100% Anti Kingsford

Gave up on BBC News some time ago - particularly the 6 pm news - no analysis at all. Channel 4 News is groundbreaking - miles ahead of BBC News. Having said that Emily Matliss grilled her but its too easy at the moment - May is in the gutter. What concerns me is the way security services (army, police) use the Media and BBC in particular. Placed press conferences using soundbites and everything the police say has to be signed off by Downing Street. Lots of convictions in courts are unsound simply due to creative tones and words used by police. No idea why the police are so pro-Tory govt as they are always moaning about budget cuts. D-Notice (Govt hush up orders) has been mentioned as regards the Grenfell Tower incident but I think it's more red tape as to why numbers have not been confirmed. They don't know the numbers in that tower as its big families probably living 6 or 7 to a house and there is possibly loads of illegal refugees inside or EU migrants who are not officially listed for work in the UK. London is full of people living in London sleeping on friends couches. May is clearly not PM material. Everything she says is script written, no personality whatsoever and no public persona. Voice sounds robotic. The problems for May are mounting up weekly. It won't be long until another incident happens in the UK such is the climate at the moment.

A few classics in the media today. Outside the memorial wall near Tower appeared 'Brooklyn Beckham' who the papers report looked 'highly emotional' and was clearly 'welling up' at the scene. But he did turn up looking highly fashionable. Meanwhile, the Queen showed up and called the fire 'so awfully ghastly'. This weekend she is off to shoot pheasants at Sandringham. That, and the appearance of Brooklyn Beckham has alleviated the trauma. ps. Simon Cowell is getting a group of artists together to release a single. Clearly there are people who care. pps. Politicians are currently looking at a range of policies and have called for politics to be taken out of the issue.

Yeah, true. Same platitudes after every single tragedy the length and breadth of the country - Books of condolence, memory walls with RIP, minutes silence, concerts, flowers by the dozen, 'communities pulling together' is the current favourite of the BBC and Teresa May. Another phoney one that appeared was #jesuischarlie #welovemanchester - hashtag society - empty nonsense. Communities are not pulling together, are they? Especially in London. These incidents whether terrorism or that fire are manifestations of inequality and prejudice, not togetherness. 500metres from that Tower building are houses worth £1.2m. These communities where Grenfell Tower are, are hard pressed, shit on, crapped on and at the bottom of a rotten society. The people will be forgotten in two weeks. Its about time these phoney out pourings of selfish cartharthic mourning stopped. We need Solutions to the problems of society. 2m people marching in London on Westminster demanding fairer housing policies might help.

Agree, the inequality class divide - 21st century. Bigger questions here than simply a fire. There will be a majority if not all of the people in that block asylum seekers, working class blokes who live alone, older ladies, students. Its all about people lining pockets, making money out of social housing, big deals - land deals, rent deals, sell offs to investment companies. Its all about MP's who were warned years ago about the safety risks but chose to ignore. They should get jailed sopposedly one of them is Chief of Staff of May. If you watch all these crisis and tragedies of last 3 months - all of them have a common theme. That is superficial soundbites about communities pulling together etc, but there is no pulling together as communities especially in London are hugely divided. This is no terrorist episode behidn this - this is pure greed and incompetent muck ups. That skyscraper will get demolished in 2 years and the land will be sold to some investment company in Canary Wharf and flats built that nobody can afford. That is how bad it all is.

It may turn into a huge scandal - it's bigger than Hillsborough - maybe given horror of it. Heads will roll over it surely but whether they are right people is anyone's guess. These enquiries can be notoriously whitewashed due to govt pressures. For me at the centre of it all is this the issue of housing inequality. People (landlords, tenant management companies) lining pockets from substandard properties and social housing. Councils are equally to blame as they have made money out of leasing the management of this property to a private company. They are also making lots of money selling council stock to private companies. Ethically its a sitation that has allowed to happen thanks to consecutive govt. If anyone has not worked in London go there - the housing and renting situation is disgraceful. Massive inequalities, huge rental rip off market, letting agencies who care nothing about tenants.

This is a scandal, a scandal of Hillsborough type proportions. People packed into a high rife with inadequate fire rules surrounded by highly flammable materials - insulation and cladding. Told to remain in their homes in the event of a fire. Burned alive. Burned alive. Kids hanging from the 17th floor with teddy bears. Many people should be jailed over this - held to account. There will be huge ramifications for all high rises. What will probably happen is an enquiry will happen and it will be a whitewash. MP's will get away with it - some of them have been sitting on warning reports for years. I've worked in London - the inequalities in housing are shocking and utterly despicable. You are speaking about people living 10 to a house across every borough. Huge cost of rents and living. £1,400 for a one bedroom rental. Corrupt letting agencies raking in money who do not give a shit about peoples living conditions. Huge amounts of land and property owned by foreign investors - cash cows managed through letting agencies. This tower block incident is symbolic of all the housing inequalities down in London. Disgrace.

