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Sorry for your loss OD. Agreed, he used to love putting his paws on my shoulder and it was just the best feeling in the world. I'll take dogs over people any day of the week.

Well @RicoS321 and @tlg1903 - I did. And here's what ChatGPT made of it... 😆 I actually think Rico’s argument is more defensible than TLG gives it credit for, but I also think TLG has identified the biggest weakness in Rico’s proposed XI. The key issue is that they’re approaching the game from two slightly different perspectives: * TLG: pick your best players and make Rangers deal with them. * Rico: pick the XI that best protects Aberdeen against Rangers’ strengths. And for me, against Rangers at Pittodrie, the second approach has some merit. Where I agree with Rico The strongest part of his argument is Armstrong rather than Yogane isn’t really about Yogane being bad. It’s about what happens when Aberdeen don’t have the ball. Rico’s basically saying: if our central midfield is going to struggle, don’t leave our left-back exposed as well. Armstrong can start nominally wide but tuck in and give you something closer to a midfield three/extra midfielder when defending. That’s a pretty sensible tactical idea. And there is some evidence that Armstrong has been used in precisely this sort of flexible role. Against Dundee, Aberdeen played 4-4-2 and Armstrong came on for Ntelo in the 66th minute. More importantly, Rico is right that Olusanya is valuable in this particular game. Stephen Robinson himself has been talking him up ahead of Rangers, describing him as an “absolute handful” and emphasising how difficult he is to play against. I’d therefore be very reluctant to sacrifice Olusanya for a more orthodox winger. But TLG has a very good point about Yogane This is where I think Rico’s argument becomes slightly too defensive. If Yogane really did have his best Aberdeen performance against Dundee, why remove him immediately afterwards? Especially when the improvement TLG identifies — actually producing a quality final ball — is precisely the sort of thing Aberdeen are going to need against Rangers. The Dundee game is particularly relevant because Yogane wasn’t merely surviving on the flank. He produced the low cross for Nisbet’s third goal. And there’s a danger in saying: “Rangers are dangerous, therefore let’s remove one of our attacking players to make us more solid.” You can end up conceding the initiative anyway, while simultaneously making it harder for yourself to punish Rangers. That’s especially relevant because this Rangers side isn’t exactly an irresistible force right now. They’ve yet to win a league game, and they’ve just gone out of Europe. Aberdeen, meanwhile, have started the season reasonably well. So I wouldn’t approach this as though Aberdeen are playing peak Rangers at Ibrox. The bit I really disagree with Rico on It’s the implication that Yogane offers “zero support” defensively. If that’s literally what he means, I’d disagree. He may not be a particularly aggressive presser, but there’s a difference between not being good at pressing and providing zero defensive support. And if Armstrong starts instead, you’re also sacrificing something offensively. You’re asking a midfielder to perform a winger’s job rather than simply selecting the winger. That’s a significant opportunity cost. I’d rather solve the defensive problem through the structure around Yogane than remove Yogane. What I’d actually do I’d probably go something like: Müller Cadden – Mayo – Happe – Guinness-Walker Armstrong – Aremu – Ronan/Briedl Yogane – Nisbet – Olusanya That’s effectively a 4-3-3 that can become a 4-5-1/4-1-4-1 without the ball. And I think that addresses Rico’s underlying concern without accepting his solution. You’ve got: * Aremu providing the physicality. * Armstrong providing experience and defensive intelligence. * Yogane still available as an outlet. * Olusanya causing problems physically. * Nisbet occupying the centre-backs. * Enough pace/width to make Rangers worry about Aberdeen rather than simply camping in Aberdeen’s half. Interestingly, one current prediction has Aberdeen in essentially that shape, with Armstrong, Briedl and Aremu behind Olusanya, Yogane and Nisbet. And I think there’s an interesting middle ground If Robinson wants the Rico game plan, I actually wouldn’t necessarily drop Yogane. I’d play Armstrong on the left and Yogane on the right, with Armstrong having licence to narrow when Aberdeen defend. That gives you Rico’s extra defensive security without dropping the player TLG is rightly keen to see rewarded for his Dundee performance. The really interesting question is then Smith vs Yogane. I’m with TLG that Smith has probably been underused. He was particularly lively when he came on against Dundee, and his delivery contributed to an Olusanya chance. But I wouldn’t use Rangers as the game to make a big change simply because Smith deserves minutes. ⸻ So, if I were judging the debate rather than just picking a team: TLG wins the argument about Yogane. I wouldn’t drop him after his best performance. Rico wins the argument about the tactical problem. Aberdeen’s midfield/left-side defensive protection genuinely needs consideration, and simply throwing three forwards and two midfielders out there could leave them badly exposed. But I think the best answer is to change the shape/roles rather than replace Yogane. And there’s one thing I’d absolutely agree with Rico on: Olusanya through the middle is very appealing. Robinson’s comments about how much of a nuisance he is, combined with the fact Rangers are hardly arriving in Aberdeen brimming with confidence, makes me want him running directly at those centre-backs for as long as his legs will let him. In other words: don’t set up as though Rangers are unbeatable — but do set up as though they’re dangerous. That’s probably the sweet spot.

