Greenock Morton F.C.

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Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Template:Scottish football updater. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebrate the links with its home town of Greenock.

Morton won the Scottish Cup in 1922, and achieved its highest league finish in 1916–17, as runners-up to champions Celtic. Morton holds the record for the most promotions to and relegations from the top flight (10 promotions and 10 relegations), but has not competed in the top flight of the Scottish football league system since 1988. In 2014–15, Morton won its tenth league title in all divisions by winning the Scottish League One championship on the final day.

History

19th century

Morton Football Club was established in 1874.[1] 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".[1] 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.[1] The name was changed in 1994 to 'Greenock Morton Football Club', to celebrate the club's links with its hometown, though it is still almost universally referred to as 'Morton'.

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

20th century

Morton's greatest success came in its 1–0 defeat of Rangers in the 1922 Scottish Cup Final. Jimmy Gourlay scored the winning goal directly from a free kick in the 11th minute. Right after the match Morton boarded a train to play Hartlepool United in a pre-arranged friendly match. The celebrations were delayed until the following Wednesday when 10,000 fans turned out at Cappielow to celebrate.

Morton has made two other major cup final appearances. On Saturday 17 April 1948, Morton drew 1–1 with Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final.[2] 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.[3] These matches attracted huge crowds: the first match was played in front of 132,629, and the replay, in front of 133,750, was at the time a British record attendance for a midweek match.[4]

Morton's third and final major cup final to date was in the League Cup, on Saturday, 26 October 1963. As in its previous two final appearances, Morton's opponent was again Rangers. The Glasgow side won by five goals to nil[5](HT: 0–0) in front of 106,000 supporters.

During the Second World War 'guest' players were common at clubs throughout Great Britain. Morton was particularly fortunate in this respect in that two of English football's greatest ever players turned out at Cappielow. Sir Stanley Matthews[6] and Tommy Lawton[7] 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'. 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'.

To date Morton has played in a European Club Competition once. After finishing 6th in Scotland's top division in 1967–68 Morton qualified for the European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (now the UEFA Europa League). Drawn to play Chelsea, the club was eliminated at the first hurdle after a 5–0 defeat at Stamford Bridge and a 4–3 defeat at Cappielow.[8]

In 1992–93 Morton lost 3–2 to Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Challenge Cup Final[9] 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 six-year stay and was put into administration. The club's financial problems continued and a second successive relegation followed. 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,[10] and the team won the Third Division championship at the first attempt, confirming its 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 Airdrie eventually did.[11]

Jim McInally was announced as McCormack's successor,[12] 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 along with Peterhead (3rd), Partick Thistle (4th), and Stranraer (9th in Division One). Morton's first play-off match was against Peterhead, and the Greenock side was defeated 1–0 over two legs, the only goal a penalty in the second match at Balmoor.[13]

The following season, a week after a 9–1 defeat of Forfar Athletic at Cappielow Park,[14] Morton achieved promotion to the First Division,[15] and went on to become Second Division Champions.[16]

Jim McInally resigned on 11 February 2008[17] 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.[18] 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.[19] Grady was removed from the club in May 2010,[20] and replaced by Allan Moore.[21] Allan Moore was sacked after a 5–1 defeat at home to Livingston on 23 November 2013. His replacement Kenny Shiels was given a contract until the end of season 2014–2015, but failed to reverse the slide towards relegation from the Scottish Championship, which became a reality on 12 April 2014 after a 2–0 away defeat by Alloa Athletic. Shiels resigned after a 10–2 defeat by Hamilton Accies.[22]

After the resignation of Shiels, Jim Duffy was appointed as manager. He won the Scottish League One to return the club the Championship at the first time of asking.[23] This league victory earned Morton's tenth league title, making it the joint third most crowned league champions in Scotland along with Hibernian, but behind Rangers and Celtic. Duffy was sacked in April 2018 after the club finished in 7th place in the Championship after a promising start.[24] At the end of the 2017–18 season, Chairman Douglas Rae retired after 17 years and handed the role to his son Crawford,[25] before dying less than two months later.[26]

Jim Duffy was replaced by Ray McKinnon in May 2018 on a one-year contract;[27] however McKinnon left to join league rivals Falkirk after just three months,[28] being replaced by ex-reserve team manager Jonatan Johansson on a two-year deal.[29]

Colours

The team's home strip is traditionally a blue and white hooped shirt with white shorts and white socks, though season 2006–07 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 and even a blue Morton tartan.

