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 

19 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

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.

And this is why I very rarely comment on players, positions, tactics etc. - because the depth of my knowledge pretty much starts and ends with 'I enjoyed that / that was pish, he's good / he's pish, I could have stuck my leg out from here and scored that, what formation are we actually playing? etc. etc. etc.'

I have hoped for years the tactical insights will rub off on me - but I am now pretty much resigned to the fact I will just go to / watch games and come away having enjoyed it (or not, as the case may be), and leave (and enjoy) the comments to those with a better insight than me 🙂

I blame my PE teachers

Edited August 13Aug 13 by CurlsLikeTattie

6 minutes ago, CurlsLikeTattie said:

And this is why I very rarely comment on players, positions, tactics etc. - because the depth of my knowledge pretty much starts and ends with 'I enjoyed that / that was pish, he's good / he's pish, I could have stuck my leg out from here and scored that, what formation are we actually playing? etc. etc. etc.'

I have hoped for years the tactical insights will rub off on me - but I am now pretty much resigned to the fact I will just go to / watch games and come away having enjoyed it (or not, as the case may be), and leave (and enjoy) the comments to those with a better insight than me 🙂

I blame my PE teachers

It's all relative. When folk start talking about combinations and transitions, I'm out of my depth. In Scottish fitba, if you get a good enough player, then most of what I'm talking about can be a moot point anyway, it's when we're in the situation we are it's important. What I'm unsure about is whether the imbalance in midfield is deliberate or not? I got the impression under Thelin that he thought he could transcend the model of two midfielders doing the work so that the other could be the creative one, but he never managed it. I don't believe that's the case with Robinson, but it all depends what the message from above is saying. McInnes always (even at hearts) had a solid two with one in front, which it seems we've been trying to get away from ever since with zero success. Maybe Robinson is trying to do that, but it's clear we don't have the players here to do that, we'd need a very mobile number six and a really good number eight. There's a pragmatism with a solid two that is very difficult to get away from and is hugely dependent on signings.

You mentioned that you find it hard to believe that we've shipped out our entire first eleven and coaching staff and still end up poorer, but that isn't a surprise to me. That level of turnover rarely ends well, even if it is justified. The board will really need to back Robinson with time and public understanding if they are sure he's the guy.

12 months ago August 10th 2025 our starting 11 v Timothy was:
Mitov
Jensen, Milne, Dorrington, Devlin
Nilsen, Shinnie, Aouchiche, Keskinen
Milanovic, Yengi

August 8th 2026 starting 11 v Dundee are they an upgrade on what took the field at approx the same time last season (Y or N)

Muller(N)
Cadden(Y) Mayo(Y) Happe(Y) Walker (N)
Armstrong (Y)Aremu(N) Briedl(N) Yogane(N)
Olusanya(Y) Nisbet(Y)

So place for place I have 5 N's and 6 Y's that is obviously just over 50% Y's which is no where near enough when you take into consideration how fkn atrocious we were last season

Biggest glaring problem to me is still the Midfield 💩

Palaversa might well be shyte at football, I don't think he is. He might well have a bad attitude, I don't know.

The loon did have the balls to step up and superbly dispatch his penalty against Celtic in the cup final though.

We've had much better midfielders play for us, but very few of them have played such a big part in winning us a Scottish Cup.

You aren't shyte at fitba if you can put a penalty away on such a big occassion.

So the club have confirmed that Mitov transfer is completed.

Wishing him all the best for his future career and thanks again for 24th May 2025

He leaves as one of only five Aberdeen Scottish Cup winning goalkeepers and is in some pretty impressive company.

George Johnstone, Bobby Clark, Jim Leighton, Theo Snelders being the others

16 minutes ago, BigAl said:

So the club have confirmed that Mitov transfer is completed.

Wishing him all the best for his future career and thanks again for 24th May 2025

He leaves as one of only five Aberdeen Scottish Cup winning goalkeepers and is in some pretty impressive company.

George Johnstone, Bobby Clark, Jim Leighton, Theo Snelders being the others

I think we might come to regret his departure.

A few bad games last season, but injury might well have played a part, but no more shyte than most other players at various points last season.

Someone I know just left the club in the summer, to go work down south and a lot of unhappy players at the club, more to do with the Lutz appointment and the sideshow that followed after Jimmy departed.

Robinson didn't endear himself to many either, but damage was mainly done before him and hence another new team in the making.

All the very best to Mitov and hope he has a great time in Germany.

13 minutes ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

I think we might come to regret his departure.

A few bad games last season, but injury might well have played a part, but no more shyte than most other players at various points last season.

