The Ghost of B A R P

You annoy me, fud.

Ok, good. Glad we agree on the facts.

A guy who jumps on to another thread to red dot posts that have nothing to do with the current discussion claiming a ‘head’s gone’?! Seek help, fud.

Ok, let’s stick strictly to facts: 9 out of 9 in the head-to-head Morton 18 from the last 8, as opposed to Ayr 6 from the last 7. If you want to persist in thinking that means nobody’s doing much better than anyone else, I’ll leave you to it.

Have you lost your mind, ya fuckin halfwit?

Since when did pointing out facts become a ‘lecture’? We’re well aware that we need a few more results to establish clear blue water between us and the bottom end, but let’s not pretend there’s any vague comparison between Morton and Ayr over this season; I’d have thought 9 points from 9 in the head-to-head would have been enough to confirm that… but let’s throw in a functional squad… and a more than competent manager.

Genius.

You know very well that we had an extended injury crisis, during which we couldn’t buy a win… except when we played Ayr. Our form compared to yours since we got players back is the very definition of ‘doing much better’. (Edited to add: since the beginning of December, 18 points from 8 (Morton) compared to 6 from 7 (Ayr)). If you persist with your manager, you’ll finish 9th or 10th. This is fact. (And Partick are clearly not better than a full-strength Morton, as today demonstrated pretty well; very little between the two teams.)

What league are you watching/drugs are you on? Accurate summary.

Eh… f**k up?

There are no worse players. Sober up.

Not a single mention of Ahui at Ayr… try to take it seriously, eh lads?

I mean Tony Watt is clearly a fud… but Sheridan?! Somebody actually still pays him to play football? Get doon.

Good to see Davidson start by addressing the problem that doesn’t really exist, while ignoring the problem the rest of the division clocked last March… and which has got a lot worse since then. I’m sure there’ll be more signings, but, at this stage, it seems rumours of QP’s recovery may have been somewhat exaggerated…

Baird is signed… that’s why I’m saying add Crawford, Muirhead, and Oakley to Mullen and Baird… Agree in general that the squad doesn’t need ripped up and rebuilt from scratch… but the other side of that coin is you can’t just dish out contracts because someone’s done ok. If Imrie can get better than the likes of Bearne, Boyd, McGrattan for the budget he has, he will… and absolutely should. Same goes for the oldies: if he can get better for the money, he will; if not, let’s see… (btw, I think Power is clearly a player; only issue is whether his body can continue to take it). There’s got to be something left somewhere along the line to actively improve both the first team and the squad in general, otherwise you go backwards while imagining that you’re standing still.

Excellent news about Mullen. If he keeps developing, we have a pler on our hands. If we can add Crawford, Muirhead, and Oakley to Mullen and Baird, that's a very strong core around which to build. Beyond that, Waters (or Strapp!), O'Connor, Gillespie, Blues, Wilson, Quitongo (who would be in the above category, were it not for injury doubts). Then it's make your mind up time on McGrattan, Garrity, Bearne, and Boyd; could see any of them being released, but equally, could see any of them being re-signed (or retained in the case of the last two). MacDonald will certainly be away, maybe even this month. And would be amazed to see either Power or Broadfoot here next season... but you never know.

This is all very hard to read: on one hand, Davidson must have been promised significant resources to bring in players to be persuaded to take on a team near the bottom of the Championship, after turning down Dundee in the summer (if that’s true). On the other, there’s no real evidence that he is capable of building his own squad, i.e that he knows what to do with money available. It might turn out that, at this level, bringing in two really good players will be enough to turn it round in the immediate term, who knows; but this looks a bit 50-50 to me (so at the very least better than the 0-100 you were staring at last month).

No matter how bad Sportsound sometimes is, their job is not to be casually ignorant and boring. Same. Man’s a fud. Tom English, (nearly) all is forgiven…

They're 3 points off fourth... and Montrose/Alloa/Kelty are hardly in the 'uncatchable' category. Decisive thing must surely be that Wilson would rather continue with us than step back down (and have to play on that fkn surface, apart from anything else).

'Not currently available'. A halfway serious journalist (yeah, I know) wouldn't be taking part in that discussion without having watched the game (and I suspect he hasn't seen us at all this season); and a halfway serious journalist wouldn't in those circumstances have led on the piano players/piano shifters pish (his own invention), which just plays into the sterotype in total ignorance of the actual situation. The fact that he's smarter than the likes of Allan Preston or Derek Ferguson, and therefore able to pivot to a bit of banter when he maybe realises he's talking pish, doesn't change that one bit. Anyway, maybe they'll stop now (again, yeah, I know...).

Nah, he was buying into a cliche about a team he hasn’t watched (the weird piano players/piano shifters was his own quite deliberate phrase). Duffy and Miller - who had actually watched the game - were very impressed with us and the game in general, without any wise guy remarks.

If big George's strike for the winner is deliberately timed with Weller singing 'a kick in the balls', that's an early contender for post of the year... Either way, immense stuff.

Tom English: a balloon who knows nothing about football (and hadn’t bothered to watch the game). The Morton supporter (guy who runs the forum and podcast) just had a quiet laugh and referred to Goodwin as a player…

I was actually surprised how little there was in the alleged penalty incident on the replays; still, should be a wee reminder to Broadfoot to steer clear of the wrestling, for which he has previous. Goodwin is clearly just deflecting and will clutch at anything at all; the fact that the so-called penalty and a pretty clear red card are all he can come up with just confirms that they lost fair and square. And, as has been said, anyone who watched him as a player is just laughing at the 'way they play' garbage; Goodwin made a living booting and intimidating people while barely kicking an actual football.