Ajja

Yeah I clocked that I appreciate the support but being an opinionated fucker I like to labour the point

Its an acceptable standard because to better it goes against the logical outcome of where we are positioned in Scottish footballing terms. I'll repeat it again for those at the back of the class shall I ? If we are expected to be 4th then we should expect to be in a semi final. To oust the 1st & 2nd position teams would have to be considered stretching us beyond our rightful expectation. This may offend your aspirations and dreams but its logic I am pedalling. Therefore, semi finals are acceptable standards unless you can convince me otherwise ? Your logic seems to suggest that if semi finals are not acceptable standards then we should expect finals ? I fail to see how when there are 3 teams who have more resource than we do. Feel free to explain it to me though, I may be missing a crucial point.

I don't think I am saying that they are success, I'm saying they are the acceptable standard, the expectation. In saying that, looking at the start of this season I'd take one semi in a heartbeat.

When the midfielder being compared has scored 2 goals and the top strikers are failing to match it then I'll concede to that comparison. You know yourself its a fucking ridiculous comparison to make.

To my knowledge (and I confess that is limited) we are the 4th best resourced team in the SPL in terms of the players budget. Its possible that Hibs have better although I'm pretty sure their wealth and profit generation goes elsewhere. It's also possible that Dundee UTD provide more money for players as they are still fairly reckless when it comes to cutting their cloth. However, I will stick with my original assertion that we are placed 4th. With the 4th biggest resource in terms of player spend, we can 'logically' expect to be the 4th best placed team in all competitions. That means top 4 in the league, a good shout at Europe and cup semi-finalists. It goes without saying that you can't always achieve that but you can at least expect it. JC has a 50% success rate in the last 2 seasons (Europe 1 of 2, top 4 1 of 2 and semifinals 2 of 4) so has not been an unmitigated disaster. However, a 50% success rate with a major deterioration in footballing terms and the reduced crowd revenue that comes from it we are in serious need of a change (not necessarily the manager but something). I'm willing to wait and see what happens with what is a new side this season but I have serious reservations about the future under JC.

I can't see Aberdeen FC being even remotely interested in a managerial change. They signed JC up for 3 years off the back of what they will have seen as a very good season last year. While we are all concerned about the deterioration of the playing side, the club will have been rubbing their hands at what was a very very lucrative season financially. JC is a fantastic manager in their eyes and that's what is important.

Aye, 3 strikers with one goal each at this stage is pretty rank.

I'm all for being realistic rather than the hysteria that has been seen on here in recent weeks. However, I'm not in favour of this argument anymore. Just because we were subject to (and accepted) utter rubbish in terms of management and performances in a ten year period prior to JC arriving does not mean we should be 'grateful for what we have now'. There has been a sizemic shift in Scottish football in the last 5 years as budgets are reigned in and player standards across the board have eroded in the face of financial crisis. A large number of SPL sides are now shopping in the basement and are unable to pay anything like the money they previously did. At the time when we were playing utter horse we were cutting costs out of line with most other teams. We are now, relatively speaking, better off than most with regard to available budgets and spending power. My rather laboured point is that we should be expecting to be top 4 and semi-finalists minimum with our resource. If our manager is not able to do this then he is not utilising that resource as effectively as clubs who are poorer than us. The benchmark is not how we were 5 years ago, its how other clubs are now. Lets stop thinking things are great because they were so utterly pish before.

Nothing like a bullish display to get the gobshite back on form. While I am delighted that we appeared to match Celtic on Saturday it shouldn't take the nadir we hit in recent weeks to drag that display out of them. I'll reserve my confidence (unlike JC) for when we have taken care of the majority of average sides in the SPL this season. This should be our benchmark, not a gutsy loss at Parkhead. With our playing staff we should expect no less. Well done lads for your efforts but can we build a little more solid ground before we get cocky ?

Mulgrew gets dropped. JC claims it's so FOster can man mark Nakamura and so then Strachan announces that he is resting him! Young, Duff and Mair in for Mulgrew, Aluko and MacDonald. It's hardly inspiring.

Anyone trying to claim that we are in better shape than last year on the basis of points gained is clutching at straws. You are not comparing apples with apples, simple fact. However, I think we have to deploy a little patience here. I understand we are all hurting from the performances and results but as someone said, this is a new side and we have to believe that they will pull it together eventually. I'm not naive to believe that it is all going to be rosey and I have long felt that JC has reached his limitations but I'm still willing to wait and see what comes of the next few months. A few better results and things will look much better, tragically for the SPL I still suspect we will end up 3rd

Was speaking to a friend today who is well connected in European banking terms. He told me that Vlads cash from Lithuania comes in through HBoS and the staff wages are paid through this. Apparently they burst their overdraft limit on the account and that is why they couldn't pay wages. He also said that Aluminij Mostar (Auminium Company in Bosnia thats owned by the parent company UBIG) is in serious trouble. Gotta keep that mill turning

Killie have a smaller budget and just tore us one did they not. Not sure you can point at the budget.

All correct. Thats why I say we will not make the change that is needed and that we will turn the corner, for exactly the reasons you have underlined. Our rise to top 6 placings is more a mark of the quality in the SPL than anything else. JC is limited in what he will do for us, as he was for Dunfermline. However, we have what we have and we must try and avoid getting hysterical about it.

ZD often plays as well as the keeper he is in front of. As a CB its always very unsettling to know you have a buffoon behind you. Not that I'm trying to excuse him.

The club have invested too much in JC at this stage. He will be going nowhere for the foreseeable future so get used to that. We are just going to have to play our way through this spell and its going to be painful. We will get past it though. Try to maintain perspective.

Defence - 1 Midfield - 3 Strikers - 2 Poor show so far.

Agreed, its not a good thing when peoples jobs are on th eline and their homes and families are affected. Afford yourself a little chuckle though

Looking down that queue, the guy at the front has realised the potential of Brechin City at present. Now I don't want to be the harbinger of doom but I'm also not too impressed by U-19 NI or FI squads.

I remember having the same sense about Barry Nicholson in his first season with us as I do about Gary. Eventually Barry turned into a pivitol player for us, lets hope we see the same with him. Games against former clubs often bring out the best in players. Anyone have any more straws I can clutch ?

You could almost convince yourself that Vlad doesn't actually want Hearts to be a successful operation. Everytime things seem to be going better for the team something utterly ridiculous occurs and the rug is pulled out from under them. It's hilarious (while nodding respectfully at the poor sods in their offices that can't pay their mortgages this month). It is fairly common for businesses to stretch the terms of their credit agreements, its not always an indication of cash flow stress but can often be. A lot of businesses simply operate late payment as a strategy to hold onto cash longer. The media has just picked up on Hearts as a newsworthy business. I would think that Ukio will be endangering their legal requirments to capital ratios under the Basel agreements given the pressures that international banking has come under in recent weeks. If their lending has accelerated the way that article suggests and their share price is plummeting then capital reserves will be under stress. A run on the bank in Lithuania and they are fucked. We shouldn't laugh too hard as the two worst sectors to be in at present seem to be banking and new property development

Is posting a link of someone filming someone filming Aberdeen FC allowed. I just need clarity here.

Impressive is being applied to the 'run' not the actual game content. I think 3 games with victories in all 3 and clean sheets in all 3 is pretty impressive.

'Form' can be a relative concept. A form player in a side who were bottom of the SPL with no points before Saturday is possibly not all it's build up to be ?

Fair play