vikingTON

I'd love to see someone paint a scenario more stagnant, than our latest sojourn in the Championship. Will we repeat our performance from 24/25, in which we managed to get knocked out of every cup competition at the first serious round, all before Advent calendars were being opened? Or will it be a 13/14 campaign minus the cup shock seeing as we're already consigned to finishing bottom of the fucking group? Finishing 7th/8th every season while throwing together a bunch of crap mercenaries every summer is not exactly whetting the appetite. While relegation and lower league football is no picnic, it offers the opportunity to bite the bullet and undertake a fundamental restructure. GMFC and a large portion of the fanbase have been welching from that for at least 7 years now, all in the delusional belief that being a 'full time' or a 'Championship club' inherently matter. I suspect we won't need to argue that point much longer.

A-) To have a financially stable and sustainable football club, that punches at or above the weight of its playing budget in most campaigns. B-) To use some of its ongoing capital investment to enhance/create new sources of revenue, thereby increasing the playing budget set to judge criteria A-). The practice of chucking the vast majority of MCT funds at the playing budget has run out of road. We will not retain subscriptions if the only return is a bunch of obvious haddies being given their last full-time contract for no valid reason. Let's now take the other measure of success proposed. There is a near constant parade of clubs chucking money that they fundamentally do not have at enhancing their league status. If East Kilbride or other vanity projects spend their way into the Championship as Ross County or Hamilton might do again, then there is nothing that the GMFC can do about that. Well and effectively run or not, we do not have a divine right to play in the second tier. If enough teams spend enough money wisely, then that status is not going to be maintained - regardless of the club's ownership model. All that GMFC can do under those conditions is to set credible standards for first team performance - instead of the obvious empty rhetoric at the end of last season - and actually act on them. Which means binning a manager who should have been held accountable for his farcical efforts back in April.

There is ongoing capital investment by MCT available and relatively stable income streams. Though GMFC are falling further and further behind the competition in respect to income however by failing to do anything with Cappielow outside of 3-6PM once a fortnight). The main issue that needs to be resolved is binning this vanity nonsense about being a full-time club. We correctly binned the youth setup as a waste of resources under the SFA's current funding system - unless the Estrella Group can provide the contacts and skills to derive greater value from it, then the full time structure should be binned. It evidently confers no advantage in fitness or organisation even to fucking Lowland League teams now - so why shouldn't Longridge, Garrity etc. be told to get a real job in supplement to their Saturday work?

Murray stated in the Tele last week that Delaney couldn't be re-signed because it wasn't affordable to have two first team left backs in the squad. So either he is lying, or you and many others are being complacent about our options. I expect any left back option that is added to be of a cheap ringer/gamble of a loan variety. Though if available, it would make more budgetary sense to add an experienced centre back who can cover left back too. The die was cast for this downgrade, back when Longridge was ludicrously given a contract extension about five weeks out from the end of last season.

While some of our midfield signings have been encouraging, it's going to be a long and quite dreadful season if we persist with this utter nonsense of a system, only with weaker full back and sand dancer options than last season.

Nothing sums up the Walter Mitty world that the two Teuchter clubs perpetually live in, than Ross County magically registering an exact break-even amount. Get HMRC in to give both them and 'Uncle Roy' a comprehensive audit.

There's no need to apologise for a delay in regular communications. But I don't think it requires a full comms update for MCT to respond to a development that is being discussed on unofficial channels such as social media and here too. A stock response like 'MCT can confirm/deny that _________. The process for/further details of __________ will be communicated to all members in the next monthly update.' could be sitting there, ready to be filled in and fired out by anyone with the seniority to do so.

Call me picky, but as an MCT member I'd like to have some actual confirmation of any resignation of a director; as opposed to a post on a social media forum that people either shouldn't or don't engage with, from 4-5 days ago. I have checked the email junk filter multiple times (which many MCT communications tend to end up in - as did the GMFC away top launch) when this development was shared on this forum at the start of the week. I don't think I've missed the official (brief) memo that would be appropriate to recognise any such change. The wider Morton/Greater Greenock ecosystem is bad enough for encouraging 'ITK' sweetie women (100% male btw) and taxi driver level bullshit mongers to proliferate, without a neglect of straightforward communication from MCT contributing to that situation.

Too close... causing what issue exactly?

Anyone who signs up for the 'Hamilton Accies project' (or indeed the 'East Kilbride project') is displaying their mercenary disinterest for all to see. Better off not to have such wasters in the squad.

We cannot even remotely afford to have standard Championship level players as backup. What sort of relative budget do you think exists at the club right now? This should also qualify the confidence from other quarters that we will find 'an upgrade' - it's not a position where we or other clubs have great bargaining strength. It's probable that Longridge will at least start out as our left back option, while we run the usual parade of trialists and ringers. Perhaps we'll get a good option either on the open market or holding out for a loan of a young player, but the distinct likelihood is that we'll go into July and probably August too in a weaker position.

Moffat certainly had his best season at the club last time round, but if his wage expectations are beyond the wage structure at the club when Wilson, Savoury etc. are not, then it only confirms that wingers attract a foolish premium in player cost that their marginal impact on team performances and results cannot justify, when every pound in the budget has to be used wisely. Hopefully the other and inferior wingers will leave as well, and we can focus on enhancing the existing strengths of the squad instead of bringing in yet more third-rate jobbers out wide.

One further change that the club should be considering is to have short packages for tickets - such as three home games in a row, or any 3 from a defined run (first 6, middle 6, last 6 fixtures?). The walk-up price is simply too high to encourage people to attend, if they don't have the availability or opportunity to buy a ST. The overall saving on the ST compared to walk up is the right policy - but there should also be a halfway house allowing flexible attendance between the two. I don't think that £50 for a three game package is unreasonable - and from a commercial view you are locking in that income from the first game too.

There is a contradiction running through the statement between drawing a line under last season, a fresh start, setting standards etc. and then handing out new offers to far too many players who were collectively responsible for that end. I'm a broken record on this, but actions should speak louder than words - you just can't declare your standards without showing significant consequences for not meeting them. I'd have exchanged a slightly weaker squad or at least greater turnover in the squad this summer, to clear decks and set that standard.

Much happier to take a gamble on a player like Savoury. We're already retaining quite a few in that area of the park, albeit more defensive options, so can and should be taking that type of risk to freshen things up plans potentially add a game changer. It's much better than going back yet again to players who either failed the first time or didn't impress at all recently.