thestooge

I was really frustrated with the goal. I'd mentioned in the post United game thread that I was uncomfortable with how he was dealing with long range efforts. He's been beaten by a few and he's spilled several more. He has shown strength in other areas and, overall, I think he is an upgrade on Langfield and Brown. He's just not the finished article. It's one of those things with young loan players and it's where we are. We've tried numerous other approaches to improving on Jamie and he's managed to hold on to the number one jersey for a decade. Ward will definitely improve over the course of the season here.

If I was critical of his tactics, particularly in the first leg, I've got to also praise McInnes for his post match, public comments. I think these are really positive, despite the obvious frustration. I hope it's reflected on Sunday and hope we get another decent crowd out to continue the fine support we saw last night: "The pleasing thing for me is the nature of the game. It was clear that we were a team that was hell bent of getting on top of them. The intensity of our play was excellent in terms of winning the ball back, moving the ball quickly and the players deserve a lot of credit for that. "Despite them being well into their campaign, I felt they were flagging. They had a few bookings and a few lazy challenges and were finding it difficult to cope. Prior to the game, I thought privately that the goal had to come in the first half and with the way the team was set-up, that first goal was all important. "They used their counter-attacking threat in the second half to cause us a few moments of anxiety and then we got caught running with the ball in the wrong area and they took advantage of that and it made the task even more difficult. "From then on in, with people stopping the play and players going down with injuries, they tried to take the sting out of the game and it was difficult for us to keep generating that intensity but I still felt if we got the equaliser, that second goal would come. Unfortunately, we ran out of time. "While we are disappointed, there is still a lot of pride as I feel that the team is improving and the fact that 20,000+ stayed and applauded at the end of the game is recognition of the players' efforts. We lacked a bit of quality in the final third at times but for effort, determination and intelligence of play, we were excellent. "The determination is there and we have got so much going for us. We have got a great dressing room to manage and have a good squad of players that make me feel confident about the rest of the season. "Determination has never been a failing and the supporters see that. They are not daft, they seen a team that was hell bent on winning. "We want to try and get off to a good start in our league campaign and we will hope for a similar outcome to the one at Tannadice on Sunday. We will freshen up in certain areas where we feel that it is needed but it is important that we bring an intensity to our play. We want to make sure that we respond by winning on Sunday. "We congratulate Almaty, they are a good side, but we are disappointed."

Would be sad to see him go. Good player if not his best night in a red shirt.

Hard one to take. I dinna think they were as good as Gronigen or Rejika. At least losing to Sociedad we were clearly out gunned. Overall from the two legs I think Mcinnes was our weakest link rather than individual player errors. I think he started with the wrong formation in Kazakhstan which resulted in their two goal head start. Losing battle from there. I'd not have started Goodwillie tonight. We needed a goal and we had our near 30 goal a season striker on the bench. Goodwillie has his merits and to be fair he's shown more in his last 6 weeks than the previous 12 months but I think Rooney would have given more tonight. I agree that Logan was uncharacteristically out of sorts but I also thought Hayes failed to deliver. I thought Jack and McLean were fantastic but we failed to capitalise on long spells of possession. Indeed, despite our late pressure and one good save in particular, their keeper was rarely tested. I said post United that Ward was a concern for me. Shots from distance seem to be spilled (or go in) and we either need to coach that out of him or protect him better. Every game now he's spilled into his box or been beaten by a drive from distance. He's not without his merits obviously but I felt he was more culpable than Taylor tonight. The crowd were immense. They deserved a bit of luck but sadly it wasn't to be. I think Kairat will struggle to progress much further. They've a couple of players of real quality but I think we gave them a little too much respect. I've no doubt McInnes will learn from this experience though. He's been vital for us and he's been instrumental in our change of fortune but he is still a young manager himself with relatively little European experience. It's a learning curve for him as well as the players. We really need another goal scorer if we're to kick on. I hope we can get one in sooner rather than later. Get May in for Sunday. ;-)

Zaluska Watson Kerr Balatoni Tesselaar ??Emerenko Vigurs Ofere ? Samson ? ? ? McFadden Miller Scotland Short on defensive quality right enough, and more than a couple have had their best days but two decent keepers and some decent attacking options (did Ofere not get a goal every other game for ICT, 6 in ten starts or similar?) I've seen worse side survive in the SPL.

