Play-off Semis, Morton v Montrose

[The Ghost of B A R P]

8 hours ago, Dunning1874 said:

Yes  obviously our issues are bigger than any one individual, but I'm struggling with the idea that you can completely divorce the overall issues with the system from issues with individual players. Part of the reason we are so passive, so lacking aggression and were completely outfought and outplayed in that second half was the personnel - as you've said yourself by pointing to shitebaggery on the part of some players - so why wouldn't we discuss a potential change to it?

You're not wrong that we can barely scrape together a handful of players good enough - our match day squad will always contain players who wouldn't get near the Montrose, Cove or Airdrie teams or for that matter the Forfar or Dumbarton teams, with at least one making the starting XI. However while you complain that I'm wanting to leave one of the few competent footballers out, MacPherson is already doing this as Lyon and Colville are sitting on the bench, and hilariously watching Cameron Blues get on ahead of them.

If we're only going to play with two central midfielders then we're unavoidably leaving two competent footballers out. Can we not discuss which ones would be appropriate, particularly when Lyon is someone who could provide the energy and intensity the whole team is lacking?

As for Fjortoft, yeah that was an absolutely appalling performance. Had he delivered that against Alloa or Arbroath I'd probably have been as raging about him as I was about McGinty after Arbroath & ICT, but I couldn't get angry yesterday. I've been saying for months that our only route to survival is scraping away from 9th and we'll definitely go down if we're in the playoffs, and I've been saying all week that Montrose are favourites. I expected to lose yesterday and it was just grim confirmation of the inevitable rather than anything to get angry about.

Sure, but I felt, maybe wrongly, right after the final whistle, that we were going down that simplistic route of blaming individuals... and that, if we were going to blame individuals, talking about McGinn instead of Fjortoft was bizarre.

You've acknowledged that Fjortoft had a nightmare (looks even worse on the highlights btw), but my point was that he was allowed a free pass; whereas McGinty would have stopped the clocks and people would have been saying 'he's relegated us'.

I totally agree about Lyon and was arguing he should have been picked alongside Jacobs and McGinn: we just look better with three players in the middle of the park (and energy and intensity is a part of that); also, as you say, overall it's the strongest part of a weak squad. You and others were arguing for a back four, where I thought we should go to a three, partly in order to get three in the middle. The point is that, at half-time, I was happy to accept that maybe McPherson had got it just about right and there was no reason to think we wouldn't win 1-0 or even add to the lead. More important, at full-time, when it had all fallen to f**k, I wasn't blaming the tactics or the selection... because I absolutely don't think that was the main problem. Starting McGinn over Lyon is way down the list of things that caused that defeat.

If McGinty was available for Tuesday night, btw, I'd be arguing he should come back in... as long as it's in a back three and not in place of Strapp at left-back. I say that in full knowledge that he is a bizarre player, prone to inexplicable brain-freeze... because, most of the time, he wins it in the air and is comfortable on the left side; none of the other three really want to play there.

The other difference here, as you say, is that your expectations have run out, whereas I'm still waiting for this bunch of misfits to step up and deliver something like an acceptable performance. I'm less and less confident about that partly because the early signs that McPherson might help them have all but disappeared: a team that wins the first half and loses the second (in that manner), and without letting them off the hook, is raising serious questions about the manager; as for those fkn substitutions... No words.

Last chance saloon now: Lyon and Hynes in for Orsi and McGuffie (Colville and McGuffie to give us something from the bench).

Jacobs to sit, Lyon to get up and down, McGinn, hopefully, to do for ninety (or even seventy) minutes what he's done for maybe half an hour here or there... run the game and let others play off him, including a pair of wing-backs who should be told to play high right from the kick-off.

I thought we were slight favourites before the tie started (and clear favourites at half-time yesterday); we're no longer favourites, obvs... but we're not away yet.

[Thistle_do_nicely]

can see that McGinty, ah, hasnt really worked out for Morton - tbf he was generally woeful with us too, not sure how deliberate it was but horror flashbacks of him getting on the ball and just smashing long diagonals up to Miles Storey for us. edit: and of course *that* .gif with him falling on his arse at a long ball getting caught in the wind against you.

Genuinely a little curious - did he do that thing where he starts carrying the ball forward from defence well for a game or two, maybe even getting off a good shot from distance, to get your hopes up that he's not a complete and utter diddy only to revert to type?

Edited May 9, 2021 by Thistle_do_nicely

[vikingTON]

20 hours ago, Colkitto said:

Brand new regime in place for next season and start off with a basic core of players to build on going forward. 

It's no quick fix and we may be decent/average League 1 team for a while.......... 

And that core should be part-time instead of pretending to give dung players a viable career at the bottom of the full-time payscale. 

The fix needs to largely take place off the park rather than on it anyway. We returned sooner than expected after 2014 and the core of Duffy's squad established the club in the second tier, but nothing was changed behind the scenes. Our business model was no fucking different to what it was in 2002 until the MCT scheme started of its own volition - and only now is the genuine purpose of that scheme coming to pass instead of 'chuck in some extra money for players'. And so here we are again. 

We need to focus on developing a much smarter model of running the first-team and earning revenue six other days of the week as well. That's the progress that I want to see and fund at the club because without it the limits of our 'ambition' will be constrained by financial reality to 'sneaking 4th in the Championship'. 

11 hours ago, Thistle_do_nicely said:

can see that McGinty, ah, hasnt really worked out for Morton - tbf he was generally woeful with us too, not sure how deliberate it was but horror flashbacks of him getting on the ball and just smashing long diagonals up to Miles Storey for us. edit: and of course *that* .gif with him falling on his arse at a long ball getting caught in the wind against you.

