What does everyone think about our chances of a top six finish ?

 

Hopefully should win the next league match V Killie which will hopefully give us some momentum for going into the Motherwell game and getting a result, then we've got the huns game(a probable defeat) but then we go into our last 4 games with an achievable 12 points against the so called easier teams (Gretna, St Mirren, Inverness & Falkirk). This should get us into the top six and hopefully quite far up the league !

 

If it was only this easy ! It should be ! ......................... But with the Dons unpredictable form it probably won't go this way !

 

Christ we need to tighten up the defence !  Bring back Russell Anderson, it has got to be worth it ! !

 

 

Needed a performance and a result today, we got one without the result. In retrospect a result would have been better.

 

I have absolutely no worries about a top six finish, just we are having a fairly shite time just now. I am more concerned about how distant from third and fourth we're going to be.

i reckon we've got to go unbeaten up to the split for us to even have a remote chance of catching third or fourth. Murderwell and ushited are both really unpredictable just now and have some shocking records against the poorer teams especially ushited. Well also have a fair few games to make up on the rest of us which should hoefully take it's toll.

 

So maybes we'll bridge the gap with a bit of luck. I'm not convinced by Hibs at all they were shite on wed and once again they robbed us. They will surely fall away as they've far to many players to bed in to the team and others more intrested in leaving(their captain for a start).

 

My main worry is our defence as soon as we get a decent performance from a pairing like diamond with bryne or daimond with considine there's an injury to the latter players. The lad Bus just doesn't convince me so i hope to fuck considine is fit for thur and the following games.

 

The Killie game is an absolute must win!!

I think we should get into the top 6 but it's definitely not a certainty. Motherwell and United are as good as there, and I think Hibs and Hearts are gonna be in much better form than us when the must-win games come round. Hopefully Falkirk and Caley will piss off soon.

 

3rd though!? Fucking no chance!

If we do not finish top 6, Jimmy Calderwood should be sacked.  No questions asked.

 

I do however think we will still make top 6.

Bullshit.

 

He's had our best season so far, and had 2 of his regulars sold off and they've given him peanuts to rebuild the squad in January.

Bullshit.

 

He's had our best season so far, and had 2 of his regulars sold off and they've given him peanuts to rebuild the squad in January.

 

Best season so far?  It's only best cos we've been so shit in the cups for the last 3 seasons!

 

Top 6 finish is an absolute minimum.  I wouldn't regard failure to achieve that as "best season".  I would regard that as "worst season".  The league is the true mark of how good a team is.  Euro adventure yes, but that is only 8 games over the course of the season.  How you do over 38 is a better indicator.  The squad of players he has is good enough to finish top 4 and the fact he can't motivate them to concentrate for 90 minutes in a domestic match is worrying.

 

As I say, I don't think we will finish bottom 6, but he's set the standards himself and if he fails to meet it the hard luck stories wont wash.

With our size of squad then the extra cup and Euro games were always going to take their toll.  And they have done with our league form.

 

Couple that with the players that have left for us to cash in and be replaced by players who really should just be there to make up the numbers, then it's obvious we were going to struggle.

 

The season is over from what I can see and we've been sold short.   

 

Hibs had a poor season last year league wise but lifted a cup.  I don't think they'd be too unhappy and neither would we but I don't think we'll achieve that.  The record books will show we were into the last 32 of UEFA, semi finals of cups and scraped into the top 6 (possibly) which I'd say was a decent result for our paper-thin shower of a squad.

Otimism guys.....we're on the way to greatness again, just need 2 players or so to complete the jigsaw.

 

Otimism guys.....we're on the way to greatness again, just need 2 players or so to complete the jigsaw.

 

We needed 2 or so players before they sold our soul in the January transfer window.

I wonder if you've thought about how much it would cost to sack him 6 months into a 3 year contract?

 

The board really ought to have thought about that before they bent over for him while at the same time not giving him any money to spend.  How much would the pay off be?  Â£300k perhaps?  That's 3 league places in footballing terms, potentially the difference between finishing 4th & 7th.

 

With our size of squad then the extra cup and Euro games were always going to take their toll.  And they have done with our league form.

 

The squad size was increased in the pre-season to cope with that though.  And any so-called "injury crisis" has never materialised into losing more than one key player at a time.

 

Every club should have standards and ours should be top 6 every year.  If we can produce one-off performances the like of which we've seen in Europe, it is understandable us natives are angry when we meekly surrender to teams in the league.  All I want is for my team to be feared and respected again and the inconsistency is stifling that.

ok - so you've thought about it - now where are we going to find the cash?

 

You see, here's the thing.  It shouldn't be our concern where the money comes from, but to answer your question anyway I reckon the board have to answer some serious questions about being so hasty to give him such a long contract and the moral thing to do would be to pay them off out their own pockets.  I don't think it would cost much more than £300k, I took a ball park of £100k each as I doubt they would be paid up more than 1 year of their contracts.

 

Yes, frustrating to have lost two important players in the window without being given the funds to replace them, but the squad is still better than the Falkirks and Invernesses of this world, therefore we should not allow them to finish above us.

 

Our concern should be that the team is performing to its capabilities and that we're getting value for money, which in my opinion, we wont be if we fail to finish top 6.

 

What is more important to us as supporters?  The club's finances or the club's poor consistency & form?

Our season really now hinges on the cup game vs the tic as thanks to the sfa and the high number of "pish" teams left in the cup means 4th will probably not be enough to get in europe.  I think we can still achieve 4th but 3rd looks distinctly unlikely while scraping into the top6 looks most likely.

