Ajja

A strong 'will to win' and a positive mental attitude would be most welcome at Aberdeen, I think Calderwood is too quick to criticise internally and too quick to praise other sides. His approach does not create an iron will or determination to succeed amongst the squad. The cheeky chappy style of management only goes so far in generating good will. There is no doubt we could benefit from a steelier attitude towards the competition but it has to be couched with some sense of realism. Football is not structured in the way it was in the 80s, its not even anything like the 90s. Its not a likeable set of circumstances for any Dons fan but we have slipped way down the table and we have to be realistic about what that means for our actual ability to achieve. That said, I'd welcome a manager who wanted to fly in the face of that backdrop and talk positively about what can be achieved and give it a good go rather than settling for the inevitable mediocrity. Somebody just needs to find this guy and there in lies the problem

This is the critical difference in my opinion. Its foolish to say that finance is not an issue (as Kennedy says) but we should be acknowledging this while still talking up what is possible. Yes, there is a risk that you fall flat on your face but its not that difficult to manage messages. Good managers know how to use this type of psychology to ensure there is belief without hyperbole. In defence of the ASS letter and them drawing comparisons with Hearts I think this was possibly what they were alluding to. While Hearts clearly have done a sloppy job of managing the message, the sentiment is one I agree with. Aim high but just don't get hysterical or overly smug about it, talk about challenging the OF rather than accepting their dominance just don't say we can 'win the league, the cup and the CL'

FMG Forecaster must go.

Someone get the rules for the thread about strikers scoring goals again we have yet more technical misunderstandings to adjudicate

I'd consider the draws against Dnipro home & away, Moscow and Bayern Munich as some of the most exceptional results that I have seen Aberdeen achieve in the last 5 years. They may only be draws and not wins but to devalue them is a very naive assessment of the situation. These results far outway victories against Rangers and Celtic or Hearts at Tynecastle. They are very much an overachieving performances for a club whose European experiences are limited in recent history playing very very competent European sides. Dnipro were amongst the favourites for the tournament and they could not defeat us home or away, Bayern were the favourites and should have left Pittodrie with nothing. I'm sick of this 'we only won one game in Europe' bullshit. Draws are clearly not as good as wins but these are exceptional results. ND.

Not mine. Although I agree that there is little to trumpet about with regards to only getting top 6 I can't agree with the idea that financial strength is not a valid aspect of why we are not competing with the OF.

After the 4-0 win at the weekend we will be much closer with Maguire bagging 2, Miller 1 and Seve getting the other.

Its easy, there's even a song (in the Vladamir Romanov sucking Paul Hartley off vein): Only get rid-of Calderwood, for a commercially viable alternative Only get rid-of Calderwood, for a commercially viable alternative. ...I think it's a catchy little ditty and sung through a synthesised megaphone would add to any protest.

Its not clear but I think the prevailing opinion is that we would all welcome his exit if there is a commercially viable alternative proposed who is likely to bring progress. A JSGITIACVAPWILTBPer if you like.

If you know anything of me and my opinions its that I have a few of my own words I like to express from time to time (to take nothing away from an excellent post). If I wrote to a paper about this, I'd say what I want to say and it would take me too fucking long to do it.

It has never been about anything other than hysteria vs pragmatism in my opinion. I know people on afc chat who are pragmatic and I know people on DT who are hysterical. It just so happens there is a dominance of one or the other on each site. I've never been one for reacting without thinking first and I fear this protest will be dominated by exactly that.

Lets give it a go then. With all the self-congratulatory behaviour that goes on here (of which I am part) about our sensible, thought out position maybe we should make a statement to the press or the club which represents our view. We can even claim that we are representative of a 'significant element of the support'....there must be dozens of us on here who share similar views I also think that Penfolds post is an excellent summary of my own feelings

There will obviously be a fee involved, he's worth 10 if he's worth a shekel.

I don't think that anyone is arguing that the majority of fans are content. The discontent is apparent on every forum and in every crowd at games. We all see that change would probably be for the better but some of us are keen to look deeper than 'get him to fuck' and worry about the future when it comes.

