vikingTON Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 All the players have had their contracts extended through at least part of this month for furlough but it's getting to decision time on who will remain at the club next season. McHugh has already announced his intention to join King Snake's latest jumped-up rabble having worked out so well for literally turncoat who has done it so far, so is dead to us now. This appears to be our signed squad so far: Goalkeepers Defenders Lewis Strapp. (20 ) 2022 Midfielders Kyle Jacobs (28) 2021 Reece Lyon (20) 2022 Craig McGuffie (22) 2021 Cameron Salkeld (21) 2021 Luca Colville (20) 2021 Cameron Blues (22) 2021 Strikers Kalvin Orsi (23) 2021 Normally I'd be quite happy to empty a good dozen players after an average campaign but this close season is different. I do not fancy our chances in the transfer market given the financial hit of the pandemic but perhaps more importantly the proposed 27 game schedule means that there is nowhere near as much scope for bedding in a new squad. Having a coherent team with experience of playing together would IMO be a significant advantage compared to a normal campaign, whereas if we show up on the opening day with another van Scheik or two in the first team then we could be in relegation trouble very quickly. I'd be quite happy then to offer an extension on the majority of deals with the exceptions of Ramsbottom (if possible, not convinced that contract is up), Muirhead as well as McLean and Millar who are both over the hill. If we have a better centre back lined up - arise Sir Gavin - then we should punt McGinty as well. As for players coming in, sorting out the goalkeeper positions - getting Rogers back permanently would be a good start - and a replacement for McHugh have to be considered the top priorities. Discuss. The site is supposed to be a place for the extended 'family' of Morton supporters - having an affinity with people that you don't know, because you share a love of your local football club. It's not supposed to be about point scoring and showing how 'clever' or 'funny' you are, or just being downright rude and offensive to people you don't know, because you can get away with it. Unfortunately, it seems the classic case of people who have little standing/presence in real life, use this forum as a way of making themselves feel as if they are something. It's sad, and I've said that before.. So, having been on Morton forums for about 15 years I guess, I've had enough... well done t*ssers, another Morton supporter driven away. You can all feel happy at how 'clever' you are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRVMP Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 I hope we get clarity over Ramsbottom soon, tbh. Hopefully he's a free agent. Good luck to him but he's not of the required standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunning1874 Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 I think a lot of clubs may be following the logic of keeping squads together as much as possible in the circumstances, but considering who we have under contract already the shortened season doesn't change who we should be keeping or releasing for me. The players to let go are all easy decisions. Keep: Tumilty, McAlister, Cadden, Nesbitt, Sutton (assuming he'll still be here as a coach anyway) Release: Ramsbottom, McLean, McGinty, Millar, Muirhead, Doolan Needing a goalkeeper and new defence to gel isn't ideal with a shortened season, but it's preferable to saddling ourselves with players we know aren't good enough. That'd leave us needing: First choice goalkeeper (Rogers?) Four defenders (Two starting centre backs, two to cover centre back and full back. Gunning?) First choice central midfielder in the same mould as McAlister, allows us to avoid starting him in every game at 35 First choice centre forward Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Oh Lord, Brian Wake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BishopBrennan Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 There is definitely something to be said for continuity this season, however players like Muirhead, McLean and Millar will definitely need to move on. It's a shame that Millar's second spell will end this way, but that's football. We definitely need a first choice goalkeeper, and take the risk of the U20s goalkeeper being second choice. Depending on McGinty's wages, I'd be fine keeping him as a third choice centre back, but hopefully we have Gunning and another one coming in as first choice. I'm more than happy with Strapp and Tumilty being first choice full-backs, but again we will require cover. We have good covering options in midfield, and the 27 game season may even mean we can still slot McAlister in as first choice, but it's going to be a defining season for guys like Blues and McGuffie. Assuming Cadden and Nisbett both stay on, we're still going to need to look for a goalscorer. Orsi came on leaps and bounds, but I'd want someone better leading the line. You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madton Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 If we manage to keep Tumilty, Nesbitt and Cadden ill be absolutely delighted but i do fear the worst, especially with Cadden. He was brilliant last season abd got a lot of praise and good media attention. Can easily see a Dundee/dunfermline coming in and giving him 3-400 more than what we can afford. If i remember right, Tumilty stays in Stirling so he might fancy something closer to home too. If Ramsbottom stays, we might as well chuck it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BishopBrennan Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 19 minutes ago, Madton said: If we