Greenock Morton F.C.


Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior 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, 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. 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". 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. The name would be altered in 1994 to read '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 for Hartlepool to play the local side in a pre-arranged friendly match. The celebrations were delayed until the following Wednesday when 10,000 locals turned out at Cappielow Park 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. 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. 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, was at the time a British record attendance for a midweek match.
Morton's third and final major cup final to date was in the League Cup, played on Saturday, 26 October 1963. As in its previous two final appearances, Morton's opponent was once again Glasgow Rangers. Rangers won by 5 goals to nil 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 and Tommy Lawton 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. 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.
In 1992–93 Morton lost 3–2 to Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Challenge Cup Final 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, 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.
Jim McInally was announced as McCormack's successor, 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, Partick Thistle, and Stranraer. 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.
The following season, a week after a 9–1 defeat of Forfar Athletic at Cappielow Park, Morton achieved promotion to the First Division, and went on to become Second Division Champions.
Jim McInally resigned on 11 February 2008 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. 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.
Grady was removed from the club in May 2010, and replaced by Allan Moore. 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.
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. This league victory earned Morton's tenth league title, making it the fourth most crowned league champions in Scotland behind Rangers, Celtic and Clyde. Duffy was sacked in April 2018 after the club finished in 7th place in the Championship after a promising start. At the end of the 2017-18 season, Chairman Douglas Rae retired after 17 years and handed the role to his son Crawford, before passing away less than two months later.
Jim Duffy was replaced by Ray McKinnon in May 2018 on a one-year contract; however McKinnon left to join league rivals Falkirk after just three months, being replaced by ex-reserve team manager Jonatan Johansson on a two-year deal.

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 in the style of the Argentine national team and even a blue Morton tartan. The away strip tends to vary much more: for the 2003–04 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. The sponsor's logo on the strip is that of Millions, a brand owned by the club chairman's confectionery concern, Golden Casket Ltd.

Stadium

Morton's stadium is Cappielow Park in Greenock, a ground the club has occupied since 1879. Cappielow's etymology is allegedly of Scandinavian origin, although details are sketchy. The current capacity is, 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.
The area currently behind the western goal 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, 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 and The Spinnaker Hotel Supporters Club.
The club has a fierce rivalry with neighbours St Mirren, with whom they contest the Renfrewshire derby. It is a rivalry which sees a large amount of animosity between the two sets of fans.

League participation

National 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

Current squad

Player records

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

Top goalscorers
#NamePeriod at clubAppsGoals
1 Allan McGraw1961–1966136117
2 Andy Ritchie1976–1983213100
3 Rowan Alexander1986–199531098
4 Peter Weatherson2003–201332393
5 Tommy Orr1946–195825786
6 Eddie Beaton1956–196011083
6 Derek Lilley1991–1997
2005–2007		23283
8 Joe Mason1966–197318676
9 Alec Linwood1951–195510172
10 John McNeil1975–199132867

Most appearances
#NamePeriod at clubApps
1 Derek Collins1987–1999
2001–2005		534
2 David Wylie1985–1999482
3 Jim Holmes1976–1988437
4 Davie Hayes1970–1984353
5 Jim McAlister2002–2010
2018–		336
6 John McNeil1975–1991328
7 Peter Weatherson2003–2013323
8 Rowan Alexander1986–1995310
9 George Anderson1969–1981
1985–1987		280
10 Roy Baines1972–1977
1978–1983		271

Top league goalscorers by season (post war)

