Developing MCT/GMFC Board Situation

[vikingTON]

6 hours ago, Dirk Gently said:

No, you can't.  But you can put yourself forward for the board, and existing board members can co-opt you to fill any vacancies if there aren't enough elected board members.

Co-opting the exact same folk who literally resigned less than one fucking week ago though is as bent as a thirteen bob bit. 

No replacement directors should be appointed before an EGM and if that means the MCT board grinds to a halt then so be it. Stop fucking resigning every 3 seconds and work together instead.

MCT directors are responsible to its membership and not to either their own or a sponsor's agenda. I'll be actively considering ending my subscription, unless there is an imminent prospect of all the folk implicated in this being held accountable. 

[SassenachTon]

3 hours ago, Charles_Joe said:

What are Dalrada actually getting out of sponsoring a middle of the road second tier Scottish football team??

If we rule out altruism, is their motive being scrutinised?

It’s starting to feel very shady. 

It's not shady. It's a bloke from Greenock who worked hard and did well for himself. He's now the head of a huge company who will seek any possible means to reduce their tax burden. 'Legitimate charitable donations' to a community-owned club in a deprived area absolutely represents a legitimate cause - and it's 100% tax-deductible.  

I said it earlier in the thread - but we should be fucking grateful that the Greenock bloke remembered his roots, instead of pandering to some woke 'look at how right-on we are' bullshit donations to earn corporate bownie points and cheap publicity. Aye - they've allegedly been latterly late with some payments - but can you imagine where we'd be without the vast piles of cash they've injected - only to receive the dubious return honour of getting their name on the shirts of a 2nd-tier club playing on a company-named ground built in 1879 which probably still has its original bogs? Criticising and questioning that and demanding all sort of justification for their motives  (to me) is hysterical pant-wetting, entitled - and ungrateful in the extreme.

On a side note - I have no fucking idea what a chairman or a board of directors actually does or contributes on a daily basis, or what effect their very existence can possibly have relating to what happens on the pitch every week. The current shitshow tells me that whatever they actually do most certainly isn't motivated by a deep-seated and passionate love of Morton. I just see a fuck-ton of 'offended' snowflake egos being bent out of shape. This is Morton FFS. It's not Barcelona, Bayern, or Manchester United.

My solution to all of this is to appoint Dougie Imrie as Chairman, Director of Football, General Manager and head of the 'Football Department',  MCT liason officer, head of communication, pie-stall queue fixer, turnstile guru, Ultra-remover, Dalrada envoy, re-appointer of Andy Millen - and pay him everything the current freeloaders are presently sucking out of the club whilst largely providing nothing concrete in return. He'd need staff obviously. Some of his appointments would be howlers - but his other unproven 'also-rans' would prove themselves to be great after he'd whipped them into shape.

Edited May 13 by SassenachTon

[TopCat]

1 hour ago, Jamie_M said:

I think the point is around MCT membership having a say on whether it is 'acceptable' or not.

When would they usually have to approve a sponsorship deal unless there is more to it this time?

The level of acrimony on show suggests to me that the day to day effects of the recent Dalrada situation have already shifted from 'sponsorship-plus-help' to something closer to 'part-ownership-lite' this season. The new sponsorship offer might come with even more conditions if funding is to be increased as suggested.

That's not necessarily a bad thing in the grand scheme of things, but it's a decision that's in the hands of MCT and and it's members, not Dalrada (despite having their massive financial carrot/stick available to negotiate with). 

[TONofmemories]

1 hour ago, Dirk Gently said:

Perhaps stability is the key word.  Perhaps it's not about who the reps actually are.  Maybe it's about whether Dalrada feel they can trust them or not, and for that they have to know them and have an existing relationship.   Perhaps they thought that MCT removing known and trusted people overnight and replacing them with who knows would destabilize the football club too much for them to want to hand their money over.  So maybe it's not about shareholding, it's about knowing and trusting who you're donating your money to.

