Club Stature

[capitanus]

800; 4000; 2300 etc.

 

I don't think this sort of crowd-wanking does Morton or any other club any favours. I would be happy for us to play in front of half a dozen people on a public park if it meant we were going to achieve things going forward.

[Alibi]

The population of our core catchment are has probably halved over the last 40 years.  That must have affected attendances.  A short period of relative success would bring back fans and persuade youngsters to support the Ton.  That's what happened with me in 62-63 and 63-64.  Success breeds success.  However Bosman has destroyed the business model and nowadays there is a sort of glass ceiling for clubs of our size due to the inability to bring in funds from transfer fees, plus the difficulty of getting through the trapdoor to the relatively wealthy top division.

[TheGoon]

The population of our core catchment are has probably halved over the last 40 years. That must have affected attendances. A short period of relative success would bring back fans and persuade youngsters to support the Ton. That's what happened with me in 62-63 and 63-64. Success breeds success. However Bosman has destroyed the business model and nowadays there is a sort of glass ceiling for clubs of our size due to the inability to bring in funds from transfer fees, plus the difficulty of getting through the trapdoor to the relatively wealthy top division.

That's what I'm saying about St Johnstone though, and to a lesser extent Inverness. It is possible for smaller clubs to establish themselves in the top flight and push for Europe.

[vikingTON]

The population of our core catchment are has probably halved over the last 40 years.  That must have affected attendances. 

 

 

When Morton finished 10th (out of 14) and 4th in the newly established second tier literally forty years ago, the club's average attendances were 1969 and 2660. Morton's attendances in a similar campaign this season are right in the middle of that, so there has in fact been no long-term decline in crowds.

 

While the population of Greater Greenock has fallen significantly, it is still comfortably large enough to support a competently run and therefore successful professional football club. The far lower population of Dingwall and the dispersed catchment area of Rosshire are currently supporting an established top flight one after all.

[TRVMP]

County have a rich benefactor who has contrived not to completely waste his money, unlike ours.

[TheGoon]

County have a rich benefactor who has contrived not to completely waste his money, unlike ours.

This is true. I believe Thistle have seen a bit of investment as well. We would need money put into the team and the club's infrastructure, I'm not sure Rae is willing to do that anymore.

[Pedrodelawasp]

This is true. I believe Thistle have seen a bit of investment as well. We would need money put into the team and the club's infrastructure, I'm not sure Rae is willing to do that anymore.

I heard on the radio on the way home from Cappielow one week that a Thistle fan won a fair amount on the lottery and gifted the club a one-off sum. Apparently has been set aside to supplement their wage budget over the next few years.

[TheGoon]

I heard on the radio on the way home from Cappielow one week that a Thistle fan won a fair amount on the lottery and gifted the club a one-off sum. Apparently has been set aside to supplement their wage budget over the next few years.

Aye. They've also helped build their new multi-million quid training centre and are getting a stand named after them apparently.

[Hej]

The likes of Kilmarnock, St Johnstone, St Mirren, Motherwell, Partick, Falkirk and Dunfermline and us were all on the same level 30 years ago. They've all surpassed us now and we've gone down to the Raith, QOS, Hamilton bumpkin level since then.

 

SAD!

[SpoonTon]

A few weeks ago on the radio guys like Chick Young talking about how this was a great achievement in our first year back at this level, completely neglecting the fact that we finished 5th last season. We've spent nine of the last ten seasons in this division, finishing in the top half three of the last five seasons, but we get treated like a club who should be delighted to simply avoid relegation. Duffy has been doing a good job for us, but that's because he has hit his realistic targets, not because he has been performing miracles. 

[El gofer]

Rae has the mentality of a cricket club.or rugby club which is where his roots are.

As M4rko has correctly stated it encourages diddy club mentality. It was acceptable in the 80s and 90s but does not work anymore. He allowed the club to stagnate while encouraging the philosophy of a cricket club by paying inflated wages for one player and hoping he would encourage the professionalism of others while neglecting anybyouth system.

This has now been addressed but we are essentially viewed as being where we should be.

Bold decisions in terms of the squad are needed.

Are we going to see the fruits.of this youth system? Quitongo came from Aberdeen remember. Other than Russell we have not had any player making an impact yet and.duffy seems to favour young squads.

[dunning1874]

I heard on the radio on the way home from Cappielow one week that a Thistle fan won a fair amount on the lottery and gifted the club a one-off sum. Apparently has been set aside to supplement their wage budget over the next few years.

