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As pointed out by the Here we go podcast. Here's John Beaton putting Aberdeen down to 10 men in a semi-final. And here's us winning it anyway.

For me it’s the other way round. I find that if Morris is up against a pacy full back he can’t easily get the better of at the first time of trying, he’ll retreat into his shell and not bother trying unless he gets a head start. Keskinen never seems to let failure bother him. If it doesn’t work first time, he’ll keep going at it. End product isn’t always there, but he’s still usually the player on the pitch most likely to produce something from nothing. If he can find consistency in his output, he’ll be a multi-million pound player.

Fucking, fuck sake, that is tragic. @Panda do the BBC do individual stats for players on fouls committed? I'd be interested to know how many Devlin made. Obviously, we'd have to add one for the foul he committed on Knoester that Knoester got booked for. That's embarrassing from Hearts though. It was a late challenge, with force, which is open to interpretation - it was a careless challenge to make on a booking. You can't be releasing a statement based on a mildly dubious yellow, you've got to be saving those for the big ones. Fucking bitterness. Pathetic. Even if you don't agree with the yellow, necessarily, there's not a person who can't say that they couldn't see why the ref might choose to award it. It's pathetic shite like this that got us the tedious fucking crap that is VAR (yes, I did hesitate before celebrating Dabbagh's winner. Yes, I did sit through that fucking nonsense after our first goal, utterly clueless as to why a corner could be offside). How long before second yellows are drawn into its fucking awful remit? Just fuck off, you Jambo cunts.

Emotional day for myself, really bad week with this condition. Been in / out of bed all week. Fuck this MS/MOGAD shite. Yup, had to miss the semi-final due to this bloody disease, watched on the TV and got very emotional, really thought those minks would steal it until the 2nd red card. But when that goal went in, I hope a few other older fans had a tear in their eyes. Fingers crossed I be okay for the final.

Dons fan won a tournament in Augusta this weekend.

Certainly seems to have a high opinion of his talents. https://archive.ph/K1DI2 “It gave the gaffer a headache, and it came to a point now where they went into his office, and were like: ‘We need Jeff to stay to help us win the league – so drop one of us, so he can start a game.’ “But Derek McInnes was very superstitious, so he wanted to keep it the same, where I’d come on after 60 or 70 minutes. We would always win doing that, so he felt like there was no reason to change that.”

Not so sure about that last sentence, from his first Interview I've felt Nisbet genuinely has some affection for the Dons and I think that will have grown. I also think he is very career focused now, he was talking in his last RTV interview about how much better he is looking after himself, and playing for Aberdeen got him back in the Scotland squad. I think he will want to stay unless a better career opportunity (and I've no idea what that looks like btw but I know it ain't Millwall) comes up not a salary 2bh. If we could get him for 750 k that would be a bargain I would say. He's only just turned 28 and we could easily get 4 good seasons out of him..... probably more given he's never been a player that has relied on pace.

Looking forward to next week's statement - "Another Manager Fox Off"

https://youtu.be/Z0R8d7ygvns?si=_D429iKBhJ9VNnO_

A certain track by Joy Division might have “accidentally” been playing on my phone walking through Waverley last night.

An Aberdeen fan marrying a hearts fan? Bit sick. Should the BBC really be showing that sort of thing?

Aye, it was clear what he was doing, but it was still the wrong call. Shinnie did get stuck in when moved to midfield, but I'm not convinced it was the real problem. Palaversa just stopped retaining possession and looked confused at being on a football pitch. Polvara is capable enough to put his foot on the ball and try to play the game. I'd say he's quite similar to Palaversa. The biggest problem about the change was the change to the winning formula on left and right though. Jensen isn't a left back (I'd rather see Devlin there, at least he'd keep things simple and be aggressive) at all, and we just had a gaping hole where Shinnie had been, as well as disrupting our back four. A positive improvement in midfield, outweighed by a negative at fullbacks. When you're 2-1 up, you probably shouldn't be fucking about too much with the back line. It's a big problem in the coming fixtures though. Clarkson seems to have found his feet, and is now able to play ninety minutes at the tempo Thelin wants, but Palaversa is still a good bit short. With Nilsen out, we're going to need someone capable of playing that last thirty minutes, as it's a hell of a lot to ask of Shinnie after running up and down the line for an hour. I can only assume that he thinks Polvara doesn't have the work rate required to play there.

