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Some positive news amongst the chaos, Sam Murdoch is called up to a Scotland under-19s camp. First Morton player to be called up at any age level for almost 10 years. Well done him, very well deserved.

I think the hounding of Dalrada is massively premature. We don't know what the terms of their agreement are and we don't know what demands, if any, they have made. Their only public statements so far have been 100% positive. IF it turns out that they're trying to hold the majority shareholder to ransom then obviously that's a problem but right now we've only heard, officially, from one side. The implication from that side is that they're trying to resolve it, trying to find a middle ground. I believe that Dalrada deserve the chance to demonstrate a similar commitment before they're written off, and that includes their stance - whatever it might be - on board members etc. Frankly speaking though, they're a sponsor. They're not corporate stewards of the club. I don't think they owe a statement. I do think, however, that the GMFC Board owes a statement at this point. The embargo was already a sign that standards were slipping, and this is even more grave than that. They need to clarify the communication lines with the major shareholder of the club - namely, us fans (those of us who are paid up MCT members at least) - and explain why the embargo was swept under the carpet. I want fan ownership to succeed and I want each member of the board to succeed. I don't think there needs to be a statement every time someone coughs at Cappielow. I don't think we need to air dirty laundry in public all the time. But this current situation needs far more clarity than it has, and for me that's down to the GMFC board failing to remember its duty to its major shareholder.

That “statement” is an absolute abomination. First tip is to make things like this as brief as possible to get your point across and maintain the reader’s attention throughout. I say that as I write a massive rant. The only reason I read the whole thing was because it was so comically bad and there are so many holes to be picked in it. I’ll ignore the spelling and grammar. Straight off the bat, “It’s been brought to our attention…” Nothing’s been brought to your attention fellas, you’ve seen some other snotty nosed collection of brats with a similarly inflated sense of their own importance whining about not getting things their way on Instagram, tell it how it is. “The Scottish Ultra scene has risen significantly up and down the country and should be supported and backed instead of classed as a criminal activity.” Why? What good does it actually do? Are these folk helping pensioners across the road? Are they collecting for food banks? (I know some are, but our wee gang certainly aren’t.) Are they doing litter collections in their towns and cities? Or are they running around, hiding their identities and as a result putting fear and uncertainty in the minds of the communities they’re entering or a part of? Is throwing a pyro at a child who is being escorted from the pitch after completing their mascot duties not a criminal activity? ”We have boycotted games due to the unfair punishments on our members…” I’m afraid this requires a bit of context. We’re aware that the club banned seven fans for up to two years, but they quite rightly didn’t comment further. If this group wish to condemn the bans as unjust and garner external support, I’m afraid they have to detail what was so wrong with the club’s course of action and let those who they are trying to convince decide. I’ve seen none of that, just complaints about how this is wrong but not why it’s wrong. Partick v Morton ”The group were targeted with stop and search and hiding in concourses…” They clearly didn’t search them thoroughly enough considering there was plenty pyro lit in that old wooden stand. ”Police Scotland and Partick Thistle stewards made this an extremely unsafe surrounding not just for the group, but also for younger kids who attend matches with families.” I’m sorry but this is absolutely mental, and the worst bit of an already dreadful statement. You threw a pyro at a child! You have no moral high ground here, get off your fucking cross. The home games could all be merged into one daft wee rant in all honesty. The police were driving at high speeds when children were about. Fuck off, if they feel it’s appropriate, they’re allowed to do that. They hit members with batons, too. Any evidence of any bruising been produced? I’d say that’s quite an allegation to make of a public body without concrete evidence to support your claims. Their entrance to the train station was closed off? Their entrance, or everyone’s entrance? Again, if the police think it’s appropriate for public safety, it’s their gift to take these measures. They were outnumbered by police? That’s on you, boys. And to be honest as a tax payer, it pisses me off that you’ve gained such a reputation that the police feel the need to spend so much of our money on people who we’ve witnessed with our own eyes committing criminal acts. That’s said, I’m just not having it that there were 3-4 cops per member of their group. More alllegations of being hit with batons and police turning off body cams is incredible. I’m sure their superiors would have footage up to the point the cameras were turned off and ask questions of exactly what happened to their officers. It just didn’t happen, let’s be honest. I’d also question the timing of this statement. The bans were a few weeks ago now, and we’ve had two games since in which we got good results and were played in front of positive atmosphere’s from a Morton perspective. These guys haven’t been missed. Could it be that there was a high profile incident at the weekend of a group of similarly entitled neds not being allowed into a local derby that has attracted a lot of media attention so this lot are piggy backing onto it? I’m sure none of that wee mob even read this forum and will dismiss the ramblings of miserable old guys like us who don’t understand them, but I’d challenge them to convince us that we’re wrong, and fill in some of the glaring gaps in their account of what’s been happening to them.

Irnbru your bitterness towards MCT knows no bounds. You had your day - move on. Just to add I am not a member of MCT. I responded to the shareholder AGM e-mail, was sent a link and had no problem joining the meeting. My two boys also got send the e-mail but were not able to participate. The issue with some stakeholders missing out however requires to be urgently addressed. Gordon Ritchie appears to be the point of contact and I would hound him to get it resolved. As for the AGM, I am sure when one of the volunteers has a moment they will provide a proper summary. In the meantime my take on it as follows: - The loss in 2021/22 was concerning/alarming but has to a great extent been addressed after MCT took over. The feeling was historically costs were not as closely monitored when people assumed there was always a sugar daddy down the line to bail the club out. - This years accounts, when they are published (after the year-end in May) will show a healthy profit largely due to the cup game with Celtic bringing in over £200k. Even without this 'windfall' the Board are confident the club would break even. - Recent sponsorship deals are crucial to the financial balancing act. If I picked it up correctly, the main sponsor Dalrada provided a 12 month package with the option for a further 5 years. Dalrada require the club to share in their ambition for GMFC to succeed and the Board are optimistic/positive Dalrada will take up the option to exercise the option to extend sponsorship at the end of this season. - The majority of the new sponsorship monies has all gone to the manager to improve the squad hence the additions, contract extensions and loanees in January. - All players contracts have been reviewed updating from a template someone found on the internet to a more bespoke arrangement reflecting the modern world of football. - The Board are aware with success other clubs could come in for the manager and players. The Board have tried their best to protect the Club but accept if the money is right they will not stand in the way of an individual looking to better themselves. It is a difficult balancing act protecting the 'assets' without handing out lengthy and onerous contracts to players who maybe do not ultimately fulfil their potential (my words not the Board). - For the first time I heard people explicitly stating the ambition is not just survival in the league but promotion. Realistically recent results have made a title win more difficult but we should be targeting a play-off place. - Average gates are slowly increasing. - The ongoing ticket and entry farce at Cappielow was fully acknowledged. No quick solution this season but the proposed arrangements in the future should hopefully resolve the issue. - Proposals in hand to improve the fan experience and tidy up Cappielow. The Board are looking at the options for the parcel of land they acquired to do something similar to what Ayr provide in their car park. I believe it is a mix of something for the fans on the ground floor and offices above. - Importantly the proposals to replaces the 'Articles' were passed with only one minor amendment requiring (not optional) the Board to hold an AGM. - The three Board members, in attendance, highlighted they would encourage any fan to come forward for election to the Board if they believe they have something to offer. The Club is now 'ours' and it is up to us to ensure it not just survives but moves forward. I am sure there are aspects of the AGM I have omitted but hopefully the above is an accurate recollection of the main points I recollect.