Someone I know just left the club in the summer, to go work down south and a lot of unhappy players at the club, more to do with the Lutz appointment and the sideshow that followed after Jimmy departed.

Robinson didn't endear himself to many either, but damage was mainly done before him and hence another new team in the making.

All the very best to Mitov and hope he has a great time in Germany.

Can't disagree with that and said previously I think we might regret letting him leave but then again is it better to keep an unhappy player IF indeed he asked to leave.

You do have to wonder what is going on behind the scenes at Pittodrie & Cormack Park.

Not sure I am picking up much optimism about the direction we appear to be headed

Please please prove me wrong

11 minutes ago, BigAl said:

Can't disagree with that and said previously I think we might regret letting him leave but then again is it better to keep an unhappy player IF indeed he asked to leave.

You do have to wonder what is going on behind the scenes at Pittodrie & Cormack Park.

Not sure I am picking up much optimism about the direction we appear to be headed

Please please prove me wrong

Yip I also think this is one departure that we will regret.
All the very best Dimitar, Once a Don and all that, and hope you find a decent chipper in Germany 👍

@BigAl as for what is going on behind the scenes at Cormack Park - I have a funny feeling that the answer there is in the name of the park 🫤
have thought that for years, but don't have the answer as to who can or would be willing (or stupid enough) to take over

32 minutes ago, Blow.Up.Sheep said:

Yip I also think this is one departure that we will regret.
All the very best Dimitar, Once a Don and all that, and hope you find a decent chipper in Germany 👍

@BigAl as for what is going on behind the scenes at Cormack Park - I have a funny feeling that the answer there is in the name of the park 🫤
have thought that for years, but don't have the answer as to who can or would be willing (or stupid enough) to take over

We’ve been a relatively shite club for the best part of 35 years so I’m not convinced you’re barking up the right tree by trying to pin it all on Cormack. Off the pitch the club seems to be massively improved from where it was 10 years ago; we’ve been shite on the pitch for most of my life so again, not solely a Cormack issue.

Edit: that’s not to say that it isn’t Cormack’s job to fix the problems or that he’s doing it particularly well, but the rot set in long before he got here so I don’t think it’s fair to say that he’s the cause of problem.

Edited August 13Aug 13 by wee toon red

2 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

It's all relative. When folk start talking about combinations and transitions, I'm out of my depth. In Scottish fitba, if you get a good enough player, then most of what I'm talking about can be a moot point anyway, it's when we're in the situation we are it's important. What I'm unsure about is whether the imbalance in midfield is deliberate or not? I got the impression under Thelin that he thought he could transcend the model of two midfielders doing the work so that the other could be the creative one, but he never managed it. I don't believe that's the case with Robinson, but it all depends what the message from above is saying. McInnes always (even at hearts) had a solid two with one in front, which it seems we've been trying to get away from ever since with zero success. Maybe Robinson is trying to do that, but it's clear we don't have the players here to do that, we'd need a very mobile number six and a really good number eight. There's a pragmatism with a solid two that is very difficult to get away from and is hugely dependent on signings.

You mentioned that you find it hard to believe that we've shipped out our entire first eleven and coaching staff and still end up poorer, but that isn't a surprise to me. That level of turnover rarely ends well, even if it is justified. The board will really need to back Robinson with time and public understanding if they are sure he's the guy.

I'm not as erudite as some on here about formations and tactics, etc. But I can totally see that in Scottish football you need two in the middle of the park to do the work. What's interesting is that as well as Lyons, Briedl apparently played just that role in the past, so ought to be capable of doing it. He clearly showed no sign of that at the weekend. Equally, I would have thought KMK could have done that. And if fit, that's what Aremu is supposed to be all about.

All of which to say, feels to me like in theory we have the playing staff to do that, but in all those cases we're either letting them go or at face value they're simply not delivering. If you're Robinson, do you then dip into the market for another one?

I'm still holding out hope for Aremu I have to say, if he can stay injury free. Was excited about Briedl but disappointed so far.

25 minutes ago, wee toon red said:

We’ve been a relatively shite club for the best part of 35 years so I’m not convinced you’re barking up the right tree by trying to pin it all on Cormack. Off the pitch the club seems to be massively improved from where it was 10 years ago; we’ve been shite on the pitch for most of my life so again, not solely a Cormack issue.

Edit: that’s not to say that it isn’t Cormack’s job to fix the problems or that he’s doing it particularly well, but the rot set in long before he got here so I don’t think it’s fair to say that he’s the cause of problem.