Very good looking dog! And I get it, we’ve lost two dogs in the last 3 years, they’re family and missed. We have two more but it doesn’t mean we don’t still talk about the ones who passed. There’s no better feeling than being mauled by my pups when I get home from work. Beyond happy to see me. It’s been a while since the wife acted that way..

Thanks 2stars, that's nice of you to say 🙏. I love all dogs big and small but after having a Malamute I honestly couldn't be guardian to any other breed now. Which makes having another problematic when you live by yourself as if you have things to do like go on holiday, day trip to the football or just have to go out of town etc you need someone capable of handling a Mal to look after them for you. They are very strong but even stronger willed and you will never get blind obedience from one. Co-operation is the best you can hope for and that's before you even get to the prey drive. Small and furry is food and that includes cats so basically to be a responsible owner you need multiple people in your life that are first and foremost prepared to help out let alone be strong enough to not get pulled off their feet if the dog decides it wants to go in a particular direction suddenly.

If dogs ruled the world it wouldn’t be such a fucked up place

They leave a massive imprint on your heart for sure - never thought I would get another dog after being heartbroken when we lost our last one but couldn’t stand the house feeling empty They all have their own personalities and glad we did Wyvis will always be with you TLG and I have no doubt made you a better person

Fair enough, thanks for explaining

Yes. Based on the fact that I wasn't at the Dundee game! But mainly because I think that our midfield two is very weak, and so having Armstrong playing a bit narrower and giving support to our, also very weak, left side of defence will be beneficial. It's not a slight on Yogane, I think his final ball has been very good all season, but he's a guy that offers zero support going back the way. If he was better at being aggressive in the press, then I'd absolutely advocate him starting, but he doesn't pressure the opponent much at all. The Huns are having a difficult time, but there's no way that they're as pish as people are making our, so we're going to need discipline and strength, as well as the experience that Armstrong offers, in a role that he's played a lot for club and country (not so much the Dons for some reason). Although all of the above is just my thoughts, I haven't run it past a large language model to get it's take.

In hospital for unspecified reasons. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/ckgwd1789qzo Speedy recovery Jim

I like that the ugly sisters are being punished but I don't like that fans of two other teams are going to be denied the option of going to the game just cos their mobs are the scum of the earth. No reason that they should be denied access to the game, if cops can police 52 and 60 thousand there is no reason they can't police 1-2k

Wait, you would drop Yogane on the back of what was easily his best performance where for the first time he actually showed he could provide a good final ball? Why? I don't understand that, especially when advocating playing Armstrong out of position instead. Would be happy to see Smith in the side who I think has been underused but I suspect if it's a 442 Toy will be wide right with Ntelo through the middle.

Steve Arrington - Feel So Real

Louie Always brings a smile to my face

Moby - Feeling So Real

I think it'll be either a 4-4-2, or a 4-2-3-1. I'd like to see Olusanya through the middle and running his arse off for 60 minutes. Maybe play Armstrong on the left ahead of Yogane, and Smith on the right, with both helping out in a flat four off the ball. I don't think we've quite got the personnel for a 4-3-3, and Olusanya is fairly key in games like these, and isn't a wide player. We're really ropey at the back, so he might be tempted by a back three, but I don't think he should at home to the Huns (save that for the Tims away).

Cheryl Lynn - To Be Real

Tim McGraw - Better Than I Used To Be

apology humbly accepted pal 🙂

Yeah, in these match threads I like to post a wee formation graphic of how I either want us to line-up, or think we'll line-up. I actually made one and thought the team looked that poor I deleted it. I think to play Robinson's style we need to be 4-2-3-1, however we don't have wingers. We could play our wider guys narrower - that suits a few players - but you need wing backs overlapping and the only time I've saw an Aberdeen player do that regularly this season was Lobban for Dunfermline against Raith Rovers. This 4-3-3 he hinted at playing seems to have been ditched. If you sign 13 players but feel you don't have the players to play your favoured formation, then something has gone wrong. I'm really keen to see what Robinson's plan this season actually is. If he actually has it all mapped out how the team will set up, then great. A game plan on Sunday is all I ask for.

Could have been certain (I read it twice), and no mention of first home game, just first game. Probably did though.

Jethro Tull - We Used To Know

Decent game between Crystal Palace and Manchester City. City 1-3 up but both sides playing some nice football.

Agreed. Although we have to be realistic about how poor our midfield is. It's not just that we don't have a guy that knows what the fixture means, we don't have a guy that will get right in their faces either. To take advantage of this Hun side, at this particular moment, we need to be able to press them high and aggressively. Currently we've only got Olusanya that can do that, and he'll likely be playing wide. For all the chat about whether or not Phillips is good enough for the Dons, he really would have suited a game like Sunday. I don't know what the best setup is, but we're an average side at the moment and I'm not sure we'll have enough to beat their average side.

From reports I note that "The two clubs could also face a second home match without fans if there is a further incident of either side's supporters engaging in "unacceptable conduct" in a Scottish Cup fixture." Interesting to see what constitutes "unacceptable conduct" in such circumstances. For me this should include being upwind of Aberdeen supporters, being within 50 miles of Aberdeenshire personal hygiene ( lack of) weegie accents ...and basically all the religious , political bull*** that separates them from supporters of every other team in Scotland

Yep, so expect Devlin not to feature then.