Keep/release for 2026/27 season

[RossMcC1874]

Happy enough with that when he was signed I wasn't too excited but I think he has been decent can play a few positions and good experience. 

[dunning1874]

2 hours ago, Mr.Blue said:

On paper an experienced player and can play at cb or lb. I wouldn't have been rushing to get him signed up tbh but happy to go with Murrays judgement.

It's being able to cover left back that makes keeping him worthwhile for me, though I was undecided on it. Competent full back cover is hard to come by so having someone who can play left back and another position is fine. He absolutely shouldn't be a starter though, we've got three better natural centre backs than him and Wilson's better there as well for all that we need him in midfield.

[Chicken_Soup]

17 hours ago, dunning1874 said:

It's being able to cover left back that makes keeping him worthwhile for me, though I was undecided on it. Competent full back cover is hard to come by so having someone who can play left back and another position is fine. He absolutely shouldn't be a starter though, we've got three better natural centre backs than him and Wilson's better there as well for all that we need him in midfield.

We have three better centre backs? Presumably you’re talking about Lopata-White, Owens and Moore? I’d disagree with that, particularly given that none of them have looked comfortable on the left side. Hence why he’s started ahead of all three today.

It always amazes me how many centre backs struggle when not played on their natural side. Longridge’s value in being comfortable on the left side, as well as being able to cover full back, is important.

[GiGi]

2 hours ago, Chicken_Soup said:

We have three better centre backs? Presumably you’re talking about Lopata-White, Owens and Moore? I’d disagree with that, particularly given that none of them have looked comfortable on the left side. Hence why he’s started ahead of all three today.

It always amazes me how many centre backs struggle when not played on their natural side. Longridge’s value in being comfortable on the left side, as well as being able to cover full back, is important.

Aged very poorly. 

[Chicken_Soup]

14 hours ago, GiGi said:

Aged very poorly. 

I certainly picked a bad day to post it! But we’ve been equally shambolic with any combination of the 4/5 centre backs used so it’s nothing new.

[Ferguson]

Quite clear that’s the main area we need to improve over summer. Only Ross County have conceded more, and Jimmy Storer takes a lot of credit for keeping us afloat.

Quick look at fotmob paints a fairly clear picture of our issues this season. We’re top of the league for saves per game and miles ahead at the top for big chances created with 60, 11 ahead of second place Partick. Defence has been well below par all year but Storer’s been there to bail them out plenty, had no issues creating loads of chances at the other end but absolutely hopeless at putting them away. 

[Chicken_Soup]

Whoever we end up with next season, I’d like to see a defence and keeper play consistently together. Get our best keeper and back 4 as familiar with each other as possible and avoid chopping and changing where we can.

[Mr.Blue]

Release the 5/6 players who stood off and allowed Nsio to waltz into our box yesterday and score.

[vikingTON]

We have recorded 36 points with 3, albeit very easy, games to go. If the Estrella partnership goes through, this squad should purged like Russia in the 1930s, instead of the wishful thinking and cherry picking judgment shown earlier in this thread. 

[dunning1874]

21 hours ago, Chicken_Soup said:

We have three better centre backs? Presumably you’re talking about Lopata-White, Owens and Moore? I’d disagree with that, particularly given that none of them have looked comfortable on the left side. Hence why he’s started ahead of all three today.

It always amazes me how many centre backs struggle when not played on their natural side. Longridge’s value in being comfortable on the left side, as well as being able to cover full back, is important.

Lopata-White is totally comfortable on the left, and like Moore and Owens he's simply a much better defender.

If he hadn't already been given a contract Longridge's performance yesterday would have moved me from understanding that keeping him could be a good idea due to versatility to binning him, because while he's capable of being fine inconsistency is a horrible trait in a centre back. The games where he's hopeless outnumber those where he's competent, we're a worse team with him on the park.

[SpoonTon]

Moore wasn't good at all last week. 

Our defensive record away from home this season is terrible. There are issues all over the place and I don't think any defender escapes criticism. 

[Chicken_Soup]

1 hour ago, dunning1874 said:

Lopata-White is totally comfortable on the left, and like Moore and Owens he's simply a much better defender.