I think overall the meeting has to be considered a success, largely thanks to Brian Bonar reassuring us regarding any future share issues. I do think though that, yet again, MCT need to address online attendees having their questions ignored in favour of questions in the room. This has been an ongoing issue, and although there is some mitigation because of the venue change and the technical difficulties, there needs to be a bit more structure in these meetings to make sure members attending online have their questions heard. Ahead of the meeting, my main concerns were future GMFC share issues, the club chairman and the credibility of the MCT representatives on the club board. Brian Bonar dialling into the meeting via Zoom was a very welcome development, as he allayed the fears many supporters had that Dalrada may have nefarious intentions regarding the running of the club and their representation in the boardroom. I do think however, the fact that Mr Bonar convinced more people within five minutes than the two documents and video released by MCT/GMFC directors, is rather telling of how poorly the proposal was relayed to the membership. The sheer volume and range of questions, along with the turnout at the meeting, highlighted how many supporters did not feel they were in a position to make an informed decision. This underlines just how lacklustre the presentation of the proposal was. Both the club and MCT need to learn from this and quickly. This is underlined by the fact that GMFC/MCT refused point blank to release the proposed agreement, citing commercial confidentiality as the reason for this refusal. Brian Bonar then refuted this outright, saying that he’d make the agreement available to anyone who wished to view it. Again, this gives little confidence in the capabilities of those negotiating and communicating to the membership on behalf of MCT. For all Brian Bonar’s very charming performance at the meeting did reassure me that future GMFC share issues would not be a concern, the opposite could be said of the performance of the club chairman. I felt Laird presented in an incredibly arrogant and self aggrandising manner. Given his role in hiding a transfer embargo from the club’s majority shareholders, I’d assert that Dalrada may be the only stakeholder in the club that are pleased to see Laird continue in this role. The complete lack of transparency regarding the links to his son’s football coaching and analysis company seems to be an issue that has not been answered, given his complete denial of any knowledge of this in the FAQ document. I for one am very concerned that our club chairman has never been subject to the SFA’s fit and proper assessment for club directors, and the motivations behind the decision not to enlist him for these assessments. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, this is incredibly concerning and something I feel fans deserve answered definitely, rather than the chairman consistently trying to dodge this issue. With John Laird confessing that the transfer embargo is still an ongoing matter at the EGM, this brings me to the subject of our MCT representatives. For all both Robinson and Barr seemed to offer rather mealy mouthed apologies for their role in this, my position is that the damage has already been done. The confidence of the membership is absolutely vital to MCT, and for such an egregious breach of trust to be willingly conducted by both these individuals, and the knock on effect this caused within the MCT board, is risible. I'd also remind the membership that this is not the first time Graham Barr has wheeled out the 'learn lessons and do better next time' line. MCT need a clear plan on how they plan to re-establish the trust of the membership. I’m incredibly pleased that Dalrada’s involvement in Greenock Morton will continue, and that certainty can be provided to Dougie Imrie as quickly as possible to allow our squad building to commence. That doesn’t paint the whole picture however, and I think both boards must be willing to reflect on how poorly they have performed over the last few months. We need an MCT that thrives and continually pushes the club forward, and the behaviour of some of our representatives in recent times has rocked the organisation to its foundations. I'm glad Dalrada are on board, but we must do better.

Top 3 of our most convincing performances this season, the scoreline massively flattered an away outfit that scored one of their two chances in the entire game. Rudden's goal should have been a mere footnote when at least 3 goals up already, but they created nothing afterwards either. No failures today and a lot of very good performances, but I'd like to highlight the defensive unit as a whole. Boyes and Delaney have had some stick recently but both were excellent today, with Boyes even creating good chances with his distribution. While we've had some better individual defenders, I think our current back four, with Mullen as well as Wilson to come back too is the most balanced and effective defence I've seen. The credit also has to go to the overall standard of coaching. For us to be hitting the 40 point mark and being arithmetically secure from 10th with 7 fucking games to play is yet another outrageous turnaround given the losses and difficult transition we experienced in the summer. The tactical organisation of this squad is superb and three straight wins without a fit striker couldn't demonstrate that more clearly.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DGeF0oWMcvp/?igsh=ZTdrd3ZqazQ0cnFl

Since 2012, Rangers have put the names of every single person who put their hand in their pocket to save their club on every kit.

As a club we are currently a complete shambles and the responsibility for this falls fully on Laird, the GMFC Board and MCT Board. It is shameful that so many who are responsible for this failing in governance and responsibility to shareholders, MCT members and fans choose to continue to hide in the shadows - their only interest appears to be self-preservation and not what is in the best interests of the Club. We are a fan-owned Club but this last season has confirmed this means nothing to those in charge - we are being taken for fools. Whether intentional or unintentional this response to the many questions out there is contradictory and incomplete. Nothing has changed - MCT members are being invited to vote with a gun to their heads. I suspect the motion will pass due to a combination of apathy and fear. I don't blame anyone who votes in favour of the resolution but this is not what we were promised as a fan owned club. In the circumstances, you cannot blame the manager and players looking elsewhere as who in their right minds would want to be part of this shitshow.

I've just submitted this rather large list of questions to MCT. I'm assuming they will collate questions and answer them at the meeting. Dalrada: Should Dalrada continue their history of missed/late payments to GMFC, what protections are GMFC implementing to protect the club’s financial wellbeing? If Dalrada miss or default on payment(s), will the number of Dalrada board members on the GMFC board be reduced? If not, why not? What failsafe measures have MCT discussed should the proposal be rejected by the membership? Why, and by who, was it decided that a written summary of the proposed agreement sent to the membership, rather than the proposed deal in its entirety? Will a full version of the agreement (redacted where necessary to protect sensitive data) be sent to the membership? If not, why not? It is stated within the email that the agreement, should it be successful, will be reviewed in twelve months time. Given the proportion of the club’s income that comes from Dalrada, could this review begin in February 2026 instead, with the aim of having a final decision by May 2026 instead? Whilst we cannot guarantee which league we would be playing in for the following season, and some additional caveats may need to be inserted into any proposed agreement, this would give the men’s first team manager a more definitive idea of the budget for the season ahead, allowing squad building to begin as soon as possible. GMFC Chairman: Is or has John Laird ever been a member of MCT? Has John Laird invested any money in the Club or MCT? Has John Laird been registered as a director of GMFC with Companies House? If not, why not? Over the last twelve months, how many MCT board meetings has John Laird attended? Does John Laird currently have any financial interest in any footballing companies, including coaching, scouting and agency organisations? If so, what mechanisms have the GMFC board put in place to prevent conflicts of interest from arising? If there are none, why is this the case? What mechanisms are in place to allow the MCT membership, the clubs owners, to remove a Chairman should they be unhappy with their leadership? MCT Reps on the GMFC Board: Given a clear failure in communication and governance, and a clear breach of the memberships’ trust by both Graham Barr and Sam Robinson, what is the justification for the interim MCT board being ‘happy’ for both named individuals to continue in their role? What is the justification for MCT directors who have previously resigned from their posts making such an important decision without allowing a vote of the membership to inform their decision? Have Graham Barr or Sam Robinson offered any explanation or apology for their actions in hiding vital information from both the club’s owners and the men’s first team manager? What assurances have the interim board sought from Graham and Sam regarding their future conduct and responsibilities towards all MCT members? What are the mechanisms by which MCT members can remove representatives should their conduct fall below an acceptable standard? Given recent developments, and the subsequent impact upon the trust the fanbase have in MCT as an organisation, and the representation the membership have on the GMFC board, would this be a prudent opportunity to start recording minutes from discussions held at MCT and GMFC board meetings? Obviously, certain information would need to be redacted, but this could go a long way to improving the transparency and integrity of our elected representatives. If this is not possible, why not?

Hopefully everyone who was said the sky was falling because we didn't have a full squad two weeks ago feels suitably daft. People were wanting "statements" to clarify the budget.

NOPE! just not having that and disappointed that no one else has flagged this up. Maybe in your Texas hick town, but not here. I have been in and out of various hospitals in Larbert and Glasgow over the last few months and i can assure you that the nurses and indeed any hospital staff I have encountered have been absolutely superb and the treatment from the NHS in general has been outstanding.

The other spin off is that it allows the fans to identify a bit more with the players. The only positive impression I had about any of them was from a couple of pals that are also mates with Lewis Strapp. Other than that my impression a couple of months ago came from Lithgow and Muirhead cupping their ears to us. It’s not terribly important to a miserable old bastard like myself, but I think it can only be a good thing if it’s allowing younger fans to identify with their personalities and to see them having a laugh. I’ve never actually seen him name checked on the progress in terms of social media interaction, so it’s about time the lad Gareth got a well deserved pat on the back for his hard work. Also really pleasing to see Open Goal turning up at Cappielow today- again, not my favourites, but they’ve got a bloody big following, so a bit of nationwide exposure can only be a good thing.

I get it, but we’d also moan like fuck if they never put them on sale. I’ll get one as usual. You all will too. And we’ll be miserable about it. We go again.

If those drafting the proposal are to be taken at their word that they truly only have the best intentions for the club and fanbase, a ‘no’ vote should not represent an immediate end of their interest. People with a genuine desire to improve things for the club and the community would respond by trying to ascertain why the vote didn’t go in their favour and formulate a series of amendments to get the deal over the line. There should be no room for an “offer” to be made in a strong armed manner that suggests the ownership can either take it or get stuffed.

https://gmfc.net/an-update-on-recent-supporter-behaviour-at-matches/ Good, measured statement from the club. Long story short, seven people hit with two-year banning orders, and the next Partick game is Category A, meaning we're on the hook for police costs. I am glad the club pointed out it's not just Morton at fault here but Partick and other clubs too, but our job's to keep our own house in order and the seven bans are a good start.

