Plenty of Nothing

John Dunsworth

Source.

Alfred Morton 1918

Alfred Morton Cognac, 1918. Source.

Morton launch their eighth consecutive season in the Scottish Championship. In the time since the Scottish League reorganized into four divisions Morton have spent more years in this division than anybody else. (See D below.)

This year's Championship has seven teams in common with last year's: Arbroath, Inverness CT, Partick Thistle, Raith Rovers, Hamilton Accies, Morton and Ayr United. Killie, Dunfermline and Queen of the South are gone, replaced by Dundee, Cove Rangers and Queen's Park. Those last two have never played in this division before, though Queen's Park did play in the second tier in the three-division times and in the top tier in the two-division days. And in the years before the SFL they were the top club in Scotland.

This is the first time since 2013-14 that the Championship doesn't include a bigtime Premiership club. Dundee, Hamilton Accies, Partick Thistle and ICT sometimes play in the Premiership but you wouldn't call them huge. They’ll all be lucky to get past Arbroath, who won their League Cup group and appear to be carrying on from where they finished last season.

Morton have not been in the top division since 1988.

Today Morton visit Hamilton Accies at New Douglas Park.

Hamilton earned 8 points in the League Cup group stage on two wins, a shootout win and a loss, with 9 goals scored and 6 allowed.

Hamilton have had John Rankin as their head coach for one month. It's his first gig.

Morton visited Hamilton on August 7th last year and won 0 - 1.

Starting XI: [Schwake, Pignatiello, Strapp, O'Connor, Baird, Kabia, Blues, Muirhead, Quitongo, Gillespie, Lyon.]

Compare last year: Hamilton, Ledger, Strapp, Jacobs, Oliver, Blues, Muirhead, Ugwu, Hynes, McGregor, Lithgow.

The SPFL is bringing back the Reserve League. Rangers, Celtic and Hearts won’t be in it because their reserves are in the Lowland League. Participating clubs are: Dundee United, Hibs, Killie, Livi and Motherwell from the Premiership, Ayr, Dundee, Hamilton and Queen’s Park from the Championship, and Queen of the South from League 1.

Morton have signed 18-year-old striker Josh Gemmell and loaned him out to Broomhill of the Lowland League. Kyle Jacobs has been loaned out to FC Edinburgh.

[Hamilton Academical 1 - 1 Morton. Morton goal by Gillespie.]

Other Championship matches:

Ayr United [0 - 0] Arbroath

Cove Rangers [2 - 0] Raith Rovers

Dundee [2 - 3] Partick Thistle

Inverness CT [1 - 1] Queen's Park

Other matches:

Civil Service Strollers 1 - 3 Gala Fairydean Rovers (July 26)

Cowdenbeath [1 - 2] Gala Fairydean Rovers (today)

Forres Mechanics [0 - 1] Brechin City

Largs Thistle [1 - 1] Glenafton Athletic

FC Isle of Man [0 - 1] Lower Breck

Mito HollyHock [1 - 0] Omiya Ardija

Tohoku: Bogolle.D.Tsugaru [0 - 8] Cobaltore Onagawa (tomorrow)

PEC Zwolle [2 - 1] Dordrecht (friendly)

Winterthur [1 - 4] Lugano (tomorrow)

FAI Cup, Round One: UCD 3 - 0 Cockhill Celtic (yesterday)

Canadian Championship final (July 26):

Vancouver Whitecaps 1 - 1 Toronto FC (Vancouver win on PK.)

League1 Ontario: North Mississauga 0 - 6 Vaughan Azzurri (yesterday)

Vaughan Azzurri played HFX Wanderers in the first round of the 2019 Canadian Championship. Wanderers were impressed by Duran Lee's play for Azzurri and signed him for the remainder of 2019. Matthew Arnone and Tomasz Skublak have also played for Vaughan Azzurri.

PLSQ: FC Laval [2 - 1] Royal-Sélect de Beauport (tomorrow)

CSL: BGHC 1 [1 - 10] Serbian White Eagles

HFX Wanderers [2 - 4] York United (Monday) [Halifax goals by Santos and Garcia.]

[HFX Wanderers have signed Ludwig Kodjo-Amla from CS St-Hubert.]