Nothing there of interest for us but some decent mid/lower SPL options there. I think Samson and Vigurs are very under-rated SPL players and I'm surprised Zaluska, Emerenko and Tesselar haven't found someone willing to take a punt. I'd have thought Scotland and Miller would have found central belt homes too, Championship if not SPL.

Ace quote from Deek. I can see Flood in for Quinn but I hope not. Goodwillie or Rooney is another tough one. On form, Goodwillie shouldn't be dropped but I think if you want goals, you start Rooney. Goodwillie is better if we're after something on the break but I think we should be much more proactive here.

Surely we'll not go three at the back. I'd go: Ward Logan Taylor Quinn Considine Jack Shinnie McLean McGinn Hayes Rooney Brown Rose Flood Robson Smith Pawlett Goodwillie I fear one goal wont be enough. I hope our away goal proves vital but I just feel we'll need to win by two. I don't think the rest weekend will make a huge difference to them, not unless they've traveled early (have they?). It's not the game time at this stage that is tiring for the players, it's the extended periods cramped on planes and the multiple time zones.

Paul Pogba's brother joins Partick. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33761823 Edgar Davids nephew is waiting by the phone.

Our early season form cost us last season but we've already started brighter. I don't think we will have a run like last year where we went unbeaten for weeks on end but I expect us to be consistently strong over the season. I think Hearts and Dundee are stronger than last year but ICT and United are considerably weaker. I expect us to finish 2nd at least. Our squad is head and shoulders better than the rest and while it's not reasonable to expect us to win every week, not winning will be a disappointment, we'll be after 3 points in every match. I hope we can make the next round of Europe but I suspect getting to the groups is beyond us just yet. If Celtic are distracted by the Champions League, I can very well see us being slightly more consistent against the rest of the league. I think it'll come down to the head to heads. Such a poor performance in the games with Celtic cost us big time last season, the big results going in their favour took the pressure off them. If we can get an early win against them it'll just put that seed of doubt in their mind. Despite the addition of United's better players, I don't think their squad has progressed while we've added Shinnie to our first 11 and added a bit of depth so far. I think the summer has been kinder to us than them. If we add May and they lose Van Dijk, all the better. Mounting a serious challenge should be impossible given the gulf of resources but I do feel we're better placed than ever to at least give them a scare. If we could win the league, it'd be magical, a huge sporting achievement, I suspect we'll need to settle for second though but I'm looking forward to enjoying it all pan out. I certainly think we can win a cup though and I expect us to reach a final. It's a good time to be red.

Middlesbrough are lining up an improved £14m bid for Blackburn's 25-year-old striker Jordan Rhodes, having already had a £12m offer rejected Football, it's fucked.

Aye, they really look to have lost the guys with quality. The new boys are either journeymen or children. Forgot to mention Shinnie above. That in itself shows how quickly he's settled in. He's a seriously good player. Pundits often talk about the value of the consistent 7 out of 10 player. I just get the feeling Shinnie, in both midfield or left back, will be a consistent 8 out of 10 by the end of the season. Tremendous signing.

A very pleasing win that as I've been hurting from the 0-3 on opening day last season all year. I think today's result has not only shown how far we've come, in that we could have guys like Jack and McGinn resting following thousands of miles of travel and some very competitive games, but also how far they've fallen. I think they'll struggle to get top six. They still have some quality in the squad but not near enough to replace those that have departed in the last two windows. Same for ICT. I think Dundee and Hearts will be more likely to challenge for third. I don't think Smith grabbed his start with both hands, but neither did he let us down. He showed an ability to change the pace of play and increase the tempo as we transitioned into attack. I still think a loan would be best for him but even now he's got a lot to offer, especially when we've such a congested schedule. Flood was quite fortunate to get motm in my opinion, though he deserved it as much as any other too I guess. Again his inclusion really shows a strength in depth. I like the look of Ward and was really pleased he got the clean sheet. He seems to already be something of a fan favourite. I think he's brilliant at making himself big when under close range threat. He had another great save from a chance in the box today. That said, I do think he looks susceptible to long range efforts. I don't know if it's positional or just being flat footed but he's been beaten by a few speculative drives already and he spilled one today too. I see him as very much a work in progress. He does look like a very solid keeper in the making but he's clearly here for experience and to iron out some of the little glitches in his game. Really hope it goes to plan on Thursday. I just feel we'll need to beat them by two clear goals to progress so I hope Rooney finds a scoring touch. Exciting season ahead, that's for sure.

