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I did actually hear from someone at the club about it since posting. The job was done over the summer and at very little cost to the club. The timing of the post was unfortunate, but you can’t blame a supplier for showing off their work if it benefits them. And to be fair, it’s not the club boasting about their fancy new cushions at all, if it comes from the supplier. I get that I’ve got more trust in the word of those inside the club than you and many others will, but I don’t think they’ve been out splashing the cash on little luxuries at all, and believe the room itself was in desperate need of a refurb.

If they’ve finally broken Dunning in to not giving a 17 paragraph response then the club is in even more mortal danger than any time in its history.

Thanks to all who've been positive about when I was on the podcast. Without wanting to sound like a self-aggrandising prick, I don't think it's unfair to say that when I was on I was just trying to give a straight accounting of what had happened and what the claims and rebuttals of each side were without trying to interject my own opinion much, though undoubtedly some bias will have come through. I also don't think anyone could disagree that Alastair Renfrew clearly isn't doing the same as he has an agenda and side chosen, whether rightly or wrongly, and to be fair I don't think he'd dispute that either. With that in mind, again without trying to go into my own views, amongst all the comments which can be put down to his own matters of opinion I think the following are things Alastair Renfrew has stated as fact on the podcast which are contradicted by a different statement claiming to be fact from someone else. As already covered by both sides at the meeting, Estrella not being aware of any arrears from Dalrada until July, or the full extent of arrears until 10 August - this directly contradicts the GMFC & MCT claim these details were fully shared with them in April and May as part of due diligence and they were kept up to date with further failures throughout. Both sides claim a paper trail supports their version of events. Renfrew said Dalrada's arrears are currently £320K and will be £420K by the end of the season; this not only contradicts what the GMFC board said at the meeting (that £340K would be the total arrears by the end of the season), this directly contradicts the Investment Agreement itself. That was in a clause looking to fix a future share price in the event Dalrada failed to pay up their arrears, which stated £340K was the total due from Dalrada. However, this was clause 2.24, which is the one we received an email about a couple of hours before the meeting saying updated wording had been agreed for this one outstanding clause and the IA was now considered finalised. It was agreed at the meeting that the agreement would be resent with the updated wording, but then Estrella withdrew anyway so it never happened. The updated wording of that clause would certainly catch someone in a lie here. If as per Estrella's own timeline they reopened negotiations on a previously finalised agreement in August, on the basis of finding out in July about Dalrada's arrears and in August about the full extent of them, then a clause specifically about their arrears can only have been inserted at their behest after those negotiations restarted. If Estrella's accounting of events is true and they only learned the full extent of those arrears on 10 August, a clause about Dalrada's arrears can only have been inserted in August and with the correct value of arrears only after 10 August. As members didn't get the IA until 15 August, we have no way of knowing when it was first added. However, if the updated clause 2.24 still stated £340K as the amount due from Dalrada, where are the extra £80K in arrears coming from in line with Alastair Renfrew's claim of £420K? That would mean the Estrella side are now lying about the extent of the arrears in public by inflating them. If the updated wording of clause 2.24 saw that number change from £340K to £420K, then it would mean the GMFC board were lying to MCT members on the night about the size of Dalrada's potential arrears by the end of the season. That could then potentially fit with Estrella's timeline; they inserted the clause about Dalrada's arrears when they initially found out there were arrears, they then found out the amount due by the end of the season would be larger than £340K on 10 August and so had the wording revised to the larger figure. Either way, the answer to that answers who's telling the truth. If either side were shown to be lying about the extent of the arrears now, then it would be very easy to believe they were also lying about when it was disclosed. Moyes Jr being banned from Cappielow - Alastair Renfrew's not giving an accurate representation of what Mark Kelly said there. He's very focused on the fact Kelly said he was there on 17th August, the day of the meeting, and this not contradicting that the club had previously banned Moyes from entering Cappielow, but Mark Kelly's explanation included that Moyes had been there several times, not only that day, and had only been challenged on the first day he turned up unannounced. None of us will ever know the actual truth of this without someone producing either CCTV proving Moyes was in the building or a paper trail proving the club told him to bolt, but it is a misrepresentation to say the only thing anyone from GMFC claimed was that he'd been there on the day of the meeting. He said 95% of members had previously approved the deal in principle. This is factually incorrect. What 93.64% of members approved was entering due diligence and further negotiations, not a yes vote in principle on a deal. The MCT membership have never had a vote on whether they support a deal with Estrella. The wording of that question was: Should Morton Club Together enter a 60-day exclusivity period with Estrella Football Group so that both sides can fully explore the proposed partnership and carry out due diligence? Last one, this isn't directly a factual one as opposed to two competing matters of opinion but I hadn't mentioned it before when I was on the podcast myself as Estrella hadn't brought it up so it wasn't in the he said, she said mess. Renfrew said the fighting fund may be used to cover the legal costs on behalf of the board who "botched the deal", as well having said several times that he believed the board had deliberately tried to stall it. I completely agree that there should be some clarification coming from the GMFC board about what the fighting fund will be used for and when, but on the legal fees the MCT board were asked at the meeting on 17th August what their legal costs were related to the deal. They said they were sitting at £26K at that point, which was higher than they'd estimated for legal fees at the start and the main cause of both the increased cost and the delay in getting to a vote was in trying to get the Investment Agreement finalised, which they attributed to Estrella insisting on using a Dutch law firm rather than a Scottish one, and so lacking expertise in Scots Law. The botched deal claim is therefore being levelled in both directions.