In progress
  • Scottish unless stated
SeasonNameGoalsDivision
1946–47Ross Henderson10Premier Division
1947–48Tommy Orr14Premier Division
1948–49Neil Mochan13Premier Division
1949–50Neil Mochan24First Division
1950–51Neil Mochan20Premier Division
1951–52Alec Linwood19Premier Division
1952–53Bob Gibson
Alec Linwood		17First Division
1953–54Alec Linwood
John Hannigan		22First Division
1954–55Alec Linwood14First Division
1955–56Bob Gibson33First Division
1956–57Eddie Beaton18First Division
1957–58Eddie Beaton25First Division
1958–59Eddie Beaton33First Division
1959–60Charlie Stewart11First Division
1960–61Billy Craig11First Division
1961–62Allan McGraw16First Division
1962–63Allan McGraw29First Division
1963–64Allan McGraw51First Division
1964–65Allan McGraw12Premier Division
1965–66Allan McGraw
David Watson		8Premier Division
1966–67Joe Harper29First Division
1967–68Joe Mason15Premier Division
1968–69Joe Harper25Premier Division
1969–70Billy Osborne11Premier Division
1970–71Joe Mason9Premier Division
1971–72Donald Gillies9Premier Division
1972–73Donald Gillies14Premier Division
1973–74Hugh McIlmoyle8Premier Division
1974–75John Hazel6Premier Division
1975–76John Goldthorpe
Ian Harley
Richard Sharp		22First Division
1976–77Andy Ritchie22First Division
1977–78John Goldthorpe
Andy Ritchie		20First Division
1978–79Andy Ritchie22Premier Division
1979–80Andy Ritchie19Premier Division
1980–81Andy Ritchie8Premier Division
1981–82Andy Ritchie6Premier Division
1982–83James Rooney7Premier Division
1983–84John McNeil17First Division
1984–85James Gillespie5Premier Division
1985–86John McNeil14First Division
1986–87Rowan Alexander23First Division
1987–88Jimmy Boag8Premier Division
1988–89Rowan Alexander11First Division
1989–90Rowan Alexander11First Division
1990–91Dave McCabe21First Division
1991–92Alex Mathie18First Division
1992–93Alex Mathie13First Division
1993–94Rowan Alexander11First Division
1994–95Derek Lilley16Second Division
1995–96Derek Lilley14First Division
1996–97Derek Lilley15First Division
1997–98 Warren Hawke10First Division
1998–99Kevin Thomas9First Division
1999–00Harry Curran9First Division
2000–01Ross Matheson9First Division
2001–02Scott Bannerman8Second Division
2002–03Alex Williams23Third Division
2003–04 Peter Weatherson
Alex Williams		15Second Division
2004–05Chris Millar
Peter Weatherson		10Second Division
2005–06Derek Lilley12Second Division
2006–07 Peter Weatherson15Second Division
2007–08 Peter Weatherson9First Division
2008–09 Brian Wake
Peter Weatherson		9First Division
2009–10 Peter Weatherson10First Division
2010–11Allan Jenkins8First Division
2011–12Peter MacDonald10First Division
2012–13Peter MacDonald14First Division
2013–14Dougie Imrie9Championship
2014–15Declan McManus 20League One
2015–16Denny Johnstone 14Championship
2016–17Ross Forbes9Championship
2017–18Gary Harkins8Championship
2018–19Bob McHugh11Championship
2019–20Bob McHugh8Championship

National Individual Honours

  • 2016–17 – Jim Duffy
  • 2014–15 – Declan McManus
  • 2002–03 – Alex Williams
  • 1994–95 – Derek McInnes
  • 1994–95 – Allan McGraw
  • 1986–87 – Jim Holmes
  • 1984–85 – Jim Duffy
  • 1978–79 – Andy Ritchie

    Recent internationals

The last signed player to earn a full international cap whilst playing for Morton – Fouad Bachirou for Comoros in 2014.
The last signed Morton player to receive international honours for Scotland was Jai Quitongo in 2016, for the under-21 side.

Notable players

To be included in this list players must have met one of the following criteria...
Ex-Morton players who have been inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame are listed below.
  • Joe Jordan
  • Jimmy Cowan
For all Greenock Morton players with a Wikipedia article, see :Category:Greenock Morton F.C. players.

Club staff

Board of directors

Coaching staff

NameRole
David HopkinManager
Anton McElhoneAssistant Manager
Dave TimminsGoalkeeping Coach
Derek AndersonHead of Youth Development
David GarrettHead of Youth Academy Pathway
John SuttonHead of Development Squad
Derek Allen
Pat McIlvogue		U18 Academy Coaches
Jim McGowanAcademy Goalkeeping Coach
Mark FarrellGroundsman

Managers

This list does not contain caretaker managers.
Morton first entered the Scottish Cup in season 1877–1878, 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
  • Semi-finals – 5
  • Quarter-finals – 15

    European record