LA-Don

Jack bought into the keep possession type of player but to him this means going sideways and backwards which untimately does little for us. Despise Scott Brown but he also is this type of passer but he brings the physical, leadership, drive, and motivation too. Jack is not a strong defensive midfielder and he gets exposed in the middle of the park - that gaping hole in front of our back 4 that has been evident most of the season. He's not a ball winner or scrapper either. He's also not an attacking midfielder - doesn't get goals or assists, or play killer attacking passes. Ultimately I see little value in him. I'd argue Shinnie gives us more with his drive and leadership but he should be our left back. McLean is the better attacker. I just don't see the point in keeping Jack and if he stays see him following the career path of Pawlett - potential that never kicked on.

Pawlett - definitely go, he's having the exact same career as Darren Mackie. Fringe player who hangs around and plays here and there. We need better and more consistent. Taylor - definitely go, we're clearly nervous at the back when he plays. Jack - either/or, squad player at best if you asked me, hasn't kicked on in his career. No loss. Considine - the 2nd best of a bad bunch of central defenders. Only O'Connor is worth keeping but Considine is a solid squad player who can cover two positions. McGinn - definitely keep, super player, but I think he may move on needing a new challenge. He's gassed from the summer and will have a duff season.

We missed the boat on McGinn, he'd be over 500k, prob a million plus now.Whatever has happened to our European scouting network? We could certainly do with a Heikkinen, Arnason, Deloumeaux, even Touzani or Fern Snoyl! Don't get me wrong, there's been a hell of a load of shit too.

I'm pretty surprised about the Pawlett comments, a handful of decent performances in 2 years and we want to keep him?? Also think we can lose Taylor and Morris, but we keep Reynolds and McKenna for back up. Losing McGinn would be tough to replace, esp with Maddison away. Said it before, Ali Crawford to replace here. I'd take Draper, no clue if Steven Anderson is any good.

Well, the window is just over 3 weeks away, who realistically can we get? Pretty sure a center mid will be targeted. Is Murray Davidson any good? Sounds like the type of player we could do with. Worth paying for? Swap for Pawlett? I liked the rumor of a straight swap, Tansey for Miles Storey. Who else is out there that, one we can afford, and two, would be allowed to join us in January? I really don't want another complete unknown from the lower leagues, hasn't proven too effective. At least we know what Tansey and Davidson can do.

Point again proven that DM thinks we're too lightweight in center mid hence Shinnie starting there again. Although Hayes at left back, good grief. Don't understand why AOC was dropped for a game? Never saw the game, just saw the goals. Good to see Hayes score from a wide area, likewise McGinn. Also, looks like Rooney was a little more lively? Maddison is a super player but it's tough for him here judging by another booking. Refs clearly think he's a diver. When he leaves DM must sign tough midfielders so that McLean goes back to attacking mid where he's most suited Lewis Logan OConnor Considine Shinnie (capt) New Signing New Signing (Tansey? Davidson?) McGinn McLean Hayes Rooney Subs - Alexander, Reynolds, Jack, Storey, Storie, Stockley, Pawlett, Wright, McKenna Don't even know if Tansey or Davidson are that good but they're the most common names mentioned..... Leaving in Jan - Morris, Burns, Taylor I suspect that team finishes a clear second provided they play these positions??

Ok, so Hayes is a little off form too but he's arguably our best attacker and POTY last year!! Left back?

I say ego because of the credit and praise McInnes has had over the year. This has been given and rightly so but that certainly has boosted DM's confidence and ego. You start to believe in yourself even more and feel you are always right because what you have done pays off. Now we're at a stage where DM is having trouble and is being questioned. Making changes and doing what the fans/pundits say could be perceived as admitting defeat/you were wrong which creates self doubt and criticism for being wrong. It makes you seem human and normal..........that's tough for a coach to do especially since he's had nothing but praise and credit for years. It takes a bigger man to change with the times/admit defeat and make changes and few coaches can do that - they win or lose their way. Fergie was a very strong willed guy but had multiple assistants from multiple nationalities to give differing perspectives and that helped him change with the times, change methods, ideas etc. It will be interesting if DM can do likewise......it doesn't appear he can so far. Make any sense??

I think DM has done a great job. He's established us as a top team again over the last 4 years. We have credibility again. We've been to two cup finals. We won a trophy. HOWEVER, that can go to shit very quickly with Rangers back and almost half our squad out of contract. I think it's time for a change but I have absolutely no idea who. Cop out I know!

