Ten Caat

I had the Radio Scotland transfer window live show on from 9-12...it actually ran over until 12.15 so they could round up the business done. But there were 2 interesting points about us specifically raised just before and just after midnight. Firstly, just before midnight, the panel of pundits started to spear Derek Ferguson about Lewis. Specifically...had he any information on any other clubs that might be interested in him. The way they hounded him it was obviously a loaded question. He got quite tongue tied to begin with but said that Lewis is very happy at Aberdeen, has just bought his first house and didn't expect things to change. They didn't let up though....and eventually they forced out of him that yes indeed.....he was aware of a couple of clubs who are interested in him but that he expects Lewis to stay for the time being but might be tempted to move "a few years down the line" Secondly..just after midnight they read out a statement from the club. No names were mentioned but the club confirmed they were trying to get a striker in, they worked at it right up until the last minute but ultimately just couldn't get it over the line.

Magoo/Black wasn't too dusty Harper/Jarvie Elsewhere Dalglish and Rush was probably the best I've seen in person, but much preferred Sharp/Gray over at Goodison

It's a reasonable shout but I hope he goes somewhere else. Those gits would start getting ideas above their station and start calling us their feeder club...

Its a stunning capture, 15 Venezuelan caps and only 22. Would love to know what the fee was but this is exactly the type of signing that really will capture the imagination of the support. Agree that it's curtains for Logan. I hope the club recognises his service and let him go for free if he can get himself fixed up somewhere.

I think we took a look at Watt a while back and rejected him like John West rejects sub-standard fish. There are fairly tenuous rumours that Hibs might be interested in him but I think that's only if the Kamberi to sevco loan goes through and Hibs subsequently fail to land McNulty as a replacement. He'll end up somewhere like Dunfermline which is pretty much his level.

Head says a comfortable win for the tribute act. Heart says that we can somehow hold out for a horrendous 0-0 draw and further damage the newco myth of "going for 55". As TDD says.....we do have a knack of pulling off utterly unexpected results when we least expect it. Losing this one won't affect the managerial situation unless we ship 6 or 7 (4 or 5 won't go down well and the fans will show their displeasure). It's the following 2 games where wins are absolutely necessary or the pressure will start to grow....even then, the one trump card DM has is his bizarrely awarded new contract which has, at present, over 2 million shiny gold coloured disc shaped reasons why Cormack won't bullet him until the direst of circumstances are reached.

Firstly...I have to apologise to Ollie...and more importantly the loon himself I did indeed get the info from elsewhere and stupidly took it as gospel. In my defence I did use the word "apparently" which was meant to signify that the info I was using was second hand but I could have made that a lot clearer. Lesson learned My apologies once again

There's no doubt Shankland has kicked on since leaving us. Has now proved he can score for fun at a lower level and managed to get himself capped albeit more due to a lack of credible other options for a variety of reasons. I actually disagree up to a point with Rico.....the loon certainly isn't lacking physique and I think if the right club came along he would do a reasonable job. For instance he could go to either of the arse cheeks....obviously as at best 2nd choice at best (although the current 2nd choices there do tend to get a reasonable amount of game time anyway through frequent injuries and/or suspensions to the first choices)…….and he would thrive on the service that those clubs provide their strikers. He can definitely finish a chance. Down south, I also think if he was careful about what club he chose, he could prove a decent addition to a squad. In either case, a fee in between £2-3 million is relative peanuts to the arse cheeks and virtually every Championship club. Possibly even Ipswich and Sunderland too from EFL1 who both must do everything they can to get themselves back up this season. It would be in some cases a bit of a punt.....although I don't see it as a gamble at all for the cheeks as they have such a gap to the rest that I actually think they could put Fat Sally or Charlie Nicholas into their current sides and they both get at least 10 goals a season provided they didn't peg out first.

