Firstly no intention to wind up Rico ( but it is a bonus) by starting this more than forty eight hours ahead of January window closing BUT as a squad we are all over the fucking place and even at this early stage I would imagine we all would have opinions on what need to happen over the summer.

Appreciate that certain things might be addressed in the remaining forty eight odd hours of the winter one BUT given our performance to date, coupled to us being manager less, I wouldn't stake any money on it

Thoughts lads and lassies 

He doesn't look that Mitchy.

Welcome aboard loon. Rowie, chipper etc.

Mitov away to St Pauli in Germany on a three year deal.

Medical to be completed later today.

Source Anthony Joseph

I just have a sneaking feeling we might regret this one.

4 hours ago, BigAl said:

Mitov away to St Pauli in Germany on a three year deal.

Medical to be completed later today.

Source Anthony Joseph

I just have a sneaking feeling we might regret this one.

Hard to say. He's one of the best penalty goalies I've ever seen but he threw a few clangers as well. He goes with my well wishes but we have had better goalies at the dons

4 hours ago, BigAl said:

Mitov away to St Pauli in Germany on a three year deal.

Medical to be completed later today.

Source Anthony Joseph

I just have a sneaking feeling we might regret this one.

4 hours ago, BigAl said:

Mitov away to St Pauli in Germany on a three year deal.

Medical to be completed later today.

Source Anthony Joseph

I just have a sneaking feeling we might regret this one.

LikeWise Big Al, I also have a bad feeling about this one and think we might regret it.

45 minutes ago, tlg1903 said:

Hard to say. He's one of the best penalty goalies I've ever seen but he threw a few clangers as well. He goes with my well wishes but we have had better goalies at the dons

Yip, for sure 100% we have had better goalies at the dons. I am just not so sure we can say that we have better here now that he is away. From what I have seen of Hannibal he is not an upgrade on Mitov.

I thought mitov had asked to leave, didn’t think we were simply punting him??

31 minutes ago, Blow.Up.Sheep said:

LikeWise Big Al, I also have a bad feeling about this one and think we might regret it.

Yip, for sure 100% we have had better goalies at the dons. I am just not so sure we can say that we have better here now that he is away. From what I have seen of Hannibal he is not an upgrade on Mitov.

Agreed on all of your points mate.

We are also now going to be back in the position of Suman being back up and to all intents and purposes, I'm not sure many of us would rate/trust him.

There must be a Plan B being worked on in the background, surely 🤔

9 minutes ago, BigAl said:

Agreed on all of your points mate.

We are also now going to be back in the position of Suman being back up and to all intents and purposes, I'm not sure many of us would rate/trust him.

There must be a Plan B being worked on in the background, surely 🤔

yip with the departure of Mitov it does look like it is back to Suman as back up, which is nae great.
We would all like to think there is work going on for a plan B, but if there is then it was 100% clear Saturday it has a long way to go before being in place. Ronan and Lyons absent from our squad and we hung out to dry and left to look like a sunday afternoon pub team. poorer by a country mile by a team managed by Steven fkn Pressley ffs (let that sink in for a minute)

I still have a bit of faith lingering about that there is still some movement to happen in this window.
It is clear to everyone we are a long long way away from being half decent.

For all Mitov's faults, I'm struggling to think of any area where Muller looks stronger. The only thing Muller seems to be better at is making a spectacular-looking saves from routine shots directly at him.

As we also saw with Bratveit (and with the clown car of goalies we tried to replace Langfield with), it's sometimes better to keep someone who's generally reliable other than the odd brainfart rather than bringing in someone unpredictable and erratic.

£430k plus add on's seems a little on the light side for Mitov.

Full year in contract and club holding an option of a further one also.

Thinking he can't have been as much in demand as the club were making out 🤔

2 hours ago, BigAl said:

£430k plus add on's seems a little on the light side for Mitov.

Full year in contract and club holding an option of a further one also.

Thinking he can't have been as much in demand as the club were making out 🤔

Or club are just desperate to get him off the books.

Rumour circulating that Kjartansson is next departure. Supposedly going to SK Brann on a permanent deal.

30 minutes ago, Jute said:

Rumour circulating that Kjartansson is next departure. Supposedly going to SK Brann on a permanent deal.

We're going to need an updated squad list to see all the ins and outs fairly soon. I like Kjartansson, but there really isn't a space for him in the squad, with all our midfielders basically being the same player.

Speaking of which, I saw Palaversa at the driving range at the weekend. He definitely still exists.

2 hours ago, Jute said:

Rumour circulating that Kjartansson is next departure. Supposedly going to SK Brann on a permanent deal.

That's quite interesting if Eirik Horneland, when considering the Aberdeen job, thought Kjartansson was a player.

Can’t really say if he’s any good or not based on the fleeting glimpses we got, but I did think he lacked the pace to get around the park quick enough.

As said, we’re currently overloaded in the middle and need to ship some players out (the previously mentioned Palaversa being one if we can find someone to take him), so if we’re making the “significant profit” indicated then fair enough I guess.