Sorry I asked.

I have had a go at summarising what was said in the Estrella/Alistair Renfrew statement last night. He was talking faster than I can write so there may be some gaps in here but I think the main points are all covered. I have added a column for the responses/rebuttals that were given edit - just to be clear, I am paraphrasing here based on my notes so the exact words below are mine not those of EFG or MCT correction to point 6 - 100% ownership was not mentioned - it was 51% majority share

Makes the Chris Dodds voice note sound like a nursery rhyme.

In the cold light of a new day, after a shite sleep which was interrupted several times by someone asking to make a point of order which was in fact a question, you can now suffer several paragraphs of my nonsense. Aside from the explosion that blew up the room, pertinent non-Estrella related points that came out before the statement and the anger aimed in all directions that followed were the result of the MCT Director Elections that George Anderson, Thomas Francis, Graham McLennan and John McMaster were elected. Also, no vote was held on the amendment to the articles regarding adding a Morton in the Community representative seat to the MCT board, as MITC themselves requested that's delayed as they're currently undergoing a change of trustees themselves and want that settled at their side first. So on the statement then, it was extremely long so I'm not going to get every detail and I didn't manage to scribble everything down as it went but I'm going to try to reproduce the most serious claims here and intersperse the MCT/GMFC responses which came later as I go. I'll do my best to keep it to the reality of what each side's version of events was rather than interjecting my own opinion on the credibility of either side's claims, but hopefully we do get it emailed out. The terms of the deal have changed because in March Estrella thought Morton were a stable club and it's since became clear that they're not. In July GMFC contacted Estrella to ask for an emergency loan. The GMFC response was that this was true, they had a short-term cashflow issue and needed a sum (they didn't specify how much) to tide them over to the following week when they were due to receive a £160K payment (not specified from where). Estrella were one of the parties asked, the terms of the loan suggested by Estrella were unacceptable to GMFC so they declined, found an alternative source of a soft loan and that loan was repaid in full after those funds were received. Estrella were not made aware of Dalrada being in arrears through the due diligence process, and even after learning that they were in arrears they only learned the full extent of the arrears on Monday 10 August. The MCT response was that Estrella have been fully aware of Dalrada's arrears throughout the process. As part of due diligence full GMFC financial details were disclosed in April & May and Dalrada being a debtor was clearly shown. GMFC also had a call with Dalrada discussing the arrears - I think they said that was around the end of June or start of July when there was a significant shortfall in Dalrada's payment but my notes may be failing me here - a full transcript of this call was taken and was shared with Estrella. Both sides claim to have a paper trail supporting their version of events. Estrella contacted Brian Bonar independently of GMFC to discuss Dalrada's arrears as they didn't think they were getting the whole truth, and the direct quote from Brian Bonar they presented was that payments are "unlikely to be made in full". The direct quote GMFC attributed to Brian Bonar from their own discussions was that it was a timing issue but he said "I will pay every penny" even if those payments aren't made on time. They also said that it was GMFC or MCT (I didn't catch which) who arranged the call between Estrella and Dalrada. Estrella claimed that the MCT board suggested Estrella adjust their offer to be for majority control of GMFC rather than 35%. The MCT response was that the suggestion of 51% rather than 35% came from Estrella, not from MCT, and they did discuss putting two different Estrella offers to members, one at 51% and one at the original 35%, but were concerned having two different Estrella offers on the table would cause confusion. Ultimately Estrella decided they wanted to stick with 35%. Estrella said David Moyes Jr was brought in at the request of the current management team to assist with recruitment, not at Estrella's behest. His wages while he's working without a contract are mostly but not fully covered by an external backer. Estrella requested a pause on recruitment until the deal was concluded so they could then fund players Moyes was identifying but GMFC continued to make signings. They want to make him a permanent technical director as having someone in that role is "essential at any serious club", and the current state of the team on the park means they want to add two Championship players immediately and those signings are fully costed. Moyes' involvement is now a red line for Estrella, however GMFC have said he's "not welcome at Cappielow." GMFC said Moyes was in place at Estrella's request, not the current management team. They did speak to Murray regarding his views on a Technical Director/Director of Football type model and he said it's his preference to work with one, but Murray didn't make a specific request that one be appointed. GMFC do see this as being a helpful position to have filled in future but it wasn't accounted for in the budget for this season, which is already a budget they have a shortfall on due to Dalrada's arrears, so they don't want to add more expenditure outside of the budget with the portion of Moyes' wage which isn't covered by an external backer and six figures on more players. Mark Kelly said it was a lie that Moyes has been told he wasn't welcome at Cappielow and had been there several times, including earlier that day before the meeting. He said that the first day Moyes turned up he challenged his right to be there because as general manager he'd heard nothing about him coming and didn't want to let someone who wasn't employed by the club, Estrella or MCT into the stadium without having been given any reason to be there, but after speaking to the GMFC board he was allowed in and has returned several times since. Estrella said there is a serious risk of the club running out of money before the end of August. GMFC said there is no danger of the club running out of money in August. Having covered all that I'll interject my own thing here because it was towards the end of the meeting after many people had left as it went on so long that I asked (sorry for being one of the people asking without a mic if those online couldn't hear, I thought we were done having the mic passed round as it was almost finished after the resolution to delay the vote had passed and everyone wanted to go home). I specifically asked, while knowing they can't say for sure based on how other income might fluctuate, if we have the doomsday scenario of Dalrada not paying a penny for several months, when does making payroll at the end of the month become an issue? They said they don't expect any issues in September, but if they weren't receiving any Dalrada payments then things would become difficult from October onwards. I didn't ask any follow ups but people do need to be realistic here and aware of this, realistically whatever this alternative consortium has to offer we are obviously not going to be in a position where we've got two completed deals to be chosen between going to members before the end of October that will magically make any cashflow issues evaporate. If there isn't a drastic change at Dalrada's end and we haven't had a completed deal agreed, we are going to need some serious fundraising to stop the Dalrada shortfall in the budget tanking the club.