The away strip tends to vary much more: for the 2003–04 season it was an all yellow outfit, changing in 2004–05 to all white, which in turn became the 3rd team strip in 2005–06, with the special re-issue of the blue Morton tartan strip.[30]

For the 2021–22 season, the club issued a commemorative 'throwback' home kit with a similar design to that worn in their 1922 Scottish Cup Final victory, with no sponsor.[31]

Stadium

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Morton's stadium is Cappielow Park in Greenock, a ground the club has occupied since 1879. The current capacity is Template:SPFL-stadiums,[32] 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.[33]

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. The segregation fence no longer exists, and the whole area is used by home supporters. Behind the eastern goal is the "Sinclair Street" end, with uncovered terracing.

Supporters and rivalries

Greenock Morton has 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 Gourock Morton Supporters (Formerly The Albert Hotel Morton Supporters Club) and The Spinnaker Hotel Supporters Club.[34][35]

The club has a fierce rivalry with neighbours St Mirren, with whom they contest the Renfrewshire derby.[36] It is a rivalry which sees a large amount of animosity between the two sets of fans.[37]

The club also contests a smaller rivalry with Partick Thistle. The fixture is classed as a category A match by Police Scotland, due to fan trouble from both sets of supporters.

The club shares friendships with Reggiana and PEC Zwolle.

League participation

  • First Tier: 1900–1927, 1929–1933, 1937–1938, 1946–1949, 1950–1952, 1964–1966, 1967–1975, 1978–1983, 1984–1985, 1987–1988
  • Second Tier: 1893–1900, 1927–1929, 1933–1937, 1938–39, 1949–1950, 1952–1964, 1966–1967, 1975–1978, 1983–1984, 1985–1987, 1988–1994, 1995–2001, 2007–2014, 2015–present
  • Third Tier: 1994–1995, 2001–2002, 2003–2007, 2014–2015
  • Fourth Tier: 2002–2003

Honours

National honours

Minor honours

¹ Known as Division II at the time
² Known as Division I at the time
³ Known as SPFL League One at the time

Records

Players

Current squad

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<templatestyles src="Template:Football squad player/styles.css" /> Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Template:Fba/core James Storer (on loan from Wolves)
2 DF Template:Fba/core Cammy Ballantyne
3 DF Template:Fba/core Zak Delaney
4 DF Template:Fba/core Dylan Corr
5 DF Template:Fba/core Sonny Hart (on loan from Swindon Town)
6 DF Template:Fba/core Kris Moore
7 FW Template:Fba/core Owen Moffat
8 MF Template:Fba/core Cameron Blues
9 FW Template:Fba/core Tomi Adeloye
10 FW Template:Fba/core Eamonn Brophy
11 MF Template:Fba/core Ali Crawford
12 MF Template:Fba/core Kian Taylor
14 FW Template:Fba/core Zak McKay
17 MF Template:Fba/core Cammy MacPherson
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Template:Fba/core Michael Garrity
19 MF Template:Fba/core Kerr Robertson
20 DF Template:Fba/core Aaron Comrie
21 MF Template:Fba/core Grant Gillespie (captain)
22 MF Template:Fba/core Nathan Shaw
23 DF Template:Fba/core Jackson Longridge
24 MF Template:Fba/core Arron Lyall (on loan from Ross County)
26 DF Template:Fba/core Ciaran Taggart
27 MF Template:Fba/core Iain Wilson
29 FW Template:Fba/core Michael O'Halloran
30 MF Template:Fba/core Harris Halloway
35 MF Template:Fba/core Dean Black
41 GK Template:Fba/core Sam Murdoch

On loan

<templatestyles src="Template:Football squad player/styles.css" /> Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Template:Fba/core Robbie McKellar (on loan at Port Glasgow)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Template:Fba/core Louie Murphy (on loan at Arthurlie)

Coaching staff

Name Role
Gary Miller Interim Manager/Head of youth academy & emerging talent
Jon Connolly Interim Co-Assistant Manager/Goalkeeping coach
Joe McKee Interim Co-Assistant Manager/Youth coach
Billy Davies Technical head coach
George Barnes Physiotherapist
Ben Watkiss Sports scientist
Sean Strain Head of analysis
Tony Bryson Performance analyst
Gary Johnstone Kit manager

