Panda

Looks like we're shaping the team up to be similar to Jimmy Thelin's Elfsborg, so wouldn't be concerned with how many goals this guy has, it's more about how much he can create - which is what we expect from Pape Gueye.

Elfsborg's 2023 season (when they nearly won the title), their top scorer was a left winger called Jeppe Okkels, with 11 goals.

Only two forwards featured in their top seven goal scorers that season. 

We're very much wanting Keskinen, Milanovic, Morris and Besuijen (or replacement) to be the main goal threat from open play I think. A lot of Nisbet's best performances last season were games he didn't score in. 

You know, it might be a set up that suits Sokler, as he was decent foil for Miovski, but isn't much of a goal scorer himself.

Hearts are (or at least were) after him too. Here's some analysis someone did on him when he was linked to Hearts. It's long, but interesting. Agree with the Pape Gueye comparison from @OxfordDon

2 hours ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

It is a highly rated Cameroon born ex French youth international who came through the Ajax ranks and was once bought by Juventus for £14M but got loaned out to the Italian third division and available to us for £800,000.  Goal record to date is 14 in 248 games. Got options to sign for clubs all over Europe apparently but his dream was always to play in the Europa League qualifying rounds.  Also went on holiday with Palaversa in 2017. 

I'll just post this in the BBC Gossip column.

Worth a look. Would help the Scottish quota for Europe...  

In other news, appears we have signed a striker. Should be an announcement soonish. 

3 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

I have absolutely no idea why we're playing friendlies after the season has ended, 

Not our choice, it's Uefa's. If we weren't involved in Nations League games, we were obliged to organise friendlies.

Gyamfi

Had a quick look at his stats and appears he also played RB, LW and RW last season, but was mainly a left-back.

A good sign is that there are Schalke fans commenting on their club's announcement saying they wanted to see him given a chance there, with the suggestion being that we must have paid a good transfer fee as they rated him highly.
 

12 hours ago, Reekie_Red said:

How long (if not already) til betting is suspended on Celtic winning the Premiership ?

Hearts are actually really short odds. I've seen them as low as 16/1. The lowest you can get on Aberdeen is 66/1, and we're 150/1 at other places.

Presumably the bookies have heard "Bloom, £10m investment" and got spooked.

Wee assist here from Dabbagh.

I said it on another thread, I think he's worth another season..

I've now listened to all three podcasts (Here We Go, ABZ and Red Tinted Glasses) just to drink it all in.

Still not getting bored.

4 hours ago, manc_don said:

Very pleased with the Knoester news. Our good teams should always have a cloggy element  

Agree. We should always have at least three Dutch players in the squad. 

Knoester. I remember when we signed him there was questions asked because Stefan Gartenmann was keeping him out of the Ferencvaros team. Gartenmann's performances this season though have earned him a first cap for Switzerland (he's Danish, but he got Swiss citizenship in March). He's done this by playing on the left side of defence, where I don't think we ever played him.

Whether we undervalued Gartenmann or used him wrong, or Ferencvaros did the same with Knoester, both clubs have done well out of it. Although... (going off on a massive tangent here).

Ferencvaros - with Gartenmann in the starting XI - were in the Hungarian Cup final this season. They drew 1-1, but lost on penalties! How about that? Small consolation in that they did win the league though.

11 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

Dunno how accurate this is but I found it on reddit 

Someone is going to have your head for posting that in the Europa league group...

Am I right in thinking that of the 36 teams listed there, only five have won European trophies, us being one of them? (The others bring Fiorentina, Kyiv, Forest and Donetsk).

This is the updated list of possible play-off opponents. A lot of it is based on projections though, and not all of it on the seeded team winning, more the 'favourites', so it's only a rough idea at the moment.

There is a small chance enough seeded teams could be knocked out, meaning Aberdeen could be seeded.

Likewise, if Aberdeen did make the group stage, they would more than likely be in pot 4. 

The new format means we would play two teams from each of the four pots, with four home games and four away.

The top 8 make the last 16. The next 8 are seeded for the knockout play-offs, and the following eight are unseeded. Just need to avoid finishing in the bottom 12 to advance. 

Going by last year's table, 11 was enough to progress, and one team on 10 points made it through (A post-Jimmy Thelin Elfsborg also got 10 points, but missed out on goal difference).

For me, Europe is more important than finishing third next season. Obviously you want to finish as high as possible, but without the guaranteed group stage place, third is not as big a carrot. 

Europe provides a big chance for us to earn significant funds, it's a shop window if we're selling players (and we are a selling club), it's a showcase to others to come and play for us, and it's a chance for us to grow our own coefficient (the club one) to help our seeding in future.

All the players say that getting European football was a big thing to them. Palaversa, Polvara and Clarkson in particular were vocal about it. It's why Knoester and Tobers came here. It's a stage we should be on more often and it's a shame that after this season it'll be more of a challenge to make the groups.