 

If we get back into europe it has been a great season

If we miss out on europe but achieve the top6 it is an adequate season.

Anything less will be disappointing.

Fair enough but Inverness and Falkirk aren't playing 2 games a week, 8 weeks on the bounce.

 

We simply just don't have the strength or depth this year to compete on all fronts.

If we finish bottom six and get knocked out the cup by celtic BUT get into the last 16 of the uefa cup - would it be disappointing then?

in that situation then I suppose I could cope with being shit in Scotland

We played reasonably well yesterday and should have wiped the floor with a very poor Hibs side.

 

Top six will be secured although 3rd looks difficult but not impossible. It could go any way with the results most teams are getting. Its got to be the most open league from 3rd to 9th in many a year.

 

I have this strange feeling in me that we are going to do the unthinkable on Thursday. I know its crazy but I just think something has worked out for us in Europe this season. The result in Dnipro, followed by the results that set us up for a win against Copenhagen and then us thrashing them 4-0 and finally the performance against Bayern. I really think we are going to bag them.

 

I also think we will take Celtic in the Scottish cup. They will be distracted with their fight against the hun for the title and a trip to Barcelona for a titanic match the week before.

 

Positive, positive, positive.

We played reasonably well yesterday and should have wiped the floor with a very poor Hibs side.

 

Top six will be secured although 3rd looks difficult but not impossible. It could go any way with the results most teams are getting. Its got to be the most open league from 3rd to 9th in many a year.

 

I have this strange feeling in me that we are going to do the unthinkable on Thursday. I know its crazy but I just think something has worked out for us in Europe this season. The result in Dnipro, followed by the results that set us up for a win against Copenhagen and then us thrashing them 4-0 and finally the performance against Bayern. I really think we are going to bag them.

 

I also think we will take Celtic in the Scottish cup. They will be distracted with their fight against the hun for the title and a trip to Barcelona for a titanic match the week before.

 

Positive, positive, positive.

I just presumed you were pished on sunday when you came out with the above, so what is your excuse today?

In what other business would a sacking be paid for oot of the bosses pockets?!?!?

It's not that uncommon when it comes to transfers, why should a sacking be any different?

 

And when has big business ever had morals?!?!?!  

This is Aberdeen FC we're talking about!

 

Look at it this way then if you're concerned with finances - European football hasn't exactly brought the crwods back en masse to Pittodrie.  If we slip back into the mid-table mediocrity we'd got used to before and without European football, the crowds will get even worse and finances will suffer further.  I'm only looking ahead to see what the implications of a bottom 6 finish would be.  This season has brought us all some fantastic memories and that is what it's all about, I'm not so blinkered or "anti Jimmy" to realise that.  In fact I actually like Jimmy (though I'm not a lover ) but the buck stops with the manager when the standards slip.  He has the tools to finish top 6 and as I've already said twice in this thread, I think we will.  But it's a healthy thing to have high expectations and I wouldn't even say top 6 is high at all.

Not at all.

 

The most disappointing thing for me is the player's attitudes.  Surely they are enjoying the trips abroad?  Surely they are enjoying playing the top players in Europe?  Surely they realise that they're not going to experience it again if they continue to play so shit at home? 

I just presumed you were pished on sunday when you came out with the above, so what is your excuse today?

 

I was sober yesterday.

 

I just have a feeling......although I was saying at half time that we should put Hibs to the sword in the second half 

The most disappointing thing for me is the player's attitudes.  Surely they are enjoying the trips abroad?  Surely they are enjoying playing the top players in Europe?  Surely they realise that they're not going to experience it again if they continue to play so shit at home?   

 

Exactly.  I spoke to one of the AFC staff before the Dnipro away tie and he told me he'd never known the players to be so pumped up before a game.  So is it the players' attitude, their lack of ability or is it that the manager is inclined the same way?  Some of the noises I've heard from within the club tend to suggest that Calderwood is a nut job.  Considering the person whom I heard that from is himself a daft as a brush former goalkeeper who has been training with the Dons recently, it's something you tend to take notice of.

No point moaning about the manager when we're going through a poor spell as he was the same man that brought us relative success.

 

Something's not right down Pittodrie at this moment though and I'm pointing the finger firmly at the board who had the prime time to take another step towards continues success.

It could be worse...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th-m3fHTRiU

 

Number 5 was my favourite.

The best one I think was number 4 or 5, where they dribbled all the way and missed in an open goal! Ouch!

 

Personally, I don't see us achieving 3rd or 4th. I'm pretty sure on Hat in the summer I predicted 5th, and I still stand by that. Yes we should be achieving much more, but I have always had some doubts about Jímmy's motivation skills, not only for the players, but possibly himself. As BTR said, we have squads that are far better than at least two teams above us. And to say we're in a bad patch and we play more games than them, how can that count from the beginning of the season?!?! We've been absolutely honking away from home from day 1 this season! 5th is a minimum otherwise it was a disappointing season.

No point moaning about the manager when we're going through a poor spell as he was the same man that brought us relative success.

 

Something's not right down Pittodrie at this moment though and I'm pointing the finger firmly at the board who had the prime time to take another step towards continues success.

 

Your finger is pointing the same way as mine ST.

Your finger is pointing the same way as mine ST.

 

Wrong thread lads.  Try this one: http://www.thedandies.co.uk/messageboard/index.php?topic=2702.0