Thread About Ex-Players

[Mr.Blue]

On 5/2/2026 at 3:30 PM, Jamie_M said:

We knew he was on something like that.

He was on a decent wage at Morton, we made him a 'very good' offer of increasing it to stay.

Ayr bettered our total offer by 50%.

Raith will be throwing good money at him as well.

[Greacen2000]

Gregor Buchanan & Scott Taggart on the the scoresheet for Stenny & Alloa as both clubs lead 1-0 at half time in the playoff semi finals (thank fk we aren’t playing tonight!)

[Cet Homme Charmant]

Terrible wee shame that

Edited May 7 by Cet Homme Charmant

[Greacen2000]

I see Lyon is leaving QoS & Airdrie fans are also expecting Strapp to move on.  A few mentions on P&B & X linking them with moves back here - probably based on nothing more than them being former players and coming from the area.  I would be absolutely fine with both of them coming back.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

Hmmm, not so sure.

In Reece's case, Imrie implied after he was punted that the issue with him was his commitment and attitude, rather than ability. I think it was along the lines of, 'if Reece looks at himself in the mirror, he'll know why he was released', or words to that effect. Maybe he's matured, but we've had enough sand dancers over the years to potentially recruit another one.

Wouldn't be strongly against Lewis coming back, but there's presumably a reason for his career going into reverse since he left us. Maybe, just maybe, it's because he's not as good as many Ton fans gave him credit for?  He perhaps believed that hype himself when he knocked back our contract offer, only to find that the expected flood of offers didn't materialise.

Edited May 11 by Cet Homme Charmant

[Greacen2000]

Going by what I’ve seen from QoS fans, they all absolutely love Reece and are gutted that he is leaving.  Admittedly being decent at league one level might not be what we need, but most of them seem to think he has earned a crack at a higher level.  I always liked him so wouldn’t mind it being here even if just a squad player to replace someone like Ali Crawford.

I get what you mean about Strapp and there probably is an element of him/his agent thinking that he was ready for bigger things when in fact he wasn’t.  On the other hand a lot of Airdrie fans were saying they wanted him to be their captain if they stayed up & could keep him.  He is a very decent LB at this level and probably an upgrade in that position if Delaney leaves.

The thing both these players have in common is that for one reason or another other Imrie didn’t fancy them.  Maybe like you say it was down to their attitude or maybe the issue was on Imries side.  I’m not for one moment claiming that the likes of McGrattan, King, Mcgregor, & Lyon are world beaters but they were shown the door despite showing real promise, and for the most part were replaced by signings who contributed very little.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

I think your point would be valid if the players you mentioned went on to bigger and better things, but so far at least, they haven't 

Imrie is for sure stubborn and headstrong, but generally I think he has been proved right in releasing the players he did. His recruitment, on the other hand, was a lot more hit-and-miss.

Edited May 11 by Cet Homme Charmant

[SpoonTon]

1 hour ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Hmmm, not so sure.

In Reece's case, Imrie implied after he was punted that the issue with him was his commitment and attitude, rather than ability. I think it was along the lines of, 'if Reece looks at himself in the mirror, he'll know why he was released', or words to that effect. Maybe he's matured, but we've had enough sand dancers over the years to potentially recruit another one.

Wouldn't be strongly against Lewis coming back, but there's presumably a reason for his career going into reverse since he left us. Maybe, just maybe, it's because he's not as good as many Ton fans gave him credit for?  He perhaps believed that hype himself when he knocked back our contract offer, only to find that the expected flood of offers didn't materialise.

Strapp was Airdrie's player of the year. There are limitations to his game which have stopped him going up a level, but he's as good a left back as we (and I mean Morton in particular) are going to find at this level.

 

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, Greacen2000 said:

Going by what I’ve seen from QoS fans, they all absolutely love Reece and are gutted that he is leaving.  Admittedly being decent at league one level might not be what we need, but most of them seem to think he has earned a crack at a higher level.  I always liked him so wouldn’t mind it being here even if just a squad player to replace someone like Ali Crawford.

I get what you mean about Strapp and there probably is an element of him/his agent thinking that he was ready for bigger things when in fact he wasn’t.  On the other hand a lot of Airdrie fans were saying they wanted him to be their captain if they stayed up & could keep him.  He is a very decent LB at this level and probably an upgrade in that position if Delaney leaves.

The thing both these players have in common is that for one reason or another other Imrie didn’t fancy them.  Maybe like you say it was down to their attitude or maybe the issue was on Imries side.  I’m not for one moment claiming that the likes of McGrattan, King, Mcgregor, & Lyon are world beaters but they were shown the door despite showing real promise, and for the most part were replaced by signings who contributed very little.

Lyon was dropped and frozen out by multiple Morton managers - his big promise was already gone before Imrie came in the door. And if he didn't want to waste time on that project - that was his prerogative as manager. The only person responsible for that outcome was Lyon, R. 

Strapp has been a free agent multiple times too, yet no large offer came in. He is categorically not an upgrade on Delaney, which is why he had to play within the worst squad in the division in the first place (where were the serious offers in free agency, again?). None of the other players you list have done anything other than slide inexorably downwards - Alex King FFS. 

This thread is reason enough why there should be no such offers or discussion of offers frankly. The judgment made on such Braeside La Masia products by the fanbase is ludicrously rose-tinted: a clean break was and remains necessary for everyone to Move On Please. 

Edited May 11 by vikingTON

[TRVMP]

Strapp is in a different galaxy to the other players released and even he didn't manage a step up. Total rose-tinted glasses to say guys like McGrattan were anything above 'decent at times'. Garrity will go the same way - good professional and a decent player but no more than that.

Strapp is the only one I'd consider signing as a starter.

