Mighty Montrose FC Thread

[Brummo]

Great day out and the Mo gave a good account of themselves as I fully expected them to.

Hope they have a great break as they deserve it.

Big thanks to SP and all the team and everyone behind them for giving us another solid season and good memories to look back on.

We'll get promotion when the time is right. Hopefully we can build on what has already been achieved and get even better.

[Springfield]

Unlucky guys, had a shitey run of form late season and I’m sure SP will get you organised for next season. A well run club and great town. 
Forgot to add you gave our club the best hospitality by a country mile, and for thousands of bairns that special day we will remember for years. 

Edited May 11 by Springfield

[RedLichtie86]

Looking forward to visiting you guys in the league once again.

[mo83]

34 minutes ago, RedLichtie86 said:

Looking forward to visiting you guys in the league once again.

Snap

[ebobsboy]

Unlucky guys wish you all the best next season. 

[Kelheart]

Hard lines lads was never going to be easy but pushed them all the way 

[mo83]

Now that the season is over it's time for SP to have a look at the squad and see where we go from here for next season.

Out the current playing squad I can't see many leaving like previous seasons SP is quite loyal to the players he brings in.

Leaving for me would be

Liam Callaghan ( Been decent over the years but a think it's time he moves on)

Craig Batchelor (Hasn't handled the step up from junior football unfortunately)

Paul Watson(Be good if he stayed at the club in some capacity as he clearly loves the Mo but a think this could be it for him)

Ryan Williamson (I would keep Ryan and have no problem if he does sign a new deal but after seeing the young RB at QOS play Owen Emslie he could easy do a job at RB if Ryan was to leave. 

Massive loss  Luke Graham will be what a great season the on loan Dundee youngster has had.I really hope he goes far in the game.

Incoming 

We have the new striker Ben Maciver-Redwood from Stirling Uni, hopefully he does well don't no much about him but the university players have been great for us over the years.

Looking at the squad like previous years it's just going to be a couple players in and a couple out no major disruption.The loan market will be key again and hopefully we can sign a couple CH as at the minute we have Sean Dillon and Aidan Quinn with Kerr Waddell out long term.

COYM

[tongue_tied_danny]

27 minutes ago, mo83 said:

Now that the season is over it's time for SP to have a look at the squad and see where we go from here for next season.

Out the current playing squad I can't see many leaving like previous seasons SP is quite loyal to the players he brings in.

Leaving for me would be

Liam Callaghan ( Been decent over the years but a think it's time he moves on)

Craig Batchelor (Hasn't handled the step up from junior football unfortunately)

Paul Watson(Be good if he stayed at the club in some capacity as he clearly loves the Mo but a think this could be it for him)

Ryan Williamson (I would keep Ryan and have no problem if he does sign a new deal but after seeing the young RB at QOS play Owen Emslie he could easy do a job at RB if Ryan was to leave. 

Massive loss  Luke Graham will be what a great season the on loan Dundee youngster has had.I really hope he goes far in the game.

Incoming 

We have the new striker Ben Maciver-Redwood from Stirling Uni, hopefully he does well don't no much about him but the university players have been great for us over the years.

Looking at the squad like previous years it's just going to be a couple players in and a couple out no major disruption.The loan market will be key again and hopefully we can sign a couple CH as at the minute we have Sean Dillon and Aidan Quinn with Kerr Waddell out long term.

COYM

Dillon and Gardyne are no spring chickens, but they've a season or two left in 'em.

It does concern me that the team are aging. A major rebuild will be required within the next couple of years.

 

[Brummo]

Watched the goal on the Caley Thistle website. As SP said in the post match interview, it was just a momentary lapse allowed MacKay to stab the ball home from three yards out.

I felt the referee did us no favours whatsoever on Saturday. I know there is no justification for Lyons lashing out but the referee failed to take action on the repeated fouling he was subjected to and that must have been a source of real frustration.

I don't feel too gutted we didn't get promoted as hopefully if Hamilton join Falkirk in going up, then next season it should be a more competitive league.

Will be interesting to see how the likes of Arbroath, Queen of the South and Cove respond to their disappointing seasons.

If Caley Thistle do join us in League One, I reckon they might be less of a threat than the likes of Queen's Park who would have been in a stronger financial position to buy their way back up.

 

 

Edited May 12 by Brummo

[mo83]

9 hours ago, tongue_tied_danny said:

Dillon and Gardyne are no spring chickens, but they've a season or two left in 'em.

It does concern me that the team are aging. A major rebuild will be required within the next couple of years.