Player records

All statistics are for league matches, post-World War II.[46]

Top goalscorers
# Name Period at club Apps Goals
1 Template:Flagicon Allan McGraw 1961–1966 136 117
2 Template:Flagicon Andy Ritchie 1976–1983 213 100
3 Template:Flagicon Rowan Alexander 1986–1995 310 98
4 Template:Flagicon Peter Weatherson 2003–2013 323 93
5 Template:Flagicon Tommy Orr 1946–1958 257 86
6 Template:Flagicon Eddie Beaton 1956–1960 110 83
Template:Flagicon Derek Lilley 1991–1997
2005–2007 		232 83
8 Template:Flagicon Joe Mason 1966–1973 186 76
9 Template:Flagicon Alec Linwood 1951–1955 101 72
10 Template:Flagicon John McNeil 1975–1991 328 67
Most appearances
# Name Period at club Apps
1 Template:Flagicon Derek Collins 1987–1999
2001–2005 		534
2 Template:Flagicon David Wylie 1985–1999 482
3 Template:Flagicon Jim Holmes 1976–1988 437
4 Template:Flagicon Davie Hayes 1970–1984 353
5 Template:Flagicon John McNeil 1975–1991 328
6 Template:Flagicon Peter Weatherson 2003–2013 323
7 Template:Flagicon Jim McAlister 2002–2010
2018–2021 		312
8 Template:Flagicon Rowan Alexander 1986–1995 310
9 Template:Flagicon George Anderson 1969–1981
1985–1987 		280
10 Template:Flagicon Roy Baines 1972–1977
1978–1983 		271
Template:Flagicon Chris Millar 2003–2008
2018–2021 		271

Top league goalscorers by season (post-war)

In progress

  • Scottish unless stated
Season Name Goals Division
1946–47 Ross Henderson 10 Premier Division
1947–48 Tommy Orr 14 Premier Division
1948–49 Neil Mochan 13 Premier Division
1949–50 Neil Mochan 24 First Division
1950–51 Neil Mochan 20 Premier Division
1951–52 Alec Linwood 19 Premier Division
1952–53 Bob Gibson
Alec Linwood 		17 First Division
1953–54 Alec Linwood
John Hannigan 		22 First Division
1954–55 Alec Linwood 14 First Division
1955–56 Bob Gibson 33 First Division
1956–57 Eddie Beaton 18 First Division
1957–58 Eddie Beaton 25 First Division
1958–59 Eddie Beaton 33 First Division
1959–60 Charlie Stewart 11 First Division
1960–61 Billy Craig 11 First Division
1961–62 Allan McGraw 16 First Division
1962–63 Allan McGraw 29 First Division
1963–64 Allan McGraw 51 First Division
1964–65 Allan McGraw 12 Premier Division
1965–66 Allan McGraw
David Watson 		8 Premier Division
1966–67 Joe Harper 29 First Division
1967–68 Joe Mason 15 Premier Division
1968–69 Joe Harper 25 Premier Division
1969–70 Billy Osborne 11 Premier Division
1970–71 Joe Mason 9 Premier Division
1971–72 Donald Gillies 9 Premier Division
1972–73 Donald Gillies 14 Premier Division
1973–74 Hugh McIlmoyle 8 Premier Division
1974–75 John Hazel 6 Premier Division
1975–76 John Goldthorpe
Ian Harley
Richard Sharp 		22 First Division
1976–77 Andy Ritchie 22 First Division
1977–78 John Goldthorpe
Andy Ritchie 		20 First Division
1978–79 Andy Ritchie 22 Premier Division
1979–80 Andy Ritchie 19 Premier Division
1980–81 Andy Ritchie 8 Premier Division
1981–82 Andy Ritchie 6 Premier Division
1982–83 James Rooney 7 Premier Division
1983–84 John McNeil 17 First Division
1984–85 James Gillespie 5 Premier Division
1985–86 John McNeil 14 First Division
1986–87 Rowan Alexander 23 First Division
1987–88 Jimmy Boag 8 Premier Division
1988–89 Rowan Alexander 11 First Division
1989–90 Rowan Alexander 11 First Division
1990–91 Dave McCabe 21 First Division
1991–92 Alex Mathie 18 First Division
1992–93 Alex Mathie 13 First Division
1993–94 Rowan Alexander 11 First Division
1994–95 Derek Lilley 16 Second Division
1995–96 Derek Lilley 14 First Division
1996–97 Derek Lilley 15 First Division
1997–98 Template:Flagicon Warren Hawke 10 First Division
1998–99 Kevin Thomas 9 First Division
1999–00 Harry Curran 9 First Division
2000–01 Ross Matheson 9 First Division
2001–02 Scott Bannerman 8 Second Division
2002–03 Alex Williams 23 Third Division
2003–04 Template:Flagicon Peter Weatherson
Alex Williams 		15 Second Division
2004–05 Chris Millar
Template:Flagicon Peter Weatherson 		10 Second Division
2005–06 Derek Lilley 12 Second Division
2006–07 Template:Flagicon Peter Weatherson 15 Second Division
2007–08 Template:Flagicon Peter Weatherson 9 First Division
2008–09 Template:Flagicon Brian Wake
Template:Flagicon Peter Weatherson 		9 First Division
2009–10 Template:Flagicon Peter Weatherson 10 First Division
2010–11 Allan Jenkins 8 First Division
2011–12 Peter MacDonald 10 First Division
2012–13 Peter MacDonald 14 First Division
2013–14 Dougie Imrie 9 Championship
2014–15 Declan McManus (on loan from Aberdeen) 20 League One
2015–16 Denny Johnstone (on loan from Birmingham City) 14 Championship
2016–17 Ross Forbes 9 Championship
2017–18 Gary Harkins 8 Championship
2018–19 Bob McHugh 11 Championship
2019–20 Bob McHugh 8 Championship
2020–21 Aidan Nesbitt 4 Championship
2021–22 Template:Flagicon Gozie Ugwu 8 Championship
2022–23 Robbie Muirhead 10 Championship
2023–24 Robbie Muirhead 12 Championship
2024–25 Cameron Blues
Template:Flagicon Filip Stuparević 		5 Championship

