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Scottish referees: you (Ben Williamson) have tried to break an ankle four times in the game already, I'm finally forced to give you a yellow card through a veil of tears. Also Scottish referees: You (Ballantyne) didn't immediately take a throw in at my command - yellow card straight away. Just fuck off.13 points
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We were in a practically identical predicament precisely 12 months ago, with a home Friday night shame game incoming. We also looked completely humped in December 2021 when Imrie took over. I think the manager should accept a substantial amount of responsibility - the desire to revise our playing style has clearly gone too far. We've lost just about everything that made us effective and worth backing since day 1 of Imrie's tenure, even in poorer performances. The inability to press and defend from the front of the team is risible right now and today has to be a breaking point for that. But the manager has shown an ability to handle these situations in the past and so I would keep him in position. What is needed is a wider level of scrutiny for the attainment goals and 'minerals' signing policy churned out in the summer by the GM. We as owners should be tracking performance towards those self-proclaimed goals and showing the door to the professional bullshit merchants who have already been found out.11 points
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Fair play to them. Very easy to stick the boot into them, but I wish Morton had acted on the guy who twice shouted that Todorov was a “fucking refugee” at New Broomfield in April, rather than saying and doing nothing, and hoping the whole tawdry affair would be forgotten about- which it duly was, sadly.9 points
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I think there's some massive missing of the point on both sides here in the analysis of this, where some people in the wider support are jumping straight to "sack Imrie" which is obviously a bad idea, while others are jumping straight to "Imrie is blameless, fan ownership is a binfire, burn the board at the stake" Both are wrong takes. Imrie has made an absolute cunt of this summer. He is undoubtedly the best Morton manager in my lifetime but he is doing an exceptional job of disappearing up his own arse this season. Cynical as it is I can't get away from the idea that this reinvention of style of play is more about his own reputation than what will win games for Morton, because Big Bad Physical Morton was not going to get him a move to a St Johnstone or Ross County type. However valid that cynicism is, he's still making an arse of this on it's own terms of what's best for Morton. We need the reset we had two years ago when we lost 5-1 to Partick. The problem is the squad he's built shows no sign of being able to handle that switch. There is no one in front of Iain Wilson who knows what pressing is, when two years ago he had very obvious fixes like "pick Lewis Strapp at left back instead of Alex King" he now does not have such obvious scales from the eyes solutions and clings to such ridiculous delusions as 37 year old Niall McGinn being a tenth of the player 33 year old Niall McGinn was. Good luck to him finding a pressing unit to replicate the Crawford, Quitongo +1 three from the 11 attacking midfielders he's signed when none of them know what "pressing" is. He's pulled us out of a hole three times already, but this mess of his own making is the worst yet. No matter how shit Imrie’s budget is compared to Hamilton's, never mind Falkirk/Raith/Partick/Livingston levels, he is the one who chose to spend whatever he had on 8 million attacking midfielders when he could have signed a (one, singular) back up full back and not seen us become an imbalanced shambles as soon as either Ballantyne or Delaney were injured. He has absolutely fucked it.8 points
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Don’t forget that the game was originally moved from the weekend slot because of international call ups, so the Stenhousemuir players were likely working today, but at least the game was played at nearby Stirling. Their tie in the last round was also postponed and played in midweek at Stirling, because of international call ups. Against Fraserburgh. So Rangers got what for them is effectively reserve game called off for international call ups, but a part time Highland League team were forced to travel in midweek to fulfil the fixture, regardless of whether their players got annual leave from work or not. Much as we love Scottish football, they don’t half give us reasons to hate it.8 points
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I think the change of style will very much change that dynamic if this momentum can continue. Which is quite possibly part of the plan from the manager's perspective - although I've no doubt the loss of an Ugwu/Oakley figure was a greater factor (3rd place being a larger budget that seems to be running to, erm, an 'unusual' number of attacking options) for the change in approach. I have been sceptical about the ability of *any* manager to deliver a possession and skill based game with our relative budget at this level - because if you can do both you're likely earning far more than we can pay - but it looks like he may have pulled up a few gems yet again. I have been checking last season's record and we didn't actually get our finger out really until the second week of December - with long awaited wins at Arbroath and home to Inverness. We merely stopped the rot this time 12 months ago, but other than some squad depth issues like left back we might actually be in a better place to kick on. I think we'll still need either very good luck with injuries or extra quality (possibly Samuels) to sustain a run, but we're significantly better than that doped-up, £25 a head viewing nonsense outfit we played tonight. They'll be in deep trouble for either footballing or business reasons before the season's out IMO.8 points
