OrlandoDon

Well done AFC!! Next, central defender, right back, left mid, and forward please :-)

McNamee had injury issues. Here we go. Know what exactly or is he being brought in to keep Jamie Smith company?

Off on loan to Motherwell. Buddies Strachan and McGhee helping each other out me thinks, just like JC and..... em..... nobody. Now surely with Fergie up in Aberdeen some loan deals MUST have been discussed? Couple of young MUFC loan midfielders would do the trick to replace Aluko and Walker. Missed opportunity I think with Kennedy as he had been mentioned as someone we may have been interested in.

Don't have the time to find the exact article but I'm pretty certain either JC or WM said we'd be bringing in 10/11 players this summer. Hence this has been the number many refer to when we discuss signings.

From the EE today - Calderwood said: “Getting a striker is now at the top of our agenda. We will also sign two more defenders and another who can play in a variety of roles and that will be that." So that makes Bosso, McDonald, Kerr, plus another 4. Maybe we add the 17yr old Irish kid. Were we not told we'd be signing 10/11 from JC or Miller and this was before we sold Touzani? Here we go again.... no doubt we'll hear new signings include Lee Miller, a fit Jamie Smith, De Visscher who is fit now and like a new signing blah blah blah. I just wish JC/Miller would shut up rather than promise and fail to deliver. I know people complain when there is no noise/gossip but to me silence is the best way. Any time we hear xxx number of players will be signed it never happens and the fans just get pissed off or feel let down.

So, what positional signings do we still need? Here's what we have in my opinion - GK - Langfield RB - ? CB - Diamond CB - ? LB - ? RM - McDonald CM -Seve CM - Kerr LM - ? F - Miller F - Smith Subs - Bosso, Considine, Mair, Foster, Dan Smith (is he still here?), De Visscher, Duff, Young, Mackie, Mcguire, plus all the young boys who'll be fringe players. That makes 17 (16 if Dan's gone) first team players which, in my opinion, means we need at least 5/6 more first team players. Obvious priorities are a forward, left midfielder, and the three defenders. Starting to have major concerns that the defence will be a shambles again this year. Apart from Gow, any grapevine rumours?

For CM4 I'd sign Miller, Kerr and Barry Robson and win the league. And to think we could/should have had Robson before he went to Utd. Not like us to miss out on players....

I don't see the value of shipping players off to lower leagues. We are not Man Utd who have 50+ professional players. When has this actually benefitted us? Mackie/Stewart?? Players get better playing with better players and surely our 1st team and reserves can give the skill/physical/tactical development he needs. Aren't our coaches supposed to be better that lower league coaches so staying with us should further the players development in my opinion??

How about a Darren Huckerby type for example. Lee Trundle? Give a decent signing on fee financed by the board (which won't happen!!!), maybe a good win/goal bonus, and keep him on the same wage structure. A little excitement, no?

Agree, 400k now is like a 4 million pound player these days, but pulling off the Charlie Nicholas signing was still a surprise - to me it showed the ambition of the board. What kind of signing would inspire these days that is still realistic? I personally do think Riordan and Gow are realistic with a 'creative' contract to keep our wage structure but no ambition from the board rules them out. We've heard WM say big name signings could happen but what does that mean?

I remember when we signed Charlie Nicholas - what a boost it gave the club, the fans, the players, the dressing room etc and had a definite impact on attendances. I think I am right in saying Hans Gilhaus had an impact on attendances too. What would it cost to get a player of that ability and reputation today? Nicholas was 400k nearly 20 years ago! Gow and Riordan are not in the same class as these guys yet I feel we won't even stretch to try to get them. I think fans are dying for a boost - anyone think of a player less than a million who would actually inspire the fans to be excited about next year?

Any further info on Redan and Davids?

I'll be a moaning faced c*nt and say there were too many lows yet again. The European run was a great bonus but yet again we fail to reach a cup final. And to lose 4 goals in each semi is piss poor. We have such a poor record of late and I'd just love to see us in a final. So many pish teams have made the final over the last few years and this year we got favorable draws and a little luck at Parkhead but still couldn't make it. League form was disappointing most of the time as well. I do feel we have as much talent as everyone in the league except the old firm yet we don't play to our potential. Plus we are god awful to watch most of the time. I suppose being brought up as a dons fan since 1980 I have seen good performances and success that I just expect better than the dross we see on a regular basis. The Euro run was fun but I don't understand how 6th in the league and no cup final yet again can be seen as a successful season.

We need a left back - Ian Harte has been released. How old is he? Maybe seriously daydreaming that he'd come here but I remember him being a fair player.

I actually think Miller is a good player with the right type of service. He's pretty good with his feet and is not your typical battering ram forward. Unfortunately with our apparent long high tactics we don't see the best from him - when we play the ball on the deck he looks a decent player. He is not a Mackie who runs and runs and chases lost causes - for us to get the best of Miller we have to have a quality passing group around him playing to feet - unfortunately doubtful we'll have that.

You can blame the club to an extent about letting it get to this stage but they are so limited in what they can do. We cannot afford long term contracts, cannot offer overly attractive contracts, and are constantly looking for free transfers. We aren't prepared to offer an 'average' player long term deals and rarely do we sign a high profile talent who should get a long term contract. Unfortunately we are a poor club who will have a high turnover in players. The blame is 10+ years ago or so for letting it get to this stage of debt etc. where we are broke.

