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Cinderella is going to the ball. We have acquired tickets for the home support in a part of the ground close to the away support, so will be giving it large to the sheep shagging bastards (Ovci Sujajici Bastardi) in there

Biggest island of the small isles,but only about 40 inhabitants who mostly live in Kinloch the harbour village.The rest of the island probably too rough or exposed id say.Fantastic mountains.Not huge,but challenging and great views.A few cyclable tracks go to various sides of the island.Definitely going back next year to hill climb,too soggy this year.And aye theres about 1000 deer on the island.Nae good when youre trying to kip during rutting season,lol Mother and baby dolphin on the way over.Minke whale juming out the water near the mainland

Aberdeen never gives youth a chance, I fear for Jess's development

We're slowly getting closer to finding out what our strongest line-up is. Problem is, with Tobers injured and two games a week, we won't necessarily see it very often. For now, Knoester-Milne-Dorrington at the back is secure enough, Gyamfi and Devlin as the wing backs. Karlsson finally showing he's not the new Okkels, and Lazetic and Nisbet both massive upgrades on Yengi. I wonder if there's a way to get Karlsson-Nisbet-Lazetic all playing together. Biggest surprise has been Milanovic not quite cutting it yet. The midfield is still a nice problem to have due to the number of options. I like Clarkson, I always think we're better with Shinnie in it, but Armstrong has been far better than I thought he would be considering his lack of game time before coming here. Interesting that Clarkson has at times played further forward and out wide, because he's not the dynamic box-to-box Armstrong and Shinnie are - if only they were both five years younger (but if they were, they wouldn't be at Aberdeen). Clarkson is the new Jamie McGrath in that we know he's good but aren't sure where he fits in, especially in this new three-man defence formation. Aouchiche is another conundrum, and for all his critics I think Keskinen is one of the hardest workers in the team. Okay, maybe we aren't any closer knowing our best XI after all.

To the cocks in the Red Shed that think it is acceptable to boo one of our own players on to the pitch, get the fuck out of my club

Agreed. No-one is pretending it ain't shit at the moment but as far as I'm concerned this is the time to hold our nerve and stand tall behind Thelin. There is more than enough evidence from his time at Aberdeen and how things went in his first two seasons at Elfsborg to warrant giving him the two seasons we were told we needed to give him by those in Sweden when we appointed him.

Whenever Jimmy goes - hopefully in 5+ years after managing to pull off the unlikely and turn this thing around but even if it's next week - the new manager simply cannot be appointed until the technical director position is filled.

I was at peace with him going until I realised that both Ambrose and Yengi were staying.

I'm pretty nervous about it 2bh Al. A win would be massive and really gives us impetus going into the Athens game but they have a great record against us. A draw wouldn't be awful but a defeat would have a back to square one feel to it. Their form has been a bit more patchy than usual though and as long as we stick to 3 at the back I can see us coping with their physical front line pretty well. If we show up going forward like we did against Dundee in the first half we have a great chance.

Pretty sure it's Graham Potter's if he wants it, which from his comments yesterday he very much does. (He lives in Sweden having started his managerial career there). Thelin still has at least two, probably three, and potentially even four or five, more trophies in him at Aberdeen first.

JJ Bull's best work

Hun

I think the more pressing question is how bad is Kowalski’s hangover this morning.

Not to be pendatic, but I believe it's Ryan Judas Fraser.

I've rewatched Karlssons second a few times I must admit. Love the twinkle toes

I'd have shagged prime McGhee, but he'd let himself go by the time he returned as manager. Is that the sort of thing you're after? What about Robson's body, with Willie Miller's face?

What just happened. Ball went in the netty thing at the end of our park and people are dancing?

You're right. It gets harder and harder for players to shoulder charge since they had to slice off their unnatural arms a few years back.

A run of matches? He’s had three windows with significant squad change, and over 20 new players. Add nisbet Armstrong and karlsson, key players, plus lazetic and gyamfi who were injured, these guys have hardly been with us a month. I think giving him to Xmas is fair before we can fealty make comment, but I also think he’s here three years minimum and has been given assurances. Pretty sure we’re not sacking another manager without him being given the chance to completely overhaul the squad, and try to develop a full new group over time.

Really fair assessment Al. For the last few seasons we have collapsed in the autumn and winter then changed our manager. Then we get all excited about the prospect of a new guy coming in and clearing out the players we don't like and who are pish. It was a never ending rollercoaster of emotion. So when Thelin csme along and everyone overwhelmingly thought he was a great appointment I genuinely did think we would get some stability. Absolutely gutted it is working out this way and also keep thinking please turn it around as I cannot stand us having another new face in February next year!! Hopefully 2 away league games will suit us better!!

Nevermind the game, there are bigger issues that need to be discussed.

I was gonna say this at full-time while lamenting not winning the game, but then Lazetic became a hero. I like Polvara, but I did watch today and think I'd quite happily swap him and bring Killian Phillips back. Phillips isn't a goal scorer, but that constant running, tackling and drive brings others into the game.

