Greenock Morton F.C.

Greenock Morton F.C

Full name	Greenock Morton Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Ton,[1] The Pride of the Clyde
Short name	Morton
Founded	1874
Ground	Cappielow Park Sinclair Street Greenock
Ground Capacity	11,589[2] (5,741 seated)
Chairman	Douglas Rae
Manager	Kenny Shiels
League	Scottish Championship
2012–13	Scottish First Division, 2nd
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Greenock Morton Football Club are a Scottish professional football club, who currently play in the Scottish Championship.^[3] The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton were renamed as Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebrate the links with its home town of Greenock.

Morton won the Scottish Cup in 1922, and achieved their highest league finish in 1916–17, finishing as runners-up to champions Celtic.

Morton holds the record for the most promotions and relegations into the top flight (10 promotions and 10 relegations), however they have never competed in the current Scottish Premiership, having last competed in 1988 in the old Scottish Football League Premier Division.

History

19th century

Morton Football Club was established in 1874.^[4] In the early 1870s the popularity of football was growing, with many clubs being established around Scotland. At the club's inaugural meeting, the first recorded words were "that this club be called Morton Football Club".^[4] The true reason for the name 'Morton' remains unclear, though the general consensus is that the club was named after the 'Morton Terrace', a row of houses next to the original playing field, where some of the players lived.^[4] The name would be altered in 1994 to read 'Greenock Morton Football Club', to celebrate the club's links with its hometown.

Morton were one of the founding members of the old Second Division, formed in 1893. They finished 8th in their first season. Morton first gained promotion to the old First Division in 1899–1900, and finished 4th in their first season there.

20th century

Morton's greatest success came when they defeated Rangers 1–0 in the 1922 Scottish Cup Final. Jimmy Gourlay scored the winning goal, direct from a free kick in the 11th minute. Straight after the match Morton boarded a train for Hartlepool to play the local side in a pre-arranged friendly match. The celebrations were delayed until the Wednesday when 10,000 locals turned out at Cappielow Park to celebrate.

Morton have made two other major cup final appearances. On Saturday 17 April 1948, Morton drew 1–1 with Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final.^[5] Morton's goal was a free kick scored by Jimmy White. The match was replayed on Wednesday 21 April. This time Rangers won 1–0 after extra time. The goal was said to be highly controversial because it was claimed that Morton goalkeeper Jimmy Cowan was blinded by the flash of a camera.^[6] These matches were significant because of the huge crowds they attracted. The first match was played in front of 132,629; the replay in front of 133,750, which was, at the time a British record attendance for a midweek match.^[7]

Morton's third and final major cup final to date was in the League Cup and this was played on Saturday 26 October 1963 when Rangers (who Morton have faced in all three final appearances) won by 5 goals to nil^[8](HT: 0–0) in front of 106,000 supporters.

During the Second World War 'guest' players were common at clubs throughout Great Britain. Morton were particularly fortunate in this respect in that two of English football's greatest ever players turned out at Cappielow. Sir Stanley Matthews^[9] and Tommy Lawton^[10] made several guest appearances for Morton. When Morton reached the 1948 Scottish Cup Final both players sent telegrams wishing good luck to their former club. Matthews simply said 'I am delighted to see Morton reach the final of the Scottish Cup'.^{[citation needed]} Lawton's was more expressive, he said 'Memories of happy days during the war at Cappielow compel me to wish the Morton manager & the boys all the best of luck in their cup final at Hampden'.^{[citation needed]}

To date Morton have played in a European Club Competition once. After finishing 6th in Scotland's top division in 1967–68 Morton qualified for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. They were drawn to play Chelsea but were eliminated at the first hurdle after a 5–0 defeat at Stamford Bridge and a 4–3 defeat at Cappielow.^[11]

In 1992–93 Morton lost 3–2 to Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Challenge Cup Final^[12] in front of 7,391 fans. The final was played at Love Street, the home of Morton's arch rivals St. Mirren.

