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Did a writeup on each player for my brother who didn't see the game but as a lot of people couldn't make the game I thought I'd share it here. Keep in mind this is only my opinion so you may disagree, and that's fine. I tried to be optimistic with my assessments since half the squad have only trained for a handful of days and don't know each other. --- Mullen (45 minutes) - Held everything thrown at him, had his angles covered, never looked in danger - what we've come to expect from him Murdoch (Youth academy keeper, 45 minutes) - Still too small and raw to play at our level, had a wobbly moment where he scuffed the ball onto his own bar (chance was offside, but point stands). After settling in he did well at shot stopping including a good hold on a powerful shot at the middle of the goal going over his head height. Ballantyne (RB, subbed back on as LB towards the end, 70 minutes~) - Looked good enough, did work going forward but QoS didn't really attack much down his side. Handled what was thrown at him, but with QoS's style of play where they pass the ball around the edge of the box, we didn't get a good chance to see how he handles being taken on consistently. Did well at left back when he came back on to play there, but didn't get much time to have a look at him out there. Wilson (RB, 45 minutes) - Not his natural position, but he would invert frequently and make his way to his normal deep midfield territory to look for progressive passes. He didn't have to deal with much defensively, but he's already a known quantity at RB as he was shafted and stuck there a couple of times last season. Capable and handy, hope to see him centrally when we get a couple more additions in the defence. Zak Delaney (Trial LB, 70 minutes~) - A few mistakes in the first 30 minutes, misplaces passes and letting the ball run across him, misjudging it, only for it to roll out of play. After he settled in, he looked solid defensively and had some great passages of play bouncing the ball back and forth off Garrity, where he'd hit the byline on the edge of the box and look for a low driven ball in or a cut back. Played an excellent pass through to Davies to put him in 1 on 1 with the keeper, great vision and weight on the ball. From what I've seen because he looks capable, but would need a better look at him to really tell. I'd take him if we don't have a better option. Brynn Sinclair (LCB, 60 minutes~) - Probably our best trialist of the three over the course of the game. Looks young, has good pace and strength about him. Made a couple of mistakes early but comfortably handled what QoS's pacey forwards were throwing at him. He may struggle against a target man but obviously couldn't tell because QoS didn't field one at all, but that's where you'd hope Baird would be allocated to deal with the physicality. He had a couple of bursting runs forward and actively looked for a forward pass when receiving - a breath of fresh air for Morton fans as we constantly seemed to be looking sideways or backwards when we had the ball with our Centre Halves. Broadfoot (RCB 60 minutes~) - Comfortable enough - still prone to pushing forward to challenge for a ball he has no chance of winning, only to leave a gap in the defence that a midfielder has to bust a gut to try to recover. If we have him come on with his experience to see games out, he may do fine, but I'd still not want him starting the majority of our games. Baird (RCB, 45 minutes) - The usual, nothing notable - did his job well, held his own and controlled the game from the back. Unknown Trialist (Maybe called Lachlan?) (CDM, 70 minutes~) - The weakest of the trialists - he looks young, raw, not that confident or coordinated on the ball. He didn't make any howlers and didn't look totally out of his depth but I don't see him being up for Championship football. He didn't shy away from the ball but didn't really do anything with it either. Gillespie (CDM, 60 minutes~) - Had