Hiya G Barr, hiya son

[vikingTON]

8 minutes ago, SassenachTon said:

I said it earlier in the thread - but we should be fucking grateful that the Greenock bloke remembered his roots, instead of pandering to some woke 'look at how right-on we are' bullshit donations to earn corporate bownie points and cheap publicity. Aye - they've allegedly been latterly late with some payments - but can you imagine where we'd be without the vast piles of cash they've injected - 

Can you identify how much Dalrada have actually invested in the football club that counts as 'vast piles of cash', without using the Poundland Pulitzer at the Tele's gormless, fact free reporting? 

As for imagining where we would be, the answer is 'dead but for the ongoing capital investment of MCT, which saved the club when a previously 'benevolent', guid Greenock businessman left the club up shit creeek without a paddle. It's indeed a shame that creator of the organisation has felt obliged to resign from both club and MCT positions, presumably (though perhaps not) in response to this pathetic fait accompli unfolding in front of us. I certainly rather he'd be back rather than some of the fucking ghouls hanging around the place now. 

The club was here for 145 years before Dalrada, and it will be on the fanbase to support it long after Dalrada's partnership inevitably ends. So stop treating GMFC like it is some sort of life support wretch being kept alive by the benevolence of others. 

[SassenachTon]

15 minutes ago, vikingTON said:

Can you identify how much Dalrada have actually invested in the football club that counts as 'vast piles of cash'

Can you? Pls post your spreadsheet.

[vikingTON]

Just now, SassenachTon said:

Can you? Pls post your spreadsheet.

The onus is on you identify what these "vast piles of cash" amount to in practice. 

[SassenachTon]

18 minutes ago, vikingTON said:

The onus is on you identify what these "vast piles of cash" amount to in practice. 

Understandably - no accounts or spreadsheet has been forthcoming. So no - it's not, unless you choose to provide proof to the contrary. When you do, and when the accounted numbers don't match up to my wildest dreams, you'll receive my profound apologies. Meanwhile - the onus is on you to identify why we (as an impecunious fitba entity) should suddenly have their finances thrown into apparent chaos courtesy of motive-related conspiracy theories surrounding our principal sponsor.

Not that it's relevant - but I contribute many, many times more than most MCT members on a monthly basis and I'm proud to have this ability to support my team so directly.  So don't go pigeonholing me as one whose entire reasoning revolves around some random 'guid businessman'.

Edited May 13 by SassenachTon

[vikingTON]

2 minutes ago, SassenachTon said:

Understandably - no accounts or spreadsheet has been forthcoming. So no - it's not, unless you choose to provide proof to the contrary. When you do, and when the accounted numbers don't match up to my wildest dreams, you'll receive my profound apologies.

Meanwhile - he onus is on you to identify why we (as an impecunious fitba entity) should suddenly have their finances thrown into apparent chaos courtesy of motive-related conspiracy theories surrounding our principal sponsor.

There are no published accounts for GMFC? Or are you just too lazy to find them? Do you work on the 'journalism' desk for the Greenock Telegraph by any chance? 

You're the one who is claiming that "vast piles of cash" have already been flung at an ungrateful, stupid wee football club by these benevolent white knights - how much are we talking about then? 

The only organisation whose finances have been "in apparent chaos" are in fact the benevolent sponsors who just so happen to drop the ball on making scheduled payments. That's not a conspiracy theory. 

[SassenachTon]

6 minutes ago, vikingTON said:

There are no published accounts for GMFC? Or are you just too lazy to find them? Do you work on the 'journalism' desk for the Greenock Telegraph by any chance? 

You're the one who is claiming that "vast piles of cash" have already been flung at an ungrateful, stupid wee football club by these benevolent white knights - how much are we talking about then? 

The only organisation whose finances have been "in apparent chaos" are in fact the benevolent sponsors who just so happen to drop the ball on making scheduled payments. That's not a conspiracy theory. 

