Dunty

Let's just have a go at them. If we lose, we lose, but fuck losing after playing six defenders and turning in an uninspired, insipid display.

Get wired into them.

If GMS and McGinn are out, then I'd go with....

Lewis

Logan Arnason McKenna Shinnie

Ball McLean Stewart

Christie

Rooney Cosgrove

I take the word support literally.

 

I don't support the club by paying to get into Ibrox.

 

 

I'll never stop being a Dons fan.

Ah, okay. So what you're really saying is that you'll refuse to go to Kingsford.

In reality though, you'll refuse to go at first, until you realise your little protest won't actually change anything and the stadium will still be staying in place. And so, eventually you'll go, just like everyone else who says they won't go.

 

 

I hope not but it's a real possibility.

Can I ask what will stop you supporting the club?

Surely the location is irrelevant? When they're playing away from home do you refuse to support them?

As for scotland I must correct you and also chastise you for pedalling the west coast media myth about Falkirk's stadium keeping the dons in the top league.

When the Dons fininshed bottom back in 1999-2000 there was no automatic relegation from the SPL due to league expansion. The top 2 from division 1 were promoted (St Mirren & Dunfermline) and the 3rd placed team went into a playoff with the team who finished 10th in the spl. Brockville did not meet the stadium criteria so the playoff with the Dons was cancelled.

HOWEVER Brockville kept motherwell in the SPL in 2003 as Falkirk's new stadium was not ready so they had to groundshare at Ochil view the following season meaning there was no relegation at all.

Just one small correction. Had Falkirk's stadium been up to standard, it would have been a three-way playoff between Aberdeen, Dunfermline and Falkirk, with the top two teams in the round robin going into the top flight.

I don't think it's a direct comparison so much with what has happened here in Valencia with what is happening back in not so sunny Aberdeen as to the implications of committing to a new stadium that haven't, to my knowledge been publicly costed.

 

Everyone knows how the Spanish economy has tanked and that building projects have been out on hold as a result. That much is obvious if you look around.

 

There are similarities to be drawn between our club and Valencia however.

 

I still have yet to see an answer as to where Aberdeen FC are getting the 50 million pounds from to find a new stadium.

Does anyone actually know this?

 

Ultimately, and to all our concern, will this unfunded stadium.... to the best of anyone's knowledge, stop or in any way hinder investment in the squad and\or playing staff?

 

I think we could all agree that we'd be happy with the Team winning trophies in a crap Pittodrie than a crap team losing in the second or third tier in fantastic stadium?

 

There are plenty of instances of teams suffering because of investment in stadia to the detriment of the playing squads.

 

Transparency in where the money for the new stadium is coming from would be a start.

 

Valencia sure as he'll don't know.

Without sounding like I'm part of the club's PR, Aberdeen's plan here is to invest heavily in a state of the art facility, with a modern stadium that is able to bring in income seven days a week, increase attendances, coupled with a training ground, all geared towards making Aberdeen a UEFA top 100 club.

You're essentially saying that Aberdeen shouldn't bother trying to be ambitious and instead should play the "safe" option of doing nothing, because there's some risk attached.

They can't do nothing. Pittodrie is a wreck, the cost of maintaining it is increasing year on year, we have no training ground, and despite some success on the pitch our crowds have fallen behind Hearts and Hibs - it's no coincidence they are playing in much more modern stadiums than we are.

Aberdeen are not going to begin building the stadium until they have the money in place. It's not going to be another Valencia situation.

As for "no-one knows where the money is coming from" - the club have said time and time again it will be from the sale of Pittodrie, naming rights, share issue, and private investment. The latter part they clearly can't reveal while they are in negotiations. They believe they can raise £43m, with the rest as a mortgage. If they can't raise it, they're not going to start building the stadium regardless, so there really is nothing to worry about.

The only lesson to be learned is don't start building your stadium until the money is in place.

3,972 tickets left on the ticket portal.

Considering the away end is sold out, I make it 16,800 roughly sold for Saturday.

Would not be surprised to see a certain Mr Hayes back in a red shirt come August

I hope not to be honest. We got the best of him and got good money for him. Now he's going to be coming back from a serious injury having barely played for a year, and is the wrong side of 30. Will struggle to hit the same heights he once did as regularly.

A younger, fitter, Gary Mackay-Steven is a better option.

Don't change too much from tonight. McLean suspended means a forced change - but hopefully not O'Connor or Arnason into midfield who are both too slow and will be murdered by Allan, McGinn and McGeouch. Give Dean Campbell a chance, but if youthful exuberance will n there. I'm guessing Nwakali will still be injured.

Drop May too. Doesn't offer enough of a goal threat. Rooney should start.

Lewis

Logan O'Connor McKenna Shinnie

McGinn Ball Campbell GMS

Cosgrove Rooney

Saturday 3pm kick-off, and a big 90 minutes. Hopefully a big crowd, especially since Hibs are set to sell out the away end. Anything less than 16,000 would be disappointing.

May is poor.  He offers us nothing.  What is that now? One in 19, 20? Doesn't even look like scoring or threatening the opposition.

