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"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.

How did he manage to beat John369 to the exclusive?

I see that's us now advertising the Groundsman's position, without a single word to acknowledge that Mark Farrell left the club. As someone has pointed out on twitter, our esteemed GM got a full article announcing his departure, and we've heard nothing about Farrell, or indeed Andy Millen. Transparency eh.

Brilliant news. Good to see the Wilson to Partick, pre contract was indeed a load of shite.

All a club has to do is offer a deal on equivalent terms to what the player was earning under the previous contract in order to trigger the compensation. Given the season that Lyall had, there were always going to be other suitors for him, and the likelihood that he’d have got a better offer than we gave him last season was around 99.9%. There was no risk. And to be honest, if players/clubs/agents think that we’re out of order by squeezing what we can out of every deal, they’re in the wrong industry. While you want to see young players succeed, Morton aren’t a charity, and have to look after their own financial interests. If the fee was so insignificant that it didn’t matter, can I get my £295 back for my season ticket and just go to the games anyway? I dare say that’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things. No, I didn’t think so.

This sort of shite is just as bad as allowing the club to fall under a FIFA embargo, a complete dereliction of duty.

How come Dale gets the whole "thanks for your efforts and hard work over the last 20 months" stuff and we weren't even told about Mark Farrell after his work over the last 20 years? What happened there? Dale had a tough job and didn't do himself any favours by over-promising on what could be delivered. He ended up being a bit of a divisive character, and I'm not surprised he's looked for another job.

If only we had a chairman with experience as a football agent who could advise us on transfer matters and help us plan to avoid scenarios such as this one.

C'mon guys, let's de-escalate this before it gets out of hand. Next thing, you'll be using exclamation marks against each other and no-one wants to see that.

Still waiting on the Wilson with a Partick scarf photo.

He was pish.

They have been taking that tone about everything for a long time now and either need slapped down a peg or two or cut off.

Maybe it’s time we let go of Lamie. He was great while he was here, but time to move on.

I think everyone knew that there would be serious interest in Lyall from other clubs and there wasn't any real likelihood that he would have stayed with us. It seems like an extremely small risk (if any risk at all) to have offered him a new deal in order to secure even a small amount of compensation. After all, Imrie took on a young player and gave him significant game time (even when he struggled to adjust at first) and helped him become a better player. We did exactly the job we were supposed to do in order to secure that compensation. Who's making these decisions?!

Centre back is the obvious and potentially difficult gap to fill in the squad (needing at least two good signings there) so it's encouraging to see us target that as the priority.

Gillespie and Crawford re-signing entirely fills our 'Scottish football veteran' quota in the middle area of the park. We should be prioritising a replacement (ideally an upgrade) on Lyall - goals, assists and effective in possession.

Love this. Long holiday with his girlfriend. Undoubtedly a big move on the way. Equally, if he took a short break on his own, it's for quiet contemplation, big move on the way. Also, if he's staying at home, it's to make sure he's easily contactable by his agent, because a big move is on the way. Usually.

Aye players rarely go on holiday with their partners at the end of the season, something definitely amiss!

We’re going to the god damn premier league!

Don't let the door hit your arse on the way out Stuart.

Name another club that would have been proactively communicating any of that?

Aye, that's pish poor right enough. Mark and Andy both contributed far more to the club that Dale did, and deserve far more respect, thanks and acknowledgement than him. It would seem that absolutely nothing has been learned from the fiasco of the last couple of months, and that's not just disappointing, it's downright frustrating. Sad to say, but I have zero respect or trust for our chairman and board.

I live in hope that the stadium director is waiting to see if we can just repair the metal sheets on the roof, or replace it entirely with a stained glass mosaic with the players depicted to be voted on by MCT at a later date.

You do.

What truth is it you think we haven’t been told? The stadium director was quite clear at the MCT meeting that work would start when they got the go ahead from insurance company that could’ve been a few days after the meeting or weeks there was no specific timeline, he did say it could run into the start of the season and they would need to work out how best to proceed, so not sure what you think they haven’t been telling us

The hard work and effort that he put in for our 150th celebrations will live long in everyone's memories.

If doable, agree with this. There's been a bit of talk that we might be close to saturation point for memberships so looking at other demographics would help if it's doable. Junior memberships, even if formally in the name of a nominated adult is worth looking at as are giftable memberships. May have to jazz it up by issuing a certificate or an edited template of a Tele front page with the headline 'x becomes co-owner of Greenock Morton' just to give it some substance. What about businesses signing up as members? I'm not even talking trying to rinse bigger companies as corporate members/sponsors although we'd gladly take any of those, but even just at standard subscription amount in the name of 1 person on behalf of the business. Every business small and large in the area should have a sticker in the window saying 'proud to support community ownership of GMFC by being a member of MCT'. Should also be a requirement for all staff, players and even consultant club Chairmen to signup for the duration of their time here.

