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Jamie_M

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Wondered how long it'd be before we got something like this. Perhaps I'm being too unkind, but I find that hard to take particularly seriously tbh: I don't really see this is about "communication" so much as a totally dysfunctional, unaccountable board repeatedly making a cunt of a thing then backtracking on it when an apparently unforeseen negative reaction occurs. 

The big test of the viability of MCT will come in whether its membership allows this to carry on, or demonstrate the power of the organisation by forcing a significant review of just what exactly is going on inside Cappielow. If it turns out the purpose of MCT is simply to hand Gordon Ritchie his own football club to play with, nobody can have any complaints when it ends badly or with the club in the hands of a private owner.

Edited by EanieMeany
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I suppose the alternative is that these are genuine mistakes by people who are trying their best in what is a new and probably pretty difficult undertaking. I imagine that none of these guys have run a football club before and it'll be a pretty steep learning curve.

Admittedly, i may be guilty of being too kind but I honestly think we need to have a bit more perspective. Not every mistake is grounds for mutiny. 

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That statement reads like someone else has taken up matters here. The person who wrote that has put it in such a way that they agree the club's output has been pish and they're just as pissed off about it. 

Pretty frank assessment. They've committed to be better, and that's what we should expect starting from now. 

Edited by GiGi
 

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


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54 minutes ago, MarTon80 said:

I suppose the alternative is that these are genuine mistakes by people who are trying their best in what is a new and probably pretty difficult undertaking. I imagine that none of these guys have run a football club before and it'll be a pretty steep learning curve.

Of course mistakes will be made. It's the lack of judgment/basic common sense that is a significant issue. I don't see why it would take some highly experienced galaxy brain administrator of a football club to spot the obvious flaws with either the content of the exiting games message or the strategy of the programme issue before publication. They're totally needless own goals. 

While the statement today is on the surface entirely frank in admitting fault, I can't blame other fans if they  think that it's a case of the club rowing back after getting pelters, for a decision that they wanted to bury in the first place. 

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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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Irony is that 'communication' or lack thereof seems to be the problem, there seems to be agreement in many quarters about that, yet the club has killed of one of its main traditional means of communicating with the fans to save a mere few pounds.  As far as I can see, the clubs official website doesn't make any money either, especially in the half-arsed way it has been run over the years, should we get rid of that too?

The measurement of worth or value in these instances shouldn't be whether or not they are profitable, the necessity to communicate to its natural constituency demonstrates a greater need.  Not everyone is computer literate, or has access to a computer, or attends matches, or uses social media.  However in the clubs communication strategy all bases need to be covered, and whatever outlay in the programme production can be negated by programme sales, advertising, player kit sponsorship, sponsor a goal etc.  Overall, It doesn't need to be profitable to be a valuable club asset, and one too good to be scrapped at a whim by these short-term charlatans who are currently masquerading as 'directors'.

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On 8/6/2022 at 8:49 PM, EanieMeany said:

We've even had a director shouting about moving kick-off times to earlier in the afternoon to avoid using the floodlights, ffs*. I think if those who believe in the MCT project as a concept are serious about it, it'd be a good time to demonstrate it's accountability and potential for change.

On this point, I think very soon this will move from being the crazy ramblings of a miserly Morton director, to a serious suggestion throughout Scottish Football as we approach the winter months.

 

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The price cap doesn't apply to business use, where bills are expected to be as much as 5x higher. If Scottish football doesn't seriously adapt to crisis conditions then its operating model will collapse and quite rightly so. 

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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Avoiding use of floodlights and undersoil heating is unquestionably the right thing to do. These are, in the grand scheme of things, luxury goods.

There will be edge cases of people who bought season tickets who get off work at 2pm or something. That is a small problem. A far bigger problem would be burning money that we simply do not have.

It's a cost of living crisis and we need to start thinking in terms of that crisis, not of minor inconvenience.

