Panda

The game just appears to pass him by all too often. I do wonder if we should play him off the right (not particularly as a starter, more for when Morris gets hauled off), and keep Keskinen on the left. I think Polvara or Palaversa would have done that central role better than Gueye. Keskinen, despite his miss (wasn't really a miss, more he waited too long to get his shot off) I thought looked decent today and is continuing to improve. By next season I think we'll be hailing him as our best player.

There is currently live radio commentary of the game on Sportsound. It's actually a good Dons man doing the commentary, who usually would be freed up to do a football commentary.

The argument isn't do the old firm get more coverage then the rest, because of course they do. Likewise, Aberdeen get more coverage than most of the others too. The argument you're making is that had Celtic or Rangers been at home today, the BBC would have provided live commentary. I'm saying they couldn't and therefore wouldn't have. It's actually hypothetical as there isn't a comparable example. It's in Paris. It's an absolute disgrace they haven't sent me in all honesty. I bet if Celtic were playing in Paris they'd have sent me.

Well I'd need to find a time when there was a European game on the Thursday, a live championship game on the Friday, a six nations game on the Saturday then two derbies on the Sunday. I'm guessing I'll struggle to find an example. Not that I don't believe you, but what was the context of that? Especially on the famously pro-old firm Off the Ball?

Come on now, you very much did expect the Aberdeen game. Not necessarily, no. We're talking about five live commentaries and two Sportscene programmes in four days. Let's say Celtic were playing at home today; they MAY have been able to send a commentator and have him back at the office to record Sportscene (but I disagree they definitely would have). They can't if he was in Perth, Edinburgh, and probably not Rugby Park either (bear in mind Sportscene is on air at 7:15pm).

So if they had the resources (and that's the major point, today they don't) what game should be the live commentary? Biggest crowd is at Tynecastle? Highest placed team playing is Hibs? So why would Aberdeen be picked? As it goes, there's a commentary team covering the rugby, another commentary team that had a game last night & another one tomorrow, and a third commentary team that only returned from Istanbul yesterday and have a game tomorrow.

Nilsen out with an eye issue. As exclusively reported by Tyrone Smith in one of the many pre-match interviews brought to you by Sportsound from across Scotland.

Live Championship football on the TV on Friday night. Live radio commentary from the Six Nations on Saturday. Two live radio commentaries on Sunday. Saturday Sportscene highlights Sunday Sportscene highlights Open all Mics programme across the country on Saturday. Both home and away Scotland games live on TV. And to think people don't pay their licence fee because they don't think they get their money's worth..

All the tickets for this are to be digital. You've to download the Hampden Park app to get your ticket. It's how it works for Scotland games and is relatively straightforward once you get the hang of it, but I can see large queues at the turnstiles while folk who don't like technology wave their phone about confused.

Lunchtime kick-off confirmed. Both clubs, SFA and police wanted 3pm on Saturday without any TV coverage, but on behalf of @goldie03 we fought hard for a lunchtime KO. Have also convinced ScotRail not to put on any extra trains, and transport Scotland have agreed to begin roadworks that weekend.

Well Mackenzie was injured for most of January, but since then... He's been fine, and he's our only natural left back.

I wasn't, it's the last semi-final I missed, been at every one since.

Bookmarked for when the first comment is posted on here that Shinnie doesn't have the legs or the engine to get up and down the wing and he's slowing down our attack. That said... I think a home game when we dominate possession, then left back probably suits him as we'll play a high line anyway and pass it about and be patient, so Shinnie would sit high anyway and doesn't have to cover as much ground. However, in an away game where often you're looking for pace to break quickly, I think Mackenzie and even Jensen would cause their full-back more issues. It's nice though that we have good options in midfield so can argue over who starts there.

Actually just the twice. The 86 final and the 96 semi. We did meet in a League Cup semi in 1947 where Aberdeen handed them a 6-2 shellacking, but that was at Easter Road.

Be careful with the apostrophes.

All the semi chat is in here. (I have long since argued the football & Aberdeen forums should be merged, but Rico and Manc Don are very big on thread etiquette).

Yes, both could show the Celtic game. Premier's contract is they show both semis but get one of them exclusively to them, the other also goes on the BBC. Normally, by default they pick any game involving Celtic or Rangers. It's why it makes me laugh when Celtic & Rangers are kept apart in the semi draw and everyone cries conspiracy (like last season). Premier would have been gutted because an old firm final is free on the BBC so they can't "sell" that game as much, they want them to meet in the semi when it's exclusively to them. Anyway, back to this year. Celtic likely is the default, but I think many can see Hearts/Aberdeen is the bigger game that is generating more interest, so this time it's a bit of guess work. If it's on the BBC it won't be Saturday night as scheduling reasons mean they can't, so it could only be that time if that's premier's game and they push for an evening game. However, I don't think an evening kick-off will be on the table, think it's more likely to be Sat lunchtime or Sun afternoon. Dunno which one suits us best to be honest - the Sunday being Easter Sunday will be a pain travel wise, and lunchtime is always a pain.

Yes but one of the semis is also shown on the BBC, just like the final will be on both premier & BBC. The BBC slot is usually Saturday lunchtime.

I'm old enough to remember the semis both being at 3pm on a Saturday. Certainly Aberdeen v Hibs at Tynecastle was being played at the same time as Hearts v Rangers at Celtic Park in 1993. That may have been the last year they did it. After that was moved back to Hampden so had to play different days, then TV took over.

It should be the Sunday, so it would be at 3pm to help our ticket sales. However, likely Premier will take the Celtic game, BBC's slot is Saturday usually, so lunchtime or 5:15pm would be my guess. But either way I'm buzzing for this game.

Were there any Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final type questions? If not I wouldn't have been much use.

It's for when you run your pub quiz. You've been promising to put on a pub quiz to raise funds for Donstalk for months now. I'm beginning to think I imagined the whole thing.

Here's one for the pub quiz; since 1990 Aberdeen have only won three Scottish Cup semi-finals, and all three have been against Hibs.

Wild that people still think the semi-final draws are fixed. We've got a 1/3 chance of getting any of them. We might get the winner of Livi/St Johnstone, we might get Celtic. Interesting statistic though (interesting to me at least). In the entire history of Scottish football, Aberdeen and Hearts have only ever met at Hampden twice, despite both reaching the latter stages of both cup competitions more than most. They met in the 86 final, and the 96 semi. (They have met in a League Cup semi, but it was at Easter Road). Since that 1996 game, Aberdeen have reached 11 Scottish Cup semi-finals and 11 League Cup semis (22 altogether). In that same period, Hearts have made it to nine SC semis and 11 LC semis (20). This is the fifth time they have both been in the Scottish Cup last four at the same time since 1996. They have also been in the LC semis four times together. Yet, on the previous eight occasions, they have managed to avoid each other in both the semi and final. In those same 29 years, Aberdeen have played four semi-finals v Hibs, and they have met Dundee United in four semis (granted, only one of the four were at Hampden). They've had two semis with Rangers at Hampden, and our most popular semi-final meeting is with Celtic were we've met six times - but have actually avoided Celtic in the draw more than we've been paired with them (seven). So is Monday night's draw the first time in 29 years, and just the third time in history, we are paired with Hearts at Hampden?