HFX Wanderers U23 2 - 3 CS St-Hubert (friendly) (July 27)

UEFA Champions League 2QR, second leg:

Bodo/Glimt 8 - 0 Linfield (July 27)

Shamrock Rovers 2 - 1 Ludogorets Razgrad (July 26)

Linfield and Shamrock Rovers both drop down to the Europa League.

UEFA Europa Conference 2QR, second leg (mostly July 28):

The New Saints 0 - 0 Vikingur Reykjavik (July 26)

Sligo Rovers 2 - 0 Motherwell

Mura 0 - 0 Saint Patrick’s Athletic    (Saint Patrick’s win on PK.)

Crusaders 1 - 1 Basel

Newtown 1 - 2 Spartan Trnava

Saint Patrick’s advance. Motherwell, Crusaders, TNS and Newtown are out.

Concacaf League, preliminary round, first leg (July 26):

Waterhouse FC 0 - 0 Pacific FC

Plenty of Nothing's objectives for Morton in 2022-23:

1)    Make the Premiership playoffs.

2)    Make the final of any cup. (See E below.)

3)    Get a win off each Championship opponent.

4)    Sweep an opponent.

5)    Play a Premiership side at Cappielow.

6)    Score on Aberdeen.

7)    Play Kelty Hearts.

8)    Have a top scorer with at least 10 goals.

Appendices:

A) When did everyone find out they were in the 2022-23 Scottish Championship?

April 16        Hamilton Academical

April 23        Greenock Morton

April 23        Cove Rangers

April 29        Raith Rovers

April 29        Ayr United

May 6          Partick Thistle

May 11        Dundee

May 13        Arbroath

May 15        Queen's Park

May 23        Inverness CT

B) When did they most recently get into the Championship, and was it from above or below?

2022    Dundee (above)

2022    Cove Rangers (below)

2022    Queen's Park (below)

2021    Hamilton Accies (above)

2021    Partick Thistle (below)

2020    Raith Rovers (below)

2019    Arbroath (below)

2018    Ayr United (below)

2017    Inverness CT (above)

2015    Morton (below)

C) In which divisions have the 2022-23 Championship clubs played since 1994?

Dundee              BBBBAA     AAAAABBBBB     BBABAAAAAB    BAB

Inverness CT     DDDCCB    BBBBAAAAAB     AAAAAAABBB    BBB

Hamilton            BBCBBC    DCCCBBBBAA    ABBBAAAAAA     ABB

Partick Thistle    AABBCC    CBAABCBBBB     BBBAAAAABB    CBB

Raith Rovers     BAABBB    BBCBBCCCCB     BBBBBBBCCC    BBB

Morton               CBBBBB    BCDCCCCBBB    BBBBCBBBBB     BBB

Ayr Utd              BCCBBB    BBBBCCCCCB    CBCCCCBCBB    BBB

Arbroath            DDDDCC    CBBCCDDDCC   DCCCDDDCCB    BBB

Queen's Park    DDDDDD    CDDDDDDCCD   DDDDDDCCDD   DCB

Cove Rangers   HHHHHH   HHHHHHHHHH   HHHHHHHHHD    CCB

(A = tier I; B = tier II; etc.; H = Highland League)

D) Since 1994, which clubs have spent at least half of the time in tier II, including this season?

21 years        Greenock Morton

19 years        Queen of the South

19 years        Raith Rovers

18 years        Falkirk

16 years        Ayr United

15 years        Dundee

E) Morton's cup finals:

1915/12/8      Morton 2 - 1 Rangers    War Fund Shield

1918/5/4        Celtic 1 - 0 Morton          War Fund Shield

1922/4/15      Morton 1 - 0 Rangers    Scottish Cup

1942/5/9        Morton 0 - 1 Rangers     Southern League Cup

1948/4/21      Rangers 1 - 0 Morton     Scottish Cup

1963/10/26    Rangers 5 - 0 Morton     League Cup

1992/12/13    Morton 2 - 3 Hamilton    Challenge Cup

(Not counting 84 Renfrewshire Cup finals.)

Saint Martha and the Tarasque

Source.

East Kirkton Quarry

East Kirkton Quarry near Bathgate, West Lothian, has proved to be a rich source of fossils from the Age of Amphibians. Source.

Incense Burning Rabbits

Source.

Leaning on a Lamp Post

Statue of George Formby in Douglas, Isle of Man. Source.

Isle Haute

Source.

