Toby

Speaking of clusterfuck clubs that spend way over their means, is it just me that’s concerned about where the Queen’s Park game in September is going to be played? With Rangers having paid for the pitch to get sorted (so I hear, you never know with them) and the Nations League games coming up, that Hampden pitch will be getting plenty of use. And with Queen's using Lesser Hampden this Friday, while the pitch is ready for Rangers’ game at the National Stadium on Saturday, can we expect them to be bumped to Lesser for the foreseeable future? This, I accept would be the correct course of action, but we’d likely end up suffering as a result of Rangers’ failure to meet construction deadlines and Queen’s Park’s sabotage of their supposed new home. Rangers are away to Dundee United the weekend of the 14th September, when we’re due at Hampden, but I’m not sure that will be a contributing factor to allowing our game to be played at the big ground. I’d be watching this space for an update on that one.

I think it’s fair to say that while Dale may not be the next Warren Hawke of Dave McKinnon, the honeymoon period is over for him. Great with buzzwords and training modules for staff, but marketing errors like the other day, basics like vT has alluded to and unanswered emails are crosses on the report card.

Found another couple of quid down the back of the sofa, I see. Found another couple of quid down the back of the sofa, I see.

In other, more encouraging news, David Munro, who officiated our 3-2 defeat at Stark’s Park, awarding big-spending Raith Rovers that ludicrous penalty when Lewis Vaughan appeared to drop dead within four yards of Darragh O’Connor and booked eight Morton players but failed to send off Jack Hamilton for a second booking and Ross Millen for a flying elbow, has resigned from his position as an SFA referee. This is absolutely fantastic news for Scottish football as a whole. Genuinely the single worst referee ai’ve ever seen in all my time watching football, and I remember Brian Cassidy and Colin Hardie. Good riddance.

Todorov signing for Hamilton. https://x.com/theacciesfc/status/1814293884081463695?s=46&t=mPi-CBP2m1lKxRNMQCkJuA

To be fair, the Grimshaw rumour’s been doing the rounds for a while now- has he had any real game time in pre-season for them at all? And as I suggested the other week, his pay off at Tannadice should help bridge the gap in what Morton are capable of paying. Should also be noted that while Grimshaw sat on the bench on Tuesday night, it was young Miller Thomson who came off the bench to replace Strain when he picked up his injury. I can’t see any future for him there, regardless of Strain’s injury.

Awfully convenient that the fixture list only gives Queen’s Park one home fixture out of the first four before their scheduled return to Greater Hampden- a scenario not replicated for any other club in the division, and conveniently enough against Livingston, the club least likely to bring a large travelling support to their wee tissue box. This of course after last year having been scheduled to play three of their first four away from home (and actually playing four of their first five away as they shoehorned their midweek October fixture into the free Saturday that we played Rangers). Of course, their sole home fixture was against Arbroath, one of the two clubs (along with Inverness) least likely to bring a travelling support in last year’s division. While we were getting sent up to the back of beyond on the final day of the season year on year, there definitely seems to be a pattern emerging to benefit some clubs with the fixture list. “Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others”.

Agree with everything, but ultimately Haughey owns half of Hampden, and if he wants to let his little play thing stink the place out that’s entirely up to him, and with the power he has over the SFA, there’s very little they can do about it. The SFA should have told Queen’s Park to take or leave an offer that allowed them exclusive ownership of the ground. Had they walked away from the purchase and chosen to play Scotland games and big cup ties elsewhere they’d have killed off Queen’s Park, or driven the price down to the extent that Queen’s Park had no option.

Quite possibly the single most beige post in the history of the internet.

Since when did we have have to apply logic, consideration for a player acting in the best interests of himself and his family, how he was treated by Morton and the probability that he was offered better terms than another club when deciding whether a player is a rat or not? He signed for them. Guilty.

The £200k was based on a projected 8th placed finish, so I’d hope we do.

Aye, lifted from SPFL Mediawatch on Twitter, who’s generally quite good with facts and figures but is insufferable as soon as he gives his opinion on anything.