I don't blame any player for moving on, keeping options open, or leaving things to the very end of the season to pick the best option, or to wait for the best offer possible. Most/all of us would do the same - you look after yourself and do what is best for you, your family, and your future. More money, better living conditions, there are plenty of reasons to go. He is not messing the club around - he isn't doing a Mo Johnston by promising to sign and at the last minute leaving for a bitter enemy! As a diehard fan it would be my dream to play for Aberdeen but when you can earn much more elsewhere, get a different challenge etc, why not. Personally I feel things can get stale playing the same teams 3/4/5 or maybe even more every single season. Moving on gives you a different challenge and something refreshing and new. If he stays great, if he goes good luck to him, just like Hart, Clark, Nicholson, Anderson etc.

Is that Barry White?

Misread, agree on the O'Neil part!

Don't really agree with the 'big laddies' comment. Celtic have good balance - you have Hartley, McGeady, Nakamura, Naylor, Brown, McDonald, and Wilson, not big guys, but you do have some size in Balde, McManus, VOHesselink etc. They can play on the deck and pump the long ball when needed. Rangers have Whittaker, Davis, Ferguson, Thomson, Novo, Adam, Darchville is thick and fast but not big gusy. Similar to Celtic as they do have big guys when needed. The difference is the mentality of the player. We have our big guys in Miller, Diamond, Considine, Byrne, Bus etc., and maybe you could add Lovell - they are just not the same presence or quality. And we have Duff and Mackie ;0)

I don't think the problem is height, weight, speed etc. The problem is attitude/mentality of players. We have no leadership, drive, no captain, motivational, inspirational players etc. When we play well our players look good but this is rare - far too often our players are inconsistent, timid, and disappear. We don't seem to have any real winners who fight for the cause. We have no players who always get stuck in and involved and most/all players have games when the game passes them by. Our form and inconsistency shows this. All our players thrive off others but everyone is looking to each other instead of taking the lead role. Russell was good at getting stuck in and being involved, Steve Tosh did this in midfield when he was here, but we've had very few leaders and mentally strong players for years. Since it is 25 yrs since 83 you look at that team - McLeish, Miller, Kennedy, Rougvie, Cooper, Simpson, Bell, and Strachan all played with passion and confidence, and got stuck in in every game - plus they had the skill and intelligence (some more than others) to know what to do with the ball. Rarely did you see a game that passed them by or they weren't involved. Mckimmie, Weir, McGhee, Black, and Hewitt thrived off this and gave us the added flair. Obviously leadership from Fergie played a major part too. When times are tough players need to stand up and show their mental strength - we have very few if any who do that.

It's not the size that counts but what you do with it? Or so I have been told. We certainly need a balance between height/weight/strength, but to me it is more the mentality of players getting stuck in. Yes you have a Drogba, but you also have a Martins and an Owen at Newcastle, Tevez, Kuyt, Schavchenko, etc. Plenty of good players who are not giants. Carvalho is not giant but a tough defender, Gary Neville and Patrice Evra are strong, Cannavaro was the best defender in the world at 5'9''. In midfield you have a Flamini, Gattuso, etc. Paul Hartley and Barry Robson are tough but no giants. Aberdeen's attendance is falling because of a lack of quality and entertainment. I don't see this increasing trend of long ball football. You need players who can play with bite, 11 Richie Byrne's won't succeed. Again, as I posted in another topic, we need a team of fighters and winners, it's not the size but the mentality and belief. Hopefully we are reading this article wrongly, but it doesn't seem to inspire. Height at corners, free kicks etc helps, but proper marking and defending helps more, and I've seen us lose a lot more goals this year to mistakes and poor play than due to a lack of height. JC cannot say anything in the media without most of us reading it in a negative manner - does he not see this? Silence is golden IMHO right now.

We've had this debate/argument before - maybe with the exception of Rangers and Celtic I would think most MLS teams would be competitive with the Scottish teams. They have some good players, average players, and some dross, just like the SPL, and you'll see good games and crap ones like we see in Scotland.

Agree, you have to discuss club and team - Club - poorly run. We continue to operate at a loss year after year if I am not correct. The debt is not being lowered. That is the bottom line, business is profit and loss. What makes football unique in business is that you see fans (i.e. Newcastle), millionaires (Chelsea, Fulham) etc. plough personal millions into the team. Most of the frustration from the fans comes from the fact that we have a very wealthy owner who is not willing to put in any sort of real investment when we all feel he is capable. I may be naive to think that even his business could 'loan' Aberdeen the money at a better rate than the bank. We pay a hell of a lot in interest alone. Team - poorly run. Quality of play is poor, performances are generally poor, tactics are baffling. We have no internationalists, very few (if any) special players, and don't seem to have any exciting youngsters coming through. When Fergie was boss he instilled a belief that we can compete and dominate the old firm, and we did. We now have a coach (and club) that in my opinion generally feels they cannot compete with the old firm. I still believe we can - it just takes quality leadership, a few good signings and a bit of ambition, but it doesn't take millions. Results against the old firm show we can compete, and the occasional good performances show what we can do with the right attitude, belief, and motivation. Until the club changes the mindset that we can be a force in Scottish football I feel we'll always be in decline. That to me is the cancer in the club. Money doesn't buy success, a quality business plan, coaching, and players can bring it and I do feel we are capable. We competed with Rangers and Celtic in the past due to excellent leadership and coaching - we were the cream of Europe, not because of the money we had, but due to smart business, great leadership, and quality coaching. We had good players (not great) who did their jobs very well and I don't see why we couldn't have that again. Competing with the likes of Real Madrid, Barca, Man Utd. etc is a bit too much to ask but I do feel we could be the best in Scotland again.

Only seen him play once, against Gretna at Christmas. He was the worst player on the park by far, incredibly slow and didn't once find a team mate with a pass. The groans went up whenever he got the ball and he was yanked at half time. He was reportedly carrying an injury, not sure if correct. However, maybe now, fully fit, he is actually a decent player and worth the risk of another year. Certainly take him over a complete unknown but who knows what JC is thinking.