What kills me more and more too is that as I witness our decline, Hearts are better, Rangers are back in the league, and Celtic are streets ahead. A big pair of balls, some financial investment in the team, and a leap of faith last January and we could have won the league. When will we be that close again?

The problem is McInnes' ego. His success and the hype has gone to his head and he is treating us like a EPL/champions league team, squad rotations and players playing out of position, coaching to defend top teams, and adjusting lineups based on opponents. Virtually none of this is necessary. We need to set out a team to win games playing to our strengths. The only team we should maybe make adjustments for would be Celtic but I'd go into that game with a nothing to lose attitude and have a go. We won two good away games recently with Shinnie back at left back. Considine and O'Connor looked good in the middle. Dare I even say McLean and Jack didn't look too bad. O'Connor has probably been our best/most consistent player this season. One bad game last weekend and he's dropped (I'm making an assumption here)? Players aren't blameless. I didn't see the game but sounded like we didn't take our chances, particularly Stockley's header right before Miller's goal. I said at the start of the season we'd struggle to finish above Rangers, Hearts, and even St J. Top 4 would be tough and while a few games get me excited and I start to think otherwise, a bad December and top 6 comes into question. The window is huge, particularly with Maddison leaving and all the players out of contract. I'd be tempted to say fuck it and start with the major overhaul in January.

McGinn is in the same situation as a number of players. Multiple people, including myself, feel we peaked with this group around 2 years ago and perhaps it is time for Jack, McGinn, Pawlett, Cammy Smith, Reynolds and the likes to move on. Problem is, what does it cost to replace these players with better??? I think we did well to sign a player like McGinn, we'd need to do really well in a very challenging transfer market to IMPROVE the current squad given some of these players are (potential) internationalists.

Here's my take rocket. I think McGinn is a super player but some may remember I was very vocal in August stating McGinn would have a stinker of a season. He never had a summer break and after the Euros when all the EPL players took time off Niall was back here playing in the Europa qualifiers. The guy is mentally and physically spent. Deserves to be dropped based on performances but saying that, he's been no worse than a few other players. As for todays team, and when Shinnie plays in midfield in general. We need his passion and energy in there because DM failed to get the appropriate center mid. He's the best we have even though he's a better left back. What I don't understand is that Hearts bullied Rangers off the park and that's an ideal tactic for O'Connor.

My take on Rooney is that we're not getting the movement/effort from him that we used to. His job as the sole striker is to get the ball and involve those around him - far too often we play sideways and backwards because Rooney isn't open. As a result our opponents get back and Rooney (and everyone) has even less space. I think we used to be a much faster paced attacking team and I think he scored more as a result - less defenders back and more space. Now there's a lot less space, more defenders, and less chances. As a result he gets a lot less of the ball and isn't involved. I don't see enough games to fully justify my argument but from what I have seen we're not as direct and fast in attack as we used to be, and Rooney is major part of that. Shockley seems a lot more suited to this type of play and, dare I say, more motivated to prove himself, work hard, and establish a reputation. Rooney is off the boil and needs a break, much like McGinn.

We're in a tough spot. To sign a quality player costs money obviously. Whether Jackson Irvine or Will Vaulks were the answer or not as the midfield enforcer, we could have afforded the transfer fee (not much diff money to Kenny McLean probably) but cannot match weekly wages of the championship. John McGinn is long gone, cannot afford the fee or wages he'd get down south. Who is out there now that we can afford both the fee and wages?? I feel we miss the boat on talent like these guys. While Ali Crawford is a different position to Vaulks and Irvine, them plus the likes of McGinn, Crawford, Greg Stewart, Souttar etc are all players we should be snapping up early before they move on to bigger things. Other than McLean, Hayes, and Shinnie, what other 'best of the rest' have we signed in recent years? We definitely can do better with home grown signings. I credit McInnes for being able to snap up Shinnie, McGinn, Hayes, and hold on to those guys as well as Rooney, but the gaping hole in the middle of our midfield (ok, a central defender too) is what is definitely limiting our progress. Fix the heart of our team and I think we're stronger at the back, will have more of the ball, and create and score more. The fact that this has been a clear problem area for some time that hasn't been fixed by DM (although O'Connor was maybe intended to be the solution) obviously has contributed to the DM doubters and the increasing pressure on and frustration with him.