Perhaps he is not single handedly the root cause, but it is certainly not getting any better with him at the helm.
He has been around the club for a lot longer than a lot of people seem to think. Was he not CEO or something like for a spell way back in the early 2000's (I am sure the more up to speed and in the know fellow posters) will be along shortly to correct me on that statement.

Anyway as I said above I don't know what the answer is and have no idea who in their right mind would be brave or stupid enough to try and step in and take over from Colgate. There is no doubt he is a dons fan and some of the business initiatives off the pitch that he has been a part of with his input have helped the financial state of the club with incoming revenue streams, good job Dave.
But is he helping drive the club forward where it really matters (on the pitch) I have my doubts

Edited August 13Aug 13 by Blow.Up.Sheep

Gave me one of my best moments of my life. You deserve all that the Reeperbahn can give you and more.

2 hours ago, BigAl said:

So the club have confirmed that Mitov transfer is completed.

Wishing him all the best for his future career and thanks again for 24th May 2025

He leaves as one of only five Aberdeen Scottish Cup winning goalkeepers and is in some pretty impressive company.

George Johnstone, Bobby Clark, Jim Leighton, Theo Snelders being the others

I'd just like to dispel any thoughts that anyone might be harbouring as to whether or not I remember George Johnstone being in nets for us back in the day 😉

1 hour ago, Don Julio said:

I'm not as erudite as some on here about formations and tactics, etc. But I can totally see that in Scottish football you need two in the middle of the park to do the work. What's interesting is that as well as Lyons, Briedl apparently played just that role in the past, so ought to be capable of doing it. He clearly showed no sign of that at the weekend. Equally, I would have thought KMK could have done that. And if fit, that's what Aremu is supposed to be all about.

All of which to say, feels to me like in theory we have the playing staff to do that, but in all those cases we're either letting them go or at face value they're simply not delivering. If you're Robinson, do you then dip into the market for another one?

I'm still holding out hope for Aremu I have to say, if he can stay injury free. Was excited about Briedl but disappointed so far.

To me, there are two different types of number six. There is a holding midfielder type, who covers the fullbacks, keeps things very simple, has a good engine for going sideways and backwards and keeps the ball moving without trying anything particularly fancy. Aremu, Nilsen, Jack, Kjartansson and a few others we've had fit that description quite nicely. The other type sits deep and sprays passes, moving it very quickly across the pitch and over the top, keeping defenders guessing. They are effectively an inverted number ten. Guys like Clarkson, Briedl, Marshall (in my opinion) fit that role, and they can also play number ten with a degree of success usually too, although it's slightly harder in Scotland as you get less time on the ball. Both roles require a number eight that does a lot of running, but the fancy number six greatly benefits from having two number eights pressing high up the park so that they have the space in the middle to do the fancy stuff, and also so that the ball gets turned over quicker on the failed attempts to cut open a defence. They do a bit of defending, but less so.

That's my simplified take on it. It's rare that we can get someone that has real athleticism as well as good positioning and passing, or someone that can do the creative passing and the side to side stuff on our budget, hence the need for two.

43 minutes ago, BigAl said:

I'd just like to dispel any thoughts that anyone might be harbouring as to whether or not I remember George Johnstone being in nets for us back in the day 😉

Nah we just assumed you could remember his debut 2bh 😉

38 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

To me, there are two different types of number six. There is a holding midfielder type, who covers the fullbacks, keeps things very simple, has a good engine for going sideways and backwards and keeps the ball moving without trying anything particularly fancy. Aremu, Nilsen, Jack, Kjartansson and a few others we've had fit that description quite nicely. The other type sits deep and sprays passes, moving it very quickly across the pitch and over the top, keeping defenders guessing. They are effectively an inverted number ten. Guys like Clarkson, Briedl, Marshall (in my opinion) fit that role, and they can also play number ten with a degree of success usually too, although it's slightly harder in Scotland as you get less time on the ball. Both roles require a number eight that does a lot of running, but the fancy number six greatly benefits from having two number eights pressing high up the park so that they have the space in the middle to do the fancy stuff, and also so that the ball gets turned over quicker on the failed attempts to cut open a defence. They do a bit of defending, but less so.

That's my simplified take on it. It's rare that we can get someone that has real athleticism as well as good positioning and passing, or someone that can do the creative passing and the side to side stuff on our budget, hence the need for two.

Pretty sure in my day 5 and 6 were centre backs, with 4 the holding mid. I get lost these days I have to say.

28 minutes ago, Don Julio said:

Pretty sure in my day 5 and 6 were centre backs, with 4 the holding mid. I get lost these days I have to say.

4 - Neale Cooper

5 - Alex McLeish

6 - God

According to Scott Burns, Ambrose has knocked back a move to Macabi Petah Tikva allegedly.

