RicoS321

We're here to discuss fitba you fucking prick.

I wouldn't find it acceptable if that's what happened, but it wasn't. He was hesitant because he was holding the line with the back three, which was probably a couple of yards further back than it should have been. But the blatant error was between McRorie and Kennedy. That type of scenario occurs one hundred times a game, they should know that one stays on the ball, the other goes with the runner. Considine shouldn't have been involved in that move at all, it should have been dealt with. The second is Considine's fault, getting completely caught under it a yard out, but again that ball shouldn't have been anywhere near him. Hoban should never be allowing that ball to be crossed and is probably a better example of someone ambling like a 60 year old. Anyway, we've actually been significantly better than previous encounters against them, we've not exactly sat back. Hedges should be shooting after that great pass from Wright and we've had a lot of possession in good areas. Can't fault McInnes' approach to the game, just they're a good team who'll punish the slightest mistake. I think we've got a goal in us, hopefully it'll come early enough for us to get back in it.

Second maybe, not the first. McRorie and Kennedy got to be sorting that shite between them. That's basic stuff.

Pish. Some goal. Kennedy got to go with the runner there.

It's a big loss. Kennedy will do a job though. Not convinced by the balance of that side though, looks like trying to get everyone in at once. I just think that you need hedges and Wright as close to each other as possible, or you'll nullify them (Wright, mainly). Attacking though, difficult to complain.

The fucking semi was on the BBC today in standard definition. What the fuck is that shite all about? You wouldn't get an English conference game in standard definition these days. They'll have the final on ceefax. Useless cunts.

Aye, but I've been at every one the dons have been in, so fucking premier sports, ken? Fucking BBC. Fuck everyone. But mainly, I've been able to pay for an individual game on sky for many years now. Premier pay monthly bollocks. You can cancel if you phone between 03:00 and 03:10 on a Tuesday if the moon is out and you're prepared to wait on hold for 16 days. Probably.

Fuck knows. The email says "only way to watch it", didn't mention UK. What the fuck is a national semi final doing on fucking subscription telly anyway? It's a fucking joke. They should at least be forcing their hand with a pay per view option.

Just got an email from the club to say that Premier sports is the only way to watch? Fuck is that shite all about?

Aye, sounds about right. Interesting that our best "game management" options come in the form of bringing on a striker. That must take Deek out of his comfort zone. I don't think he'll trust Ojo on performances so far this season, but that was why he came on a couple of games ago - in case we needed that option, so it'll be interesting. It's a shame Campbell isn't fit, I'd have been happy enough taking him on for 20 minutes ago to protect our lead and perhaps grab a late fifth.

I'll look out the old corpse-shovel.

Aye, okay, that makes sense. As I say, I'd be concerned that we don't get the best out of Wright with Hedges out wide, but you could be on the mark with McInnes' line up. A little harsh on McLennan who's come in and done well. I'd go: -----------------Lewis--------------- ----Hoban----MyGranny(dec'd)----Consi--- McLennan---McRorie----Ferguson---Hayes ----Hedges----Cosgrove------Wright----- with Hedges and Wright dropping in to support the midfield off the ball. Switch Watkins for Cosgrove if Sam can't play 90.

Christ, what a fucking shambles. The Yanks making the mistakes that the rest made before them. They must be aiming for this new Europa 2nd tier pish in the coming years, otherwise I can't see what the influx of US cash into the Scottish game is about. Cormack possibly slightly different, but the tie in with Atlanta reeks of some prior (to Covid) bigger picture. I can't believe anyone would pay Edwards £3K per week, he's a slightly above average SPFL player that could be replaced very easily. At least they should know where to target their cuts with all these high paid failures.

And Hedges wide right? Or do you mean play Sam and Watkins separately (i.e. one starts the other comes on for him)? To me, it has to be one or the other, Watkins or Cosgrove. The best I've seen us play so far this season is with Hedges and Wright together high up the park. They combined really well playing close together and had the freedom to make space for others too. I think that piling in a front 2 of Wright, Cosgrove, Watkins, plus Hedges right slightly nullifies the threat, although it would be a hell of a decision to drop Watkins or Cosgrove or Edmondson. To me, I wouldn't bother with Wright from the start unless we're getting Hedges up there too.

