Morton Club Together Updates - Page 105 - General Morton Chatter - TheMortonForum.com Jump to content
TheMortonForum.com

Morton Club Together Updates


Admin

Recommended Posts

I wouldn't use Raith as an example of a club developing a feel-good factor and success off the back of the fans. They've handed over their ground to a private owner and were subsidising a shortfall of £400k in the third tier a few short years ago. 

It's not making fans feel happy (though I agree that egregious mistakes do not help) but rather providing a clear plan for what will be done to modernise the club that will make us stronger in the long-term. 

  • Upvote 1

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, vikingTON said:

I wouldn't use Raith as an example of a club developing a feel-good factor and success off the back of the fans. They've handed over their ground to a private owner and were subsidising a shortfall of £400k in the third tier a few short years ago. 

It's not making fans feel happy (though I agree that egregious mistakes do not help) but rather providing a clear plan for what will be done to modernise the club that will make us stronger in the long-term. 

That’s a good point- a move comparable to what MCT proposed to us before the fans kicked off about Crawford taking them for absolute mugs. Should stick that one on my list.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With Raith, I think you actually see a good example of how quickly the mood of a club can be transformed. Nothing significant has changed off the park there since they were haemorrhaging money in three seasons in League One; they just got one managerial appointment right and that was enough to take them from circling the drain and maybe being a season away from becoming another Airdrie to being a top half Championship club, where the increased prize money as a result will go a long way to addressing those losses.

That's not to say all the other issues aren't extremely important in their own right, but even lucking into one good managerial appointment can go a long way to making it easier to address other issues while also getting the support off your back even without resolving them. Rightly or wrongly, every support has a significant element who'll stop caring about any other issues if they're given a successful team on the park and that happy support gives clubs more leeway. When there's literally nothing going well like us this season, there's no deflecting it.

Of course, in Morton’s case this brings us back to the question of the likelihood of making that good appointment if there's no change to the decision making process which led to a two year deal for Gus MacPherson.

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Oh Lord, Brian Wake

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A model that is based on never appointing a dung manager and always having prize money to stave off losses is a deeply faulty one. Having an effective team now is only papering over the cracks unless a credible infrastructure is being built off the park. In three years' time there's every chance that Raith will be in our current situation and asking serious questions of the private owner who has their only asset as well.  

The reality is that the mood would not have been good around GMFC in this season's Championship regardless of what MCT are doing. 'Winning' the play-offs hopelessly compromised this season from the off. The idea that the fanbase would be content with grubbing around for a 7th place finish and 40 points Because Of The Prize Money was folly - even if our current manager was competent enough to do this. We have spent too long circling the drain already for that to be a sustainable strategy. Going down, putting the blame squarely where it belonged on Crawford and the gang for that failure and doing a complete rebuild would have been a better outcome. 

The mood is driven for the most part by that current reality of the first team squad. MCT have compounded this by:

- handing a two year deal out to a dinosaur

- blowing off most criticism of their first team oversight, as well as the Lithgow controversy

- not demonstrating their commitment to transparency and accountability for decision-making

- not providing a meaningful strategy for modernising the club

among other shortcomings. Even if they were doing well across those club management issues though, there would still not be a feel-good factor until the performances, results and above all the demonstrated ambitions of the first team change as well. 

Edited by vikingTON
  • Upvote 2

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm guessing at the very least, the 4 MCT guys currently on the board are there as volunteers and don't take any wage?

It would be an absolute hoot if all 6 members with no football background at all were getting a wage while lamenting how expensive hiring someone with any football experience would be.

here today, gone to hell

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The justification for not appointing a sporting director in the Morton Q+A concerned me hugely. 

I'd argue the exact opposite point - Morton simply can't afford not to appoint a sporting director. MCT membership is nowhere near where it was predicted to be at this point of the first season; MCT's credibility seems to be dwindling by the month; and, largely thanks to MCT's first footballing decision, results on the pitch are pish.

I'd say that appointing a successful SD/DoF would go some way to turning the tide on all the biggest issues currently facing MCT. 

 

  • Upvote 2

You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks! 


Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, BishopBrennan said:

The justification for not appointing a sporting director in the Morton Q+A concerned me hugely. 

I'd argue the exact opposite point - Morton simply can't afford not to appoint a sporting director. MCT membership is nowhere near where it was predicted to be at this point of the first season; MCT's credibility seems to be dwindling by the month; and, largely thanks to MCT's first footballing decision, results on the pitch are pish.

I'd say that appointing a successful SD/DoF would go some way to turning the tide on all the biggest issues currently facing MCT. 

 

Appoint the right person and you've got experience of raising revenue, etc in football too with various contacts. Let the work on the strategy and football side of things and the GM can contribute/ run things day to day. 

To me it's a no brainer too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, irnbru said:

Appoint the right person and you've got experience of raising revenue, etc in football too with various contacts. Let the work on the strategy and football side of things and the GM can contribute/ run things day to day. 

To me it's a no brainer too. 

Absolutely. With a good sporting director overseeing the footballing facets of the club, and Chris Ross overseeing the business facets of the club, we are fan owned and expert run. That's the pitch we were given when asked to get involved in this project. Whilst we've amateurs making footballing decisions, making an arse of it, and refusing to answer the fanbase on the back of it, we're a million miles away from that. 

  • Upvote 1

You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks! 


Link to comment
Share on other sites

So some people not happy with the board getting the hiring of a 1st team manager wrong because they don't know enough about football, want them to also make another appointment of a more senior footballing role? I'm not against the idea, but maybe it's naive to think it will be a success?

As I've said before on here I'm not sure that fans of Hearts and Falkirk would recommend Craig Levein (managed at the highest level) or Gary Holt (kept Livi in Premiership) in their roles?

Really not having a moan or saying we shouldn't, but any ideas as to who's out there, affordable, willing, and available?

Most on here seem happy with 5 signings Gozie, Hamilton, Reilly (at the time), McIntee and Oksanen on loan, and keeping Jacobs and Ledger. Also most were happy to see Lyon, Strapp and McGrattan still here. More than a few not mentioned not so popular of course but is there really a well connected football brain out there that could do way better with our budget?

Again, just looking for some ideas as to who people think could really help the team/club improve?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, CM48 said:

So some people not happy with the board getting the hiring of a 1st team manager wrong because they don't know enough about football, want them to also make another appointment of a more senior footballing role? I'm not against the idea, but maybe it's naive to think it will be a success?

As I've said before on here I'm not sure that fans of Hearts and Falkirk would recommend Craig Levein (managed at the highest level) or Gary Holt (kept Livi in Premiership) in their roles?

Really not having a moan or saying we shouldn't, but any ideas as to who's out there, affordable, willing, and available?

Most on here seem happy with 5 signings Gozie, Hamilton, Reilly (at the time), McIntee and Oksanen on loan, and keeping Jacobs and Ledger. Also most were happy to see Lyon, Strapp and McGrattan still here. More than a few not mentioned not so popular of course but is there really a well connected football brain out there that could do way better with our budget?

Again, just looking for some ideas as to who people think could really help the team/club improve?

You're absolutely right that any appointment carries a risk, and that appointing a sporting director is a double risk because they might turn out to be absolutely guff (e.g. Gary Holt) and appoint a guff manager as well (e.g. Paul Sheerin.) Then you're screwed twice over. It's completely fair to point out that it's not a guaranteed success. At a certain point you have to admit it's a leap of faith. The idea, though, is that increased expertise and experience - up to a point - decreases the faith aspect; and it's also the case that, even should an SD fail, that's not evidence that having no SD wouldn't have been even worse yet.

Regarding a suggested replacement: that's the club's job and if they're unable to identify anyone then it's not really the responsibility of randoms on a forum to fill them in.

  • Upvote 1

EOho8Pw.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, CM48 said:

So some people not happy with the board getting the hiring of a 1st team manager wrong because they don't know enough about football, want them to also make another appointment of a more senior footballing role? I'm not against the idea, but maybe it's naive to think it will be a success?

One uninformed decision (amateur directors appointing a DoF), followed by a series of decisions being made with a more informed decision-making model, is going to have a higher success rate than the current model. 

