Johansson's Future

[JimJam]

He says he’s been told to trim the squad, save money and use the remainder to strengthen in the window?

 

Am I actually hearing this right?! ****ing disgraceful. 3 year plan is out the window now eh. Get the chancers to ****!

 

Pure craziness. With the Championship prize money increased, pushing the boat out to reach the play offs would pay for itself. 

[Malt]

Pure craziness. With the Championship prize money increased, pushing the boat out to reach the play offs would pay for itself.

This.

 

We are our own worst enemy.

 

Two national cups and we are out in round one, so not look like we are going to be in the play off with current set up.

 

The fans are let down constantly.

[EanieMeany]

Haven’t watched the whole interview but he does say a couple of times that he’s looking to bring in a couple of players to make the squad better.

Haven't watched it either and don't really plan to, but it does seem like a weird thing for him to say since he's already been telling us that he's trying to bring players in.

 

Looking at it another way though, I'm not that fussed if he's been told he's not getting another penny. There's little reason to start letting him spend anything considering the mess he's making of what he has.

[JimJam]

This.

 

We are our own worst enemy.

 

Two national cups and we are out in round one, so not look like we are going to be in the play off with current set up.

 

The fans are let down constantly.

 

It was widely recognised by fans that last seasons fourth quarter collapse cost the club around £400k in lost prize money.

 

Why on earth would the BoD allow that to happen two seasons in a row the sake of the cost of a couple of four month contracts for two or three players?

[Pedrodelawasp]

My interpretation of the budgetary issues is that part of the remit given to him over the course of his contact was to trim the squad down and lower the total wage budget. It would also seem he has been told he can bring people in provided he gets others out the door first. Having done so, he is now finding it difficult to bring players in as we can’t match wage expectations and/or compete with the terms being offered by our rivals.

 

It seems utterly bizarre that the club would allow McKinnon to assemble a squad then, once he’s f^€ked off, immediately instruct his successor to bring the bill down.

[TRVMP]

Which is why I think there's more to it than that.

[capitanus]

Around 10 years ago, QPR used a similar excuse to relieve Paolo Sousa of his duties, by declaring it a breach of confidentiality:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/apr/09/qpr-sack-manager-paolo-sousa

[Hej]

then when their manager left and they replaced him with a first time manager they were ruthless enough to get rid after only seven games when they weren’t convinced by his start to the job. 

 

That's not actually true though, is it? The reports in the media at the time suggested they wanted to keep him.

[dunning1874]

That's not actually true though, is it? The reports in the media at the time suggested they wanted to keep him.

 

Reports suggested Livingston wanted to keep him on the condition he agreed to retire from playing and focus solely on management. After only seven games (five of them in the League Cup, only two defeats & one of those away to Celtic) they looked at his performance, decided they weren’t happy and wanted him to change things to improve that, then when he wasn’t willing to agree to their demands they got rid.

 

Obviously it’s not entirely comparable to Morton’s situation as there’s no similarly obvious change to ask of someone who isn’t a player-manager, but the point stands that they were willing to give a manager an ultimatum after just 7 games, stand their ground on it when he didn’t agree and have gone to be rewarded for their ruthlessness with an excellent season. In contrast, Johansson has presided over 7 terrible results in 20 games and there’s no indication that the board are even considering his performance or are aware that this is unacceptable.

 

Even if they don’t sack him today, which they should, they have to say something.

[Jamie_M]

Johansson has presided over 7 terrible results in 20 games.

Just 7? Which one are you excluding, 1-1 with Peterhead or 0-0 against Falkirk?

[Jamie_M]

There are big lessons for Morton there.

Massive lessons to be learned from Livi and Ayr for all the full time loser clubs at this level who bleat about how tough it is to compete in the Championship and how hard it is to get out of when it's so tight.

 

No. Little Livi and little Ayr have shown if you don't have a loser mentality, don't worry solely on trying to nullify the opposition like Brechin, ditch the overblown respect just go out and fight for everything and smash your way through everything, you can do well at this level. Hell even Alloa are showing that at the moment albeit to a lesser degree.

 

Another reason why JJ needs emptied. He is another in a long line of losers playing down expectations, bleating about how tough it is. Well, if it's so tough, do one.

[9 Strathblane Crescent]

There are approximately 250 shareholders of Morton Football Club. Of the 250 you’ll be lucky if 15 turn up at the next AGM. And you can guarantee it will be the same faces that turn up asking the same lukewarm questions.

 

In my opinion that just sends a message to the Rae’s that a lot of people are not that interested in how the club is run because if they were they would turn up and ask questions. It’s ok coming on this forum and giving your opinion but it doesn’t have the same effect as having to reschedule the AGM because there is not enough room in the boardroom to accommodate everyone. That would send out a powerful message.