We have absolutely nothing to show for Dalrada's backing but crippling cash flow issues.

"An incomplete Investment Agreement was issued to MCT members without Estrella's knowledge or consent, contrary to the arrangements that had been agreed and in breach of the NDA governing the process. In addition, the proposal was communicated by MCT as giving Estrella "majority control over GMFC whilst being a minority shareholder". Estrella did not see these communications until 18 August." Later in the statement... "Our decision to speak publicly at that stage was driven by the circumstances immediately preceding the AGM. Incorrect information about the nature of our proposal had been communicated to MCT members" The AGM was held on 17 August. How could the statement at the AGM be a response to the narrative created by an email on 15 August if Estrella didn't see that email until 18 August?

Would this be 'the MCT' who were against the deal last month, or the other MCT who are pushing it forward now? We'll be needing separate spokespersons for the Real, Provisional and Continuity MCTs at this rate.

Here's the thing - and an issue that we didn't even discuss at the AGM, because The Statement veered things off into a different direction: It shouldn't actually be a one time only option, because MCT also invests £150k worth of capital, each and every year. Over 5 years, that is £750k of capital investment. Over ten, it's £1.5 million. So a key issue unresolved - or perhaps they did resolve it, as the offending article about new share issues was never actually published! - is how MCT's ongoing capital investment would count towards the share allocation at the club. I'd be happy for an external investor to get a stable 35% stake, or as good as 50-50 split for a set number of years as a gesture of goodwill, but after a certain point, if MCT are still contributing funds then they should receive appropriate new shares. So it isn't a one-time only strategy - if MCT continue to provide its own capital investment, they should recover a greater stake in the business. And can then bring in fresh capital. We need to move beyond the view that MCT just donates money to finance fulllll-time futba. It is capital. Members can split the funds for different purposes now that Dalrada are defaulting on their demands. MCT can provide a source of short term cash by retaining some funds, or can apply to invest in other projects that GMFC may have access to on a preferential basis, but not own. One potential benefit of EFG or another external investor who wants to run the football club is that MCT could then provide a complementary focus on wider infrastructure, community projects etc. Just chucking the lion's share of that capital at Ian Murray's 'warchest', never to be seen again, is no longer a credible approach.

