Reekie_Red

Well there's one of the batch of kids that emerged in the late 90s (ie McGuire, Mackie, McNaughton, Michie, Clark, etc) who is from Inverurie and one from Kemnay.

Nice one, Beano. Hopefully he signs Mackie and the Kemnay kid makes a good name for himself state-side. Was it Mackie who was from Kemnay? Or was it Chris Clark? The above article says Mackie's fae Inverurie, but I'm sure he's from Kemnay

It's easy to get distracted by just how tight an angle Hignett scored from. But Jess' through-ball must've cut out about five players. When he was on form, Jess was magnificent to watch.

Some numpty hun fan has posted a video on YouTube of their second goal going in. I wonder if he knows the huns got beaten?

Depends how your glass is. Alternative is that we've only lost once in the past eight games!

Aye. Craig Burley dived for one of them, but Big Jim totally psyched Burley out and made him miss.

Mark Perry! Haha, I still mind that cracker of a goal he scored against the Tims. Oh check this video out! Perry's goal was sublime (i remember him trying that same strike the following two games, and the ball ending up in Row Z). Gould's face is a peach after the own-goal. And what an angle from Hignett! I really did have bloody high hopes for the Dons that season - Jess & Hignett destroying all other midfields! Alas, this combination only worked for two games before HeWhoShallNotBeNamed went back on his promise to Hignett:

should be fixed now, and the formatting/smiley options should now be back too. Let me know if there's any issues

I only saw as much of the game as YouTube's highlights showed. But reading some of the match reports, it looks like Hayes and Fraser (the latter in particular) were being cited by Inverness' cavetroll players. Foran was lucky to be only yellow-carded, and Butcher should really have no complaints about Tudor-Jones' smash. Perhaps all the focus put onto silencing Fraser and Hayes distracted the Inverness players from Smith?

Can't believe Butcher is whinging about the red card on Owain Tudor Jones. I suppose, given some of the "tackles" Butcher dished out in his time as a player, events at 1:43 would've been "just a nudge":

He's just as prolific now he's gone as he was when he was here

You forgot Shearer and Stavrum. Most consistent strikers we've had in the past two decades. Two decades? FFS, wthe last prolific striker we had was twelve years ago!

Fallon is capable of scoring match-winners out of nothing. But he's not a striker who should be playing week-in week-out ... simply doesn't have it in him to score regularly. I'd be keen on Faddy playing, even for a season. He's completely different to Vernon, and he's a bigger and much more physical player than what I've seen on McGinn

Good move. Scott did some brilliant work at Dens Park a few years ago before Dundee shafted him. Welcome home, Jocky

To be honest, I've not been bothered with Scotland since France '98. Scotland have constantly shunned the Aberdeen squad, and our last Scotland regular was Bandy Jim. Jim was treated shambolically by sections of the Tartan Army after France'98, and the Scottish FA failed to support him whatsoever. I really haven't given a shit about the Scottish football team since then. Complete unknowns and dross that can't get picked by weaker nations than Scotland are being given caps ahead of Scottish-born Aberdeen players who are performing well! Anderson has been brilliant for us in both stints, yet he gets no more than bit-parts in games that have little or no meaning to Scotland's chances.

Ahem. The CURRENT currant buns haven't played Motherwell yet!

Yup. I think he's too professional to let his allegiance get in the way of doing his best for 'Well

If any team is gonna rip Mercenaries XI apart at the moment, it's Motherwell

It's not as if we're not hitting the target either! I've only been watching the (pretty friggin awesome) Youtube highlights, but can see we are hitting the target frequently every game bar the opener against Celtic. Whether someone starts hitting the back of the net, or we come up against a keeper in poor form ... I get the real feeling that someone is gonna get an absolute pasting from us soon. Infact, a quick look at our home form: Aberdeen vs Helen 12shots vs 3 shots 3 on target vs 1 on target Aberdeen vs Hearts 7shots vs 3 shots 2 on target vs 1 on target Aberdeen 0-0 Ross County 11shots vs 4shots 5 on target vs 1 on target

Seems to me that when the ball is out on the left wing, Hayes is creeping in to help Vernon upfront. When it's on the right, Fraser is coming in to the middle to help. Like I say, though, my biggest worry is that Fraser & Hayes will get a reputation soon. All it takes is for some unrelenting thug wi' nae skill but heavy feet to take one of them out for a couple of months and we're screwed. We MUST take these opportunities that these two are providing before one (or both) become injured.

In the 2001/02 season we were playing some pug ugly football ... but goals were going in every game. Crowds were up. Why? Cos we were winning. All this huff and puff is for nothing if we cannae hit the back of the net. Brown, go and get McFadden now, before its too late and we sustain an injury to Fraser or Hayes

Would happily have him upfront for the Dons. But really cannae see it happening.

You took that too far

Still one of the best memories I have of Pittodrie. The game itself was pretty shite except for three things ... Dadi skinning Bobo Baldi with a sublime piece of skill that bamboozled even himself Mackie's goal Pelting Alan Thompson with snabas

Yes it's not quite as good as being there and witnessing this team with my own eyes. But I watched the entire Celtic game online, and the YouTube extended match highlights have been brilliant. Something that really shines through in the opening handful of games is that (Celtic aside) we are absolutely battering the opposition. Vernon isn't missing the target either! A huge number of his shots are being saved by the keeper or are being chalked offside. He is hitting the target ... just needs to hit the part of the target that the keeper isn't covering. Seriously, I would like to see stats of the top target-hitters this season. Pretty sure Vernon will be miles out infront of everyone else in the league at the moment. I think over the opening games I've counted 8 or 9 direct on-target shots from him alone that all could easily have gone in had it been for a bit more luck and rub of the green. Fallon isn't an out-and-out striker. He's a sporadic wondergoal specialist who is going to fashion goals out of nothing. He's not a striker who nets on the end of good team buildup (which is what we are producing at the moment!). McGinn ... I wasn't impressed with him against Celtic, but I'll hold judgment for when he returns. Would definitely be worthwhile trying Paton in the middle alongside Vernon. With the service that our two wingers are supplying at the moment, I'd fancy his chances of hitting the net every couple of games.