Better have a good sell on clause though, just in case we’ve done the entirely predictable given our recruitment “issues” and got rid of a guy who goes on to be a proper plaaaar…

Edited August 12Aug 12 by The.Moog

3 minutes ago, The.Moog said:

Can’t really say if he’s any good or not based on the fleeting glimpses we got, but I did think he lacked the pace to get around the park quick enough.

Horneland in his previous spell at Brann based his midfield around Sivert Nilsen, who wasn't that mobile. So likely - same with Thelin - Horneland sees similar traits in him.

I don't know if Kjartansson is good enough, but the Robinson comparisons to Goodwin continue to increase. Goodwin also had a scorched earth policy where he didn't want anyone around who had shared the same oxygen as Stephen Glass, changed captain (how hard did he really try to keep Shinnie?), and signed a heck of a lot of players then couldn't settle on a style of football or formation to play.

We needed changes for sure, and I'n not just how keen each one is/was to move or if it's being driven by Robinson or Lutz, but Mitov, Frame, Shinnie and Keskinen all could do/have done a job for Aberdeen, and Kjartsnsson and maybe Bilalovic as well could turn into good players. And I don't see much evidence we're replacing them with better players.

27 minutes ago, Panda said:

Horneland in his previous spell at Brann based his midfield around Sivert Nilsen, who wasn't that mobile. So likely - same with Thelin - Horneland sees similar traits in him.

I don't know if Kjartansson is good enough, but the Robinson comparisons to Goodwin continue to increase. Goodwin also had a scorched earth policy where he didn't want anyone around who had shared the same oxygen as Stephen Glass, changed captain (how hard did he really try to keep Shinnie?), and signed a heck of a lot of players then couldn't settle on a style of football or formation to play.

We needed changes for sure, and I'n not just how keen each one is/was to move or if it's being driven by Robinson or Lutz, but Mitov, Frame, Shinnie and Keskinen all could do/have done a job for Aberdeen, and Kjartsnsson and maybe Bilalovic as well could turn into good players. And I don't see much evidence we're replacing them with better players.

Shinnie I suspect wanted too much money for how much he would likely play but agreed on all the others

34 minutes ago, tlg1903 said:

Shinnie I suspect wanted too much money for how much he would likely play but agreed on all the others

Well I doubt Inverness are paying him more, and I think he was always going to leave anyway, but it was more a comment that I doubt Robinson was that arsed about him leaving.

The thing is - I look at the squad and it's average. I think I said before the opening day, that last season the squad had too many guys who were there based on potential, and this one generally is proven at this level, so in the short term at least you expect an improvement. That's fine. People are suggesting Robinson won't last until November - so you can't blame him for only caring about results in the next three months and ensuring his job isn't under threat.

However, if we get to the end of this window and have moved on Frame, Kjartansson, Keskinen, Bilalovic, and Lobban is being kept out of the team by Cadden, then our model isn't in great shape. We're selling players for peanuts just now who could be worth something in a few years.

I also keep reading about players wanting to leave. You have to question why that is. That worries me.

1 hour ago, Panda said:

We needed changes for sure, and I'n not just how keen each one is/was to move or if it's being driven by Robinson or Lutz, but Mitov, Frame, Shinnie and Keskinen all could do/have done a job for Aberdeen, and Kjartsnsson and maybe Bilalovic as well could turn into good players. And I don't see much evidence we're replacing them with better players.

Yeah this is my concern too. I’m genuinely not fussed who they ship out from last years losers bar Frame & Lobban as young loons, but are we replacing them with better? Juries out.

I think we could all accept more “agricultural” football if we are also difficult to beat and winning games ugly.

Saturday was a real worry in that regard. If we can’t even get the physical aspects right we’re absolutely fucked.

Robinson hangs his hat on that too so it was a really bad look for him that one…

1 hour ago, Panda said:

Well I doubt Inverness are paying him more, and I think he was always going to leave anyway, but it was more a comment that I doubt Robinson was that arsed about him leaving.

The thing is - I look at the squad and it's average. I think I said before the opening day, that last season the squad had too many guys who were there based on potential, and this one generally is proven at this level, so in the short term at least you expect an improvement. That's fine. People are suggesting Robinson won't last until November - so you can't blame him for only caring about results in the next three months and ensuring his job isn't under threat.

However, if we get to the end of this window and have moved on Frame, Kjartansson, Keskinen, Bilalovic, and Lobban is being kept out of the team by Cadden, then our model isn't in great shape. We're selling players for peanuts just now who could be worth something in a few years.

I also keep reading about players wanting to leave. You have to question why that is. That worries me.

Paying him more? No, probably not, though I do wonder how far away our offer was from theirs as he would have needed to take a significant wage drop to stay. ICT fans I know had heard rumour he was coming back as early as last summer so I was a little surprised we even entered into talks with him. I doubt Robinson was either, it felt like the right time for him to move on if you ask me.