If it's the Europa League we reach, then being competitive likely represents a good campaign. If it's the Conference League, we could still end up with a horrible draw, but there is more possibility of progressing beyond Christmas (should be noted Hearts' group was particularly easy, doesn't necessarily mean we'll get as "lucky").

I think if we finished fourth, did well in Europe, and as ever give the cups a good go, then that's a decent season.

If we were top three, made the knockouts in Europe, and claimed another cup, then it's time to start designing the Jimmy Thelin statue.

1 hour ago, RicoS321 said:

Molloy at left side of defence is better than Milne, Dorrington or Tobers on their wrong side. 

I respectfully disagree on account I could win more headers than Molloy. 

15 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

Maddison, Clarkson and - due to injuries - Dorrington were all signed for places in the squad where we were short. That's generally how the loan system works.

Not always, no. The loan system also exists to get better players in that you otherwise can't. 

15 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

Overloading the squad with defenders by loaning one is a terrible idea.

Would we be overloading it though?

We ended the season with Tobers and Molloy injured. Without Dorrington we'd have been relying on Knoester and Milne.

Molloy could do with a loan. Rubezic should be sold. So Dorrington coming in would give us four centre halves. I don't think that's overloading the squad.

15 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

 The worst thing would be if we signed him with the intention of pretending that him or another of the right centre halves can play on the left. He was poor on the left. Last thing we need is another imbalanced squad.

He was poor on the right for a long time too.

1 hour ago, DantheDon said:

I think from what I’m reading we would be looking at another loan for Dorrington. That means we are developing him for Tottenham, you occasionally get the chance to sign these guys permanently ala Clarkson but more often they go elsewhere. 

If he is better than what we have then often the only way to get that level of player is on loan. We were never getting James Maddison on a permanent deal for example.

Too early to make a call on Tobers, and likely too early to expect Milne to be a regular starter. Dorrington would be very useful, especially since he can play both sides of defence.

Jack Mackenzie's new manager has just quit for Schalke. Not a good start to life at Plymouth

8 hours ago, Reekie_Red said:

One thing I loved was seeing all the forgotten players who've barely kicked a ball running on in their suits and getting right into the party atmosphere at full time. Shows the unity within the squad!! Even players who were kicking their (presumed) last ball in a Dons shirt were kissing the badge and showing how much this meant to them.

That's because despite Celtic's riches, we have something money can't buy: a soul, a team spirit built in a family tradition.

Just came up with that myself..

12 minutes ago, tlg1903 said:

What Duncan does have in his favour is he's pretty solid technically and I think Thelin will like that.  He's also not wee either. You could be bang on mate but I've got a feeling it might work out for Ryan yet.  I think we can all agree that we want it to at least.  

To be fair, he did play a part in our Scottish Cup success by helping to knock out Rangers. 

Surely we can get a medal cut for him.

16 minutes ago, tlg1903 said:

I think Duncan is a cert to stay just from a euro registration pov 2bh.  

The feeling of some Queen's Park fans that I've seen was that he improved as the season went on, but if they were loaning him again he's a back-up at best for them.

Wouldn't be the first player to have an underwhelming loan at a lower level then surprise everyone by turning it on for his parent club, but like I say I think he'll start pre-season for us to fill the squad, but unless he trains like Shayden Morris in front of Thelin, he'll do well to survive summer.

Alfie Dorrington probably needs a post of his own.

The 2025 Scottish Cup winner, when asked about potentially returning to Aberdeen, said: “Obviously, I love the city, I love the club, the staff, the players. I love Tottenham as well. They’re kind of in charge of what I do. I’d be grateful if Aberdeen came back in for me but it’s all in Tottenham’s hands.”

And Dave Cormack said: "I know Spurs have been, as I understand it from Steven and Alan, delighted with his loan.

"It's the first time the boy's been away from home in London, and he told me a number of times he's absolutely loved being away on his own, and he looks after himself as a player as well. 

"So we'll just have to wait and see on that one."

It's an interesting one. There's no doubt he has improved as the season went on (especially from the mistake-laden game at Easter Road). I would like to see Tobers and Milne get more of a chance, but at the same time if you have access to a good player you should take him. I'd hate for us to turn him down and then he ends up at Hibs or Hearts.

Although not his natural position, I'd bringing him back as understudy to Knoester, and then give Molloy a loan elsewhere.

So this is where we are at the moment.

I've not included the youngsters who have barely played, but of course there is Emslie, Bavidge, etc.

There is also Ryan Duncan, Richard Jensen and James McGarry. I suspect they'll join us for pre-season but won't last the window. Rubezic I've included - his loan was more about personal issues than Thelin not rating him so he may still have a future, although Tobers and Milne probably both ahead of him now and we might feel we can get a small fee for him. Will he even want to come back if he's third choice CB?

We do need more Scottish players for the European squad - there's only three there. We'll sign or promote a Scottish third choice GK probably, and Fletcher Boyd has been on the bench in three of the last six games and think he'll make the squad if we're not considering a loan move.