21st century

After experiencing financial problems the team was relegated from the First Division at the end of the 2000–01 season after a 6-year stay and was put into administration. The club's financial problems continued and a second successive relegation followed the next season. In season 2002–03, Morton's first ever season in the Third Division, the club's financial situation was resolved by the takeover by chairman Douglas Rae. Rae appointed John McCormack as manager,^[13] and the team won the Third Division championship at the first attempt, confirming their position with a 1–0 victory over Peterhead in front of a then Third Division record crowd of 8,497 people.

After a strong start to the 2003–04 season the team fell away after the turn of the year, and finished in 4th place, well outside the promotion places. This came after being 12 points ahead in the Championship race at the half way stage. This led to unfounded allegations that some players had placed large bets on nearest rivals Airdrie United to win the league, which they eventually did.^[14]

Jim McInally was announced as McCormack's successor,^[15] and in his first season as manager the club failed to gain promotion to the First Division by a single point, finishing behind Stranraer in 3rd place.

Morton failed to gain promotion to the First Division during the 2005–06 season. Finishing 2nd was not enough, as the SFL playoffs meant that only the championship-winning team would be promoted automatically. Gretna won the division, so Morton entered play-offs alongside Peterhead (3rd), Partick Thistle (4th), and Stranraer (9th in Division One.) Morton's first play-off match was against Peterhead, and the Greenock side were defeated 1–0 over two legs, the only goal a penalty in the second match at Balmoor.^[16]

The following season, a week after a 9–1 defeat of Forfar Athletic at Cappielow Park,^[17] Morton achieved promotion to the First Division,^[18] and went on to become Second Division Champions.^[19]

Jim McInally resigned on 11 February 2008^[20] after a run of poor results allowed Morton to slip into 9th place in the First Division and was replaced by Davie Irons, with Derek Collins joining him as Assistant Manager.^[21] Morton battled relegation for most of the season and survived on the final day with a 3–0 victory against Partick Thistle, to avoid the relegation playoff by a single goal. Irons was sacked in September 2009 and replaced October by James Grady, until the end of the season.^[22] Grady was removed from the club in May 2010,^[23] and replaced by Allan Moore.^[24] Allan Moore was sacked after a 5–1 defeat at home to Livingston on 23 November 2013.

Colours

The team's home strip is traditionally a blue and white hooped shirt with white shorts and white socks, though season 2006–2007 saw the team playing a blue and white striped shirt with white shorts and blue socks. Short-lived yet distinctive designs have been used over the years, including sky blue and white stripes in the style of the Argentine national team and even a blue Morton tartan. The away strip tends to vary much more; for the 2003–2004 season it was an all yellow outfit, changing in 2004–2005 to all white, which in turn became the 3rd team strip in 2005–2006, with the special re-issue of the blue Morton tartan strip. The sponsor's logo on the strip is that of Millions, a brand owned by the Club Chairman's confectionery concern, Golden Casket (Greenock) Ltd.^[25]

Stadium

Their stadium is Cappielow Park in Greenock, a ground they have occupied since 1879. Cappielow's etymology is allegedly of Scandinavian origin, although details of this are sketchy. The current capacity is 11,589, with 5,741 of these being seated. In December 2008, Morton purchased the Reid Kerr sponsored East stand from local rivals St. Mirren for £50,000, to improve the away end at Cappielow.^[26] This would also bring the stadium closer to the 6000 covered seating required to host SPL football.

The area currently behind the western goal (upon which the new stand will be built) is known as the Wee Dublin End, which contains non-backed bench seating, converted from the old terracing that once stood there. The main stand contains plastic bucket seating to replace the old wooden benches that were a fixture of the ground until the late 1990s. The "Cowshed" lies to the north of the pitch; formerly a fully terraced arena for both home and away supporters (complete with segregation fence down the middle), it is now for home supporters only, with much of the frontal terracing removed, and plastic bucket seats occupying its place. Behind the eastern goal is the "Sinclair Street" end, with uncovered terracing.