National Individual Honours

Recent internationals

The last signed player to earn a full international cap whilst playing for Morton – Fouad Bachirou for Comoros in 2014.[53]

The last signed Morton player to receive international honours for Scotland was Jai Quitongo in 2016, for the under-21 side.[54]

Notable players

To be included in this list players must have met one of the following criteria...

  • Played over 100 league games for Morton
  • Scored in a national cup final
  • Managed the club after playing for them
  • Been from a nation outside the British Isles
  • Won full international honours

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Scottish Football Hall of Fame

Ex-Morton players who have been inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame are listed below.


For all Greenock Morton players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Greenock Morton F.C. players.

Board of directors

Name Role
Vacant Chairman
Graham Barr Director
Paul Farren Director
Ross Gourdie Director
Sam Robinson Director

Managers

This list does not contain caretaker managers.

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Scottish Cup record

Morton first entered the Scottish Cup in 1877–78 season, and won it once in 1922. Over the course of Morton's time in the competition it has changed format seven times, to its current format of 8 rounds and 2 preliminary rounds.

  • Between 2012–13 and 2014–15 there were 8 rounds plus a preliminary round.
  • Between 2007–08 and 2011–12 there were 8 rounds.
  • Between 1970–71 and 2006–07 there were 7 rounds.
  • Between 1957–58 and 1969–70 there were 5 rounds plus a preliminary round.
  • Between 1954–55 and 1956–57 there were 9 rounds.
  • Between 1912–13 and 1953–54 there were 6 rounds.
  • Between 1895–96 and 1911–12 there were 5 rounds.

So far Morton have finished the competition in the following rounds, this many times.

  • Finals – 2 (last 1948)
  • Semi-finals – 5 (last 1981)
  • Quarter-finals – 16 (last 2024)

European record

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup First round Template:Flagicon Chelsea 3–4 0–5 3–9

References

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  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Ronnie Cowan hails new Morton retro strip to mark 100th anniversary of Scottish Cup win, Greenock Telegraph, 2 July 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2022
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Football: War Shield Final, Glasgow Herald, 29 April 1915
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  55. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links

Template:Sister project

Template:Greenock Morton F.C. Template:Greenock Morton F.C. seasons Script error: No such module "Navbox". Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Authority control

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