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Toby

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  1. Following on from the comments on the match thread yesterday, I feel it merits a thread on it's own to discuss travelling away in this division- an experience that's proving more and more miserable with every passing season, and I feel every club, including and perhaps especially ourselves should be looked at for their merits or lack of. I expect someone (probably a Partick fan) will stumble across this and say how dare a Morton fan complain about other clubs' facilities, but we're paying customer's and not responsible for our club's failings, although by challenging them, we can hopefully see an improvement for all. Let's be honest, Cappielow's looked upon as perhaps the worst away game of the 42 in Scotland, and whilst I enjoy seeing away fans out in the pissing rain in the Wee Dublin End, or whining about the lack of legroom in the main stand, we should really be looking at alternatives to make going to football an experience that's actually worth the £22 you pay into Cappielow. So, with no further ado, the ten clubs in our division: Airdrie We haven't visited Airdrie since the glorious decima-winning season that will go down in folklore of course, and are due to visit in a fortnight. A soulless stadium that is a product of it's time, but not lacking in the basic facilities with decent bogs and catering and a passable bar inside the ground IIRC. It perhaps needs a bit of TLC, but nothing to really complain about. Given that it's been eight years, I'll update in two weeks time. Arbroath My motivation for starting this topic, and a real sad state of affairs. When Arbroath were promoted in 2019 I was buzzing. I had fond memories of visits from years gone by, and for a day out, it really is the best away day in the country. Train up, arrive at the train station at the top of the town and stop by some of the many delectable hostelries en route to the ground, with special mentions for the Foundry (now deceased but doing a Rangers in time for our return in April) and the Tutties, which, as a football ground pub, pisses all over the Norseman. But arriving in the ground to get greeted with that nonsense yesterday was ridiculous. What was (and still is) a charming ground, ruined by segregation policies after a few years above what was their natural level. There never used to be any segregation at Gayfield, and not a hint of trouble. Why now? You of course had the option of avoiding the rain by shoehorning everyone into the stand akin to Cappielow's at what was advertised at an extra £2. I'll also add that Morton advertised ground admission was £20 but when purchasing a ticket online we were asked to pay £21, but that could be Morton's mistake. But the explanation that it was to allow home fans behind the goal they would be attacking in the second half just goes to show the complete disregard away fans were treated with. The attitude of the head steward to the complaints of the fans was also poor- acting like a school master disciplining unruly kids when in actual fact he was paid to make the experience as pleasant as it could be for paying customers. When they did eventually relent 20 minutes into the game, I got the impression they expected some form of gratitude for giving us the bare minimum of a bit of shelter when we'd already been soaked for 20-30 minutes anyway. Catering's good, although I didn't find any black pudding in my pie yesterday. The steak and black pudding pies from a few years ago were much better. Ayr United Another product of it's time, but in a very different way to Airdrie. The shallow terrace at Ayr doesn't make for the best views, but it's not bad. A comfortable terrace that allows for a decent atmosphere to be created, although I await to see if away fans will be catered for anywhere in their new stand. I've not bought anything to eat at their ground in years, but my memory of it was that it was a bit overpriced. I'd probably have more against them if we were restricted to one end of the stand and the wee enclosure at the front like some smaller supports get, but it's not bad at all. Toilets are of course, very poor. The first club to introduce e-tickets at this level, which was quite widely criticised at the time, but has become the norm and works pretty well. It would be nice to be allowed into Cameron's Bar, but you can't have everything. Dundee United A really crap experience when we visited earlier in the season, which I believe I commented on at the time. First of all, the most expensive ground in the division, perhaps unsurprisingly, but there are other elements that made this such a shite awayday. The week we visited, United made a bit of a thing about improving the atmosphere at Tannadice, while simultaneously indicating to Morton that nobody would be allowed in the away end with a drum. Now, I'm far too old to be indulging in any of that myself, but if the young team like it, why spoil their fun? Does it really provide a competitive advantage to do that? Or are they just being arseholes? The catering and toilets were also crap. One tiny hut which provided a far more limited menu than that for the home fans (going by my United supporting mates' experiences) and is difficult to get to get away from once served as you're squeezing past those still queuing. It's a similar scenario with the bogs, which are basically in a dungeon with one way in and out, and no hand drier, so once they run out of paper towels, you're fucked/ Opening one section is also something that seems exclusive to away fans in Scotland. We didn't take many to Tannadice that day, but why shoehorn them all into one section when home crowds, even if sparse, can sit