wee toon red

As far as I can see there are 55 teams in the Nations League.

Not quite. 10 groups for the normal qualifiers. Top two from each group qualify. If any of those teams are due to take part in the Nations League playoffs, their playoff place will fall to another, non-qualified, team from the Nations League. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2020_qualifying

We would go into mini playoff with the winners of the other League C groups. Straightforward knockout, to be played after the "normal" Euro qualifiers are finished.

Excellent win, good to see four new names on the scoresheet. Hopefully McLennan not seriously hurt. Sounded like the first two goals were especially good, going by the radio.

You’d hope this is the kind of game where Anderson and Campbell should be on the park tout suite

They maybe, kinda, somewhere have a point - although Hearts could argue that Celtic played four games at Hampden last season so it evened itself out...

Interesting if true. Could well provide the link between the midfield and attack that we're missing but, equally, could be over the hill and arrive with a shite attitude.

You'd think, but then with Hearts having used Murrayfield for home games a year ago they'll probably use that as a reason to have them in Glasgow.

This "seven defenders" chat is pretty tedious, not to mention completely incorrect. For starters, Dom Ball is and always has been a midfield player who can (arguably) cover in defence, while Shinnie has played more games in midfield than defence in his entire time at Aberdeen, even if you can argue the toss over where his best position really is. You could put out a team of "defenders" but if you asked two of them to play on the wings and another two up front that's pretty different to playing all of them in the defensive areas, which is what the "seven defenders" brigade try to imply that McInnes does so they've got another stick to beat him with.

Bring the bastards on

I think Shinnie works better in there than GMS would, and, also better than anyone else we've got with the exception of Ferguson. Lowe at LB and Shinnie in the middle is, potentially, better than Shinnie at LB and Ball in the middle. Gleeson and Forrester were in "my" team purely as more attacking options than the team McInnes is likely to put out. In reality, the best way to get a result against Celtic is to get in their faces and put them under pressure constantly. With that in mind, I'd definitely have Shinnie in midfield as he has the drive and energy to do that. That also happens to be the way I'd set the team out every week so, picking a team from our full squad (so obviously not for Saturday), I'd go: ----------Lewis---------- Logan - Devlin - McKenna - Lowe McGinn - Shinnie - Ferguson - GMS ---------Wright------------ ---------Wilson--------------- So with no Ferguson or Wright this weekend(?) I'd pull Wilson back to that attacking midfield position, put McGinn up front with Frank Ross wide right and play Ball in CM as I think he has more energy and athleticism than Gleeson.

It's certainly bold but I doubt we'd ever win possession with that midfield, let alone do much to help out or shield the defence. If you want an attack-minded team, how about: Lewis Logan Devlin McKenna Lowe Gleeson Shinnie Forrester McGinn Wilson GMS At least Shinnie in that midfield would provide some kind of screening for the centre backs.

You want to play GMS in the middle of the park?

----------Lewis------------ ----Devlin McKenna Considine---- Logan Ball Shinnie Lowe -----------------GMS------------------- -----------Cosgrove Wilson------------- Lays out quite easily as 3-4-3 but it certainy wasn't as straightforward on the park as it is on paper.

I was going to post exactly that. Feels like there's at least one if not more on this board alone.

I think the point about our youngsters perhaps being better now than those we've had previously is a very good one. Whether that's in relation to the general standard of the squad or to previous generations remains to be seen. The lack of any of our recent unwanted youths going on to any success elsewhere would certainly point to the majority of them having been shite and does, to a certain extent, justify mcinnes' decision not to give them game time.

I certainly don't dispute the assertion that a striker would have made us a better team etc but to pare it down to "if we had Moult we'd have won those games" is far too simplistic. What the if the new striker had got himself sent off, been injured etc? And I emphasised the Scottish Cup game because no centre forward would've made Ball have a better game or sorted Arnason and Lewis out either.

You're not, in all seriousness, suggesting the difference in those games - especially the Scottish Cup semi when the entire team was atrocious - is solely down to Stevie May being signed instead of Moult/AN Other are you?

In a country as parochial as Scotland, and with our stacked football system being what it is, taking games "round the country" would in reality give people the chance to moan about money being spent renting stadia from the Huns/the Tims/the Sheepshaggers/the posh rugby cunts so, for once, I think the SFA were damned if they did and damned if they didn't on this one.

Stubbs is an imposter of a manager who got lucky with a Scottish cup win. He had two goes at getting hibs out of the championship and failed miserably so why st Mirren thought he’d be any use with a lower budget in a higher league god only knows. He was also rank rotten at Rotherham so i’d say his managerial days at any half decent level are over.

If Tierney plays centre back it'll be with Mulgrew, at least in the Albania game. With the Belgium game being a friendly McLeish might try Souttar and Tierney together but I doubt it. Would make more sense to give Souttar his debut alongside Mulgrew, who's familiar with the position and has plenty experience.

The BBC gossip column just quotes the papers so it's no surprise they're full of shit.

So we're shit now and going to be worse when McInnes goes. Does that mean we should keep him?

Have you followed ANY of our games during mcinnes’ time here? That’s his preferred formation and nothing new so I don’t understand your surprise?