Rudolph Hucker Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 (edited) I see Ladbrokes have us at 4/1 to be relegated automatically. Going by our current squad and the fact we have Jim Duffy as our manager I'm quite tempted to put something on that Aye, just you do that. Have to say, the amount of negativity on here weeks before a ball is kicked is depressing. There isn't much transfer activity going on anywhere else in the division so it ain't just us who aren't vastly increasing/improving their squad, but all that seems to do is encourage the anti-Duffy faction on here to bump their gums a bit more. Like it or not, we have Duffy in charge until his contract runs out or his gaffers see fit to bin him. That's neither a statement of support nor one of criticism, it's a simple statement of the facts. Nothing we can do about it. Be good if some on here could just accept that for what it is and shut the hell up. Just saying, like...... Edited June 30, 2015 by Rudolph Hucker -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Aye, just you do that. Have to say, the amount of negativity on here weeks before a ball is kicked is depressing. There isn't much transfer activity going on anywhere else in the division so it ain't just us who aren't vastly increasing/improving their squad, but all that seems to do is encourage the anti-Duffy faction on here to bump their gums a bit more. Like it or not, we have Duffy in charge until his contract runs out or his gaffers see fit to bin him. That's neither a statement of support nor one of criticism, it's a simple statement of the facts. Nothing we can do about it. Be good if some on here could just accept that for what it is and shut the hell up. Just saying, like...... While I agree that there's no need to be negative about the lack of signings so far considering how long we have until the season starts, to be fair that's not the only thing that's causing the negativity. The assistant manager said in public that there would only be three or four signings, and that was before the arrival of McKeown: I think knowing what we do about the standard of this division and the quality of our squad, everyone other than the management team can see that if we only sign another two or three players we're in for an absolutely dreadful season. Still, I'm holding out hope that that comment by McPherson was merely picked up incorrectly and come the end of July we'll have added the minimum five players still required to make this squad competitive. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBTON74 Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I would rather have a squad that knew each other & knows how each other plays rather than a team that has been built from scratch & dont have any kind of chemistry between them at all. Alright the transfer activity isnt exciting at the moment but i am pretty sure Duffy has got many options in mind of who he wants to sign. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGoon Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 It's difficult in that we played some horrific football last season. Yes, it was an entirely new squad, but even towards the latter stages of the season the squad looked lost and without any tactical knowhow,, thankfully, the sheer and utter hopelessness of our opposition helped us through. The squad may know each other better, and we may have a few new faces, but if Duffy continues to do whatever it was he did last season, I worry, a lot, about our chances. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoonTon Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 While I agree that there's no need to be negative about the lack of signings so far considering how long we have until the season starts, to be fair that's not the only thing that's causing the negativity. The assistant manager said in public that there would only be three or four signings, and that was before the arrival of McKeown: I think knowing what we do about the standard of this division and the quality of our squad, everyone other than the management team can see that if we only sign another two or three players we're in for an absolutely dreadful season. Still, I'm holding out hope that that comment by McPherson was merely picked up incorrectly and come the end of July we'll have added the minimum five players still required to make this squad competitive. If we were going to put together the squad you're looking for then we wouldn't have re-signed so many players. We're essentially looking to replace Milo, Caldwell, and McManus. Barr and McKeown have already replaced McCluskey and Crighton. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colkitto Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 If we were going to put together the squad you're looking for then we wouldn't have re-signed so many players. We're essentially looking to replace Milo, Caldwell, and McManus. Barr and McKeown have already replaced McCluskey and Crighton. That's the way I see it too. We'll bring in another 3 possibly/hopefully 4 players. As it stands... Gaston Kilday & Russell will be our full-backs. McKeown & Lamie as our centre backs Forbes, Tidser, McKee creative midfielders with either O'Ware or Miller as defensive midfielders. S McCluskey and Barr as our wide men on either side of the pitch Peaso up front with Scullion as back up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) If we go into the season with two centre backs who were average at best in holding midfield in a vastly inferior league as our only options there and Kilday as our only right back, we're going down. If Duffy genuinely doesn't have any intention of signing a holding midfielder then no criticism that's been made of him over the course of his time in charge of Morton comes close to being harsh enough. It would be an act of managerial incompetence worse than releasing Brian Wake to sign Donovan Simmonds, or keeping David McGurn out of the team in favour of Craig Coyle/Paul Mathers/Lee Robinson. As much as I'm no fan of Duffy, I'm doubt that he can possibly be that stupid: you'd have to know nothing about football to think that we can get away without signing a holding midfielder here. O'Ware and Miller lack the positional sense to play the role, the lack of protection the defence got from the midfield last season was hugely significant in losing eleven times in League One as our midfield was commonly over-run by teams in that league. The gap between League One and the Championship is huge and if they struggled in that division with our midfield often becoming a shapeless mess and the defence being exposed as a