a solid game, came short for passes, looked to distribute the ball out wide and fought for second balls well. Didn't have a strong partner with him at CDM for most of the game due to being alongside the trialist but he did well with the situation he was in. Blues (CM/CAM, 45 minutes) - Did well starting deeper when he first came on for Gillespie, pushed forward when Lyall made his way off in the 2nd half. As one of the people who thinks the stick he gets is unwarranted, I'd say he did his usual job this game. Nothing special, a solid 6-7/10 display as you'd come to expect, doing a lot of the running in the midfield to cut passing lanes and stop the opponents progressing - the thankless work that often goes unnoticed. Lyall (CM/CAM, 65 minutes~) - Good going forward and carried the ball well from midfield to attack, releasing it to the wide players and making his way to the edge of the box. I'd need to see more obviously, but he seems like a capable enough replacement for Crawford, maybe with slightly less stamina and less pressing (possibly because we now have pacey forwards with higher work rates than Oakley and Muirhead who take on the role of pressing a bit more) Bearne (RW, 90 minutes) - Same as what we saw last season, a lot of ability and potential in there but is too lightweight to hold his own against some of the bigger and more physical opposition. He has a tendency to cut back onto his left and cross that their fullback started reading, so he did end up switching it up a few times, trying to either hit it with his right or cut across the byline, which worked well, especially for his assist. Needs to find his range for corners as 2 were overhit and 1 hit the first man but other than that, did well enough. Garrity (LW, 45 minutes) - Worked well with Delaney in those passing triangles and 1-2s they set up, really should have put away the chance he smashed off the bar, but generally a great performance. If he can keep his confidence up and get his shooting from the edge of the box to be more consistent, it might be his season to try to make the left wing position his own (but this may be a challenge with Reynolds looking better from the left wing than he did through the middle) O'Boy (RW/CM, 45 minutes) - Did well, played the ball about nicely and make a few great runs to give us space in the middle. Did well to exploit the right flank and run onto balls through from Wilson, Davies or Blues. Not much more to say on the subject other than he showed a lot of the same qualities that he showed in his cameos last season before being sent out on loan. Lamar (ST/LW, 55 minutes~) - Has a lot of pace and gets himself about - obviously it's his first game at this level so he was feeling the game out to start with so I can't judge too harshly, but he didn't seem too effective through the middle. When he came back on and moved out to the left he looked a lot more effective, with pace and trickery allowing him to beat full backs and look for killer balls across the 6 yard box. Took his header well, but in reality it was all down to an excellent cross. In addition, their academy keeper standing still waiting for the ball to somehow reach him also helped. Need to see more to judge properly but looks like a decent bit of business if he can find his feet. Davies (ST, 45 minutes) - If he can adapt to the game played up here, he will be a great asset. His pace is immense, he manages to get a good couple of yards on his defenders within a couple of seconds when running in behind - which could be seen by his chance he had 1 on 1, which the keeper did well to get a foot to. If he had finished that, I reckon a lot of people would have been a lot more impressed, but it was as much a great save as it was a mediocre shot, but he knew he had to do better as soon as he hit it, so it's just up to him to do better in those situations in future. Just like Lamar and the trialists, need to see more of him to full judge, but looks competent and full of energy.