I don't believe the £5K per week figure. That'd be twice what they're paying any of their other players I'd have thought. I can't see that happening in this day in age, especially not for a player as proven mediocre as McNulty. Sounds like internet bollocks. That said, getting him in before Shankland going out sounds plausible, and a real fuck up if true. If they can cling on until January, that might save them. However, I don't think they'll get good money for Shankland. I'm really not that convinced he's good enough - or got the right attributes - to play down South. He's that sort of in between striker that would do well up here. Got obvious talent and a great finisher, but not that quick and not that strong. Reminds me of Rooney in many ways. A big hoofer in the championship would just sit on him for 90 minutes and he'd struggle. Like May when he was at St Johnstone, I also think he's at the peak of his game with few obvious areas he can improve. Hopefully he'll prove me wrong, because I think he's done really well to get back to the top of his game and deserves the opportunity.

Can they not just sell one of their big names?

It better fucking not.

McGeouch out for eight weeks. Disappointing for him, he's not done much wrong in the games he's played. Forces McInnes' hand a little with the starting lineup for the weekend. Leaves us a bit short on game management options when we go four up too.

McRorie was actually okay out wide last week, but it is a waste of his talent. I think the idea was that he'd be able to switch McRorie central and Hedges out wide during the game if we were getting overrun in midfield. When he realised that McGeouch, Ferguson and Hedges were matching their midfield he seemed happy enough to replace McGeouch (once injured) with the dedicated wide player in McLennan rather than bring on Ojo (thank fuck). McGeouch was actually playing quite well before he got injured, so it is a bit of a dilemma for McInnes if he's fit. Does the extra five metres Hampden width make a huge difference in deciding whether to play a 3-5-2 (with McGeouch) or a 3-4-3 (with Hedges/Wright)? Obviously, we can play a 3-4-3 with Hedges and Wright dropping into a 5 when they've got the ball, which would be my preferred approach. I think last week gave us a good insight into their abilities as well as our own, and we have a good chance this weekend. All the choices we have to make are good ones too, there's a number of players that we could have in our starting line up that are going to cause McInnes a headache, and he needs to make a decision on when to involve them all. I'd start with the team that finished last week, with a front three of Wright, Cosgrove and Hedges and McLennan deservedly keeping his place out wide. That leaves Watkins, Edmondson and McGeouch (and Kennedy if fit) part of an exceptionally strong bench. I don't think Cosgrove or Wright will be fit enough for a 90 minute outing at Hampden, so it's up to them to get us ahead in the first 60-70 minutes. McInnes might be inclined to bring them on instead for a bigger effect against tired players, but I think you have to go for it from the start.

