Starting Unemployed

[Alphaaz]

After reading other people's stories, I decided to write about my own management career. I do not currently own fm2006 so this game is on fm2005. I'm not sure whether or not anyone will read this, (I hope they do), but i will do it regardless.

I wasn't sure which team to start with so i decided to start unemployed as i had never done that before. I loaded up :

<LI>the english league (conference and above),

<LI>the scottish league (second division and above),

<LI>the french league (national and above), and

<LI>the dutch league (first division and above).

My first job offer - 13/7/04

I was unemployed for all of half a day when the chairman of Greenock Morton (a Scottish second division side) contacted me and informed me he would like to talk to me about the vacant manager's position at Morton. I was thrilled so went to see him later that day. He told me that he was looking for a young, ambitious manager to take the club to the next level (First Division). He said that I fitted the bill perfectly so he was willing to offer me a job. I was delighted so I accepted straight away. He told be that the board's expectations were for the club to gain promotion to the first division and to help me with that he gave me a transfer budget of £72,250. I thought this to be an adequate sum of money for this level of football and I signed the contract straight away.

First Problem - Coaching Staff

When I headed down to the training ground the next morning, which was a Wednesday, I found that I had a real problem, I only had one coach and no assistant manager. I knew that this was only a small club so I decided that I would need 3 coaches and 1 assistant manager so I placed two adverts in the job centre. About two weeks later I recieved my responses, some good some bad. I offered a contract to both John McLaughlin (as my assistant) and Thijs Moonen (a dutch coach). I still needed one more coach and about a week later I signed John Bell from Albion as my third coach. (A top quality young English coach but cost £24,000, a huge chunk of my transfer budget). Now, this problem was solved.

Next update soon! (Will be very surprised if anyone has actually read this!!)

[Alphaaz]

After reading other people's stories, I decided to write about my own management career. I do not currently own fm2006 so this game is on fm2005. I'm not sure whether or not anyone will read this, (I hope they do), but i will do it regardless.

I wasn't sure which team to start with so i decided to start unemployed as i had never done that before. I loaded up :

<LI>the english league (conference and above),

<LI>the scottish league (second division and above),

<LI>the french league (national and above), and

<LI>the dutch league (first division and above).

My first job offer - 13/7/04

I was unemployed for all of half a day when the chairman of Greenock Morton (a Scottish second division side) contacted me and informed me he would like to talk to me about the vacant manager's position at Morton. I was thrilled so went to see him later that day. He told me that he was looking for a young, ambitious manager to take the club to the next level (First Division). He said that I fitted the bill perfectly so he was willing to offer me a job. I was delighted so I accepted straight away. He told be that the board's expectations were for the club to gain promotion to the first division and to help me with that he gave me a transfer budget of £72,250. I thought this to be an adequate sum of money for this level of football and I signed the contract straight away.

First Problem - Coaching Staff

When I headed down to the training ground the next morning, which was a Wednesday, I found that I had a real problem, I only had one coach and no assistant manager. I knew that this was only a small club so I decided that I would need 3 coaches and 1 assistant manager so I placed two adverts in the job centre. About two weeks later I recieved my responses, some good some bad. I offered a contract to both John McLaughlin (as my assistant) and Thijs Moonen (a dutch coach). I still needed one more coach and about a week later I signed John Bell from Albion as my third coach. (A top quality young English coach but cost £24,000, a huge chunk of my transfer budget). Now, this problem was solved.

Next update soon! (Will be very surprised if anyone has actually read this!!)

[chesterfan2]

I've read it. Do I win a prize ?

Seriously, this shows quite a bit of promise but would be good if you let us in on who you are (we all have lavishly constructed alter egos on here)

[Alphaaz]

Playing Squad

After sorting out the coaching problem, I turned my attention to the playing staff. It seemed to be quite a large squad for that level. However, my main concern was the left side which had one left back and no left midfielders! It took me a while to find a left midfielder after talks with Tom Baker, Martin Devaney and Kevin Ellison all broke down I finally secured the signing of 25 year old scotsman, Jay Stein from Forfar Athletic for £8,000 at the beginning of August. I also needed some back-up for the left side and therefore, with the tranfer window about to close, I secured the loan deals of Willie Gibson (20 year-old left winger from Queen of the South) and Sean Callaghan (20 year-old left back from Stranraer). Neither of these player looked as if they were going to set the world alight but they would provde good back-up without costing a single penny. Therefore, it seemed that I had had an excellent first transfer window in charge of a football club!

Start to the season

My first game of the season was a disappointing 5-2 defeat away to St. Johnstone in the Challenge Cup 1st round. Having said that we did manage to come back from 2 down to force extra time but their superior fitness told in the end. We started the league on fire with three victories:

<LI>Morton 4-1 Berwick

<LI>Dumbarton 1-4 Morton

<LI>Morton 4-1 Forfar

The game against Dumbarton was most pleasing with 4 goals from Alex Williams, who I was quickly realising was my star striker. However, our next game was not so pleasing. We got beat 4-2 by fellow promotion contenders Brechin City despite us leading 2-0 earlier on. It was obvious that my defence needed some work. Also, 2 wins in the league cup away at Queen of the South and Berwick set up a mouthwatering tie with Dundee (from the SPL) at home which the chairman was particularly looking forward to.

Morton 3-1 Dundee

A fantastic display by my players leaving me proud to be their manager. Two goals from striker Peter Weatherson and one from Australian midfielder John Maisano set up the victory and even a late consolation goal from Dundee could not dampen my spirits. The Chairman was happy as well as we had quadroupled our average attendance as 9889 people watched the mighty Morton defeat Premier League outfit Dundee. However, we had previously been dealt a cruel blow as my physio told me I would have to do without star player Alex Williams, who was currently being chased by a number of English clubs including Bury, for 2 months due to a head injury. Oh yeah, we were top of the league at this point as well!