I want Strapp to do well and have a good career but if I'm being asked to sympathize with the treatment of a pure gallus local lad who we let train here when he wasn't with the club, or support the best manager we've had in our lifetime, I'm picking Imrie every time and twice on Sundays.

Was there today. first time I've seen most of these players, most of them are not good enough and the rest are Meh! Currently being treated for cancer and that treatment has been more enjoyable than today. Brutal.

In other, more encouraging news, David Munro, who officiated our 3-2 defeat at Stark’s Park, awarding big-spending Raith Rovers that ludicrous penalty when Lewis Vaughan appeared to drop dead within four yards of Darragh O’Connor and booked eight Morton players but failed to send off Jack Hamilton for a second booking and Ross Millen for a flying elbow, has resigned from his position as an SFA referee. This is absolutely fantastic news for Scottish football as a whole. Genuinely the single worst referee ai’ve ever seen in all my time watching football, and I remember Brian Cassidy and Colin Hardie. Good riddance.

I think the point about filming it and putting it on social media is a very good one. Who gained from that? The steward? The alleged perpetrator? Morton? The viewer? Or was the beneficiary of it the boy who produced the vlog and got loads of interactions for his shitey YouTube channel, incidentally a Rangers fan from Greenock who also tags onto Morton from time to time? A vlogger with less clout than fucking Blair McNally ffs. But that’s not the main point of the issue with the kids of course. Behaviour like that can’t be condoned. It was dreadful and the boy(s) have to take responsibility for their actions. But let’s not kid ourselves- what happened last night was a culmination of a number of issues that have never been properly addressed. We’ve complained for years about under 16s not being allowed in without an adult, and that’s something the club have never properly addressed. They know adults will let them come in with them and haven’t acted to find a solution that suits everyone. We’ve complained about the spitting and throwing of food in the Cowshed- it was never properly dealt with, resulting in adults losing their temper and risking arrest themselves before being separated by other fans. We’ve complained about the stewarding policy, and particularly the behaviour of the head steward ad nauseam for years now. Nothing’s been done about her, and as the leader of her team, their behaviours will naturally mirror hers. That’s not to say the poor lad that suffered last night was out of order, but he was the one in the firing line as a long period of tension between the two parties came to a head. If you treat kids like brats, that’s exactly how they’ll behave. We’ve heard examples of easier targets being picked on for minor indiscretions- such as Ronnie for allowing his grandson to sit on a crush barrier, or my Dundee United supporting pal turning up late due to a family emergency and getting knocked back, while pyro and carry outs (neither of which I object to, though I don’t indulge inside the ground) are prevalent in the Cowshed. A steward walked into the shed last night at half time, picked up an empty half bottle, looked at the small group in the area and walked away, never to return. Why not confront adults when they do wrong? None of this excuses the behaviour seen in that video, but it’s merely the tip of the iceberg with Morton and their young support. I note Edinburgh City had to take pretty drastic action with their kids after their friendly with Broxburn was abandoned due to their behaviour- we may be at the stage that Morton have to make Team Ton compulsory to gain entry into the games, but with the incentive of the membership paying for itself in entry, in order that the club have all their personal details and those of their parents. But let’s not kid ourselves- Morton and their security partners also need to look in the mirror here. While the matter has to be dealt with, one thing I do expect is that appropriate sanctions will be enforced, rather than reacting to a baying mob demanding a child is banned for life, having experienced their reaction to similar incidents as a witness a couple of years ago. And I hope a thorough investigation is going into the allegations made by a Brechin fan last night that a steward suggested Lemar Reynolds be paid “in fruit” for his efforts.

Hampden wasn't to be available as the pitch wasn't going to be ready after summer gigs until Scotland v Poland in September, with Queen's Park moving in after that. The price of Rangers getting to use it sooner is spending millions that the SFA (rightly) wouldn't in order to get the pitch in playable condition. It is nevertheless an outrage that Queen's Park are allowed to use it at all, solely because Lesser is not close to being big enough to host Championship football; tough. It was their own gross incompetence which led to them having a 900 capacity stadium in a footprint that could have easily and even relatively cheaply accommodated 4000+. The terms of the groundshare should really involve Queen's Park not being allowed to keep any gate receipts over and above the capacity of Lesser - there's nothing in principle stopping everyone else shifting games to Hampden or Murrayfield as they please to rake it in from big away crowds otherwise. If that means they make a colossal loss after paying the rent then tough, they should have built a proper stadium and they can beg Haughey to fling them more money to cover it after all he's already burned on their squad. They're the biggest parasites in the history of Scottish football. Over a century leeching off the rest of the clubs funding their stadium for them through the SFA, and now leeching off the rest of us again when the disgrace of them making money through Hampden has finally been resolved, they've had their opportunity to design their own stadium and made a complete mess of it.

Bit far. Booing the team in a pre-season friendly, which btw i don't agree we should be entertaining, is a bit cringe. Sets the tone and could potentially drive a wedge between the players and fans from the outset. It's just a bit weird behaviour.

Corr dislocated his shoulder at Raith a few months ago and has done it again twice since signing for Morton. You can’t legislate for every injury but you shouldn’t be coming out with nonsense like that in interviews because it will always come back to bite you. The fact he’s the general manager and spending far too much time speaking about football matters rather than almost everything else off the pitch that seems to be at a standstill makes it even worse. The only actual thing that I can think of that he’s implemented in his time so far is integrating the women’s team in to the club, which although admirable is not something I’ve seen discussed about the cost of that and if it’s sustainable for a fan owned club at our level to cover that cost? I genuinely don’t know the answer to that but I can’t imagine it’s cheap and if it’s self sustainable at this level or the level the women play at or ever will be. so much of the things he does from his middle management speak, five pillars, getting involved in football matters and almost being the front face of talking about them plastered all over internal and external media outlets as well as being the saviour of Greenock Morton Women’s team screams of someone trying to pad their CV for his next employer rather than someone who’s actually implementing any real change or progress at the club.