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It looks like Imrie took a lot of the criticism about our playing style to heart and tried to change it to suit himself and his detractors. Afraid with the lowest budget in the league or next to, building some free flowing style with a bunch of identical sanddancers, who can't score for the life of them, was always likely to leave us struggling. Give me a team that's effective over this absolute pish. Remains to be seen if we can write today off because of the injuries and suspensions situation but we are clearly in trouble now.6 points
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Today's result is an absolute disgrace and the manager, team and club staff deserve criticism but personal abuse is right out of order.6 points
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See if I was Dougie, I'd wonder when the media would notice that I can get a tune out of squads of pretty disparate ability and reputation, rather than them just acting like he sends them out with instructions to throw hammers. Their inability to spot this is our gain, of course, because meme managers like 'Rhys McCabe' get all the plaudits because they played four passes in a row once against Arbroath.6 points
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Very sad news indeed. When we almost won back to back promotions in 94-96, at the time his coaching was given a lot of the credit for our success in those seasons he was here as Mcgraws assistant. When he returned as manager a few years later it was a popular appointment, with many (myself included) hoping he would be able to recapture some of that form. Sadly it didn't work out - albeit this was during some of the darkest days of the club and probably nobody could have done any better under the circumstances. He had a brilliant career as a player and will rightly be remembered as a Liverpool legend. Apparently he had been suffering from dementia which is a horrible way to lose someone - thoughts are with his family & friends Former Hibs, Liverpool & Scotland midfielder Peter Cormack dies - BBC Sport6 points
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6 points
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Bearne was rotten, Lyon had plenty of chances, McGregor didn't really show enough for a contract and Strapp was never going to sign again.5 points
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Thankfully, I was not there tonight but my son confirmed it was Groundhog Day once again. On top, missing chance after chance, the opposition then go up the park and we capitulate. The lack of leadership and fight in this squad is a disgrace. Once we fall behind the fans can head home as we never look like scoring. The blame lies at Imrie's door as this is his squad assembled to play a new exciting brand of football. How much money has been wasted on this squad of spineless sand dancers? Despite the frustration with this season I believe the person most likely to get us out of this mess is Imrie. Results though have to.improve otherwise the shouts for change will inevitably grow louder.5 points
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Just the 9 first team players out injured today. Our GM’s comment is starting to look more and more stupid every week.5 points
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5 points
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Keenan didn't go mewling to the chairman to get the manager sacked, solely in order to put himself and his equally shite mate in charge and do their level best to relegate us to the seaside leagues. Much like his subsequent 'career' in football, Keenan performed at a tragic, low level of impact/relevance. That decision stands up to historical scrutiny.5 points
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I think that is a crucial point, I don't think we have either the experience or the expertise at board level to weed these people out. The turnover of club staff in the last couple of years is a concern, and while the wages we offer may be a factor, I would suggest our hiring process isn't good enough.4 points
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I think he carries the can for the awful signing of ineffective strikers. But generally there is or should be enough in this squad once they are actually all fit and he can field his strongest 11. We really miss the high press and when we have done it in little bits of games we have always looked more promising. We really need to change this current style of play until we have our full strength team, or find a style that suits what we have got at present. I hate the fact we’ve imploded away to those cunts but hopefully nothing drastic is done in terms of Dougie’s position because I am convinced he will turn it round when our injuries clear up. Missing two keepers, our two best players (Ballantyne & Wilson), potentially our first choice centre half pairing in Boyes and Corr, and a starter in Shaw.4 points
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If you want to practice faith, go to a church*. GMFC is a professional football club with full-time, paid employees, whose wages are taken directly from supporters' pockets as 1) customers and 2) capital investment as owners of the club. That doesn't mean that angry fans should be razing everything to the ground every two minutes, but it is categorically not the job of supporters to just 'back the club'. The club needs to demonstrate something that is worth backing from the stands. And if individuals show zero evidence or track record of doing that, then they should be shown the door promptly. *(other organised religious temples are available too).4 points
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With the very debatable exception of McGlynn I can't think of another manager in the division I'd take ahead of Imrie to get us out of this mess. That's not to say there's not another wild card like Imrie out there. It's to say that he's pulled us out of the mud before. He's not just a flash in the pan - he's actually got a track record. But I admit it's a risk.4 points