Major butthurt energy from AR in there along with some absolutely wild takes - spending the entire interview doubling down on Xanders statement despite claiming not to represent EFG - calling out MCT for sharing the draft agreement without EFG approval and calling them “cowards” for sharing the advice of our legal counsel with members in the same breath as blaming MCT for not giving members enough info to make an informed vote. (Let’s also not forget about the numerous times EFG have released information ahead of the agreed timelines; not least their suspiciously timed initial statement on the night the deal was first mentioned to members) - Accusing MCT of starting a disinformation campaign to try and undermine the deal - reiterating Xanders comments regarding Moyes & new players being essential for survival while failing to address the fact that we already have a hole in our budget which EFG money isn’t enough to cover, never mind the additional said costs - criticising GMFC for not being open to getting assistance from Moyes & Cristiano Piccini as they saw EFG involvement in running the club prior to deal approval as “premature”. Strange then that when EFG are so committed to partnership & collaboration that they offered such unfavourable terms when approached for a short term loan - hardly exemplifies the spirit of collaboration. The fact EFG took their ball and ran away as soon as they didn’t get what they wanted also suggests the club were maybe right to be cautious about jumping the gun in getting EFG involved in the running for the club. - suggests that the fighting fund is being used to pay legal fees “for the deal that the same people caused to fail”. I thought that the sum of money & where it was coming from was made pretty clear at the agm? He also said that waiting for administration before doing a fundraiser would be a better approach - claims that members of mct & club leadership & the wider support were reluctant to proceed with the deal due to being overly cautious. From my POV most people were in favour of the deal - the turning point was when the terms were reduced & Xanders statement was read out. Had these 2 things not happened I expect the deal would have been rubber stamped by now. For what it’s worth I believe Alistair when he says he only wants the best for the club. Unfortunately I think he has allowed his judgement to be clouded by his seemingly blind faith in the EFG offering along with the axe he clearly has to grind with MCT & GMFC leadership. Finally - props to Craig Fowler - I’m not a big fan of the guys content but on this occasion he at least did a decent job of cross examining AR on some of his claims. Sure he could have pressed a bit harder on a few points but overall I thought he did a good job so credit where it’s due

When you've got Bible John speaking sense, that's when you know it's TTG

Its almost as if all those resignations by people who didn't have egos and wanted to do their best for GMFC suddenly make sense...

The position of McLennan and probably the two ex-players (who should never have been voted on) is now untenable. They have to go.

I wonder if the Chicago Fire owners would like to invest in us and have us as their European feeder team. Since we don’t have a copyright on Greenock Morton or anything apparently I wouldn’t be against them renaming us to Bin Fire.

There was an issue with his accommodation too. Part of his initial deal was putting him up in the club’s own flat or one they were renting, with his wages relatively lower to reflect that. He was looking for somewhere else he could make more his own home but I understand they couldn’t help him with any contributions to rent or bills nor increase his wages given the financial constraints. Ultimately I think he and his family have decided he’s best served going back down the road and looking for a fresh start elsewhere. He’s a good lad. Hope he does well and finds somewhere he feels happy and settled.

The Tele have been quick enough to get every piece of bad press out in the paper and online. It's their round now. Club should be asking for a front page on Friday for a call to arms to get us a big crowd out for the game.

there are two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures. And the dutch

...which sounds like exactly what GMFC needs, given it is currently a rudderless ghost ship and just 15 months ago had certain board members act as blatant mouthpieces for the Dalrada interest. How is that working out, exactly? And why have those who got their useful tools in the GT to peddle the Dalrada pitch v imminent administration in May 2025 nonsense not resigned in ignominy yet? Who within the GMFC boardroom challenged any of the decisions that have taken us to this point? Now any issue about committing further funds/budget is entirely separate and worth taking very seriously. But whoever signed off on that statement needs to read the room in terms of the leadership and trust that the existing GMFC board has demonstrated. Your collective fate should be the least of any potential consequences being considered.

The club is a mess, but someone having a smoke break at their work - particularly during a particularly stressful period - is really not a major issue, Christ.

Again there's evidence of discussions happening with MCT members separate from the board. Given the mewling about breach of NDAs, were these members subject to the same NDA to allow them to be party to negotiations and declared as such to the MCT board? If not, they're guilty of most of their accusations.

Is it a bit of a brass neck that we’ve said we can’t afford players, so big clubs are giving us freebies, and we’re now on course to assembling a title winning squad? Don’t mind it.

Small point, but I’d hope that if there are any further incomings they are unveiled wearing the away shirt. I’d much rather see the brand of a paying sponsor displayed where possible than Them.