Great, isn’t it? I couldn’t have imagined when walking out of the ground that glorious day in April 2019 just how things would have gone from bad to so much worse for them to the extent that they’re realistically looking at a fourth year in that division, with another monied club coming up from League Two and ready to storm past them towards next year’s title. Even when you consider how much of a shit show we’ve been for most of those intervening years, the Falkirk soap opera’s been fantastic viewing to soften the blow. There’s always someone worse off than yourself, and I for one couldn’t have cherry picked a bigger shower of bastards for that fate to befall. Get it up them.

"My primary motivation for returning was to help ensure the club's financial viability in the Championship. I believe we've achieved that goal." Ah yes, surely the bronze statue awaits on Sinclair Street for our selfless hero upon stepping down. Except that it is, as usual, self-serving bollocks of course. Acting with the primary aim stated (leaving aside the 'viability' of a model now dependent to a larger annual benefactor that Douglas Rae, so what is meant is 'fullll-time futba') would be a potentially valid excuse for MCT directors who were also on the GMFC board. We could reject that claim on their part too, but the conflict of serving two masters at once os clear. But last time I checked, Stuart Duncan was not sitting on the GMFC board in any capacity. There was no competing source of authority - the only role that Duncan had was as a member of the MCT board. Which raises some rather unfortunate questions for our erstwhile hero: 1) With what legitimate mandate did you act against the interests of the MCT membership you were elected to represent? When did you publicly state your prioritisation of 'fullll time futba' over the interests of the majority stakeholders in GMFC for full transparency and accountability, and when did you win sufficient support for that agenda? I don't recall that being on any candidate biography. 2) With what legitimacy at all did you act after both i) resigning from the MCT board in a tantrum and ii) canvassing support for an EGM against the remainimg board membership - an EGM that was conveniently discarded 0.4 seconds after you were 'co-opted' onto the interim MCT board? So no, I don't think there'll be a bronze statue forthcoming at all. If there is one lesson that new candidates should be embracing from this farcical last 6 months, it is that MCT board members must uphold a duty of fair representation and accountability towards the membership. If we continue to have MCT directors who get elected by default and then just run their own agenda, then MCT as an organisation will join GMST (see also Duncan, Stuart) in being a failed rump entity within 10 years.

A lengthy post about…not much. Sorry. In the spirit of transparency and good communication, my name is Craig and I sometimes do some filming for the club and Morton in the Community. With all the recent nonsense I reached out to the GMFC board members a few days ago through an email to Dale to offer them the chance to do quick interviews to explain their position on the upcoming vote and why, as well as hopefully explaining some of their recent actions. I also emailed coms@MCT with the same offer, and Graham McLennan and through him those who have recently stepped away. I also said in all my communications that I would share everything (hence this). In the past I had a few dealings with Graham McLennan and a few texts messages with Graham Barr while I was doing ‘Ton TV match days during lockdown. I don’t know any of the others. The only 2 who got back to me were McLennan and Barr. McLennan was open to the idea as he felt fans should have as much information as possible pre-vote. Graham Barr took the time to get in touch, but was reluctant as he was worried that more “tit for tat stuff and sharing is just going to keep the mess going…” but was happy to speak to me on the phone. I replied that not sharing stuff seemed to have led us to this mess and speaking to me on the phone would only add to the “I’ve heard that…”etc etc on places like this forum. He said he was “keen to speak but cautious” adding “I’m certainly open to transparency ahead of the meeting and hope the FAQs will go along way to providing more depth to the situation” But in the end it looks like it isn’t happening and I thanked him for getting back to me. Graham McLennan on hearing that he was the only person so far willing to do an interview on camera decided that it might not be a great idea if it was just him, looking more like propaganda rather than just one point of view among others. I don’t really have a platform and I’m no investigative journalist, so I guess I’m not surprised that the idea of me and my camera didn’t appeal. But as many of us on here have scratched our heads wondering if we should do more as MCT members it was the only thing I could think of. Anyone who is at all bothered can look back at my posts on here to get my personal opinion on things as they currently stand, but I honestly offered this up with an open mind to try and give all involved a chance to clear the air and help inform our judgement. My real bias working in video production, is that watching videos makes things easier to digest rather than lengthy written statements (or bloody posts like this!) If I had an agenda it was simply to try and help with all this, and help ensure that after over 45 years of standing in the cowshed (with or without the sun-roof) that I could look forward to continuing to do so far in the future. The last time I tried to do anything vaguely similar is when MCT were struggling to get things going not long after they took over at the club, I just wanted to do something positive as the whole atmosphere was fairly toxic. It turned out to be the day Gus MacPherson was sacked when I grabbed a hold of Andy Ritchie who kindly gave me this piece to camera. It all still rings true to me which is no surprise as Andy always speaks so well…

The sense of entitlement to special treatment and expectation of fawning gratitude from these ultra groups seems to be the same at every club. You're getting out your tits and hitting a drum lads, not working as volunteers for the benefit of other fans.

MCT still generates some really weird, overly negative reactions. 3 years of fan ownership has delivered 3 years of championship football and a huge financial turnaround. That already counts as success for a provincial club at this level, no matter what happens next. No ownership model will make us immune to losing players or getting relegated. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than it was under the Raes. Its also a lot better than the alternative (which was, and still is, nothing).

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.

Tedious dirge, but fair play to Dunning for not being bored into submission.

It’s such a tiny thing but was really pleased to see this pop up on my phone when I got home from Kelty - we really have got our act together now. Working with Fanbase has been a great decision from the club and has made it much easier to get tickets home and away.

Never thought I'd be saying this but as soon as I clear some personal debts I'll be signing up. I had little faith in the fan ownership model but MCT are proving me wrong after an indifferent start. Well done to all involved.

Their capitulation as a club is nothing short of magnificent. Truly magnificent. Horrible, horrible bastards.