wherever they like? Does it save that much on stewarding and cleaning costs? Decent pubs around the ground though, Dundee's generally a pretty good day out if you don't bother going to the game. Dunfermline Dunfermline's inconsistent. Fine when you're behind the goal, often only get a couple of sections, but it's never that much of a problem. I don't like it so much when they put us in the main stand, but it's not the end of the world, and the season we had a section of the stand on the graveyard side of the ground I felt was fantastic. I wish they'd put us there all the time. The catering, specifically Stephen's steak bridies are outstanding, and there's no really issues with buying tickets online or the toilet facilities. Used to be a pain in the arse waiting in a long queue to buy a physical ticket outside the ground, but we've moved on from that. Downsides are that it involves visiting Fife, which is never one for the bucket list, and the bar at the ground. On occasion you might get into a separate bar in the main stand if it suits them- otherwise it's a covert operation to get in. Similar policy to Dundee United with the drum- someone call the Fun Police. Probably the best in the division all told, though. Inverness Crap. The novelty about visiting that place has well-and-truly worn off in the years since they were admitted to the league. There's often a disdain from police and stewards towards away fans on arrival, based on the assumption that they're all hammered after the long journey. I've often seen guys looking a bit jolly getting knocked back just out of nastiness. Very much like bouncers knocking back teenagers from nightclubs just to satisfy their egos. I get that if folk are hammered then you've got to draw the line, but a more common sense approach could have been used a number of times. Admittedly at the 0-5 defeat in August 2019 there, our behaviour was pretty dreadful, but it could've been helped by not having such an antagonistic approach in the first place to folk wanting to stand that the back of the stand without blocking anyone's views. In the game early last season, my mates and I stood at the wee area between the stand and the catering/toilet area (not too dissimilar to the bit at Somerset Park) before kick off and were shepherded into the stand for kick off because "it's an all seater stadium). On a beautiful day, with less than 100 Morton fans there, why force them into a stand when they could enjoy a bit of sunshine while watching the game? Added to that, every seat in the stand was filthy anyway. Eventually they relented like yesterday, but they're just making their own problems in the first place. Toilets and catering aren't anything to write home about- pretty basic, but no real complaints on that front. Morton We have to do much better. There's certain things I can't comment on, such as catering and toilets in the away end of course, but we know about the problems with the main stand and legroom, a legacy from the Hugh Scott era. Legroom's a common complaint with most away fans, but it always seems like Raith in particular, probably because they're regular visitors who rarely get any other sections opened. I much enjoyed seeing the Partick fans moaning about the puddles in the Wee Dublin End when we beat then in November last year, but let's be honest, it's poor. It wasn't uncommon about 10 years or so back to see away fans getting a section of the Cowshed, and there are clearly still provisions that allow it. Much as it's easy to stick two fingers up to the away fans and tell them to pay up and shut up, we need to get our own house in order. I'm not asking for millions to be spent in order to bring the place up to the lap of luxury, or even offer the best facilities in this league, but if Morton expect our own fans to be well treated on the road, we have to up our game. We can't of course ignore our stewards- a constant problem for home fans and they don't carry a good reputation amongst our visitors. It was a good laugh from the Cowshed seeing them battling with presumably pissed up Bo'ness fans, but have any of us stopped to ask what their role in the disorder was? They may not have been at fault at all, but there's enough history to suggest that they might not have been completely innocent in that carry on. Hopefully with the land that's been bought and excavated, there'll be some form of club facility opening in the no-too-distant future, which will allow away fans in, unlike at Somerset Park, but for now of course, we can't include the Norseman as a positive for any visitors. Only positive I can give us is ease of ticketing purchase through Fanbase, but this is only a recent development. And even still, advertising all away tickets for the Wee Dublin End, even when away fans are being housed in the stand has caused confusion, and can put folk off when the forecast is rain. A lot of work to be done. Partick A bit of a mixed bag. While the fans of the two clubs clearly don't get on, I suspect it extends beyond that to boardroom level. Considering Partick are blessed with fairly plentiful modern facilities (down to their own efforts it has to be added) there's no real need to house away fans in a crumbling old relic of a stand such as their main stand when the crowd is projected at 3-4000. Why do that other than a GIRUY? If our away away end toilets are as bad as theirs then we've got a hell of a lot of work to do. And I'm still not sure what would happen in there in the event of a fire. Moving us from one side of the stand to the other a month ago was another strange one. Why move the away fans to a section that's got a more restricted view than they had in the section you've now left empty? Perhaps that'll change after the fallout from