2024/25 Squad and Transfers

[Ferguson]

22 minutes ago, DaftTon74 said:

I also don’t think that’s the case btw. I would be shocked if Strapp didn’t have offers elsewhere within Scotland. Something different though, good luck to him and wish him well. Would much rather he’s out there doing well than being a direct opponent in the same league. 

Agree with this, top 4 in the Finnish league all get into European qualifiers as well with the team he's supposedly going to sitting 4th just now so it's not a terrible gig for him. Wish him all the best.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

28 minutes ago, DaftTon74 said:

Think the highlighted point probably goes against the point of being a strange one? Given that it’s suggested nobody fancies him back here so he has to try his luck elsewhere.
 

I also don’t think that’s the case btw. I would be shocked if Strapp didn’t have offers elsewhere within Scotland. Something different though, good luck to him and wish him well. Would much rather he’s out there doing well than being a direct opponent in the same league. 

Yeah, I can see where you misunderstood, when I said elsewhere I mean in Scotland, but yeah, that wasn't clear. So by strange I meant that in the sense that he's getting a better offer in Finland than in Scotland, if that's indeed the option he goes for.

I'd also be happy for him to go to Finland but career-wise I don't think it's a step-up, unless it's with a top team like HJK.

[TRVMP]

Former physio (who resigned at the end of the 21-22 season) has some opinions on the current board members.

He was very highly thought-of at Cappielow but a lot of people just don't like change. The casual Friday era of the Raes coming to an end hit a lot of people pretty hard.

[SassenachTon]

FWIW I've spent a lot of time in Finland and it's a staggeringly beautiful country. The language is an absolute pig to learn though - reckoned to be one of the hardest (topped only by Icelandic which is completely loopy). Very, very sorry to see Strappy go, but wherever he ends up - all the best to him for the future, and thanks for the great service to the club.

Edited June 11, 2024 by SassenachTon

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, TRVMP said:

Former physio (who resigned at the end of the 21-22 season) has some opinions on the current board members.

He was very highly thought-of at Cappielow but a lot of people just don't like change. The casual Friday era of the Raes coming to an end hit a lot of people pretty hard.

Well given that the ITK crowd originally claimed that Strapp re-signing for the club was, err, Strapp's agent/chairman going over Dougie's head*, I think we can file this nonsense in the bin where it belongs. Unless Kelly has a functioning, 4D chess explanation of how those two entirely contradictory claims about politics at work within the club tie together. 

We will never have a functioning and successful football club while everyone from former employees, player's maws to taxi drivers in the street think that they have licence to stick their oar in at every opportunity. I don't know *how* that issue is resolved, but it is absolutely toxic to fan ownership and far more infuriating to me than whether any player does or does not re-sign a new contract.

We can't even replace a goalkeeper coach without it being treated like the next Horizon-Post Office scandal by these tiresome attention-seekers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* That was naturally going to lead to a bust-up and the manager's resignation. 

Edited June 11, 2024 by vikingTON

[Mr.Blue]

1 hour ago, TRVMP said:

Former physio (who resigned at the end of the 21-22 season) has some opinions on the current board members.

He was very highly thought-of at Cappielow but a lot of people just don't like change. The casual Friday era of the Raes coming to an end hit a lot of people pretty hard.

Opinions are like arseholes. Everyone has one. Sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut. This kind of thing isn't helpful at all.

[TRVMP]

58 minutes ago, vikingTON said:

Well given that the ITK crowd originally claimed that Strapp re-signing for the club was, err, Strapp's agent/chairman going over Dougie's head*, I think we can file this nonsense in the bin where it belongs. Unless Kelly has a functioning, 4D chess explanation of how those two entirely contradictory claims about politics at work within the club tie together. 

We will never have a functioning and successful football club while everyone from former employees, player's maws to taxi drivers in the street think that they have licence to stick their oar in at every opportunity. I don't know *how* that issue is resolved, but it is absolutely toxic to fan ownership and far more infuriating to me than whether any player does or does not re-sign a new contract.

