Squad for next Season

[TRVMP]

Happy to have that one over the line. 

[TaunTon]

3 hours ago, TRVMP said:

Happy to have that one over the line. 

Agreed. Can only hope that the lad settles quickly and demonstrates some of the promise that Livi believes he has.

[dunning1874]

Glad that's done. It happening two days before competitive games start suggests to me that rather than something particularly holding up the transfer, the club were just doing a bit of shitehousery since Livingston were letting him train with us anyway to only start paying his wage at the last minute possible. Which is objectively sensible behaviour if it doesn't jeopardise making the signing in the end.

[dunning1874]

While it's half-time, a quickly taken down attempt to cover Imrie's interview on Sportsound:

Quote

 

It is what it is, we've obviously tried to build a squad over the summer, as you can see we've got 8 academy kids, only 7 today in the squad but out of the squad of 18 we've got 8 academy kids who have come through the academy, so you can see the club are obviously trying to go a different direction. Again we've had a few injuries as well, a couple suspended, it's difficult, but the guys who are in there today will put on a good show.

"Are you going to get any more in for the start of the league season?"

That'll only be up to the club if they can find me some funds to bring players in at the moment. What we've got in the building will be in the building, if that changes who knows.

"That doesn't sound very optimistic Dougie."

Look you've got to be as positive as you can. The club comes first, the club need to look after themselves, at the moment I can't see anything happening but that may change.

"Is that a sense of frustration I'm getting from you?"

Nah I'm not frustrated, obviously I'm looking forward to the season starting today, I'm looking forward to the new season, but obviously you'd like to have more players available in your first game, especially your first competitive game, but again obviously we're struggling with some injuries that have been picked up during pre-season and a couple of players I brought in are suspended for today.

"You did a fantastic job, you salvaged the season for Morton last season, do you feel that's been stymied a bit?"

You could say yes and no. If you look at the players that left, I lost 13, 9 of them were starters every week, I;ve brought in 5 players of my own and 2 on loan from Livingston which I've got to give huge credit to Davie Martindale for allowing me to do, so yeah, it could be a little bit of frustration but we've built a decent squad and hopefully that'll be enough to see us through the season.

"Game today, it'll be a good test with Falkirk who are anticipating big things this season"

Yeah obviously they've had a change of manager, brought in John McGlynn over the summer, fantastic manager, so I know the type of football he'll want to play and it'll be a difficult game for ourselves, but it's one we've got to step up to. You want to start the season well and pick up three points at home.

 

Young also later said he understood the decision to narrow the pitch wasn't made by Imrie.

More on this after the game, but something really doesn't make sense here.

[so72]

23 minutes ago, dunning1874 said:

While it's half-time, a quickly taken down attempt to cover Imrie's interview on Sportsound:

Young also later said he understood the decision to narrow the pitch wasn't made by Imrie.

More on this after the game, but something really doesn't make sense here.

Thats really bleak

[TRVMP]

While it's clearly not ideal, we have nineteen senior players in the squad. If too many of them are academy graduates (I know what Dougie means here, he means they're young, not that he's knocking them for coming through at Morton) then that's an understandable concern. You can say that Hynes and Easdale are really making up the numbers. But it's not that small of a squad, is it, nineteen players? 

Chick Young is trying to stir up drama, which is his job, making it sound like we can't put a team together. How many other teams in the division would struggle with two suspensions and several injuries? 

[so72]

2 minutes ago, TRVMP said:

While it's clearly not ideal, we have nineteen senior players in the squad. If too many of them are academy graduates (I know what Dougie means here, he means they're young, not that he's knocking them for coming through at Morton) then that's an understandable concern. You can say that Hynes and Easdale are really making up the numbers. But it's not that small of a squad, is it, nineteen players? 

Chick Young is trying to stir up drama, which is his job, making it sound like we can't put a team together. How many other teams in the division would struggle with two suspensions and several injuries? 

We have no backup keeper and our forward options are Easdale, Garrity, Quitongo, Muirhead and Kabia. On top of that we have no cover for LB either. 

[TRVMP]

3 minutes ago, so72 said:

We have no backup keeper and our forward options are Easdale, Garrity, Quitongo, Muirhead and Kabia. On top of that we have no cover for LB either. 

So that's it? 100% of the budget is gone, there's absolutely nothing left, we're starting the season like this and we won't have a second goalkeeper? 

Or is it the ninth of July and we still have SPFL loan slots remaining, not to mention unlimited ones from other countries? 

[vikingTON]

5 minutes ago, so72 said:

We have no backup keeper and our forward options are Easdale, Garrity, Quitongo, Muirhead and Kabia. On top of that we have no cover for LB either. 

Our LB cover has been playing LB all day m8.

[so72]

2 minutes ago, TRVMP said:

So that's it? 100% of the budget is gone, there's absolutely nothing left, we're starting the season like this and we won't have a second goalkeeper? 

Or is it the ninth of July and we still have SPFL loan slots remaining, not to mention unlimited ones from other countries? 

Imrie said he isnt sure we will get anyone else.

