2024/25 Squad and Transfers

[ChampTon]

19 minutes ago, Jamie_M said:

Increased budget does not automatically mean a good or competitive budget when it's coming from a low starting point. Did you actually expect our budget not to be worse than most of the league?

The Bearne comment sounds like the ramblings of a crackpot.

I think there is some sense in the Bearne suggestion. We signed him after Imrie stated there was no money for Deane and we also beat off a few league rivals for him IIRC.

Without sounding "yer aunties dug told me", it's been through about 4/5 people before I was told, Chinese whispers potentially. But, aren't journalists hired to ramble...? 

[Jamie_M]

17 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Do you honestly believe a part time squad costs more than a full-time one? 

Do I think there's a big gap between what part time Arbroath in the Championship pay vs the lowest paying full time team? No, I do not.

Do I think the likes of Scott Allan sign for Arbroath on a couple of hundred quid a week? Not at all.

Do I think their squad of 26 could in total cost more than our squad of 19? Yes.

Our keeper was still working part time in a shoe shop until he got a wage rise with a new contract in January FFS.

 

[vikingTON]

9 hours ago, ChampTon said:

I think there is some sense in the Bearne suggestion. We signed him after Imrie stated there was no money for Deane and we also beat off a few league rivals for him IIRC.

He's gone to whatever 11th tier non-entity his level is - get over it.

[The Bewilderedbeast]

10 hours ago, ChampTon said:

Hearing murmurs that things aren't all well down Cappielow way. The fans being told "best budget in 10 years" but it actually horseshit and Jack Bearne signing was a decision of the board not Imrie. Our budget was also categorically the worst in the league last season.

Heard the same thing at the Dundee Utd game, from someone who should know about these things.

According to his version of events, we didn't have the lowest budget last season and that at least two clubs were operating on less.

He also said that a substantial sum,by our standards, had been set aside for incoming players in January,  but that money had been diverted away and used for (in his words) completely unnecessary shite.

At the time I put his comments down to a wee bit of sour grapes to be honest, but since then have been told by someone else,  who is around the club, that things are not all rosy in the Cappielow garden at the moment. 

[Ferguson]

A bit deflating that, but we seem to be hearing a similar story every summer. First 2 weeks of the off season have been an indicator of how far adrift we still are financially from the teams around us but that's not news. Dougie's done wonders with smaller budgets before so I've full faith he can do it again, can only hope things in the background aren't as worrying as rumoured.

[dunning1874]

On 5/13/2024 at 10:23 PM, dunning1874 said:

Could do without a summer of manager and board taking implicit shots at each other which will then lead to histrionics from the support about how we're doomed, Imrie is about to resign and fan ownership will inevitably fail.

Took an especially long time for this to start this summer.

[RossMcC1874]

Imrie has done wonders with the team considering the budget why would the board interfere with that when he is probably the most liked manager in well over 20+ years, I also don't suspect Imrie is the sort of guy where if the board said we are signing a player he wouldn't tell them to shove the job and move on if he wasn't 100% behind it. 

[SpoonTon]

4 hours ago, The Bewilderedbeast said:

Heard the same thing at the Dundee Utd game, from someone who should know about these things.

According to his version of events, we didn't have the lowest budget last season and that at least two clubs were operating on less.

He also said that a substantial sum,by our standards, had been set aside for incoming players in January,  but that money had been diverted away and used for (in his words) completely unnecessary shite.

At the time I put his comments down to a wee bit of sour grapes to be honest, but since then have been told by someone else,  who is around the club, that things are not all rosy in the Cappielow garden at the moment. 

When I was at school my P.E. teacher played for Clydebank. This was at the time that Clydebank groundshared at Cappielow. I remember him telling me one day that the sale of Cappielow had been finalised and Morton wouldn't be back for the following season. He was wrong, of course, but it was an important lesson for me to be sceptical of those with supposed insider knowledge. 

Also, once someone also told me that, his cousin, Jamie Stevenson had fallen out big time with Jim McInally because McInally wouldn't believe that he was injured. McInally would go onto take Stevenson to East Stirling and Peterhead - so I doubt any fall out could have been as serious as it was stated. 

Saying we had diverted money away for "completely unnecessary shite" raises some pretty big red flags about the veracity of the information.   

I can understand if Imrie isn't happy at the moment, but he knows the job he's here to do. 

[ChampTon]

I understand the sentiment behind "Imrie would tell them to shove it", but is his stock that high that he could walk into another job at this level? I'm not so sure.

I said before when he was put in the position, but John Laird is a snake oil salesman.

[Jamie_M]

42 minutes ago, ChampTon said:

I understand the sentiment behind "Imrie would tell them to shove it", but is his stock that high that he could walk into another job at this level? I'm not so sure.

I said before when he was put in the position, but John Laird is a snake oil salesman.

Have you seen some of the names that walk into jobs at this level?