Taking parts especially worthy of comment here: This does not address the fundamental point here. The big issue around this is not how confident GMFC or MCT are that Dalrada will keep up with their scheduled payments, but what happens if they fail to do so. This is critically important and we have absolutely no information on it. We all already know there'll be a contract, we need to know what that contract actually enforces. Without a guarantee that there is some form of restitution for the club if Dalrada default (again), it's impossible to support this. Following on from the above, what on earth does "not been missed as such" mean? Did they default on payments or didn't they? Was the GMFC AGM misled when a director of the club said there that Dalrada had failed to keep up with payments? Was there no contractual schedule? If we've actually signed up to a sponsorship deal without one, it really speaks volumes for the excellent governance of those existing board members who are being kept in place as part of a deal to bring us more efficient governance! On the plus side, a six month deadline to bring another deal to the table is positive and means this farce won't be repeated next season in the event of a yes vote, though with that in mind the lack of explanation of why we're doing this in May just now rather than in December or January is noted. This is the single most important question in the whole document, and as covered by others already that isn't an answer. We need an absolutely concrete yes to this question rather than "expected". Which is why, even if it's deemed inappropriate due to commercial sensitivity to release the contract in full (why that couldn't be done with some details redacted I don't know), for this particular detail we should have the actual wording of the relevant sections of the contract, in full and unredacted. We need to know that allowing a third party influence over the board for 12 months in return for 12 months investment doesn't constitute handing them control of the board forever even if the investment stops, without seeing that wording we have no way of knowing we're not doing that and this FAQ has not provided any reassurance whatsoever on that point. For now let's take the specific issue we have with Barr and Robinson out of this. What does "Dalrada have only asked" mean? Does that mean something to this effect will be in the contract? That any removal has to be agreed by the rest of the GMFC board and has to be for a 'solid business reason'? Who decides what constitutes a 'solid business reason'? So if for any reason the MCT membership put forward a motion of no confidence in one of the MCT representatives, then even in the hypothetical scenario that that confidence vote sees 99.9% of the MCT membership go against that MCT rep, if the rest of the non-MCT GMFC board members disagree with that decision, or Dalrada feel it's not a solid business reason, then that individual either stays on the board or Dalrada walk? Will it be written into the agreement that Dalrada can walk away and abandon their payments unilaterally if the MCT membership and/or MCT board force changes in the MCT representatives? This is why we need to see the actual text of the agreement, to make it crystal clear that that absolutely fucking outrageous suggestion isn't in it. I'm genuinely furious at the idea the rest of the GMFC board and Dalrada would be given a veto like that. Far from leaving the accountability of MCT representatives on the GMFC board unchanged, it would mean there is literally no accountability whatsoever and leave both the MCT membership and MCT board completely powerless to influence who their representatives are. If we're going to accept having our control of the board diluted then we need to actually have the power to choose our representatives for the seats we do have. This needs urgent clarification, and if my interpretation above is indeed the case then that is an utter disgrace. Yeah, we've already had the blatant lie about the motivations of the MCT representatives two weeks ago, piling more deceit on top of their initial dishonest silence. They have also in reality not expressed regret or far less had the decency or humility to apologise for their behaviour. The pertinent facts of the matter are that they both knew about the embargo on 17 March and sat on it for six weeks. Those facts were confirmed by the joint statement of 13 May, a statement which was largely written to defend them. They have already aired their side of the story in that statement, and when given that opportunity they chose to tell a risible lie about not derailing a playoff challenge, when the manager of the first team was also being kept in the dark, because the actual reason is that they thought they could get away with no one ever knowing about the gross incompetence on their watch if it was fixed quickly. I'll not put the image of the whole what caused the FIFA embargo answer here, but there are still gaping holes in that (which tbf should be for GMFC to account for, preferably in a statement announcing the departures of those responsible, rather than MCT). Regardless of the underlying issues that arose through the initial registration of the signing, there have been extremely specific allegations made about the club not monitoring any contact from governing bodies for 8 months, then being made aware of contact from FIFA in November, with the embargo not being enforced until March. The suggestion that the club were trying really hard to contact FIFA but just got stonewalled with an insistence on them sending details to the wrong email address - for four months - is eyebrow raising. If there's a real intention to improve governance, then GMFC addressing those claims is necessary. The word 'advisory' is used an awful lot in the John Laird section. If he's just there as an advisory figure, for strategic support, with no formal authority or responsibilities, then why is he the Chair of the Club (not of the GMFC board, such a significant distinction) rather than remaining as an unofficial advisor? And why then, with his apparent lack of independent authority, with all decisions being taken by the board, was he the one who travelled alone for negotiations with Dalrada? If his role is seemingly so lacking in any real influence, why is it a condition of the proposal that he remains in place? That entire section provides more questions than answers. This doesn't answer the question.

An alternative story and criticism of the club is out there in terms of the transfer embargo. And it makes their washing their hands of any blame look awful. There needs to be acknowledgment that mistakes were made and relationships have been poor. The story about Millen has been out for a long time now, but we're still in the dark about it. Indeed, I heard that even Imrie was in the dark about it when it happened. If they didn't want the story to filter out in this way then they shouldn't have gone about things the way they did. We're at a point when we at least need some clarity. These are two areas where under other circumstances things maybe could be swept under the carpet, and there are others (what happened with catering being one), but when I'm being asked to make a really important decision I need to know a little bit more about what's been going on. They're doing this at a really vital moment for planning for next season, and want me to make a really important decision, but I don't know much about Laird whatsoever. Why is the chairman of the club always do silent? I don't even fully understand why he's chairman, or what he bringing to the role. Why are the directors on the board so silent? I think what gets me most is the leak which started this thread. When self interest was at stake, people were happy to anonymously leak information. They were happy to criticise what others were doing without taking any criticism upon themselves. Above all else, I'm being asked to trust people who don't seem to be willing to help me get to know them better. I want to know more about Laird, his vision for the club, what he wants to do. I want to hear from Barr and Robinson. I want to know who Gourdie is. I want some humility over the FIFA situation. I want at least a tiny bit of transparency over the Millen situation. I want to know how the pie stall queues have managed to triple in length. I want to know why I should believe that the current club board are the best placed people to lead the club forward. The point I'm trying to make is that it is possible to convince me - I have no grudges, or personal issues - but I'm lacking reasons to trust them. The joint statement made it seem like only others had ever done anything wrong, that the only issues came from people at MCT who didn't know what they were doing or overstepped the mark, but it's hard to trust those who make out like they've never made mistakes. Mistakes were made with the FIFA issue. Start with a proper apology for that and then let us get to know the club board members a bit better. A little bit of humility can go a long way.

You are fully entitled to your view, but there are two points that require challenging: 1) The transfer embargo demonstrates that MCT does not have "total control" to relinquish. This is worth correcting because it is also the false choice peddled by the lackey Interim Board about this proposal: 'fan run' v 'fan owned'. At no point since taking ownership have MCT members demanded the right to run the club - there has been no public voting on sacking managers or setting wage budgets, all the decisions have been delegated to GMFC's board and the paid backroom staff. In addition, MCT never exercised full control of the GMFC board - it was always a mixture of directors from different backgrounds. Right now, MCT has no effective representation at all because its delegates on said board have gone rogue and are serving another master. The transfer embargo was not disclosed by the club to its 90% owner - in what other business relationship would that be acceptable? The issue then is not Dalrada's smart professionals taking over from MCT amateurs. It is actually about having the real and legal owners of the club - its fanbase, through MCT - exercising basic scrutiny over a club that becomes transparent in its decision-making. The current proposal does not provide for this - quite the opposite, in fact - and so at a minimum should be amended: • MCT should retain at least 50% representation on the club board. • The two rogue reps cannot be retained under MCT's official standard. If Dalrada want to take ownership of them, then fine. Ideally: • The fundamental lack of transparency should also be addressed by providing minutes for board meetings to MCT (and any other significant partner), with the MCT board entitled to summarise these for wider publication. 2) If the sponsor wishes to install people with competence, then which of the current board members and/or paid staff will be getting their jotters for the transfer embargo farce, or its pathetic cover-up? None of Dalrada's mates, seemingly, so what about the chairman or the chief executive? The issue with a lack of competence does not stem from fan ownership or MCT having representation on the club board. It stems from the collective decision-making of said board as well as the individual actions of club executives and paid backroom staff. When two of said board members were hauled out for failing in their designated responsibility to MCT, Dalrada threw a tantrum to keep them on the club board - actions speak louder than words when it comes to ensuring competence.

Gordon has put his name to his posts - will you do the same when making allegations about him? Regardless of how true or otherwise your allegations are, they do not address either the situation we currently face, or any of the points he raised so forgive me for thinking it is coming across as whataboutery & a cheap attempt to discredit one of the only people who appear at this stage to be sharing information with the fans in good faith.

I asked the MCT board to permit some time for a counter argument to this proposal to be submitted. My request was not even acknowledged. We are racing headlong into a situation where members lose control of the club due to the MCT board blindly accepting the word of their mates on the GMFC board. I know from my time on the board that there is more going on than we are being told, but due to confidentiality laws I cannot discuss these things publicly (Stuart Duncan take note) but in my resignation email in March 2024 I warned that Laird was determined to grab the club from MCT ownership. One thing I can say, and which I announced at an AGM, is that the original deal with Dalrada was for 6 years. I don’t know if someone renegotiated that deal (and, if so, why) but there is no mention of that in the propoganda distributed by the MCT board. At the present time, I am ashamed to be associated with MCT and a series of directors who have no idea how to properly run a company. Finally, many thanks to those posters who wished me well in my recovery from health issues.

Former GMFC and MCT director Gordon Ritchie has asked me to post the following statement on his behalf - If you are named in this statement and wish the right to reply, please contact me directly. Thanks, Dean.

Vale of Clyde have permanently banned their young team after their “derby” with Perershill at the weekend (it’s not a derby, two teams from the opposite end of the city whose weans have manufactured a rivalry because they both like a pyro). Now, under normal circumstances, we may be questioning what could possibly be going on that forced them into such drastic action, but fear not. Step forward Scottish football’s favourite overgrown ned with a selfie stick, Mr Blair McNally… I’m reluctant to share his video and indirectly line his pockets, but think it’s necessary to illustrate what this fella’s influence on kids is. I asked Dale at one of those supporters’ meetings a couple of months ago about Morton’s stance on him and he said that there’s no way he’d get press accreditation for Cappielow. But clubs up and down the pyramid should really be putting a stop to this nonsense by banning him completely. I get the need for publicity, but what he brings to them isn’t positive in the way the other guy, Sam North’s films are. Banning kids who can’t behave is a reasonable step, but looking towards the root cause of the problem could prevent things like this before they become an issue. And he certainly shouldn’t be able to make a living off of this.