Genuinely a little curious - did he do that thing where he starts carrying the ball forward from defence well for a game or two, maybe even getting off a good shot from distance, to get your hopes up that he's not a complete and utter diddy only to revert to type?

No, it was smashing the ball to nobody from first minute to last. The decision to retain that imbecile, Blues, Orsi and countless other jobbers last summer is one of the many reasons why Hopkin is at least 50% culpable for the end of this campaign. That said, the fitness coach and McPherson both started him in every single game as well.

Edited May 10, 2021 by vikingTON

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

The worrying thing about this second leg is Morton struggle to hold a lead..

[Rudolph Hucker]

2 hours ago, purplemonkeydishwasher said:

The worrying thing about this second leg is Morton struggle to hold a lead..

No, the worrying thing is that Morton struggle to GET a lead. 

[Colkitto]

Hearing Orsi is out injured.  

We are now struggling up front for players in the most crucial game of the season, which in itself is a disgrace with the size of squad we had at the start of the season.

Omar and Wallace put out on loan in January

Salkeld  - ?

Sterling fucked off back to London.

 

The club is a mess and we are going where we deserve to be!  I just hope the players we have playing tonight find a bit of passion and professionalism to put in a shift. No one wants relegation on their CV

 

[mo83]

Hopefully the Mo can finish the job tonight and get a place in the final....2-2

[Dunning1874]

18 minutes ago, mo83 said:

Hopefully the Mo can finish the job tonight and get a place in the final....2-2

My difficulty with this prediction is the concept of Morton scoring twice in one game.

I'd just go as attacking as possible here. Hynes in at full back with Ledger moving to centre back in place of Fjortoft, Lyon and Colville starting in the middle with Jacobs, Nesbitt and McGuffie properly pushing up to support Oliver in a set up that's more 4-3-3 than 4-5-1.

We don't know if we can trust that XI defensively, but the time for worrying about clean sheets is over. We know we'll be pedestrian and struggle to score with two holding midfielders and a centre back at right back, so don't do it.

[Jeff Venom]

Chances of Morton shanfesting a 1 0 and going through on penalties?
I'll be buying the stream anyway, enjoyed the service last time I watched Ayr at Cappielow.

[Colkitto]

Holy shizer! 

 

[Ira Gaines]

What the f**k is this shit?

[johnnydun]

Dear Morten,

Take @Toby @virginton @LargsTON and the Hot Potato for a holiday to the seaside.

They deserve it.

[Robinson Collins]

WTAF, we are down. 

[Jamie_M]

Good luck in the final Montrose.

Absolutely scandalous lineup from us.

[Girth]

14 minutes ago, Colkitto said:

Holy shizer! 

 

[Dunning1874]

Gerry McDade announced the team as:

McAdams

Millar - Fjortoft - McLean - Strapp

Jacobs - Blues - McGinn

Salkeld - Oliver - Muirhead

So that's 38 year old central midfielder Chris Millar, who has made four appearances this season, the last of them in February and hasn't made a single matchday squad under MacPherson, at right back.

Meanwhile, Michael Ledger who's been our best defender this season despite being a centre back playing at right back is dropped. There is also a natural right back in Darren Hynes sitting on the bench.

Cameron Blues starts in midfield while Luca Colville and Reece Lyon are again on the bench. Since MacPherson took over Blues has made a sub appearance in the cup v Dunfermline, started in the cup at East Fife, and made a sub appearance v Dundee. He was then bombed out the matchday squad for the remaining three league games, before returning to be brought on on Saturday.

Canmy Salkeld starts up front. He last made an appearance as a sub in MacPherson's first game in charge. He was an unused sub for one game after that and hasn't been seen since. Bombed out entirely then launched back in from nowhere for the club's biggest game in years.

The only explanation for this is that MacPherson knows we're down anyway and is trolling the club with a f**k you team selection as he won't be kept on. It's genuinely the most insane Morton starting XI I've ever seen.

Even if we somehow scrape through this tie - for the record Montrose were favourites even if we had our best team on the pitch and having seen this lineup I am now away to fire money on Montrose -2 - MacPherson should be sacked before he leaves the stadium tonight.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Dunning1874

[The Ghost of B A R P]

19 minutes ago, Colkitto said:

Holy shizer! 

 

Either every outfield player on the bench is carrying a (heavy) knock... or the man’s lost his fuckin mind.

Millar at right-back...

The great ‘three in the middle’ debate ends with... Cammy fuckin Blues...

Oh, and just the boy you need in a scrap, Lord Robbie fuckin Useless...

This joke isn’t funny anymore.

[Colkitto]

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

Either every outfield player on the bench is carrying a (heavy) knock... or the man’s lost his fuckin mind.

Millar at right-back...

The great ‘three in the middle’ debate ends with... Cammy fuckin Blues...

Oh, and just the boy you need in a scrap, Lord Robbie fuckin Useless...

This joke isn’t funny anymore.

Wee Gus must surely know he's off after tonight

[Jamie_M]

I hope Div has fed the meter, because P&B is crashing tonight.

(Actuallu, hope he hasn't).

 

[Branch Ton]

Looks like an ex midden mans revenge.

Playing a striker whose goals to bookings ratio is 1/7 suggests he wants us down to ten men as soon as possible then have Millar give us a masterclass on walkingveryslowly football in between regular defensive errors. Come back Willie McLean.