Completely agree. Even when we did have a couple of passages of decent possession there was zero end product, and as soon as we lost it we were instantly on the back foot. I think the harsh reality is that the players simply aren't skillful enough to play this type of football, either in terms of keeping possession or in the timing of runs to create the space to use it effectively.

Awfully convenient that the fixture list only gives Queen’s Park one home fixture out of the first four before their scheduled return to Greater Hampden- a scenario not replicated for any other club in the division, and conveniently enough against Livingston, the club least likely to bring a large travelling support to their wee tissue box. This of course after last year having been scheduled to play three of their first four away from home (and actually playing four of their first five away as they shoehorned their midweek October fixture into the free Saturday that we played Rangers). Of course, their sole home fixture was against Arbroath, one of the two clubs (along with Inverness) least likely to bring a travelling support in last year’s division. While we were getting sent up to the back of beyond on the final day of the season year on year, there definitely seems to be a pattern emerging to benefit some clubs with the fixture list. “Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others”.

The harsh reality is we have lost players who are solid at this level and replaced them with inexperienced players or guys who we have never played in this league and hoped it will do a job. It's all well and good changing style but if you change the whole squad and then expect guys to just fit in and also change the whole way we play it's a massive risk. I trust Imrie but I don't know if I trust who we have bought in and the guys we already had to actually do well in such a competitive division.

There’s been an undercurrent of wee bellends appearing at our games over the past couple of years. All for the drums etc, but there’s a few folk damaging their good work and reputation with behaviour I’ve seen.

On the face of it this looks like another astute piece of business. A much needed goalkeeping coach and a more than adequate replacement for Mullen, as required. I am feeling a little light-headed at the realisation Morton are finally getting their act together before the season starts.

Since when did we have have to apply logic, consideration for a player acting in the best interests of himself and his family, how he was treated by Morton and the probability that he was offered better terms than another club when deciding whether a player is a rat or not? He signed for them. Guilty.

I'm 99% sure I've worked out the CB - appears to be Brynn Sinclair. Big Kiwi lad who has been playing at Petone FC in Wellington for the last 2 and a bit years. Strange that he's over here but who knows how/why we found him (or he found us). https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/brynn-sinclair/profil/spieler/900667

Five shots on target in three cup games - two games being against part time, lower league opposition. One of those shots was a saved penalty and one a relatively tame 95th minute free kick. Let that sink in - 5 shots on target in 3 games!

Must’ve just been doon the garden centre in his BMW.

It wont amount to much. Thanks to the success of Wrexham Netflix series there will be countless football clubs planning some kind of docu-soap following their fortunes. Apparently Motherwell have a rich investor planning something similar. That horrible lot from Possilpark can join the fucking queue if they think they can pin their hopes and future wellbeing on some glorified advert for their birdshit stained stands and tinpot football club. They've had hours upon hours of free publicity thanks to thee BBC luvvies over the years and they still struggle to get average gates over 3k. Nobody cares about them outwith their natural constituency. Next.

Is it fuck, behave yourself.

Fucking Parasites. Boot them out of football.

Would this be the same 'Dale' who said that we'd be signing players this summer based on their ironclad fitness record (Corr!) as well as 'minerals' (not yet forthcoming)? And who said that we needed to play a parade of turgid snorefest home friendlies to fully integrate our new talent before the League Cup began? It's probably best to start filing Dale's pronouncements in the same bin previously reserved for his Iron Man predecessor.

As other have said, wishing you all the best Frank.