[Terk]

Nice start, Alphaaz Welcome to FMS.

[Alphaaz]

Morton 2-3 Hearts

Normally, this would not be considered such a bad result but having led 2-0 with only 25 minutes remaining thanks to a Scott Bannerman penalty and a goal from Jason Walker, it was a real gutter. It was Mark de Vries who almost single-handedly dumped us out of the league cup therefore denying us the opportunity of a semi-final appearance at Hampden Park. De Vries scored 2 goals in normal time in the 69th and 86th minutes before netting a winner, and his hat-trick, with only 4 minutes remaining of extra time. On top of this, we had missed a penalty earlier in extra time through Paul Walker. One thing which cannot be denied though is that the crowd, a record attendance of 11,036, got their money's worth as it was a truly magnificent game and Hearts' superior quality and fitness showed in the end!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h204/alphaaz/Morton2-3Hearts.jpg

Winter Period

The winter period passed without much event although we did win 7 games in a row, including a 7-0 victory against Stranraer on boxing day, but defeats to fellow promotion chasers Brechin and Stirling left us in 2nd place, 6 points behind Brechin and 1 ahead of Stirling going in to our Scottish cup quarter final.

[Alphaaz]

Sorry about the quality of the screenshot, but I didn't know how to make it bigger!

[Alphaaz]

Morton 1-2 Rangers

Scottish Cup Quarter Final. I have to be proud of my players after this figting display. After going one down early on, a dubious penalty decision which was converted by Ross McCormack, we fought back and equalised through top goalscorer Alex Williams, 24 in 24, before another goal from McCormack early in the second half. If it hadn't been for a couple of outstanding saves from Stefan Klos then I feel we could have got a replay. The game saw outstanding displays from midfield dynamo Scott Bannerman which deservedly earned him the man of the match award and captain and dependable centre-back Stuart McCluskey but unfortunately it wasn't enough to see us progress to the semi-finals. This young squad does seem to have a promising future though. We also received another record attendance with 11,576 people watching the game which is only 13 shy of full capacity. Anyway, we are now out of all the cups now which leaves us to concentrate fully on the league and promotion!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h204/alphaaz/Morton1-2Rangers.jpg

[irishregan]

I really like the style, and enjoyed this. I hate to be a teeny bit critical, but you say "we did win 7 games in a row". I'd like to hear a bit more depth than that, so we can enjoy the ups and downs with you.

If you've got time for more detail that would be great, I would have high hopes for your story then! Keep at it

[Alphaaz]

Sorry, I would have done more detail but I started this game a few days ago and I wanted to get up to where I was in the game and I am now so there will be more detail in the future!

[Mark Snellink]

With the screenshot, try hitting print screen, and then pasting it in paint or something. Make sure to save as jpg though.

[Alphaaz]

That's what I did though and I used photobucket. Should I use something else?

[Brian of Nazareth]

good start alphaaz, hope you enjoy writing it

[Alphaaz]

Disaster at Morton!

After a thoroughly miserable day in Berwick, rain, rain and more rain, it looked as though the evening's match was going to be just as bad. Berwick were leading 2-1 with just 15 minutes to go when I decided to 'go for broke' and threw on striker Jason Walker for defender Marc McCulloch. A fantastic end to the match saw us score 3 goals to keep the title race on. Derek Collins (centre-back) scored from a corner after 77mins to equalise and then Warren Hawke (aging centre-forward) scored with a finish Van Nistelrooy would be proud of on 80mins after a superb counter attack before John Maisano rounded things off with a coolly taken penalty.

I couldn't have been more pleased until I returned to my office and after only a couple of minutes there was a knock at the door and it was Alex Williams(my star striker). Anyway, he told me he had achieved all he can at the club (by becoming leading scorer of all time despite only 3 years there) and he would like to move to a bigger club so he was handing in his transfer request. I reluctantly accepted after trying my hardest to persuade him to stay but he was adamant, he wanted to leave.

Oh well, hopefully i'll get some decent money from him but in the mean time, I needed to concentrate on securing promotion. This is how the league stands on 16th March after 28games:

1st - Brechin City 67pts GD= +45

2nd - Morton 61pts GD= +41

3rd - Stirling Albion 58pts GD= +30

4th - Forfar Athletic 51pts GD= +16

Can Morton continue their good form and get promoted? Let's hope so!

[Alphaaz]

New job offer

After my apparent success with Morton, Northampton Town Chairman, David Cardoza phoned me asking if I would like to replace Colin Calderwood as manager of Northampton who were currently 13th in League Two. I thought long and hard about this as it is undoubtedly a bigger club than Morton but the Chairman informed me that I would only have £65,000 to spend and the club's wage bill would need to be greatly reduced therefore I said no. I think I'll wait for a job at a better club or with more money or maybe just stick with Morton.

[Mark Snellink]

Try making your account public for viewing. In the top right it says account options, find the option that says "make public", and set it to yes. Maybe that will help

[Alphaaz]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mark Snellink:

Try making your account public for viewing. In the top right it says account options, find the option that says "make public", and set it to yes. Maybe that will help </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Doesn't seem to have made any difference

[Mark Snellink]

How big are your screenshots in Paint? dimension wise ???x???

Also, are the files larger than 256kb? If so, resize manually to get below that.

[Alphaaz]

Disappointment against Brechin

After a good win against Dumbarton and a slightly disappointing draw away to Forfar, we still sat comfortably in second place, 6 points behind Brechin with a home tie against them the forthcoming saturday, which we had to win if we were to have any chance of winning the title. We started the game quite well with a few good chances and plenty of movement. However, after 38 minutes, Brechin counter attacked from one of our corners and Grant Johnson slipped a beautifully weighted ball through for Kevin Byers to finish superbly past a helpless Craig Coyle. In the second half, we attacked them as much as was possible but they held their nerve and managed to keep out the, what eventually ended up as, 4 strikers. Our spirits had been lifted as news filtered through of an 81st minute, what looked to be, winner for Abroath against Stirling. However, when the match was over we found out Stirling had scored an injury time winner.