Big Comic Spirits, June 29, 1998

A friend brought this from Japan 24 years ago, and I still haven't learned enough Japanese to read it, but with the help of the internet it's possible to figure out the table of contents. In this issue you have:

1) Ii Hito, chapter 238, by Shin Takahashi. This story about office work was eventually published in 26 volumes.

2) Aozora, chapter 9, by Hidenori Hara. Baseball. 13 volumes.

3) Happy! chapter 218, by Naoki Urasawa. Tennis. It went to 23 volumes. Urasawa is better known in North America for 20th Century Boys.

4) Ogotte Janken Tai, part 29, by Yoko Gendai. This seems to be part of a series of interviews in comic form. Today's guest is Genichiro Takahashi. It was collected into 5 volumes.

5) Oishinbo, chapter 417, by Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki. This famous food manga has gone to 111 volumes. I find the human figures rather wooden, and having read some of this in English I can say the same about the plots.

6) Tokyo Daigaku Monogatari, chapter 259, by Tatsuya Egawa. Kissing. 34 volumes. It became a TV show in 1994 and a film in 2006.

7) Yoiko, chapter 136, by Yugo Ishikawa. This comedy about an elementary school student with the body of a grown woman would just never get made in North America, because ick. 15 volumes.

8) Puri Puri Ken, chapter 198, by Sensha Yoshida. 5 volumes. An alien inhabits a local restaurant.

9) Naoko, chapter 185, by Nobuhiro Sakata and Yuu Nakahara. A manga about running. 33 volumes.

10) Otona Bukuro, chapter 155, by Isami Nakagawa. A four-panel comic. Collected into 7 volumes.

11) Gekki no Kishi, chapter 237, by Junicho Nojo. This manga about a shoji prodigy has a very appealing style centering on finely detailed portraiture. 32 volumes.

12) Iwamal, chapter 28, by Yukio Tamai. About a wandering veterinarian. 9 volumes.

13) Chyinmabadon (?). A four-panel comic about a giant iguana in New York.

14) Jimihen, chapter 428, by Tatsuya Nakasaki. A policeman on a desert island. 11 volumes.

15) Daiyamondo, chapter 13, by Hiromi Aoyama. Baseball. Went to 8 volumes.

16) 2 Kumi no Otomodachi, chapter 35, by Yuuko Ichijou. There are only two volumes of this story, yet this is the one that has piqued my interest the most. Ichijou's style is like something from the 1920s that was influenced by Edo period manga. (See below.)

17) Otanko Nurse. Noriko Sasaki. I was surprised to find a nurse story in a seinen magazine, and it's the longest piece in the magazine at 55 pages. This went to 6 volumes

18) Love Letter, chapter 43, by Hiroaki Jinno and Takeshi Wakasa. Calligraphy. 4 volumes.

19) Ikimagure Concept (?) by M. Matsuda. Quite a rude 4-panel cartoon.

20) Shippuu Dotou, chapter 118, by Kenji Morita. Kendo. Ran to 11 volumes.

Miss Moneypenny's Boden

That portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in Miss Moneypenny's office in Octopussy and The Spy Who Loved Me is from the brush of Leonard Boden, who was born in Greenock in 1911. Source.

The League Cup group stage finishes up. Morton host Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic. It's the first ever meeting between these two clubs.

Bonnyrigg Rose have been around since 1881 but they played in the junior ranks until 2018, when they joined the East of Scotland League. The next year they were promoted to the Lowland League, and this year they defeated Cowdenbeath to earn a place in the SPFL League Two. They play at New Dundas Park in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, and wear red and white hoops like Hamilton Accies.

Famously, Sean Connery played for them in the early 1950s.

Bonnyrigg have retained most of the squad that won the Lowland League last season. But their manager Robbie Horn says that they don't have the financial backing enjoyed by the likes of Cove Rangers and Kelty Hearts. Source.

Goalkeeper Craig Coyle made 119 appearances for Morton from 2001 to 2005, and sat on the bench for Bonnyrigg Rose from 2006 to 2009.

Morton’s shootout win against Hibs on Wednesday has been thrown out as Hibs had fielded an ineligible player. The match is now recorded as a 3 - 0 victory for Morton. (Does that mean that Gillespie’s goal is expunged?) Morton enter today’s game with 4 points and an outside chance at winning the group. To win the group they must beat Bonnyrigg and hope that Clyde beat Falkirk.