Ok, being controversial, I don't agree with the criticism of Jack and McLean. We're so poor in central mid because we're asking players to perform a role that they cannot perform well - while I'm certainly not saying these players are like for like it's like Fergie asking for Strachan and Weir to play center mid. I'd suggest Jack or McLean would be better with a Simpson/Cooper type next to them. Ideally McLean at attacking mid with Cooper AND Simpson types behind them, that's his position. DM hasn't solved this position in the transfer market and it's gotten worse with the losses of Flood and Robson. As a result he's hurting the careers of these two guys insisting they do jobs they aren't qualified to do. They're set up for failure and the abuse they get from fans is a result of this which certainly doesn't help the situation.

Well, December will be a really interesting and challenging month with 8 games in 27 days. This Saturday will be tough as we were lucky against the huns last time and they do play with the aggression/confidence/drive that we lack as clearly shown today. A loss on Saturday could be the beginning of an awful month because with the result today we're vulnerable. We don't have a squad to cope with 8 games in a month. We will need to see Storie, Storey, Burns, and Pawlett more but all 4 have done little or nothing this season to date. Maddison leaves in January and I'd really like to see us show some ambition by going after Ali Crawford to replace him. We also MUST sign at least one dominating central midfielder. Today showed we lacked a powerful and dominating CM, a point I've made many times. I also think this month will show our leadership or lack of on the park - I think we are missing Robson, Flood, and even Paul Quinn, vocal players who will put it about on the park. We showed today we're powderpuff and these 8 games will be more about drive, determination, and character than skill. The next 8 games will definitely define our season.

I'm a big fan of Shay but he's an attacking full back. When we play well he's involved in an attacking sense and creates chances and even scores goals. I didn't see that today. Maddison got involved and tried to attack/go forward. While he wasn't very effective he showed bigger balls than most of his teammates.

I'd say we were poorer than usual. Only Maddison and Shinnie looked like their normal selves - sending Shinnie back to left back, while where Shinnie belongs, hurt us because Shinnie, as usual, was getting stuck in and pushing forward. I despise Scott Brown but he showed again what we lack, a real enforcer in the middle of the park who leads by example and pulls/forces everyone to get involved too. Red TV commentary summed it up - our 3 guys subbed out are normally 3 of our most effective and important players. Hayes was really poor and we needed him. Rooney non existent but due to no service. O'Connor gave away a bad goal but that was a poor sub because it meant our most effective mid on the day ended up in the back 4. Again, beating a dead horse, the players employed the tactics set by the manager and as Tom/Widdows highlighted, all underdogs win with heart, desire, and having a go.The blind and realism comment are irrelevant, we shat it.

Fuck off. The manager shat it as did some of our players. But the players respond to the managers tactics and attitude. Sitting back and absorbing pressure is delaying the inevitable. We had to take this as a one off and have a go - our performances in the last 2 games proved these tactics aren't effective. We had a go at the start of the second half and while you can argue Celtic were two up at that time that's the attitude we should gave had. Really disappointed. We never gave ourselves a chance, and that wasn't down to Celtic. Nothing to do with money. Down to the wrong tactics. We were never favorites to win but why not at least try.

Strange bench today, Morris, Taylor, and Reynolds but no Storie?? Bring Taylor on for Maddison with 15 mins left, uggg...

I always thought Irvine was terrible, somewhere in the mold of Ash Taylor/Andy Considine. He scored some goals and strong in the air but I cringed when he had to defend. He was a true don, wonderful guy, and die hard for the jersey, but dobbin for a reason. Took me a long time to like Jim Bett even though he was a super player, likewise Davie Dodds. Can't say I ever disliked a player though.

Dare I suggest..............McLeish? Ignore the hun factor, did ok at Hibs, Motherwell, and Scotland, all with limited resources. I really don't like going down the ex player route but available. Would he want it? Could we afford him?

If we play 2 up top, say Rooney/Storey and Stockley, then you have to drop Maddison. Perhaps that's the plan after January when he goes back south. Maddison is not a wide player and playing him in the middle with Jack (or McLean/Shinnie) with Hayes and McGinn wide leaves us really lightweight. You can't have Hayes, McGinn, and Maddison in a 4 man midfield in my opinion, especially in Scottish football.

The controversial thing is dropping Rooney. He's a poacher and a goal scorer but I'd honestly like to see Stockley given a run. Rooney doesn't really hold the ball up that well, not overly strong in the air, and I don't recall him ever scoring from outside the box, just think Stockley could provide move.