Squad for next Season

[SassenachTon]

All points on this topic are moot, because he's moving on for whatever reason, so that's that - it's done. No-one really has a clue what's gone on behind closed doors, but as vT says, it's not for us to second-guess the manager's judgement. I'll miss Strapp's skill, workrate and commitment, and I'll miss his long throws which were often as good as a corner. He's served the club incredibly well, and as a fan, I'd like to thank him for his significant contribution, and wish him the very best in his future career.

[Jamie_M]

16 hours ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Again, did the article explicitly state that he didn't try to keep him? 

' Strapp exclusively told the Tele: “I’ve found out that I'll not be involved in the gaffer’s plans for next year, which I just need to take in my stride now...

... I've got to respect the manager’s decision - that’s why he’s the manager and I'm a player.

If I'm not in his plans or what he wants from the team then so be it." '

 

https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenocktelegraph.co.uk%2Fsport%2F23442707.lewis-strapp-set-leave-morton-12-year-stay%2F

 

[ChampTon]

More and more I'm seeing positive notions about Lyon's loan move at Annan. Agreed, he's 2 levels below but I wonder if it was a bit of a masterstroke by Imrie to 'toughen' him up a bit. He's tied up for next season isn't he? Im

[Cet Homme Charmant]

3 hours ago, Jamie_M said:

' Strapp exclusively told the Tele: “I’ve found out that I'll not be involved in the gaffer’s plans for next year, which I just need to take in my stride now...

... I've got to respect the manager’s decision - that’s why he’s the manager and I'm a player.

If I'm not in his plans or what he wants from the team then so be it." '

 

https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenocktelegraph.co.uk%2Fsport%2F23442707.lewis-strapp-set-leave-morton-12-year-stay%2F

 

So it doesn't explicitly say why he isn't in Douglas' plans then. The general assumption seems to be it's Douglas' choice for personal and/or football reasons, but it's also possible he's not in his plans for other reasons, e.g., excessive wage demands. I guess only Douglas and Lewis and those close to them know the real reason, but I'm not 100% convinced it's purely Douglas' choice. 

[AyrshireTon]

Almost put this in the ex-players thread.

Not the most glorious award, mind you.

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by AyrshireTon

[Alibi]

Reece has been getting good reviews all season. As has Annan striker Tommy Goss - maybe worth a look?

[Cet Homme Charmant]

1 hour ago, Alibi said:

As has Annan striker Tommy Goss - maybe worth a look?

I was wondering when the 3rd Goss brother would be famous

[HamCam]

17 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

I was wondering when the 3rd Goss brother would be famous

Oh the excitement - potentially another Goss to put up on your wall to add to Matt and Luke. You just have to hope none of the family walk in on you when you are having time to yourself.

[Drew Busby's Moustache]

44 minutes ago, HamCam said:

Oh the excitement - potentially another Goss to put up on your wall to add to Matt and Luke. You just have to hope none of the family walk in on you when you are having time to yourself.

Oh I say ! ..... mods.....MODS!!!

[Madton]

Just looking at the state of play for next season.

Signed up- Pignatiello, O'Connor, Baird. King, Blues, Gillespie, Lyon, McGrattan, R.Crawford, Garrity, Oakley, Muirhead,

Out of contract- Green, Ambrose, Grimshaw, Strapp, Miller, Quitongo.

Loans ending- Roy, Ali Crawford, Waters, Schwake

Loan returning- Lyon.

I'd be looking to move Garrity on, he needs to start playing regular football and he won't get that with us.

Of the out of contract players, I'd love Grimshaw to stay but highly unlikely. I'd be happy for Jai to get a new deal, think he's deserved it and if Big Efe is happy to be a backup, he can stay too but suspect he will be off.  Miller was great last night but hasn't done enough since he got here, think we aim for better.  Expect Green will move on and we know Strapp is off.

Of the loans, I'd offer Waters a deal. Think he has done well for us and is a decent replacement for Strapp.  Schwake has done well overall but i think Dougie will be looking for a new number 1 and I'd be surprised if we ty and get him back.  If Hamilton go down, we should try and get Fulton who I've always been impressed with. No comments required for A.Crawford and Roy.

Lyon- feck knows. Will Dougie give him one last chance, hopefully, we all know there is a player there and maybe the loan deal has given him the kick up the arse he needs.