What do the animal rights crew have to say about Panda baiting?

Interesting debate trying to be raised by Pep Guardiola about Man City not selling out their semi-final allocation, and questioning why all the semis are down at Wembley. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cvg7ljpyv7yo A different conversation in that they have suitable stadiums elsewhere to use. But some of the ticket prices are shocking, some up to £150. For me, semis should never be at Wembley or Hampden anyway, unless there's little alternative (ie Tottenham v Arsenal or Rangers v Celtic). Again, the alternatives up here probably don't help us much - we'd have had to play Hearts at Murrayfield, Ibrox or Celtic Park. Anyway, despite Pep standing up for the little guy, I hope the two-time European Cup winners Forrest beat them. Not because I particularly give a shit about English football, but because before the semis I put on a Forest & Aberdeen cup double at 40/1 odds.

Turns out the manager.

As Manc seems to be struggling with when players contracts are due to expire thought I would stick this in here again.

I notice that you didn't even attempt to tackle the problem of Dabbagh's footedness.

I'll be in a minority that's glad it's Celtic we're playing in the final. The 2017 final still rankles. We should have done it that day. Shay Logan standing off Stuart Armstrong and letting him hit that equaliser in a half when Celtic offered little. The Jonny Hayes - Kenny McLean mix up that should have given us a second (and to this day I still don't know who to blame). Beat them on 24 May, win the cup, end a 35-year wait, and do it against a seemingly unstoppable side going for yet another treble. It would be beautiful and would finally put 2017 to bed. Tickets I don't actually think we'll sell 21,000. Too many just can't be arsed with what they think (wrongly) will be another defeat to Celtic. So 19,000 probably would do us. However, it's important that Aberdeen fight for half of the North stand. The way the noise projects around Hampden, you can barely hear the fans behind the goal when you're at the other end. Give us half the north, the west stand, and the lower deck of the south. That's about 19,000 tickets - if we sell out, then give us the rest. That's the first fight we need to win long before we get to Hampden.

Jury is still out for me on Oday on game time alone. I do think he has shown a decent touch at times and he's got the right place right time instinct but I'm far from convinced he's worth spending big on. That could change in the next 6 games 2bf, he's been at the club a few months now and should be a bit more settled so let's how he does. I would absolutely keep Nisbet and will be disappointed if we don't try to but mostly agree on Okkels, Sokler and Gueye being moved on.

Hearts have released a statement about Devlin’s sending off: https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/blogs/news/club-statement-scottish-cup-semi-final

Saints to beat tic twice in a month. Believe!!

Piece of piss, never in doubt. Some honking performances today, but we rode through it. Good to see that diving wee cunt Devlin get sent off, and I loved the way we knew that those dirty hammer throwers would go down to nine, so just played it calmly around them until then. We were poor, but the back four were fine defensively (although not sure how Jensen lasted the match). Shinnie and Clarkson good. Palaversa poor, and Gueye might look good on the telly, but he's a complete liability. Either giving the ball away, or just ignoring his man, a terrible team player. Okkels good when he came on again, as was Keskinen before he went off. Morris largely anonymous. Polvara offered something when he came on. Anyway, gives us the chance for glorious failure next month.

Why? Why's he taken Keskinen off? He's been our only feed into the strikers.

I dunno about anyone else but I'm still raging we bottled this game.

There won't be segregation outside. Just steam through them. Rotate your arms in helicopter fashion, and if any Jambo gets hit then they've only themselves to blame.

That's fine though. Hibs have done the right thing; increased the tickets available to Hibs fans, but are still setting out fair allocations of just under 1,500 for the away team. It's the normalising of away allocations of 600 and 800 that's the issue. It's not a healthy thing for Scottish football.

Locos maybe? Population slightly bigger than the Broch, but probably never had the support. Brora is tiny. They'd be a great addition to the leagues though, just for the seethe of weegies having to travel fucking miles to play them.

Bottom 6 shite again. 11th season in last 13 that this yo-yo club has finished below us.

Confirmed, then, that we just need to beat the Huns for them to officially lose the league tomorrow. That'd be nice. Obviously it would be hilarious if we also injured Barron. Forever.

