Saints have been putting some good results together over the last month or so so I don’t think we’ll have it easy, especially since we usually struggle to play much football there at the best of times. They’ve got an outside chance of being able to step out of the relegation zone over the next few weeks, only 3 points behind Dundee so will be gunning for them. Not usually many games in this one, goalless draws have featured a lot.

Any news if we’re likely to retain the same starting XI? I know it was queen’s but after the first 15, it seemed like a relatively settled performance. Like to see Dabbagh and nisbet build their understanding together, feels like we’re finally starting to see a genuine pairing rather than two individuals struggling. Do need Mitov to be a bit calmer and alert I think, hasn’t quite been the same in the games he’s played since he’s come back.

out

bed

bed

2-1 Dons, nisbet and Dabbagh 

Keskinen not bothering with a left foot today?

thank the maker i missed this game. shocking so far. 

Okkels is murder, never a £3m player.

Gueye is fairly terrible. No game intelligence whatsoever. Like a puppy.

Just now, Slim said:

Okkels is murder, never a £0.03m player.

FTFY

6 minutes ago, Slim said:

Okkels is murder, never a £3m player.

Failed experiment

Surely we won't see him at Pittodrie next season 🤞

Eyebleeding stuff.  Would've been quicker to just take a screengrab of the score at kickoff and give us all 90 minutes back.

Painful. Zero creativity and while I missed the last 20 mins, I assume we didn’t create anything. Back to no width because we pretty much get nothing from wide players, so we go more long ball again. Nisbet not so involved today either. Ugly stuff.

1 minute ago, BigAl said:

Failed experiment

Surely we won't see him at Pittodrie next season 🤞

Aye, it was worth a try, he obviously had something about him a few years back and it hasn't worked out. In fairness to him, he holds his position well enough and doesn't give it away too often, but just a very safe player that we don't really need. He's no better than Drey Wright for Saints on the opposite side for example.

That was a terrible game like. Clarkson stretched it a little when he came on, and Keskinen has to be scoring when Shinnie put him through. The pitch was an abomination. Shinnie did well again at left back, and it is absolutely frustrating that a 33 year old has more energy than Palaversa. That last twenty minutes he barely moved. He kept standing about two yards away from the man with the ball, dragging players towards him. He has the potential to be very good, because he is technically good, but he's going to need a very good pre-season to be up to it. Would like to see Polvara given his chance in there instead. Think 4th or 5th is going to be realistic for us this season. We're close to being good, but the depths of the squad reveal a shiter side to us.

More like the Saints Dons games of old,none of this goals nonsense...

So are we back to where we were a year ago? Morris gueye sokler not good enough to be relied on? Harsh on sokler since he’s just back from injury but a year ago we were crying out for gutting the squad, these guys have had enough chances to lock down a start or significant time but fail too often. 
nisbet and dabbagh were poor to day, big part of that the service, but do either actually replace bojan?
Okkels isn’t the standard we need, topi tries and gets a pass purely because he’s young. We definitely need a left and right mid, and forwards this summer.  I’d even try Jensen or devlin at right mid ahead of the other at present, plus I think polvara has to be given time at center mid. We need an attacking center mid, none of the guys we have are that except maybe polvara.
agree re the field, was shocked to see an ‘old’ soft muddy tattie field, guess that suited them.

not a fun day.

That’s was awful. Hopefully that kills the argument about Morris starting league games. Hopeless today. Think subs actually made us worse. No way we should be keeping Okkels. Simply not good enough for our league. St Johnstone played for what they got from the game. We didn’t have any one who looked like they had the skill to unpick them. Created so little in the 90 minutes. 

2 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

 

There's no "MAY" about it. They would have definitely sent a commentator, and always do. If you could find a time they haven't, that might back up your position.

Well I'd need to find a time when there was a European game on the Thursday, a live championship game on the Friday, a six nations game on the Saturday then two derbies on the Sunday. I'm guessing I'll struggle to find an example.

2 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

Kenny McIntyre even said on Off The Ball the other week that they would "always cover the old firm". 

Not that I don't believe you, but what was the context of that? Especially on the famously pro-old firm Off the Ball?