Thats ok, they can have Shinnie and Lewis - £10m for both of them or they don't go.

We have to live in the real world, the real world of communications, instant communications - mobile phone, text, skype, facebook, twitter, landline, hotel phone. You can fly to Florida in 7 hrs? It was mentioned on 27th May that McInnes was number one target. It doesn't really matter if has had a chat, interview, meeting or text message exchange with McInnes. They have been communicating with him for some time. You can call it tapping up but in real world of football it is how it works.

They have got (if claims are correct) now a transfer kitty of £2.3m + a high-quality player on loan as in a top performer in Christie. Thats £2.3m. There is not going to be a shortage of experience managers wanting the job. And there is no room for excuses saying they have no money. Its all very up in the air and they need it all resolved quick but moving on is good. Freshen it all up. Plus the club have got loads of cash now.

He (McInnes) has already had an interview or chat face to face with Bain in Florida.

One month away from Europa League match and less than a week before training regime starts and the club: Do not know who the manager will be Lost key player - McGinn Losing another key player soon - Hayes This isn't good. It's quite frankly a mess with no outcomes. What players must be thinking I do not know.

Sunderland made £30m today selling Jordan Pickford to Everton. They also get £40m+ in parachute payments over next few years despite being relegated. They will prune squad and try to get back on the cheap. McInnes will get paid a lot and even if he gets sacked within the next year will get contract paid up. If truth be told there is not much else he can achieve at Aberdeen aside from win Scottish Cup as League Cup already been done and league is no no.

As coincidence would have it Cormack's company or his former company (Brighttree) or whatever they are called are based or have a base in Westhill adjacent or not far from where Kingsford may be built and not far from - Stewart Milne Construction!!!! Its a cloud software company so lots of the workers are remote based but they have been trying to sell health system product in Scotland to private firms. As far as I am aware this may be a two-way arrangement. He has clubs interests at heart and is a knowledgeable guy in terms of business rather than football though. He is offering business acumen to the club in terms of technological advancements, insights and advice consultancy i.e. new ticket office systems, business to business links, social media technology strategies, system development - drive product engagements i.e. improve how the club sell stuff. Hot off the press: Colleague sitting next to me. Milne and his wife/partner are close personal friends of Cormack and his wife. They are golf friends, charity partners and have all known each other for 25 years+. Cormack is Milne's mate.

Eric Black was caught up in the desperate 'bungs' allegations. Basically, the whole thing was semi-true but broadsheet papers becoming gutter press. https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/aberdeen-fc/gothenburg-great-eric-cleared-by-southampton/ Cleared, not guilty.

I find it 'highly alarming', no scrap that 'extremely alarming' that anyone would want Boab Coyle as the manager of Aberdeen ahead of McLeish or Black. John Hughes is a dimwit, Hibee idiot who struggles to string anything sensible together.

If the board do not have names in mind to take over pending his departure then its incompetence. Lost 2 pivotal key players Losing U20 coach supposedly (Sheerin) Losing Assistant Manager and Manager We play Europa League one month today. The players are training Monday. At the moment its a bit chaotic and needs sorted soon.

No - Callum Melville was also a Charleton on the board at Dundee. Different guy. He was someone who said he was a successful oil tycoon but turned out to be a phoney or someone on the brink of losing money. Cormack fell out with Shkovdhal and followed Jim Cummings out the door from Pittodrie not soon after Cummings announced he could not give the club 100% if Milne was in charge. If I remember correctly there was a fight or near fisticuffs between Cummings and Milne in the stand at Easter Road during one game. Cormack said absolutely nothing publically about Milne or support for him. He was given 3 months to move on while Milne looked for someone else to help him. This was why Willie Miller came in. On leaving Aberdeen Dave Cormack DENIED any fall out with Milne and said he was going home to 'look after his daughter'. That is about it.

Back in early 2000's Cummings and Cormack departed the board. Willie Miller replaced Cormack I think after Cormack gave Milne notice he wanted to 'go home to look after his daughter'. Cormack dismissed the idea it was a fall out with Milne (Cummings fell out with Milne) and instead he said he needed to go back to the US as 'his daughter had health problems'. Cummings was the one who said he 'could not have Milne 100%' - different man. Cormack fell out with Skovdhal not Milne. As with any stream of business at this level (boardroom) there is the usual ego's, interest, self interest and invovlement. To me its nothing new, Milne said he wants a 'sounding board' in Cormack - I would suggest the $800m fortune is a smokescreen just to provide confidence. Is he putting in hard cash for players or the 'stadium'?

