dunning1874

That's optimistic. I was fully expecting a relegation battle this season and thought we were clear favourites for 10th, but at this rate there isn't going to be a battle. We'll just be meekly disappearing with any prospect of staying up realistically gone with months left of the season. We aren't 13/14 bad to the extent that we'll be completely outclassed in the majority of our games and take several pumpings, but rarely losing by more than one isn't going to be much consolation if we never turn staying competitive in games into points. A classic Alloa style relegation where you just aren't quite good enough to grind out points rather than a typical Morton or Raith style clusterfuck where you capitulate in a humiliating fashion is what everything's pointing towards at the moment, and when you ask what can be done to get out of that the number of answers which involve MacPherson being in charge is diminishing weekly. If this becomes five, six, seven defeats or even winless games in a row, his position is going to be untenable very soon. This is his squad, he staked the season on holding out for signings towards the end of the window and now the players he wanted are here. If he can't start getting results with them now the obvious way out of this will be to find a manager who can.

There've been no Scotrail services to Montrose on Sundays for weeks, so moving it to the Sunday would inconvenience more people than the clash with the Scotland game does.

It's in their rules that two directors stand down every year to keep the board fresh and give more members an opportunity to stand.

Oksanen and Allan both looked like they could have something about them, Oksanen more than Allan with some very neat touches and good passes. They were really off the pace though, Oksanen in particular as cheaply losing possession in the build up to his yellow card showed. We just have to hope that's a thing that's going to sort itself out with games as they get sharper, because we're gubbed if these signings don't work out. It's a big concern that even with those new signings added to the squad, it only takes two starters being out in Jacobs and Ugwu for Muirhead to be in the starting XI. There's no justification barring a major injury crisis for him to get on the park at this point: he had his chance at the start of the season when we were down to the bare bones and shown he isn't close to being up to it against Championship opposition. Whether as a winger or centre forward he's now the sixth choice at best in either position. Also a concern that sometimes when the team were holding a shape Blues (another player who got a chance due to a tiny squad and has failed to justify continuing to start) was sitting in behind a bank of four as if he was the proper holding player and Oksanen ahead of him, exactly as has happened with Jacobs already this season. If he's going to persist with Blues as a holding midfielder, continue trying to turn Jacobs into a box to box midfielder which he clearly isn't and possibly also carry on with Oliver in a deeper role which he clearly isn't up to defensively, then we are going to be overrun in the middle of the park more often than not.

There's nothing wrong with an approach of trying to shitfest clean sheets and hit on the break, but it's only going to work if you're defensively competent. We did succeed in dragging Kilmarnock down to our level, turning the game into a scrap for large spells and creating chances on the counter attack, but if you concede cheap goals from crosses every week that gameplan isn't going to return many points. It was obviously considerably better than Firhill, but our defensive organisation needs to improve drastically if we're going to turn this around.

Strapp's asleep there, twice this season he's switched off at that back post. Ledger and Oliver need to do better as well. Just the two five yard attempts to control the ball from Blues setting up that attack in the first place.

Pleased that's out the way and we can look forward to a proper cup tie against a real team in the next round, and as a bonus also in a proper stadium rather than that shitehole.

Ah I hadn't watched that yet. Would expect to see the three I mentioned above and maybe Garrity & Hynes getting a shot as well then. Aye, I was meaning for fans but completely failed to make that clear.

I'll not be attending as the B sides are an abomination, but I still want us to win the tournament and I'll be there for any ties against real teams. With the winner of this playing the winner of Montrose v Stirling we've got a very good chance of our first trip to Montrose in 18 years as well. This could be a chance to give some players in need of starts like Lyon, McGrattan and Knowles a run out while still sending a team out to win the game, but with the number of signings we've made I'd probably want the strongest team possible so Oksanen, Allan and Reilly are getting a game to gel with the players they'll be alongside against Kilmarnock. That still leaves a place for one of Lyon and McGrattan I suppose.

Now the window's closed, comparing the turnover of the squad McAdams & Butler out; Hamilton in McGinty & Fjortoft out; Lithgow & McEntee in McGinn, Millar, Omar & Colville out; Oksanen in McGuffie, Nesbitt and Johnson out; Russell and Allan in Salkeld, Orsi, Sterling and Wallace out; Ugwu, Reilly and Knowles in When you look at that you see just how much deadwood we've shifted and the lack of depth in central midfield is the only place where we're obviously weaker. Happy to have been completely proven wrong by Hamilton's performances so far. How good we're going to be out wide is an unknown at this point, but I'm happy enough with the squad for all I'd like one more central midfield option. Not to get too hung up on formation, but I could see a variation on the set up of the playoffs like this: Hamilton Ledger - Lithgow - McEntee - Strapp Jacobs - ??? - Oksanen Allan Ugwu - Reilly I've gone for Allan in behind the front two with freedom to roam rather than being on the right of a conventional 4-3-3 as I don't really see Reilly playing on the left, but you can see we've got flexibility now to change that to a few different systems. Could put Russell or McGregor in on the left with Allan dropping back to the right in a four, take one of the forwards out and have a 4-2-3-1, etc. I reckon ten of that team pretty much picks itself at the moment, it's just the question of which of Lyon, McGrattan, Blues, Russell or Oliver is in there with them.

