  Long may it continue.

[Paisley Ton]

Yes all looks good.

DI has simply done the basics. GOOD.

Played players in roles suited to them, give them a formation and tatics that work. Install confidence. RESULT!!!

Gus put together  a reasonable squad, set them up wrong and was very negative allowing weaker teams to defeat us and lose the fans connection.

Saying all that, anybody watching the Partick v DU cup tie will see he has a new challenge and puzzle to solve.

That pitch is not fit for planting spuds in.

Weather suggests 9 out of the next 10 days will be raining, game has no chance. While they won't do it the SFA should rearrange game for end of March. By which time we might catch the 5th placed team.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Paisley Ton
Sssssss

[Ispolis]

On 12/02/2022 at 18:52, Stellaboz said:

What has Imrie done at Morton? Nobody can look at that squad and say aye, there's a team worth staying up. Is it style of play, motivation, kick up arse, other, bit of all?

He has made us beautiful again and masters of all in the Championship. The guy has even organised kebab pies in the Cowshed.

[vikingTON]

Would like at least one careful review of those kebab pies before trying one myself. 

[The Ghost of B A R P]

3 hours ago, Alibi said:

  I think a lot of that is being asked (?) to do things that they can do rather than just running around aimlessly. 

 

1 hour ago, Paisley Ton said:

DI has simply done the basics. GOOD.

Yes... Imrie has done nothing more than what you would expect any decent manager at any level to do: set standards, simplify things, demand aggression and running.

It almost doesn't matter how you set up (within limits): players lacking confidence will look shite in any formation, whereas guys who have a clear idea of what's being asked of them (and an equally clear idea of what won't be tolerated) will look ok as long as the set-up isn't wildly wrong.

It will be genuinely interesting to see how far this will take him/us. Beyond that, the prospect of Imrie in charge of better players is pretty mouth-watering...