If he hadn't already been given a contract Longridge's performance yesterday would have moved me from understanding that keeping him could be a good idea due to versatility to binning him, because while he's capable of being fine inconsistency is a horrible trait in a centre back. The games where he's hopeless outnumber those where he's competent, we're a worse team with him on the park.

I didn’t see the game yesterday, so I’ll accept your view that Longridge’s deficiencies were on full display. However, the others don’t become better by not playing, just because the team is struggling.

Lopata-White did well in his first couple of games but he’s lightweight and poor in the air. He got bullied by Todorov before the disaster against Partick. Moore had a stinker last week. I personally like Owens but there’s obviously a reason he’s been behind the others in the pecking order for much of his time here.

None of them are Dylan Corr but none are world beaters either.

 

[Drew Busby's Moustache]

On 3/31/2026 at 4:27 PM, Dolan1874 said:

 Imo I'd like to see the following players being extended: 

Owens, Longridge, Ballantyne, Comrie, MacPherson, Wilson, Blues, Moffat, Garrity.

 

Sticking them on The Rack is a tad harsh dont you think?

[ConTon74]

Moffat, Garrity & Shaw should not be given a new deal for next season. Their end products are appalling with each of them having about 3 good games over the course of a full season, theres surely better out there

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, ConTon74 said:

Moffat, Garrity & Shaw should not be given a new deal for next season. Their end products are appalling with each of them having about 3 good games over the course of a full season, theres surely better out there

Wingers are in short supply and so attract a higher share of wages than their actual contribution merits. Call it the Dom 'Dom' Thomas Rule, as that mercenary continues to dawdle pointlessly from one foolish Championship to another. 

Unless the Estrella partnership has access to a better network of talent, Moffat probably is more or less as good as winge as we can get, as a midtable Championship club. But that's not a valid reason to extend that deal: it's a reason to question the purpose of having any sand dancer roles at all in the first team lineup. They don't bring value for money and unlike a striker, aren't actually crucial to scoring goals and winning games.

I'd have one winger in the entire squad, whose job is to be a bench option each week and to stretch assorted jobber outfits in the cup. 

[Ferguson]

13 hours ago, vikingTON said:

it's a reason to question the purpose of having any sand dancer roles at all in the first team lineup. They don't bring value for money and unlike a striker, aren't actually crucial to scoring goals and winning games.

What’s the alternative though? If we bin off wingers entirely who do we rely on to create chances? For me, a creative midfielder would be far harder to come by than an alright winger. The current midfield certainly don’t look like opening any team up, and I don’t believe any of our full backs turning into wing backs to run the flanks themselves will have much, if any, attacking impact as shown when Ballantyne got stuck on at right wing a few weeks ago. 

I take your point about misfiring wingers at this level being expensive and risky, but surely if a team is creating far more chances than the rest of the league and not scoring them then issues lie with the strikers?

[vikingTON]

2 hours ago, Ferguson said:

What’s the alternative though? If we bin off wingers entirely who do we rely on to create chances? For me, a creative midfielder would be far harder to come by than an alright winger. The current midfield certainly don’t look like opening any team up, and I don’t believe any of our full backs turning into wing backs to run the flanks themselves will have much, if any, attacking impact as shown when Ballantyne got stuck on at right wing a few weeks ago. 

I take your point about misfiring wingers at this level being expensive and risky, but surely if a team is creating far more chances than the rest of the league and not scoring them then issues lie with the strikers?

A: You play a narrow midfield 4 to actually control the game from the middle of the park for a change. This not only helps you to feed chances to a front two (this could be Moffat playing off a centre forward - for away games), but also makes you far, far more difficult to break down than having two sand dancers and Main being passengers without the ball. Or as seen in the Arbroath game, bringing on O'Halloran as an extra passenger that saw us being completely overrun in the second half. You cannot get away with this lack of discipline and organisation to defend and press from the front any more.

As for the full backs, they have been the biggest improvement overall since Murray came in - particularly Delaney who has offered a genuine attacking threat from the left touchline. 

We could have more clinical strikers and we will still get absolutely nowhere in this division while reliably shipping three goals per game away from home. We signed Peter MacDonald and Andy Jackson in 2011 in a similar situation and... still floundered in the following campaign. And the same shortage of available options - and so, price inflation - applies even more to clinical strikers as it does to wingers. We will never have a ruthless finisher signed on a permanent basis at this club, who won't be out the door within 12 if not 6 months. That is clearly not a stable basis to build a squad around.