I thought we were weak. 2-1 isn't the end of the world but McIness hot the shape wrong to start with. At 2-0, we sorted things, aided at least in part by them sitting back so 2-1 isn't the end of the world but I think we could have done better. Three at the back isn't effective though I think they got a little lucky with the second. The guys in the bar, nae my mates, were blaming Langfield for the first two. Funny old game.

I can see us bidding for him. I think he's the sort of player we'd commit a modest fee to. If the huns interest is genuine though, and it appears to be, he'll go there as he's a wee hun fud. I'll not lose any sleep on missing out on him but he's the sort of player I think we should be after.

I'm pretty sure I read if we get to the group stages we'd bank around £5,000,000 in additional ticket sales, prize money and tv deals. But I canna mind the source and it may well just have been speculation. It'd be huge for us though.

You might be right, I had a figure of £2,000,000 in my head but I probably read that on a message board somewhere. Three home games of 15,000 must raise about £650-750k though, plus prize money and tv income combined must be broadly similar?

Are we not already about £2,000,000+ up based on the 3 rounds so far. I fully expect us to spend a little money this summer and I don't think it requires the group stages, though it'd be a huge bonus. I think May's situation won't be resolved until towards the close of the window but I'm hopeful we'll be in for him. I expect a quality striker and an attacking midfielder/winger to join up before the window slams shut.

I'm jealous of those getting over. I've been in Almaty many, many times over the last 7 years or so. The stadium, as the name suggests, is very central. In Kazakh terms, it's a beautiful city but its nae really going to rival Rome or Paris as a tourist destination. The main ex-pat type bars are chains. Line Brew and Guns and Roses. There are several locations of these bars. They're pretty decent. Quite near the stadium, on Furmanov Street, I think, is a German style beer hall called Augustein, or Augusteiner or similar. I'd recommend it. Good food, very meat based. Decent beer. My Kairat supporting buddy expects a close game and hopes for a win on away goals. He says the star man is Gohou, an Ivorian striker. Looking forward to this and I really hope we can get through, I might actually make the next round.

He finally seems to be repaying the faith that our management have had in him. I thought he'd be shown the door this summer but he looks to have played his way into the side and he does offer us something different. I still want a good striker in though and I think we will get May.

I await further betting scandals with moist anticipation.

In Shinnie and Logan, I think we've got the two best fullbacks in the league. Ward is certainly looking like an upgrade thus far too. Reynolds, Considine, Taylor and Ward give us genuine strength in depth. I guess Quinn provides cover for Logan too at RB, though if Logan does move on, we'll need to strengthen there. All in though, looking good at the back. Would still like to augment the attacking options. A striker and an attacking midfielder. Can Shinnie nae get his brother up the road?

http://news.stv.tv/west-central/1324154-kris-boyd-becomes-latest-football-star-to-have-hair-transplant/

It seems to have gone under the radar a bit but Ross County signed Andrew Davies at the same time as the signed Foster. Davies was formerly a million pound player, an England u21 with bags of Premiership and Championship experience. Previously at Boro, QPR, Southampton, Derby, Stoke and Palace, as well as a few others. He's managed about 30 games a year for the last three years at Bradford so he's nae exactly constantly injured either, despite a few fitness issues. Still only 30 too. Could easy be the signing of the summer.

I was pretty scathing after the first leg, but that was at least in part to booze. I did think we were a little disappointing but that shows how far we've come. Others are right in so much as a score draw away from home certainly isn't a bad result. I think we'll beat them at Pittodrie. I'm looking forward to the game.