 

I’m sure there are a few shareholders on the forum and more than likely if you’re not a shareholder you know someone who is.  Even if you’re not a shareholder you can still attend by getting a proxy from someone who is.  

 

As for JJ anyone with any management experience will tell you that good players don’t always make good managers, and that goes for all walks of life. I’ve heard many a management candidate come across as really knowledgeable in interviews but be absolutely hopeless when it comes to doing the job.  So I wouldn’t criticise the club too much on that front, it happens in any walk of life.

But if you’ve made a mistake then you need to take action to fix the problem. A lot of football management is all about good man management. Some players need an arm round the shoulder and a bit of encouragement; others need to be told the hard truth and others a good kick up the backside. If you haven’t got that ability in your locker then you’re going to fail. The same goes for the manager. Someone at Cappielow need to take the same approach with the manager and if that doesn’t work then do the right thing for the club and move on.

[TONofmemories]

Same with the Q&A - only a handful of folk showed up, albeit it was poorly organised and at a shit time of the year. 

 

Apathy is rife. 

[EanieMeany]

The apathy which surrounds the club is absolutely a result of the Rae family's failed tenure rather than the other way round. If the club are somehow taking the lack of interest as a sign that they don't need to bother either, they're horribly deluded.

[vikingTON]

The fan base is gone. It wont return like it once was even with a ressurgene or title push

 

Like it once was... when? Apart from the short-term bump that comes once in a generation (and is usually preceded by years of complete apathy and at least one stinking relegation campaign) crowds are as high as they would normally be for games at this level and turgid displays on the park, if not a little higher. 

 

Was saying this today, we are no longer a big club or sleeping giant.

 

We are a wee team who are like Raith, in championship for 4-5 years, relegated, back up and repeat.

 

In truth, we are more likely to head the way of Airdrie and be lost to League One and part time.

 

It’s s***e being a Morton Fan.

 

What's the opposite of 'birthday caird pish' to describe this morose, self loathing, Trainspotting-esque drivel. We're at precisely the level we ought to be playing at and will remain there until we start punching above our weight for a change or conspire to produce a monumental ****-up like the 13/14 campaign. Even having a complete novice and fraud for a manager is still not going to produce anything worse than tedious midtable mediocrity and a relatively minor cup shock at our expense in this campaign. 

[vikingTON]

The apathy which surrounds the club is absolutely a result of the Rae family's failed tenure rather than the other way round. If the club are somehow taking the lack of interest as a sign that they don't need to bother either, they're horribly deluded.

 

I don't see any evidence that they are doing that though; otherwise Duffy would have been kept in his position for a decade and they could just pencil in the 7th placed finishes at the start of the season. 

 

Not handing out money to a dud manager in January when the budget for the season has already been spent is hardly Mike Ashley levels of disengaged ownership. 

[HamCam]

There was hope in the summer but subsequent events have inevitably resulted in a return to the apathy that permeates every aspect of the club. Talking down the club, accepting mediocrity as the best we can achieve and refusing to properly engage with fans - is it any wonder Morton is going nowhere. While performances on the park are the responsibility of the manager and players ultimately the continued failure of the club falls on the shoulders of the owners, Hawke and a spineless BoD. Nothing will change until there is change at the top and a belief instilled in everyone involved that Morton can achieve. Is it really unreasonable for fans to see Morton spend some time in the top tier, reach a final or even just play football to win games? The only thing Morton seems able to compete in, is an award for the most tragic under-performing club in Scottish football.

[Mr Toon]

We're at precisely the level we ought to be playing at and will remain there until we start punching above our weight for a change or conspire to produce a monumental ****-up like the 13/14 campaign. Even having a complete novice and fraud for a manager is still not going to produce anything worse than tedious midtable mediocrity and a relatively minor cup shock at our expense in this campaign.

Sadly, with the exception of the word 'fraud' absolutely true.

[EanieMeany]

I don't see any evidence that they are doing that though;

 

I was  referring to this (without quoting it, which isn't really helpful I suppose...)

 

There are approximately 250 shareholders of Morton Football Club. Of the 250 you’ll be lucky if 15 turn up at the next AGM. And you can guarantee it will be the same faces that turn up asking the same lukewarm questions.

 

In my opinion that just sends a message to the Rae’s that a lot of people are not that interested in how the club is run because if they were they would turn up and ask questions.

[Waverley]

I'm a shareholder in the club, albeit not a large shareholding.

A few years ago I suggested to the Trust that they should look into the possibility of garnering the votes other minor shareholders, to strengthen their position. Otherwise my vote and those of the others defaults to the club. As far as I am aware nothing developed from my idea, perhaps because of legal issues/costs..