Probably the best shape we've went into the Summer in years. If we had a keeper signed up, we could put a team out now which could easily compete in the cup group stages. Replace the 7 or 8 who will most likely move on with better and we should go into next season in good shape,

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2023 by Madton

[ChampTon]

I would agree with most of the above. I wonder if we could keep Efe on as an emergency back up/coach? He's the type of guy that's experience is second to none at this level and a great character to boot. 

I agree with Fulton, since Accies have turned their season around (somewhat) he's been one of the main players to be part of that. I always liked the boy up top for them Winters, looked good albeit a tad raw. 

If it wasn't for his recent injuries I could see a team with a small budget like Livi take a chance on Quitongo. His end product hasn't been great but in the past few months his service was getting better and his physicality alone would be a problem a level higher, potentially a good impact sub.

[SpoonTon]

1 hour ago, Madton said:

Just looking at the state of play for next season.

Signed up- Pignatiello, O'Connor, Baird. King, Blues, Gillespie, Lyon, McGrattan, R.Crawford, Garrity, Oakley, Muirhead,

Out of contract- Green, Ambrose, Grimshaw, Strapp, Miller, Quitongo.

Loans ending- Roy, Ali Crawford, Waters, Schwake

Loan returning- Lyon.

I'd be looking to move Garrity on, he needs to start playing regular football and he won't get that with us.

Of the out of contract players, I'd love Grimshaw to stay but highly unlikely. I'd be happy for Jai to get a new deal, think he's deserved it and if Big Efe is happy to be a backup, he can stay too but suspect he will be off.  Miller was great last night but hasn't done enough since he got here, think we aim for better.  Expect Green will move on and we know Strapp is off.

Of the loans, I'd offer Waters a deal. Think he has done well for us and is a decent replacement for Strapp.  Schwake has done well overall but i think Dougie will be looking for a new number 1 and I'd be surprised if we ty and get him back.  If Hamilton go down, we should try and get Fulton who I've always been impressed with. No comments required for A.Crawford and Roy.

Lyon- feck knows. Will Dougie give him one last chance, hopefully, we all know there is a player there and maybe the loan deal has given him the kick up the arse he needs.

Probably the best shape we've went into the Summer in years. If we had a keeper signed up, we could put a team out now which could easily compete in the cup group stages. Replace the 7 or 8 who will most likely move on with better and we should go into next season in good shape,

 

 

 

I largely agree, but I haven't been impressed by Waters. He's a basic left back who knows his role well but I don't think he's particularly good at anything - his crosses aren't very good, his clearances could go anywhere, he can't really dribble or pass his way out from the back. He's not particularly weak or a liability of any sort at defending but I'd like to think we could do better. 

[port-ton]

I'd be more than haply with waters as a replacement. For most of his spell he's been barely noticeable because he was just a solid but unspectacular player who did nothing amazing or nothing awful which is a decent starting place for a championship defender but the past few games I think he's really started to show what he can offer. His distribution with the ball could be better but tbh that's not exactly something Strapp was ever brilliant at. 

[SpoonTon]

51 minutes ago, port-ton said:

I'd be more than haply with waters as a replacement. For most of his spell he's been barely noticeable because he was just a solid but unspectacular player who did nothing amazing or nothing awful which is a decent starting place for a championship defender but the past few games I think he's really started to show what he can offer. His distribution with the ball could be better but tbh that's not exactly something Strapp was ever brilliant at. 

I thought he struggled particularly in the first half at Ayr. Around the time he was booked he looked a bit lost. I didn't think that was his best game - scoring with a poor cross doesn't cover the weak performance for me. I thought he struggled with the conditions in the first half last night but was comfortable in the second. He got into a good position to score in the first but took too long over it - I thought that kind of sums him up, he knows what to do but just isn't brilliant at actually doing it. 

I won't labour the point cause I don't think he's been bad - I just don't think he's very good. If our aim is simply to avoid relegation next season then sure, we could do worse. Otherwise, I'd hope we could do better. 

[RossMcC1874]

4 hours ago, Madton said:

Just looking at the state of play for next season.