So with just five games to go we are now 9 points behind Brechin (surely out of reach now) and 5 ahead of Stirling although we still have a tough away fixture against them on the penultimate game of the season which could prove to be a promotion decider!

[Alphaaz]

By the way, when it says, 'injury time winner' it is meant to be 'injury time equaliser'

[Educated Hick]

Nice start, will be following. BTW, any mistakes can be changed by a mod, just post in the mod request thread.

[Alphaaz]

Promotion for Morton?

After a 2-0 defeat away at Abroath and a 2-0 victory at home to Dumbarton, combined with Stirling's lack of form, defeat to Ayr and draw with Alloa, we can secure our place in the first division next season with a victory at home to bottom of the league Ayr. With still three games to go, a win in any being enough for promotion, promotion looks inevitable and it has become a matter of when and not if. However, we cannot afford to be complacent and we face a side already relegated so who will have nothing to lose and will probably play with a lot of freedom. Fingers crossed.

Morton 4-0 Ayr United

Promotion was secured in style with this emphatic win over Ayr United. A breathtaking start by us saw to goals in the first 5 minutes through captain Stuart McCluskey and Jay Stein. After this the game slowed down a lot although Morton were in complete control. On the stroke of half time, Alex Williams coolly beat Ayr keeper Darren Johnson at his near post to put Morton 3-0 up at the break. After 70 minutes, John Maisano hit a great volley into the net to make it 4-0. During the game, we manager 24 shots on goal, 13 on target, whereas Ayr had one shot and zero on target. If you ask me, they deserve to go down. The only down side to the game was that Jay Stein suffered shin splits and will be out for at least 2 months. However, there was some good news as centre-back Derek Collins (aged 36) agreed to stay at the club for another year on a radically reduced wage. Collins is the clubs longest serving player (15 years) and has played more league games than anyone else who has ever been at the club (527).

Now, for our next game (away at Stirling). We have a chance to rub salt into their wounds by beating them on their own turf just a week after they missed out on promotion.

Stirling Albion 1-2 Morton

Morton 8-2 Alloa

Talk about ending the season in style! An away victory against our promotion rivals followed by an abo****ely magnificent display at home to Alloa on the final day of the season despite going 1-0 down early on. The score was 2-1 to us at half time and we scored 6 in the second half to take our league goals this season to an incredible 91. An Alex Williams hat-trick within the space of 9 minutes, 2 goals from Australian midfielder John Maisano, and goals from Peter Weatherson, Scott Bannerman and Jason Walker secured the victory for us and to be honest, I can't think of a more fitting way to end the season as that is what we have been all about, scoring lots of goals and conceding a few as well!!

Coming up next : Season Review

[Alphaaz]

Final League Standings

1st Brechin City Pld36 W26 D5 L5 GF87 GA29 GD+58 Pts83

2nd Morton Pld36 W25 D2 L9 GF91 GA37 GD+54 Pts77

3rd Stirling Pld36 W18 D10 L8 GF63 GA38 GD+25 Pts64

4th Forfar Pld36 W18 D10 L8 GF61 GA42 GD+19 Pts64

5th Abroath Pld36 W11 D13 L12 GF48 GA57 GD-9 Pts46

6th Berwick Pld36 W11 D11 L14 GF60 GA62 GD-2 Pts44

7th Alloa Pld36 W11 D8 L17 GF48 GA74 GD-26 Pts41

8th Dumbarton Pld36 W10 D9 L17 GF53 GA73 GD-20 Pts39

9th Ayr United Pld36 W6 D5 L25 GF33 GA87 GD-54 Pts23

10th Stranraer Pld36 W5 D5 L26 GF36 GA81 GD-45 Pts20

I am very happy that we managed to do what the manager asked of us and win promotion to the first division. We've had a great year and I have confidence in the players, plus a couple of new signings, that we will do well next year in the first division. I am pleased with our cup performances and the 3 teams that beat us are all in higher leagues so I can have no complaints there. I will now assess the performances of each individual player:

Squad Assessment

Goalkeepers

Craig Coyle (Age-24) GK

Apps-42 Conceded-48 Cln Sheets-12 Avg Rating-7.00

Great keeper, very reliable and performed well throughout the year. Should have a good future in the game.

John Stark (Age-18) GK

Apps-3 Conceded-3 Cln Sheets-1 Avg Rating-6.67

Decent prospect. Filled in for a couple of games in Coyle's absence and performed reasonably well. Hopefully, he can improve to become a good goalie.

Defenders

Derek Collins (Age-36) SW/DRC

Apps-43 Goals-1 Assists-5 Avg Rating-7.28

Good solid defender, his partnership with Stuart McCluskey was one of the main reasons behind our success. Getting on a bit now but has just signed a new 1 year contract. His 1 and only goal proved crucial in the win over Berwick.

Dean Keenan (Age-19) SW/DRC

Apps-8(7) Goals-0 Assists-0 Avg Rating-6.93

Another decent prospect. His role was mainly coming on as a substitute for the tired Derek Collins but he also played some games while Stuart McCluskey was injured.

Stewart Greacen (Age-23) DRC

Apps-38 Goals-0 Assists-0 Avg Rating-7.34

One of my best players throughout the season. Played at right back and performed admirably. Pity he couldn't chip in with a few goals though. Sadly, he requested a transfer to a bigger club and probably won't be here next season as Dunfermline are interested.

Sean Callaghan (Loan) (Age-21) DL

Apps-6(3) Goals-0 Assists-1 Avg Rating-7.11

Loaned from Stranraer at the beginning of the season to provide cover for Marc McCulloch. Will not be signed permanently as we hope to sign another left back.