I'm sure every team aspires to this. It probably could even be proved using individual training records although some of the criteria would be subjective. However as players age into their 30s their fitness just cannot be kept as it was in their peak years. And serious injury can limit capabilities even once considered recovered, age again playing it's part. I suspect that being considered the "fittest" team wouldn't make a helluva lot of difference. West Germany in the early 80s to early 90s went for this approach...their team was mainly composed of 6ft plus athletes with the odd smaller playmaker like Magath thrown in. Reached 3 successive World Cup Finals, winning the 1990 one but boy were they brutal to watch. They lost the 82 final to an Italian team full of chain-smokers and wine lovers...who played off the cuff and were a delight to watch. And lost the 86 final to an Argentine team with a rapidly bloating Maradona off his nut on cocaine (I still can't believe that the drug testers never caught him until 91), again full of chain-smokers and whose team were relative midgets compared to the Germans. Talent trumps being the absolute fittest.... What really matters is having as big a squad as possible nowadays. Both the arse cheeks are capable of playing 2 separate elevens that are capable of beating every other team.

I thought Campbell was the obvious candidate. With Main not far behind. given that he was offered as a swap to St J. Suspect McLennan is considered too important to the squad to be allowed to go on loan

Dodds was excellent for us but I suspect him joining der Hun later in his career (we all knew he was one) would likely cost him votes from people maybe considering him. Stavrum just wasn't with us long enough although his goalscoring record in a shitty side was admirable.

Cosgrove is no world beater but £2million would be an embarrassing bid from Stoke....it's peanuts to them. Double it or they can go get Shankland

You are just wrong. As I said....everyone's physiology is different. And it changes as we get older. Indeed the WHO definition of "middle aged" begins at age 25. Every club of a decent level has a sports scientist working with the coaches/physios/medical department. This is a relatively new concept, only really starting about 20 or so years ago. So todays players, whether you believe it or not, are most certainly fitter and in better condition than those in the 80s and further back. Whether they are better natural footballers you can certainly debate......I'd suggest not as back in the old days there was no internet and game consoles were hugely expensive and relatively basic. Kids spent every minute they could outside playing....boys would play football almost non stop in long summer days. They'd also start smoking at 14 or so and be out at the pub every weekend from the minute they could get served. Eating a diet now recognised as pretty unhealthy.....and they kept this up through their careers. Sports science and general education has almost eliminated all these bad habits (Dean Campbell apparently is a heavy smoker....he will pay for that in his career and I'm prepared to say that Aberdeen will be the pinnacle of it) Even evolution plays a part in not just football, but every sport. Players of every sport are far taller and have a bigger muscle mass than those 50 years ago. Hence why world records have been smashed. But as I say...everyone is different and the ageing process cannot be halted (well actually it can....the USSR and Easter European countries in the 60s/70s/80s gave certain sportsmen and women artificial hormones to delay puberty and keep them artificially small (gymnasts) or in other cases to bulk up their physique ( throwing or strength based sports and sprinting) or to enable longer endurance......all of whom are now dead or suffering horrendous side effects. Olga Korbut the gymnast looked about 70 when she was only in her early 40s). Lastly...the training in itself can be a risk. As we age, our tissues naturally become less elastic. Thankfully sports science now realises this. So training programmes are devised for each individual player or athlete. So sportsmen and women now have longer careers. Over training in "elderly" sportsmen can and usually will cause more problems than just keeping up basic fitness, So don't expect McGinn to lose the extra stone or so he looks to be carrying any time soon. Indeed it's probably the same reason why Gleeson has never been fit in his time with us and will likely end his career (at a decent level anyway) at a relatively young age. They just cannot do the training they were able to even 3 years ago. Some players in their mid 30s do almost no training at all during the week, barring some basic jogging and low risk warming up "looseners", indeed a few do absolutely nothing at all barring playing once a week. In football....every player these days has an individual file, It contains all their medical records, any dietary advice given/recommended body mass index, recommended training programmes and then....details of every day's training that the participate in. This follows the player to every club he joins. Of course completing this is hugely time consuming hence why admin staffing levels and costs have gone through the roof since the 90s.