VT - I have massive respect for you, your posts and your club knowledge which is 99% likely to be greater than mine - and by a considerable order of magnitude. We'll agree to disagree for the time being until the eventual outcome happens and we're dealing with facts instead of guesswork. I know that both you and I will be anxious for the best possible outcome for the club we support.

[dunning1874]

Picking the parts especially worthy of scrutiny out here:

Quote

This will also enable the interim Board to engage with Dalrada and the GMFC Board about the way forward for the club. Importantly, the interim Board will act as a vehicle for communicating details of the Dalrada proposal with the MCT membership, as it is the members who will have the say on whether it is acceptable or not.

As others have already covered, what is in this proposal that requires the MCT members to look at it? If it's just a continuation of shirt and stadium sponsorship then that's just a commercial transaction which shouldn't need to be put to members. If there's something more in depth approaching, then I'm concerned that we can't trust the GMFC board to approach it properly when they are now effectively a handpicked Dalrada board.

Quote

 

With the various changes that have taken place on the MCT Board in recent months, the previous relationship between MCT and GMFC at Board level had a long way to go to become a constructive working relationship.

It is very clear that a firm reset is required, and this working dynamic cannot continue. The two Boards need to be working closely in conjunction, if not as one, with each other and we hope that with the changes that have occurred within MCT that this will be possible.

It is very clear that both the GMFC Board and interim MCT Board are ready and willing to engage with each other, and this will start immediately.

 

The contention here is that the previous MCT board was the cause of the difficulty in the working relationship between the two boards, and this will no longer be an issue with a new MCT board in place. Taking things at face value as with other statements in the last week that could be the case. However...

Quote

We fully understand that the above reasoning won’t be valid justification for some, but decisions were made with the best intentions. What has been evident in the last week is that the relationship between the two Boards has not been conducive to a positive flow of information between each other. What is clear is that there is now a willingness from everyone involved on the GMFC Board and interim MCT Board to build that trust moving forward.

I quoted the rest of the demonstrable bullshit about their response to the embargo in a previous post, which is an utterly nonsensical justification of their refusal to tell anyone and attempt to conceal the truth: that they allowed this to happen through gross incompetence. It's frankly insulting to claim they were doing it for the good of the club, rather than just hoping that if they kept quiet they could get away with it and have the ban lifted with no one ever knowing.

This specific paragraph however doubles down on the lack of communication being the previous MCT board's fault, while also confirming the truth of the whole complaint the MCT board had which led to them asking for resignations: Sam Robinson and Graham Barr knew about the embargo and simply did not bother to tell MCT, while being on the GMFC board as MCT reps.

The comment that there is now a willingness from everyone to work together tells us that it wasn't there on the part of the GMFC board before: Sam Robinson and Graham Barr had been unwilling to put their egos aside and work with an MCT board who had the temerity to scrutinise them when they failed to act appropriately as MCT reps, as proven by their collusion with the rest of the GMFC board in covering up the embargo when the only possible appropriate action for an MCT representative in that situation was to inform MCT immediately. No doubt there was blame on both sides for the relationship having deteriorated to that point in the first place, but that neither of them bothered to do the right thing and inform the MCT board regardless of any personal animosity with individuals on it shows that they were themselves an obstruction to the boards communicating properly.

That is completely unacceptable regardless of what justification they try to give for that behaviour (considering the pathetic attempt at justifying the lack of public statement in the previous paragraphs I doubt it'd be a good one anyway) and means their positions remain utterly untenable. If other parties want them to be on the GMFC board in their own right then fine, but under absolutely no circumstances should they be there as MCT representatives: they have proven through their own actions, which are admitted to here in a statement designed to defend them, that they cannot be trusted in that role. My future votes as an MCT member will be made with this extremely obvious conclusion in mind.