If GMFC is to punch above its financial weight, then it needs to do something different: either to target player characteristics that aren't valued as much by others (see Wilson), or to tap an unknown market like previous Scandinavian imports. Simply doing the same as everyone else only with less resources (first team signings, or youth development) bakes in mediocrity. 

[Ferguson]

1 hour ago, vikingTON said:

A: You play a narrow midfield 4 to actually control the game from the middle of the park for a change. This not only helps you to feed chances to a front two (this could be Moffat playing off a centre forward - for away games), but also makes you far, far more difficult to break down than having two sand dancers and Main being passengers without the ball. Or as seen in the Arbroath game, bringing on O'Halloran as an extra passenger that saw us being completely overrun in the second half. You cannot get away with this lack of discipline and organisation to defend and press from the front any more.

As for the full backs, they have been the biggest improvement overall since Murray came in - particularly Delaney who has offered a genuine attacking threat from the left touchline. 

We could have more clinical strikers and we will still get absolutely nowhere in this division while reliably shipping three goals per game away from home. We signed Peter MacDonald and Andy Jackson in 2011 in a similar situation and... still floundered in the following campaign. And the same shortage of available options - and so, price inflation - applies even more to clinical strikers as it does to wingers. We will never have a ruthless finisher signed on a permanent basis at this club, who won't be out the door within 12 if not 6 months. That is clearly not a stable basis to build a squad around.

If GMFC is to punch above its financial weight, then it needs to do something different: either to target player characteristics that aren't valued as much by others (see Wilson), or to tap an unknown market like previous Scandinavian imports. Simply doing the same as everyone else only with less resources (first team signings, or youth development) bakes in mediocrity. 

I can’t categorically disagree as it’s never been tested, but I think there’s some naive points in there. O’Halloran did come on and cause an imbalance in the Arbroath game, but he came on to play in the 10, as he’s done well before, after weeks out injured. I also disagree that a narrow 4 helps control the game, ramming the midfield with bodies at the expense of wide attacking options and defensive support for the full backs is a dangerous strategy especially when the top teams in this league get most of their joy down the wings. 

I also think a lot of Delaney’s improvement that you’ve mentioned comes from overloading the wings and linking up with Garrity, giving Delaney the whole left wing to himself likely leaves him exposed defensively which we know is a disaster and with a lot more to do going forward. 

I largely agree with your last 2 paragraphs, but I think everything before that is more likely to further expose everything we’re already not good at. 

[vikingTON]

O'Halloran was playing as a 10, with an 11 and a 7 (two wingers) on the park at the same time. That's why we got overrun: without the ball, there were 4 players doing either very little to press or pressing with no discipline or ability. 

The centre of the park can and should be a strength - I'd much rather have Blues' industry over 90 minutes to support Wilson as well as late runs into the box as a goalscoring threat than anything on our right wing. If we are choosing which area to build a squad around - which we need to given the limitations of a budget compared to others - then it's a no-brainer to build the team around a strong set central midfielders and lean into that opportunity, over the endless parade of sand dancers who come and go at this club.

Let the other teams in the division focus on wide play. Their end product is diabolical too given that all of midtable are also on sub-40 points, and a mediocre Arbroath team have been secure in the playoffs since autumn. We need to adopt a different style of play instead of matching up with the garbage approaches elsewhere. 

Edited April 13 by vikingTON

[TRVMP]

Unknown markets get harder and harder every year as minor leagues become richer and more professionalized. Scandinavia was possible for Morton at first because Danish football was amateur. When the Iron Curtain came down suddenly all the top players in the former Yugoslavia were free to travel and even top-level guys could be enticed to mid-league clubs in France and Germany. Those opportunities just don't really exist in large numbers anymore, not to mention the expense of work permits. The closest we had to an untapped market was the League of Wales and we know how that went.

I'm not saying there are zero rough diamonds out there, obviously clubs at all levels of football punch above their weight through creative signing every year, but it's significantly tougher than it used to be.

Therefore if the two options are "go for unknown players" or "try a sort of brute-force moneyball and go for undervalued players who can play within a system", the latter is more realistic.

Of course there are other options, this is just between those two.