Tele confirming that Murdoch and Keay have been offered 2 year deals.

Along with the increased sponsorship, not having passengers like Mcginn & Broadfoot on the wage bill at the start of the season will also free up some cash to hopefully be put to better use this time round The last few seasons have shown that spending more doesn’t guarantee success. See Raith, Ayr, Dunfermline, QP, Inverness etc etc etc, so yes claiming we are relegation favourites is hyperbolic pish. Hypothetically, if given the choice of 3rd lowest budget in the division with Imrie in charge vs 3rd highest with someone like Mark Wilson, Barry Robson or “broony” in charge I would pick having a good manager above the extra money.

Don't believe for a second that McKay is training with us or won't have better offers, and I'm very glad of that. He's still the same shiftless waster who'll only try when he needs a contract that he's always been.

Hopefully the club chairman and board are prepared to explain themselves at the next AGM because that's not acceptable. You offer at least existing terms and either retain one of the most sought-after midfielders in the division, or at least secure a few grand when you most likely lose them. The only irresponsible behaviour here is that of the club chairman and board for allowing this to happen, again. And I hope Brian Bonar is watching and unimpressed.

I couldn't really give a toss about some completely token compensation. But this mewling, off the record take from an nameless 'Morton spokesperson'? "It is another example of why we must ensure we are not in the same situation again in the future." We? You (collectively) were entirely responsible for creating that situation, and waited with supine indifference until the last possible moment to spring a fait accompli on the owners of the club.

Every single one of those double-barreled ringers at Dunfermline last season were stinking.

Kris Moore, ex Leeds U21 captain set to sign for us. Dougie has stepped in to handle much of the paperwork alongside the player’s agent and has convinced the lad to come and play for him over other options. Primarily a right sided centre back but is versatile enough to play across the back or to step in to midfield.

Aye, good shout.

Don’t back down. Coward.

I know many were asking about how to change their MCT contributions, but they've come out with an email to members today trying to do just that. Simple as that, upped it from a tenner to 20 quid.

“An opportunity has presented itself in another country which he is keen to pursue”

I'm not at all against the idea of increasing my own contribution and appreciate that the sooner income increases the better - you'd rather have Dalrada investing an increased monthly sum from July rather than October - but I want to wait and see how the MCT board elections go and what proposals candidates have for the future of MCT before doing so. It was right that the meeting on Monday was directed away from recriminations over the timeline of the deal and what happened with the embargo to allow as many questions on the substance of the deal as possible. When it comes to a future MCT board, if anyone who was on it a month ago when everything kicked off is standing then it will be entirely appropriate to fully delve into the detail of what happened and those candidates' role in it, because the primary failing and cause of a collapse in trust in both MCT & GMFC has been a lack of transparency. Every candidate should show a commitment to improving that and if it's someone who's been part of the board already, demonstrate why they weren't part of the problem.

To be fair the return of traditional knicker-wetting is kind of comforting as it means we are beyond the Dalrada/MCT/GMFC/Laird debacle and back on message. Give it time and I will be rambling on about the lack of interesting friendlies.

Gourlay's crime:

Cos we’ve nae groundsman?

Well no, there's quite clearly a yawning gulf between each one of your ridiculous false binary statements. Let's start with: 1) GMFC may have insurance coverage, but the sum paid by the insurers is not set and/or is not necessarily equal (higher or lower) to the costings provided, in relation to your ridiculous false binary 2). Instead of wasting bandwidth, perhaps you can explain what specific parts of the stadium director's explanation of this a fortnight ago you consider to be either unacceptable or false.

What do you want communicated? The club will get money, people will see the brand on tops and the club will promote the sponsor in whatever way the sponsorship terms were agreed. There's a been a lot of poor/ lack of communication but things like this are just nit picking.

The fee itself isn’t the important thing, rather what add ons are included in the deal, such as sell on fees, bonuses for international caps etc. If the club have managed to fit some clauses in then that’s where we really stand to benefit in the future.

Gourlay, 1-0.

On a one to one basis I always found him amicable and pleasant, but, thank God he's gone

I reckon Mullen's run of mixed form came at a good time for us. If he'd finished the season like he'd started he'd have loads of offers. As it is, perhaps we can hold onto him. I'm sure he'll come good again.

Assigned as cellmate to James Gourlay.