Quote

It would obviously be remiss of both Boards not to touch on the reported situation with the two MCT Reps on the GMFC Board, Sam Robinson and Graham Barr. The reality of the situation is that it was very unclear for the GMFC Board what was happening, no conversations took place with Sam and Graham from MCT and only a short email was delivered and not followed up on. This left the GMFC Board in limbo as we were all unclear on the situation.

There is of course a serious point here that if all the MCT board have done is send an email asking for their resignations and not follow up on it at all then their own communication was also absolutely dreadful, that's not remotely good enough and they deserve criticism for that. Some of the drivel in this statement already has earned flippant responses though, and so I'll point out that an email is still more communication than MCT received from Barr and Robinson over the embargo. Not nice when the shoe's on the other foot, is it?

Quote

 

What has been portrayed is Dalrada holding MCT to ransom over Sam and Graham. While Dalrada did state that they wanted that decision reversed, we would emphasise that this is down to the way it was done, not because Dalrada were not open to changes, if these changes benefit the business.

One of Brian Bonar’s requests to MCT several months ago was not that the GMFC Board could not be changed, but that any changes made would need to be reasonable, discussed with the GMFC Board including Ross Gourdie, the Dalrada representative, and the way forward agreed for the best of the club.

 

Right, so even if we put to one side the entirely pertinent points of "what the fuck does it have to do with Dalrada how MCT choose to appoint their representatives to the GMFC board?" and "how do they determine what benefits the business?" what we're being told here is that it wasn't the fact of Robinson and Barr being removed from the board which Dalrada objected to but simply the manner the attempt to remove them was made. So if we accept that to be true, then if in the near future there is a further attempt to remove Robinson and Barr lead by the demands of the rank and file MCT membership rather than MCT board members acting alone, Dalrada will presumably have no objection to this?

This is an extremely pertinent point as I have no doubt that the removal of Robinson and Barr is an issue which will dominate the EGM when held, and rightly so when they've so clearly shown a total disregard for MCT and its members which makes it impossible to trust them.

[Admin]

Former GMFC and MCT director Gordon Ritchie has asked me to post the following statement on his behalf - 

Quote

I wish to set the record straight on some of the issues that led to the transfer embargo being imposed on Morton. When we launched MCT, and when I announced the purchase of the club, we promised transparency and honesty. The current regimes are failing to honour many of the undertakings that we gave. This has particularly been the case since John Laird and Dale McDonald arrived at the club. MCT members deserve to know the shambles that has been Greenock Morton in recent times. 

I cannot exactly recall the specifics of the Jack Bearne transfer. I recall that Dougie wanted to sign him. I had contact with Jack, his agent and Liverpool FC. I secured agreement with Jack and his agent re contract terms, and obtained documents from Liverpool indicating that Jack’s contract had expired, they had no hold over him, and were waiving their right to any transfer or development fee. 

I cannot recall who registered the signing. During my time at the club, and especially after Brendan McEleny’s departure, I was registering most of the signings. However, as many of you will know, I was diagnosed with cancer in April 2023 and underwent numerous life-saving surgeries that year and in 2024. I was still having to register players and do other admin tasks for the club while lying in a hospital bed, as other directors (except for Michael Harkins) had shown no interest or willingness to learn the runnings of the club and were not prepared to help. If it was me who registered Jack’s signing, and if I did not register the waiver, then I can only apologise to the club and supporters for that error. I can only ask for understanding as I was working at the club against medical advice, but doing so because nobody else was prepared to step up and help. When I told the other directors about my diagnosis, they all agreed to step up and take some of the pressure off of me. They never did. Barr and Robinson were never seen at Cappielow when there was work to be done. It is a mark of the character of the board members that none of them have been in contact with me to determine my wellbeing as I continue to recover from what I was told was terminal cancer (a diagnosis that has since been downgraded).

When I left the club in March 2024, after having strong disagreements about the direction in which the club was travelling off the pitch, my access to my GMFC email account was (understandably) blocked. I assumed that someone at the club would still be monitoring this account. However, the board seem to have failed to understand how much work I did, and how many emails came through that account, and it appears that nobody monitored the account. This account was the registered contact for SFA, SPFL, UEFA and FIFA. I cannot comprehend how the club did not realise that they were not receiving communications from FIFA and UEFA. There were frequents emails from these bodies while I was at the club.