Stuart McCluskey (Captain) (Age-27) DC

Apps-38 Goals-3 Assists-2 Avg Rating-7.37

One of my best players. Consistently good performer, a rock at the back and excellent leader. I hope he'll remain here for many years to come.

Marc McCulloch (Age-25) DL/DML

Apps-39 Goals-0 Assists-3 Avg Rating-6.85

Decent defender, very consistent and an average part of the squad. Has done a decent job at left back though.

Jim McAllister (Age-19) D/AMR

Apps-7(2) Goals-1 Assists-0 Avg Rating-7.11

Didn't play a big part but did a job when called upon. Not sure about his future at the club. His only goal was a cracker against Dumbarton.

Midfielders

Scott Bannerman (Age-26) DMRC

Apps-39 Goals-3 Assists-8 Avg Rating-7.44

Great midfielder. Played in the centre and dominated the middle of the park. One of the best players but could have scored a few more goals.

Chris Millar (Age-22) DMRC

Apps-8(5) Goals-3 Assists-1 Avg Rating-7.38

Good central midfielder, performed well when he played. Unfortunately for him, he was competing with a Scott Bannerman for a place in the team so he never really stood a chance.

John Adam (Age-20) DMC

Apps-1 Goals-1 Assists-0 Avg Rating-9.00

Only played one game which was a cup tie but scored a goal and recieved the man of the match award. Probably deserved more of a chance. Next season, I will try and send him out on loan.

Marco Maisano (Age-24) DMC

Apps-17(8) Goals-2 Assists-8 Avg Rating-7.32

Did well in the early part of the season but he wasn't as good as brother John so had to settle for a place on the bench most of the time.

Darren Cross (Loan) (Age-19) AMR

Apps-3(1) Goals-0 Assists-1 Avg Rating-7.25

Loaned from Albion Rovers to provide cover for Paul Walker in January. Not really a very good player but we were just desperate for some back-up.

Willie Gibson (Loan) (Age-20) AML

Apps-9(15) Goals-0 Assists-8 Avg Rating-7.42

Loaned from Queen of the South to provide cover for Jay Stein. Performed extremely well when needed even though it was mostly off the bench. I might try and sign him permanently in the summer.

Jay Stein (Age-26) AML

Apps-35 Goals-6 Assists-20 Avg Rating-8.26

What can I say? What a superb signing! For only £8,000! Probably the best player this season, he got 9 man of the match awards and was Scottish Second Division player of the month for August, September and February. Also, won 2005 Scottish Second Division Player of the year. Fantastic player and his value has risen to £26,000.

John Maisano (Age-26) AMC

Apps-26(6) Goals-11 Assists-1 Avg Rating-7.47

Had a superb season and scored a lot of goals. However, I am disappointed in the number of assists he got. Also, a great character to have in the dressing room.

Paul Walker (Age-27) AM/FRC

Apps-40 Goals-11 Assists-14 Avg Rating-7.85

Another fantastic player who performed brilliantly throughout the season. Played on the right of midfield and to score that amount of goals from that position is incredible. Came runner-up to Jay Stein in Scottish Second Division Player of the year.

Forwards

Iain Diack (Age-24) FRC

Apps-1(1) Goals-1 Assists-1 Avg Rating-7.00

Disappointing season for him in the number of games that he played. He simply isn't good enough for this level and will be released at the end of the season as his contract expires.

Warren Hawke (Age-34) FC

Apps-9(14) Goals-6 Assists-2 Avg Rating-7.17

His experience has been very beneficial to the younger players of the squad and he has been a good player of the bench and has scored some crucial goals. I haven't decided whether or not to renew his contract yet.

Jason Walker (Age-21) SC

Apps-12(9) Goals-11 Assists-4 Avg Rating-7.19

Good prospect for the future and did ok this season, scoring 11 goals. His highlight of the season was scoring all the goals in a 4-2 win over Dumbarton.

Peter Weatherson (Age-24) SC

Apps-38(2) Goals-21 Assists-13 Avg Rating-7.32

A fantastic striker who has scored many crucial goals this campaign. However, I doubt we'll be able to hold onto him as Hibs and Dunfermline are interested in him but his value has rose to £150,000 (more than double anyone else in the squad) so we should get good money from him as we try to keep the club above the red.

Alex Williams (Age-22) SC

Apps-31 Goals-30 Assists-9 Avg Rating-7.58

An extraordinary striking ratio with almost a goal every game. His highlight of the season would have to be his four goals away to Dumbarton in a 4-1 win (everybody seems to have scored goals against Dumbarton!). We will probably struggle to keep hold of him as well.

Top Goalscorer - Alex Williams (30)

Top Assister - Jay Stein (20)

Top Avg Rating - Jay Stein (8.26)

Most Improved Plauyer - John Maisano

Well, now i have completed my assessment of the squad for this season. Hope you enjoyed reading about our campaign as it has taken a long time to write. Hope that you buy some of these players who have done well for me and if you do, post and tell me. In fact, just post if you've read any of the story.

However, the story doesn't end here and I will be back to tell you about how pre-season went and any new signings!

[Guest]

I read the thread through. Enjoy your time here! You did a fine job with the promotion!

[Alphaaz]

thanks

[IisPlayin]

Great Story. Only thing bad about it is thelack of detail in matches. Otherwise it's good. About the pictures tryusing imageshack. U can use full screen mode.

[Alphaaz]

See if this is better:

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/album_fullsize.html?c_photo=55073347

[Mark Snellink]

Says I'm not logged in

[Alphaaz]

It should work now

[Mark Snellink]

Nope...

[Alphaaz]

End of Season meeting with the chairman

On the 25th June, Morton Chairman Douglas Rae requested an end of season meeting with me to discuss how the season had gone and our aims for the next campaign.