1. I agree, players should be reacting positively and it pisses me off that they don't. However, they are just people like you and I and are subject to the pressures brought about by a support who boo and shout bile at them and organise protests while they sit 4th in the league. I'm not happy with their seeming inability to respond well but it doesn't mean I don't understand it and I personally choose to try and get passed my anger and support the players in the hope that a positive message lands a better strike than a negative one. 2. I am well aware that if people want to protest its their choice, hence the reason why I said it. That said, I don't have to agree with protesting. Maybe read my post before reacting.

As I said, you have the right to express your opinions in whichever way you wish but I personally don't agree its the right way to do it. You say you have nothing to lose, I would agree that for those attending the protest that may well be the case but I would question whether they do not have the clubs best interests at heart. The likely outcomes of this protest are to whip up a storm in national press generating ridicule of the clubs support, pile increased pressure on the players to avoid any further errors thereby increasing the possibility of more errors, increase divisions in the support bringing more tension and negativity to the club, continue to derail any chance of european football and therefor improved revenue for the club. If you really think there is nothing to lose then, in my opinion, you are taking a very myopic and ego-centric view on the events surrounding our club. I think there is a great deal to lose from this protest as outlined above and my previous post. You may be innocent to the way that such events operate but you must be aware that there is a high probability that any content likely to attend such an event is likely to be high on bile, venom and poison and low on reasoned thinking. The heady cocktail of football, booze and frustration is never going to paint a pretty picture or send any sort of message other than a reactionary one. Good luck with getting across your message anyway. I will watch with a minor amount of interest and a great deal of disdain.

He is a good footballer and so is his wife !

Westenddon: Has any of your group thought through the fact that a badly organised, badly pitched (if we win), half hearted attempt at a protest will have exactly the opposite effect to the one desired here ? I respect your right to do it but the odds are that this protest is unlikely to carry a significant amount of weight and substance, even if you get 100+ people out. If that happens then you will be reinforcing the club and management view that the dissenters in our support are a only a minority of ill-informed reactionaries. This will provide them with increased courage in their convictions and will allow them to continue to hide behind the idea that the 'real fans' who they meet 'on holiday' or in the streets are right behind the team. The club have very little history of reacting positively to such lightweight pressure groups and I suspect that you will find your protest will lead to further entrenchment of the management, exactly not what you are looking for I assume. In addition you will further alienate the support from the club through increased media attention as they will be incapable of dissecting the support into factions who support or do not support your rabble. If any of your group have been at the last two games they will have witnessed a team who are shell-shocked and downtrodden and this division between fans and club will intensify that feeling. Regardless of your views of the management if you are a fan of the club you would at least try to look at how this is affecting the players on the park. They require support more than ever and I would suggest that there are better ways to express discontent than this option, letters, petitions whatever form it takes a well thought out written word with a volume of support is significantly more poignant than any half-jacked screaming protester.

Moon on a stick option please

If one was going to present a case for 'moving backwards' (which I clearly haven't in my last response) they might point to the fact that a lot of the competition has got weaker (Hearts, Hibs, Kilmarnock) since JC took over and so staying still could be seen as backwards movement. Also, Kenetic Energy = Half mass x velocity squared, our squad is smaller (mass) and our velocity has diminished with Clark being sold and Mackie getting fat. Ergo, our Kenetic energy must have reduced and therefor a measurement of movement has gone backwards in real terms.

Hey now. Thats just plain rude. I'm fae fife...

You should see what he can do with dead balls

I tend to go for away games yeah. My decision making criteria is based on having a life outside football rather than the form of the team. I just get on with supporting them on the field regardless of my personal feelings about the way they are playing. Its simple really, and a lot less stressful that bursting a vein outside the main stand on a Saturday.

How funny if we horsed them 4-0. "You're not fit to wear the shirt...except the 4 goal scorers and the defence"

I'd go with that with one change, I might try this guy in place of Mulgrew to inject some pace and energy at FB: