wee toon red

A guy who you have to feel got everything out of his talent. A 20-year top flight career, almost entirely at his boyhood club, winning a trophy and gaining international recognition. What an example. I don't know what his retirement plans are but getting someone like that into a youth set up somewhere at least seems like a good idea.

That's been one of the most noticeable things about the tournament, the majority of players looked knackered. I thought it was definitely true of Scotland and England look the same, while France, Italy and Portugal's performances would suggest their players are shattered as well. Too much football being played for the players to be in top condition all the time - and too much for fans to watch as well. Way beyond saturation point now. What's the scoop in Scotland with the extra tv deal this year? 80 potential games? Madness.

How good does a fixture list full of Saturday's look?! Unfortunately it'll all go to shit when tv and European games get involved and we'll have more shite like the Monday 8pm kick off we've been handed to kick off.

We seem to have paid about £250,000 for Ferguson from Hamilton and the story goes that £500k would be the expected compensation figure for Barron.

That advanced midfield role should be perfect for Ferguson rather than sitting a bit deeper. For me it's between Ferguson, McGinn and McTominay for the advanced roles and Gilmour, McGregor and Christie for the deeper ones.

Ryan Christie is a more of a holding midfielder than McTominay these days. You could actually make an argument for him playing alongside Gilmour and McGregor dropping out.

Subject to fitness and availability, there should never be another Scotland game that starts without Billy Gilmour in the team. He's our only "proper" player in terms of composure and ability on the ball and we're a different team with him in it.

Instinctively feels like a good signing and fits in with the idea of signing the better players from around the league to supplement the unknown quantities we're bringing in every year.

We’ve apparently met the st Johnstone keeper Mitov’s release clause. No idea how much it is.

I'm relatively ambivalent towards women's football but it does catch my attention from time to time. Mainly the Scotland team and then if I see a score update on some of the Dons socials then I'll check it out. Maybe helped by having two young daughters who play but I certainly don't have any ill will towards it and I find it more interesting than some of the guff that you'll find on BBC Sport, that's for sure. Rico's point about trying to copy men's football is spot on. When Glasgow City were the top women's team it felt natural to hope that they do well. Now that Celtic and Rangers have their own teams who are doing well you can't help but want them to lose, which is a pity for the players but so be it. Glasgow City and other Scottish teams would be much easier to "support" without the rivalries that come from the men's game.

Lewis Morgan called up. You'd have to think he'll be in the final 26 otherwise dragging him over for a friendly tomorrow night and then sending him straight home would be insane.

Six ex Dons, including two who came through our youth system.

Already relegated and a midweek trip up to Aberdeen? Well done to them for taking any fans whatsoever.

Unreal again tonight. 2-0 down with less than five minutes of normal time left and won 3-2, with an absolute worldie of a winner 8+ mins into stoppage time. https://x.com/AberdeenFC/status/1790123950636167252

From what you read about Thelin's style of play, then if he's going to implement it here he'll need players with discipline and energy. Particularly from the midfield forward. So you'd imagine any of our squad who possess those traits will thrive, those with one of the two will probably hang around a while and any who have neither won't last long.

I see former St Johnstone defender Shaun Rooney is leaving Fleetwood on a free... maybe not much of a step-up from Devlin but I'd have taken him when he left Saints two years ago.

Actually think Foster was a bit pro-Dons in his co-commentary to be honest. Also thought that under the bollocks "handball" rules these days it was a stonewall penalty. The blatant on one of our players that wasn't given up the other end which resulted in the Huns getting possession and ultimately the penalty was, however, an absolute joke.

What are we going to say to CAS? "Please sir, this is unfair. We want 50% of the tickets even though we can't sell them all"? We'd rightly be laughed out of the place. A fairer mechanism for selling, ie section by section up to a deadline and if not sold out the other team get them, is the ideal but to suggest we go greetin to CAS about it is fanciful. If "we" as a club want to make a point then it should start with being able to show demand is there in the first place, which it demonstably isn't. The SFA aren't going to have seats that could've been sold lying empty if they can possibly help it and it's very difficult to blame them for that.

The news must be right if we’re getting pronunciation lessons! Hopefully the media style guides will be equally well informed

When you didn't have enough competent refs to run the games up here pre-VAR then it stands to reason that needing more of them to use this system just results in more incompetent people being involved. A joke. Surely the only appropriate way this should’ve been handled was “sorry ref, the system is down so go with your on-field call”? That fact that it wasn’t just beggars belief.

https://www.afc.co.uk/2024/04/10/club-statement-video-assistant-referees/ If what the club are saying here is true - that the tech failed but the VAR got involved to overturn an on-field decision using guesswork - then the system and its implementation in Scotland at least is done. There can’t be any coming back from that.

Bringing this back from the dead… Found myself at QOS v Kelty this afternoon so paid close attention to our boy Alfie. First impression: we don’t need to worry about him being physically ready, he’s a well-built lad for someone who doesn’t turn 18 until next week. Played on the right side of Kelty’s attack which limited the number of clear cut chances he got but he was always keen to take possession and have a go at his man. He had a couple of half chances on the angle but didn’t trouble the keeper, which I’m sure he’d have liked to have done. It looked like he was an integral part of Kelty’s team and was fully involved in the celebrations of their goals and at full time so he really seems to have embraced the move and all that comes with it. Whether he’s ready for top flight football (he said confidently) next season is hard to say based on 90 minutes but it’ll be a good decision for the new manager to have to make. Pretty sure that hanging about our struggling team looking for minutes here and there this year wouldn’t have done him much good so thumbs up to all concerned with the move.

Everyone's entitled to make their decisions as they see fit. I'm not going either because I've got another big event on that weekend that's been booked since December. However, I think this is evidence that we don't have the fanbase that we - as in the wider suppport - like to think we have. Fewer than half the number of fans that turned out on Saturday for a league game going to a semi final is poor, whatever the reasons may be, and is all the "justification" anyone needs to deny us half the stadium next time we want it. It also proves the club were correct not to do a Hearts and buy all the tickets up front.

It's an undeniably poor turnout from us and seriously harms our case for a 50/50 split ever again. "We're crap. Celtic always beat us. We don't have a manager. I hate Cormack. It's too far". All just excuses - none of which applied when we took 40,000 to Parkhead because the glory hunters in our support expected us to win and didn't want to miss it - which will be seized upon for our next semi final or even the final if we get there. I'll add this though: the club could maybe be doing a bit more to push it. There's no direct link to the tickets on the website home page and when you do manage to navigate your way to the tickets section of the site, it isn't even the top option.

Jimmy Stuart Baxter Thelin II