On one hand we have a steady match-going crowd, an ever-increasing MCT membership, a positive balance sheet, 3 mid-table seasons in the Championship, no obstacles to outside investment (see - Dalrada), tempered with some short-term negatives caused by a roaster of a GM and a dud of a season on the park (following on from a reasonably exciting one). On the other hand, we have a handful of posters on here and Facebook who have been presenting the same miserable points about terminal doom and personal apathy for literally years now (see page 1 of the MCT updates thread for reference). My own point of view is that the Rae family, Hugh Scott, Alan Lithgow and a successful period in the 70s/80s aren't relevant to the future of the club. Framing every discussion on ownership around them is a waste of time.

You really need to dry your eyes on this. Retro shirts are rarely, if ever, exact replicas of the originals. Mine haven’t arrived yet, but having seen Dean’s on Saturday, if you’re going to complain about the poor printed quality, the badge is the same quality as the one I had in the nineties. What do you want? Quality or accuracy? You can’t have both. Maybe you feel you’ve got neither but the quality is definitely consistent with the shirts of the time. Stamping your feet and demanding a refund over tiny little inaccuracies is pathetic.

I'd like to petition the moderators to add this as an emoji:

I’m surprised to see no mention of the decision not to appoint a chairman to the board, but to take turns in who has the deciding vote at boardroom level- what an absolute farce. I’ve made it clear in the last few months that I’m concerned about the lack of accountability in the running of the club, and this policy goes no way in easing those concerns. A display of leadership and a preparation to be held individually accountable when things go to shit would go some way to easing those concerns, but am I surprised by the musical chairs policy? Nope, not in the slightest. This strikes me as the board operating a protection racket to look after themselves. The younger guys have something nice for a CV and the old guard can tell their acquaintances up the golf club/bowling club/lodge that they’re the director of a football club to impress them, whilst not actually having to face up to the rank and file- unless of course the questions are collated and vetted by the SLO, and the tricky ones filed away in the nearest bin. It is of course no surprise that the person I believe to be the main organ grinder; Mr. Ritchie, was nowhere to be seen on the video- the cynic in me would suggest a Warren Hawke-style holiday or sickie from him when the club’s AGM comes around. We’re more likely to see Lord Lucan crossing into the box for Maddie McCann to head in the winner at Hampden in May than we are to get answers off of him. There’s been a lot of hilarity about the farcical events at Falkirk’s Q&A the other week, but let’s not kid ourselves, Morton’s current board simply would not put themselves in the position to be lambasted by their support the way the Falkirk lot did. Yes, they came out of it looking foolish, but at the moment, our own board are coming across as self-serving cowards who aren’t prepared to take the rough with the smooth. I’m not sure what’s worse.

Anyway, my bottom line is this: I feel significantly reassured - but not totally - about the prospect of an 'underground' share issue. I feel very reassured about the content of the agreement not having any hidden loopholes in it, and I feel very reassured that even if there were, Dalrada aren't looking for ownership via the back door. I will be emailing to ask for a copy to be 100% sure. These have me leaning very heavily towards 'Yes' based on the substance of the deal. Having had no real opinion on John Laird previously, I am very unimpressed with both his manner, and the substance of most of his responses. His continued evasion over the delays - notwithstanding Brian Bonar's health issues (from which I'm very glad he's on the mend) - was a display of brass neck. This tilts me somewhere back towards 'No' because Brian made it clear on the call he'd be relying on the Board to effectively get their house in order, and while Laird is not a voting member of the board, he's something of a 'chair' and I think he sets a bad tenor around the place, notwithstanding his business record. I think he's very Rae-like in that he doesn't like accountability, he doesn't like structure, and he operates best in a smoke-filled room with a lot of ambiguity. That, to me, is completely the incorrect approach both for a fan-owned club and for a club that's fiscally dependent on a major sponsor whose entire family are watching us like hawks. As for MCT: I do sympathize with Graham Barr in some ways. It's horrible to be part of a big issue at work that can't be fixed quickly, for which you have responsibility, and for which the hindsight is clear that you should have done differently. I've been there. So on a human level, yeah, I feel for the guy. But he's a director of the club. Everyone involved seems to have full confidence in him. And I just can't understand where that's coming from based on the last few months. The same applies to Sam Robinson - admittedly I don't know everything he said tonight because the microphone was rubbish. But on the transfer saga alone we've gone from "we kept it quiet for good reasons and while not everyone agrees, we were right" to "there are some aspects of regret" (not verbatim) to tonight's actual apology. I really don't get it. Apparently he (Barr) has had some dark nights of the soul, writing things but not publishing them, thinking of speaking out but then not, whatever. I think situations like this call for clarity and based on the last few weeks I just don't think he's up to that. That coupled with the train crash rollout of the vote, which got a good amount of discussion tonight, just leaves me scratching my head about how the top brass can look at the current composition and say "yep, they're the guys to get us out of this mess." That has me leaning back towards 'No.' However: MCT and GMFC are both ultimately correct that MCT has an absolute ton of turnover. It's not an easy job. Not everyone can do it, and most who can will have other things going on. There just isn't - as far as I can tell - a bench of talent waiting to fill the spots on the board from the MCT roster. Thus I can kind of understand why they (Dalrada) want to stick with the devil they know, and there's enough about the current guys that they can - presumably - be steered towards something productive. I don't actually agree with this but I can see why they would think that. Finally: I think any deal like this is risky. I can well understand why the Bonar family have a six-month get-out clause, and why it's only a year. I have a greater concern that we'll go down the QP route of getting accustomed to being flush, and then it all disappearing. This money's going to Imrie's squad-building: are we permitting multi-year contracts? I hope not. I think a deal with a get-out clause and a one-year duration is fundamentally incompatible with aspirations towards Premier League football. I think the various yer da's in the audience talking about administration and part-time football should be ashamed of themselves. Fearmongering that even the deal's architects aren't putting out there is just manipulative. After this Dunning-esque essay, at this exact moment I would abstain. If I can find nothing to worry about in the substance of the agreement, I will vote Yes. I will then treat the future votes over the interim board's appointments, and the review of the business in January, separately from this.

The silence of Barr and Robinson (OUR reps on the Morton board) is telling. As I stated before, there are things that I know but cannot disclose due to board confidentiality. I have given this matter much thought, and I am now publicly asking our reps to publish the minutes of the Morton board meeting in December 2023. I am also asking for them to indicate what happened to the 6 year deal that Dalrada signed and announced at an earlier AGM. Finally, I ask them to confirm what, if any. assurances Dalrada made about a notice period being given for the ending of the sponsorship deal. These are the type of things that our MCT board members should have asked before blindly accepting the proposal and recommending it to members. I know that Barr reads this forum regularly. Tell the members the truth.

“Since day one, Dalrada have never asked for anything in return for their contribution.” Aren’t they on our shirts the team wear at Cappielow supported by Dalrada? “The only condition Dalrada have placed on the deal is for the governance of the football club to improve.“ Aren't they now asking for members in the board and directors who have overseen the recent shambles to stay in the board alongside their chosen chairman? Big improvement? “In addition, it is stated representatives should carry out a project beneficial to the club before being appointed.” What did Graham Barr do? “The above would of course require a slight change to the GMFC Articles which state MCT reps should always be the majority on the Board. It is also worth adding that the interim MCT Board are happy to continue with Sam and Graham as MCT representatives.” Why are they happy for them to continue. Because of their communication skills? I must have missed their replies to Gordon Ritchie’s statement. The rest is just word salad about being pragmatic and best thing all round etc. It’s a big NO from me and I’d class myself usually as a bit of a fence sitter. To me it’s totally unacceptable and a slippery slope to being the next ICT or Hamilton I reckon. It feels like anyone who had the best intentions for MCT and Morton has left and those who have caused all this shite by their incompetence and self entitlement want to keep control.

Absolutely shocking stuff here. Of all the information that’s come out so far, I trust Gordon above the other sources so this is deeply concerning to say the least. I note with interest that Gordon’s statement mentions that he has spoken to the tele and shared evidence that the timelines claimed by the club are inaccurate. This is a big opportunity for the tele to show that they are worth their salt by doing some proper journalism as opposed to being a mouthpiece for unnamed “sources”. If (as seems to be the case) this is some sort of hostile power grab to seize control of the club, then personally I would prefer to tell Dalrada, Laird, Dale & their cohorts to do one. Even if it means part-time football.

https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/24887504.lamar-reynolds-hopes-goal-can-repay-newfound-morton-family/ Lamar Reynolds' brother died a few months ago, so as well as trying to settle in hundreds of miles from home he's been dealing with that, including arranging for the funeral out in Jamaica. Horrible stuff. I'm glad he's enjoying his time here, he more than earned his goal at Hampden. Here's to many more.

