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Time To Go, Hopkin


BluebirdTon

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This is an abysmal standard of division where fine margins decide the outcome of a lot of matches. There are three areas where Hopkin is quite clearly costing us those points right now:

 

Transfers - tasked with building a small and versatile squad with reasonable quality, instead we’ve got a bloated mess that looks like a 14 year old playing Football Manager. Ramsbottom; Livingstone; McLean; van Sheik; Muirhead; King; Orsi; Blues are all either not good enough, unnecessary or have simply been removed from the face of the earth already. Even Dundee United would struggle to carry so much waste in their squad - under the club’s current circumstances, it is suicidally inept to do so.

 

Team selection - even now Ramsbottom and Muirhead are starters, while Salkeld was out in the cold until just a week ago. He simply doesn’t know his best formation or starting eleven.

 

Game management - Whatever tactical gameplan Hopkin wants his team to do is only implemented for brief periods, there’s no concerted pressing as he claimed would be the plan when appointed. The failure to use substitutions effectively has assured that we’d drop all six points from our last two games alone.

 

A merely average manager with the resources and choices available to Hopkin - as set out above - would have us comfortably within the midtable pack right now. I’m not expecting a team of world beaters, but we’ve easily left 5-7 points on the table at this point in the season through poor management. And there’s no reason to think that won’t become 15 or more by May, which would be fatal to the club’s Championship status without a change.

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

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As soon as I saw Lyon was dropped to the bench, I knew we would struggle. Millar & McAllister in midfield doesn't work. We simply are not playing our strongest team. Anyone can see that. Given our weak squad, Nesbitt & Lyon should have started. Rogers in goal too, but longer term Gaston isn't getting a game at Arbroath and I would be delighted if we could get him back - not goingbto happen though.

 

I wonder at what point Hopkin will actually do his job. At the moment he almost looks as if he is trying to get us relegated on purpose.

"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."

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Someone mentioned recently about the possibility of Hopkin coming in with the plan to relegate us so he and the easedales can buy the club for less. I laughed at first but now....

There's a storm on the horizon

And for that I can't see the sun

For I'll keep a waiting on the pavement

For the ice cream van to come

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Someone mentioned recently about the possibility of Hopkin coming in with the plan to relegate us so he and the easedales can buy the club for less. I laughed at first but now....

Greenock's answer to the Driscoll Bruvvers already own Morton. They are the ones pulling Crawford's strings, not his siblings. The current set up favours them, as they can bask in the glory of all successes whilst the supposed incumbent owner gets all the flak from supporters.

*insert signature here*

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Greenock's answer to the Driscoll Bruvvers already own Morton. They are the ones pulling Crawford's strings, not his siblings. The current set up favours them, as they can bask in the glory of all successes whilst the supposed incumbent owner gets all the flak from supporters.

They really dont.

"CORNBEEF IS A BELLEND"

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Focusing on one aspect of our form misses the point to an extent, because we’re a disaster overall with only four points from seven games and it’s not like fixing the away form would make us alright when the home form is now unacceptable as well. However, comparing our away form to previous terrible runs does illustrate just how much of a disaster this season has been.

 

Our current run of nine consecutive away defeats in all competitions has surpassed losing runs of eight in 13/14 & 87/88. The last time we had nine was with a separate losing run earlier in 87/88, although that was while in the top flight. This is the worst run in 32 years.

 

Our worst ever was also while in the top flight in 84/85, with 16. The worst while outside the top flight was 13 in 60/61, although that becomes 16 as well if you include the start of 61/62 so going over two seasons that’s really the worst. That was also the last time we went over eight outside the top flight, so this is now our worst run of away form while outside the top tier in 58 years.

 

Those seasons also provide the worst ever away records for league form alone, with 14 successive away defeats in 84/85 and 13 over 60/61 (12 of them) and 61/62, so we're still a long way from the all-time worst records there with the league only run at 7.

 

More recently for league record alone, our worst this century was 9 - the last five of 09/10 under Grady then the first four of 10/11 under Moore. The worst within one season, which we've now matched, was 13/14. After losing our first two then drawing our third at Livingston, we had a run of 7 (4 under Moore, 1 Hopkin, 2 Shiels). We then had a win at Livingston and a draw at Falkirk, followed by losing the last 6. We also lost the first game of the next season at Somerset to give us another run of seven across two seasons.

 

That gave us the spectacular 13/14 away record of P18 W1 D2 L15, scoring 12 and conceding 48. Based on our away form this season so far, we're on track to score 10 and concede 54...