[irnbru]

53 minutes ago, ChampTon said:

I understand the sentiment behind "Imrie would tell them to shove it", but is his stock that high that he could walk into another job at this level? I'm not so sure.

I said before when he was put in the position, but John Laird is a snake oil salesman.

I think the club is starting to become more professional and filling in roles that will generate money, i.e. a Business Development person so Laird seems to have had a positive impact in that regard. I guess some might see that as unnecessary if they have more interest in just the playing side but it's much needed and thinking that is a bit short sighted. 

I would be interested in Lairds role in contract offers if he's still an agent though - apparently he's Stapps. 

[ChampTon]

2 hours ago, Jamie_M said:

Have you seen some of the names that walk into jobs at this level?

I think he's done a fantastic job for us on the budgets he's rumoured to have been working with. But when I look at the possible teams in this division next season I don't know who would jump at the chance to have him? I always thought he would be a good choice for Livingston due to his connections there or maybe Hamilton? 

[Mr.Blue]

2 hours ago, irnbru said:

I think the club is starting to become more professional and filling in roles that will generate money, i.e. a Business Development person so Laird seems to have had a positive impact in that regard. I guess some might see that as unnecessary if they have more interest in just the playing side but it's much needed and thinking that is a bit short sighted. 

I would be interested in Lairds role in contract offers if he's still an agent though - apparently he's Stapps. 

I think the improvements are more down to Dale tbh.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

17 hours ago, Jamie_M said:

Do I think there's a big gap between what part time Arbroath in the Championship pay vs the lowest paying full time team? No, I do not.

Do I think the likes of Scott Allan sign for Arbroath on a couple of hundred quid a week? Not at all.

Do I think their squad of 26 could in total cost more than our squad of 19? Yes.

Our keeper was still working part time in a shoe shop until he got a wage rise with a new contract in January FFS.

 

Hang on. If, as you claim, Arbroath's 26 man part-time squad costed more than our 19 man full-time squad, it would obviously mean they could have also decided to go for a smaller full-time squad, like we did. Given that choice therefore, what manager in his right mind would go for the part-time option, in a league where every other team is full time? Sorry, I just don't buy that at all.

I do agree we probably had the second or third lowest budget, but no way was it lower than Arbroath's, IMO.

 

[Jamie_M]

16 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Hang on. If, as you claim, Arbroath's 26 man part-time squad costed more than our 19 man full-time squad, it would obviously mean they could have also decided to go for a smaller full-time squad, like we did. Given that choice therefore, what manager in his right mind would go for the part-time option, in a league where every other team is full time? Sorry, I just don't buy that at all.

I do agree we probably had the second or third lowest budget, but no way was it lower than Arbroath's, IMO.

 

Yeah, it's definitely that simple a choice. There definitely wouldn't be any other factors to consider outwith the playing budget to make such a switch would there, like club infrastructure...

Even if they had won promotion the previous year, they still weren't making that change.

 

[Cet Homme Charmant]

Yeah, I've got no doubt they'll have the best infrastructure in League 1

[TopCat]

Doom-mongering rumours from ITK folk who are vaguely associated with the club should be treated with as much credence as folk in the Tele comments section spouting mental opinions about the council. Having some information doesn't equate to understanding.

As for Arbroath, their strategy was clearly to be the best part-time club in Scotland. The size of their fanbase and financial backing doesn't lend itself to success in a full time model. Our strategy has been to scrape by at the bottom of the full-time level for the last 2 years and aim to gradually improve on that going forward. Arbroath having a bigger budget than Morton while we were at a financial low point isn't that ridiculous a proposition.

[Jamie_M]

51 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Yeah, I've got no doubt they'll have the best infrastructure in League 1

But not a full time one, granted Morton barely do.

40 minutes ago, TopCat said:

The size of their fanbase and financial backing doesn't lend itself to success in a full time model. 

Doesn't say much about us when they sold 1/4 more season tickets than we did.

Edited May 16, 2024 by Jamie_M

[ChampTon]

2 hours ago, TopCat said:

Doom-mongering rumours from ITK folk who are vaguely associated with the club should be treated with as much credence as folk in the Tele comments section spouting mental opinions about the council. Having some information doesn't equate to understanding.

As for Arbroath, their strategy was clearly to be the best part-time club in Scotland. The size of their fanbase and financial backing doesn't lend itself to success in a full time model. Our strategy has been to scrape by at the bottom of the full-time level for the last 2 years and aim to gradually improve on that going forward. Arbroath having a bigger budget than Morton while we were at a financial low point isn't that ridiculous a proposition.

There are screenshots floating around of a conversation from everyone's favourite Morton journalist. I'm sure they'll surface at some point. 

[Cet Homme Charmant]

Former Rangers starlet and Scotland U21 cap Dapo Mebude is a free agent after his club KV Oostende went bankrupt. Given Dougie's talent for rejuvenating the careers of players who've lost their way, he could be worth looking at.