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The Greenock Morton Thread - It's Better Than Yours


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On 02/09/2022 at 17:33, gmfc said:

I hope it does not bite him on the arse.

Lyon and Strapp were the clubs most valuable playing assets not so long ago. . Imrie’s inability to manage and develop them is a huge negative on his CV in my opinion.  Coaches who can set up and manage workaday drones and win percentage games  for a season or two are fairly common but only the best can really develop talent. Imrie falls well short of that at the moment. 

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If he doesn’t get the bodies in this week, Imrie should really think about changing the shape until we do.

We were 3 v 2 in the middle yesterday, but never really established any control. Blues was the clear weak link.

And from a goal down it was mostly lumping it to a centre-forward who is nothing in the air, abandoned by the two so-called wide players. You don’t win games with only eight players contributing, in any formation.

I’ve defended both Blues and Muirhead as reasonable squad players, but we’ll struggle if they start more often than they’re on the bench.

We could do worse than King - who again put one or two more experienced players to shame yesterday - and McGregor left and right mid, with two up top.

Measure of how poor we were is that the no. 1 candidate to partner Quitongo at this stage would be… Lithgow. Painful but true.

Edited after watching highlights and Imrie’s post-match: 1. I hope to f**k he’s saying different things in private than in public; 2. That second goal is a fuckin disgrace.

Edited by The Ghost of B A R P
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The 3 v 2 was working well in the first half because Crawford was able to get behind their midfield and link up with the forwards. Ayr's back four didn't know how to deal with that threat and it gave us much more threat from midfield than we had before - as well as a better press. The first goal* changed all that. We stopped managing to find passes into the forwards/Crawford, and Blues just hid from the game entirely which effectively left us 1 v 2 in the middle of the park. 

The team is well organised and competitive but there are a few players who are simply not of the required quality. That's going to be the crucial difference between a good and mediocre season - or possibly worse if Cove get their act together. 

 

 

 

 

* Actually a bit before the first goal, as the game has already become scrappy and we had stopped playing. 

Edited by vikingTON
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I expect I’ll get some stick for this but  I find the state of the squad at the minute very disappointing, and think that Imrie should take most of the criticism for that.

I preface this by saying I’d have given him a new, four-year contract and that I recognise the rollercoaster he seemingly had to endure around his budget this summer.

But I just don’t think it’s acceptable to have 15 outfield players in the squad. I agree we shouldn’t take on wages for the sake of it, but:

- there are avenues to recruiting players beyond Livi outcasts and guys you used to play with/against (I.e. an area for development for Imrie is his networking); and

- for all that Garrity needs playing time and that Lyon deserved to be dropped, they are surely better sitting on our bench up until such times as we have replacements.

Otherwise you’re left to call on two defenders, McGrattan or McGregor (only) when you’re 0-2 down …

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Our organisation goes so far out the window at the second goal it’s impossible to know who’s most at fault: Baird for not sticking with his man after tracking him out wide; Muirhead for not tracking the full-back; Gillespie or Blues for not coming over to cover.

It looks as though Pignatiello does very little, but he’s actually stuffed and they get the easiest two on one you’ll see at this level. Then O’Connor gets beaten to the punch in the box, but that’s the last in a chain of things that could and should have prevented the goal… so he’s probably getting it, where others have let him down.

I thought Baird and O’Connor generally defended the box pretty well; lots of question marks about the contributions of some of those in front of them, which makes it hard to say we’re ‘well organised’. It doesn’t take ability to do the unglamorous things when we don’t have the ball; it takes concentration and a basic desire. I don’t think either Kabia or Muirhead have that (and Blues’ head was gone after the first goal).

Said after the loans out that we need not only a striker and a midfielder, but another wide player; even more convinced of that after Saturday. The three above should all be on the bench, with a clear message that they won’t be in the team unless they can be relied on to make a much bigger contribution, with and without the ball. That’s how successful teams generally work. Guys trundling back out in the starting eleven week after week following sub-par performances is our biggest problem.

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2 minutes ago, Morton Supporter said:

I expect I’ll get some stick for this but  I find the state of the squad at the minute very disappointing, and think that Imrie should take most of the criticism for that.

I preface this by saying I’d have given him a new, four-year contract and that I recognise the rollercoaster he seemingly had to endure around his budget this summer.

But I just don’t think it’s acceptable to have 15 outfield players in the squad. I agree we shouldn’t take on wages for the sake of it, but:

- there are avenues to recruiting players beyond Livi outcasts and guys you used to play with/against (I.e. an area for development for Imrie is his networking); and

- for all that Garrity needs playing time and that Lyon deserved to be dropped, they are surely better sitting on our bench up until such times as we have replacements.