I would be genuinely shocked if he was gone by November. I can understand current unease after the weekend but I think Robinson is pragmatic enough to get the results he needs until the squad really starts to gel. I think it's fair to say that Robinsons track record is one of putting together teams that when playing well are usually better than the sum of their parts. That takes time of course but it's not impossible we have a greater appreciation of the squad once they have played together for a few months. FWIW I do think Happe, Mayo, Smith and Ronan look to be good business so far so it's not all doom and gloom.

Don't agree re Topi, it just never quite worked out for him and I doubt he was signing a new contract. With 2 years left it was the best time to sell and I think fee wise we did alright given his form over the 2 years he was with us. Agree it is questionable letting the others mentioned go though.

Why do players want to leave? I suspect some decided they wanted to go before Robinson even walked in the door (Frame springs to mind here) given all the turmoil at the club. Others because it was clear they weren't in the managers thoughts once he was in the door. I'm not worried myself 2bh, not yet anyway. This was always going to be a high turnover summer but if we get to January and half the players Robinson has signed want to walk then that would be a different matter.

I'm in agreement with the great majority of what Panda says other than Keskinen. To me he just flattered to deceive far too often. If Frame himself is wanting away then we have to accept that, if he is not wanting away then it looks like he is being forced out the door ahead of the likes of Gyamfi and Molloy. Cdden over Devlin for me is another one I totally disagree with. I would also have kept big Kjarten, interesting take from Panda there re Horneland. Will reserve judgement on the new keeper. As much as I was screaming at Mitov for getting Lobban sent off at Parkhead i'm sorry to see him go. Mitov cost us too many goals, points and games last season. Lewis, Ronan and Lyons should be ok and perhaps the new Moroccan lad. The rest of the signings. Not good enough.

15 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

Speaking of which, I saw Palaversa at the driving range at the weekend. He definitely still exists.

Is he any better of a golfer than he is a footballer (canna be difficult)

Edited August 13Aug 13 by Blow.Up.Sheep

1 hour ago, Blow.Up.Sheep said:

Is he any better of a golfer than he is a footballer (canna be difficult)

He was in the café. Probably took three shots and needed a break.

16 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

He was in the café. Probably took three shots and needed a break.

so pretty much the same piss poor on the driving range as he is on the football pitch. 💩

50 minutes ago, Blow.Up.Sheep said:

so pretty much the same piss poor on the driving range as he is on the football pitch. 💩

Pretty much. Although Palaversa is just another symptom of our poor recruitment of midfielders and our seemingly unending ability to misunderstand the combinations that make a successful team.

It started with Goodwin. He played Ramadani in front of the back three, with a blend of Clarkson and Barron in front. Trying to play a cultured (Ramadani was never cultured, which was the issue) number six and a number ten at the same time basically. Robson immediately spotted this and played Shinnie and Ramadani ahead of Clarkson, which was a really good combination. He then decided that he could fit a cultured number six and a number ten too, by switching Ramadani for McGrath; something that anyone with any knowledge of Scottish fitba would know immediately would fail. After that, Thelin played Shinnie and Nielsen, which worked very well until fatigue settled in and we didn't have a replacement. That was then replaced with a series of lightweight recruits, leaving Shinnie to do all the work, running him into the ground. The following season, we loaned Aouchiche and proceeded to play him in some weird offset role on the right wing, when he very clearly had the legs to go box to box, and seemingly never in the same midfield as Shinnie and Clarkson - the most obvious midfield three. Subsequently, we've had six months to look at Aremu and it was very clear that he doesn't have the legs to complete a game, not generally be mobile enough for the Scottish game (similar to Palaversa in that he can be good for 30-45 minutes). That combination of holding midfielder and number 8 with legs (Aremu and Lyons) makes real sense, but not much use if we can only get half a game out of one of them. Armstrong, Marshall, Briedl are basically the same player. I think Robinson is missing a trick with Kjartansson, because he could play the Aremu role. Especially if we signed another number 8 to interchange with (replace, basically) Lyons. We could also play Lyons and the other number 8, which would work well with Briedl or Marshall. At the moment, we have to rely entirely on Lyons, which is a ridiculous situation to be in. We will end up in the situation we were on Saturday in nearly every game, where we're playing two of Briedl, Marshall and Armstrong at the same time and getting overrun. It's poor that we've come into the season with three players competing for one role, and only one (although I'd argue Kjartansson could compete with Aremu, but Robinson doesn't seem to think so) for the other positions. It shows again a misunderstanding of midfielders. Something I'd have thought the club would have learned the importance of over the last five years.

Aye you make a lot of valid and good points there @RicoS321 pal.

I know it is early days into the new season and the Robinson era so I guess time will tell, and it was clear there had to be a massive cleanout of the shite and a huge re-build.
As it stands at the moment I find it fukn remarkable that we can change out about 90% of the starting line up from last season and 100% of the management and coaching staff and going by the pish on show at Dens (and against the diets the week before apart from the last 5 minutes)
Have all that changes and actually appear to be going backwards. I know about giving them time and all that but the early signs are nae good 😏