In late October 2024, I started to receive phone calls from FIFA asking me why I wasn’t responding to emails about development fees due. The name Brian Schwake was mentioned by them before I advised them that I had left the club in March. I advised them to contact the stadium and ask for Dale. In a subsequent call from FIFA, I was told that they had phoned the club but nobody had returned their call.  I then advised the MCT board that it appeared that I was still listed as the contact for the club. Knowing how governing bodies worked, I knew that this may be an issue and the club would have to address it quickly. I was told by MCT in November that my email was no longer the contact and that the club had remedied the issue. This is at odds with the club’s explanation. I heard nothing further from UEFA or FIFA. I had assumed that the club was due money for Schwake. I never received any hint that there was an issue with Bearne. I also assumed that the club had ensured that a new email address was registered with FIFA and UEFA. This was in the first week of November 2024, and not “earlier this year” as the club has claimed. I have shown written confirmation of this to the Telegraph. My experience of dealing with FIFA is that they are efficient and try hard to help clubs. This makes the club’s explanation that FIFA is somehow at fault a little hard to swallow.

I still have many contacts in the football world and was told about the embargo a couple of days before the Telegraph reported it. I was not surprised. During my time on the board, I was constantly pushing for the directors to learn the running of the club. They never did. I’m not sure what value the directors bring to Morton. 

It would come as no surprise to me to learn that Dale had not updated the contact details timeously. During my dealings with Dale at the club, I had come to the conclusion that he was out of his depth. There are many other things that have happened since I left that have not been publicised by the club, and which people have not heard. I will leave it to the two boards to disclose these matters, as I may not know all the facts about them.

MCT has failed to honour the undertakings that were given to members. I am now in dispute with MCT and Morton about many things that have happened. During my term at the club, I was working up to 70 hours per week. I have worked as kitman, cleaner, coach, secretary, ceo, painter, driver, director, dishwasher, cook, commercial manager, photographer and numerous other roles at Morton. I refused to be the type of director who just turned up on a Saturday for a free pie in the boardroom. I am proud of the progress made during my stint. I didn’t get everything right, but I left the club in a better position than when I started. Unfortunately the club has moved backwards since I left. The prudent budgeting has been replaced by unnecessary expenditure resulting in a “manageable loss” anticipated to be over £100k in the current financial year. I have told MCT board members of my fears about Laird and his motives. They have chosen not to listen to the warnings. As a result, MCT has lost control of the club and will, I believe, soon lose ownership. 

If you are named in this statement and wish the right to reply, please contact me directly. 

Thanks, 

Dean.

[TRVMP]

Assuming the above post can be taken at face value, it's absolutely damning. I'm not that bothered about the part where he was working 70 hour weeks because that's a choice, but the part where the club knew fine well there were business-critical emails coming through a blocked account and completely failed to act on it is negligent to a degree that can't be exaggerated. (Again, assuming face value.)

I am glad Ritchie's condition has been downgraded and I hope for his continued good health, regardless of what happens.

[port-ton]

I don’t remember being the greatest fan of Gordon Ritchie during his time running the club (although I had heard he was the only one in the building doing anything) but I’m glad someone with direct knowledge and the sort of standing to at least be listened to by fans and not treated as ITK whispers has come out and explained parts of what has been doing the rounds among groups of fans and those within every level at the club, that the club has been a toxic shambles behind the scenes for a while under the current stewardship and the success of Dougie Imrie, Andy Millen and the players have papered over a lot of cracks that have covered for proper scrutiny on those who run the club. 
 

I’m glad Ritchie’s diagnosis has been downgraded and wish his full health going forward. 