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With the possible exception of Strapp, for whom the jury's still out, none of these players were good enough either as their career trajectories since leaving us have shown.4 points
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We're missing Mullen, Ballantyne, Boyes, Wilson, and Crawford. Add to that Shaw, Corr, King and Woods. Of course it's going to be difficult. In saying that, it's in those moment when the weaknesses and mistakes are most visible. While Lyall is a talented footballer, and at times you can see the potential, he's often been a weak point defensively. He has essentially replaced Power in the squad, and while you could see it was probably a season too far for Power, we need that type of player. I was surprised that Gillespie was kept on - it seemed like a good moment for him to bow out in the summer. We're lacking in defensive midfielders. We've also obviously struggled to recruit decent attacking players for whatever reason. You know what, voices at the club were spot on in the summer - we shouldn't be signing injury prone players and older players whose legs have gone. But then we did just that. The reality is that we haven't been a decent team without Oakley, Strapp, and Wilson in the starting 11 for about 18 months.4 points
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So, here we go again. Just learned today that the kids (7 Yr olds) who are playing for the Morton Community 2017's section were gifted a Halloween box after training last night. The box contains a few small bags of sweets and a candy apple. One wee lad went straight from training to Cappielow and his box was taken from him by a steward, who said he wasn't allowed to take it in with him. Yet again stewards doing nothing to encourage youngsters to attend the games. I've emailed the CEO, SLO, & Admin at the Club as I can see no reason a child cannot be allowed in with sone sweets and a candy apple.4 points
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Give me big bad physical Morton over that absolute shite. Pointless possession, inept finishing, players hiding and shirking responsibility and a manager so insistent on this new style of play that he's signed a team that can't play any other way. What a miserable season. The stat above that we haven't won a game from a losing position since the first day of last season is mental. Shite.4 points
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Still can't believe the amount of ridiculous knicker-wetting about the cashless trial, did the clocks in Greenock go back 20 years in the weekend by any chance? Contactless payment has been in place in my local team for years, and guess what, old folk can use it just fine! Wow, amazing but true! And it cuts down the queues at half time as they don't have to go back and forward to the tills to give change. It's much faster and more efficient, and removes the possibility of petty pilfering (not saying this happens, just that the risk is there). Regarding the Supporter Liaison role... I agree that it's totally outrageous that a fiercely loyal fan like Toby who goes to all games home and away was not even given the very basic courtesy of a reply. That's extremely disappointing and unacceptable, plain and simple. Not sure what the actual benefit of this role is though, as the supporters are not one homogeneous group. We clearly have wide and varied opinions on just about everything, fuck sakes man, even extremely trivial stuff like cashless trials in the pie stall is hugely controversial for some! I've got no idea who got the gig, but good luck to him or her. It's a thankless task for sure as they'll never please everyone, especially the ones who just seem to like moaning for the sake of it.4 points
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I really don't think a black tie dinner for the 150th anniversary of the club is a problem. If ever an occasion called for a bit of gravitas this is it. Of course it shouldn't be (and hasn't been) the only way for people to celebrate, but the opposition to it has been pretty fucking juvenile.4 points
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I think that's a point that can't be ignored. If we want to punch above our weight in a Championship where we will always have one of the lowest budgets, then 'Big Bad Physical Morton' is exactly how we need to approach our squad building and staff recruitment. As you mentioned, we need a manager who can get a tune out of misfits, managing a squad full of players who are looking to kickstart their career for one reason or another. The approach isn't without pitfalls, we also need to be realistic and accept that spells in the third tier are going to be an unfortunate inevitability of fan ownership, but I think it'll yield far better returns than trying to play champagne football on a lemonade budget.4 points
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In fairness, it'd be understandable if they thought a player named Shaw was just a figment of their imagination so ignored him.4 points
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How do they get the insight into how well a cashless matchday works, what problems are actually real and not just moans about preference without running a trial? I also don't hold out much hope of Morton doing it effectively or the infrastructure holding up but some of the reactions to the trial have been way OTT.4 points
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4 points
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To be fair to Marvin Bartley, he didn't adopt the 'team of thugs' narrative last night at all. His comments were fair and objective, and he made a few interesting observations that actually enhanced the enjoyment of the game.4 points
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NB: While Millen's absence has been cited as a negative factor, his return has yielded a collective 0-7 scoreline and hee-haw points. If only there was an already proven assistant manager out there who would ruthlessly weed out sand-dancing dross and impose the correct performance standards to avoid relegation at this level. Arise again, Sir David.3 points