I hate this narrative off “no old firm game so they should go to Morton games” why? They don’t support Morton? Also I do not want either of their supporters near cappielow. We had 2 rangers fans infront of us at the game today and after 5 mins they were giving it “this is pish, how can yous watch this every week”. Which I actually found hilarious giving the eye bleeding nonsense they are severing up at the moment.

Just what we needed. Too soft, and not because of the teenage fullbacks who seem the only ones willing to put themselves about. Waste of a worldy save as well. I get scoring a goal and stuff is a nice step forward but I can't bring myself to happy clap a home defeat to Arbroath off the park.

Saw on twitter that Tam Cowan is going to out collection buckets at his show in Greenock, personally donate and come back to Greenock again if someone suggests a venue and perform his show for free. great gesture and his only caveat is that someone from the club or MCT gets in touch so here’s hoping they do.

I genuinely get the viewpoint that the club don't deserve fans dipping into their pockets, no football club is entitled to money from their fans and there are also concerns about the running of the club for various reasons. I would say though that the primary reason we're in the position of urgently needing to fundraise is a hole being blown in the budget by a sponsor failing to keep up with their contractual payments. It's valid to point out that with Dalrada's track record we could have gone elsewhere and found alternative sponsorship that would have been of a smaller monetary value but could actually be relied on to be paid on time and in full then we wouldn't be in this position, and there's a conversation to be had about whether the GMFC considered that alternative, if not why not and what that means for trusting them to make commercial decisions - and set budgets - in the future. However it's also not like the board have plucked an obscenely large figure for the wage budget out of thin air and hoped it would take care of itself on a wing and a prayer. They ultimately made the budget based on scheduled sponsorship income, not increasing attendances by 1000 overnight. Adding Carse to the wage bill though is a question to be answered. If Morton going down the public appeal route can raise enough money to see the club through to the end of the season and expiry of contracts, when we can then have a proper restructure of the club that brings expenditure down then good. Given the choice between being called tinpot for doing this or opening the door to some potential shysters forever, I'll take raising money the tinpot way. If we get to that point where we know we're seeing the season out, that's the time for a reckoning about what directors knew and when and so whether it's appropriate for them to still be around for part of that restructure; adding more turmoil by demanding resignations now and having a skeleton board handling things only makes it more difficult for the club to function. Caveat on that is if Estrella were to present evidence for some of the claims in their statement that would prove someone has been lying to the membership then that would be an immediate resigning matter, but I suspect that withdrawing from the process means we'll never hear from them again and so they never have to worry about providing evidence. MCT should still be providing evidence of their rebuttal regardless.

Oh, good, it's a known idiot, I don't feel bad then.

Here's the issue: MOH has been by far our most dangerous player in this game. But he is (and pretty much always has been at the club) nowhere near a goalscoring position. It is a screamingly obvious waste to put that skill, athleticism and know-how to beat players out wide because 'gubbins wingers R gud'. MOH should be playing in a front two, roasting a centre back and so getting a clear shot at goal. This worse than useless, CV-padding, monumental fraud of a manager can talk about how easy in the eye his team is all he wants: it has absolutely nothing of substance in either penalty box. That's how the game works. He should have been on gardening leave since the EF game, with any combination of Gillespie, MOH or my left bollock with a smiley face on it running the team instead.

I see your point but disagree - to expect unanimity on a proposal from board members is unrealistic (and ultimately involves a majority bending the will of the minority). While raising its own issues, I would favour either 1) an officially neutral position (if you have agreed terms on a proposal - that doesn't necessarily have to happen) or 2) a transparent demonstration of who supports and who wouldn't support the proposal. As for detailed scrutiny - unless MCT is (and is able to) disclose direct legal advice, NOT the board's interpretation of that advice, then deferring detailed scrutiny to the board is an accident waiting to happen. The membership do not all have time or expertise to scrutinise a detailed legal document - but enough do, and with enough different views and skillsets that an open and informed debate can occur. For example - the legality of the proposed share issues was raised and discussed at the AGM. The bigger threat is to have any variant of MCT board manipulate scrutiny towards a proposal that they want to pass. What is completely unacceptable either way is for individual board members to issue statements in MCT's name, either on their own steam or in partnership with an external group, or unofficial statements that can quite clearly be interpreted as a similar intervention. MCT board members will disagree and should disagree about different choices that must be taken: there are ways of doing it that are credible, and ways that turn the organisation into a zoo.

We can call cooperation loans back whenever we want can we not? I remember Hearts calling Forrester back from St Johnstone last season and then sending him back later. If that’s the case then letting those players get game time in men’s football can only be a good thing, and if Black or Murphy are ever needed back then we can get them back whenever we need them.