Not a rumour from me. McInnes is off it seems. If you read this forum (last week) Eric Black was meeting AFC board last week in some hotel. A lunch. Are you trying to tell me that the AFC board are have not had contingency plans in place given this 'rumour' has been circulating for weeks? I would hasten to add where were you when McInnes was about to be named as the boss? The publicity and fan reaction to it was not across the board positive with words such as 'not that hun' quite common place.

If I remember correctly Dave Cormack was always viewed or seen as being a bit of a charlatan. It was like that back in 2000's when he came in. Someone who talked a lot and who has done quite well but scratch the surface and all was not as it seems and he made a quick departure after being with the club for not very long. Any investment is welcome but is it all as it seems? He is worth $800m - aye ok, I am sure it's not as simple as that. Aside from the fresh ideas that are always welcome, but unless its change i.e. Milne buggering off into the twilight then what is it all about?

I was also informed today that McInnes is getting the Sunderland job. Already had interviews - he met Bain at a hotel supposedly in Florida. It's all a bit transparent, to be honest - no signings, very silent and very silent since cup final. You would hope that the AFC have someone already lined up - supposedly Eric Black has been sounded out.

There is no comparison with Lithuania v Scotland, Ukraine v Scotland - Scotland v England is the biggest rivalry in the world of football. Bigger than Celtic v Rangers, bigger than Milan v Inter bigger than any of them. I have 40+ years of following Aberdeen including Gothenburg, including Bayern, Waterschei all cup finals since 76. Only Waterschei, Ullevi and Bayern came close to matching the passion on Saturday at Hampden. If you downplay Saturday v England you obviously were not there to see it or feel it. Its the best atmosphere I have felt in a football stadium since Ullevi. Incredible noise, passion, rivalry - everything football should be. Of course there is always Aberdeen v Ross County on a Wednesday night but lets not discuss that shite......

Draw is next monday. 2nd round games 13th and 20th so one month from now we are playing a team in Europa League. We dont know the manager situation - lost McGinn, Taylor and on the verge of losing Hayes. The preparation is not the best especially if we get team well into its season. Anything can happen it seems to me and it depends on the outcome of 1st round ties and seeding of those teams that get through although I could be wrong. Hibs were at home last years 1st leg v Brondby but I doubt they were seeded? This year there seems to be a huge disparity between coefficients. We are on 6.756 or whatever but Galatasaray are on 58.0. In addition, lots of teams in round two potentially look good trip but strong. When you calculate that we have played Groningen, Rijeka and Ventspils its not guaranteed to get rubbish in 2nd round: Kairat Almaty CC: 5.550 Osijek CC: 5.550 Sarajevo CC: 5.300 KR CC: 5.175 IFK Norrköping CC: 4.945 Milsami Orhei CC: 4.900 Bnei Yehuda CC: 4.875 Lyngby CC: 4.800 Nõmme Kalju CC: 4.800 Željezni?ar Sarajevo CC: 4.800 Botev Plovdiv CC: 4.675 Olimpija Ljubljana CC: 4.625 Valletta CC: 4.550 Vaduz CC: 4.450 Jagiellonia Bia?ystok CC: 4.450 Levski Sofia CC: 4.425 CSKA Sofia CC: 4.175 Stjarnan CC: 4.175 Haugesund CC: 4.165 Domžale CC: 4.125 Ordabasy CC: 4.050 Levadia Tallinn CC: 4.050 Dinamo Brest CC: 3.975 Östersund CC: 3.945 Ferencváros CC: 3.900 Crusaders CC: 3.900 Rabotni?ki CC: 3.875 Shirak CC: 3.775 Brann CC: 3.665 Dacia Chi?in?u CC: 3.650 Mladost Podgorica CC: 3.550 Zira CC: 3.550

Fola Esch of Luxemburg had players on more money that us. McGinn and likes of him would be at Aberdeen if the money was on offer but it's not. Oxford, MK Dons offer better money. McGinn is not going to get a top club and I wouldnt be surprised if he ended up at Charlton. Portsmouth is averaging 17,000 every home game, Charlton Athletic are averaging 18k every week, Bradford getting 14k crowds and they charge more at the gate. At Aberdeen, the players are on 2-year deals of between £1-£3k a week plus whatever win bonuses etc. `It's a tight ship, close bean counting as it has to be or it all gets out of control. Where that might change is if likes of Hayes etc go and big money comes in.

Much better than that. Just wish we played them (England) more regularly. Some sort of friendly trophy every two years. A lot of the stone island squad were wondering about Glasgow looking for trouble on Sat but none of them had a ticket - but there was no trouble and atmosphere in Glasgow after game was fanstastic. Only near miss was someone throwing a whiskey bottle at Harry Kane's head!