EanieMeany

Quite. Again, my argument here isn’t that Waters would be a bad or unreliable option, I’ve said before I’d be happy enough if he’s here next season; it’s only that I wouldn’t be in a particular rush to secure his signature at this juncture. If that’s how it is and he’ll be signing on, then so be it, the position won’t be a cause for concern with him in it; if it’s not him then chances are somebody comparable or better might come up. I don’t think it’s an outlandish suggestion that that could be the case as again, Waters is here because he’s what was available at the start of February - a time when options are limited - when we were forced into getting somebody in, and I’m not sure he’s been so impressive that he merits moving quickly for, and certainly not so much that punting Strapp for him is justifiable; it’s entirely possible that other, better options could present themselves over time rather than rushing into signing Waters up, and also unlikely that there’s going to be a huge queue of more illustrious suitors after him that would force your hand on the issue.

I wouldn’t be opposed to Waters being here next season by any means, to be clear, he’s an alright full-back; I just don’t necessarily think he’s shown that much quality or contributed so significantly to the team that it would be essential to get him signed up early, even without considering the comparison to Strapp. It won’t be bad news if he does indeed get kept on, by any means. With Strapp in mind though, we’re letting a much, much better player go without as much as a token offer for reasons that aren’t at all clear and (if Waters has indeed been provisionally offered a deal), don’t seem to be fully assessing the options to ensure the downgrade is as minimal as possible (Waters was a shrewd acquisition but he was also the available option when we were forced into bringing somebody in), and it’s also worth bearing in mind the right-back is almost certainly going to be a big step down from Grimshaw. It was always likely both he and Strapp would leave, of course, and that the replacements would be lesser players, but that just makes it all the more important you get the best replacements given how important those two were, and the authority they carry on the pitch and exert upon opponents. Again, Waters isn’t a bad player by any means, but good enough when we’ll also be without Grimshaw’s presence on the other side? If the right-back was the same level as him? I’m not so sure about that, but only time will tell.

Agreed on the first part, and to be honest I'm not sure Waters is quite good enough that his signing should be rushed into, especially when we're apparently just casting Strapp off. We could get worse, for sure, but I don't think it'd be impossible to get somebody a bit better. Either way, no point dwelling too much on it in this thread for now, we'll see what happens over the summer. Can't agree on the second part though. If we were in the same league as St Mirren then aye, maybe the Renfrewshire Cup games wouldn't be entirely necessary, but when we're not then I think they should definitely be played: they're far more interesting than some plodding friendly, they give a wee bit of a competitive edge ahead of the season starting and are a good way to get new players in tune with the club. It's also an extra few bob in ticket money, which ain't to be sniffed at. Derbies are so much better when there's hate figures and pantomime villains on both sides too, so annual meetings would allow them to develop a wee bit and help keep the rivalry fresh (especially for younger fans) rather than just something that used to happen. We still remember the likes of the Maisano brothers at Love Street, Reece Hands scream at their new dive, or Cham having an out-of-body experience as a footballer there too; I doubt many people can even remember who we've played in pre-season in recent years never mind specific moments like the ones there's been against St. Mirren. It's a no-brainer to reintroduce the Renfrewshire Cup, imo, and it's overdue.

There’s actually been some really smart Joma kits recently (their Villarreal centenary strip is an absolute beauty and would make a great Morton away one), so I’m more optimistic about what they might offer than I was to begin…but even at that, I agree, you just can’t whack the glorious invention of the Matchwinner era (unless we get Umbro involved, which should also definitely happen at some point). Football strips are so often really bland and boring these days, even things that ostensibly have an unusual design still end up looking flat and lifeless with the way it’s just printed on; I’d love to see us have a few 90’s style numbers with the level of detail in the material etc you got with those. Bring back chevrons and tiger stripes and weird green and white and black striped creations, I say. Also, it’s just occurred to me that of all the great Matchwinner strips, there wasn’t really any hooped ones. Not a complaint at all, the opposite really: if you deviate from the traditional style and nobody really notices, you’re doing something right.