[CM48]

For me Strapp was a massive part of that unbeaten run in 23/24 after we signed him, despite that only happening as we were without a left back and he was without a club. I agree he has limits and no one else seems that bothered about signing him but I always liked watching him for us. I'd happily see him back.

I also always liked Lyon (and Alexander King!) and thought they'd both go on to do much better then they have, but accept that my memories of both are a bit rose tinted towards the games they played well in. But even though it's league one, if the fans that watch you all season rate you then you must be doing something right?

[Madton]

If Lyon was to come back, I wouldn't be judging him at all on his previous spell here.

He's clearly had a very good year in League 1, 13 goals, Team of the Year and loved by Queens fans.

Doubt he will be back, but fully expect him to be in the Championship with someone next season after the season he had.

I remember a certain Lawrence Shankland with a shit attitude when he was with us and he went on to to turn his career around and has done alright for himself.

I'd be happy to see them both return.

 

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, CM48 said:

For me Strapp was a massive part of that unbeaten run in 23/24 after we signed him, despite that only happening as we were without a left back and he was without a club. I agree he has limits and no one else seems that bothered about signing him but I always liked watching him for us. I'd happily see him back.

I also always liked Lyon (and Alexander King!) and thought they'd both go on to do much better then they have, but accept that my memories of both are a bit rose tinted towards the games they played well in. But even though it's league one, if the fans that watch you all season rate you then you must be doing something right?

Stenhousemuir fans would say that Gregor Buchanan has had an excellent season for them, en route to conceding a very small number of goals, finishing a country mile ahead of Queen of the South in the league campaign, and knocking them out of the play-offs too. Oh and they horsed us in the cup as well. 

So how many people would be happy if we re-signed that braying carthorse, off the back of recommendations by seaside league diddy fandom? 

The key difference between that scenario and our Prince in the Borders is guid local roots for the latter, rather than any objectively greater merit as a player. Which is not a sound basis for transfer policy. 

Edited May 11 by vikingTON

[dunning1874]

51 minutes ago, Madton said:

If Lyon was to come back, I wouldn't be judging him at all on his previous spell here.

He's clearly had a very good year in League 1, 13 goals, Team of the Year and loved by Queens fans.

Doubt he will be back, but fully expect him to be in the Championship with someone next season after the season he had.

I remember a certain Lawrence Shankland with a shit attitude when he was with us and he went on to to turn his career around and has done alright for himself.

I'd be happy to see them both return.

 

Yeah we're all familiar with youth players being overrated just for being youth players and I've been guilty of it myself, but there's maybe the opposite effect with Lyon that we're still judging him on the player he was at 21 when he's now 26.

If we were linked with a player who'd never played for Morton before who was widely agreed to be the best player at the club finishing 3rd in League One, who'd scored 9 league goals/13 in all competitions from midfield, was considered to be one of the best players in the division by fans of other League One clubs as well and had already turned down a new contract with his club because everyone knows he's going to have offers from the Championship, I don't think anyone would be looking at that as an unreasonable signing. Far from an obvious marquee signing that anyone's going to be doing cartwheels about and demanding we build the team around, but still a logical gamble for a club with one of the smaller Championship budgets to take on a player who's shown they're probably too good for the league below and might have it in them to make the step up again.

If that player had been punted by Partick, Ayr or Raith four years earlier, with concerns about attitude expressed by some managers at those clubs, we probably wouldn't care and would think there's a reasonable chance they've improved both as a player and in their mentality in that time. If they had an increased end product over their seasons in League One and had already made their way back into full-time football having gone part-time initially that would be an easier argument to make.

Plenty of players have made the step down to League One after flopping and come back to the Championship as better players, even without resorting to ridiculous examples that were almost entirely down to attitude like Shankland or Nisbet. Dylan Easton never had as prolific a season in League One as Lyon has just had, for example.

Of course, there's every chance that the only reason this rumour has started in the first place is the youth player connection and he's not on Murray's radar at all, but I don't think Lyon is in the same category as players who've done nothing to suggest they've improved since leaving Morton like King, McGrattan or McGregor.

[TopCat]

Strapp's long throw is a great asset. He's a committed player and hard as nails, but his limitations (rash decisions, poor positional sense) were made massively evident not 2 weeks ago when he effectively relegated Airdrie with a moment of madness. No thanks. 

Lyon would be a decent squad player, but we've bigger priorities to sort out.

[Greacen2000]

15 hours ago, vikingTON said:

Stenhousemuir fans would say that Gregor Buchanan has had an excellent season for them, en route to conceding a very small number of goals, finishing a country mile ahead of Queen of the South in the league campaign, and knocking them out of the play-offs too. Oh and they horsed us in the cup as well. 

So how many people would be happy if we re-signed that braying carthorse, off the back of recommendations by seaside league diddy fandom? 

The key difference between that scenario and our Prince in the Borders is guid local roots for the latter, rather than any objectively greater merit as a player. Which is not a sound basis for transfer policy. 

I actually think the key difference is that Buchanan is 36 and the other players mentioned are in their mid-20s

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, Greacen2000 said:

I actually think the key difference is that Buchanan is 36 and the other players mentioned are in their mid-20s

Not really given the claim was:

"even though it's league one, if the fans that watch you all season rate you then you must be doing something right?"

And we've also signed older players at a lower ebb in their career in just that position in recent times too (Kirk Broadfoot) - but shouldn't be signing Buchanan or anyone else who has already blotted their copy book at this level. Move On Please. 

[Ferguson]

Not that there was much dubiety, but that’s Strapp confirmed as having left Airdrie. 

[TRVMP]

12 minutes ago, Ferguson said:

Not that there was much dubiety, but that’s Strapp confirmed as having left Airdrie. 

OOH! DUBIETY! OOOOOH!

[port-ton]

Bring Mcginty home