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.

Livingston have the parachute payment and Martindale has openly said they'll have a "top four budget" (whether that budget survives their impending court cases is another matter). Hamilton again have a private owner willing to subsidise losses. None of us are ever going to know exact figures of budgets at each club, but there's a point where you can take all the information in the public domain and make realistic educated guesses, and doing so allows you to see that the only possible candidates for having a smaller budget are Airdrie and at a significant push Hamilton, with any other conclusion being delusion. It's been stated publicly by Falkirk that they're going to budget 400K losses in perpetuity as long as they're outside the top flight despite being partly fan owned and having an average attendance over 4K. It's also been stated publicly by board members of The Jags Foundation (Partick's MCT equivalent) that despite reducing their budget from 22/23, they still budgeted a six-figure loss this season, despite being fan owned and having an average attendance of 3.5K. Every other club has a private owner who are, for however long, willing to support six figure losses. Dunfermline are another club with more than double our average attendance, whose owners supported a seven figure loss in 22/23 to get out of League One. Raith have had a huge influx of 'conservatory' money from the same 'businesspeople' who bankrolled Kelty to League One before deciding they'd reached their ceiling, and that was reflected in their recruitment last summer with the winning team on the park then seeing their attendances surge. Then you come to the clubs whose attendances are around the same level or smaller than ours. Livingston as mentioned have the parachute payment, and are clearly outspending us for players as proven by Muirhead going there. Ayr's private owner is wiling to plough money in and they're clearly outspending us for players as proven by Oakley going there, with journalists willing to state as fact that their offer was a 50% increase on ours. They have been outspending us for several years as per McAdams, McGinty, Fjortoft and Salkeld making that move as well. That their private owner actually has a modicum of sense unlike the Raes and is also spending on infrastructure around the stadium that could generate revenue is to his credit and could see them move ahead of us in commercial income in future, but it's clear that they were already comfortably outspending us on the first team budget regardless. Queen's Park are rolling in Lord Haughey's money and have been spending astronomical sums since they were in League Two. Even before our move to fan ownership, Bob McHugh and Peter Grant left us to drop two divisions to them because they got enough of a wage increase to make it worth their while. In the time since their budget has only grown, with them regularly beating other Championship clubs to players who are being chased by half the division like Paton and Savoury. Hamilton were taken over last summer and have spent to get out of League One, there's little reason to doubt they'll continue to do so but we at least don't have the same obvious evidence of their budget dwarfing ours that we have with everyone else. That only leaves Airdrie, which considering they were 4th and we were 5th is enough proof that the budget doesn't guarantee a relegation battle, but it's clearly the reality that we're a long way off other clubs financially and we need excellent recruitment to compete. The squads that have delivered two consecutive 5th placed finishes have contained Baird (Ayr reject), Oakley (Inverness reject), Gillespie & Quitongo (Queen's Park rejects), Crawford (Partick reject who was clubless in August), Wilson & Ambrose (Dunfermline rejects). We just need to trust Imrie to find bargains of that calibre again among players not wanted by other Championship clubs rather than the Steven Boyd level of reject.

It's the fixed starting point because it's when Muirhead lost form and the whole discussion is about his contribution from the point he lost his form. Including his unquestionable positive contribution before that date would therefore be irrelevant, because no one is questioning that he was very good earlier in the season. Moving the start date forward would make no sense because it is still when his ongoing spell of poor form started. You know this. I would avoid criticising someone for causing a tedious back and forth through a stubborn refusal to admit they're wrong with the incorrect use of statistics if the various claims I'd made in a thread included: 21 year old Michael Garrity is about to turn 24, a fact you didn't address when your error was pointed out Muirhead never plays on the right when he'd played on the right three days prior to you making that claim, a fact you responded to by moving the goalposts to claim Muirhead only starting on the right once all season is irrelvant, an argument you then dropped and failed to address when the fact of his other starts on the right was pointed out at your request None of the fringe players have shown they can make as many contributions to goals as Muirhead, then when it was demonstrated that one of the fringe players competing for a place had in fact been involved in as many goals since Muirhead's form deteriorated despite less time on the park, you pivoted to: Claiming Muirhead's 10 starts in that time period prior to Friday's game was the same thing as Garrity's 3 starts and 7 sub appearances when Muirhead had more than double the amount of time on the park, and finally now with every actual footballing argument expended you're reduced to semantics about what constitutes recent form. People get things wrong all the time, which certainly includes me being too harsh on Muirhead recently enough. You can quietly accept that you were objectively factually incorrect on any or all of these points and stop digging at any time.

