TheDeeDon

The thing with Hoban though, is that his knee could go at any point. I am sure the lack of games played in the past few years would be an issue, but if he is fit and he wants to play then play him. I think he probably knows more than anyone that if his knee goes again then his career is over, so may as well get him playing as much as we can for both his benefit and for ours. as he is one of our better footballers when fit.

Underwhelmed by the signing of Marley Watkins.  Have to agree with Rico's assessment that he should have worked more with the abundance of attcking players we do have instead of taking in another similar player.

In the league his record is 40 goals in 220 games, which isn't too shabby for a player I wouldn't call a striker and has a fair few assists, but these stats include Bath and Hereford. Did OK for Barnsely, but has struggled a bit at both Norwich and Bristol City.

Regarless of what I think, welcome aboard loon.

Seems Marley Watkins is the close one, according to the EE, but I always thought he was a midfielder.

I don't think Moult has done much since leaving Well and would be as big a gamble as trying an untested 18 year old.

Hedges is a good player, but I reckon it's the defencive side of his game that holds him back with us. Don't think he is a winger either as always looking to cut inside with the ball.

I'd forgotten about McLennan and have believed for a while he is worth a run up front as he is never a winger but has a good physical build for up front and a bit of pace.

A much needed win last night, but he really has to find a way of getting better football out of that squad of players. I reckon most SPL managers would love our squad of players.

Hope we see Hoban get a good run of games now as one of our best players if kept fit.

5 hours ago, scotfree said:

I've been watching Hayes through the match. Just before half time he was fucked. He was trying to stop a cross into the box, which he failed to do. Looked like he was breathing out his arse. He's not moving freely as well. 

Maybe it's Covid related breathing problems.

12 minutes ago, Jute said:

Marginally better in the 2nd half. Hedges did well for goal admittedly with the aid of a deflection. Hopefully standard of football will improve once we get a few more games in as not watching that standard every week.

Don't bet on it. I would never argue about how good McInnes is at winning points, but I don't think the standard of football will improve overall.

A shame really, as we do have some talent at the club who can play better than what we often show,

We are not playing well and we are missing players and of course had loads of other shit to deal with, but our starting 11 isn't bad at all and should be capable of better. The problem is this has been the standard for a while now and sadly I don't see much improvement to come quality wise, although we will win plenty overall.

I know it is early days of the season, but I am glad I didn't renew the season ticket this season.

Still the type of game that is usually a ground out 3 points for McInnes.

I hadn't realised that we signed the lad Ruth from Queens Park. I had just assumed he come through the ranks as a kid.

Looking at the photo of him online in his Queens Park kit, he looked like a puff o wind would blow him over and doesn't look like a usual McInnes type of striker/target man , so I doubt I would throw him in to try and hold the ball up, when it doesn't look like it would be his natural game.  He could have grown a lot in 18 months. Like to see him get some time on the pitch though.

Ferguson is good at throwing himself to the ground, so he could emulate Sam on that front, but reckon the tombola could come in handy tonight.

In the EE, DM says he is looking to see what Atlanta have to give us Striker wise. Please not Gallagher again, who was one of the worst players I have ever seen in the red jersey.

Throw the young lad Ruth in, if he's shyte, he's shyte, but you never know he just might grab the opportunity.

I hope Frank Ross goes on and develops into a player. I always thought he looked decent enough when we did see him.

I used to buy all the weekly music papers back in the day, it was my weekly Thursday ritual on the way home from work pick them up, along with a can of coke, mars bar and packet of McCoys, I knew how to live.

I used to keep many as well until my Ma chucked them when she moved house, some are actually worth money now, which I was surprised at.

Whilst I did like Q I always thought it was for bigger established acts, but did have good stuff in it, liked their review section as would look at reissued stuff.

Have to admit to not buying it in a very long time though, but such are the times we live.

The only magazines I still get are Private Eye and When Saturday Comes.

I don't think Ojo is that bad a player when fit, he is the type of player you have sitting in front of defence winning balls from the opposition, and he does that well, but to allow that to work you need someone in the middle next to him who can do something with the ball in an attacking sense and that is where we have problems, as too often we win the ball and lose it just as quick, putting pressure on our midfield and defence. Someone who can consistently make good use of the ball in the middle of the park is really what we needin that team.maybe Ferguson as I see him more of an attacking threat than defensive, but I know many don't.