On today's showing at least, we aren't actually okay at keeping the ball though. We can knock around a few passes sure, but one in every dozen is so wildly inaccurate in either direction or pace that we have to scramble to regain control. Which allows the opposition to reorganise behind the ball or steal it away entirely - exposing us to being cut open on the break. Given the excuses made about the Cappielow pitch (and East Fife) before, the fact that they couldn't keep the ball without dropping a bollock every other minute at McDairmid today does not bode well for this gubbins 'style of play'. There's also no obvious purpose to the possession that we have. We could be playing until now and still wouldn't have registered a serious attempt on target, never mind an actual goal. The abysmal goal and shots record across three games speaks for itself - this is Johanssonball. We didn't even get into Saint Johnstone's penalty box to lose that game.

After recent performances, I attended with low expectations and the team still managed to disappoint. We were told the uninspiring home friendlies was to help the new players bed in, we made a point about not signing injury-prone players and/or old-timers heading out to pasture and we were asked to be patient as a new exciting style of football evolved - so far I am struggling to see any progress on these metrics. Today was as dull and lifeless a performance as I have seen for many a year following Morton. St. Johnstone were a poor team but despite Imrie's assertion "we cut them open" the reality is we never laid a glove on them. Fans want to believe we are moving forward on the park but while you troll us making Broadfoot captain and talk up the invisible man that is Blues you are fighting a losing battle. As for Davies and Reynolds, I cannot believe we scouted them as they look so far out their depth it is worrying - I just hope they prove me wrong. Pointless passing also does not disguise our inability to make a worthwhile forward pass - how many times today did we progress up the park only for someone to take the safe option and return the ball backwards? At the moment we are a team of cowards preferring to hand out hospital passes to our mates than take responsibility. More fool me thinking we were at last up to speed at the start of a season...

I think we are going to see this season how much we relied on Muirhead pulling something out the bag in tight games in this division. Another performance where we look like we could play all day and not score. Our set piece delivery all pre season has been poor as well to make matters worse. Wilson was good and thought Mullen made some very good saves despite the second goal.

Our next game on Saturday will likely require an ability to play quickly on the break - at least in some stages of the game - which does not seem beyond the current squad on paper. If we continue to play glacial pace Johanssonball then serious questions will have to be asked about what exactly is to be achieved by this 'new playing style'.

He's got plenty of credit in the bank to ride out a dodgy spell, but there are two clear differences right now compared to previous circumstances: 1) There was always a default way of playing that would allow us to grind out results until things came good. I don't believe that we actually need a target man like Ugwu or Oakley necessarily to play aggressive pressing football, but they certainly offered an obvious focal point for just such a 2-0 down scenario as Imrie discusses in the post-match interview today. What was the realistic plan B for that lineup today - pumping balls into the channels for Davies/Reynolds to chase? EF would simply sit deeper and shut up shop if they had to in order to shut down that threat. Though given Bearne was being touted as a potential starter, the red flags about the actual quality of our new attacking talent were already there to see. 2) Unlike the similarly abysmal defeat to Clyde a couple of seasons ago, this isn't GMFC rocking up to the League Cup with 12 players and a ringer sub goalkeeper. The vast majority of our first team squad is in place and has been together for some time. Indeed our chief executive spun arranging a series of stinking turd pre-season fixtures as necessary to get the players to gel against competitive opposition. What was the demonstrable effect of playing a parade of border bumpkin outfits at Cappielow? To lose an obvious banana skin game like this is not the issue. It is the manner of the defeat that is risible.

Imrie getting his arse handed to him by a Morton youth prospect. At least Dreamoaktree will be happy.

Boyes and Delaney were fine on Tuesday.

I'm hardly president of the Jack Baird Appreciation Society - in either stint at the club to date - but if a 'new playing style' prizes Scottish football's Joe Biden over an actual defender then that playing style needs fired into the sun before the League Cup group stage is over.

The midfield need to help Baird out. There is no need for him with our new style of play to be shelling the ball aimlessly forward except if under real pressure. If midfielders make themselves available to a short simple pass the 'problem' is solved. However if it is a case of Baird winning the ball and punting it forward, or Broadfoot giving away a goal a game as he did early last season Baird gets my vote every time.

