Panda

Was talking about this with Hearts & Celtic fans the other day. Let's say Hearts can win the title and Aberdeen make the top six. Hearts would likely want as many tickets as possible for Pittodrie. We might have nothing to play for.

Is it wrong that I really want us to finally give Hearts the same allocation they give us for Pittodrie?

"Your biggest game for 40 years is it? Here, have 600 tickets."

Aberdeen v Motherwell a 7:30pm Saturday night kick-off, live on Premier Sports.

Good kick-off for those in the city. Not so good for those travelling - including the Motherwell fans - as the SFA/Premier won't have bothered factoring in there being no trains going to the central belt after the game. 

4 hours ago, Slim said:

BBC saying that all candidates on the shortlist have been interviewed. Presumably we would need to ask permission from current employers before interviewing Robinson/McGlynn which usually gets out into the public domain one way or another.

Far be it from me to direct you from a BBC article to a Daily Record one, but Scott Burns saying:-

Also dismisses Robinson & McGlynn being preferred candidates, as per those tweets yesterday, but crucially doesn't rule them out being on the shortlist.

My guess would be if we do approach them formally, then a deal has already been agreed informally. We all know how it works now, none of the youngsters even know the term "tapping up" these days, everyone has given up policing it.

For now, until another name emerges that makes me go "Oh fuck aye", then I'm hanging my hat on Robert Klauß or John McGlynn.

2 hours ago, OrlandoDon said:

Just don’t see it with Robinson. It doesn’t add up. We’ve done much to mold ourselves into a bigger and more ambitious club in recent years, major business focus, investment, improved game day experience, bigger squad, player trading model, planning around playing in Europe, director of football etc. Dave is also, like myself, living in American sporting culture, and Robinson isn’t his type. We are a bigger and more professional club now, with bigger goals and ambitions.
Robinson is a step backwards. He’s had a little success, and I could be wrong, but I don’t see a progressive coach there with modern methodology. Does he even have a style of play that matches what lutz and Dave want? Both have said an appealing brand of football is required.
It would almost be like hiring Goodwin again. But with a little more experience.
It makes no sense to hire Lutz with his more world game experience, then hire from Dow the road at st mirren.

I agree with pretty much every word. But we have previous form for this. McInnes-Glass-Goodwin-Robson-Warnock-Thelin. Every man so different from the next. There's no consistency there in selection. We abandon the plan, try short-term success, then go back to the plan again. We can't make up our minds.

I can't help but feel Cormack is again looking enviously at Hearts. McInnes - experienced, knows the league, good at motivating the squad, has had some success before, and having a poor season at Kilmarnock hasn't stopped a very good league campaign so far at a bigger club. Who is the most similar type of manager in Scotland for Aberdeen to recreate that - Stephen Robinson.

I also think it's personal for Cormack. He got rid of McInnes, and yet this will be the second time in four seasons in the top flight that McInnes has finished above Aberdeen. Hearts finishing above Aberdeen with McInnes in charge is a big problem for Cormack, especially if he does the unthinkable and wins the title.

2 hours ago, OrlandoDon said:

 

 

The Motherwell checks the boxes, this guy does not. Neither does mcglynn.

Why does Askou check the boxes but McGlynn doesn't?

If McGlynn was Portuguese, 20 years younger and in his first season here, we'd be raving about him.

2 hours ago, OrlandoDon said:

I expect Robinson to get the slightest of glances before we hire a more glamorous coach and vision aligned coach.

It's not the slightest of glances. He has his fans in the boardroom, has been considered before, and is being considered now.

Robinson is a good manager, that's the thing. He could actually be a successful Aberdeen manager. We would likely have to accept a horrible style of football, but let's not pretend there is not a very competent manager there.

But, if we go with the - as you put it, the vision aligned coach - we're asking for time to get it right. We wanted to give Thelin time, and we did until we couldn't any more, but it wasn't all his fault, but will Cormack and the club accept their share of the blame?

I think Cormack wants instant success this time and thinks Robinson will come in and lift the place (yes, just like that McInnes character) and paper over the recruitment/structure cracks we have.

But here's hoping Lutz has others ideas. 

14 minutes ago, OrlandoDon said:

I think there’s absolutely nothing to Robinson or mcglynn. Is lazy and boring journalism, nothing to report so make shit up for attention.

There IS something to the Robinson links. Again, I don't know if the boy tweeting it is right that he's now the front runner, but he is on the club's radar and has fans in the Dons boardroom. 

And to be fair to the guy who tweeted about Robinson today, he broke the Olusanya story hours before it, which other media are now reporting. (although, granted, he hasn't signed yet, but it appears he's been first to an exclusive there).

McGlynn sounds more like a guess, and I say that because the site posting it (footy insiders) has form for being way off the mark with things. But as is often the case when there's a vacancy, it's about timing, and McGlynn is very much the in-form manager just now, so I'd be surprised if he wasn't in the conversation.

2 hours ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

 

Bring on Livi.

 

 

If Stephen Robinson gets the job at least it'll be his third time in a week facing Livingston, so will know exactly what to do to beat them.

(Didn't beat them on Saturday and at the time of writing is 1-0 down, but let's not allow that to spoil things).

1 hour ago, wee toon red said:

Bit of momentum behind Robinson now being the favourite? Or (hopefully) just social media doing its thing?

32 minutes ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

Has to be someone on the wind up.

 

He's definitely being considered, whether he's now the front runner I don't know. Putting two and two together, the reason he's been so angry in his recent interviews is because he's seeing his chances of getting it dwindle with every defeat. Olusanya also feels like a Robinson signing, but again I'm speculating.

Had to laugh at the tweet that started tonight's gossip though, which said it'd be a "huge coup". Trust me, he'd walk to Pittodrie for the job.  