I knocked on the chairman's door and he let me in and i sat down in a very comfortable chair in his office. He informed me that he was very pleased with my first season in charge and that I had repaid the faith that he had shown in me. He also said that if we are going to be successful in the first division then we need to tighten up our defence. However, he said my expectations were to avoid relegation and to help me to achieve this he had given me a tranfer budget of £35,000. At first I wasn't particularly pleased with this but when I sat down and thought about it, it seemed reasonable due to the current financial situation of the club. Finally, Douglas Rae said he hopes we can do well this year and will be supporting me all the way.

Transfer Targets

Seen as though there was not a lot of money around the club at the moment, I decided that it would be best if I looked towards young players who had not been offered new contracts at their clubs and therefore been released. One such target was Peter Newby, (19 year old midfielder) who had not agreed a new contract with Berwick and was looking for a new club. My scouts informed me during the course of last season that Newby was a good player with a lot of potential. I spoke to his agent over the phone and he agreed that Newby would have lunch with me to discuss a possible move. I arrived at a lovely little restaurant just north of Morton and found that Newby was already waiting for me and to my displeasure, his agent was as well. His agent informed me that Newby would require at least £1,100 per week but I told him that Morton could not afford to offer that kind of money, especially to a teenager. We had further talks and eventually I offered him a contract of £625 per week and they told me that they would get back to me. However, I am not in much hope as Airdrie Utd and St.Johnstone have made offers as well.

Other potential transfers are Kevin McKinley, Steve McGlinchie, Stephen O'Donnell, Scott Robertson, David McGeown, Iain Campbell and Stephen Jordan.

First signings of the season

It is the 4th July 2005 and I have managed to secure the loan move of Kieran McGuire from Premier League Outfit Dunfermline. McGuire is an irish attacking midfielder and is only 19 years of age but he looks like a good player who will go straight into the first team. At almost exactly the same time, I got an e-mail from 19 year-old Kevin McKinley saying that he had accepted my contract and will be at training the next day. McKinley is a forward who had just been released from Chelsea so at least he'll have been able to get tips of players like Didier Drogba, Adrian Mutu, Mateja Kezman and Eidur Gudjohnsen. McKinley doesn't look as if he is ready for the first team just yet.

Good news and bad news

I'll start with the good news, we have managed to secure the purchase of 19 year-old ex-Dunfermline striker Steve McGlinchie who, judging by his first training session, is extremely quick and has a lethal finish although I'm not much sure what else he has but he has signed on £725 per week deal therefore becoming the second highest paid player at the club. However, Peter Weatherson has left Morton to join premier league side Dundee. This could be considered as bad news but also as good as we have received £300,000 for him, an absolutely enormous amount for the club and also the chance to play a friendly against Dundee which could earn quite a bit as well. Also, left-back Iain Campbell has joined us on a 2 week trial and Jay Stein has recovered from shin splits.

Newby signs for St.Johnstone

To my immense disappointment, transfer target Peter Newby has signed for St.Johnstone as I feared he would. The draws have now been done for the first round of the league and challenge cup giving us a home tie in each. For the league cup, we have been drawn at home to Ayr United and in the challenge cup first round we have a fixture against Berwick so we will expect to win those although they certainly won't be easy.

Morton vs Birmingham City

Our first pre-season game was a tough home tie with Birmingham City. McGlinchie, McKinley, McGuire and Campbell were all given a chance to shine and we went in to the game playing a 4-4-2 with short, quick passing, little creative freedom, wide play and playing offside. The game started brightly enough with early opportunities for either side. 11,492 spectators had turned up to Cappielow Park and they were given something to cheer about when new signing Kieran McGuire gave Morton a surprising lead. However, the lead lasted no longer than 45 seconds when Stewart Greacen, usually so reliable, made an awful header and presented a chance to Clinton Morrison on a plate and he didn't disappoint the few Birmingham City fans who'd made the trip. Less than 5 minutes later, Emile Heskey pounced onto Damien Johnson's superb cross to put Birmingham in the lead at the break. Steve McGlinchie equalised on 62 minutes with a deflected effort before Jesper Gronkjaer was hacked down in the box by Iain Campbell and Stan Lazaridis tucked away the penalty to make it 3-2 to the Blues. Paul Walker had an shot superbly saved by substitute goalkeeper Nico Vaesen but Birmingham held on to win. Quite a pleasing friendly as we were not outclassed by superior opposition and the debutants played well.

Final Score : Morton 2-3 Birmingham City

[Alphaaz]

Morton vs Wigan Athletic

We started the game playing a 4-4-2 diamond formation with Scott Bannerman defensive midfielder and John Maisano attackive. Wigan had the better of the early play but failed to convert their chances. On the 24th minute Alex Williams gave Morton the lead with a superb volley past Wigan keeper John Filan against the run of play. On the half hour mark, Steve McGlinchie ran on to a great through ball from Alex Williams and there was just no catching him before he finished coolly. Gary Teale pulled one back for Wigan before Morton substitute Kieran McGuire rounded the keeper and slotted home with just 18 minutes left on the clock. All in all, it was a great victory and looked as though the diamond formation had been a success but if truth be told, we would have been hammered in that game if it hadn't been for Wigan's awful finishing.

Final Score : Morton 3-1 Wigan Athletic

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Chesterfield vs Morton

We chose to go with a 4-5-1 for this game with 2 attacking wingers. We took the lead after 23 minutes with a goal from Alex Williams. Just 6 minutes later we managed to score again through Kieran McGuire. Wayne Allison pulled 1 back for the home side just after half time before Alex Bailey equalised soon after. Jim McAllister headed Morton in front after 67 minutes but James Woodhall equalised just 2 minutes later. Substitute John Maisano struck the winner in injury time to make it 4-3 to Morton.