9 minutes ago, Panda said:

Well I'd need to find a time when there was a European game on the Thursday, a live championship game on the Friday, a six nations game on the Saturday then two derbies on the Sunday. I'm guessing I'll struggle to find an example.

 

Might be a tough gig BUT you are questioning Rico so go find it or admit you are wrong to question him 😂

2 hours ago, Panda said:

We're talking about five live commentaries and two  Sportscene programmes in four days. 

Let's say Celtic were playing at home today; they MAY have been able to send a commentator and have him back at the office to record Sportscene (but I disagree they definitely would have). They can't if he was in Perth, Edinburgh, and probably not Rugby Park either (bear in mind Sportscene is on air at 7:15pm).

So what you are saying is that we need to take Sportscene on the road?  I'd back that - after all what does the Beechgrove Garden get used for on a Saturday evening?

 

24 minutes ago, Panda said:

Well I'd need to find a time when there was a European game on the Thursday, a live championship game on the Friday, a six nations game on the Saturday then two derbies on the Sunday. I'm guessing I'll struggle to find an example.

No you wouldn't. It's fine. If you genuinely don't think the BBC isn't biased in its coverage of our league, and you genuinely don't think they wouldn't have made it to Glasgow for a scum game today, then you're deluded. Although I'm surprised you are still here and haven't headed through to Edinburgh with the entire BBC staff to provide commentary for the rugby at 19:00, preventing anyone from providing commentary at, say, Tynecastle. There are two games most Sundays, been numerous away European fixtures, championship games every Friday, but a night time rugby fixture is the straw that has broken the unbiased back. Out of interest, which part of the usual football commentary team is segueing between football and rugby this evening?

38 minutes ago, Panda said:

Not that I don't believe you, but what was the context of that? Especially on the famously pro-old firm Off the Ball?

It was a couple of months back. They were winding him up by asking which game was the commentary game for the day. The point that those BBC workers (think it was Tam, but Cosgrove might still have been away) were making was that it was bloody obvious which game because the Tims were on the card. He said that if either of the scum were on at three then they'd always cover it. And they would. And do. 

2 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

If you genuinely don't think the BBC isn't biased in its coverage of our league,

The argument isn't do the old firm get more coverage then the rest, because of course they do. Likewise, Aberdeen get more coverage than most of the others too.

The argument you're making is that had Celtic or Rangers been at home today, the BBC would have provided live commentary. I'm saying they couldn't and therefore wouldn't have. It's actually hypothetical as there isn't a comparable example.

2 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

 

Although I'm surprised you are still here and haven't headed through to Edinburgh with the entire BBC staff to provide commentary for the rugby at 19:00,

It's in Paris. It's an absolute disgrace they haven't sent me in all honesty. I bet if Celtic were playing in Paris they'd have sent me.

43 minutes ago, Panda said:

It's in Paris. It's an absolute disgrace they haven't sent me in all honesty. I bet if Celtic were playing in Paris they'd have sent me.

Outing yourself as a Tim and a BBC apologist 

Had my suspicions previously,regarding the first part, the second part was never really in doubt,  thanks for confirming 👍 

56 minutes ago, Panda said:

The argument isn't do the old firm get more coverage then the rest, because of course they do. Likewise, Aberdeen get more coverage than most of the others too.

The argument you're making is that had Celtic or Rangers been at home today, the BBC would have provided live commentary. I'm saying they couldn't and therefore wouldn't have. It's actually hypothetical as there isn't a comparable example.

Okay, well my argument was about bias, which you have ceded. I don't believe that sending Peter Wright and Tom English to Paris (and, yes, despite it being on my telly at the time, I still managed to get the location wrong!) would have any significant bearing whatsoever on the commentary staff, but I'll choose to believe you. The rugby is the only difference between this weekend and many others. 

As an aside, I'm almost certain that the BBC chose not to have a commentary game earlier in the season when the scum weren't playing, but I can't remember when and can't be arsed checking. 

42 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

I don't believe that sending Peter Wright and Tom English to Paris (and, yes, despite it being on my telly at the time, I still managed to get the location wrong!) would have any significant bearing whatsoever on the commentary staff, but I'll choose to believe you.

