Panda

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.

Happy one week anniversary.

50 minutes ago, OrlandoDon said:

Agreed, a lot more, but they have no manager and a pretty poor squad. They’ve also spunked a fair amount of money on players in recent years that I don’t think are in a healthy financial state. This change doesn’t buy them success and, putting my red specs on, we at least have a manager and a squad to build on, plus plenty of momentum. Still think we could give them a challenge next year.

I think it's fanciful. For a poor squad, they were still 17 points ahead of third and Europa League quarter-finalists.

I think our target for now is Hibs and Hearts - we're still early into our own rebuild.

I'll settle for beating them in next season's Scottish Cup final though.

2 hours ago, Kowalski said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cqj7gj2w0k5o
 

£20m? That’s fuck all, they must spend most of that sacking managers. 

 

19 minutes ago, OrlandoDon said:

When you factor in Celtic will pay maybe 10m for a player and rangers need multiple signings, 20m is not a lot. With wise spending I think we’d be competitive with them next season.

That's £20m additional investment though.

Add around £14m from season ticket sales, the £11m in prize money from the Europa League last season (which doesn't include ticket sales from five games which would be another £5m - £6m), and although I don't think they'll make it there is always the small chance they might get through the Champions League qualifiers and into the group stage.

That doesn't guarantee anything, but it's a lot more than they had last summer.

On 07/05/2025 at 14:40, Panda said:

I also wouldn't be surprised if we bring a cup final shirt out now before Hampden, despite the current one being a nod to the 1990 strip, so would make sense we wore it in the final. 

Fair fucks to the club for sticking with the current strip by the way.

The squares on the shirt were already iconic, and now even more so.

(I have the day off tomorrow and am currently celebrating the six-day anniversary with a few whiskies. There's a chance of more nonsense posts like this before I get put to bed.)

The issue for Jack, like a lot of our local lads through the years, was that he was always one of the first for criticism. I don't think he was ever that happy, certainly not this season when he was getting pelters from Nilsen.

I think the only time I saw him truly happy was scoring that goal at Ibrox, and on Saturday with a winners medal around his neck.

I think we'll see him back at Aberdeen one day. And I hope he pushes his way back into the Scotland squad when Robertson, Tierney and Taylor retire. 

But for now he's probably best moving on. I get people saying Plymouth aren't a step up, but he'll likely play there and maybe will get noticed by a bigger club, so good luck to him.

 

6 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

Apologies if I missed this but let's have a bit of love for Palaversa's hand to the ear when he scored his pen.  He clearly can't stand the cunts . 

14 hours ago, OrlandoDon said:

 

however, is dabbagh any better than sokler? He’s better than Ambrose but I still think if we’re taking a punt on one of our existing strikers, I’ll like it to be bavidge.

Well his goals to game ratio is far better than Sokler's. We don't even need to talk about Ambrose. Bavidge is not at the level required yet.

Am I suggesting Dabbagh should be our first choice striker, no, I'm saying can we develop him into a big part of the squad. Morris for me shouldn't be a first choice either, however he has shown he can make an impact as part of a squad and I think Dabbagh could be the same.

On 26/05/2025 at 17:17, tom_widdows said:

Riejka won the Croatian title so Dynamo Zagreb now potentially in the seeded teams

Apparently not. Zagreb will either be in the Conference League qualifiers, or will get direct entry into the Europa league groups.

 

It's because the two Conference League finalists (Chelsea and Real Betis) don't need the automatic EL spot they would get from winning the Conference League final, so the spot goes to the highest ranked EL qualifier, which will be Zagreb or Shakhtar.

 

On 17/05/2025 at 20:23, Panda said:

I'd give him a B for the league season. Had we finished third it would have been a very good season.

And I'll give him an A+, as well as a gold star and a letter home to his parents praising him for his Scottish Cup performance.

I didn't see it myself, but Dabbagh apparently was motioning this ()to Cormack during the celebrations, presumably asking for a permanent contract. Either that or he wants his autograph.

I'd quite like to see him stay. I think he does have good movement and he's a player who with a full season behind him would improve.

But then after what Thelin has done with Morris, I believe he could make anyone a player.

29 minutes ago, OrlandoDon said:

Much like David Turnbull, 

He's been a regular starter post-injury with Cardiff and still has two years left on his contract. They paid £2m for him so doubt they'll want to sell him, and if they do it'll be for a fee that we won't be paying.

Anton Rogan

Dariusz Wdowczyk

Callum McGregor

Alistair Johnston

A list of Celtic players that I will forever hold a social place in my heart for.

This thread should be pinned imo instead of that Arabs v Dons one, which should be allowed to drift down the forum and never posted in again.

 

Homegrown quota:

In a 25-man European squad, we need eight Scots, four of which need to have come through your youth system.

So...

Dimi Mitov

Second goalkeeper 

Third goalkeeper (Tom Ritchie, but someone on this thread saying he's been told he can leave?)

Nicky Devlin

Alex Jensen 

Jack Milne

Slobodan Rubezic

Richard Jensen

Gavin Molloy

Kristers Tobers

Mats Knoester

James McGarry

Graeme Shinnie

Sivert Nilsen

Leighton Clarkson

Ante Palaversa

Dante Polvara 

Pape Gueye

Shayden Morris

Topi Keskinen

Nicolas Milanovic

Peter Ambrose

Vicente Besuijen

Ryan Duncan

Ester Sokler

Fletcher Boyd

Finlay Marshall 

Dylan Lobban

Alfie Bavidge

Adam Emslie

New striker

New left back

New energetic midfielder 

That's a 33-man squad. Not all those youth players will make the squad, but a few first teamers will miss the cut even if they somehow survive the summer cull. Difficult to see Richard Jensen return, and most likely James McGarry too. Peter Ambrose's time may have come as well. Besuijen you imagine might go too, but then he's kinda the type of player Thelin could work with, especially if Okkels isn't signing permanently. 

Rubezic said in an interview he's returning (he scored yesterday I see), but is there a place for him, Molloy and Milne? Do we turn down Dorrington if offered him again on loan?

Nisbet said in post-match interview at Hampden it's his last game, and didn't offer much encouragement that he was coming back.

 

2 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

He'll probably be second choice now, after they ditch thon useless Danish cunt.

He's been promised he'll be second choice in a year when Schmeichel retires, so it's not really a surprise he's going there.

On 20/04/2025 at 17:15, Panda said:

I'll be in a minority that's glad it's Celtic we're playing in the final. 

The 2017 final still rankles. We should have done it that day. Shay Logan standing off Stuart Armstrong and letting him hit that equaliser in a half when Celtic offered little. The Jonny Hayes - Kenny McLean mix up that should have given us a second (and to this day I still don't know who to blame). 

Beat them on 24 May, win the cup, end a 35-year wait, and do it against a seemingly unstoppable side going for yet another treble. It would be beautiful and would finally put 2017 to bed.

And 2017 will now no longer keep me awake at night.

 
That's me completed the "big five" set now. Have seen us beat Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Hearts at Hampden. Technically haven't seen us beat Dundee United there, although have seen us win a semi-final v them at Dens Park and that counts.

 

4 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

 

 I thought that was quite interesting given Mcgrath didn't even get a place in the squad and is also leaving. 

He was injured according to Thelin pre-match.

Had he been fit, could have been a Charlie Nicholas moment with him stepping up for a spot kick.

Currently (subject to change) these are the projected teams we could face.

 

Not my work, but this is braw.