So where does that leave us on loans? You can have a maximum of six in a season.

Cameron, Morrison, Olusanya, Aouchiche, Karlsson. 

Does Dorrington still count or does him leaving free up space? If so, that would allow a goalkeeper on loan.

No idea how true it is, but Talksport journalist saying Toyosi Olusanya coming to Aberdeen.

Was good at St Mirren, but has done nothing for Houston Dynamo or in his loan spell at Doncaster Rovers.

Don't know if his time at Houston counts as this season or not so he might not eligible anyway, dunno how the MLS works.

4 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

Where did you hear that re JA prefferring Mcglynn for Hertz?

1 hour ago, OrlandoDon said:

 Would goodwin, glass, Robson, or Thelin have us playing like falkirk after 4 years of coaching and building a squad? 

Goodwin was at St Mirren (as manager) for nearly three years, and is coming up to his third anniversary at Dundee United, so there's one comparison. I don't think his St Mirren or Dundee United sides have ever impressed the same way McGlynn's Falkirk side has.

1 hour ago, OrlandoDon said:

if he was 40 and an up and coming manager who had the track record of falkirk, then absolutely. 

Does his age matter? He's early 60s, it's not that old really. 

I'm still intrigued by Robert Klauß, who you could argue has a track record that edges Thelin in that he has been involved at big clubs before, has more coaching experience, and has managed outwith his own country. He would fit your young manager profile.

However, I would be really keen to see how McGlynn - in his own words - got on with money to spend. 

Interestingly, Jamestown Analytics, apparently, rated McGlynn above McInnes & Robinson, but they ignored the ratings to appoint McInnes, likely because the optics of bringing McGlynn back for a third spell wouldn't have been great.

2 hours ago, OrlandoDon said:

Out of curiosity, have they even paid for Barron? 

Nope, going to a tribunal.

1 hour ago, RicoS321 said:

Nonsense, Clarkson is under contract, Cameron isn't. 

It's not nonsense at all.

Do you think Clarkson will be here next season? I don't.

And I don't think we've brought Cameron in just to fill a hole for five months. I think we want him here long term. Loans turning into permanent deals aren't a new thing. 

Also, if Cameron can't get into this Rangers team, he's even less chance next season when they start throwing the chequebook about. I'm not convinced even a strong second half to the season is enough for Rangers.

There is probably more chance of Cameron being an Aberdeen player next season than there is Clarkson.

He isn't going to sign a new deal and he'll have one year left on his current one in summer - every chance he moves on (be surprised if he didn't).

Cameron is a loan at the moment. We got close to making the Scales & Christie deals permanent. We'll try with Cameron too.

But it's not a competition between the two anyway. That they both started today suggests they may well be starting together in future too. The mistake was Armstrong being paired with them - was better when Shinnie came on.

Not that I wanted a Premiership team, but it's a fairly decent draw in that if we win, we've got rid of half the top six, and there's going to be at least two non-top flight sides in the quarters. So, as long as you avoid the Old Firm, nothing is too daunting.

Might be a great time to get Motherwell. We (hopefully) will have a new manager bounce and some new signings, while they will be without Welsh (cup tied even if he returns), Maswanishe (potentially leaves in January) and therefore could be rocking a little bit.

Teams we can face

Premiership: Dundee / Dundee United / Falkirk / Motherwell / St Mirren / Rangers / Celtic (probably).

Others: Airdrie / Elgin City / Dunfermline / Stenhousemuir / Kelty Hearts / Partick Thistle / Spartans / (winner of Stranraer v Queen's Park).

So including us that's a 50/50 split between the Premiership & non-Premiership. Good chance of an appealing draw.

Celtic will be at home to Falkirk as usual so we will avoid those two, and Rangers I imagine will be at home to Spartans.

I quite fancy Dunfermline away, big away support at a ground we haven't played at for years, and a good tie.

Kelty Hearts at home though, thanks.

Just now, OrlandoDon said:

Cameron MOTM?

Yeah I'd agree with that. Wasn't a vintage display but was positive, drove forward, got shots off, and his set-piece delivery was really good.

And this is a guy that has barely played for months.

Keskinen was everywhere but makes too many mistakes. Thought Nisbet played well - interesting that he stayed on for the 90 because you could usually set your watch for the Lazetic-Nisbet swap.

Stephen Welsh named in Celtic's team so that transfer won't be happening this month.

If the ball brushes someone's arm - even if it doesn't offer an advantage - it's a penalty. Yet Devlin at the back post being pulled by the arm to stop him connecting with the ball is "not enough".

19 minutes ago, Kowalski said:

No better than Clarkson at either. 

I don't think there's any evidence to back that up at all, which is why Cameron is on every set-piece.

6 minutes ago, OrlandoDon said:

Yup. Besides being Scottish, does Cameron offer anything more than aouchiche or Armstrong?? (Besides younger and more of an engine than Armstrong maybe?)

Set-piece delivery?

We look a lot more of a threat from corners and free-kicks today, which when you're struggling for goals is a big thing.

MITCHELL FRAME!!

The season has officially started.

25 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

Having to watch this on the telly today. @Panda, what's the purpose of having McFadden in the studio? He'll have seen plenty of Raith with his championship coverage, but they've also got Murray for that. When asked "What's going wrong at Aberdeen?", he doesn't have the slightest clue. Just the tired pish about us "heavily investing in the team" and other shite. 

They've got Tony Doc at the game for TV, and Willie Miller for radio. And the commentator and pitchside reporters are both Dons fans. So is the producer.

Great coverage as ever. 

I'm just really happy for @OrlandoDon that Frame is in the squad.

Knoester was ill yesterday apparently.

4 minutes ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

Kelle Roos getting of to a good start with Killie.

Start as you mean to go on.

 

On his debut as well