My Sunday morning tradition here in NZ is to watch Goal Rush on Sky. It's one of the previous day's 3pm games from either English Premier or the FA Cup. It has in-game updates from all the other 3pm Premier games. I wish the Scottish Premiership had this. Currently, there is zero way of watching Scottish Premiership games in NZ unless I VPN-it. Instead I'm reduced to 3 minute shit highlights on YouTube that have no commentary and no on-screen scoreline. What an absolutely honkingly shit product our top league is! It's even more difficult when the games are from either of the cups

Manc knows how he started his career. This forum heard me moan an awful lot at him playing midfield when he signed

You make some good points, but I disagree with this one. What would happen is that the old firm would buy up all the decent Scottish talent and sign anyone half decent on pre-contracts. They already do to some extent (see Conner Barron, Lyall Cameron etc). The only thing this would do is force teams like ourselves to blood young players whether they are ready or not actually weakening us. Add to this the real problem that most Scottish teams are having retaining there best youngsters due to clubs down south poaching them and I could only see this widening the gap between us and the old firm.

Shit, I'll come on Sportsound if you want. Can't do any worse than some of the numpties that have been on

Under the present - admittedly fucked, as well put by @RicoS321 above - setup, the 12 team league "works" as far as retaining some kind of interest for most clubs for most of the season. However, it's all just playing for crumbs really and the fact that Celtic can sit with almost £80m IN THE BANK and still lord it over the rest of the league should be all the motivation anyone needs for major change rather than shuffling the deckchairs per the "new" proposals. In reality, Celtic and Rangers fucking off to some new European league would be the only potential catalyst for any kind of meaningful change. However, I don't trust any of the other "big" Scottish clubs, including our own, not to try and simply step into the vacant, shit-stained shoes of the "old firm" rather than enact or lead a new setup which would achieve genuine sporting competition. In short, it's fucked and not likely to get any better.

Ha ha, not on this occasion! It was aimed at the article writers, who are essentially putting out unquestioned PR, I suspect leaked from one of the two cheeks. However, I would absolutely include the number one broadcaster in my criticism. Doncaster has appeared on radio Scotland numerous occasions and never been adequately questioned. It almost always concentrates on a single small issue rather than the bigger picture of Scottish football. To the extent that things like league construction become an abstract concept that focuses on a number. You might as well ask a group of fifty kids what their favourite number is out of 10, 12, 14 or 16 and just go with the most popular. The format of the league in and of itself is largely irrelevant. Given that this is the fortieth anniversary of two teams solely winning our league - the worst period in Scottish football, if measured by sport - maybe you could write an article discussing the problem? If you were critical enough, and direct enough, then it might start some discussion. Do you think it would, hypothetically? Or do you think it would simply be brushed off (it's just the way it is, look at countries X, Y and Z) for tedious discussion about VAR or the Huns new manager? I think the latter. The point I was originally making is that fairness doesn't even seem to be a consideration by those that are paid to regularly discuss our game on the BBC (radio. Other broadcasters are exempt from criticism as they actively pursue the inequality as their business model). They don't see it as integral, when it should be the number one consideration. They should be discussing it every single week, and planning how to reduce the staggering inequality. Yet, it isn't even acknowledged as a problem. It's like some natural phenomenon that just happens, controlled by the gods. We can't even name the problem. Numerous discussions go by about the state of the game, or the state of the national side, but inequality has not once been pinpointed as the single greatest problem that underpins the rest. Which it undeniably is. Does it not seem ridiculous to you as someone who writes about the game that league reconstruction is being mooted without recourse to fairness? I think the answer is that it doesn't seem ridiculous, because fairness is so far removed from discourse that it would actually seem weird to hear it being discussed. My preference would be a 16 team league, so that we reduce the number of scum games per season and so that can never again be used as to strong arm clubs that apparently require the blue/green pound. It would also prevent TV companies from holding us to ransom in a similar vein. Thus, it would be targeting fairness first. I think 30 games is perfect, we could ditch three shitey midweek fixtures. However, if clubs require it, then create playoffs for European and relegation places. Second to fifth play off for European spots, and eleventh to fourteenth for third relegation. Teams in sixth to tenth have a set of playoffs designed to give young players a chance, with four youth players required in each starting eleven and two on the bench. Give it a promotional name like the youth presentation cup and get a sponsor. Fairness would come from the European spots being shared, with several teams given the opportunity to play champions league qualifying if Scotland has that route, and others given the opportunity to play Europa or conference. League winners could be given the opportunity for a lucrative fixture elsewhere, or bask in their glory for a few weeks. There should be no monetary prizes for league placing, as these exacerbate inequality (and no player is playing, or trying harder, so that their club can win X amount more money). European prize money should be declared a product of the league itself - because it is - and captured by the SPFL and apportioned equally. Again, this would negate the unearned compounding effect of European qualification that ruins every league in Europe (bar the English, who have discovered that the difference between having £200M and £100M in spending has a lessening effect). The steps towards something like the above begin with those paid to represent our game actually discussing fairness. Every time Brendan Rogers is interviewed, don't say "Brendan, how was that for you today?", say "Brendan, you have eight fold the budget of your opponent today, do you think a three goal margin is enough at home?". Celtic are one goal off of a three goals per game average over an entire season. That is horrific and something to be ashamed of. It's not sport. That should be the default position of anyone paid to discuss the game in our country. If they're not interested in sport, not interested in fairness, then they shouldn't be on our national broadcaster. That shouldn't even be remotely controversial.