Final Score : Chesterfield 3-4 Morton

Yeovil vs Morton

For this game we went for a 4-3-3 which meant leaving out 2 of our best players, Jay Stein and Paul Walker, but it was only a friendly. I'm amazed that this game remained goalless because there was plenty of chances for either team. It must have been the inspired performances of the 2 goalkeepers, Chris Weale (Yeovil) and Craig Coyle (Morton). 1 outfield player also shone. Kevin McKinley rightly deserved his man of the match for a brilliant display.

Final Score : Yeovil 0-0 Morton

Morton vs Bolton

I was pleased with the performance of the 4-3-3 against Yeovil so decided to try it out against superior opposition in Bolton. The deadlock was broken in the 13th minute as Stelios Giannakopoulos shot past Craig Coyle to put the Wanderers 1-0 up. Ricardo Vaz Te made it 2-0 4 minutes later. At half time, I reverted back to a 4-4-2 formation. Second half passed without much incidence and Bolton held on for a 2-0 win.

Final Score : Morton 0-2 Bolton

Pre - Season thoughts

Overall, I was quite pleased with our pre-season, although we lost 2, they were against English Premiership opposition in Birmingham and Bolton and we managed to beat a premiership side in Wigan. I was impressed with our 2 new strikers, Steve McGlinchie and Kevin McKinley and they could be key parts in the coming season.

We have also managed to sign Partick Thistle winger Adam Strachan on loan for the season as back-up for Jay Stein.

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See if this screenshot works and please post if it does or doesn't :

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Morton vs Berwick

The Challenge Cup first round tie kicked off in warm weather (26degrees) but it was raining also. I had decided to go back to the trusted 4-4-2 formation. We dominated opening proceedings and were rewarded after 24 minutes with a strike from the edge of the area from Steve McGlinchie on his debut. We had chances to increase our lead but failed to do so so we led 1-0 at the break. Mark McCormick equalised after 74 minutes after a Darren Smith cross. The game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes so it was on to extra time. Finally, in the 108th minute there was a goal, but not for Morton as Berwick broke and scored through Darren Smith after good work from Danny Noon.

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I didn't mean to post that message. In the final minute of extra time, substitute and debutant Adam Strachan skinned a defender and shot past the Berwick keeper to send the Morton fans into jubilation! The dreaded penalty shoot-out awaited:

Williams (Morton) Scored

McCormick (Berwick) Scored

Walker (Morton) Scored

Seaton (Berwick) Scored

Maisano (Morton) Scored

Gill (Berwick) Scored

Bannerman (Morton) Scored

McNicoll (Berwick) Missed

McCulloch (Morton) Missed

Murie (Berwick) Missed

So a tough game which saw us prove our penalty taking skills by scoring 4 out of 5 to win 4-3.

Final Score : Morton p2-2 Berwick

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Williams signs for Busan

Morton's star striker Alex Williams has left for Korean outfit Busan for £300,000. The transfer leaves us desperately short of quality up front. A couple of days later, Ryan Jordan, a centre-back joined on loan from Livingston and we also signed centr-back Chris Scotland joined from Stirling for £6,000. There was more bad news to come as I received an e-mail informing me that Jay Stein had accepted a contract from Hibs and Paul Walker from Livingston, both for £130,000, and I realised that my squad was being torn apart. However, Paul Walker did not sign because Livingston couldn't afford the transfer fee.

Livingston vs Morton

This game was sure to be tough but we did have Jay Stein playing because his transfer isn't quite completed yet. We took an unexpected lead after 4 minutes after a great cross from Jay Stein set up Stewart Greacen for a good near post header past goalkeeper Colin Meldrum. However, the lead didn't last too long as Livingston equalised through Marc Libbra. We took the lead again through Steve McGlinchie who rounded the keeper to make it 2-1 before Kevin McKinley hit a screamer from just outside the area after 58 minutes for his 1st goal for Morton. Livingston pulled one back through Marc Libbra but it wasn't enough and Morton went on to a famous victory. 40-1! You're 'avin a larf!

Final Score : Livingston 2-3 Morton

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Jay Stein has now completed his move to Hibs for £130,000 which means we made a profit in just 1 year of £124,000. I will be disappointed to see Jay go but I understand his career is important to him.

Morton vs Queen of the South

An injury to Paul Walker meant that Jim McAllister got a rare start on right midfield. An absolutely blistering start by Morton saw ex-Chelsea striker Kevin McKinley shoot past the goalkeeper to put Morton up inside the 1st minute. Steve McGlinchie added a 2nd 6 minutes later with a good finish. However, QOS pulled 2 quick goals back through captain Steve Bowey and a superb free-kick from Greg Henslee to leave me feeling slightly disappointed at the break. It looked as if QOS would go on to win it as they spurned chance after chance and finally they were punished for those missed chances in the 92nd minute Chris Millar floated in a free-kick, Jason Walker flicked it on to McGlinchie who tried to round the keeper, he was tackled and the ball broke for Jason Walker to tap in the winner from about a yard out. We are now 3rd in the league with Brechin top!

Final Score : Morton 3-2 Queen of the South

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In the week that followed we managed to secure the signing of 21 year-old striker James McPake from Raith to add to our amazing number of Mc's in the squad. McPake has signed a 3 year deal on £900 per week making him the best paid player at the club.

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Morton vs Falkirk

This was expected to be a tough game but we did have home advantage and Paul Walker and Scott Bannerman returned from injuries while James McPake made his debut alongside Steve McGlinchie. We went 1-0 up after just 11 minutes when Adam Strachan's corner was headed in at the far post my James McPake to score on his debut. Strachan himself added a 2nd just 3 minutes later with a good finish from 6 yards. Paul Tosh pulled 1 back for Falkirk before James McPake slid the ball past Allan Ferguson just 5 minutes before half time. This goal seemed to make our players complacent as they conceded 2 late goals in the 1st half with Darryl Duffy and Paul Tosh the scorers. I told the players at half time that if they were to score again they must keep full concentration and not get complacent. It seemed to work as Chris Scotland headed in from a corner for a goal on his full debut before Steve McGlinchie made it 5 with a good effort from the edge of the box and then Scott Bannerman sealed the victory by heading in a superb cross from Kieran McGuire who is looking like an excellent signing (albeit on loan).