 

That was the Weirs from Largs, who were regularly at hospitality at Cappielow as invitees of Rae for a while after their win. Not sure why they eventually chose to invest in Partick instead but we can't rely on luck sending someone like that our way anyway.

[Scott]

That was the Weirs from Largs, who were regularly at hospitality at Cappielow as invitees of Rae for a while after their win. Not sure why they eventually chose to invest in Partick instead but we can't rely on luck sending someone like that our way anyway.

They're Partick Thistle fans. Shame they couldn't have been Morton supporters

[LargsTON]

They're Partick Thistle fans. Shame they couldn't have been Morton supporters

They lived 100 yards from me when I was growing up. I wish my parents had kept in touch with them more.

[Tonsilitis]

The likes of Kilmarnock, St Johnstone, St Mirren, Motherwell, Partick, Falkirk and Dunfermline and us were all on the same level 30 years ago. They've all surpassed us now and we've gone down to the Raith, QOS, Hamilton bumpkin level since then.

 

SAD!

Of the clubs you mention, I disagree that we were a similarly sized club to Kilmarnock and Dunfermline. Both had bigger fan bases, bigger stadia and regularly were in the top half of the top league and playing European football. St Johnstone, St Mirren and Falkirk all benefited from having a ground sited where it was attractive to a supermarket thereby getting modern stadia which allowed them to kick on. There is a degree of truth in what you say with Motherwell and to a lessor extent, Thistle but there are other factors also like the de industrialisation of Inverclyde and consequent population decline.

 

The way the club was run in those 30 years may have been a factor but far from the only one

[SpoonTon]

Of the clubs you mention, I disagree that we were a similarly sized club to Kilmarnock and Dunfermline. Both had bigger fan bases, bigger stadia and regularly were in the top half of the top league and playing European football. St Johnstone, St Mirren and Falkirk all benefited from having a ground sited where it was attractive to a supermarket thereby getting modern stadia which allowed them to kick on. There is a degree of truth in what you say with Motherwell and to a lessor extent, Thistle but there are other factors also like the de industrialisation of Inverclyde and consequent population decline.

 

The way the club was run in those 30 years may have been a factor but far from the only one

Kilmarnock spent most of the 80s out of the top flight (13 out of 16 seasons outside the top flight around then). They entered the 1990 in the third tier of Scottish football. Kilmarnock as a town has not exactly thrived since then.

[LargsTON]

John Wilson is the man I hold ultimately responsible for leaving us decades behind clubs that were once our peers. He had the benefit of football grants, money in the bank along with regular transfer fees and chose not to invest in infrastructure at the crucial time.

[Tonsilitis]

Kilmarnock spent most of the 80s out of the top flight (13 out of 16 seasons outside the top flight around then). They entered the 1990 in the third tier of Scottish football. Kilmarnock as a town has not exactly thrived since then.

Hard to argue but they have historically been a bigger club than us.  They have been champions of Scotland, played in umpteen cup finals and the European Cup, the Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA cup.   They are certainly not now what they once were and are saddled with a stadium that is way too big for them but I would not accept that they were at any stage a similarly sized club to Morton.

[cmdc]

 

 

John Wilson is the man I hold ultimately responsible for leaving us decades behind clubs that were once our peers. He had the benefit of football grants, money in the bank along with regular transfer fees and chose not to invest in infrastructure at the crucial time.

 

Not to mention the disasterous sale to Scott. Because Cappielow looks similar now to how it did in the 90s it's easy to forget the state Scott left it in and the expense of just recoveing it to (well, a wee bit beyond givne seats, flood lights etc) the status quo.

[SpoonTon]

Hard to argue but they have historically been a bigger club than us. They have been champions of Scotland, played in umpteen cup finals and the European Cup, the Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA cup. They are certainly not now what they once were and are saddled with a stadium that is way too big for them but I would not accept that they were at any stage a similarly sized club to Morton.

Kilmarnock were a successful club in the 60s, and they'll always have that history, but for about 20 years after that they were no more than our equals. They were behind us as a club for a good part of that period. The point is that we went through the 70s and 80s in the same position as many clubs who have since enjoyed long stints in the top flight. I know loads of Killie fans who enjoyed our rivalry and saw us as equals. They invested massively in the early 90s, overstretched in fact, but they moved in a completely different direction to us.

 

We were run poorly in the early 90s, and got caught up in a lack of vision and competence and too much infighting. This directly led to us being handed over to a charlatan who ran the club into the ground. This put us in a very difficult position, but you should know better than most that there have been too many neglected aspects of running a successful football club over last 15 years.