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Thread About Ex Player


KingsTON

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His back to goal game needs some work. I'd guess that might be the reason why he hasn't had much of an opportunity down there, assuming it's footballing reasons. There were certainly games with us that he struggled to get involved in, but at the same time always had that ability to score an important goal. I'm surprised his chances have been so limited, but maybe not shocked that his style of pay doesn't suit every team.

 

I really liked him but most of his game was built on pace so the better the level the less benefit you get from that. Archie Campbell was similar in that respect although I think Dec has more ability and a better footballing brain so could probably still have a half decent career.

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I really liked him but most of his game was built on pace so the better the level the less benefit you get from that. Archie Campbell was similar in that respect although I think Dec has more ability and a better footballing brain so could probably still have a half decent career.

 

It's quite depressing that a Scotland u-21 player isn't good enough for a very average team in the third tier of English football.

 

Read an interview with McManus where he indicated he'd realised he was lacking physically - players in England being bigger/stronger/faster.  Technically, when he was with us, his hold-up play was really lacking - that's something he'd really have to improve if he was going to progress. 

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The English lower leagues are a bear-pit. A player like McManus is always going to disappear there, it's a waste of time unless you're a 6ft bruiser that wins headers all day; the sooner Scottish football recognises that, the better for everyone.

The English lower leagues are a bear-pit. A player like McManus is always going to disappear there, it's a waste of time unless you're a 6ft bruiser that wins headers all day; the sooner players with development potential recognise that, the better for everyone.

 

Corrected for you.  Don't think that clubs do not point out to young players the hazards of going South too soon.

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Convincing stuff from such a prominent voice of authority on the game.

Edited by vikingTON
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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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The English lower leagues are a bear-pit. A player like McManus is always going to disappear there, it's a waste of time unless you're a 6ft bruiser that wins headers all day; the sooner players with development potential recognise that, the better for everyone.

 

Corrected for you.  Don't think that clubs do not point out to young players the hazards of going South too soon.

 

Money talks.

 

The reported £90 a week development player wage speaks volumes.

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<span style='font-size: 14px;'><em class='bbc'>"That LinwoodTon's a c*nt, eh?"</em></span>

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It would be churlish to deny that some players move on too soon because their reach exceeds their grasp. Whether it's money, fame, ambition, a chance to play at a higher level, there are certainly occasions when a player would be better-served by staying put.

 

However, a few points:

 

First off, this is a global issue. Spend 20 minutes flicking through player pages on Wikipedia - just pick a random club in (say) Denmark and check some random players, move forward to those of other clubs and so on. You will see in many clubs players who moved while young and only have a couple of first team appearances. Or players who were training at a small club, then went to finish their youth career at a major club, then start again at the bottom after they got released. It happens everywhere. It's a sign of Scottish solipsim ("wha's like us?") to assume that just because the 900lb gorilla of England is just over the border, we're somehow hard done by here. It happens within countries too (in fact I'd say the competition for good young players *within* England) is a lot more savage than anything else.

 

Secondly, who do you think is most aware of the fact that English football is hugely physical? The people of provincial Scottish clubs aren't the only ones with eyes: the people who know it best of all are - surprise surprise - the English clubs themselves. It's been maybe two weeks since we had a tear-drenched thread on here about players being released because they're "too wee", and now we expect that there's an entire league setup that's signing players who are in, in fact, too wee. I don't really see how we can have it both ways. Clubs with professional scouting and sporting setups (which is to say virtually all of them in the English 92) are quite aware of the kind of physicality required in their leagues, in fact most of them are far ahead of smaller Scottish clubs in this (as you'd expect.) I don't know what went wrong in McManus' case because in a lot of cases players are signed to be developed rather than dropped straight in, but in McManus they seem to have thrown him in at the deep end. It doesn't speak particularly well of Fleetwood anyway.

 

Finally, it's one thing for a club to advise a player on the dangers of moving on, but they're hardly a disinterested party, are they? Any player looking to a professional club to always put the player first is on a hiding to nothing. I remember Jim McAlistair calling himself "naive" for taking the contract DDF Rae put in front of him while he was still developing. In hindsight he was probably right. By staying at Morton he got several more seasons of first team football and Morton got a good player (so DDF did right by the club, as is his job). But who's to say he wouldn't have done better by moving on? That's why he felt himself naive and if you look at his career since then you'd have to have some sympathy with him.

 

Basically, it happens. Football is not as fluid a labor market as almost any other, but thousands of players at the professional level come and go each and every year. There will be good signings and bad signings. But to say that Scottish players are somehow more likely to do 'too much too young' is a position that holds only if you ignore the existence of the rest of football. Everything's a Scottish problem if you think only of Scotland.

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A front 2 of Denny and McManus would be tremendous.

 

I've not yet seen all of today's game but I noticed that Stef did really well to hold the ball up and free Denny for our equalizer, and got in the middle to follow up (not that he had to, Tavernier did that for us, lol.)

 

I can't believe I'm saying this but I think Stef is well worth his place at the moment up front.

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That Barry McKay - played for Sevco yesterday and he was absolutely crap.

McGhee needs some support, there's no-one backing him up.
Hayes playing it forward, Bell being forced to do it all alone, now forward from Marr, here's Ritchie, still Andy Ritchie, look at the control...

That is a marvellous goal from Andy Ritchie. Twenty minutes on the clock and Morton's supporters come alive. A goal which epitomises the control, the arrogance, the cheek of Andy Ritchie.

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I can't believe I'm saying this but I think Stef is well worth his place at the moment up front.

 

I agree he deserves his place but it doesn't necessarily need to be up front. He's been pretty good out wide this season too, he's certainly not a striker or even a number 10 type player but Duffy has sparingly used him well up top for the reasons you've mentioned in certain games. 

 

If we got Dece again I'd definitely have him straight in the team if fit and have Stef on one of the wings. 

 

Peter Weatherson is the greatest player since Ritchie, and should be assigned 'chairman for life' 


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