Is it just me that sees the irony in Gerrard being unwilling to return to the Great British institution, The Rangers of Glasgow, on account of him not wanting to pay taxes he would be due to the British government

Caveat: I’ve had a few beers. I don’t think there is a coincidence that when (roughly speaking) Devlin was dropped as a starter last season we’ve been shit and didn’t win any league games…..to now (roughly speaking) Devlin being back in the starting 11 and we’re much better now. Clearly one player does not make a team and there are technically more gifted players in our team however, for me, Devlin is the heart of our team and we should be building the team around him. Anyway, back to the bar.

Im pretty sure this topic has never been raised before. Happy to be merged if so. And for the Begbie record, I mean this in a purely heterosexual manner. We have a knack of making managers look aesthetically more pleasing than when they arrived. I mean, Roy Aitken, Alex Miller, Ebbe and co are definitely discounted here. But I must admit that in the McInness era, there were quite a number of Dandies who sported stylish beards and rakebacks. As shit as Goodwin was, he definitely upped his silver-fox rakeback look when he was with us. And now Thelin. Even when he appears in press photos sneering at the Red Army, he is sporting a stylish gel look with a comb back and a well kept beard. Is this part of what distinguishes a "top 3 team manager" look vs "other ranked team manager" look?

Just back fae Rum,first visit.Dolphins,Whales and Eagles within the first couple of hours over.Its a rough,often wet island though.Veered between shite and fantastic during the time there.Trench foot aside,highlight(on the one fairweather day) was the coastal path from Kinloch to Dilbidil bothy on the East coast. https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/islands/dibidil.shtml

Aye, it's obscene. It was always going to be. There's still a huge volume of people who won't admit it though, and blame the people operating it, or suggest a few tweaks, or say that it should only be used for really clear and obvious errors. We wouldn't have got our pen last night of course, but that's probably the first one this season that I can think of that VAR has intervened where there is little contention on clear and obvious. Two things about the Tim one also: it took about 3 minutes to make the call. We were watching without commentary in the pub and couldn't work out what they were trying to adjudicate on, because the ball very clearly hadn't touched a hand. Any life left in the stadium must've been drained out in that period. The second is that even if the ball had actually glanced off his arm in that incident, so fucking what? Does anyone really think it was a deliberate unsporting act to gain advantage? Or did it just bounce up and hit him, as happens all the time in the sport? Again, it's the absolute inconsequential, subjective, shite that 90% of the calls get involved in that is the big issue.

Was at the game, with a horrendous view of the RDS side goal. Turned to look at the big tv screen and it was restricted view as well Anyway, from what I did see we played alright. The 3-4-3 / 5-2-3 has improved us. It allows Milne to play a sweeper role and leaves us less exposed, Knoester and Dorrington both take it in turns to dribble up the pitch which seems to spook players, and we're seeing more link-up between our two wide players and the wing backs. I thought a run of games might help us, and I'm looking forward to the Dundee game now. I was in the press conference afterwards. The Shakhtar manager came in, and without any questions just opened into a big long passionate rant about the war in Ukraine and about the flotilla going to Gaza. Was quite something. Jimmy Thelin is a throughly beautiful man though.

Only if you don't include the Cup Final

YASSSS NICKY DEVLIN. Lazetic unlucky with his effort

Tobers out for most of the season. Really not had any luck since joining us. Dorrington into the squad

You think given my track record I would be allowed to Prague on my own?

He was responding to the point where you suggested Thelin was inept, and giving examples to show otherwise. We haven't progressed, nobody is suggesting that, just that it might not be down to ineptitude. Similarly, the massive financial advantage isn't necessarily of benefit to the manager though. Nor a source of criticism either. How that budget is being spent is of far greater concern to me than the current performances for example. Of our new signings, none really look capable of coming into the current team and performing well (maybe Armstrong, and probably Karlsson?). Milanovic, Aouchiche, Nisbet, Gyamfi, Yengi, Lazetic, Bilalovic (the last two maybe have something) all look like distinctly average players that would need a lot of work. They're toiling a bit, through lack of confidence, but I haven't looked at any of the summer signings and thought we'd signed a player. They all look like squad filler players who might have a good run at some point, but we'd likely be trying to offload next summer, or shortly thereafter. For me, the biggest issues surround recruitment and squad building. We've got old players and young players, with little in-between. Project players and more project players. Zero balance. That is a hindrance on any budget. That is on the club, not the manager. Or at least it should be.

I'm trying to remember, there was something we did, but it escapes me. It's not about whether the manager can cut it or not, it's about creating the conditions in which they can do the best possible job. Frustratingly, everyone seems to equate that with "amount of money given in a transfer window", which means we'll be in this situation again in 12-18 months.

We tried to keep McGrath and Mackenzie. Morris wanted to go. I doubt we could have offered Gueye* the wages he'll have been offered to go to Turkey. You're talking about being given chances - Sokler and Rubezic were both given more than enough time to show if they were good enough. *Would Gueye not be classed as a success of Thelin's reign? Got the best out of a guy a lot of people had written off. Same with Morris too.

Still raging I didn't get into the arm slicing off business when it was in it's infancy.