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The old mindset, basically that Douglas Rae or whoever would put some money in to cover excess expenditure, is out of date.  I don't quite understand how energy prices have risen quite as high as now seems to be the case - the oil price for Brent is under $100 a barrel at the moment, less than it was in 2014, so why didn't we have mahoosive energy bills then?  Also, when there's a moderate breeze, Scotland is self sufficient in energy from renewable sources and the cost of wind hasn't gone up, so why are we being ripped off?  Anyway, given that we're stuck in this situation, for which I largely blame those who voted no in 2014, Morton need to act to mitigate the effects.  Changing kick off times so that games are played during daylight hours might be an option, although in midwinter the light is often pretty poor even during the daylight hours.  I don't think it would be a popular strategy, but it's probably what was done prior to about 1960 when floodlighting wasn't more or less universal - I think Cappielow only got floodlights in about 1958 or thereabouts, presumably when the cowshed was built, so before that games must have been scheduled during daylight hours.

It can't be said often enough - there is no magic money tree now, failing a good draw in the Scottish Cup maybe.  Morton has to be run as a business, not a pet project.  I'll be interested to see the bio of each candidate for election to the MCT board to find out what particular talents they bring to the table.  I also think MCT need to have someone competent handling the PR side, as recent events have suggested it's not always being handled well.

"Any nation given the opportunity to regain its national sovereignty and which then rejects it is so far beneath contempt that it is hard to put words to it."

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33 minutes ago, TRVMP said:

Avoiding use of floodlights and undersoil heating is unquestionably the right thing to do. These are, in the grand scheme of things, luxury goods.There

And that's not just for first team games. The floodlights were apparently on last night for some reason.

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6 hours ago, TRVMP said:

Avoiding use of floodlights and undersoil heating is unquestionably the right thing to do. These are, in the grand scheme of things, luxury goods.

There will be edge cases of people who bought season tickets who get off work at 2pm or something. That is a small problem. A far bigger problem would be burning money that we simply do not have.

It's a cost of living crisis and we need to start thinking in terms of that crisis, not of minor inconvenience.

Would need to be more creative with hospitality too. Can't see many people wanting to turn up at 930.

6 hours ago, Alibi said:

The old mindset, basically that Douglas Rae or whoever would put some money in to cover excess expenditure, is out of date.  I don't quite understand how energy prices have risen quite as high as now seems to be the case - the oil price for Brent is under $100 a barrel at the moment, less than it was in 2014, so why didn't we have mahoosive energy bills then?  Also, when there's a moderate breeze, Scotland is self sufficient in energy from renewable sources and the cost of wind hasn't gone up, so why are we being ripped off?  Anyway, given that we're stuck in this situation, for which I largely blame those who voted no in 2014, Morton need to act to mitigate the effects.  Changing kick off times so that games are played during daylight hours might be an option, although in midwinter the light is often pretty poor even during the daylight hours.  I don't think it would be a popular strategy, but it's probably what was done prior to about 1960 when floodlighting wasn't more or less universal - I think Cappielow only got floodlights in about 1958 or thereabouts, presumably when the cowshed was built, so before that games must have been scheduled during daylight hours.

It can't be said often enough - there is no magic money tree now, failing a good draw in the Scottish Cup maybe.  Morton has to be run as a business, not a pet project.  I'll be interested to see the bio of each candidate for election to the MCT board to find out what particular talents they bring to the table.  I also think MCT need to have someone competent handling the PR side, as recent events have suggested it's not always being handled well.

MCT candidates aren't really anything to do with the day to day running of the club so aren't responsible for the PR. They should be responsible for holding the club to account though which they don't seem to do. 

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25 minutes ago, irnbru said:

Would need to be more creative with hospitality too. Can't see many people wanting to turn up at 930.

Yep, there'd need to be much more emphasis on the post-game offering.

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12 hours ago, irnbru said:

That said, there must only have been about 20 there on Saturday... 

With a cost-of-living crisis that's only going to get much, much worse over the winter, I would suspect 'luxury' expenditure like Hospitality will be one of the first things that will be ditched by folk who are struggling to make ends meet. 

I booked Hospitality for the rearranged QotS match in February, but it was cancelled a couple of days before the game due to lack of numbers (not related to the cost-of-living crisis which hadn't properly kicked-in by then, it was probably more to do with the relatively short notice). I think for this game only something like 15 people had signed-up, so that's probably the threshold below which it's no longer financially viable. I suspect therefore Hospitality will be cancelled for many games this season, particularly less attractive ones. And even the ones that do go ahead will probably be with far fewer numbers than normal. I've got no idea if reduced Hospitality income was taken into account when setting budgets, but if it wasn't, that could be very bad news.