 

I can't see a major rebuild ever with SP in charge if I'm honest.I think he will know himself that some of the squad can't carry on forever, some will need to leave/retire eventually that just part of football.I can only see it happening gradually and one or two leaving each year their won't be a mass exodus.

I hope anyway  

 

[1320Lichtie]

9 hours ago, Brummo said:

Watched the goal on the Caley Thistle website. As SP said in the post match interview, it was just a momentary lapse allowed MacKay to stab the ball home from three yards out.

I felt the referee did us no favours whatsoever on Saturday. I know there is no justification for Lyons lashing out but the referee failed to take action on the repeated fouling he was subjected to and that must have been a source of real frustration.

I don't feel too gutted we didn't get promoted as hopefully if Hamilton join Falkirk in going up, then next season it should be a more competitive league.

Will be interesting to see how the likes of Arbroath, Queen of the South and Cove respond to their disappointing seasons.

If Caley Thistle do join us in League One, I reckon they might be less of a threat than the likes of Queen's Park who would have been in a stronger financial position to buy their way back up.

 

 

QP were a decent team with some really really good players. Dom Thomas and Ruari Paton up there with the best for their positions in that league. If they had a proper manager for the full season they’d have been nowhere near trouble at the bottom. 

[Brummo]

Had an email from a Jags (Glesga version) fan suggesting we'd dodged a bullet by not progressing in the playoffs.

Really can't agree with that.

I doubt you will find many Arbroath fans who regret their stint in the Championship.

That said, going up as a fourth placed team would have been a struggle from the start.

I don't think we were a million miles off the pace of Hamilton and we even pretty much held our own in two of our games against Falkirk.

The 0-3 game was on a Tuesday night, when we fielded a team with an eye on playing QoS on the Saturday.

The 1-7 game, we were like startled rabbits caught in the headlights of the Falkirk juggernaut. The Mo performance was really out of character, even allowing for Falkirk being pumped up for it.

As others have said, hopefully through a process of evolution rather than revolution, SP can build us a championship worthy side, gradually bringing in new players of sufficient calibre to take the places of legends like Dillo.

 

[1320Lichtie]

1 hour ago, Brummo said:

Had an email from a Jags (Glesga version) fan suggesting we'd dodged a bullet by not progressing in the playoffs.

Really can't agree with that.

I doubt you will find many Arbroath fans who regret their stint in the Championship.

That said, going up as a fourth placed team would have been a struggle from the start.

I don't think we were a million miles off the pace of Hamilton and we even pretty much held our own in two of our games against Falkirk.

The 0-3 game was on a Tuesday night, when we fielded a team with an eye on playing QoS on the Saturday.

The 1-7 game, we were like startled rabbits caught in the headlights of the Falkirk juggernaut. The Mo performance was really out of character, even allowing for Falkirk being pumped up for it.

As others have said, hopefully through a process of evolution rather than revolution, SP can build us a championship worthy side, gradually bringing in new players of sufficient calibre to take the places of legends like Dillo.

 

I certainly don’t regret it it was magic and has transformed us as a club off the park - things are absolutely unbelievable off the park now and as good as they’ve ever been in my lifetime in regards to the community trust, women’s team, fanbase, stadium, sponsorships, infrastructure and just the overall reputation as a club as being somewhere that should be a good place to play your football especially if you’re a part time player. 
 

However I do kind of understand what the Thistle fan is saying. The championship is a slog and I think it’s a very tough place to be for any team never mind a team that’s operating on a part time basis. I think with the extra cash injections into teams like Raith Rovers and QP has only made this harder in the 5 years since we were promoted. There is little margin of error and you have to get it spot on as a part time club to be able to compete.

 

Arbroath for the most part of the season were actually not too far off it. When the injuries hit though we just could not cope. I think if any team and especially a part time one wants to compete then you need to have a lot of very good part time players and it is hard to build up a full squad of them because the best part time players do not want to come to your club to sit on the bench. Think that’s why we were left with an absolute shit show at the back, we had a solid back 5 and as soon as injuries hit we had nobody to come in and replace them. 
 

I do think unless Montrose had a big turnover of players and Petrie had pulled off a miracle over the summer that Montrose would have ended up with a lower points tally than we’d put on the board this year as next years league looks daunting and you’d be going up into it as a mid table League One team. It would need to have been a big turnover and some very good signings to avoid that. 
 

The way I look at it and I said it on here earlier is that there is nothing wrong with attempting to be a good L1 part time club who has forays into the Championship during their more successful seasons. Everyone has their place in the pecking order and I would suggest that that is ours at the moment. 
 

What Montrose have done as a club to get to the stage they are at just now though should not be understated and you have done really well just to get to the promotion play offs and stay in and around the upper half of L1. I feel like from an outside perspective that it will not be long until Montrose kind of go through what we’ve recently went through and that an end of an era type season is not too far around the corner. 
 

