2024/25 Squad and Transfers

[irnbru]

5 hours ago, Mr.Blue said:

I think the improvements are more down to Dale tbh.

Got to be a bit of both. Dale works for the board to deliver what they ask (in theory anyway) although it does sounds like the strategy, etc was all from him so maybe you're right! 

[dunning1874]

21 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

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.  

Didn't he reject a contract offer from Rangers rather than them punting him? He's still young as well, he'd probably get a Premiership club if he comes back to Scotland despite his injury and health problems.

[Scott]

1 hour ago, ChampTon said:

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

Where can they be found? 

[TONofmemories]

Tele reporting we offered strapp a deal on reduced terms and he is, as expected, set to move on.

[Scott]

13 minutes ago, TONofmemories said:

Tele reporting we offered strapp a deal on reduced terms and he is, as expected, set to move on.

Has the budget actually been increased? 

[dazza]

Very worrying if that's the case. I think during that winning spell last season he was the best left back in the league. Came back fit and strong and played a massive part in our unbeaten run. To go and offer him a wage reduction is a disgrace. 

Edited May 17, 2024 by dazza

[Ferguson]

That's not a good look at all. Best left back in the league when fit for me, we won't get anyone better than him.

Only Broadfoot, Gillespie, Garrity, Blues and O'Connor mulling over our offers now apparently, with the deadline being the end of this week. Tough rebuilding job just got tougher.

[gmfc23]

22 minutes ago, TONofmemories said:

Tele reporting we offered strapp a deal on reduced terms and he is, as expected, set to move on.

If that's true it's a fkn joke. 

We apparently offered improved terms to Crawford muirhead and Oakley I'd say strap is just as important as those three. 

If we've offered reduced terms he's well withing his rights to tell them to shove it and move on. 

Also if that's the case then questions will undoubtedly start mounting about what kind of improved budget Dougie actually has at his disposal. 

[ChampTon]

Whoever made that decision should be sacked on the spot. Strapp is looked at as one of the best in the league. Four of our better players have rejected us (Oakley to be confirmed). I am absolutely seething. 

The excitement levels are absolutely rock bottom.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

11 hours ago, dunning1874 said:

Didn't he reject a contract offer from Rangers rather than them punting him? He's still young as well, he'd probably get a Premiership club if he comes back to Scotland despite his injury and health problems.

Don't know the circumstances of his departure from Rangers, but when he left them it seems he went to Watford and rarely if ever got a game. One way or other he ended up at KV Oostende who promptly got relegated and have now gone bust. He hardly played for them either in the two seasons he was with them, but not sure if it was because of injury, or if he just wasn't good enough. I don't see a Premiership team taking a punt on him if he's injury prone, or if he couldn't get a regular start in a team fighting relegation in the Belgian 2nd division.

Didn't know he also had health problems. That of course could be another reason for his lack of games.

[Hightide]

Best left back in the league and we’ve offered him reduced terms. The club should be embarrassed. 

[Ferguson]

Remember seeing Mebude against us for Queen of the South and thinking he was useless, but he could be a very Imrie type signing.

God knows who we'll be able to attract though, losing confidence in the heads in charge behind the scenes.

Edited May 17, 2024 by Ferguson

[Jamie_M]

The other 3 leaving, because they got higher offers that we can't match, was completely to be expected and little we could have done to stop them.

Strapp leaving (who I have never got the sense has ever wanted to leave) because we offered reduced terms would be infuriating though.

No kit announcement they can rush out to divert away from this story today...

Edited May 17, 2024 by Jamie_M

[DumfriesTon]

This is a stinker of a start to pre season. No doubt Broadfoot will sign on again to make up for it.....

[Brian Skelton]

Really surprised about Strapp if true of course.

[LargsTON]

22 hours ago, RossMcC1874 said:

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. 

I'd like to know the justification for offering Strapp reduced terms. A shocking decision.  Season ticket sales should rocket now.

[ChampTon]

The only sense of "justification" I can think of is that he was on 'inflated' wages when we initially resigned him.

Regardless, this fucking stinks.

[irnbru]

Mentioned it earlier but if Laird is his agent and there's stories leaking about contract offers and how much then it's not a good look. 

[SpoonTon]

I had been hopeful that Waters' release meant a good chance of Strapp re-signing. If it's reduced terms then I'd assume we gave him good terms to extend to the end of the season.

However, the accumulation of rejections is worrying. 

[dunning1874]

Not competing for Oakley when other clubs are blowing us out the water can't be helped and is no one's fault. Not putting the best offer we can on the table for Strapp - we can evidently do better if it's a reduction on this season - is unforgivable, regardless of whether that decision has come from the board not allowing the spending or the manager deciding he's not worth being one of our highest earners.

The one run of games where we weren't utter shite this season was the one run of games where we had all of Strapp, Wilson and Oakley playing. There were obvious cracks when you removed any of them and we didn't lose a game with all three on the park. Replacing Oakley is going to be hard enough without making the rebuild so much harder for ourselves by not even doing everything we can to keep another player who's absolutely critical to the team and levels above the rest of the defence. If we'd been blown out of the water again then fine, but if it's true that we've put a reduced offer on the table then that's fucking madness.