Ye have single handedly destroyed the spirit of all true football people at this special time of year.

Am I the only one thinking that this feels like one of the most horrible decisions in the history of football?

Nice to have a feeder club. edit: In seriousness, it's great that we've been able to do this by cultivating a relationship with agent(s) and proving to an MLS club that we're a good place to blood young talent like Schwake. Operating at our level and with our financial issues means we need to be creative because we can't compete on a direct footing with other clubs of our level. Of course this approach brings its own challenges; they operate on a different season timeline to us, there's a ton of immigration and work permit stuff to do (presumably), and we won't be able to scout them easily in person. But it speaks well to the club that they've been able to pull this off.

Cupps looks like he should be playing a level or 2 above the Championship. He absolutely strolled the game. Bashir didn't make much of an impact in his 8 minutes on the pitch.

The formation is both completely predictable and utterly toothless. Not saying he is brilliant, but Brophy is being given a thankless task against two centre backs every week, and zero service from three sand-dancers who were hiding while we were in possession too often. The only way to give this team a credible threat is to change formation and go two up front with Savoury or any of our other 18 attacking midfielders playing behind them. Wilson, Cochrane and Gillespie provide the base for us to do something different to this utterly predictable pish. It was a great and well-deserved goal from Black, but we created little else in the game and over the three league games deserved to score at most a couple of goals. While relatively well organised defensively, we cough up soft goalscoring opportunities and set piece goals on a reliable enough basis to sink us. Unless the system is changed it will be a parade of plucky, narrow defeats and so the manager must be changed if he's not willing to do that. As for 'what about the cost?' - stick him on gardening leave and have a senior player take over, the latter of which Arbroath did two seasons ago. To persist with this is to write off the season - in which case we should start moving players on and cutting costs before this month is out.

1) and 2) If there is a further MCT meeting between now and the next AGM then I'll be glad to either propose or second a motion of no confidence - that you think Monday's event needed yet another 'point of order' would be wild if it weren't just laughably transparent nonsense. 3) A) GMFC pledged in May's end of season statement that the first team performance was unacceptable and that standards would be raised going forward - already knowing and apparently having fully informed EFG too that the key backer underwriting the first team budget was in default on payments. So standards could not possibly be raised while that situation continued - but the fiction/delusion persisted right up until losing to Linlithgow and East Fife necessitated a change in tack to 'poor us' panhandling. I wonder what would have been communicated and when, had the LC group ended in a bog standard 5-6 points and out. B - In last Friday's statement GMFC focused on the concerns surrounding the financial viability of EFG's demands - prioritising these above the promised injection of £200k worth of capital this year, and £600k over three years. Well the phrase 'beggars can't be choosers' springs to mind. The club has no assets to sell and no cash in hand/bank debt facility - so if GMFC faces an immediate and dire shortfall in cashflow, then its board's responsibility to maintain a going concern should have supported a capital investment offer on the table. Instead they came out in opposition, so things can't be too bad for the year. C - Only after clutching their pearls about EFG's statement did anyone connected to GMFC or MCT bother to mention the contact for funding from EFG, or the soft loan to God knows who, or the apparent cash-flow crunch in October (which is apparently vastly different to EFG's disgraceful slur saying that it would run out of funds this month instead). None of the above demonstrate logical consistency in communicating the club's financial situation. As for it being up to the GMFC board to manage what information to communicate: this is not a PR exercise with the Daily Record; this is communicating to the actual owners of the football club. It is not the GMFC board nor in fact the MCT board that are the owners of the club - they are entrusted to their role as executives. The actual ownership is the collective membership of MCT, who were being provided with false and/or partial information from all three interested parties at the AGM and then expected to cast a vote the next morning. If that's the sort of selective communication approach that you find appropriate then that's your view. But in my view it is entirely corrosive to the model of fan ownership, and not much better for the concept of fan capital investment either. Neither EFG nor Golden Casket nor even Dalrada (who didn't even own any shares) would have tolerated being left in the dark - yet Muggins the MCT member is expected to 'trust the guys', 'back the boys', pay £400 p/y and also chip into a Fighting Fund whenever said guys make a roaring cunt of setting a budget.

This is my big concern. Without a cash flow statement showing our position over the next few months, I can't see justification for a asking people to fund fighting fund at this point. I will join MCT now as I think that is a much better, and more sustainable way of trying to help. I have huge misgivings about how is it run; that's partly driven from my experience of helping to run a step 4 non-league club in England. My main worry is the lack of honesty that has got us to this point, and the lack of strategic thought that has gone into the bucket exercise.