There is currently live radio commentary of the game on Sportsound. It's actually a good Dons man doing the commentary, who usually would be freed up to do a football commentary.

4 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

Gueye is fairly terrible. No game intelligence whatsoever. Like a puppy.

That's being generous. His early season form was just a blip, we all wanted to believe that we'd sent him out on loan and he'd returned a footballer but he's really not. He's not much better than Ambrose. 

7 minutes ago, dons8321 said:

That's being generous. His early season form was just a blip, we all wanted to believe that we'd sent him out on loan and he'd returned a footballer but he's really not. He's not much better than Ambrose. 

He's much better than Ambrose. So am I. Gueye is deceptive. What I was putting down to good movement earlier in the season and on his return, may just turn out to be aimlessly running around a lot. He popped up in good positions out wide today, but then a couple of minutes later, he missed an obvious run because he had his back to the play, and then didn't track a guy two metres away from him. He's more akin to Duk than Ambrose I think. Just completely unreliable as a team player. He's decent in the air though, so does offer something from the bench perhaps. 

5 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

He's much better than Ambrose. So am I. Gueye is deceptive. What I was putting down to good movement earlier in the season and on his return, may just turn out to be aimlessly running around a lot. He popped up in good positions out wide today, but then a couple of minutes later, he missed an obvious run because he had his back to the play, and then didn't track a guy two metres away from him. He's more akin to Duk than Ambrose I think. Just completely unreliable as a team player. He's decent in the air though, so does offer something from the bench perhaps. 

The game just appears to pass him by all too often. 

I do wonder if we should play him off the right (not particularly as a starter, more for when Morris gets hauled off), and keep Keskinen on the left. I think Polvara or Palaversa would have done that central role better than Gueye.

Keskinen, despite his miss (wasn't really a miss, more he waited too long to get his shot off) I thought looked decent today and is continuing to improve. By next season I think we'll be hailing him as our best player.

31 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

 He's decent in the air though, so does offer something from the bench perhaps. 

 

31 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

He's much better than Ambrose. So am I. Gueye is deceptive. What I was putting down to good movement earlier in the season and on his return, may just turn out to be aimlessly running around a lot. He popped up in good positions out wide today, but then a couple of minutes later, he missed an obvious run because he had his back to the play, and then didn't track a guy two metres away from him. He's more akin to Duk than Ambrose I think. Just completely unreliable as a team player. He's decent in the air though, so does offer something from the bench perhaps. 

 

31 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

He's much better than Ambrose. So am I. Gueye is deceptive. What I was putting down to good movement earlier in the season and on his return, may just turn out to be aimlessly running around a lot. He popped up in good positions out wide today, but then a couple of minutes later, he missed an obvious run because he had his back to the play, and then didn't track a guy two metres away from him. He's more akin to Duk than Ambrose I think. Just completely unreliable as a team player. He's decent in the air though, so does offer something from the bench perhaps. 

Yes, he's much better than Ambrose (and presumably your good self) but that's a low bar (not a comment on your fitba ability btw). Can't recall him winning anything in the air today or even challenging as though he believed he could win anything in the air.

Edited March 15, 20251 yr by dons8321

Gueye is very much like duk, very much a selfish individual who does what he wants on the pitch. From what we see. Must be very hard/frustrating to play with. At the same time, again like duk, a good player to have on the bench and throw in knowing he may give a bit of magic, score a header, etc. Same with Morris, you know he’s not consistent but throwing him on in the second half when others are tired, he’ll create. Today we needed a morris to bring on in the second half, instead it was okkels who is proving by game that we need to find at least one new winger this summer.

today we had no attacking central threat. We just didn’t get nisbet involved there, no 10 being a threat in the final third. Think someone posted and then deleted, sivert may have had an influence today. At the same time, Clarkson palaversa and sivert, and shinnie mostly, are all too deep. No balance and, dare I say, McGrath would bring that on the attacking side. Again, as said earlier, think polvara deserves some game time.

Ambrose is awful, no comparison to anyone there. He may try in training but should never be close to a match squad. Would rather see a young loon given a run.

Edited March 15, 20251 yr by OrlandoDon