Supporters

Greenock Morton have several supporters' clubs, based in Greenock and the surrounding towns. The main clubs are The Andy Ritchie Travel Club, The Prince of Wales Travel Club, The Greenock Morton Supporters Club, The Albert Hotel Morton Supporters Club and The Spinnaker Hotel Supporters Club;^[27][28]

League participation

• First Level: 1900–1927, 1929–1933, 1937–1938, 1946–1949, 1950–1952, 1964–1966, 1967–1975, 1978–1983, 1984–1985, 1987–1988

• Second Level: 1893–1900, 1927–1929, 1933–1937, 1938–39, 1949–1950, 1952–1964, 1966–1967, 1975–1978, 1983–1984, 1985–1987, 1988–1994, 1995–2001, 2007–

• Third Level: 1994–1995, 2001–2002, 2003–2007

• Fourth Level: 2002–2003

Honours

• Scottish Cup
  • Winners: 1921–1922
  • Runners-up: 1947–1948

• Scottish League Cup
  • Runners-up: 1963–1964

• Scottish Challenge Cup
  • Runners-up: 1992–1993

• Scottish Premier Division
  • Runners-up: 1916–1917²

• Scottish First Division
  • Champions: 1949–1950¹, 1963–1964¹, 1966–1967¹, 1977–1978, 1983–1984, 1986–1987
  • Runners-up: 1899–1900¹, 1928–1929¹, 1936–1937¹, 2012–13

• Scottish Second Division
  • Champions: 1994–1995, 2006–2007
  • Runners-up: 2005–2006

• Scottish Third Division
  • Champions: 2002–2003

• Renfrewshire Cup
  • Champions: 52 times

• Great War Shield
  • Champions: 1914

• Southern League Cup
  • Runners-up: 1941–1942

• SFL Reserve League South
  • Runners-up: 2012–2013

¹ Known as Division II at the time
² Known as Division I at the time

Records

• Best league position – 2nd in First Division (Old) (1916–1917)
• Best Scottish Cup performance – winners (1921–1922)
• Best League Cup performance – runners-up (1963–1964)
• Best Challenge Cup performance – runners-up (1992–1993)
• Victory – 21–0 v Howwood (1886–87 Renfrewshire Cup)
• Defeat – 1–10 v Port Glasgow Athletic (5 May 1894), St. Bernard's (14 October 1933)
• Home attendance – 23,500 v Celtic (1922)
• Goals in one season – Allan McGraw (58 in 1963–1964)
• Most league appearances – Derek Collins (534)
• Most league goals – Allan McGraw (117)

Players

As of 1 February 2014

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Derek Gaston 2 DF Scott Taggart 3 DF Marc Fitzpatrick 6 DF Stuart Findlay (on loan from Celtic) 7 MF Joe McKee 8 MF Dougie Imrie (captain) 9 MF Tony Wallace 10 FW Archie Campbell 11 MF David O'Brien 14 MF Reece Hands 15 FW Garry O'Connor

No. Position Player 16 DF Ben Sampayo 19 FW Barrie McKay (on loan from Rangers) 21 MF Fouad Bachirou 22 DF Thomas O'Ware 23 GK Nicolas Caraux 25 MF David Robertson 40 DF Darren Cole 44 DF Jamie McCormack 48 FW Kabba-Modou Cham TBA FW Rowan Vine

Development squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 26 MF Aidan Fulton 27 FW David McNeil 28 MF Mark Russell 29 MF David Verlaque 30 DF Luke Irvine 31 DF Nicky Jamieson

No. Position Player 32 FW Aidan Ferris 33 MF Cameron O'Neil 34 MF Craig Knight 36 FW Jordan Cairnie 37 MF Steven Lamont TBA FW Jack Smith

Current squad statistics

League Appearances (current squad) Only players over 25 league appearances Name Début for club Games Fouad Bachirou 2010 105 David O'Brien 2010 99 Archie Campbell 2011 74 Scott Taggart 2012 49 Derek Gaston 2012 40 Tony Wallace 2012 33 Thomas O'Ware 2011 31

League goals (current squad) Name Goals Archie Campbell 20 David O'Brien 18 Dougie Imrie 5 Reece Hands 3 Fouad Bachirou Scott Taggart Kabba-Modou Cham 2 Tony Wallace Barrie McKay 1

Player records

All statistics are for league games, post-World War II.^[29]

As of 7 May 2013

Top league goalscorers by season (post war)

Completed seasons only.