 

 

LA Don - I don't think McGinn is fit, and the fact he was on the bench in the semi etc shows that. His sharpness just isn't there. I think he needs a pre-season with us, and maybe that's what Stevie May needs too. Fingers crossed.

I still have hope for McGinn and GMS. Reckon they'll both kick on next season. Mad that we have May on such a long deal, he's finished.

Aberdeen win and you let that bother you?

Aberdeen win and you let that bother you?

Thought Cosgrove did well. Not someone you would play as a lone forward but alongside May and Rooney (though May was poor I thought, let the game pass him by).

McLean going to be a big miss v Hibs (suspended I think).

Hearts, just an awful team and club. Bunch of cloggers. Call themselves a big club yet Aberdeen had more fans at last night's Youth Cup final than Hearts did tonight. Back to mid-table mediocrity, which to be fair is where they belong.

Chris Sutton and Beechgrove McCoist can't find a good word to say about the Dons on BTSport, both look like they are sooking on lemons.

 

Also just noticed they have a green and a blue mic cover respectively, subtle.

Aberdeen win and you let that bother you?

What's the crowd looking like for this one?

According to the ticket portal, not counting the upper deck and away end (about 5,300 combined), there are 2,386 tickets left for sale. Suggests about 12,500 sold. Can't see Hearts bringing much.

Dean Campbell was quite tidy I thought. Don't know if he usually plays that deep but was trying to link the defence and midfield, but we could have done with him more at the other end. First time I've seen him play, but have heard a lot of people talk very highly of him.

Hibs reckon they're going to sell out the away end at Pittodrie. Good on them, but about time. Hearts and Hibs regularly benefit from large Aberdeen supports down there yet bring hardly anyone up here.

Trying to think of the last time any side other thank the Old Firm or Dundee United sold out the away end. My guess would've Dundee when Cannigia made his debut.

Also trying to think when was the last time Hibs had 2000+ at Pittodrie. Probably not since the 70s.

I think we'll need seven points from the remaining four games.

Rangers will lose twice; once to Celtic and, providing we beat them, they can only take six points maximum from the other two.

They have a superior goal difference, so we'll need seven. Beat Hearts, draw with Hibs, beat Rangers. Play the kids on the final day of the season and get summer started.

Desso grassmaster is the standard pitch any new stadium has (in the pro leagues). Is this what Hearts are installing over the summer?

 

As a separate point, not sure Scotland is big enough for 3 pro rugby teams, but we should definitely be looking to encourage more games up there.

Hearts pitch - yes. Celtic also installing one I think. £1m is the cost. Interesting to see if we'd then install it on the training pitches too since they're being designed to mimic the stadium pitch.

Bristol City just rugby and football, and the pitch seems to hold up well enough.

As for rugby, can't say I'm an expert on it, but Glasgow Warriors get around 7,000 and Edinburgh about half that. An Aberdeen team wouldn't get huge numbers, but enough to make it worthwhile and as above, its fans spending money on food and drink. Got to try and maximise Kingsford as much as possible.

Rugby is for men who like grappling with male flesh.

 

It's for those who are not good at football, whether they lack the artistry and coordination skills or whether they're just fat useless bastards. Like farmers for instance.

 

The "sport" appeals to public schoolboys and that's no accident of fate, I fancy.

Probably all true, however if there was an Aberdeen rugby team maybe pulling in 2,000 fans on Friday nights, with fans being allowed to drink (since its allowed in rugby) it....

A) brings in money to the Dons

B) Of the stadium gets a licence to sell alcohol, then it helps Aberdeen push for drinking to be allowed at football, which would solve all the pre-match "where to drink" problems

That's the stadium officially approved by ACC.

Interesting to note that no music concerts allowed, however they mention multiple times that the stadium

may bring in other sporting events. Seems likely they mean rugby, which I'm fine with (would welcome Aberdeen having a team to rival Glasgow and Edinburgh, but hopefully they go with a desso pitch like Bristol City.

Not a chance it'll be anywhere near packed out. About 12,000 max I'd say.

Hearts are such a negative, boring team. Hopefully we set up with a bit more imagination than we did at Tynecastle.

GMS should start. He caused them problems when he came off the bench a few weeks ago.

Kilmarnock are our bitches.

Big three points though. Killie are capable of taking points off Hibs and Rangers.

NKS claiming Aberdeen are considering alternatives to CPZ and footbridge.

https://www.nokingsfordstadium.org.uk/2018/04/19/are-afc-planning-traffic-and-parking-chaos-for-westhill/

Section 75 agreed: https://t.co/nqwZqRjJny

Unfortunately there is nothing 'usual' about the development so its difficult to say when they will get round to issuing the actual decision and/or documents.

 

Planning departments throughout scotland are stretched to the limit and even the simplest house extensions are being delayed by weeks even months so I'm not surprised nearly 2months down the line it is only at the 'verbal' approval stage.

 

A much less controversial development I worked on took 18months to get planning permission of which the final 6months saw my colleagues and I regularly writing to the Planning officers asking 'where is that planning permission you promised us?

Just glad its not in a conservation area and doesn't involve any listed buildings

Do you think Aberdeen will be able to put "spades in the ground" this summer?