Not in completely meaningless and utter dung pre-season friendlies, no. The places to be at this time of year to attract supporters to games are in fact Arran, Campbeltown and Eriskay in consecutive matches.

Quite possibly the single most beige post in the history of the internet.

We were hardly flush when the club started making noises about the vacant land space, so 'oh turns out it costs money to build things' is not a satisfactory explanation for a failure to progress.

I agree with all of the above points but this is the most pressing issue for me. Our front 3, possibly excluding Moffat, don't get close to anyone off the ball. Got quite frustrated watching Reynolds jogging back every time the full back went by him on Saturday. Once they're by the front 3 it's then not very difficult to break us down. Both this and our current lack of a striker that poses a threat in the box will cost us a lot more than our ability to hold onto the ball will. I'm inclined to give the new lads time, but Davies saying in the tele that he's happy with his input so far worries me.

At least last season when we weren't playing well, we still had players capable of grabbing a goal. So far this season, I can't see where a goal will cone from.

I'd bite your hand off for Todorov and Grimshaw, we'd be a totally different animal with them in the team. Seems like wishful thinking that we'd get both of them though.

Back down to earth with a bump. Of course it's one game but 3-0 against a team two leagues below you is piss poor, I understand it's a new squad and some guys who haven't played at this level but there really isn't any excuses for that level of performance. Still need someone who knows where the net is at this level and another option in midfield and Broadfoot to be binned permanently and only to be used in an emergency if Imrie persists with him then its going to really cost him.

Not going to look too much into that tonight. Can see what Dougie and the team are trying to do and it will time to embed the new style of play and ideas. Pains me to say it but we have to remember that St. Mirren are an established premiership team. They were fitter over the 90s mins and more clinical on front of goal. Defensively I thought we looked ok. Both fullbacks will be good additions. Don't like to be negative but Broadfoot cannot start if Boyes, Corr and Baird are fit. Gillespie was his usual self on the ball. Calm and assured although he did tire and is always prone to an error or 2. Blues worked hard as well but we looked better when shut came on. Still think we need an experienced, physical presence in there. Davies worked hard but looked much more comfortable centrally. Reynolds worked hard and made a couple of good runs but he lacked a first touch and composure. Moffat and Lyall are both ballers and we need to hope they can produce the good consistently. Garrity looked lively when he came on. Didnt see much of Bearne. Positives were how we tried to move the ball about and the chances we made however we need to be more clinical up front and tighter defensively as a team.

If the club choose to pretend the game is a serious derby, it can't be a surprise if some fans then treat it like one after going in 2-0 down at half-time through two individual howlers from a player everyone in the support already knows is terrible.

Blues looking (rightly) a bit bewildered at the half time boos…

Among other things, he clarifies that we gave him use of our facilities when he wasn’t a Morton player, his mind was made up to leave after the Dunfermline game, and he doesn’t even know the terms of the offer he rejected. He also publicly discloses the content of private conversations with Imrie. Comes across as very bitter and unprofessional. A strange PR move from someone who has failed to secure satisfactory offers at this level when trying to leave Morton in the past, and may be searching again in 6 months. It was tempting to feel sorry for him after his mum’s twitter outburst, or his mate leaking private messages. But it’s clear from this article that it’s not just his inner circle that are the problem, it’s him. Good of him to put it right out in the open in a Daily Record interview to remove any doubt.

Twenty Five Grand for a feasibility study!?! Well, ta very much. There's nothing to see here.

Couldnt they just photocopy last years and tippex out the date?

Our 100% pre-season record against League One minnows continues.

Ross County can have him.

More like a step up from the Irish leagues to the SPFL.

I could be wrong but I imagine corr will be coming here to play. It's been mentioned that he left raith due to a lack of game time.

Class signing still young good potential and someone who we might be able to actually get a fee for. For me Imrie has got it bang on with the signings of course we need to see how they actually do in the league but I am really positive about them doing the business. Keep them coming.

https://x.com/Morton_FC/status/1806394664561320005