I heard last Thursday that all is not well at the club due to this Covid issue and a couple of players had refused to pay fines.

Cormack livid at them allegedly and wants some shipped out ASAP.

I didn't think much of it last week, even though the source was good, but suspect all is not well down at Pittodrie.

I just hope we can use this shit in a positive way on the pitch.

The loon needs to hit the ground running as anyperformance in the manner of our current midfield will result in him getting major abuse.

I've heard of the guy, but not a signing that I know much about, but seems a lazy signing and doesn't fill me with confidence, but like I said in a previous post we keep signing midfielders one will prove to be capable.

Fair play to the loon though as he is coming here knowing he really has to prove his worth from the off and no leeway will be given by the fans given his association with the Hun.

Do we know if he can play against the Hun in this deal?

54 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

I think it is the job of anyone publicly suggesting that someone else get fired from their job, that they at least address the issues that raises. You don't have to pick the next manager, but you have to accept that by calling for a change in manager you need to understand the entire picture. Also, if you're calling for a change of manager but believe it's not a good time to do it, then why not leave it until you think it is? I'd be intrigued to know if anyone actually thinks that now is a good time to be binning a manager?

You're completely right to bring up the youth team and the style of play, but I don't understand why that has to wait for a new manager (nor do we have to wait to change the role). Cormack needs to implement goals and strategies now that force McInnes to address both. If we don't do it now, this season, then what chance do we have of implementing it well when we get a new manager?

I think a lot of dandies want shot of McInnes, but realise that the Covid impact has made it nigh on impossible due to the financial implications. If it wasn't for the contract situation I would have binned him and although I am only speculating here, I suspect Cormack would have got rid of him this summer.  So yes now is as good a time as any to bin a manager, if it's not going to screw you financially to do so.

One part of a McInnes legacy would be that we never give any manager such a lucrative contract without that person really showing they have earned it.

3 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

Probably about right, but what have the club done to prevent the appointment of the next JC?  Are we in a position as a club to pay the manager several hundred thousand pounds to go and replace with someone who we won't be doing the same to in 18 months time? Why are we not learning from the biggest mistake we made when getting rid of Calderwood? Getting rid of McInnes is simply a bad business decision at present. We're playing behind closed doors and he currently has his hand in everything the club do. It's not acceptable for people to just say "sack the manager", they have to explain the other parts of the equation too or they can have zero complaints about the Mark McGhee coming next.

But it's not the problem of the fans to find the next manager never has been and never will be. Whenever DM moves on we could still end up with the next Mark McGhee or Alex Miller, regardless of how much planning we put into the recruitment process.

I certainly know that we won't be binning McInnes anytime soon, as the cost of doing so is so great and current situation means that he will probably see out his contract and and I am fairly sure that if he does, we will still be battling for 3rd or 4th place and a good run in the cups and in the grand scheme of Scottish football that is about as good as it gets. If he stays it means the football on offer  and the youth system will not get much better and my two biggest bugbears and apologies for banging on about it again.

When we got rid of JC, folk were up in arms about it, usually folk that didn't go to games and they were right, we did get worse when he left, McGhee was a disaster, but his appointment didn't have many dissenters at the time and then Brown, who in my opinion anyway, wasn't much of an improvement, but we did do well with McInnes, who did improve us as a team, no arguments from me in that respect and won us a cup.

There possibly is a manager who has the balls and the determination to challenge the Glasgow two, I have no idea who mind, but whether the club actually want to challenge is another matter. I hope Jack Ross does has the balls and determination to succeed, even at one of our rivals and manages to somehow win the title. I don't think he will mind, but would be happy for any other club to win the league outwith the Glasgow two.

I also believe that we have to change the role of the manager once DM leaves.

If he had left in 2017, I would have said his legacy was to turnaround a club that was all honestly was a bit of a freakshow prior to his arrival. I don't think any of us can honestly say our club is not in a better place now than when it was when he first arrived, not all of it down to DM though.  Lets not forget either that during some of his reign most of the main clubs were not in the top league. That was not his fault in any way, but it is still a factor in his overall "success".