You’d think that fitting midweek fixtures in at times the weather is a bit more accommodating would be sensible- I suppose the main reasons not to have a midweek round in say, August would be some clubs still being involved in the League Cup so de-cluttering the fixture list early on, while arranging a midweek round later than February could see a backlog with if we have a bad winter and every midweek is needed, though that hasn’t really been the case in recent years. September and October are months that national associations are generally at the whim of UEFA because of the international calendar, but we do look to have suffered more than others this time around with one of the three available Saturdays at home in September and then one of the October home games being the midweek slot. They couldn’t give us Arbroath, Cove or Inverness away on the final Friday though, so they’ve go to do something to fuck us off.

I’d say so, yes. There’s nothing to really stop them. The Fridge Mhagnate paid for half of Hampden when the SFA bought it from Queen’s Park so has the governing body over a barrel, and the SPFL aren’t going to rock the boat with the SFA. The game changer might come when he eventually gets bored, as he has done in the past with clubs he’s been involved in, and that may be accelerated by relegation, but for the time being, we’re stuck with this.

Of course, aye. 31st August is a notable date for a fixture between Morton and Falkirk.

When do Queen’s Park return to the national stadium after concert season? 14th September should be reasonable time for their return, but there could be a ticket scramble otherwise.

I’m generally quite comfortable that when a story comes from Scott Burns it’s a done deal, but with big-spending Raith Rovers having offered him a new deal, and given how they like to throw money around he wouldn’t have been offered less than he was already on, it’s surprising that we could be signing a boy of his age when there could be a potential fee involved.

I don’t think Grimshaw signing is totally out of the question tbh. I remember after winning the league in 2015, a few folk questioned the wisdom of signing Peaso on an 18 month deal and SpoonTon (I think) made the point that while he was only really signed to do a job in League One, giving him an extended deal was the only way we’d attract him and the extra year’s wages was a hit worth taking. Never saw Grimshaw as a long-term signing for them either, but with if they’ve taken a similar approach, we could be the beneficiaries.

I can’t be bothered checking back, but did he not just tell some fanny in a DM that his contract offer was shite, and that guy shared it online? He wouldn’t be the first or the last in the world to complain about being offered shite money by his work, I’d say the guy he trusted with that information deserves far more condemnation than Strapp on that one.

I generally accept it’s a done deal as soon as I see Scott Burns’ name attached to one of these rumours with the Record. Given that he’s revealing this one and retweeting the Ballantyne story, that’s quite encouraging (in that Strapp going to Finland is the lesser of two evils).

Partick have announce that Jack McMillan’s off, so I assume Ballantyne will be the natural replacement. Onto Plan P or Q by now, then.

Efe Ambrose signs for Bury.

Watched the Junior Cup final this afternoon. A few things to note. Dylan Dykes was playing for Arthurlie, good to see him playing at a decent level after his cancer diagnosis. Ross Caldwell’s cross provided Darvel’s winner. Colin Reilly, who broke Sean O’Connor’s leg in that infamous Challenge Cup game in 2002 is Arthurlie’s manager. I quite liked him in the brief time he was at Morton. It must be about 15 years since we last played at Broadwood, and there’s not much chance we’ll be there anytime soon. Good, I don’t miss it. That John Gall, Darvel’s money man, is a bit of a helmet.

Shimmin’s probably the one whose behaviour was closest to Bachirou’s if the rumours were to be believed. Nowhere to be seen because of mysterious injuries before declaring himself fit and raring to go as we were pulled out the hat with Celtic in the Scottish Cup. That said, nobody’s looking back too fondly on the “part time ‘baller, full time rocker’s” Morton career or in any mood to welcome him back with open arms, so his legacy with the majority of the support is very much in line with Bachirou’s is with the more learned among us.

You’re the one resorting to personal jibes on a debate about the merits of footballers’ alleged misdemeanours, this retort isn’t quite the comeback you think it is. If you don’t have a strong enough argument that you’re forced down this route, quietly walking away and hoping you get it right next time would probably be the best approach.