Well my Gallagher for Kennedy substitution never happened. Bit if it had, he certainly couldn't have done any worse. Ojo/McGeouch/Ferguson isn't working. Nor is it required against the dross of the league. But then again....we are rapidly becoming utter dross ourselves. Even Cosgrove is regressing. But the first change I would make? It won't happen because McInnes is far too weak a person to even contemplate doing it, but Lewis needs relieving of the captaincy asap. In games like these, we need a strong character to drive the team forwards, leading by example if necessary. A goalkeeper just cannot do that. (I also have a horrendous suspicion that Lewis might actually have it written into the contract extension he signed that he is club captain). Sevco next week. I've already written that one off as nul points and fully expect both Livi and Hibs to be within striking distance of us (admittedly I haven't checked who they are playing) Anyway lets hope Hearts can do everyone a favour and cause a sevconian meltdown on swallow swallow later. Only thing that might brighten my day now

Campbell was warming up so if the substitution does come....its just more of the fucking same. Ferguson has been shite today. McGeouch not much better. I'll reserve judgement on Kennedy as it is his first game but so far so bad. Oh hang on....it's Hedges on for McGeouch. 10 minutes too late but at least its a positive move

Plenty possession and a shedload of corners but apart from McKenna lashing one (deflected) over the bar, really not a great deal of note in an attacking sense. Kennedy been pretty poor so far but not getting much to work with. Lucky to go in to half time 0-0, McGeouch with a total brainfart attempting to pass back to Lewis without looking, intercepted by striker who should score but somehow hit the post. Second game in a row we have been denied a stonewall penalty, Cosgrove blatantly pulled back in what seemed to be full view of the ref. We have got the wind with us second half. Expect to see at least some efforts on goal from outside the box. Also expect Gallagher to replace Kennedy at around the 55-60 minute mark

I'm well aware of that fact. But we still got off on a technicality. What I will concede is that once we knew we couldn't be relegated, Skovdahl (correctly) took the chance to throw in a few youngsters in the remaining games. Had he stuck to the tried and tested shite, we might have finished second bottom. But no matter what....for a club our size it was a massive riddy

No got it from my son who is a mahoosive Saintee. Fuck maybe I should be demanding a DNA test now that I think of it

I see they've lost Murray Davison for 6 weeks with a broken arm. We should be offering them Campbell for a 6 month loan....he won't be getting a whole lot of playing time now we have added McGeouch. Going there and playing every week would do him a power of good. Heard rumours that Kennedy has been singing Aberdeen songs at training to wind up his team-mates. If he was trying to force his way out is seems to have been successful

I agree about Gerrard....he's just a figurehead, it's McAllister who is the brains of the operation. But they also have a multitude of coaches underneath as well, not big names but each one more than competent. Of course sevco can't really afford this but they're gambling everything on preventing Celtic getting 10IAR....and it's going so well they might even manage to stop 9IAR. We cannot afford to replicate the sevco model. We have tried looking outwith Scotland before. Porterfield did what many managers who come up here from England do and totally underestimated how good Scottish football is...hence signings like Tom Jones and Gary Hackett (Hibs found the same problem a lot more recently with Heckingarse). Skovdahl was a world renowned manager. What could possibly go wrong? Well as it happened nearly everything including a relegation prevented only by Falkirk not meeting SPL requirements. Call me cynical but I'm at the point where if....or when....McInnes finally gets outta Dodge, it will be a fait accompli that his replacement will be Stephen Glass. So technically you will get your wish of us looking outwith Scotland.....