Brian Graham's red card. I believe it's the same caterers (Pie Sports) that we use, but with slightly more variety, and that away fans are allowed into the Aitken Suite, but can't comment on either really, given that I refuse to give them a penny more than my admission. Obviously relatively easy access for anyone via public transport and plenty of amenities around it in terms of pubs etc. Pity you often see Partick fans in said pubs. Queen's Park Anyone who was stuck in Greenock with the flooding that day should count their blessings- grim. Hampden gets a hard press at the best of times, and they shouldn't even be allowed to play there, but that was piss. First of all, I'm in no doubt that until the Telegraph kicked up a stink, they were quite happy to sit back and tell everyone tough luck, the tickets were non-refundable. Add to that the airport-style security scanning every single person as they go into the ground was way over the top, and in normal circumstances (i.e. when most of our support couldn't get out their street, never mind to the game) would cause massive delays getting into a ground that is 1/50th full. Can't really complain about the facilities, although it is the main stand of the national stadium, so it should be good. Catering was ridiculously overpriced- I took one look at the menu boards and walked away out of principle. Like Firhill, easy enough to get to and plenty amenities around it of course. Raith Rovers Another ground that's a product of it's time and is a vacuum for atmosphere. No real issue with any of the facilities. Bogs and catering are fine, similar to behind the goal at Dunfermline in that you get a couple of sections but aren't really shoehorned, but I just find it totally soulless. Can't complain about buying a ticket through Fanbase, and the Novar Bar a couple of streets away is a gem of a pub. The atmosphere's probably improved this season as the locals come crawling out the woodwork with their good form, so that's maybe not a relevant criticism anymore. Whilst we're fortunate enough to always get the stand behind the goal, I've seen examples of smaller supports getting put in that bizarre main stand, which must be really bad. Also, you've got to go to Fife. Anyone else got anything to add? I'd like to think that, as a fan-owned club, we can lean on MCT and Morton ensure repeats of yesterday's nonsense don’t happen, and that we can look at our own failings in order to find ways to improve. Capitanus made a point to me years ago that people in this country all have their consumer rights until they either enter a football ground or a licenced premises. I'd include public transport in that since he made that comment. A real grim state of a affairs, that shouldn't be allowed to happen, but I suspect will only get worse, as I don't think that nonsense legislation that was proposed a few months ago not to be slightly amended and rear it's ugly head again.
  2. No, you’ve deliberately avoided my point about Imrie giving youth it’s opportunity on a number of occasions now- specifically when I cited the examples on Davidson and Keay being given debuts prior to your “boycott”, which you claim to have called a halt to following the introduction of O’Boy. The debuts of the two former completely contradict your “point” about Imrie having no regard for the club’s young players, yet at every opportunity, you’ve slithered around the subject, crediting him for his recent introduction of O’Boy, but avoiding the subject of Davidson and Keay. I don’t think it’s too arrogant of me to suggest that I’m pretty prominent and well known on here- most folk know that if I’ve got a point I’ll argue it until I’m blue in the face- if you genuinely think that I’m going to let the subject of Davidson and Keay’s debut’s slide then you must think I’m fucking stupid. It’s difficult to reach any other conclusion. As for Strapp- I haven’t mentioned him at any point since he re-signed for the club, and don’t recall mentioning his relationship with Imrie at any point, and certainly not in any detail, in the past. Again, you’re changing the subject to something you feel more comfortable with, rather than addressing my original points about the two debutants prior to O’Boy. Strapp and Imrie may well have a difficult relationship- there’s been enough talk about it on here and on the terraces that we’d all be stupid to think there’s no smoke without fire. But guess what? That happens in every working environment. I know I’ve not always gotten on with every boss or colleague I’ve had in the past, and given how you clearly find it difficult to admit you’re wrong, I suspect the same is the case with yourself. You note that, like vikingTON, I seem to deal in extremes. Then ask if I feel the return of Strapp means that Imrie has an inherent passion for our academy scheme. The two don’t have to be, and let’s be honest, aren’t related. The only person dealing in extremes here is yourself- what is likely the case is that Imrie would like to blood young players into the squad, and has taken a cautious approach (sometimes too cautious in the case of McGrattan in particular) into balancing their development with the immediate need to win football matches. The return of Strapp doesn’t mean that Imrie is now a passionate advocate for blooding kids through our academy, much like his departure in June doesn’t mean that Imrie had a downright disdain for every kid that came through the ranks at Morton. The answer is likely somewhere in the middle, as most of the learned posters on here will understand and accept. Remember though, that the two guys you’re accusing of dealing in extremes didn’t publicly announce boycotts from matches because they were upset with the manager’s selection policy.