Matchwinner trackies > play-offs*. The lack of decent leisurewear (as opposed to the generic training stuff with a badge stuck on) has long been a big hole in Morton's commercial offering - the only decent trackie I can think of was a Bukta one - so the prospect of Matchwinner stuff is a cracking development. *Maybe.

There’s no footballing justification for deciding you don’t want Lewis Strapp in the Scottish Championship, let’s face it, just as there isn’t any for insisting on Calvin Miller and Ali Crawford amongst others. In terms of height, Strapp is the same height (according to transfermarkt) as Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney, and taller than Jordi Alba, Dani Alves, Dani Carvajal, Marcelo and Phillip Lahm to name just a few. It’s nonsense to suggest you have to be a giant to succeed as a modern full-back.

There’s obviously (well, presumably) been a lot of legal hoops to jump through regarding the ticketing situation, but it’s great news to finally have it sorted. Well done to the club for doing so.

More likely that that fanny O’Ware is just desperate for a bit of attention.

Lovely stuff.

Aye, I have to say I had a wee pang of concern when I seen that news too. I just can’t imagine Dougie leaving at this juncture tbf, even in purely selfish terms for him it would be a huge risk to take on such a tough job so late in the season, but I reckon we might see his name in the mix for the it more than any other so far.

Absolutely disgusting that one of those peasant outfits from Ayr and Grangemouth are going to be going to Hampden.

Aye, I think it was very clear he isn’t a full-back but the decision not to have “normal” wide players didn’t help matters. Every time he got the ball he just looked totally lost, like he didn’t really know what was happening around him. Had we had McGrattan at left-mid as a reference point, if you will, for King as well as his general contributions, I reckon King might have looked a bit more at ease but either way it wouldn’t really alter the main point which is that King isn’t a full-back. Waters coming in is good news as it plugs that gap, and also because it leaves King available to go into midfield, if Dougie ever fancies giving up on flogging a dead horses with Blues and Miller (to a lesser extent).

Would imagine he’s got something else lined up when it’s came about as late in the window. Clyde are probably in the market for a deviant.

Hopefully he turns out to be a revelation, but it kinda seems on paper that we’re stockpiling forwards who can’t score goals.

It’s interesting that Pignatiello seems to have fallen so far out the picture. Whilst Grimshaw evidently represented a good “market opportunity” at the time, it was still a bit curious to be going out and immediately replacing a guy you’ve just signed on a 2 year deal with somebody initially only in for a few months especially when there was the apparent budgetary restrictions - it didn’t seem a great vote of confidence in the signing, although again if you can get a much better player then I suppose you do it. That said, at times it could have been a good option to have Carlo at right back and push Grimshaw into midfield to give us a bit more attacking impetus and tighten up in the midfield; if nothing else, there’s limited options in the squad and that could be a way of using what we have to shake things up a bit. At Hamilton last week, for example, we were offering little resistance down the middle whilst not offering much of a threat going forward, so that could have been a way to help rectify both elements there. It’d also be a way to allow Gillespie a bit of a rest on occasion too, in the last few games he’s looked off the pace although there’s other elements that have contributed to that, particularly the absence of McGrattan meaning the incompetence of Blues was no longer being mitigated. In that regard, it’s a bit unfair that McGrattan’s always been utilised to add a bit of balance to cover a far inferior player rather than just putting him in their place. The timing of Gillespie’s suspension is probably coming at a good time though, he’s not been great recently and a rest will do him good to get him back up to speed for the rest of the season, and it’s also a return to Cappielow with a game we should be fully expecting to win. Grimshaw’s performance in midfield yesterday too will assuage any concerns about who fills the gap, so it’s not the worst time for Gillespie to be out. We’ll need him for the run-in and if this break can get him back to his best then it’s ultimately a blessing. Anyway, Pignatiello at right-back and Grimshaw into the middle is surely the obvious solution, with McGrattan finally getting his place in the middle 3 beside him and Crawford. I thought Miller had some decent moments yesterday, especially in the second half, so if Strapp is going to be out and King has to go to left-back, I’m a bit more convinced by him than before although ideally Strapp and King would be the pairing there.