The Championship is certainly not the be all and end all either, it has been a brilliant 5 year and Arbroath have went above and beyond what I’d ever imagined they would. I’ve seen it and been there and got the t shirt of all the things and more that I had hoped for throughout all my years supporting the club.
 

Now I just want to get back to enjoying going to the football on a Saturday and I really do not care what league that is in. If we don’t see the Championship for another wee while I’m really not too arsed. How important it is to just enjoy watching your team on a Saturday cannot be understated and the last 2 year has certainly taught me that. They’ve been miserable and have made going to the games a bit of a chore. 
 

 

[Otis Blue]

16 hours ago, Brummo said:

... Will be interesting to see how the likes of Arbroath, Queen of the South and Cove respond to their disappointing seasons ...

Our response is underway ...

[Brummo]

8 hours ago, 1320Lichtie said:

I certainly don’t regret it it was magic and has transformed us as a club off the park - things are absolutely unbelievable off the park now and as good as they’ve ever been in my lifetime in regards to the community trust, women’s team, fanbase, stadium, sponsorships, infrastructure and just the overall reputation as a club as being somewhere that should be a good place to play your football especially if you’re a part time player. 
 

However I do kind of understand what the Thistle fan is saying. The championship is a slog and I think it’s a very tough place to be for any team never mind a team that’s operating on a part time basis. I think with the extra cash injections into teams like Raith Rovers and QP has only made this harder in the 5 years since we were promoted. There is little margin of error and you have to get it spot on as a part time club to be able to compete.

 

Arbroath for the most part of the season were actually not too far off it. When the injuries hit though we just could not cope. I think if any team and especially a part time one wants to compete then you need to have a lot of very good part time players and it is hard to build up a full squad of them because the best part time players do not want to come to your club to sit on the bench. Think that’s why we were left with an absolute shit show at the back, we had a solid back 5 and as soon as injuries hit we had nobody to come in and replace them. 
 

I do think unless Montrose had a big turnover of players and Petrie had pulled off a miracle over the summer that Montrose would have ended up with a lower points tally than we’d put on the board this year as next years league looks daunting and you’d be going up into it as a mid table League One team. It would need to have been a big turnover and some very good signings to avoid that. 
 

The way I look at it and I said it on here earlier is that there is nothing wrong with attempting to be a good L1 part time club who has forays into the Championship during their more successful seasons. Everyone has their place in the pecking order and I would suggest that that is ours at the moment. 
 

What Montrose have done as a club to get to the stage they are at just now though should not be understated and you have done really well just to get to the promotion play offs and stay in and around the upper half of L1. I feel like from an outside perspective that it will not be long until Montrose kind of go through what we’ve recently went through and that an end of an era type season is not too far around the corner. 
 

The Championship is certainly not the be all and end all either, it has been a brilliant 5 year and Arbroath have went above and beyond what I’d ever imagined they would. I’ve seen it and been there and got the t shirt of all the things and more that I had hoped for throughout all my years supporting the club.
 

Now I just want to get back to enjoying going to the football on a Saturday and I really do not care what league that is in. If we don’t see the Championship for another wee while I’m really not too arsed. How important it is to just enjoy watching your team on a Saturday cannot be understated and the last 2 year has certainly taught me that. They’ve been miserable and have made going to the games a bit of a chore. 
 

 

Some good points and appreciate your input.

A few more points though.

Am I not right in thinking Dick Campbell left because he knew he was in a "bricks without straw" situation?, i.e. he needed more resources to have any hope of getting the job done and when he wasn't given the go ahead, he walked - this is what I was told but could be wrong.

Presumably the Board thought growing the club to the extent Dick wanted to was unsustainable.

SP has been accused of being over loyal to the squad he has put together but isn't this playing the long game?

I believe it was an over reliance on loan players that led to our seventh place finish last season.

When the talented United player Miller Thompson was recalled at the end of the year, I was worried that we would be in the same situation as before but credit to SP, this year we had a strong enough squad with only Luke Graham from Dundee as a loanee.

A lot of the things you mentioned as benefits from your time in the Championship, the Mo already had in place and we are already reaping the results of that investment in the form of younger players coming through the system and getting game time with the first team.

You mentioned eras and I understand what you mean by this but isn't it a feature of stable, long-term management that that there needn't be just one golden generation which enjoys success and then fades. If SP remains at the club, and is able to continue to recruit good part-time players, why can't there be a production line of players building on the improvement as players mature and eventually move on to other roles when their playing careers are over?