 

I’m not seeing any indication that Hopkin has the slightest clue what he’s doing and we’re only getting more shambolic as the season goes on - losing by one goal to 10 man Partick is a worse result than losing 6-0 to Dundee United. If he’s still here next week he needs to accept that literally nothing he’s doing is working and overhaul it.

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Oh Lord, Brian Wake

 

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As soon as I see Ramsbottom and Jacobs on the team sheet I have the fear. Hopkin is learning nothing in his job and deserves all the stick he gets.

The second half today was disgraceful. Outfought and outthought against 10 men, absolutely zero quality in the final third from us. I’ve been shouting for Nesbitt to get a game but even when he came on he was awful. I honestly don’t see how we can improve this season with some of these players. Sick of watching sh**e week in week out. No doubt we’ll have the same excuses of having a young team again today. No excuses Hopkin, have some decency and take responsibility for this mess

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We clearly can't afford to pay off a 3 year deal so unless he walks we need to persist. It looks increasingly like a mistake to have no proven assistant in there, rather than spunk a load of money getting rid maybe we could spend less to hire help and freshen things up?

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There is obviously something not clear within the squad or no expectations set as we have had Sutton in recent weeks talking about a push for the play offs, and others have done it in the past, yet Salkhead and others have stated that the goal is to stay in the league.

 

 

His transfer dealings have been appalling and clearly quantity over quality.

 

Orsi was signed pretty early, Why? Also, You wouldn’t notice if people likeLivongstone, Muirhead and McLean were let go tomorrow.

 

We must have a squad of at least 21 and you have to think if he didn’t sign 3 or 4 of his duds then the money could have been better used to have 3 or 4 more quality players who could have helped us.

 

Defence wise, we missed out on about 6 centre back targets.

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Also, we have brought in a Goalkeeping coach with a dual role as scout.

 

Keeper quality had significantly reduced, player quality has reduced and I doubt he had/has a significant knowledge of the championship.

 

Now, I am not saying that Davie Wylie was some sort of Fergie of Goalkeeping coaches but this has been an increased cost with Hoppy’s pal and there is no progress.

 

Out of all the signings he has made, arguably only Cadden and Nesbitt cut the mustard and Inwould be shocked is either stick around.

 

He has tried to accommodate McAllister at any cost as we have seen him in almost all positions in the squad bar the one he should

Make his own...an unused Sub!

 

Chris Millar is past it but as soon as he complained about lack of game time...back in the squad. I would argue that Millar obviously has a desire to play week in, week out and maybe that could have been a prompt to look at moving him

On mutually?

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I’ve got a feeling that Hopkin decided to quickly recruit as many available players as he could, with a view to assess them until the next window, whilst hopefully still picking up a decent amount of points. This is not an ideal plan but when you take into account the comparative wages on offer against some of our competitors then it may have been the best of his limited options. I feel he has a lot of self confidence and positivity that he can take the flak just now in the knowledge he’ll get it right. He’ll sift out who to keep and who to shift on and who he needs to bring in. Then he’ll get it right!

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I’ve got a feeling that Hopkin decided to quickly recruit as many available players as he could, with a view to assess them until the next window, whilst hopefully still picking up a decent amount of points. This is not an ideal plan but when you take into account the comparative wages on offer against some of our competitors then it may have been the best of his limited options. I feel he has a lot of self confidence and positivity that he can take the flak just now in the knowledge he’ll get it right. He’ll sift out who to keep and who to shift on and who he needs to bring in. Then he’ll get it right!

Outrageously optimistic.

"CORNBEEF IS A BELLEND"

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I know where you’re coming from. I’m a naturally outrageously optimistic person, as my family always tell me. However my above comments are not based on optimism, rather on how I genuinely feel about the way Hopkin goes about football management in his own quite unique way.

He’s got a belief and patience in his own ability to deliver results, that quite a lot of people don’t wish to share. He’s one of those people that no matter what he achieves, people will always doubt him for some reason.

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I know where you’re coming from. I’m a naturally outrageously optimistic person, as my family always tell me. However my above comments are not based on optimism, rather on how I genuinely feel about the way Hopkin goes about football management in his own quite unique way.

He’s got a belief and patience in his own ability to deliver results, that quite a lot of people don’t wish to share. He’s one of those people that no matter what he achieves, people will always doubt him for some reason.

Goodnight Dave
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