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I think we can all agree that Ballantyne and Wilson have been two of our most important players this season - especially in a defensive sense. We only conceded 6 goals in the first 9 league games - we conceded as many as that today. I think that plan A for the season was chucked after 2 or 3 League Cup games. We then changed shape a bit and scaled back on the level of passing out from the back. The biggest problem in the league early on had come mostly from being terrible at scoring goals - we had loads of chances to win at home to Hamilton, we had clear chances to take the lead down at Ayr, we had several chances to go ahead on Tuesday (just for a few examples). Adding a weakened midfield and defence to that has contributed to what happened today. I felt near the start of the season that Lyall should be moved further forward and either play alongside Moffat or be competition for his place, that we needed another defensive midfielder, that we needed better cover at right back, and that we needed a bigger presence at centre forward. I pretty much still feel the same way. Signing McGinn and Samuels feels more like Imrie trying to make up for messing up attacking signings rather than trying to build on the squad we had and fill some of the holes. We'll be much better when we can get a near full squad back, but until then our weaknesses will continue to be exposed.3 points
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3 points
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I get that emotions run high at moments like this, but there's really no need to be bringing someone's weight into it like that.3 points
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3 points
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I’d typed out a big reply to this and deleted it, as there’s no need to air any dirty linen in public. I’ve already spoken to you about why you were suspended and let Dean know what you had to say, but needless to say, I can see a number of flaws in your argument. I’ll tell you them in private. Regarding the SLO- It’s not a big issue, which is why I’d never previously mentioned it on here. I asked the question as I suspected I wouldn’t be given the time of day, and got the (lack of an) answer I expected. Maybe it wasn’t anything personal, maybe it was. Lesser Hampden ticketing- if there was any SLO, that issue could have been handled much better. But instead, fans who weren’t that General Manager’s pals’ means of communication with the club were restricted to venting their fury on social media or emailing a General Manager who doesn’t reply to emails. A week later (and 10 weeks after applications closed) we were presented with three new SLOs. It’s almost as if blocking channels of communication at a time fans are going to be upset and ask difficult questions was deliberate. Is it too much to ask for someone in management to take accountability? MCT membership- no, you’re not vindicated. Joining MCT is about Morton, not about what’s in the interests of the individual. Yes, we all want to be treated equally, which isn’t an unreasonable request, but isn’t happening. There may not be a Morton anymore if it wasn’t for MCT, or they could be kicking about with Cowdenbeath and Gala Fairydean Rovers. The Raes had had enough and weren’t prepared to fund it. That the club have appointed (in my eyes) a dreadful GM doesn’t change that. I get that the continuation of Morton is perhaps more important to me than it is to you, but MCT were the only serious option. My Dundee United pal’s treatment was resolved to his satisfaction, though I thought things could have been done better. I was prepared to lay off about that after my pal wanted to let it go, but as the list grows, it’s something I continue to go back to. He received an email the morning after the AGM seeking to resolve that issue- lo and behold I received an email this morning along similar lines. Big Brother is reading the forum. Wonder if my pal who offered to sponsor a player received an email? One missing email is an accident, a second is poor, but three times is becoming a pattern. I may well volunteer to help in the future, but in the meantime, I got the chance to write a preview for the paper once a week since applying for the SLO role, which takes up a bit of my time and I’d like to think promotes Morton, and anything I can do has to be done on a matchday or remotely, so I’m probably of little use now anyway. He doesn’t even reply to emails from people offering to put their money into the club in the form of sponsorship, and all these issues that are being discussed were issues before the Andy Millen incident. You might find them irrelevant, but the more of these that arise, the more his competence will be called into question. Not replying to an offer of sponsorship isn’t a non-issue in any industry, let alone at a cash-strapped provincial football club for which every penny is a prisoner. Of course, the effect of Millen’s suspension is the most pertinent issue around the club at the moment, and of course, he should be feeling the pressure around that. But after three weeks, and with a long list of other issues in the past, is it any surprise that questions are being asked? He had an extended honeymoon period when in the eyes of many, he could do little wrong. That’s over now, and the cracks are well and truly beginning to appear. That’s his issue to fix, and ours to highlight when we see something we don’t agree with. There should probably be very little need for such a position at a club like Morton, given our ownership structure, but is a requirement for the club’s SFA licence. If communication channels between the fans and MCT/Morton are effective enough, MCT should have enough clout to iron out any issues. The last time I remember anyone asking MCT anything though, they were more interested in how cute the Arbroath mascots were than about us standing in the pissing rain for half an hour. I’ve got higher hopes with the standard of candidate for the MCT board elections though, all of whom I voted in favour of.3 points