Now in 2020, three years on from when I believe he should have left, his legacy is disappearing quickly and I suspect there will be a lot of resentment towards his tenure when he does eventually go due mostly to him staying around too long.

As said above, his reign now is very reminiscent of a certain J Calderwoods last days.

20 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

There wasn't a single compliment to McInnes in my post, just for clarification. You might have read a defence of McInnes, but that definitely wasn't what it was. I just wasn't sure what you meant by "not a McInnes type of player". Now that you've explained, I just disagree with a lot of it. I completely agree that his recruitment (full-stop) in the attacking department has been poor, but I just don't see the "type" that you mention. We definitely don't play to win flick-ons, as we never ever have a player running beyond the striker to collect them. Cosgrove has been our only striker under McInnes (I've removed Zola from history) that holds the ball up. Rooney was pish at it, May worse, and Wilson worser - none were signed with that intention either (I wouldn't think). I'd put Wilson in the Nisbet category, and maybe May, from McInnes' point of view (I'm guessing) when signing them in terms of type of player (not quality). I don't know what the fuck Main, Storey, Parker, Church, Goodwillie etc etc. would be categorised as, but they're definitely nae guys who hold up the ball or win flick-ons and wouldn't have been signed as such. I agree that the current mindset would have seen the loon struggle had he come here. Basically, I think he'd fit perfectly in the way that McInnes wants us to play, but not in the way that we actually play. I also agree that he'd have been worth forking out for, but as I said, I don't think the board would have spent any more money after spanking £400-700K on Hernandez (depending on who you believe), which I think was a mistake. I don't think McInnes just didn't fancy Nisbet, or wasn't aware of him, I simply think he wasn't within our budget.

I should just have said DM prefers  cart horses to quality in the attacking areas. I think Nisbet has a bit of something about him, but from what I have seen of him still has a lot to prove, but he is also a player who drifted down the leagues and got himself back into the SPL for another chance which may give him that bit more hunger to do well and I think he may do well for Hibs.

If Sam is the best of a very bad bunch though, maybe it was a good time to give up the season tickets.

1 hour ago, RicoS321 said:

In what way is he not a dons type of player? McInnes has signed all sorts over the years. What's a McInnes type, and why doesn't Nisbet fit into that? He's a 6ft1 striker, I'd have thought that would be perfect for McInnes? Obviously, once he'd got him here he'd have been converted to a wide player, but I'm guessing the issue was more of a funds one than not fitting. Having spanked a wedge on Hernandez, and with the Covid situation, there was no way we were paying a transfer fee without first moving someone on. January was the time to move for him, to get ahead of the opposition (even loaning him back to dunfermline for the remainder of the season), we spent ridiculously heavily on a right back instead. We can't sign every player that is a prospect, and Hibs will be our main competitor in that regard. The issue for me is signing pap like Curtis Main and James Wilson, which then makes it difficult to fill up the squad further with acquisitions like Nisbet. To me, Cosgrove was a solid enough striker - with a 20 goal return - that we could have taken some risks on a backup, either giving Anderson more time or looking down the divisions for a gem. Recruitment is a major issue for McInnes, but I don't think it falls into "types" of player, I think it falls into just pure bad signings and the overloading of different areas of the park, along with a weird fixation on players who've played well against us in the past. Guys like GMS, Stewart, Maddison and even Wilson (possibly Hernandez too) are players you wouldn't think had the workrate to be here, but they were signed regardless. With the Hernandez acquisition, it looked like the strategy might change in recruitment, with McInnes being less involved, which I'd like to see. However, I got the impression we might turn into some weird feeder team for our US "partners", trying out unsuitable foreigners whilst ignoring talent on our doorstep. I think Covid will see us revert to type and McInnes just in full control again. Something definitely needs to change, but we also need to lower the expectation that we can sign every single young/good player out there too and remember that a lot of players don't want to come North too - there is a premium to be paid in that regard.

Jeez Derek, this COVID business must really be getting your down at the moment based on that reply. A little touchy at the moment.