Otherwise you’re left to call on two defenders, McGrattan or McGregor (only) when you’re 0-2 down …

You’re right. Imrie has chosen to go down this route and has to take the responsibility, at least until it ‘comes off’

I’m broadly supportive of the desire to get quality rather than quantity, but the manager takes the rap for it if it’s still costing you points in September.

Onus is on him to show that his approach is the right one… I hope he does that sooner rather than later (we’ll get bodied in the wilds of Stenhousemuir next week with that same squad).

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Good but somewhat surprising signing.

Pretty sure Dougie moved Pignatiello into midfield a few times during the preseason/league cup games, so I wonder if Carlo/Grimshaw will be used there to get Cameron Blues to f**k away from the team. I think Pignatiello has been pretty good for us so far. 

 

Now if we could get a couple signings for up the other end of the pitch that'd be great.

 

Edited by #Gary
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4 hours ago, #Gary said:

Good but somewhat surprising signing.

Pretty sure Dougie moved Pignatiello into midfield a few times during the preseason/league cup games, so I wonder if Carlo/Grimshaw will be used there to get Cameron Blues to f**k away from the team. I think Pignatiello has been pretty good for us so far. 

 

Now if we could get a couple signings for up the other end of the pitch that'd be great.

 

Grimshaw going straight into midfield in place of Blues makes the most sense. A Gillespie, Grimshaw, Crawford first choice midfield three is a big upgrade on what we had a few weeks ago.

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On 16/09/2022 at 01:13, Paisley Ton said:

Have I been on holiday?

What's the update on Strapp!

Did he not sign an improved offer. Thought he was being taken off a few times with undisclosed injury maybe.

Not a starter!

Is it just Dougie or I have I missed the news?

That’s a head scratcher for me too. Our best player on the bench every week!? If King is so good why not fit them both into the team as Steve Clarke did with Tierney and Robertson? You have to respect Imrie’s knowledge and experience and assume he will know best, which might explain the acceptance or apathy on here, but with this conundrum it looks so obvious a solution to move King forward to accommodate Strapp. So there must be something wrong or Strapp is carrying an injury. We have Blues and Kabia on his side of the pitch! Does Kabia’s loan deal mean he has to play every game? We’re struggling to get the quality of players we need for this level, King has shown his versatility and yet Dougie still decides we can compete without one of the division’s best players? Please fix it or explain it Dougie!

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On 17/09/2022 at 13:29, DreamOakTree1 said:

That’s a head scratcher for me too. Our best player on the bench every week!? If King is so good why not fit them both into the team as Steve Clarke did with Tierney and Robertson? You have to respect Imrie’s knowledge and experience and assume he will know best, which might explain the acceptance or apathy on here, but with this conundrum it looks so obvious a solution to move King forward to accommodate Strapp. So there must be something wrong or Strapp is carrying an injury. We have Blues and Kabia on his side of the pitch! Does Kabia’s loan deal mean he has to play every game? We’re struggling to get the quality of players we need for this level, King has shown his versatility and yet Dougie still decides we can compete without one of the division’s best players? Please fix it or explain it Dougie!

Of course he ain’t going to fix it. Anyone who thinks two home defeats in a row is a “one off”, gets tactically outwitted by Dick Campbell yet again, can’t coax performances out of the club’s most valuable assets in Lyon and Strapp and favours cronies to ability is probably better off running the Tory Party than managing Morton. 

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2 hours ago, Branch Ton said:

Of course he ain’t going to fix it. Anyone who thinks two home defeats in a row is a “one off”, gets tactically outwitted by Dick Campbell yet again, can’t coax performances out of the club’s most valuable assets in Lyon and Strapp and favours cronies to ability is probably better off running the Tory Party than managing Morton. 

Hot pish.

Name the ‘cronies’ please.

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On 18/09/2022 at 16:12, Branch Ton said:

Of course he ain’t going to fix it. Anyone who thinks two home defeats in a row is a “one off”, gets tactically outwitted by Dick Campbell yet again, can’t coax performances out of the club’s most valuable assets in Lyon and Strapp and favours cronies to ability is probably better off running the Tory Party than managing Morton. 

Having a go at a guy who’s not even managed a year for being ‘outwitted by’ (not even saying that happened just quoting this guy) the most experienced manager in the Scottish lower leagues? No way
 

😂

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On 18/09/2022 at 16:12, Branch Ton said:

Of course he ain’t going to fix it. Anyone who thinks two home defeats in a row is a “one off”, gets tactically outwitted by Dick Campbell yet again, can’t coax performances out of the club’s most valuable assets in Lyon and Strapp and favours cronies to ability is probably better off running the Tory Party than managing Morton. 

Can you f**k off with the tories as well?

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