SpoonTon

I wondered if it meant Storer had an injury.

They had hoped to have had five clubs by the end of 2025 and 15 by the end of this year. It's only the February of 2026, and there's nothing wrong with being optimistic, but it's not quite on schedule. The details will be helpful in understanding exactly what their aims are. I guess that if you invest in a system and a behind the scenes team once for 15 clubs then you cut costs significantly against if you were investing individually. I think the sticking point is that clubs like Morton struggle to be profitable. It's a big gamble to think that a collection of such clubs might be profitable together (rather than a greater risk of loss). There's got to be easier ways of making money - unless the idea is to later sell the system at a higher level if they can show it's at all functional (there doesn't need to be a profit in this venture if the big return is actually from the one which follows on). In any case I think it comes down to what happens to the 35% stake in the club at a later point.

What's in it for them? We've seen a pitch to clubs in terms of how they might benefit, but we've not seen a pitch to their investors about what they might get back. The pitch reads like some sort of charity, helping football clubs, but it's a business. Where do they make their money? What they do with their share in the club if their business model doesn't work out. It's novel and untested, it might be solid or it might not be. From what I can see, it seems like less a financial investment than it is about access to their resources and expertise. Which might be absolutely fine, but what is it they want in return?

The thing that really impressed me on Saturday was the intensity with which we played. I don't think Shaw fits into that. Which doesn't mean he doesn't have a place. If we're looking for a goal and the other team is sitting back, then he has shown he has the ability to come one and create something or add a goal threat, but I do think his playing time will be very limited.

We knew this was coming. It would be interesting to know the actual order of events with regards to Laird, Dalrada, and Robinson - but there's an awful lot behind that scenes that they haven't wanted us to know about. Whether warranted or not, Robinson never garnered much good will from fans and others around the club.

You could look back at the signing announcements, for the ones who signed 'initial' one year deals. Moore and Taylor are the ones I can remember.

You'd hope so. It's not a high bar. But experience of being a Morton fan tells us that's there's always worse out there. 13/14 was a lesson in that. Let's hope we've signed a real gem, though. It would be nice to have nice things as a Morton fan.

With our first choice better backs injured at the moment, it was vital we got someone in. Hopefully he's one of those good loan signings that's really motivated to do well.

I mean, certainly looks like it could be Reuben Lopata-White.

Curtis Main* and a kid from a youth system down south would be academy the type of signings I would expect (as I said earlier). Neither are going to be ideal or particularly exciting, but realistically that's the position we're in. *Which is even a difficult one considering we're not going to be paying him what he's on at Ayr.

Most of the players we sign come from clubs like Dunfermline, Hamilton or ICT (i.e. we're pretty much the full time club of last resort). Or we take a risk on someone from down south who's struggling to get anything decent down there. The majority of the names I've seen this month seem wildly optimistic to me. We managed to pluck Owens out of a very peculiar situation, and initial signs there look alright. We might have to be giving some benefit of the doubt or do some mad googling on whoever we bring in, because it's far more likely to be someone like Owens than some it the other names we've seen on here.

Delaney's been outstanding today.

The Alan Forrest "rumour" on here was made up by the same person who made up that Barrie McKay was training with us in the summer. Given that he'll be on a wage at Hearts that would make up a substantial percentage of our entire budget, I don't see there being much chance that a player like that would land up here. And if there was a chance of it (and it being affordable) we'd be mad to turn that down on the basis of having too many others in a similar position, because (unless his fitness, at 29, has completely abandoned him) he's much better than all the other options (none of which having actually managed to nail down a warranted starting place in the team).

*deletes lengthy doom and gloom post*

To be fair, I had had the same thought but realised Delaney was probably the only option with the left foot (other than Longridge). Lyall just needed to get a bit more on it, but it's probably easier saying that when I'm not actually there and don't really know how exactly the wind's gusting.