Very reasonable. Of course, the first thing you'd probably recognise is that unless you're at the game, your analysis is going to be fairly weak. There is simply no better way to see a player than in the flesh. Having been to many a dons game over the period that Andy's been here, I agree with some of your analysis, but I think your off in part too. The point I made about him sticking close to the attacker was in reference to his years at left back, I should have made that clear. I completely agree about standing off at centre half and especially left centre half (depending on the opponent's formation). At left back, his biggest problem was standing off and allowing the player to run at him. That was how he got caught almost every time in his early McInnes years (his early early years, alongside guys like Mulgrew, he just allowed himself to get thrown off the ball by strikers half his size). At left back, he simply couldn't afford to give the attacker a five yard run up every time so he had to learn to stick to his man and be very aggressive. Start by winning the headers against them, then sticking close and using your body so that they can't get going. Most wingers he came up against struggled with it - the overwhelming majority. Hence why, in the words of Clarke, he's a consistent 7/10 every week. Usually against Celtic, McInnes would ask him to play infield slightly and allow James Forrest to run at him full pelt all day long. He did the same against Hibs in a semi a few years back when Boyle was given the freedom of Hampden to run past him - again, tactical stupidity playing to a player's weakness. I completely agree that in the last year or so, since moving back to centre half, he's changed his game and now seems comfortable at left of a three when given a run of games there. That's not entirely surprising, given he's proven extremely adaptable over the years. In terms of penalties etc, over the last decade he probably averages two a season at most no more than you'd expect from a McKenna or Hoban. Similarly, he's fairly low on red cards in the last decade too, with 2 I think. Finally, it simply isn't true that he is heavily left sided, that's just incorrect. He's one of the most two footed defenders we've had in the last 20 years (probably not a great compliment!). He's happy to take a touch on his right and pass it short. He loses accuracy with anything long on his right, but that's fine. There's a reason McInnes trusted Considine to play on the right side and McKenna on the left recently when we had players missing (he was phenomenal there against the hun a couple of seasons back), because he can take it on his right without squaffing it. Compare him to guys like Reynolds, McKenna, Taylor and even Anderson on their wrong foot and it's night and day. For a defender, he's more than adequate - not amazing, but that's not AFC's benchmark - on his wrong foot. In terms of punting it long, he plays to what is in front of him, and it's almost never done in panic. If there's no space or runner in midfield and turning and playing back is risky, he'll chip it into the channel for the striker to chase - rarely hitting it out of play in the process. It's exactly what you want a defender to do. Again, it's never obvious on the TV, but in all my years at Pittodrie I don't remember ever thinking Considine was (with any regularity) ignoring a pass into midfield before playing it long, it was almost always the lack of movement in midfield that preceded the pass. Again, compared to Taylor, McKenna, Devlin, Anderson and Reynolds (especially Reynolds) it's night and day. Again, that's not saying his passing his perfect, but his choice of pass, like Hoban on the other side (also guilty of not finding a man when going long), is consistently correct. Having watched this entire season on TV, it's amazing how much I'm missing and basically filling in the blanks based on what I've seen in prior years with any of the guys on the pitch.

You've clearly not been to an Aberdeen game in a long time. He was on the road to being our player of the season when he broke his leg midway through a game under Brown around 8-9 years ago. You could see the point in his career at which he finally learned he could use his strength to go hard up the arse of players to make up for his lack of pace. He's been solid and above average in our first team in every single year since that. McInnes has never been able to replace him - despite trying - because he's that dependable (he even came on at left back in place of Shinnie in a game against the Tims as Shinnie couldn't cope). He's never been similar to Ash (or Diamond, to take another that came through at a similar time), as he's always been able to play football and his positioning and reading of the game is ten times better. Under McInnes, any time Considine has struggled it's nearly always down to poor tactical decisions. He got hung out to dry at left of centre numerous times against the Tims for example, which took a long time for McInnes to work out. He's limited his mistakes in a season for a long time now and the only time I hear folk criticising him still are those that decided he was pish more than a decade ago and can't get over the fact he's made himself virtually indispensable to the dons for a long time through immense workrate, commitment to the club and consistency of performance.

Yes, I was just being cheeky. You accidentally put final instead of semi final. Although I was drunk at the semi final.

This shit needs done. Four years, take a gamble.

Bit harsh on Ash to be honest, they're first goal was class, really quick feet from McGregor. Their second was down to McRorie getting drawn in to the ball unnecessarily, leaving his man in acres. Ash obviously partly at fault for both like, he doesn't get off with it, but just not wholly to blame. I have to admit when I was watching the pen I had already blamed Taylor before noticing it was Hoban that gave it away! In terms of the overall approach, I'd say they got a lot less easy ball than in previous games. We pressed them quite well from the start and didn't give them any easy passes. They still moved it around without much difficulty but not in areas that would trouble us. They might as well not have had a left side, nor us a right side as the two largely cancelled each other out. If anything, I'd say Hayes gave frimpong far too much space on their right, sitting way off him. I assume it was tactical, but it was a dangerous approach given Christie was on that side too. They got a number of - thankfully shite - crosses in from there. Cosgrove only played 30 minutes ish, and we didn't really change as Wright came on at the same time. I don't believe it's Cosgrove that makes us play long ball anyway, I think it's the lack of movement in midfield and there is plenty of that when Hedges and Wright are on the pitch. I think we'll see a much better Cosgrove with players in and around him.

I assumed it would be Watkins and Edmondson/Cosgrove, but I suppose it depends on whether Wright starts or not. Watkins took a knock, so might make the decision for us.