Always baffling to me that that Levein has any greater prominence in Scottish football than annoying any cunt within earshot in his local boozer with self-aggrandising tales of past life as a footballing “visionary”.

Ah Christ, that was in the wrong thread. I’ll move it over later, and be capable of counting to 11 when I get round to it

It would be pretty funny if they have a couple of goals disallowed on dubious grounds then us getting a dodgy penalty to win, right enough. Promptly followed by Dougie reiterating the club’s opposition to VAR too, just for the lolz.

Should that happen, a good few clubs will likely be wondering how much is that Doggie in the transfer window. No chance of him getting the bag should we lose though, at least.

Let’s hope he’s not barking up the wrong tree with this signing.

Aye, I think he's maybe been a wee bit too harshly judged at times too, although that's not to say that it's not the right thing for him to go back to Livingston and probably go to a lower level for the rest of the season. It's just not been the right time or place for him, but these things happen and I wish him well - I get the impression he's quite a "delicate" character (for want of a better word) overall, so we'll see if he can toughen up to make the most of the ability he has, but I certainly don't bear him any ill will for that even if it wasn't what we needed. Really looking forward to see what unfolds over the next few weeks now, it's evident that the decks are being cleared for new arrivals and you have to be quite confident that they'll be significant upgrades on what we have (or had).

Aye, it's been a slightly unusual one with Jacobs given that he held the captaincy etc, which suggests he was a prominent member of the squad even aside from his role on the pitch. That's not to say I think Imrie has got it wrong at all (I've never been overly taken by Jacobs tbh), and it's very much to his credit that he didn't fanny about being overly-sentimental - players fall out of favour under new managers all the time, it's how it goes, but the status Jacobs held and the fact he's an established Championship player makes it a wee bit unusual. As for McGregor, obviously we don't know the full story but on the face of it I feel like he's been a wee bit hard done by this season tbh. It'd be quite hard to argue he's not shown enough any time he's got on the pitch to merit getting off the bench ahead of Kabia more often, at the least. Will be interesting to see where he ends up, if anywhere. Overall though, the clarity and purpose Imrie works with and which he's evidently instilled in the club too is just so impressive - back in his very first interview, he explicitly stated that the whole club had to change, and he hasn't half set about making it happen. We go on about this so often, but it's just so endlessly refreshing and invigorating to have a manager of his calibre at the club given how well-versed we are in the methods of complete and utter fuckin diddies.

I feel quite sorry for Hynes, to be honest. It's the right thing for him to move on at this point for sure, but particularly when he first emerged he showed more than enough ability to merit being properly nurtured as a potential first-team player for us, and to be sent out on loan for a while to get him some experience of playing rather than just kept hanging around kicking his heels. Whilst he might not have quite fulfilled that potential, the chances are he'd be at least be a pretty decent lower league player by now with far more minutes under his belt than he's had so it's a shame he's had his development hampered in the way it has been. I hope he can go somewhere else and make up for a bit of lost time, he's got the ability to do so and he seems a very likeable guy so it'd be nice to see him doing well.

This is very encouraging indeed. As has been said, he's demonstrably capable of playing at a higher level and I thought he'd probably have moved on so to have him signed up can only be promising on a few fronts: not only is the wage he's been offered presumably decent as he'd surely have had other options, but it suggests a confidence in the "project" too, that this is somewhere worth hanging around. Hats off to the club for making it happen, hopefully we'll see another couple of new faces too and we're able to go in to the rest of the season (and the next one, just as importantly) in much better shape than we've been in in yonks.

I’d imagine Grimshaw is just keeping his options open for now. Whilst it’s not ideal for us, it’s part and parcel of getting somebody from a higher level on a short-term deal so I’d imagine Dougie has other options lined up should he move on. Hopefully the club are able to offer him something to persuade him to stay though, even if it’s just until the summer.