manage to keep Tumilty, Nesbitt and Cadden ill be absolutely delighted but i do fear the worst, especially with Cadden. He was brilliant last season abd got a lot of praise and good media attention. Can easily see a Dundee/dunfermline coming in and giving him 3-400 more than what we can afford. If i remember right, Tumilty stays in Stirling so he might fancy something closer to home too. If Ramsbottom stays, we might as well chuck it. I know our budget is going to be very tight again this season, but I can't see Dundee (basket-case potential aside) or Dunfermline handing out much bigger contracts than us this season. Hopefully with MCT funding we can tie Cadden/Nisbett up for next season at least. You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordyton Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 Rodgers training with Killie apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 Pretty sure I’ve said it elsewhere on here, but at 31 I’d like to see us bring in Stephen McGinn if the price is right. There must be more left in his tank than there was in both Millar’s and McAlister’s when they arrived here. Regarding Ramsbottom, I actually think we’re being a bit too kind to him by wishing him luck but saying he’s not up to the required standard. The amount of times I saw him cutting about at half time last season with his hands in the pockets of a massive big coat doing keepie ups instead of facing shots and crosses on the off chance that, you know, he might be called into action and want to be properly prepared for it, was infuriating. Not only has he been the worst goalkeeper I can recall in my time watching Morton, I’d question how much he wants to be a professional footballer from what I’ve seen of him when he’s been a substitute. I won’t pretend to be an expert on how a goalkeeper should prepare themselves at half time in the unlikely event of being needed, but I can’t imagine his “work” is in the textbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnbru Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 36 minutes ago, Toby said: Pretty sure I’ve said it elsewhere on here, but at 31 I’d like to see us bring in Stephen McGinn if the price is right. There must be more left in his tank than there was in both Millar’s and McAlister’s when they arrived here. Regarding Ramsbottom, I actually think we’re being a bit too kind to him by wishing him luck but saying he’s not up to the required standard. The amount of times I saw him cutting about at half time last season with his hands in the pockets of a massive big coat doing keepie ups instead of facing shots and crosses on the off chance that, you know, he might be called into action and want to be properly prepared for it, was infuriating. Not only has he been the worst goalkeeper I can recall in my time watching Morton, I’d question how much he wants to be a professional footballer from what I’ve seen of him when he’s been a substitute. I won’t pretend to be an expert on how a goalkeeper should prepare themselves at half time in the unlikely event of being needed, but I can’t imagine his “work” is in the textbook. The half time warms ups have annoyed me a bit as well. Surely it can't be that hard to just ask players to stick to some sort of routine rather than just giving them a couple of balls to kick about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madton Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 54 minutes ago, BishopLenBrennan said: I know our budget is going to be very tight again this season, but I can't see Dundee (basket-case potential aside) or Dunfermline handing out much bigger contracts than us this season. Hopefully with MCT funding we can tie Cadden/Nisbett up for next season at least. Dundee averaged over 5000 crowds last season, Dunfermline over 4000. Ours was 1600. That's a massive amount of revenue over a season, close to a million more in Dundee's case. Their budget will be considerably higher than ours. Id imagine budget wise, we will be competing with Raith, Ayr, QOTS and maybe ICT this season. No reason we can't compete for top 4 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BishopBrennan Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 58 minutes ago, Lordyton said: Rodgers training with Killie apparently. Where did you see that? You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_M Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 1 hour ago, BishopLenBrennan said: Nisbett That's plenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 6 hours ago, Madton said: Dundee averaged over 5000 crowds last season, Dunfermline over 4000. Ours was 1600. That's a massive amount of revenue over a season, close to a million more in Dundee's case. Dunfermline's official crowds are a work of fiction. The site is supposed to be a place for the extended 'family' of Morton supporters - having an affinity with people that you don't know, because you share a love of your local football club. It's not supposed to be about point scoring and showing how 'clever' or 'funny' you are, or just being downright rude and offensive to people you don't know, because you can get away with it. Unfortunately, it seems the classic case of people who have little standing/presence in real life, use this forum as a way of making themselves feel as if they are something. It's sad, and I've said that before.. So, having been on Morton forums for about 15 years I guess, I've had enough... well done t*ssers, another Morton supporter driven away. You can all feel happy at how 'clever' you are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunning1874 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 7 hours ago, Toby said: Pretty sure I’ve said it elsewhere on here, but