  3. No, he had given kids their opportunities prior to your temper tantrum. You know that as well as I do, and no matter how much you try to avoid addressing the fact that you boycotted on account of Imrie not giving kids a chance in spite of him already having debuted Davidson and Keay before you decided to stamp your feet and spit the dummy, it won’t just go away. Imrie hasn’t acknowledged he was out of step at all- he was giving youth their chance anyway and has gone onto give another young lad a chance in recent weeks. But you know that anyway.
  4. You stated that you’d be boycotting Cappielow as a result of Imrie’s refusal to give young players a chance, in spite of two (now three) young boys from the academy having been given first team experience over the last few months. That’s not points being dismissed without proper analysis, it’s points being met with cold, hard facts that contradict what you’re saying. I've not just imagined Imrie giving these young lads a chance in order to beat you in an argument on the internet, it’s actually happened, and you’ve continued to ignore this in spite of a number of promptings from me to address it.
  5. With an insufferable habit of trolling, throwing temper tantrums over made-up injustices about the manager’s selection policy and a tendency to completely avoid the subject when challenged on the grounds for your ridiculous opinion/boycott/tantrum, more like.
  6. Wouldn’t go down the route of telling any Morton fan to stay away from Cappielow- the last person I remember trying that one was Neil Cannon. Don’t lower yourself to that cretin’s level- you’re much, much better than that. That said, when I saw this thread had been started I did shake my head. Rather than shooting DreamOakTree down for being the complete fool we all know he is, it was only ever going to give him validation in his own tiny little mind because it appeared someone had been so irked into starting a separate thread to challenge his words of wisdom. Suppose I’m as daft for replying to him too, so he must at least be a relatively effective troll, if nothing else.
  7. You’ve completely ignored the point I made about him already giving both Matthew Davidson and Cameron Keay game time before this ridiculous temper tantrum, you insufferable tit.
  8. The absolute fucking nick of this… https://x.com/partickthistle/status/1730527162468327803?s=46&t=mPi-CBP2m1lKxRNMQCkJuA
  9. Given that Wilson was allowed to play against Bo’ness though, I doubt Queen of the South have any plans to recall him.
  10. He had already introduced Davidson and Keay to the squad and given them game time before your nonsensical boycott, grow up.
  11. Aye, I hate it when clubs slightly higher up the food chain expect to roll us over. We’ll rightly be going in as favourites, but a team at the arse end of the Championship has no right to expect to bludgeon their way past one of League One’s better teams.
  12. Terrific to see DreamOakTree trying to slaughter Imrie for his attitude to the club’s young players, only for him to bring on a young debutant and see him bag his first goal on said debut. Feeling like a complete fanny yet?
  13. Just tried it there now you mentioned it. My payment went through fine and I got my ticket no problem. I did get an email asking me to verify my email address, but that was the only difference from the norm.
  14. Full time, Luncarty 0-1 Bo’ness United. Went to the game to get another ground ticked off, and because we had a vested interest. I wasn’t impressed with either, although Bo’ness’s extra quality showed in the end. Bo’ness started well and could have been about 3 up after half an hour or so but gradually Luncarty grew into the game and gave as good as they got for most of the latter period of the first half and long spells of the second half, before Bo’ness finally got their goal with about 15 minutes to go. A minute later, Luncarty got a player sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity after being caught on the half way line and the game was gone. In spite of our troubles, we should be taking care of them with minimum fuss.