All of which depends to a large extent on the club having a financial revenue to recruit players.

We had a decent travelling support at Inverness on Saturday but we really need to build support on a week in week out basis. I know Arbroath season ticket sales really took off on their promotion to the Championship (and likely in the season preceding this).

Growing the club at community level, which has been happening for years will hopefully translate into more supporters, particularly younger supporters to help ensure the club has a future.

When people point to Brechin's downward spiral from the Championship, it should be remembered that the club was miles behind others in terms of community involvement. Their priorities meant they were a house of cards unfit for purpose when they surprised themselves by getting promoted.

That narrative was very different from the one at Arbroath when they truly earned their place in the Championship and made a decent fist of things for several seasons.

Obviously as a Mo supporter, I like to think that our best days still lie ahead of us. I wrote on here years ago, that I was glad we'd opted for Petrie rather than the Bunnet and I stand by that still, even though Dick took Arbroath to the threshold of the top tier.

I hope there is still plenty of mileage left in SP's tenure at Montrose FC and that we will continue to grow and improve as a club in spite of any handicaps we face owing to our location and relatively sparsely populated "catchment" area.

There will always be those within Montrose and it's hinterland heading for Celtic Park and Ibrox and to a lesser extent Pittodrie, Tannadice and Dens but if we continue to develop as we have been doing in both the men's and women's games and at youth level, I like to think that we will increase our support and attain that so far elusive prize of playing at a higher level.

 

 

 

Edited May 13 by Brummo

[1320Lichtie]

1 minute ago, Brummo said:

Some good points and appreciate your input.

A few more points though.

Am I not right in thinking Dick Campbell left because he knew he was in a "bricks without straw" situation?, i.e. he needed more resources to have any hope of getting the job done and when he wasn't given the go ahead, he walked - this is what I was told but could be wrong.

Presumably the Board thought growing the club to the extent Dick wanted to was unsustainable.

SP has been accused of being over loyal to the squad he has put together but isn't this playing the long game?

I believe it was an over reliance on loan players that led to our seventh place finish last season.

When the talented United player Miller Thompson was recalled at the end of the year, I was worried that we would be in the same situation as before but credit to SP, this year we had a strong enough squad with only Luke Graham from Dundee as a loanee.

A lot of the things you mentioned as benefits from your time in the Championship, the Mo already had in place and we are already reaping the results of that investment in the form of younger players coming through the system and getting game time with the first team.

You mentioned eras and I understand what you mean by this but isn't it a feature of stable, long-term management that that there needn't be just one golden generation which enjoys success and then fades. If SP remains at the club, and is able to continue to recruit good part-time players, why can't there be a production line of players building on the improvement as players mature and eventually move on to other roles when their playing careers are over?

All of which depends to a large extent on the club having a financial revenue to recruit players.

We had a decent travelling support at Inverness on Saturday but we really need to build support on a week in week out basis. I know Arbroath season ticket sales really took off on their promotion to the Championship (and likely in the season preceding this).

Growing the club at community level, which has been happening for years will hopefully translate into more supporters, particularly younger supporters to help ensure the club has a future.

When people point to Brechin's downward spiral from the Championship, it should be remembered that the club was miles behind others in terms of community involvement. Their priorities meant they were a house of cards unfit for purpose when they surprised themselves by getting promoted.

That narrative was very different from the one at Arbroath when they truly earned their place in the Championship and made a decent fist of things for several seasons.

Obviously as a Mo supporter, I like to think that our best days still lie ahead of us. I wrote on here years ago, that I was glad we'd opted for Petrie rather than the Bunnet and I stand by that still, even though Dick took Arbroath to the threshold of the top tier.

I hope there is still plenty of mileage left in SP's tenure at Montrose FC and that we will continue to grow and improve as a club in spite of any handicaps we face owing to our location and relatively sparsely populated "catchment" area.

There were always be those within Montrose and it's hinterland heading for Celtic Park and Ibrox and to a lesser extent Pittodrie, Tannadice and Dens but if we continue to develop as we have been doing in both the men's and women's games and at Youth level, I like to think that we will increase our support and attain that so far elusive prize of playing at a higher level.

 

 

 

The only person to blame for Dicks downfall was Dick. Dick is or definitely was (I kind of feel like he’s peaked and is maybe yesterday’s man now) a great brilliant guy and football manager…. But only when things are going well. His whole demeanour, attitude and character turned pretty toxic after anyone had the audacity to ask questions of him in season 22/23 - he also moved away from everything he was good at after we nearly won the league.
 