I know I said "McInnes oot" in my earlier post. But in reality I cannot see it happening unless he commits an act of gross misconduct that would allow us to bullet him with no compensation. I was informed that his previous contract extension ( not long after the 2 day excursion to Mordor resulting in him rejecting sevco) had put him on approx. £15k/week thus blowing the sevconian offer of £12k/week right out the water. However I had no info as to his recent contract extension although naturally I presumed it would be on at least the same terms as his previous one. I've now seen a few posters elsewhere who are fairly sensible sorts so not likely to exaggerate saying that his pay went up to £17k/week. With roughly 2 and a half years left on his contract, a quick calculation shows that to bullet him right now would cost somewhere around £2.2million. Adding in Docherty would take the figure northwards of £2.5million. Coupled with the costs of then bringing in a new managerial team...….can anyone actually see Cormack doing it? Bearing in mind we seem to be struggling for seed funding to get the new stadium built I just cannot see any way the club will not just let the status quo continue. A slump into a genuine relegation dogfight in February/March next season might force action (by which time the compo figure would nearly have halved). But I really do think we are stuck with him for the foreseeable future

Couldn't be arsed posting last night due to the total apathy that is returning rapidly, a real throwback to the Miller (A), Ebbe, Paterson et al years. Just a dreadful performance where not one player in the team gets pass marks from me. Plain to see the Ojo/McGeouch/Ferguson do not work as a combination. I suspected McGeouch was signed on the basis that at any given time at least one of the 3 would be out injured or suspended. All far too similar to be shoehorned together into the same starting line up UNLESS Ferguson is played in an advanced position trying to support Cosgrove. Gallagher getting picked on such a regular basis is a farce. Just doesn't possess a football brain and very little in the ways of ball control and passing skills. Something stinks here and Cormack is at least as culpable as McInnes. As for Motherwell.....they were every bit as bad as us but once again a Logan brainfart costs us dearly, although Lewis cannot escape criticism getting beaten at his near post. Indeed, he really should have dealt with the initial ball itself, it wasn't difficult for him to at least get a decent punch on it. Quite a common failing for him though. Results elsewhere couldn't really have turned out much worse for us. Hibs getting a very late winner was a sickener and they'll certainly fancy their chances of overhauling us if we continue in the same turgid vein that our past 2 games has brought. McInnes oot....

Shaughnessy can gtf…..had agreed to join us on a pre-contract verbally then allowed his agent (his father) to suddenly increase the demands. And if he cant get a game for Southend who are embarrassingly bad, he certainly isn't good enough for us.

My take on Devlin is that he recovered pretty well from his cruciate injury. Made himself an automatic pick and got a Scotland call up, deservedly although as I said before....there's hardly a wealth of other options to select from. However suffered a mysterious injury whilst away with the Scotland squad that kept him out far longer than we were originally told. I think this has caused him to suffer doubts as to his long term ability to stay fit and is playing (when he gets selected) within himself in an effort not to get injured again. But playing within himself just isn't good enough and hence Mcinnes only picks him in an emergency now. I said a couple of weeks ago that I heard that he is....and I quote..."unsettled" Hasn't really settled in Aberdeen and if the chance came of a move back to the Central Belt, as long as the terms were broadly similar to what he's on now he would jump at the chance. He hasn't requested a move just yet....although he has had words with Mcinnes. If we were to keep him on...he won't tolerate the present situation a whole lot longer. Unless we sell McKenna, we really wouldn't be short of central defensive cover. Vyner doesn't require an op and should be fit in 3-4 weeks. Leigh should be fit 2-3 weeks beyond that releasing Considine back to central defence and putting Taylor on the bench. Devlin then gets an occasional game as an over age player in the U20s but generally earning a big wage for doing not very much at all. I think we will hang fire until the last few days of the window to see if someone does bid for McKenna. If nothing comes in, I suspect we will let Devlin go in a swap for Kennedy

And yet if you were to watch Not the Nine O'Clock News which brought the nascent Alternative comedy scene (and supposedly bringing an end to the "offensive" dinosaurs of comedy) to a mainstream television audience, you would see countless sketches containing the blatant racism and misogyny that they purported to consign to the dustbin. Ah but it was all ironically...…… oh well that's all right then