  15. A point of note ahead of tonight’s game- I hope we’ve denied Clyde permission to include Alex King in their squad.
  16. I saw both Bo’ness and Luncarty last season. Obviously things will have moved on but Luncarty were a horrible mob. It was last Christmas I saw Bo’ness beat Cowdenbeath 3-1 which was great because, Cowdenbeath. It was courtesy of a hat trick from a boy that’s since moved onto Tranent though, but they’re currently sitting 5th in the Lowland League and I expect them to get through the tie with a bit to spare. Later on in the season I saw Luncarty lose 4-3 at Newtongrange Star and they made Airdrie c.1991 look like a Sunday School picnic. How the Raith fans would put up with playing a team like that after their whining about us earlier in the season would be worth seeing. As well as kicking Newtongrange about the Park, their intimidation of the referee (who only had officials from each club as his assistants was quite a throwback. Not often I take something so memorable from a game that I’m not too concerned about the result of, but whenever I see Luncarty’s name mentioned, my immediate thought is “gang. Apparently if we’d got Luncarty away it would have been moved to St. Johnstone (citation needed) which would have been proper shite, so maybe a good thing it’s at home, although Newton Park for Bo’ness would have been great. Very much a hills-have-eyes sort of a town.
  17. Bo'ness or Luncarty at home. Straight forward, pity it's at Cappielow though.
  18. It's that time of year when Morton's interest in the greatest competition in sport begins, with the draw for the third round of the tournament taking place at 7.30pm on the Scottish cup's YouTube channel. We join the other nine Championship clubs and the ten League One clubs as third round entrants, with the following clubs from below still involved: SPFL League Two Bonnyrigg Rose, Dumbarton, Forfar Athletic, Peterhead, Stranraer, The Spartans Highland League Brora Rangers, Buckie Thistle, Formartine United Lowland League Albion Rovers, Broomhill, Cowdenbeath, Tranent East of Scotland Premier Division Broxburn Athletic, Dunbar United, Jeanfield Swifts West of Scotland Premier Division Cumnock Juniors, Pollok Incomplete ties Luncarty (EOS Prem) v Bo'ness United (LL) Postponed from yesterday, to be played on 4/11/23 Musselburgh Athletic (EOS Prem) v Clyde (L2) BBC Scotland Channel, to be played tomorrow. I would doubt I'm in the minority when I say an away trip to an unfamiliar venue would be nice. Nobody in the Championship or League One for me. I know some won't have been to Edinburgh City, but it's really shite. Of the SPFL clubs, only Bonnyrigg away is enticing IMHO. I've visited before but would quite like to see Morton there. Any of the Highland League clubs would be acceptable, although personally I'd prefer Formartine, having visited the other two. Pity the dream of Wick Academy will have to wait another year. Only Tranent appeals in the Lowland, with two ex-league clubs and a circus act playing out of Dumbarton still involved. Foresters Park is a nice, well kept wee ground which is well worth a visit. Bo’ness, who should get past Luncarty could be quite tasty though- a strange wee town with a support that might not be the most welcoming, and a ground that could provide a decent atmosphere for a game against a club like ourselves. Anything in the East of Scotland League would be fine, Broxburn's quite an open ground which would have no capacity issues, and I really fancy visiting Musselburgh, should they take care of Clyde. No idea of what Jeanfield (from Perth), Luncarty or Dunbar are like to visit. Cumnock would be a good awayday- similar standard to Beith, but a much better ground, although an artificial pitch. Pollok would have capacity issues for a visit from Morton. Anyone else got any preferences? No doubt having looked at these mouth watering possibilities we'll end up with Raith or Dumbarton away.
  19. Brian McLean emptied by Lowland League-bound nomads, “Clyde”.
  20. There’s probably more chance that it’s a fuck up on behalf of whatever marketing agency the club have commissioned to design the anniversary badge/range of products. It could be argued the club should have audited it, but have acted in good faith and are now facing fans’ criticism as a result of someone else’s failings.
  21. Aye, but when someone’s the first to spot something they have to make it known how clever they are. I’ll be like a kid in a sweetie shop. I’m a total mug for a pin badge so I’ll be getting them, and no reason not to get a couple of new key rings a tankard and a whiskey glass, even though I don’t drink spirits. I’m going over to Seville for the game next week so the shorts should hopefully do a sufficient job of pissing off the “no club colours on tour” element of the Scotland support.
  22. The smarmy tone of the guy who pulled it up on Twitter’s annoying me far more.
  23. Would you not have to go to games to boo?
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