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Of course we want to see you on the forum, Paul. That’s why you’re still here, despite your indiscretions. My huff, however is nothing to do with personal rejection- I applied for that role out of interest to see if he would entertain me, and given that I’ve got folk that aren’t too keen on me in the support and on the board of directors, didn’t expect to be taken on. However, I didn’t apply for a “job”. I offered my time on a voluntary basis, to help the club. As a paid up member of MCT and a season ticket holder since God was a boy, the least I should have received, the least anyone who offers their time or money should receive, is the courtesy of a reply. Likewise, the least my Dundee United supporting pal should have received was an apology when I emailed that General Manager on his behalf after he was denied entry to Cappielow. He only got that when I confronted that General Manager face-to-face at the AGM in April, after my email was ignored by him. My criticisms of him were vocal back then before I decided to back off and try to give him the benefit of the doubt- if anything, the straw that broke the camel’s back with me was his ridiculous handling of the Queen’s Park away tickets. I’m most certainly in a huff about that. Champ.3 points
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I don’t trust anything that General Manager has his grubby mits over to run smoothly tbh, be it the multi-million pound renovation of Cappielow to turn it into a venue that would rival the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, or getting a round of two drinks in in the Norseman if I handed him a tenner.3 points
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A terrific watch, that. The Scottish Cup really is the greatest competition in the world.3 points
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3 points
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Fouad Bachirou signs for Matlock Town. I don’t suspect a contract is worth the paper it’s written on in the bold Fouad’s world, however.3 points
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Bump. Taking stock at the end of our first quarter of games today, we have the following players completely missing from the squad with various issues. This is excluding one-off disappearances too: GK: Mullen 2 CBs: Boyes; Corr ???: Shaw (Nathan, apparently) We are also managing Wilson's minutes each week like we're shipping a priceless Ming vase, while Gillespie's continued lack of game time suggests a possible issue there too. [sarcasm] It's just as well our 'minerals' based recruitment strategy was in place then or else we'd be fielding a makeshift and badly weakened team right now. [/sarcasm]3 points
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3 points
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Not entirely true, maybe I’m just that bit more petty than most, but I certainly remember a bit of bad blood from Graham when he was still at the club towards the fans- specifically giving us the GIRUY when scoring the winner at Dumbarton in a cup game that gave us a home tie with Celtic. What we’d done to him I don’t know, but would imagine that given the Morton support are the salt of the earth, his behaviour was completely unjustified. I never felt he was terribly popular or enamoured with us, but that was the point I felt his relationship with the Morton fans really turned sour.3 points
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Just learnt of the passing of former Morton manager Peter Cormack who passed away two days ago, aged 78. Peter had a great playing career with Hibernian, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Bristol City; winning two league titles, the FA Cup and two UEFA Cups; and managed Anorthosis in Cyprus, Partick, Cowdenbeath as well as Morton during one of the most difficult periods in the club's history. In recent years he suffered from Alzheimers, a cruel illness which robs many people from their final years. Reading some of the news reports he was showing symptoms during his time whilst managing Morton: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/liverpool-hibs-hero-bravely-goes-20732816 Peter should be remembered as a genuinely good person who done his best for Morton during difficult circumstances. RIP3 points
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Amazing the difference one player can make to a team. Even if he was having a quiet game in his own right the midfield is transformed by having Stuparevic ahead of them, just having a real striker that opposition defences need to worry about means other teams can't press us in the way they could two months ago and players get the space to control a game. Throw in Stuparevic not actually being quiet and we're suddenly a team who can create things from open play, when our big bad physical 5'7 side aren't being clogged off the park by Ben Williamson's studs. Very encouraging that we've controlled a game that way without Wilson in the starting XI.3 points
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2 points
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If Moffat or our other 27 attackers had a reliable end product, they wouldn't have been available for us to sign. That's been the big flaw in this attempt to change the playing style: we are reliant on Imrie turning around more player's careers again like he did with Oakley or even Gillespie/Quitongo to a lesser degree. Trying to do the same as everyone else and with a limited budget compared to most of your direct competitors is folly, 'minerals' or no 'minerals'.2 points
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I'd absolutely love us to get Grimmys back as the final piece of the jigsaw. He'd slot into the midfield alongside Shug and would be a great addition. He'd also give us some cover at fullback.2 points