Increasing the expertise we have in our football decision-making model increases the amount of footballing decisions we're going to get right. Absolutely nobody is suggesting that a DoF appointment is going to be a magic wand that means we never get another footballing decision wrong. It's optimising our football decision making to ensure that we are, at the very least, guided and advised by someone with industry expertise. 

Nobody in the fanbase would accept amateurs signing off on the club's books or writing up the takeover agreement between MCT and Golden Casket because they'd an amateur interest in accountancy or law for thirty years. The potential consequences are catastrophic. The fact that our representatives on the Morton board are in favour of this approach in footballing operations, the most important facet of the club, is as unacceptable as it is staggering. 

Anyone, upto and including the people on the current club board who have appointed themselves as football decision makers, who can't comprehend the case for a DoF are simply choosing not to.

  • Upvote 1

You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks! 


Link to comment
Share on other sites

The current first team 'model' involves appointing a manager who is competent across all of recruitment, coaching, match preparation and in-game management. These are all fundamentally different skills though, and any manager who can do all reasonably well will not be at this level for long. When they leave and you have to replace them with someone from the usual merry-go-round, it's a case of starting again from scratch. No sustainable progress can come from this arrangement. 

The second issue with GMFC's current  model is the complete absence of any credible expertise on the board to evaluate the performance of the first team. The idea that the bean-counter who was the arch cheerleader for the utterly disastrous 2013-14 'restructure' should have any say in first team affairs is risible. None of the rest of them have the credibility to hold a football manager to account either: which is why they need to delegate first team matters to a Sporting Director and focus on all the backroom issues where their attention and expertise is warranted. 

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, CM48 said:

So some people not happy with the board getting the hiring of a 1st team manager wrong because they don't know enough about football, want them to also make another appointment of a more senior footballing role? I'm not against the idea, but maybe it's naive to think it will be a success?

As I've said before on here I'm not sure that fans of Hearts and Falkirk would recommend Craig Levein (managed at the highest level) or Gary Holt (kept Livi in Premiership) in their roles?

Really not having a moan or saying we shouldn't, but any ideas as to who's out there, affordable, willing, and available?

Most on here seem happy with 5 signings Gozie, Hamilton, Reilly (at the time), McIntee and Oksanen on loan, and keeping Jacobs and Ledger. Also most were happy to see Lyon, Strapp and McGrattan still here. More than a few not mentioned not so popular of course but is there really a well connected football brain out there that could do way better with our budget?

Again, just looking for some ideas as to who people think could really help the team/club improve?

Gus was Technical Director at St Mirren - a role aimed at boosting football expertise in the running of a football club and helping to create a more stable vision for the running of a football club. If the club's big aim was longer term stability, as they suggested, then it would make sense to appoint some like Gus in a role like that. There's no guarantee of success, and you'd need to put the financial structure in place to afford it, but it makes sense given what they said. 

As it is, Gus was the type of manager I thought it was sensible to appoint - he was someone I had in mind before we appointed him, I have no complaints in that regard. He didn't impress last season, as far as our performances on the park went, but I can understand looking for stability and continuity given they were so new to running a football club. 

The only thing I don't understand or agree with is the two year deal. It doesn't make sense and hasn't been explained in any logical way. There's no stability if results are rubbish, fans (or players) turn on a manager, or you get relegated - that's an awful lot of turbulence surrounding a manager who is on a 2 year deal. The only point I made earlier is that having a DoF or Technical Director would help keep a bit of stability - if that's the aim. Otherwise, appoint someone like Gus as manager made sense, absolutely, but you cannot force stability by giving him a two year deal - that seems naïve. 

As an aside, on Craig Levein - I think the bigger problem there was moving him to the role as manager. He had ups and downs in his other role, that's a much bigger debate, but there are certainly benefits to having someone in a role like that. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps we simply can't afford a DoF, but that's probably a result of getting so many other things wrong. Seems we're living on the bread line. The Q&A suggested we basically can't afford to sack Gus so i highly doubt we've got the cash spare for a DoF of any credibility. Even shunting Gus into that position leaves funding required for a new manager. 

 

 

TIME FOR CHANGE!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...