While you only have to look at Hartley's Falkirk to see that signings of this type don't always pay off, that's been a good day of business in terms of the positions we've added to, and in our place in the pecking order these are gambles that have to be taken. If you use your whole budget on known quantity journeymen you aren't going to find any hidden gems and will get mediocrity at best, this approach might bring us players of a higher calibre. With the caveat that these guys are unproven at this level, at the start of the day if you were asked to pick a best XI it'd be extremely difficult because we just didn't have enough credible midfield options to make any formation work. Now if these signings can hold down a place in the starting XI, we can fling together different variations of 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 4-5-1. I still think we could have done with a creative central option as well but we actually have a bit of tactical flexibility now.

Again someone I'd never heard of until this announcement, but that's a pretty decent background for a player coming to this level and a holding midfielder was the most badly needed addition to the squad. Get a creative midfielder in too and this day has actually gone quite well. Even if it doesn't go through tonight we could still get someone from Scotland in over the next few days to give them a decent bit of time training with the squad before the Kilmarnock game.

I know nothing about him - someone coming from that level could stroll this division or be another Ruben Sammut - but pleased to see the defence complete. Confirmation that Ledger will be staying at right back you'd imagine. I see the Ireland under-21 squad he's in are playing Bosnia away and they're on the amber list, but I assume under-21 internationals are covered by the elite sport exemption meaning he'll be able to go straight into training when he gets here rather than isolating.

I could see nothing happening today tbh. Maybe I'm reading something into nothing, but the reminder in the MCT update that domestic loans are still possible throughout September suggests we might be bringing in loans after Premiership clubs have their squads settled today.

How do you propose we get to the position where things improve at the club if we all clap like seals to avoid being accused of "bitching and moaning", rather than constructively pointing out where mistakes are being made?

That's Reilly confirmed: https://www.gmfc.net/gavin-reilly-completes-cappielow-loan-move/

Massive couple of days coming up. If Reilly gets confirmed that'll give us some competent centre forward options, ie enough to keep Muirhead out the team even with a couple missing. However more quality up front isn't going to mean much if the ball is never reaching them due to the midfield being overrun while we need to score four every week because we concede from every other corner. We still need more defensive depth, preferably a right back to allow us to move Ledger inside, some width in midfield and a couple of central midfielders. I don't see us getting any more than two of those with the way MacPherson's talking and the great success of his holding out for targets strategy so far. I can only hope he was deliberately talking shite for some reason or other when he said he's happy with our midfield options, as central midfield remains the obvious glaring weakness in the team. You can get away with a lack of wide options by playing a narrow midfield (which is why it'd be nice if the extra defensive depth could be a so easy to find attacking right back who's also competent defensively), but we have no credible alternative to Jacobs in holding midfield, who is himself looking like a shadow of the player he's been the last two seasons through being played in a box to box role that he clearly isn't suited to accommodate Blues in the holding role. While Oliver has had some good games this season, we simply can't depend on him defensively playing this deep - it's too easy for the opposition to take control of the midfield with him in there and managers have already sussed that out before the end of August. If he’s playing it should be further up the park where his defensive responsibility is pressing the opposition defence rather than getting into midfield scraps. That leaves Lyon, out of form and favour under our last three managers, and McGrattan, 9 appearances for us and a loan spell in the Lowland League his only experience, as the creative central options. Two central midfielders are therefore essential. Ideally you'd get a couple of wide options as well, as I still have no idea if Russell can actually play there at this level and McGregor, while he clearly has something about him, isn't ready to be starting games in the Championship. It could do more harm than good for a 17 year old's development to fling him into the pressure of a relegation battle. If it's either or then the central midfielders come first though. You can survive the lack of wide options for all it would leave us with an imbalanced squad, but we will not stay in this division with the central midfield as it is.

Goes without saying that it was an absolutely vile chant. You almost have to be in awe of anyone thick enough to put their name to defending it on twitter.

Yeah, I've got no problem with having only one senior goalkeeper at the club. The issue last season was not even including Wylie on the bench, provided he remains available we're fine for goalkeepers and can bring an emergency loan in if required. We can't go wasting a wage on another goalkeeper when we need so many additions elsewhere in the squad.

Reilly would be a very good signing and would ease our dependence on Ugwu's hold up play needing to work for us to have anything approaching a functioning attack. It's the central midfield signings, or lack of, that'll be the difference between 10th and 8th though.

The numbers they had created a difficult situation, but he had to come across and commit to the ball at least 10 yards further up the park than he did. That does not look over the line from the stream

One of those outfielders being a 16 year old who is actually on the park. But we don't need more midfielders apparently.

What the fuck was Lithgow playing at for the third? There's been absolutely appalling defending for all five goals we've conceded in the league so far.

I'd guess it's Strapp on the left of a back three with Russell and Hynes as wing backs.

You are incapable of removing yourself from the perspective of a die hard who (like everyone on this forum) spends more time than most people thinking about Morton, and looking at things from the perspective of casual fans who don't care half as much but might be tempted to attend if it's made easy for them and the details are readily available. If those people have to put more than the minimal amount of effort in (eg taking one quick look at the website, twitter or facebook) they just won't bother, and I'll be surprised if that isn't reflected in the attendance today.