Signed up- Pignatiello, O'Connor, Baird. King, Blues, Gillespie, Lyon, McGrattan, R.Crawford, Garrity, Oakley, Muirhead,

Out of contract- Green, Ambrose, Grimshaw, Strapp, Miller, Quitongo.

Loans ending- Roy, Ali Crawford, Waters, Schwake

Loan returning- Lyon.

I'd be looking to move Garrity on, he needs to start playing regular football and he won't get that with us.

Of the out of contract players, I'd love Grimshaw to stay but highly unlikely. I'd be happy for Jai to get a new deal, think he's deserved it and if Big Efe is happy to be a backup, he can stay too but suspect he will be off.  Miller was great last night but hasn't done enough since he got here, think we aim for better.  Expect Green will move on and we know Strapp is off.

Of the loans, I'd offer Waters a deal. Think he has done well for us and is a decent replacement for Strapp.  Schwake has done well overall but i think Dougie will be looking for a new number 1 and I'd be surprised if we ty and get him back.  If Hamilton go down, we should try and get Fulton who I've always been impressed with. No comments required for A.Crawford and Roy.

Lyon- feck knows. Will Dougie give him one last chance, hopefully, we all know there is a player there and maybe the loan deal has given him the kick up the arse he needs.

Probably the best shape we've went into the Summer in years. If we had a keeper signed up, we could put a team out now which could easily compete in the cup group stages. Replace the 7 or 8 who will most likely move on with better and we should go into next season in good shape,

 

 

 

Agree with most of this. I think Fulton anytime I have seen him for Hamilton has always been really solid, Dougie also singing his praises in the post match interview. Quitongo is a difficult one because he has something that no one else does with his pace and power but his Injury record, goals and assists are pretty abysmal and tbh I think we should look elsewhere as the end product is simply not good enough. 

Ambrose could be a decent coach/ emergency backup if needed but wouldn't be fussed if he wasn't offered a deal. Obviously you would love to keep Grimshaw but he will probably have better offers elsewhere. Has Green ever actually played a game for us? no idea what he is like but I presume he would move on also, Miller was decent last night and does show flashes but for the large part of the games he has played in he has been posted missing so I don't think he deserves a new deal. 

 

[Doddie]

I’d keep jai. I’d be looking at a new keeper right back/ left back and a winger. Love to keep Grimshaw but doubt we will keep him and I think we need better than waters 

Bulk of the squad already signed up 

[gmfc_craig]

New keeper will be Ryan Fulton if there’s a chance of getting him. I don’t know his contract situation at Hamilton but Imrie is obviously an admirer as he has praised him in a couple of post match interviews after Accies games this season and he gave him a hug and a slap on the arse at full time last night!!!! 

Would take Jack Hamilton back to be fair, may be the cheaper option than Fulton and hasn’t really had a sniff at Livi this season

[AyrshireTon]

3 hours ago, SpoonTon said:

I thought he struggled particularly in the first half at Ayr. Around the time he was booked he looked a bit lost. I didn't think that was his best game - scoring with a poor cross doesn't cover the weak performance for me.

I'm loathe to judge anyone based on a game at Ayr - I've never seen us look remotely competent whenever we've played at Somerset (even when we've won).

We were discussing the squad at half time last night and wondered if Jai would be kept on.

[Mr.Blue]

I'd be happy to keep schwake and waters for another season. Schwake is a young keeper who is learning all the time and overall has done a good job this season. Waters has been consistently solid since he came in. Not sure we could get an upgrade on hum but who knows what Dougie has up his sleeve. I'd grimmy goes we need another option at right back. I like Pignatiello but not sure he is good enough to be first choice. Said in another thread that I wouldn't be against tumilty coming back. Of everyone that's signed up so far we need to add a gk, 2 fullbacks, centre back, centre mid and 1/2 wingers/ forwards. That's assuming strapp, efe, Grimmy, Miller, quitongo, schwake, waters, Crawford and Roy leave.

[dunning1874]

For all Fulton has a tendency to pull off wonder saves as we saw on Tuesday, he's also got howlers in him and is more error prone than Schwake. If we had conceded either of the goals we scored Schwake would be getting pelters.

While the first is a great delivery, it's a corner being tapped in at the back post from 4 yards out which he gets nowhere near having been stuck to his line. The second is a good hit from King at a tight angle, but it goes right under him. He's badly at fault for both of those goals.