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Morton and Cup Competitions


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Are you happy with the club's approach to cup competitions in recent years?  

48 members have voted

  1. 1. League Cup

    • I'm interested in progression in this cup and I'm happy with the club's approach
    • I'm interested in progression in this cup and I'm not happy with the club's approach
    • I'm not interested in progression in this cup and I'm happy with the club's approach
      0
    • I'm not interested in progression in this cup and I'm not happy with the club's approach
      0
  2. 2. Challenge Cup

    • I'm interested in progression in this cup and I'm happy with the club's approach
    • I'm interested in progression in this cup and I'm not happy with the club's approach
    • I'm not interested in progression in this cup and I'm happy with the club's approach
    • I'm not interested in progression in this cup and I'm not happy with the club's approach


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I'm not surprised by these results at all.

Given that we have seen first hand how lucrative the League Cup can be, I'm surprised at the 'extension of pre-season' narrative we've witnessed under McKinnon and subsequently Hopkin. Win your group and you're two matches, one of which you are seeded for, away from being at Hampden for a national cup semi final. It's also worth noting that, according to the red tops anyway, the League Cup prize pot is higher than the Scottish Cup. The League Cup has potential to earn the club a lot of revenue early in the season. Why are we shunning this opportunity because we can't/won't arrange a couple more pre-season friendlies? 

As for the Challenge Cup, there are two main reasons why I'd like the club to treat the competition more seriously. The first is the potential for a novelty away day, turning up at some bin town in Wales or Ireland and pumping them would be excellent. The second is that for a club of our size, winning the Challenge Cup is a realistic aim. I know including the Colt teams is a nonsense, but it's still a tournament that we should be capable of winning. We're the most underachieving full time club in Scotland, who the fuck are we to turn our noses up at any cup success? 

A more overarching point is that Morton as a club are, generally speaking, mainstays in the second tier. I think we can all agree that supporting Morton can be repetitive and stale at times. A cup run, whether as substantial as Jim Duffy taking us to Hampden or simply a weekend on the piss with our mates in Sligo in the Challenge Cup, would be an excellent for the club. We also have an aging fanbase who, like all clubs, need to entice younger supporters into forming an emotional attachment to the club.

Morton, MCT and Morton in the Community can have all the soft marketing outcomes they like, nothing engages and inspires young football fans more than success. If you want to put more bums in seats every second Saturday then making cup success a priority will go a long way to achieving that. 

 

You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks! 


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I'm not entirely sure it's reasonable to say the club don't take the League Cup seriously in the manner that they clearly don't with the Challenge Cup.

We did get out of our group last season and we were trying to win every game we played this season despite failing in three of them. The changing team selections this season were as much a product of Hopkin still not having a clue what his strongest team is rather than just wanting to give everyone a game. Obviously there were some instances of the latter like McGuffie starting on Saturday, but it's not like we didn't have games last season where we had selections just as perplexing as dropping Jacobs when we had Blues and Omar in midfield, or McPake and Nesbitt sitting on the bench while Muirhead starts.

That said though there is an attitude when we get eliminated of shrugging our shoulders and saying ach well, it's just a pre-season tournament anyway, being eliminated is no big deal. It's a huge deal, and while there's an argument that in this season of all seasons between the pandemic and takeover the priority is just getting through the season without being relegated so the league is the main thing, the prize money on offer in the League Cup would be massive in dealing with the financial challenge this season presents. While we can't realistically expect a run to the semi-finals every season and the huge earnings that brings - the year we did that remains the only season we haven't made a loss this century - getting to the last 16 is an entirely achievable target.

Finishing fourth in the group puts us about £25K down in prize money alone v what we'd have made from getting through then being eliminated in the last 16. I don't know how much we're making for streaming, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was taking four or five league games to hit £25K. That would have been vital income for the club.

That's all dealing with the necessary but tedious financial arguments, before considering that Cup runs are just brilliant for fans and will increase enthusiasm in the club. That's especially the case in the Challenge Cup - we're a fanbase who will realistically never see their club play in Europe, a trip to Ireland, Wales or England for a competitive game in the latter stages of a cup would be an outstanding day out and really provide an opportunity for the club to engage with fans.

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Oh Lord, Brian Wake

 

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As long as there are Colt teams in it, I don't give a shit about the Challenge Cup.

McGhee needs some support, there's no-one backing him up.
Hayes playing it forward, Bell being forced to do it all alone, now forward from Marr, here's Ritchie, still Andy Ritchie, look at the control...

That is a marvellous goal from Andy Ritchie. Twenty minutes on the clock and Morton's supporters come alive. A goal which epitomises the control, the arrogance, the cheek of Andy Ritchie.

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22 minutes ago, AyrshireTon said:

As long as there are Colt teams in it, I don't give a shit about the Challenge Cup.

6 teams from both the Highland and Lowland Leagues would make the competition a far more attractive prospect.

You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks! 


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On 11/21/2020 at 11:20 AM, BishopLenBrennan said:

6 teams from both the Highland and Lowland Leagues would make the competition a far more attractive prospect.

I beg to differ, the Scottish League Challenge Cup should be what it originally was, a knockout Cup competition for all SPFL teams outwith the top tier of Scottish football.  No crap non-league sides from England, no Welsh sides, no Irish dung or Lowland no-mark outfits.

Get that competition back to what it was and regain its respectability.

 

ETA: no 'colt' teams either.

*insert signature here*

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On 11/21/2020 at 10:56 AM, AyrshireTon said:

As long as there are Colt teams in it, I don't give a shit about the Challenge Cup.

Should we ever be drawn with a colt team I won't attend, even if that game is the final, but I'm not writing the whole competition off because they're there. Knowing some other poor bastards are being landed with a glorified friendly against Ross County's youth team wouldn’t even slightly diminish the enjoyment of a cup run while llaying against proper clubs, with a trip to Aberystwyth or something thrown in for good measure.

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Oh Lord, Brian Wake

 

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2 hours ago, dunning1874 said:

Should we ever be drawn with a colt team I won't attend, even if that game is the final, but I'm not writing the whole competition off because they're there. Knowing some other poor bastards are being landed with a glorified friendly against Ross County's youth team wouldn’t even slightly diminish the enjoyment of a cup run while llaying against proper clubs, with a trip to Aberystwyth or something thrown in for good measure.

When do Morton ever get these zany ties against Connah's Quay Nomads or the like?  Never.

We always get papped out early doors against gubbins outfits that we should be pummelling.  So since that doesn't happen EVER then those dewy eyed fantasies should be filed in the appropriate bin where they belong.

*insert signature here*

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13 minutes ago, capitanus said:

When do Morton ever get these zany ties against Connah's Quay Nomads or the like?  Never.

We always get papped out early doors against gubbins outfits that we should be pummelling.  So since that doesn't happen EVER then those dewy eyed fantasies should be filed in the appropriate bin where they belong.

Or we stop getting papped out at the first attempt by actually putting a team that could win the game on the park instead of treating it as a friendly.

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Brian Wake my Lord, Brian Wake

Oh Lord, Brian Wake

 

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I’m not remotely interested in the Challenge Cup in the slightest. Never have been, never will be. It was initially supposed to be a one-off competition for the 1990-91 season, but the SFA decided to kick the arse outta it. Give it to Dundee or Falkirk to keep.

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