Outwith Rooney, who was a goalscorer and nothing more, his recrutiment in the attacking department has been very poor IMO. If he hadn't already had McGinn and Hayes when he came here I shudder to think what his tenure would really be like. Despite his goal record, nobody will convince me Cosgrove is a footballer, sorry Derek, just an opinion and no need to blind me with stats to try and prove otherwise.

I think Nisbet is the type of player who offers a lot more than just goals and even though is tall is not all about holding the ball up and winning flick ons from punts up the field, that is why he is probably more suited to Hibs as they play a different type of game from what we do, but as I said I honestly don't think he would have fitted into a McInnes team as too defense minded and doesn't look the type to be doing the Cosgrove/Main role.

We haven't got him though and the jury is still out to see if he can even cut it at SPL level, but as punts go I think he would have been worth forking out a fairly small fee for.

I see the boy Kevin Nesbit scored a hat trick for Hibs today. I liked the look of the guy when seeing him play for Dunfermline last year and would liked to have seen us go for him, would have been worth a punt in my opinion, which granted isn't worth much.

That said, I doubt he is a McInnes type of player.

Generic PR statement from whoever looks after that side of things at the club, probably a 3rd Party firm.

I think they were gipes, I don't have an issue with them going out for a beer after a game as regardless ofthe score they are mainly non Aberdeen fans and don't feel the hurt we do with a defeat, footballers playing at a higher level would take defeat personally, but I doubt much of our boys do, hence we don't win fuck all.

I think they misjudged the situation badly and after having football taken away from us for so long it is rather sad that after one game it was taken away from us again due to the action of players at our club. I could have accepted the younger lads doing it and if had happened under the Fergie era, you would have imagined Tattie Cooper would have been first at the door of the nightclub, but the fact guys like Hayes and Bryson, coming to the later stages of their career really should have known better and could have set a better example.

2 hours ago, tup1 said:

Hedges actually looked ok when he came on, apart from his daft haircut.

At least he has a bit of pace about him.

I think Hedges is a decent player, seems to have a good footballing brain, but I don't see him as a winger and also think he is another player not suited to the DM style as he doesn't track back enough. Half expected to see him back down south by now.

2 hours ago, BigAl said:

And a manager that is a champion at fitting square pegs into round holes  

Probably the best summing up of DM I have seen

1 hour ago, Ten Caat said:

McInnes of course has to take a fair bit of the blame for rushing him back from injury on at least a couple of occasions

In the same manner that JC used to do with Jamie Smith all those years ago.

The fact that Bryson is heading for 34 and experiencing his first run or injuries in his career is not exactly inspiring and we certainly shouldn't be trying to build anything around him.

I am quite sure that Bryson was offered a new deal at Derby, but was told he wouldn't be a first team regular, so chose to move back up north and I think most of us at the time thought he would be a good signing, but sadly hasn't been the case.

I am sure if DM signs more midfielders one of them may work out well for us.

1 hour ago, bearsdenred said:

The work reasons i dont get, infected people that are asystematic, that don't know they have it can still go to work and spread it?

Its like the governments really do not want to go back to full lockdown to suppress it. Just wait for those kids all over Scotland going back to school, hugging their mates and spreading it to others, just got them to go home and give it to their parents, grandparents. 

They are hoping to suppress things without having to go back to a full lockdown and will take things as they come with the schools going back. We have to try and get some kind of order back and I think the softly softly approach is fair enough, rather that than the gungho way Bojo went for it in England. Kids beside us have been meeting up and mingling with each other for weeks now, long before if was ok for them to do so and pretty sure this was the case in other areas and infection numbers have stayed fairly low so far.  The Scottish Government have always said with each lifting of measures that they will monitor the situation carefully and not be scared to take actions if required and have backed that up with todays announcement.

Opening the pubs was always going to lead to potential problems, as common sense and alcohol are not natural bedfellows and so it showed. I also feel sorry for the restaurants and cafes that really did go out on a limb to make this work and can only hope this latest setback doesn't see more close permanently.

We just need to hope that these vaccines in development do as hoped and can be developed soon and we can get back to some sort of normal.