[dunning1874]

So focusing on the facts about the embargo from that:

FIFA's initial contact with the club was via Gordon Ritchie's email and no one at the club either monitored this email after Gordon Ritchie left the club in March 2024, or updated contact details to an alternative email address.

FIFA contacted Gordon Ritchie directly in October 2024 to ask why emails were going unanswered, he advised them to contact the club and ask for Dale Pryde-MacDonald. FIFA then got back in touch with Gordon Ritchie to say no one at the club returned their calls.

Gordon Ritchie then contacted the MCT board to advise FIFA were trying to contact the club. By the first week of November 2024, MCT had informed Gordon Ritchie that the club had now updated contact details so Ritchie was no longer the contact and had dealt with the issues with FIFA.

In March 2025 we then get hit with a transfer embargo by FIFA, with this becoming public knowledge on 1 May.

Those are the facts as far as Gordon Ritchie is aware. Taking them all at face value, that leaves the following questions to be answered by GMFC, MCT or both.

1. Why did no one update contact details with governing bodies or monitor the account emails were being sent to when Ritchie first left the club, meaning the club were missing communications from governing bodies for the best part of 8 months?

2. Who at the club is either taking calls from FIFA and not passing that extremely important information on to the relevant people, or alternatively if the relevant people for dealing with FIFA are being informed, whether that's the General Manager or a board member, why are they choosing not to return their calls?

3. What were the conversations between GMFC & MCT in between Gordon Ritchie raising it with MCT and MCT telling Ritchie details were updated and everything was under control? If MCT have simply passed it along, gone back to Ritchie to say it's dealt with and never followed it up with requests for further information to clarify what's happened and receive reassurances then that lack of effective scrutiny makes those MCT board members culpable in what's followed (while not remotely absolving Barr and Robinson for their later silence, which is far more egregious). If they have properly followed it up, asked for explanations and still been told everything is fine, then I'm not sure how much blame you can give them when they've tried to scrutinise effectively and been fobbed off with the GMFC Board lying to them. Regardless of whether MCT were at fault themselves in not holding the club to account properly, whoever at GMFC has told MCT that everything is dealt with and fine has evidently lied.

4. If contact details were updated in early November and we didn't get the embargo until 17 March, how many warnings and chances to avoid this did GMFC have in that four months?

5. Why did no one act on them?

6. When will we be receiving grovelling apologies and resignations as a result?

Edited May 14 by dunning1874

[TONofmemories]

What an absolute cluster fuck. 

Edited May 14 by TONofmemories

[Cet Homme Charmant]

It's all gone tits up, hasn't it.

I fear it will be very difficult to turn this clusterfuck around any time soon. Even if the deadweights and culpable are purged, do we have replacements ready to step up who are more willing and capable? If not, it's difficult to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Very concerning.

 

Edited May 14 by Cet Homme Charmant

[Greacen2000]

Absolutely shocking stuff here.  Of all the information that’s come out so far, I trust Gordon above the other sources so this is deeply concerning to say the least.

I note with interest that Gordon’s statement mentions that he has spoken to the tele and shared evidence that the timelines claimed by the club are inaccurate.  This is a big opportunity for the tele to show that they are worth their salt by doing some proper journalism as opposed to being a mouthpiece for unnamed “sources”.

If (as seems to be the case) this is some sort of hostile power grab to seize control of the club, then personally I would prefer to tell Dalrada, Laird, Dale & their cohorts to do one.  Even if it means part-time football.

[Brian Skelton]

My questions are who put Laird in charge? Who employed Dale? because it looks to me that one thinks he owns the club and the other one doesn't know how to run the day to day buisness.

[DaftTon74]

I am by far Gordon Ritchie's biggest fan. However, it is an absolute disgrace we had someone with what was believed to be a serious illness at the time, doing duties during their time in hospital. The relevant people who said they would step up should be ashamed of themselves. 

I am glad that his diagnosis has since been downgraded and hope he continues to recover. Hang your head in shame-Robinson and Barr.