Very unfortunate timing for MCT to take over the club right before the biggest cost-of-living crisis in living memory.

Edited by Cet Homme Charmant
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Why can't the hospitality setup can be reduced in anticipation of lower demand to keep it running? The room and facilities are still going to be there - if there's clearly only going to be 20 folk or so likely to attend in February (if you're lucky) then prepare to cater/staff and then sell only that limited number of spots. I appreciate that short notice shortfalls can't be accounted for but cancelling it on a regular basis would defeat the entire purpose and alienate customers who do try to buy it. 

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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I've just had a quick google to see what inflation rates and energy costs are in EU countries compared to here. Seems to be a lot lower in almost every other country although there is a trend of moderately increased inflation in most countries.  It does look that we are being absolutely hammered, and I strongly suspect Brexit is the major differentiating factor although it is being played down in the MSM of course.  The hundreds of billions of £££ lost to PPE fraud and failed track and trace scams is no doubt in there somewhere.    The knock on effect on smaller football clubs is going to be significant and in our case, where every pound is a prisoner, some creative and radical thinking is going to be needed.

What is the profit margin on hospitality?  Do Morton actually make much from it when all costs are taken into account?

"Any nation given the opportunity to regain its national sovereignty and which then rejects it is so far beneath contempt that it is hard to put words to it."

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On 8/8/2022 at 7:38 PM, capitanus said:

Irony is that 'communication' or lack thereof seems to be the problem, there seems to be agreement in many quarters about that, yet the club has killed of one of its main traditional means of communicating with the fans to save a mere few pounds.  As far as I can see, the clubs official website doesn't make any money either, especially in the half-arsed way it has been run over the years, should we get rid of that too?

The measurement of worth or value in these instances shouldn't be whether or not they are profitable, the necessity to communicate to its natural constituency demonstrates a greater need.  Not everyone is computer literate, or has access to a computer, or attends matches, or uses social media.  However in the clubs communication strategy all bases need to be covered, and whatever outlay in the programme production can be negated by programme sales, advertising, player kit sponsorship, sponsor a goal etc.  Overall, It doesn't need to be profitable to be a valuable club asset, and one too good to be scrapped at a whim by these short-term charlatans who are currently masquerading as 'directors'.

Yeah, I agree with this. I think there's real value in programmes in a lot of ways and costing a club money to produce is not inherently a good enough reason to stop making them. It could be, but not as a first resort. 

Aside from anything else, they're a source of income and if you're skint, the sensible thing is to explore all options for maximising it before even considering scrapping it. I suspect even just saying "here, gonnae start buying these to raise money" would have saw sales increase, tbh.  Once again, it's not just the surface thing that's the problem here, it's what it represents.

 

On 8/9/2022 at 12:09 PM, Jamie_M said:

On this point, I think very soon this will move from being the crazy ramblings of a miserly Morton director, to a serious suggestion throughout Scottish Football as we approach the winter months

 

Could well be, yeah, but I really don't think it's a great idea for a director (MCT director?) to be shouting about something like that on such a platform and seeming to do so with his official hat, so to speak, on at a time when it's blatantly obvious there's big problems behind the scenes. If anyone at the club or MCT wants to discuss that idea from their position within either (if the post in question had simply been a personal one rather than stating it was a view from an official position, then fair doos obviously), they should be doing it via the MCT membership.

 


As for hospitality, just scrap it. If hardly anybody wants to use it, then there's no need to keep doing it, is there? 👀No, didn't think so. 

Edited by EanieMeany

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2 hours ago, vikingTON said:

Why can't the hospitality setup can be reduced in anticipation of lower demand to keep it running? The room and facilities are still going to be there - if there's clearly only going to be 20 folk or so likely to attend in February (if you're lucky) then prepare to cater/staff and then sell only that limited number of spots. I appreciate that short notice shortfalls can't be accounted for but cancelling it on a regular basis would defeat the entire purpose and alienate customers who do try to buy it. 

Lack of numbers was the reason I was given for cancelling it in February, so I assume there must be a number threshold where income doesn't cover the cost of the staff and the hosts. But someone from the club would have to give you an detailed explanation.

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