[so72]

5 minutes ago, vikingTON said:

Our LB cover has been playing LB all day m8.

Out of position though unless I'm talking shite which isn't impossible.

[Drew Busby's Moustache]

well saved big man!

[TRVMP]

1 minute ago, so72 said:

Imrie said he isnt sure we will get anyone else.

Oh well, that's it, we're about to play a forty game season with no second goalie.  There's exactly zero pounds and zero pence left, we're not getting a loan, we're not getting someone on amateur forms, this is it.

Everyone needs to calm down. I completely believe that it's not the budget Imrie wants, or that any of us want, but that's not the same thing as saying the squad is complete. 

Chick Young is trying to gin up drama and saying Imrie is going to quit, and we're all acting like the sky is falling. 

Maybe Imrie has voiced frustrations to Chick Young off the record. Maybe he's saying he's not happy. That's not a big deal, if so: He's entitled to be frustrated. But. Is he the only manager in Scotland who has a crap budget to contend with? With a board who don't agree with everything he thinks 100% of the time? For the record I do understand why he'd be frustrated at certain things but in fact in the interview he is very fair and says that GMFC needs to look out for GMFC as a business. And it does. We have no lines of credit and no wealthy backer. What should we be doing differently here? Signing up 23 players in July to keep Chick fucking Young happy? 

[Drew Busby's Moustache]

8 minutes ago, Drew Busby's Moustache said:

well saved big man!

Aye...well according to Chick Young .

Idiot.

[Brian Skelton]

12 minutes ago, TRVMP said:

Oh well, that's it, we're about to play a forty game season with no second goalie.  There's exactly zero pounds and zero pence left, we're not getting a loan, we're not getting someone on amateur forms, this is it.

Everyone needs to calm down. I completely believe that it's not the budget Imrie wants, or that any of us want, but that's not the same thing as saying the squad is complete. 

Chick Young is trying to gin up drama and saying Imrie is going to quit, and we're all acting like the sky is falling. 

Maybe Imrie has voiced frustrations to Chick Young off the record. Maybe he's saying he's not happy. That's not a big deal, if so: He's entitled to be frustrated. But. Is he the only manager in Scotland who has a crap budget to contend with? With a board who don't agree with everything he thinks 100% of the time? For the record I do understand why he'd be frustrated at certain things but in fact in the interview he is very fair and says that GMFC needs to look out for GMFC as a business. And it does. We have no lines of credit and no wealthy backer. What should we be doing differently here? Signing up 23 players in July to keep Chick fucking Young happy? 

One player on the bench EMBARRASSING never seen it in watching Morton in 50 years not even under that fud Scott. Amateurs are run better.

Edited July 9, 2022 by Brian Skelton

[TaunTon]

Not going to get carried away at this stage but 4/5 players missing through injury and 2 suspended wasn't what I anticipated before kick off. I expect over the next few weeks some vacancies will be filled as players realise they're running out of time to find a home.

ps Chick Young's a twat.

[dunning1874]

Someone is evidently at it here, and I'm inclined to think it's just Imrie sounding off. It was never publicly stated but all the rumours around Imrie allegedly wanting away were based on the budget apparently being cut. At the MCT EGM it was then explicitly stated that the budget is remaining the same. Your three scenarios then are:

1. The budget has remained the same but it's all been spent on what we've got already

2. The budget has not in fact remained the same and a GMFC board member openly lied to the membership

3. The budget is not actually fully spent yet but Imrie isn't wholly chuffed with the calibre of player left to him with it and is indulging a journalist asking questions about it

Scenario 3 is clearly the most likely option there.

1 is a pretty laughable scenario which would only reflect badly on the manager's own recruitment decisions. We've actually had 11 players out, not 13 (Hamilton, Bysouth, Russell, Ledger, McLean, McEntee, Brandon, Wilson, Oliver, Reilly, Ugwu), so if the same budget has gone with only 7 in and some new contracts, then that would simply be a case of a manager fucking it.

People have had their issues with MCT and individuals on the board, but scenario 2 is a massive leap and there's no reason to believe they'd paint a target on themselves by telling an egregious lie like that.

3? Yeah, that works. The troubling bit is explicitly saying the club needs to find him more funds as if the budget is entirely spent, but a manager sounding off publicly in the hope it puts some pressure on the board to release more funds is something you see dozens of managers doing every single transfer window.

[dazza]

1 hour ago, dunning1874 said:

While it's half-time, a quickly taken down attempt to cover Imrie's interview on Sportsound:

Young also later said he understood the decision to narrow the pitch wasn't made by Imrie.

More on this after the game, but something really doesn't make sense here.

Mark narrows the pitch for every game before the 1st league game to allow the wider areas to grow/recover more where the linesman run up and down.  A non story. 

[Cet Homme Charmant]

With so many injuries we're surely not going ahead with the midweek bounce game with Carlisle? 

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, so72 said:

Out of position though unless I'm talking shite which isn't impossible.

He's only ever played left-side as a senior player for us AFAIK - left wing back under that tit McPherson; left back and (I think) left midfield too. 

King is absolutely our left-sided cover then regardless of where he played in a development team.