I agree - our reputation is already in the gutter after Murray’s whining so at this stage I don’t really care if starting a fund raiser leads to accusations of tinpottery from our rival fans. Public perception at the moment is probably far worse than the reality of our situation, so let’s turn that negative into a positive by taking advantage of it and getting the begging bowl out. I would be happy to start the page myself but it might be better if it came from someone who has an official capacity within MCT or GMFC. as a starting point, maybe something like - Greenock Morton Emergency appeal As a fan-owned club, Greenock Morton is built on the community, and since coming under fan ownership has always been run on a break even basis, consistently punching above our weight while working with one of the lowest budgets in the Championship. In recent weeks news has come out that our major sponsor has been hit by financial difficulties preventing them from fulfilling their commitments for the 25/26 season, leaving a potential hole of over £300k in the club’s budget. The club currently has enough funds to pay bills and wages for August and September, but unless something changes before October, we will run into serious financial issues. This appeal is to keep the lights on - paying essential bills and covering the wages of the existing staff who make the club run day to day. This isn’t about transfers or new signings. This is about making sure Cappielow stays open, the team are able to fulfil their fixtures, and the staff can keep their jobs. What your donation does: Every £ raised goes directly to: 1. Essential operating bills - keeping Cappielow running 2. Staff wages - protecting the people behind the scenes 3. Giving the club breathing room to secure new long-term partnerships

I joined online last night because I live 90 minutes away and worried about getting home via public transport before silly o'clock on a school night. Whilst that was a good decision, trying to follow online was a nightmare due to the emotions in the room, so I'll definitely try and make it in-person in future. Not that anyone cares what I think, but I've jotted some thoughts below under the key themes as I saw them: Trust Who to trust? Who to believe? This is the crux of what came out of the meeting for me. The statement read by Renfrew eviscerated the boards of both GMFC and MCT. The purpose of this - be in no doubt - was to convince members that the club is close to liquidation, that the boards are lying to supporters and to EFG, and EFG's intentions are only pure (the bit at the end designed to tug at the heartstrings of supporters who have saved the club before and that's why they're still here; for us). GMFC and MCT responded where they could, and there were areas of concession and rebuttal. It would be wise for the boards of GMFC and MCT to go through each claim and, where possible, provide concrete evidence to support their positions (paper trails etc., were mentioned). EFGF should look to do likewise. As I often write on student essays - references and evidence required to substantiate claims made. My thoughts as of today I trust MCT and GMFC more than EFG. It appears there has been significant incompetence and that has caused major issues. But this has been incompetence by people that I know are Morton supporters, who put themselves forward to sit on these boards, and who I believe (and it's only my view) have the best interests of the club central to what they do. Mark Kelly, for example; he has no reason to lie about Moyes Jnr, so I accept his version of events. Dean on the MCT board stood along from me in the shed for years before going to China, why would he jeopardise the club's future? I don't know enough of EFG, but what I heard last night I didn't like; reading a multi-thousand word statement with no evidence to support accusations doesn't sit well. Additionally, the revelation that the club went to them for a loan and they offered unacceptable terms shows that their interests aren't in the financial wellbeing of Morton (not a criticism - they're an investment group, they're responsible to their shareholders!) The future There are four potential futures open to the club as of today, as I see it. 1. Continue as we are and attempt to survive the season. Relegation a certainty and then a regroup at the end of the season to look at part-time/hybrid models for long-term sustainability. 2. Agree the Estrella deal and all that it entails. 3. Reject Estrella and pursue the '10 businessmen'. 4. Put the club up for sale. My thoughts 1. Short-term pain for long-term gain? A terrible season of football and being (continuing to be) easy pickings for sensationalist media stories about what's going on at Morton? My concern about this is that supporters will completely lose interest, apathy will rule the roost, and MCT will lose subscribers. Positives are that we will find our 'natural' place in the league set-up as it currently is and will be run on a breakeven basis, securing the long-term future of GMFC> 2. According to our legal advisors, this cedes majority control to a third-party for a minority stake. I'm currently against this option; I don't trust them (see above) but others are free to make up their own minds. I also fail to see how they can work with GMFC and MCT given what they said last night. 3. We need more information on this. Who are they? Why have they come forward now? What's in it for them? What are the securities for GMFC, MCT, and Cappielow? I'd be inclined to explore this option as a matter of urgency. Perhaps they could sponsor the stadium to provide an immediate cash injection and show their positive intentions straight off the bat? A figure that would be enough to cover a couple of key signings and they would get all the positive publicity that would generate. 4. I don't want to admit fan ownership has failed, but the discussions last night re. revolving doors for directors, and the constantly lurching from crisis to crisis means it now has to be explored as a realistic possibility. But this would lead to the situation we find ourselves with EFG, in trying to find a buyer who has Morton's best interests central. That's probably unlikely. All in all, it's a really messy situation, and very hard for supporters to make an informed decision. In a world of war, climate breakdown and recurrent socio-economic crises, it would be really nice if the fitba could be a distraction from reality, but that's not the current situation for Morton supporters.