Final Score : Morton 6-3 Falkirk

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Airdrie Utd vs Morton

We were at full strength for this game which was sure to be a tough one. I expected it to be a difficult game so it game as no surprise when Alan McManus opened the scoring for Airdrie. We started to attack a little more and got our reward when Adam Strachan headed home Paul Walker cross. 2 minutes later and in stoppage time at the end of the first half we took a deserved lead when a superb through ball from Kieran McGuire found James McPake who curled it brilliantly around the goalkeeper who had no chance. McPake netted his 2nd on 56 minutes when he rounded keeper Craig Samson and slotted home to give Morton a surprising 3-1 lead. 6 minutes later a great ball by Scott Bannerman was fed into Steve McGlinchie who beat a defender before thumping it past the keeper at his near post. Morton could have scored more failed to so and the game finished 4-1. I am absolutely thrilled with this result and the start to the season and it sees us stay top of the league. SPL 'HERE WE COME'

Final Score : Airdrie Utd 1-4 Morton

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The few days before our Peterhead cup tie were very eventful as we managed to sign 19 year-old striker Billy Sharp from Sheffield Utd for £7,000. We also managed to persuade Willie Gibson, who was on loan here last season, to sign permanently from Queen of the South for £8,000. We signed left-back Clark Kay on loan for Dunfermline as well. However, 1 player did leave and that was Stewart Greacen who joined Hearts for £95,000 plus a 25% next sale clause.

Peterhead vs Morton

The 2nd round of the Scottish Challenge Cup. Injuries to Derek Collins and Scott Bannerman meant that Chris Scotland and Chris Millar got starts. An unbelievable start saw Kieran McGuire score from 20 yards after just 19 seconds! Keith Gibson equalised for Peterhead after 19 minutes before Scott Mitchie gave them the lead just 3 minutes after half time. However, James McPake equalised for Morton just 9 seconds from the kick-off. Steve McGlinchie gave us the lead after 51 minutes when McPake did great work down the left and crossed for McGlinchie to head home at the near post. Mitchie then made it 3-3 as he beat Craig Coyle from the edge of the area. But the best goal was still to come. In the 90th minute, Peterhead midfielder played a 1-2 with Craig Tully before beating Paul Walker, Chris Millar and Chris Scotland and slotting home to dump Morton out of the cup with an absolute wonder goal. I am disappointed with this because I hoped to win this because there are no SPL teams in this cup.

Final Score : Peterhead 4-3 Morton

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Last Minute Signing

With just hours to go before the transfer window closed we managed to secure the signature of full back Scott McLaughlin from Livingston for £20,000 to replace Stewart Greacen.

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Overall, it was a very good month for us as I won manager of the month, Kieran McGuire got player of the month and Adam Strachan received the yound player of the month award.

Morton vs Ayr Utd

As this was a league cup first round tie I decided to play a second string side. However, this doesn't mean I don't care if we get beat, I just believe that the team including debutants Willie Gibson, Scott McLaughlin, Clark Kay, Billy Sharp and Ryan Jordan, is good enough to beat Ayr after what I saw of them last season. Morton took the lead in the 20th minute thanks to a great header from Chris Scotland from a Willie Gibson corner. Billy Sharp added a 2nd in the 25th minute with a tap in from 5 yards out to give us a 2-0 lead at the break. Chris Millar played a great ball through to Kevin McKinley to make it 3 before Scotland scored his 2nd from a Jim McAllister corner. Robbie Arthur did score a consolation goal late on but the main disappointment was that new signing Scott McLaughlin was stretchered off just days after fully recovering from a broken leg. We await to see the extent of the damage.

Final Score : Morton 4-1 Ayr Utd

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Fortunately, the McLaughlin injury isn't as serious as was first feared and he will be out for a week with a damaged neck.

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Morton vs Ross County

I expected us to win this game because of our great start to the season although I knew it would be a difficult game. Not the best of starts when Gary McSwegan gave Morton the lead and it stayed that way in a poor first half. In the 61st minute Steve McGlinchie had a free-kick saved but Captain Stuart McCluskey tapped in the rebound. McGlinchie, McPake and Strachan all came close and just when it looked as if it would finish as a draw, in the 89th minute, a pass by John Maisano found McGlinchie who finished brilliantly past William Bald from inside the area to make it 2-1 and put us 5 points clear at the top of the league.

Final Score : Morton 2-1 Ross County

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Hamilton vs Morton

This was expected to be a difficult game but Hamilton did have midweek cup tie against Kilmarnock whereas we did not play so at least we should be fresher. Another poor start for Morton as Pat Keogh scored from close range inside the first 2 minutes. Mark McLaughlin doubled the lead 12 minutes later with a good finish past Craig Coyle. Soon after this, James McPake missed an absolute sitter, hitting the bar from about 3 yards out. Scott Bannerman also had a great chance which was saved by David McEwan before Stevie Convery chipped the ball over Coyle to make it 3 with just 5 minutes to go. Very disappointing result and performance which we will need to look at in training.