My mate's loon plays for Deveronvale - both good Dons men - so good to see them beating Darvel.

Bit in bold has to be done quickly whether we are getting a new manager or not.

I certainly think that the stats hide a lot, because we look nowhere near fifth place, but do look good enough to finish eighth. The stats will be inflated by the chances we created last night after we'd already thrown the game away for example, which weren't testament to our ability really. One thing in our favour, though, is that our defence probably isn't as bad as it seems. They are being put under a lot of pressure because of our failure at the other end. It's relentless for them, and there's that inevitability that we'll concede simply because we haven't scored. It's a psychological issue, and one that can be targeted, especially at set pieces. There's zero breathing space for them.

But crucially, it is his.

Yeah, sticking with a settled centre back pairing has helped. I guess conceding fewer goals isn't a headline grabber when you can't score or win though. But against Motherwell I did think we looked vulnerable a lot, and they exposed us far too often. That wasn't necessarily down to our back line - was more we were easy to pass through. We pressed their defence but didn't have enough bodies to press their midfield when they beat the press. The way Motherwell got back to front at times was how I expected us to be under Thelin. Motherwell's problem was their players make too many mistakes to really make it work (which is why they don't actually score much). A limit to the standard of player they can get I guess. Worryingly, Dundee United are quite similar in that they're a counter attacking team that have a bit more athleticism this season and they get at you quickly. But, we better have a plan for it, because my poor dad - not really a football fan - lives in Dundee so gets dragged along to these games on the threat of it being the only way to see his beloved son, and the last few at Tannadice have been shocking performances, so really we owe him one before he goes and gets a paternity test to see if he can get rid of me.

Agreed, I don’t think he’s in danger. We pursued him for a couple of years, and we’ve gone all in on him. A three yr project was spoken about, and it’s been a total squad overhaul. We’ve allowed him to build his type of player and squad I believe, including signing ex players, you don’t then can the coach. To be honest, I’m sure his start last year was a surprise to jimmy and cormack, and a cup win was unexpected. It’s a three yr project minimum and we’re only starting year two. Add to the fact we’ve signed bilalovic kjarten and frame, all who I think are ones for the future, I think the club is all in on long term jimmy.

Septic draw the weakest team in the semi-final of the LC - again.

I think we have quite ‘reasonable’ people here, most of us are willing to give jimmy time as we don’t want to sack a manager every season, plus a rebuild every season doesn’t make sense. Seems most of us are in agreement there. Plus I do think it’s fair to factor in a complete squad overhaul. You can’t throw 20 new players at a guy in 12 months and expect it to be smooth. Every window since jimmy came has been significant change. As I said recently, i think it’s fair that by Xmas we should have an idea of what we are and what jimmy can do. means little but we’ve been unlucky. Two debatable red cards affected games, prior to the devlin red I felt it was just a matter of time before we scored against falkirk. Against livi we missed a handful of chances, yesterday it was easier for kneuster to score than miss, a devlin header that could easily have gone in or bounced out for a tap in. While we didnt create a lot yesterday, we were unlucky with those two and on another day we’d score 2-3 against livi. We won those games last autumn. we’re also not conceding a shit ton of goals or seeing opponents miss a ton of chances. At the same time though, I thought we saw a little bit of fear and nervousness at the back yesterday and if this form continues that will get worse. whats concerning and needs improved asap is our style of play. I see highlights of other teams at the moment and wish we played like that. Even the way motherwell played yesterday, building out the back they were quite tidy, plus their speed of attack, had me wishing we played like that. Hibs play some nice football, hearts too. St mirren. Even falkirk looked decent. we have to create width, we have to involve our 9, and we have to attack at speed. It’s been far too much sideways and backwards between defenders and midfielders that we are slow and we allow teams to get back and get set. At present we are easy to defend against. So far there’s also little difference between yengi nisbet or lazetic, they have all touched the ball so little, they are rarely involved in our play. There’s many reasons our 9 has to touch the ball and be involved in the play. where have our attacking fullbacks gone? Devlin and Mackenzie were our best players early last season. Even Jensen was more attack minded last season. That style or tactic has vanished. We’re starting to see glimpses from gyamfi. im not seeing enough from topi to merit a weekly start. Why are we continuing with polvara as a winger. We’ve spent a fair amount of money, those two decisions don’t sit well with me at present. I def think milanovic and karlsson merit a regular start, maybe milanovic picked up a knock with the aussies? Polvara doesn’t provide pace or width. I’d like to see Belalovic, gyamfi, or frame given a run at left mid before polvara. said it yesterday, wonder if two away games help us where the home team should be more attack minded and give us some more space to attack into, or give us more counter attacking opportunities which gave us some success last season.

Not sure how much its I cant be arsed with another new manager,or the fact he appears to be an intelligent man,and you'd hope he's going to eventually work out what he needs to change, .....is why I'd persist til Xmas and review. The glimmer of hope is that the Elfsborg fans were questioning him into season 2,before he got them going,..and bearing in mind its only a game or 2 that some of the players have been getting used to each other.