We can't even replace a goalkeeper coach without it being treated like the next Horizon-Post Office scandal by these tiresome attention-seekers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* That was naturally going to lead to a bust-up and the manager's resignation. 

There's no way around it, I don't think. The same thing happens at any club that isn't sufficiently rich and professional to have NDAs and the ability to enforce them, and even then it's not watertight. People will always have their opinions and will always want to stick the boot in for whatever reason. The only realistic path is for the people at the club to ensure whatever decisions are reached are well-documented and well-understood so that they know why they did it, and then they just need to trust that they did the right thing.

Strapp is obviously a great player but I'm getting pretty tired of the hero-worship of the guy, frankly, from people who seem to think that he's bigger than the club. He has every right to be unhappy with his offer and he can tell whoever he likes about it, but as owners it's our representatives calling the shots, not Strapp.

[TopCat]

Its a simple question really, given that we've got a fixed budget: Should Imrie cut e.g. the striker/midfielder pot by 400 quid a week and give it to Strapp because he's that good/the fans like him so much? The obvious answer to that is no, particularly given his history of injury, falling out with Imrie and the fact that we were short of goals even before losing Oakley, Crawford and Muirhead. 

All of this is also based on the assumption that he even wants to stay with Morton/in the Championship, making the wailing about this particular bit of transfer business all the more ridiculous. 

[Mr Toon]

I like Lewis Strapp and would be pleased if he stayed but the situation is far removed from the same stage at last season when he was being told he wasn't in the pans and he was offered nothing. This year he was offered a deal and like anyone else he has the right to accept it or not. If he now chooses to go, so be it and we move on.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

38 minutes ago, Mr Toon said:

I like Lewis Strapp and would be pleased if he stayed but the situation is far removed from the same stage at last season when he was being told he wasn't in the pans and he was offered nothing. This year he was offered a deal and like anyone else he has the right to accept it or not. If he now chooses to go, so be it and we move on.

Indeed. I like Lewis a lot and would have been more than happy if he'd resigned, but he's not as brilliant or as irreplaceable as many make out.

I did lose a bit of respect for him though when he announced to the world in social media his offer was shite, or words to that effect. An announcement along the lines of he couldn't agree with the terms on offer and he's decided to move on would have shown a lot more professionalism and maturity.

Edited June 11, 2024 by Cet Homme Charmant

[Toby]

17 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Indeed. I like Lewis a lot and would have been more than happy if he'd resigned, but he's not as brilliant or as irreplaceable as many make out.

I did lose a bit of respect for him though when he announced to the world in social media his offer was shite, or words to that effect. An announcement along the lines of he couldn't agree with the terms on offer and he's decided to move on would have shown a lot more professionalism and maturity.

I can’t be bothered checking back, but did he not just tell some fanny in a DM that his contract offer was shite, and that guy shared it online?

He wouldn’t be the first or the last in the world to complain about being offered shite money by his work, I’d say the guy he trusted with that information deserves far more condemnation than Strapp on that one.

[TRVMP]

4 minutes ago, Toby said:

I can’t be bothered checking back, but did he not just tell some fanny in a DM that his contract offer was shite, and that guy shared it online?

He wouldn’t be the first or the last in the world to complain about being offered shite money by his work, I’d say the guy he trusted with that information deserves far more condemnation than Strapp on that one.

Yep. He said "Rubbish offer" in a DM and the other guy shared it.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

32 minutes ago, Toby said:

I can’t be bothered checking back, but did he not just tell some fanny in a DM that his contract offer was shite, and that guy shared it online?

He wouldn’t be the first or the last in the world to complain about being offered shite money by his work, I’d say the guy he trusted with that information deserves far more condemnation than Strapp on that one.

 

27 minutes ago, TRVMP said:

Yep. He said "Rubbish offer" in a DM and the other guy shared it.