Hamilton 3-0 Morton

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Morton vs St.Mirren

I have been looking forward to this game all season as it is against our big rivals. There is added spice in it being 1st vs 2nd. Due to a broken collarbone for Paul Walker, Scott McLaughlin is preferred to Jim McAllister on the right of midfield and Chris Scotland replaces the injured Derek Collins. This week it was a good start for us as James McPake received a flick off from McGlinchie, beat a defender and fired past Lee Robinson after just 5 minutes. St.Mirren equalised a truly brilliant 30 yarder from Simon Lappin on 42 minutes. In first half injury time, Lappin was fouled by Chris Scotland in the area and referee Andrew Hunter awarded a penalty which Brian McGinty converted. McPake got his second of the afternoon after Dean Keenan's header rebounded off the crossbar and McPake reacted quickest to equalise. After 69 minutes, Kieran McGuire had a 20 yard shot come back of the crossbar and excellent control from Steve McGlinchie saw him round the keeper and give Morton the lead. Finally, with just 1 minute remaining of the 90, McPake fooled everyone by lining up a free-kick on the edge of the box but instead of shooting, he played a beautifully weighted pass to Adam Strachan who fired through the keepers legs to seal the game.

Morton 4-2 St.Mirren

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Hooray! After the impressive performances of on-loan midfielder Kieran McGuire we have agreed a fee of £40,000 (a bargain) with Dunfermline and a contract with Kieran to sign him permanently at the end of the season which I am absolutely thrilled about and I think he can play for Scotland one day.

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Morton vs Kilmarnock

We couldn't have got a much harder draw in the Scottish League Cup 2nd Round because Celtic and Rangers are not in at this stage. Plus, we were without our two central defenders, Derek Collins and Stuart McCluskey which meant we had to play young players Chris Scotland and Ryan Jordan. We started brilliantly once more as Adam Strachan crossed for James McPake who scored a great goal on the turn to give Morton the lead. There were few chances until Eric Joly scored an unbelievable goal direct from a corner to make the scores level at 1 a piece with 20 minutes remaining. Kilmarnock looked most likely to score but didn't and Jim McAllister hit the post with just 5 minutes remaining which would have won it for Morton but the game went to extra time. In the 99th minute of the game, Steve McGlinchie ran onto a through ball from Kieran McGuire and struck the ball past Alan Combe to make it 2-1. Kilmarnock hadn't given up and Danny Invincible missed a couple of good chances to equalise but Morton held on for a famous victory.

Morton 2-1 Kilmarnock (aet)

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St. Johnstone vs Morton

A cold, dry October day saw top of the table Morton travel to McDiarmid park to face in-form St.Johnstone. I expect this to be a tough game and we will do well to get anything from the game. Yet another great start saw us take the lead after 2 minutes after Kieran McGuire (recently called up to the scottish u19s) steered home from 10 yards. McPake added a second after 10 minutes by heading in a Strachan corner. St Johnstone pulled one back through Peter Newby after 36 minutes to make it 1-2 at the interval. Kevin Fotheringham scored from the penalty spot after Chris Hay had been hauled down by Scott McLaughlin and it looked as if it was going to remain that way until in the 89th minute, McLaughlin did some great work down the right before playing a great ball through to Steve McGlinchie who beat Patrick Deery before firing into the top corner for his 10th of the season and to give Morton a great victory and to keep them sitting comfortably at the top of the first division.

Final Score : St. Johnstone 2-3 Morton

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Queen of the South vs Morton

Our second game of the season against QOS as we had beaten them 3-2 in our last meeting. This game was made a lot tougher as 2 of our star players Kieran McGuire and Steve McGlinchie were away on international duty with Scotland U19s and Derek Collins was injured also. QOS dominated the early proceedings but failed to take their chances and the score was 0-0 at the break. QOS finally took the lead in the 71st minute after Chris Armstrong saw his shot saved by Craig Coyle before Emilio Jaconelli buried the rebound. Chances were few and far between for Morton and they clearly missed playmaker Kieran McGuire. The QOS fans were left singing at the end of the game 'Premier League, You're 'avin a laugh'. A very disappointing display from Greenock Morton.

Final Score : Queen of the South 1-0 Morton

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Morton vs Brechin

An amazing statistic is that Morton have never beaten Brechin since I have been in charge. We have played them 4 times and lost on every occasion, 1-0 on the last 3 games. Hopefully, we could put this right today. We took the lead on 42 minutes after a superb cross-field pass from Willie Gibson set-up Steve McGlinchie who fired Morton into the lead at the break. We had chances to extend the lead but Chris Templeman tapped in an equaliser after 62 minutes. We had plenty of chances to win the game there-on in but kept missing with James McPake being the main culprit as the game finished a draw. However, we moved 5 points clear of St Mirren as they lost leaving an amazingly open lead with 2nd to 9th separated by just 6 points after 10 games.

Final Score : Morton 1-1 Brechin

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Please post replies if you have read the thread!

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Morton vs Livingston

Second game of the season against Livingston after previously beating them 3-2 and we are hopeful of something similar. Still without Paul Walker and Derek Collins. A Great start for Morton as Kieran McGuire headed past Colin Meldrum from the edge of the area after just 3 minutes. We were 2 up after 10 minutes after Steve McGlinchie played a great ball through to James McPake who saw him shot well saved before McGlinchie buried the winner. But once again our nievity showed as we gave away the lead. Firstly, on 18 minutes, James Fowler attempted to cross a free-kick into the box and saw it fly straight into the net. And then mid-way through the second half Marc Libbra made it 2-2 after he went round the keeper. The final 20 minutes passed without much event and the game finished level. I am disappointed with this result because yet again, we failed to hold on to our lead and this is something we really need to address.

Final Score : Morton 2-2 Livingston

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Falkirk vs Morton

It was a cold, wet November day and none of the players were looking forward to playing in these conditions against a struggling Falkirk who were 9th in the table. Paul Tosh gave Falkirk the lead after 14 minutes when he chipped it over Morton keeper Craig Coyle. Tosh added his 2nd just 7 minutes later when he rounded the keeper after a superb pass from Darryl Duffy. Tosh completed Morton's misery and got himself a hat-trick when a magnificent ball from Scott Marshall set up Tosh who shot Falkirk into a 3-0 lead. A very disappointing Morton performance and and equally disappointing result.

Final Score : Falkirk 3-0 Morton

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