Since the League Cup group stage was reintroduced in 2016 Morton have never finished last in their group.

Group D standings after the ruling:

Falkirk         3    1    2    0    0    2    1   +1    7

Hibs            4    2    0    0    2    9    5   +4    6

Morton        3    1    0    1    1    3    2   +1    4

Bonnyrigg    3    1    0    1    1    4    6    -2    4

Clyde           3    1    0    0    2    3    7    -4    3

Group D:

Falkirk [1 - 0] Clyde

Morton [3 - 1] Bonnyrigg Rose [Morton goals by Kabia, Pignatiello and Gillespie. Morton don’t make it into Round Two.]

Hibs have played their four.

[Final Group D standings:

Falkirk          4    2    2    0    0    3    1   +2   10

Morton         4    2    0    1    1    6    3   +3    7

Hibs             4    2    0    0    2    9    5   +4    6

Bonnyrigg    4    1    0    1    2    5    9    -4    4

Clyde           4    1    0    0    3    3    8    -5    3   ]

The Highland League and Lowland League start this weekend.

Strathspey Thistle [0 - 4] Forres Mechanics

Caledonian Braves [2 - 2] Gala Fairydean Rovers

Hearts have signed Lawrence Shankland.

Elsewhere:

Largs Thistle [1 - 1] Herriot Watt University (friendly)

UCD 0 - 2 Shelbourne (yesterday)

SC Cambuur 1 - 3 PEC Zwolle (friendly) (yesterday)

Skipton Cup: FC Isle of Man [2 - 0] Guernsey FC

St Gallen [2 - 0] Winterthur

Canada:

HFX Wanderers [1 - 1] Edmonton

[Halifax goal by Salter.]

Mateo Restrepo is retiring to go to med school.

League1 Ontario: Guelph United 2 - 0 North Mississauga (yesterday)

Guelph United played HFX Wanderers in the first round of this year's Canadian Championship, having won League1 in their first season.

PLSQ: Royal-Sélect de Beauport [1 - 1] AS Laval (tomorrow)

L1BC: Victoria Highlanders [2 - 1] Rivers FC (tomorrow)

This ends the L1BC regular schedule. [Victoria Highlanders finish bottom.] The two top teams, Varsity and TTS Rovers, will meet in a playoff final on August 1st.

CSL: Serbian White Eagles [1 - 1] Scarborough SC

Coupe de France, Round Two:

Ilienne vs Miquelonnaise

Round One took place on July 6th. Ilienne played Saint Pierraise to a 2 - 2 draw, and then won on penalty kicks. The winner of Round Two will play an opponent in France on September 10th.

[Ilienne advance.]

Japan:

Mito HollyHock vs Oita Trinita [postponed]

Tohoku: Blancdieu Hirosaki vs Bogolle.D.Tsugaru (tomorrow) (postponed to August 7)

UEFA Europa Conference 2QR, first leg (Juy 21):

Vikingur Reykjavik 2 - 0 The New Saints

Motherwell 0 - 1 Sligo Rovers

St Patrick's Athletic 1 - 1 Mura (Slovenia)

Basel 2 - 0 Crusaders

Spartak Trvana (Slovakia) 4 - 1 Newtown

Scotland's UEFA coefficient and ranking, the past decade:

2022-23    33.375    11th

2021-22    27.875    14th

2020-21    22.125    20th

2019-20    18.625    26th

2018-19    18.925    23rd

2017-18    17.300    25th

2016-17    17.900    23rd

2015-16    16.566    23rd

2014-15    15.191    24th

2013-14    21.141    18th

Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic league titles won:

1897-98    Midlothian Junior League

1913-14    Midlothian Junior League

1937-38    Midlothian Junior League

1963-64    Edinburgh and District Junior League

1964-65    Edinburgh and District Junior League Mid/East Division

1965-66    Edinburgh and District Junior League Mid/East Division

1966-67    Edinburgh and District Junior League Mid/East Division

1975-76    East Region Junior League Division A

1976-77    East Region Junior League Division A

1983-84    East Region Junior League Division B

1984-85    East Region Junior League Division A

2008-09    East Region Super League

2011-12    East Region Super League

2015-16    East Region Super League

2017-18    East Region Super League

2018-19    East of Scotland League

2021-22    Lowland League

(Source: SFHA)

Lynx

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