I’ve been of the mind that fan ownership could still work if we cut our cloth accordingly, went part time if needed and played at the level our income supports if need be, but last night was my breaking point for thinking fan ownership has failed. An ever revolving door of well meaning good people on the MCT board isn’t enough for it to run in the way it needs to be, as stated by David Whitton saying they need to reset every time people resign. Couple this with a club board that has continuously failed to meet the moment on so many occasions now and I’m just scunnered with it all. I'm at the point now where I just want to support my football club again, as it’s been absolutely exhausting being a Morton fan especially these past few years with endless dramas and sagas. Fan ownership is driving me to the point of apathy which is the complete antithesis of what a well run community owned club is supposed to be about.

The second bit at least provided some light comedy intervention: as if GMFC is suddenly going to crank out a new commercial or prize money generating monster, having already committed to the bull of of its squad and flogged most of the merchandise and STs for the coming year. The only possible source of significant new revenue is somehow scraping through at the first stage of the Scottish Cup (which means avoiding Lowland League and above opposition) and then drawing one of the Ugly Sisters. It's the equivalent of a tramp finding £100 on the street. The Estrella deal is not the only course of action available - but that MCT and board representative was being disingenuous in setting out the alternative. Which brings me to a key point being somewhat overlooked IMO amidst the complaints about the harsh and cruel tone of the Estrella statement: the now confirmed fact that GMFC sought a loan facility this summer first from Estrella Football Group, and then from an unidentified soft loan provider. Here's the key question for MCT officeholders: was it ever intended to disclose this highly pertinent information to members, prior to the vote opening this morning at 9am? If not, why not? If so, what evidence is there to support your intention to disclose on good faith? Was it on a detailed agenda or notes being used to direct last night's meeting? It was not even hinted at within GMFC's statement expressing its own concern about the financial security of the club if the Estrella deal were approved on Friday - a statement that a couple of MCT officeholders must have at least seen, if not directly approved as club board members too. Why wasn't this key contextual information disclosed in the GMFC message? Others may hold a different view, but for me any representative at last night's meeting who was both aware about the club's requirement for external short term loans and who did not intend to disclose this to MCT members - the ultimate owners of the club - have failed in their duty of transparency and trust. By choosing to give out only partial information themselves ahead of the most important vote in MCT's history, they do not have the legitimacy to continue in their own post.

Dalrada signage removed from cappielow when I passed an hour ago

Sticking a bunch of angry guys in a room has been largely unproductive so far and would only be more so now. In work you'd say don't have a meeting that could be an email and this is one of those times. Just tell us the factual, financial position of the club and avoid a night of listening to rehearsed petty recriminations.

Loosely related as it concerns generating money: Is it a concern to anyone else that our commercial exec is currently splitting his time between that, general manager, and kitman? No harm to him personally, I just don’t think that’s feasible for anybody, and we really need someone full time and on top of the commercial stuff.

It was the MCT members in attendance who mooted a fund for fans to pay. I’ve not read the post from the club but surely it’s going to surviving past September rather than new signings. If you don’t want to pay anything that’s your prerogative and completely fine, but I’m happy it’s been announced for fans who do want to contribute to be able to.

Bit confused with the vitriol of the previous two posts. If the worst case scenario plays out, then the club by its own admission will face solvency issues in the Autumn. Nothing should be off the table to prevent that.

Graham Barr in the Tele still giving it the 'we hope the Dalarda money will come soon'. Can we cut the crap - accept it's unlilely and start putting effort into what revenue we can bring in.

Yes. Though I am finding myself frustrated at our inability to create revenue for ourselves. Could this money be raised (through various commercial streams and MCT)? Again that’s speculating we’ll manage to do that, so would be a non-starter for some, but you know what I mean? We’ve been too reliant on Dalrada’s payouts and seriously need to look at how we get money in by helping ourselves. Whatever happened to the MCT membership drive? Given that we’ve been portrayed in the media as being on our last legs, there’s an opportunity to capitalise on that perception. People will put money in if you tell them how to.