In that case, I take that back. If he said it if confidence to a mate and it was shared without his consent or knowledge, then aye, he's go nothing to be ashamed of.

[LargsTON]

3 hours ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Indeed. I like Lewis a lot and would have been more than happy if he'd resigned, but he's not as brilliant or as irreplaceable as many make out.

I totally disagree.  He was light years ahead of his understudy and will be extremely difficult to replace on a similar or lesser wage. Imo it was worth pushing the boat out within reason.

[Mr.Blue]

5 hours ago, LargsTON said:

I totally disagree.  He was light years ahead of his understudy and will be extremely difficult to replace on a similar or lesser wage. Imo it was worth pushing the boat out within reason.

I agree with most of this. He's the player that kickstarted our run of good form. Strapp was also miles better than waters. Can't be throwing everything at him but would be interested ti hear what the offer was if he classed it as 'rubbish.' His fitness record is also a cause for concern. Not sure we'd get a full season from him.

 

[Cet Homme Charmant]

7 hours ago, LargsTON said:

I totally disagree.  He was light years ahead of his understudy and will be extremely difficult to replace on a similar or lesser wage. Imo it was worth pushing the boat out within reason.

I don't necessarily disagree, but the perplexing thing is, if he's really so good, why does he seem to struggle to find another club in Scotland that can offer him the money he thinks he's worth? 

[dunning1874]

8 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

I don't necessarily disagree, but the perplexing thing is, if he's really so good, why does he seem to struggle to find another club in Scotland that can offer him the money he thinks he's worth? 

Maybe he could have this summer and just prefers a move to Finland where, although their top flight is definitely a lower standard than ours, he'll have a serious chance of playing European football every season and maybe even winning a league title, before considering the non-footballing reasons that he might like the idea of the change of lifestyle?

I'll still think offering him a reduction in wages was stupid - if we were reluctant to do so because of his horrendous track record of precisely two injuries in two seasons, then why did we offer Oakley an increase when Strapp was every bit as important to the team and Oakley is actually injury prone? - but no arguments with this being a good move for Strapp which is also a lot better for us than seeing him play against us for Dunfermline, Ayr or whoever.

[vikingTON]

9 minutes ago, dunning1874 said:

 

I'll still think offering him a reduction in wages was stupid - if we were reluctant to do so because of his horrendous track record of precisely two injuries in two seasons, then why did we offer Oakley an increase when Strapp was every bit as important to the team and Oakley is actually injury prone? - but no arguments with this being a good move for Strapp which is also a lot better for us than seeing him play against us for Dunfermline, Ayr or whoever.

It's only stupid if you assume that the starting point for these increased/reduced wage offers are highly similar.

If they're not then the logic is entirely straightforward. Every player has a maximum value within free agent market and the manager and backroom staff should allocate resources according to that. 

[Cet Homme Charmant]

1 hour ago, dunning1874 said:

Maybe he could have this summer and just prefers a move to Finland where, although their top flight is definitely a lower standard than ours, he'll have a serious chance of playing European football every season and maybe even winning a league title, before considering the non-footballing reasons that he might like the idea of the change of lifestyle?

I don't claim to be an expert in Finnish domestic football, but I'll stick my neck out and say that apart from perhaps the top two or three teams the standard is probably pretty shite. So is the prospect of playing one or two preliminary rounds in the Europa Conference League in places like Azerbaijan and Andorra really going to be such a big attraction?

I guess it will all depend on where he ends up.

Edited June 12, 2024 by Cet Homme Charmant

[Jamie_M]

21 hours ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

For all he's greatly admired by the vast majority of Ton fans, it's a bit weird that this doesn't seem to be widely shared elsewhere, as was also demonstrated last season when no one else snapped him even when he was fully fit. 

At what point before we re-signed him in November was he 'fully fit?

Edited June 12, 2024 by Jamie_M