result as our opponents saw that weakness and exploited it easily, what's going to happen to us in a far superior league? We have four centre backs at the club already. I'm not convinced they're going to be good enough but we have four players who can cover the two positions in the starting eleven. If we genuinely only sign three more players and one of them's a centre back while we have no holding midfielders then Duffy's far more incompetent than anyone feared. Edited July 1, 2015 by Dunning1874 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Diamond Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 New owner paying a visit? http://www.inverclydenow.com/photostream/14831-abramovich-superyacht-anchors-off-Greenock 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colkitto Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 If we go into the season with two centre backs who were average at best in holding midfield in a vastly inferior league as our only options there and Kilday as our only right back, we're going down. If Duffy genuinely doesn't have any intention of signing a holding midfielder then no criticism that's been made of him over the course of his time in charge of Morton comes close to being harsh enough. It would be an act of managerial incompetence worse than releasing Brian Wake to sign Donovan Simmonds, or keeping David McGurn out of the team in favour of Craig Coyle/Paul Mathers/Lee Robinson. As much as I'm no fan of Duffy, I'm doubt that he can possibly be that stupid: you'd have to know nothing about football to think that we can get away without signing a holding midfielder here. O'Ware and Miller lack the positional sense to play the role, the lack of protection the defence got from the midfield last season was hugely significant in losing eleven times in League One as our midfield was commonly over-run by teams in that league. The gap between League One and the Championship is huge and if they struggled in that division with our midfield often becoming a shapeless mess and the defence being exposed as a result as our opponents saw that weakness and exploited it easily, what's going to happen to us in a far superior league? We have four centre backs at the club already. I'm not convinced they're going to be good enough but we have four players who can cover the two positions in the starting eleven. If we genuinely only sign three more players and one of them's a centre back while we have no holding midfielders then Duffy's far more incompetent than anyone feared. If the squad is going to be tight then we should have moved more players on at the end of last season. We should not have signed both Miller & O'Ware and made room for a proper holding midfielder. Miller did admittedly come on to a better game in the last few games of the season, but O'Ware has proved himself in the Championship and is more versatile. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoonTon Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 If we go into the season with two centre backs who were average at best in holding midfield in a vastly inferior league as our only options there and Kilday as our only right back, we're going down. If Duffy genuinely doesn't have any intention of signing a holding midfielder then no criticism that's been made of him over the course of his time in charge of Morton comes close to being harsh enough. It would be an act of managerial incompetence worse than releasing Brian Wake to sign Donovan Simmonds, or keeping David McGurn out of the team in favour of Craig Coyle/Paul Mathers/Lee Robinson. As much as I'm no fan of Duffy, I'm doubt that he can possibly be that stupid: you'd have to know nothing about football to think that we can get away without signing a holding midfielder here. O'Ware and Miller lack the positional sense to play the role, the lack of protection the defence got from the midfield last season was hugely significant in losing eleven times in League One as our midfield was commonly over-run by teams in that league. The gap between League One and the Championship is huge and if they struggled in that division with our midfield often becoming a shapeless mess and the defence being exposed as a result as our opponents saw that weakness and exploited it easily, what's going to happen to us in a far superior league? We have four centre backs at the club already. I'm not convinced they're going to be good enough but we have four players who can cover the two positions in the starting eleven. If we genuinely only sign three more players and one of them's a centre back while we have no holding midfielders then Duffy's far more incompetent than anyone feared. Not this Brian Wake stuff again. The guy played a blinder once or twice every few months but he couldn't be relied upon week in, week out. For all that Grady had next to no tactical imagination, Tidser and Witteveen were very good signings that really helped us out that season. I think at least 2 out of Lamie, Miller, Kilday, and McKee should have been let go. I'm not sure what purpose Miller will serve especially. I'm not, though, in complete agreement about how dire it will be for us. Many of the goals we conceded last season were simply to do with how poorly we marked in the box, that shouldn't be underestimated (this improved a little bit as the season went on). We never played a five man midfield at any point last season - you can talk about the holding midfield player not helping but there were bigger issues than that at times (i.e. our 4 players being overrun, especially when playing with 2 out and out wingers). Not every team needs that type of holding midfield player. As long as you have the right combination of coverage from a midfield 3, and the defence is good enough, then it's not always necessary. Tidser, Fred, and Hardie worked very well together, but none of them were restricted to such a defensive role. I'm also not convinced about the quality of some of the teams that we will be competing against. In saying that, we need either a centre half or defensive midfield player, ideally someone who can play both roles at this level. We could make either work for us. And add a winger/forward and a striker and that will be us. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Not this Brian Wake stuff again. The guy played a blinder once or twice every few months but he couldn't be relied upon week in, week out. For all that Grady had next to no tactical imagination, Tidser and Witteveen were very good signings that really helped us out that season. I think at least 2 out of Lamie, Miller, Kilday, and McKee should have been let go. I'm not sure what purpose Miller will serve especially. I'm not, though, in complete agreement about how dire it will be for us. Many of the goals we conceded last season were simply to do with how poorly we marked in the box, that shouldn't be underestimated (this improved a little bit as the season went on). We never played a five man midfield at any point last season - you can talk about the holding midfield player not helping but there were bigger issues than that at times (i.e. our 4 players being overrun, especially when playing with 2 out and out wingers). Not every team needs that type of holding midfield player. As long as you have the right combination of coverage from a midfield 3, and the defence is good enough, then it's not always necessary. Tidser, Fred, and Hardie worked very well together, but none of them were restricted to such a defensive role. I'm also not convinced about the quality of some of the teams that we will be competing against. In saying that, we need either a centre half or defensive midfield player, ideally someone who can play both roles at this level. We could make either work for us. And add a winger/forward and a striker and that will be us. I agree that not every team needs an out and out holding player, but with the midfielders we currently have we do. The three you mention there worked because Bachirou and Hardie could share the defensive duties, but none of the central midfielders we have can really contribute defensively as it is. Tidser can tackle if a player happens to run right at him but he can't track a run while Forbes and McKee have no defensive attributes at all, and all three are painfully slow. Then there's Pepper, who can do the headless chicken act and charge around into tackles, but if he's asked to actually make defending a proper part of his game and have some positional discipline with it then he'll be completely lost. Whoever's playing in holding midfield is going to be doing the vast majority of defensive work by themselves rather than sharing it with whoever they're in there with. I do see your point about it being a four that was overrun at times last season whereas it'll be a five this season*, but I still can't see O'Ware or Miller adjusting when you bear in mind that there's going to be much more defending to do, as we're now a bottom half team everyone views as beatable rather than title challengers that some sides will sit in against. If they couldn't handle the role in League One - and while they both had a couple of great performances they had more poor games than good ones there - they're not going to do it in the Championship regardless of having an extra midfielder beside them. *Well, we can confidently assume it'll be a five. Tidser and Forbes are too immobile to work as a two in the middle, if he puts a holding midfielder in there beside one of them and shunts the other out wide he's completely wasting one of our best players while exposing the full-back behind them, dropping them isn't an option unless one has a major loss of form so five in midfield is the only real option to get the best out of them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerrdavidson95 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Abramovich brings his yacht to Greenock and 'he's buying Morton'. I bring my boat to Greenock, twice, and not a word of it. Raging doesn't cover it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsimButtHitsASix Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I know a coupla Greenock Junior fans who were certain ye were gonna start running things at Ravenscraig 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoBNob Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Seems we have Caldwell training with us,how was he for Morton? I thought he played well against us but he seemed to not be playing by the end of the season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmccallum Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I would rather have a squad that knew each other & knows how each other plays rather than a team that has been built from scratch & dont have any kind of chemistry between them at all. Alright the transfer activity isnt exciting at the moment but i am pretty sure Duffy has got many options in mind of who he wants to sign. What if this team knew each other inside out and knew exactly how each player plays, but were simply not good enough and destined for the drop? Would it not bother you, and would you be content simply because they all knew each other and how they play? We need to bring in some quality before the season starts, no doubt about it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colkitto Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Seems we have Caldwell training with us,how was he for Morton? I thought he played well against us but he seemed to not be playing by the end of the season. He's a decent player and had one of his better games against you lot at Cappielow. Went completely off the boil for us in the last few games of the season. Some seen to say he lost confidence, which I personally thought was complete bollocks. Seems to have a bit of an attitude problem in my opinion. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colkitto Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 We're 3-0 up against Dundee in the closed door game today last I heard... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornbeef Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) He's a decent player and had one of his better games against you lot at Cappielow. Went completely off the boil for us in the last few games of the season. Some seen to say he lost confidence, which I personally thought was complete bollocks. Seems to have a bit of an attitude problem in my opinion. He did have an impressive start with us but lost out in competition with Peaso/McManus (which understandably ? he may not have been happy with ) Given the current lack of strikers - Id have been happy to see him at Scapa, but we'll have to see what JD comes up with in that department. If I were a Dunfermline fan -Id be pleased to have him. A big strong energetic striker. Hope he does well. Edited July 3, 2015 by cornbeef 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#Gary Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Ross Caldwell will be one of the best players in League One if that's where he ends up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoodless Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 No he won't 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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