at 31 I’d like to see us bring in Stephen McGinn if the price is right. There must be more left in his tank than there was in both Millar’s and McAlister’s when they arrived here. McGinn's a player I'd expect to have interest from most of the clubs in the division, but assuming he lives somewhere near Paisley I'd hope that would give us an advantage over clubs who can pay more. At 31 he might not want to be driving up to Dundee or Dunfermline every day to protect his body, something Millar said really impacted him into his 30s at St Johnstone. While we're talking about obvious free agents, Danny Mullen will probably be a target for everyone other than Hearts. I'd expect we have little chance of getting him in normal circumstances if it's a divisional bidding war, but as he's worked with Hopkin before we might have a shot. They'll no doubt have options outside the well known lower end Premiership to mid-table Championship free agents as well, none of us had heard of Luca Colville, Cameron Salkeld or Sam Ramsbottom. Whether convincing players to relocate from another country is more difficult this year remains to be seen. Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Oh Lord, Brian Wake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdinTon Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 9 hours ago, BishopLenBrennan said: I know our budget is going to be very tight again this season, but I can't see Dundee (basket-case potential aside) or Dunfermline handing out much bigger contracts than us this season. Hopefully with MCT funding we can tie Cadden/Nisbett up for next season at least. Dunfermline have had the begging bowl out for the entirety of lockdown and their fans have responded. Their season tickets are on sale and both kits available to pre-order. Obviously got those two players over the line already. It's the things like that that give clubs a headstart on others (e.g. us). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody66 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Without confirmation of when the league starts, or how many games there will be, I'm not confident this season will be anything other than a consolidation season for many clubs. Budgets will be greatly reduced, which might even be an advantage to part time clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_M Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 3 hours ago, dunning1874 said: none of us had heard of Sam Ramsbottom Simpler times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BishopBrennan Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 2 hours ago, EdinTon said: Dunfermline have had the begging bowl out for the entirety of lockdown and their fans have responded. Their season tickets are on sale and both kits available to pre-order. Obviously got those two players over the line already. It's the things like that that give clubs a headstart on others (e.g. us). Hold on, so clubs are actually allowed to generate revenue during this period!? You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunning1874 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 3 minutes ago, Jamie_M said: Simpler times. Yet we had heard of Ryan Scully. Win some, lose some. Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake Oh Lord, Brian Wake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alibi Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 17 hours ago, vikingTON said: All the players have had their contracts extended through at least part of this month for furlough but it's getting to decision time on who will remain at the club next season. McHugh has already announced his intention to join King Snake's latest jumped-up rabble having worked out so well for literally turncoat who has done it so far, so is dead to us now. This appears to be our signed squad so far: Goalkeepers Defenders Lewis Strapp. (20 ) 2022 Midfielders Kyle Jacobs (28) 2021 Reece Lyon (20) 2022 Craig McGuffie (22) 2021 Cameron Salkeld (21) 2021 Luca Colville (20) 2021 Cameron Blues (22) 2021 Strikers Kalvin Orsi (23) 2021 Normally I'd be quite happy to empty a good dozen players after an average campaign but this close season is different. I do not fancy our chances in the transfer market given the financial hit of the pandemic but perhaps more importantly the proposed 27 game schedule means that there is nowhere near as much scope for bedding in a new squad. Having a coherent team with experience of playing together would IMO be a significant advantage compared to a normal campaign, whereas if we show up on the opening day with another van Scheik or two in the first team then we could be in relegation trouble very quickly. I'd be quite happy then to offer an extension on the majority of deals with the exceptions of Ramsbottom (if possible, not convinced that contract is up), Muirhead as well as McLean and Millar who are both over the hill. If we have a better centre back lined up - arise Sir Gavin - then we should punt McGinty as well. As for players coming in, sorting out the goalkeeper positions - getting Rogers back permanently would be a good start - and a replacement for McHugh have to be considered the top priorities. Discuss. Agreed pretty much entirely. We could do with a commanding centreback (or 2) as a priority along with some striking options. McGinty looked like a bombscare to me and I think we can do better. Ramsbottom has to be punted or we're doomed. Get Cadden and Nesbitt signed up asap too. "Any nation given the opportunity to regain its national sovereignty and which then rejects it is so far beneath contempt that it is hard to put words to it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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