(Photo- GBR Photos) Raymond’s Revolution, Resignation and Relegation By Russell Gordon Transfer deadline day, be it at the end of August or January, is in the modern era of football a date marked in the diary of fans of every football club, and often a day that we all go through the emotional ringer, as we hope to hold onto star players that bigger clubs are sniffing around, shift on guys who haven’t lived up to expectations, or bring in the final pieces of the jigsaw to allow for the season’s ambitions to be fulfilled. But for Morton, the 31st of August 2018, five years ago today, was a deadline day like no other. Morton had gone through quite a summer of transition- Jim Duffy was relieved of his duties with a year remaining of his contract in spite of a relatively successful four years in the Cappielow hot seat, taking Morton up from League One at the first attempt and enjoying two relatively successful years in the Championship before a somewhat mediocre season which led many on the terraces, and perhaps the inner sanctum of Cappielow to believe that he had gone a bit stale and it was time for a change. Added to that was the sad passing of Morton’s benefactor, and former Chairman, Douglas Rae in June. With his son Crawford having taken over the role shortly before his father’s death, the decision was made to push the boat out for promotion to the Premiership. Season tickets were significantly reduced from around £300 to £200 and the club enjoyed extremely healthy sales, and the man entrusted with guiding Morton to the land of milk and honey was former Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon, a bit of a nemesis of Duffy’s in his Raith Rovers days, taking twelve points from twelve against a very good Morton side in 2015-16, before moving onto a less successful spell at the poisoned chalice that is the home dugout at Tannadice. The Rebuild And Start To The Season With some of the more high-profile stalwarts of the Duffy era, such as Ricki Lamie, Jai Quitongo, Thomas O’Ware, Gary Harkins and the mercurial Ross Forbes heading onto pastures new, McKinnon set about assembling a squad for the challenge ahead. Former ‘Ton heroes Chris Millar and Jim McAlister returned to their old stomping ground, although questions were raised about the decision to allow Andy Murdoch’s contract to expire for him to head onto newly promoted Ayr United. Keeper Ryan Scully came in to dislodge Derek Gaston, along with defenders Reghan Tumilty, Gregor Buchanan, Rory McKeown and Kerr Waddell, as well as Charlie Telfer from Dundee United and Motherwell loanee Ross McLean, and the marquee signing of Denny Johnstone from Birmingham City. The League Cup campaign wasn’t great, but could be put down to McKinnon’s new squad taking time to gel. Having led through a Michael Tidser free kick at Somerset Park, a Lawrence Shankland hat-trick sent the ‘Ton faithful home with a bloody nose. They were effectively out the tournament following a 1-2 defeat at Firhill a few days later before resounding victories over the group’s makeweights, Stenhousemuir and Albion Rovers. The league campaign started with a disappointing 2-2 draw with Queen of the South at Cappielow, with Morton giving up a two-goal lead through Tidser and McLean in the last 20 minutes to settle for a point. However, a Chris Millar double against Alloa gave Morton their first three points on the road. After a shadow side exited the Challenge Cup at Dumbarton, title favourites Ross County were next to visit Cappielow and it was Morton’s turn to come from behind. It took Tidser only a couple of minutes to cancel out Don Cowie’s opener on the hour, and a Bob McHugh goal sent Morton to the top of the league. Brilliant, what could possibly go wrong? A 2-1 win over title favourites, and eventual champions Ross County was the highlight of McKinnon's tenure, a mere six days before jumping ship. (Photo- GBR Photos) Deadline Day Departures The following Friday was a busy day for the club- after a morning training session, the squad descended on Cappielow for their annual photo session, with the supposedly affable gaffer adding in a very nice touch of asking the background staff that often go unnoticed to join in an extended group photo in a show of solidarity that appeared to show that this was a tight-knit group, all pulling in the same direction. Not a bit of it. After what by their deluded expectations was a poor season in 2017-18, Paul Hartley’s haphazard recruitment saw Falkirk suffering a very slow start to the new season, and the former Morton loanee was handed his P45. The Bairns had been rumoured to be after Ayr boss Ian McCall, but those rumours quickly dissipated and at some point on that glorious late summer’s day, the wheels were put in motion for a move to Grangemouth for McKinnon and his assistant, Darren Taylor, after only three months and three league games at Morton. Crawford Rae noted in his Club Statement that having left the Parklea training ground in high spirits after the morning session, and discussed the approach and tactics for the following day’s trip to Firhill, he was called by Falkirk’s representatives with a view to appointing his manager, an approach that was swiftly rebuffed. Soon enough, the story was out, and despite McKinnon and his pal’s smiling faces in front of the cameras, it was straight out of Cappielow and off to meet their prospective new employers. Within six hours of that first phone call, Falkirk announced their new manager, none other than former Morton boss, Raymond McKinnon. The reaction from the Morton support, and from inside Cappielow was one of fury, whilst the Falkirk support took great pleasure in their club’s ability, at what at the time they saw as being at their lowest ebb, to come in and help themselves to the manager of a comparatively high-flying rival. It was ironic to see that on the day, Falkirk also added Rangers striker Zak Rudden to their squad. One wonders if the striker would have been on McKinnon’s radar to bring to Morton had he not decided to jump ship without notice? McKinnon looked to have assembled what had the makings of a squad that could have challenged at the top end of the table before his abrupt departure. (Photo- GBR Photos) What Happened Next? With a makeshift coaching staff led by John Sutton and Derek Anderson on the touchline, Morton would lose 0-1 at Firhill before appointing former Finnish international Jonatan Johansson as McKinnon’s replacement and a descent down the table ensued. In truth, Johansson’s defensive style never endeared him to the Morton support, and with his wife helping to make a club that never lacked comedy value even more of a soap opera with her social media interactions, Cappielow wasn’t a happy place for the majority of the season. One happy day though, was the return of McKinnon with his Falkirk team, seven weeks after his departure. With the Greenock Telegraph stoking the resentment in the Morton support by handing out red cards with McKinnon’s image alongside the message “Judas”, Falkirk planned an alternative route to Cappielow (whatever on Earth that may have been!) for “security reasons” but the only bloody noses they got were on the park, as Bob McHugh’s goal sent them back home pointless. Greg Kiltie's magnificent goal gave Morton the lead over McKinnon's Falkirk on a bad tempered night in Greenock, but the Bairn's battled back to deny Morton full points. (Photo- GBR Photos) Both teams continued to struggle as the season progressed, although Falkirk did have spells that you felt they were beginning to click only to prove false dawns. A couple of draws between the teams, 0-0 in December in Grangemouth and 1-1 in a bad-tempered affair marred by crowd trouble at Cappielow, saw both clubs in a relegation battle alongside Queen of the South, Partick and Alloa. With Alloa being that season’s “Arbroath” for Morton, it looked as though the points the ‘Ton were leaking to the Wasps could prove to be their downfall, but on a critical night that Morton collected a solid point at Somerset Park, Falkirk looked to have claimed a vital three points with a late winner at Palmerston. However, with it taking an age to clear the celebrating Falkirk fans from the pitch, Queens’ went straight up the park and won a penalty, Stephen Dobbie converting to deny Falkirk at the death. But the relegation battle really came to a head when Morton visited Falkirk on the third last game of the season in what looked pre-match to be a winner-takes-all encounter. A defeat would have sent Morton to the bottom of the table, but we needn’t have had any fears, as second half goals from Kilmarnock loanee Greg Kiltie and Charlie Telfer rooted Falkirk to the bottom of the table with only a trip to Tannadice and the visit of champions Ross County remaining. Kiltie and Charlie Telfer were the architects of Falkirk's downfall on a memorable afternoon in Grangemouth as Morton delivered some sweet retribution on their former boss to effectively send their hosts into League One. (Photo-GBR Photos) McKinnon had taken Ross McLean to Falkirk in January, and had been rumoured to be after Morton’s star man Michael Tidser, but the midfielder’s excellent performance contributed more than most to Morton’s fine victory. In the following two weeks, Morton secured their survival and incredibly, a top half finish before Johansson resigned on a bizarre final day which saw the Morton support toasting Falkirk’s relegation alongside the Dundee United fans, who had Dundee’s demotion to the Championship on the same day to enjoy. Not slow to immerse themselves in Falkirk and McKinnon’s misery, the Tele’s Twitter response to their penultimate day reverse at Tannadice was succinct and more effective than anything I could ever say in a couple of thousand words about the whole affair. “Lol” indeed. For McKinnon, it was relegation despite victory over County on the final day, before he helped himself to the out-of-contract Buchanan, Tidser and Telfer from Morton. But Falkirk were found guilty of tapping McKinnon and forced to pay an SPFL fine and compensation to Morton, coming to an estimated total of £100,000. For what? A place in League One. Michael Tidser's magnificent performance helped Morton to a vital victory in that crucial match in Grangemouth, but the decision to move onto Falkirk proved to be a foolish one from a footballing perspective. (Photo- GBR Photos) Where Are They Now? Of all the parties involved, Morton are undoubtedly in the best place. A club mired in controversy for years have settled under fan ownership and have finally got a manager in the club who has it upwardly mobile, despite the odd setback like last weekend. Falkirk on the other hand, are still festering in League One for a fifth successive season, having seen Raith Rovers, Partick Thistle, Cove Rangers, Queen’s Park, Dunfermline Athletic and Airdrie all winning promotion at their expense. They’ve seen boardroom shenanigans at almost every turn, often in the full view of the Scottish football public, and massive losses year on year as they throw money at promotion. Perhaps this year will be their year, but at what cost? Make your own mind up whether that is a statement or a question. Most of his players, and the subsequent ones to leave Morton for Falkirk, haven’t enjoyed any real success, with Michael Tidser’s short lived spell being the most high profile. Buchanan and McLean have dropped down the divisions, and only Telfer is playing Championship football, ironically having won promotion at Falkirk’s expense last season. For McKinnon, the axe fell in November 2019, the first of a number of Falkirk bosses who have failed to return them to the Championship. He did however, move onto Queen’s Park, where their relative riches allowed him a more pleasant passage to League One than his previous journey, but he was removed from his post before the season started. Currently the manager of Forfar Athletic, it’s clear a leopard doesn’t change his spots, as he appeared to resign from his Station Park role over the summer to take up the position of Duncan Ferguson’s number two at Forest Green Rovers, before Big Dunc was given his jotters, forcing McKinnon to go back with his tail between his legs having failed to plant himself in a role in Nailsworth. He was believed to have blamed goings on in the background at Cappielow, with then CEO Warren Hawke not receiving complimentary reviews from the bold Raymond, and some club sponsors also being cited as reasons for his departure. But, despite his promises at the time that one day the truth would come out, he’s never publicly spoken about his time in charge of Morton, and I for one doubt he ever will - he was approached by the Morton Forum for a podcast interview when in charge at Queen’s Park, but immediately declined. Whilst that day was one of many catastrophic ones in the last few years of following Morton, it’s fair to say it all worked out well in the end and we dodged the biggest of bullets with Raymond. There was a point in that season that Falkirk’s in house media described him as “honest as the day is long”. I for one, wouldn’t buy a car from him.