Kjartannson away to SK Brann on a permanent

Maybe not a popular opinion but can't help but feel this is another one we might regret in the future.

Wish the lad all the best in the future but looks like he wanted the move away

Midfielder Kjartan Már Kjartansson has this afternoon completed a permanent transfer to Eliteserien side SK Brann for an undisclosed fee.

The 20-year-old Icelandic Under-21 international joined the Dons from Stjarnan in the summer of 2025, but had expressed a desire to move closer to home should the right opportunity arise.

“Kjartan is a talented young player, and he has shown real professionalism and a commitment to his continued development throughout his time with us,” said Dons boss Stephen Robinson.

“His opportunities within the first team have been limited, and we recognise his desire to play regular first-team football, whilst also relocating closer to family and friends.

“With the Club making a healthy profit on the transfer, whilst also retaining a meaningful interest in Kjartan’s future, we believe this move represents the best way forward for all parties.”

Kjartan added: “I'd like to thank everyone at Aberdeen for the support I've received since joining the Club.

“It’s been a valuable experience for me to move to Scotland, both as a player and as a person. However, I feel the opportunity to join SK Brann and continue my development in Norway is the best pathway for me at this stage of my career.

“I would like to wish the Club and the supporters the very best for the future.”

Everyone at Aberdeen FC would like to thank Kjartan for his commitment during his time at Pittodrie and wish him every success in Norway.

26 minutes ago, BigAl said:

Kjartannson away to SK Brann on a permanent

Maybe not a popular opinion but can't help but feel this is another one we might regret in the future.

Wish the lad all the best in the future but looks like he wanted the move away

Midfielder Kjartan Már Kjartansson has this afternoon completed a permanent transfer to Eliteserien side SK Brann for an undisclosed fee.

The 20-year-old Icelandic Under-21 international joined the Dons from Stjarnan in the summer of 2025, but had expressed a desire to move closer to home should the right opportunity arise.

“Kjartan is a talented young player, and he has shown real professionalism and a commitment to his continued development throughout his time with us,” said Dons boss Stephen Robinson.

“His opportunities within the first team have been limited, and we recognise his desire to play regular first-team football, whilst also relocating closer to family and friends.

“With the Club making a healthy profit on the transfer, whilst also retaining a meaningful interest in Kjartan’s future, we believe this move represents the best way forward for all parties.”

Kjartan added: “I'd like to thank everyone at Aberdeen for the support I've received since joining the Club.

“It’s been a valuable experience for me to move to Scotland, both as a player and as a person. However, I feel the opportunity to join SK Brann and continue my development in Norway is the best pathway for me at this stage of my career.

“I would like to wish the Club and the supporters the very best for the future.”

Everyone at Aberdeen FC would like to thank Kjartan for his commitment during his time at Pittodrie and wish him every success in Norway.

Agreed though it does sound like we have made a good profit on him.

I'm sorry to see Kjartan leaving as I liked the look of him and felt that he could develop into a very decent midfielder albeit he did seem to lack a yard of pace.

Not happy about kjartensen leaving. Given how highly thought of he was and didn’t actually get a chance to do anything. Should have been out on loan this year, if not latterly last season. Think this will be another missed opportunity.

Robinson brutally explicit on KMK in his pre-match presser. Not once but twice talks about how "KJ" made it clear he wanted to leave on the day Robinson was appointed. If true, that's pretty damning and suggests things were going south with the players before he arrived.

I hope I'm proved wrong, but I really do feel we failed to capitalise on what looked like a talented player to me. Let's see.

48 minutes ago, Don Julio said:

Robinson brutally explicit on KMK in his pre-match presser. Not once but twice talks about how "KJ" made it clear he wanted to leave on the day Robinson was appointed.

Yeah, if it was about playing time, you'd give the new manager a chance, surely?

Also "I want players here that want to be here, that will run through brick walls for Aberdeen". That's all well and good but Graeme Shinnie was that type of player, and he's just come out and suggested Robinson wasn't that arsed about keeping him.

1 minute ago, Panda said:

Also "I want players here that want to be here, that will run through brick walls for Aberdeen". That's all well and good but Graeme Shinnie was that type of player, and he's just come out and suggested Robinson wasn't that arsed about keeping him.

I think Shinnie is correct - and if the quality of signing that has come in is anything to go by I fear this will not end well

I’m all for a clear out of the yengis and Ambrose’s but not sure the players brought in are an upgrade of what we had

I suspect a number of players have not warmed to Robinson and are equally happy to get out of Pittodrie