This is only being done to benefit the usual two and not the rest of us. If they want to reduce fixtures for rest of top flight then ditch the league cup group games and go back to straight knockout format. Means could start league games earlier and create space later in calendar. Would not benefit either of the bigots but might others.

Wouldn't happen as we'd be 3 up by the time the sniper's wet dream got anywhere near enough to take out Knoester. And also we'd had been given the free kick so could launch it straight into touch to allow Mats back on.

I don't think there's any way back for him at Millwall to be honest, or anywhere down South, I reckon they'll be cashing in at a significant loss. I don't think we'll get him for £500K either, but £750K I don't think would be unreasonable. I think the player himself will be the biggest sticking point. If he wants to stay then he'll probably try and negotiate his way out of his Millwall contract. I don't think he'll feel any particular loyalty to us though and will take who is paying the highest.

Forgot to say Getafe v Real Madrid on ITV4 tonight. 20 minutes left of 2nd half. 0-1 to Madrid.

Might get miovski back next season on loan from the Spanish second tier.

Far be it from me to tell the moderators how to do their job, but this surely deserves a warning!

Funny how the game can look different from the stands to the tv. I didn't think anyone in our team was particularly bad - other than Mitov's first few attempts at playing out from the back of course. Unfortunately, Shinnie and Clarkson aside, none of them were particularly good either. I think criticism of Jensen is very harsh, he seemed to be involved in the entire game going in both directions and didn't seem to do too much wrong. Clarkson is absolutely our main man now and the player that someone with Palaversa's pedigree should be (but isn't). As a team we're starting to look very "modern football". Neat and tidy on the ball (at least for our level) but it's very sideways a lot of the time. We're very reliant on our fullbacks going forward, which is good when it works as it did in the first 45 last week, but when a team - or a shower of hammer-throwing shite - sits in like they did today it doesn't provide the best opportunities. We're sorely needing someone in the 10 role with a bit of guile about them. For me, Nisbet doesn't do nearly enough in that role and when he switches with Gueye it's even worse. They're not easy to find mind you but we'd be a hugely better team with someone who can create some space and pick a pass in that position. All that said, it was great to see the team sticking at it today and there's no doubt we got the result we deserved. As for Hearts, it's quite remarkable how they manage to consistently, from year to year and decade to decade, manage to fill their team with objectionable wankers. Devlin obviously but that nonentity Penrice giving it large to our section of the north stand when they equalised was out of nowhere. Get it right up the lot of them.

Auckland likely to win the league at the first time of asking. Fucksake.

Agreed. It's Scottish fitba's tariff war.

I think we need to be looking at that anyway re euro squad registration rules. To have a 25 man squad at least 4 must be trained at club 18-21 and 8 trained at a club from the same nation. Basically, 8 Scottish trained players four of which from your youth system. U 21 players don't need to be registered as long as they have been at the club for two seasons. For every place you can't fill you will be penalised by 1 squad place. I've been running an Aberdeen save on Football manager and I had to resort to re-signing Scott Wright and Clark Robertson to help with it (Wright did really well for me for a season and half 2bf and scored a few winners against the huns which gave me a wry smile).

Panainis around the world will be flying at half-mast