The board absolutely backed Dick in everything he wanted to do. Dick and Pink both believed that there were no part time players in Scotland good enough to improve us and took up this new avenue of signing FT football players and making us hybrid. The board backed him with this and supported him, we had maybe 15 ‘full time’ players who the club moved up to the town and put in accommodation etc. All very well looked after.
 

Nobody can say the board did not back him and him leaving had nothing to do with that at all. It was also a very similar story for Dick when he was at Forfar, it all ended very sourly there too and we were told by Forfar fans when he was appointed that when things start going wrong for Dick he does not handle it well and that’s spot on. Hope he does well at EF and think moving on was correct for both him and Arbroath. Best manager I’ll ever see here and massive respect for him. 

 

On Brechin - completely agree. Feel like they are lazy comparisons to make. Even though there are 4 clubs within the same council area we are all completely different. 
 

In regard to Montrose and support etc it is easy to say but how do you think the home support would hold up or improve if you did go up and only won 2 or 3 home games. Think if you’re going to go up a league and capture and build a fanbase you need to have some success to run along side it. Think for the size of town Montrose is it would be hard to build upon what is currently there by too much. 

 

It is a good thing to be as optimistic about your clubs future as you are and it’s good to see Petrie and the players have given you the hope that things can get even better. All I am saying is the Championship and going up is not the be all and end all. Montrose are in a really good place. It might have ended up being a fkn miserable year next year who knows.
 

You would obviously like to get up to the Championship and see what happened and how it went I get that but it is probably important to just enjoy and recognise what you have achieved in the here and now. 
 

It will be interesting to see how Montrose get on next year and what happens with some of the older players over the summer and who comes in to replace them etc.

 

Regardless of all of this I just cannot wait to rock up to the Star Bar for opening time in the first away day.

[Aidan]

2 hours ago, 1320Lichtie said:

The only person to blame for Dicks downfall was Dick. Dick is or definitely was (I kind of feel like he’s peaked and is maybe yesterday’s man now) a great brilliant guy and football manager…. But only when things are going well. His whole demeanour, attitude and character turned pretty toxic after anyone had the audacity to ask questions of him in season 22/23 - he also moved away from everything he was good at after we nearly won the league.
 

The board absolutely backed Dick in everything he wanted to do. Dick and Pink both believed that there were no part time players in Scotland good enough to improve us and took up this new avenue of signing FT football players and making us hybrid. The board backed him with this and supported him, we had maybe 15 ‘full time’ players who the club moved up to the town and put in accommodation etc. All very well looked after.
 

Nobody can say the board did not back him and him leaving had nothing to do with that at all. It was also a very similar story for Dick when he was at Forfar, it all ended very sourly there too and we were told by Forfar fans when he was appointed that when things start going wrong for Dick he does not handle it well and that’s spot on. Hope he does well at EF and think moving on was correct for both him and Arbroath. Best manager I’ll ever see here and massive respect for him. 

 

On Brechin - completely agree. Feel like they are lazy comparisons to make. Even though there are 4 clubs within the same council area we are all completely different. 
 

In regard to Montrose and support etc it is easy to say but how do you think the home support would hold up or improve if you did go up and only won 2 or 3 home games. Think if you’re going to go up a league and capture and build a fanbase you need to have some success to run along side it. Think for the size of town Montrose is it would be hard to build upon what is currently there by too much. 

 

It is a good thing to be as optimistic about your clubs future as you are and it’s good to see Petrie and the players have given you the hope that things can get even better. All I am saying is the Championship and going up is not the be all and end all. Montrose are in a really good place. It might have ended up being a fkn miserable year next year who knows.
 

You would obviously like to get up to the Championship and see what happened and how it went I get that but it is probably important to just enjoy and recognise what you have achieved in the here and now. 
 

It will be interesting to see how Montrose get on next year and what happens with some of the older players over the summer and who comes in to replace them etc.

 

Regardless of all of this I just cannot wait to rock up to the Star Bar for opening time in the first away day.

Star Bar doesn’t open until 4pm now so you’ll need to pick an alternative venue I’m afraid. 

[1320Lichtie]

Just now, Aidan said:

Star Bar doesn’t open until 4pm now so you’ll need to pick an alternative venue I’m afraid. 

[Brummo]

Craig Batchelor's departure announced: https://montrosefc.co.uk/2024/05/13/batchelor-departs-links-park/

All the best to him.

[Aidan]

26 minutes ago, Brummo said:

Craig Batchelor's departure announced: https://montrosefc.co.uk/2024/05/13/batchelor-departs-links-park/

All the best to him.

Spoke to him for a bit at the awards night, seems like a decent guy but ultimately not good enough for the step up. Would imagine he’ll sign for one of the better teams in the Midlands League next season.