(Photo- Scottish Football Hall of Fame) Allan McGraw- An Obituary By Russell Gordon The word “legend” is an often used one in the world of football, and I’ve always felt it was one that has become cheap. In the context of Morton, who are our own legends? For my own generation, there aren’t many. Derek McInnes was a star, the Finns gave us a couple of years of joy, Derek Lilley was a fine goal scorer who netted a club record transfer fee. Younger guys will look towards Chris Millar, Jim McAlister and Peter Weatherson- perhaps even Michael Tidser and Foaud Bachirou. Much as I acknowledge their contributions, “legend” is pushing it in most cases. Those slightly older of course enjoyed the mesmeric skills of Andy Ritchie, ably assisted by such working-class heroes as Davie Hayes, Jim Holmes, Roy Baines and Roddie Hutchison. We all know about the exploits of Jimmy Cowan, Morton’s most capped player, and Jimmy Gourlay, scorer of the winning goal in the 1922 Scottish Cup Final. But if you were to ask most the one man they would associate with our club, the vast majority would name Allan McGraw as that man. It was only just over a fortnight ago that Mr. McGraw was paraded in front of the Cappielow crowd before our victory over Queen’s Park as the Main Stand was named after the great man. Born on the 29th of July 1939 in Govan, he played with Partick Avondale in his youth before graduating to Renfrew Juniors in 1957, whilst doing his National Service. Whilst playing as a centre back for Renfrew, it was in the military that his footballing prowess came to the fore, where he attracted clubs far higher up the footballing food chain than Morton, who had just finished bottom of the old Second Division- dead last. However, after another Morton great- Hal Stewart, had swept into town in 1961, he attracted the young McGraw with the offer of flying him back to Scotland from Germany at weekends, allowing him to see his parents in Govan when returning home. Morton’s fortunes were to improve that season, with McGraw bagging 14 goals in 16 appearances as they finished third in the table, behind champions Clyde and promoted Queen of the South. Given that the club had finished bottom of the pile the previous season, the turnaround in their fortunes in the space of a year was remarkable, although at the season’s end they were to finish a distant 9 points (in those days of 2 points for a win) behind the Doonhamers. The following season was again to see Morton again finish third in the table- but this time around they were to finish a mere point behind second placed East Stirlingshire, and seven behind champions St. Johnstone, with McGraw bagging a remarkable 36 goals in 43 appearances. It was to be third time lucky though for McGraw and Morton in the 1963-64 season- arguably the greatest in the club’s history. An incredible 58 goals in 48 appearances was the personal milestone that he claimed along with his Second Division Champion’s medal as Morton stormed to the title, breaking record after record along the way. Dropping only five points all season, scoring 135, conceding only 37, losing once in the league, winning 23 league games in a row, sealing the title in February and reaching the League Cup Final against Rangers was quite a record for “Hal’s Heroes”. It was in the semi-final of the League Cup that McGraw was the real hero though. After a 1-1 draw with Hibernian, the two went to a replay at Ibrox which was settled by a penalty by none other than Morton’s talisman to send them to their first, and to date only, League Cup Final. The final itself was to prove a bitter disappointment, with Morton falling 0-5 to the Glasgow side, after a goalless first half in front of 105,907 at the national stadium. Always a welcome figure on his visits to Cappielow in later life, it was a fitting tribute to see the Main Stand named after Allan McGraw. (Photo- Gary Bradley) But with promotion sealed with a 6-1 home win over Forfar at Cappielow on 29th February (just over 59 years to the day before his sad passing), McGraw and Morton could look forward to again dining at Scottish football’s top table. It would of course be remiss of me not to acknowledge the contribution of his teammates; with stars such as Morris Stevenson, Jimmy Wilson, and Joe Caven, a familiar face to many of us on our travels to see Morton in the Highlands due to his locality, and a pleasure to meet when we do, doing more than their fair share. On Morton’s return to the First Division, injuries began to plague McGraw, but he still managed to net 21 goals in 33 appearances in that maiden top flight campaign. Sadly though, relegation was to follow the following season, with McGraw only scoring 11 times in 36 appearances before moving on to Hibs in the summer of 1966. Medical science though, was not as advanced in the sixties as it is now, advice for footballers suffering injuries wasn’t what it should have been, and whilst he struggled to train, he relied on cortisone injections to allow him to play. He accepted his own role in not questioning the practice- stating that he never visited the same doctor twice, used the injections to get on the park when the correct advice would’ve been to rest, and whilst the maximum safe number of injections in a year was 3, in one year he took 25! This of course led to his quality of life deteriorating badly, and the image of him on crutches in later life was a common one as he paid the price for his determination to continue playing. With injuries really affecting him, he was to make 60 appearances for Hibs over three years- in fact coming off injured in the 2-1 1968 League Cup semi-final victory over Dundee, before returning to the action in those days before substitutes. Unsurprisingly, he missed the final through injury. There was a short spell as a guest at Toronto City in 1967 before he wrapped up his senior playing career at Linfield in 1969-70. A brief spell at Johnstone Burgh, before taking on a coaching role at Pollok preceded his return to Cappielow as Erik Sorensen, a former teammate from his time at Morton, invited him back to the club as reserve team coach. With another golden era on the horizon, it was McGraw’s reserve side which provided such talent as Joe McLaughlin, John McNeil, Neil Orr and Jim Tolmie to supplement the aforementioned Ritchie, Hayes, Baines and Holmes. However, as Benny Rooney’s fine side of the late seventies and early eighties was broken up, Morton were to fall into the new First Division, briefly returning in 1984 under Tommy McLean, before an immediate relegation the following year under his brother Willie. After Willie McLean’s sacking, McGraw took the reins as Morton’s manager. After a mid-table finish in his first campaign, Morton were to win the title in 1987, and return to the Premier Division, the last time we played in the top flight. Relegation the following season was swift and brutal, conceding 100 goals over a 44 game league campaign, the final one being dispatched by Hibernian goalkeeper Andy Goram with a long clearance from his own box. The title was secured in 1987, resulting in Morton's return to the Premier Division for the last time to date. (Photo- Pinterest) However, there was a shining light in that season of misery, as Graeme Souness’s millionaires were humbled at Cappielow late in the season as Morton recorded a surprise 3-2 victory over Britain’s most expensive side of the time. Morton were to establish themselves in the First Division without seriously threatening promotion or fearing relegation for a number of years before league reconstruction saw five teams relegated in 1994. A horrendous injury list from the start of the season saw Morton relegated with a whimper, although in truth, they didn’t stand a chance. The 1994-95 season saw McGraw add his third title, and his second as manager. Again, Morton struggled early, but with the returning young stars of Alan Mahood and Derek McInnes from injury supplemented by the inspired signings of Finnish internationals Janne Lindberg and Marko Rajamaki, Morton made an immediate, and triumphant return to the First Division. The following season was one of incredible highs, more injury woes, and ultimate heartbreak against Dundee United on the season’s final day. His last season as boss was to prove an anti-climax as Morton failed to live up to expectations after coming so close the previous year. The arrival of the reviled Hugh Scott saw McGraw resign as manager, invited back as Club President before walking in protest as he saw through Scott’s nonsense, and fighting for Morton’s very survival as Scott’s mismanagement saw the club spiral into administration and a focal point was needed to rally the support in order to save the club from the worst possible fate. Commonly labelled as “Mr Morton”, there are few who would argue against the case for him to be considered our greatest ever, and few who would expect to see any greater in our own lifetimes. An overdue induction to Scottish Football's Hall of Fame arrived in 2017, honoured by one of the finest graduates of McGraw's conveyor belt of talent, Derek McInnes. (Photo- Scottish Sun) As well as the recent naming of the Allan McGraw Main Stand at Cappielow, some other fitting accolades he received were his induction to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and an SPFA Special Merit Award in 1998, along with divisional Manager of the Year Awards in his title winning years of 1987 and 1995. Like us all, everyone at The Morton Forum wishes to pass on our condolences to his sons Allan and Mark, and his extended family. We will never see his like again. Bibliography Allan McGraw Testimonial Programme Greenock Morton 1874-1999, Vincent P Gillan Images of Sport- Greenock Morton 1874-1999, compiled by Jim Jeffrey Morton Greats, Graeme Ross.

SLO has said on twitter he has collected complaints from fans about the club only allowing MCT members to vote on the away kit vote. Don't see why this is a problem? These are exactly the sort of small inducements they should be making to encourage membership.

I know MCT have spoken about their links with other fan organisations before and how the sharing of expertise can be beneficial, FOH being one of them. I don't doubt that building and maintaining relationships like these can be useful, especially so when MCT were first starting out and advice from organisations who'd already successfully handled a fan takeover would have been invaluable, but I hope that generally they're discerning about who they should build links with and remember that ultimately these organisations are also running competitors to the club. I note that Falkirk have also got a fan subscription scheme up and running, Falkirk Supporters' Society, planning to build up to a 26% stake, and have had over 200 fans sign up. I also noted that in an online discussion around increasing membership one of their appointed spokesmen stated that "fucking Morton" have managed to have over 850 members. I'd hope that, even aside from the obvious that it's Falkirk, that kind of condescension would ensure MCT wouldn't give such an organisation the steam off their pish if they were to come looking for a working relationship.

Noticed that earlier, it's not even on the fixture page. Nor, for that matter, is the result of the original fixture from six days ago in Inverness. Is there one guy at all at the club, just one, who actually knows what Morton is? A professional football club, which plays football matches that people like to watch because they like football and the Morton football team that plays it?