Panda

From P&J, Horneland was asked: “There are a lot of rumours about you and Aberdeen. “Are you going to become their new manager?” Horneland replied: “To you? Today? Really (appearing reluctant to discuss the subject).” On whether he is going to become Aberdeen’s new manager, he then added: “No. “First I’ll have a little, short break. Then we’ll see what happens in the summer.” Think there's a few ways to interpret that. Like I said before, is this guy really worth the effort? He did well at Brann, but plenty of other choices out there.

Looks like I got lucky you weren't up for the debate then

Nah, I read the interview, and the Daily Record have put a very negative spin on it. He's clearly going to make excuses for not being at his best, but I don't think he was slagging Aberdeen off. What he actually said was:- "I went on loan to Aberdeen. Jimmy Thelin, who I'd previously worked with at Elfsborg, was the manager there. That was the reason for my choice. Aberdeen is also a great club. I spent a few months there. "It was decent...well, sufficient. I played some minutes, scored a few goals. It was especially important for me to be playing again. "What I did notice was that Scotland is a different league than the Eredivisie. It was a lot more physical and there were a lot of high balls. Plus, it rained a lot. "It was a league that might not be as suitable for someone with my qualities. I love the Eredivisie because it suits my playing style. But it was good to go to Scotland; I was playing football again. "When Utrecht came, it was a great opportunity for me. The country, the league, the people. I really wanted to return to the Netherlands. And I'd heard good things about Utrecht. "When I went on loan to Aberdeen at the start of this season, I wasn't match-fit. I needed that time there. Now I feel like I'm fully back."

I'd be very surprised if Hearts still have a chance to win the title by the final day of the season. They have what looks like a decent run of fixtures before the split, but I'm not convinced they'll win all their home games. Falkirk, Aberdeen, Motherwell. I think they'll drop points in one or two of them. You'd probably say the longest odds are on us taking points there, as pish as we have been this season, but you can't underestimate Tynecastle being a very nervy place if it's not going their way and we could essentially have the pressure off. Even then, I don't see them coping well with the top six. Both the Old Firm and likely an Edinburgh derby at Easter Road against a Hibs side giving everything to beat them. It's a big ask. They need to go into the split with a healthy lead and I'm not sure they'll have it.

Firstly, hitting the post or bar isn't bad luck for them or good luck for us. Those shots were not on target. They were also all chances outside of the box. Celtic had few inside the box because very seldom did they manage to cut us open or get in behind us. That's a sign of a very good defensive performance. But if we're talking big chances, Polvara and Gueye passed up big ones for us in full-time. Gueye passing the ball to Schmiechel when he just had to put it left or right of him was a bigger chance than Maeda's for them, in my opinion. Mitov made a big save, Schmiechel didn't have to. That suggests we got more luck with our goal than they got for theirs, which isn't true. Doesn't matter if you expect him to score. Mitov made a great save. You absolutely are downplaying it. We nullified Celtic. While we took a while to be an attacking threat, we kept our shape, defended well, didn't crumble when 1-0 behind, Thelin made good subs at the right time, outthought Rodgers, and we had three big chances after our goal to win it. We then had fine our homework on penalties. To call it a fluke or luck is utter tosh. What next? We were lucky it rained in Gothenburg?

https://www.afc.co.uk/2026/02/19/dunfermline-a-ticket-information/ Initial allocation of 3,700. £20 a ticket which is very sensible pricing. Sales begin Tuesday.

You've jinxed it. Definitely getting beat now. #LutzOut #LevenOut #SackTheBoard

There's not a single comment in this thread suggesting we'll lose

What luck did we have? Celtic not being at their best isn't luck. Our tactics were set up to nullify them, and they did.

Ah didn't they were pals, I guess that explains it somewhat, but still. Need a nasty streak to win things here.

One thing I noticed last night. Milanovic looking like he was begging John Beaton not to send off the Motherwell lad in the first few minutes. Some would praise him for fair play, but fucking hell mate, we need every advantage we can get just now. Let the ref send him off.

Good chance Armstrong might be back (think Leven said injury wasn't too bad but Wednesday was just a bit too soon for him). Would start him ahead of Milanovic. Other than that, same team as much as possible (dunno the situation with Shinnie/Geiger, hard to keep on top of suspensions these days). With five subs available I don't think you should make too many changes though unless necessary.

Was gonna post this in the Motherwell match thread, but seems apt to just start this one early. Was just saying to someone on my way home from work there that the Dunfermline tie being away is the best thing that can happen to us. If it had been at home, of course it increases our chances of winning, but it's another 9,000 home crowd, a win expected, and even if we get through it's not going to give our season a massive lift. The same way it didn't when we beat Raith Rovers in the last round. Sometimes even reaching Hampden gets a muted response. But away from home, Saturday night, 2000-3000 travelling fans - maybe even more - the away end buzzing. One of those nights that - if we win - you get that connection between the fans and the players that we've seldom had this season. The new signings get to see just how good our away support can be if they deliver good performances. A "proper cup tie" if you like, a chance to make Neil Lennon greet. It's something to look forward to which we really, really needed to keep the enthusiasm going for this season. Also, despite Hearts, Hibs and Motherwell having significantly better league seasons than us, the odds on us winning a trophy are a lot shorter than it is for them, which is really quite something. Tickets: Stand behind the goal holds 3,000. When Hibs sold it out they were given an extra 1,000 in the main stand and in the stand opposite, turning the ground almost into a 50/50 split. Saturday night will put a few off but we'll still take very decent numbers I'm sure.

I was only joking when I said this

Or maybe not..

Have played well. The goalkeeper doesn't fill me with much confidence with those goal kicks though. Nothing much coming off for Milanovic, but I can see him scoring. Both him and Keskinen are getting a run on their defence, and Nisbet has been excellent. We have another goal in us I feel. Next red card is vital though...

This is the biggest game of our season, and yet we're going into it with a feeling that losing to Motherwell has just become normalised. Lose this, and with top six looking unlikely unless we can find some stunning form, our next meaningful game will be in July in the League Cup group stage away to Spartans or something. Win, and the whole outlook of the season changes. Now you have a huge cup tie awaiting, potentially 3,000 plus Aberdeen fans heading down to Dunfermline, electric atmosphere on a night when the whole country will want us knocked out, with Hampden at stake and a real chance to win the thing again. It's something to look forward to, which if we lose tomorrow we won't have. No European football for at least 18 months, no trips to Hampden this season, we don't even have life under our new manager until summer. We haven't had a statement win in the league (beat a top six team coupled with a good performance) since Hibs in April 2025. Hearts has been our biggest win of this season, but it didn't really have you feeling the corner had been turned. Praying the cup brings something out of us.

Just keep our grip on the cup a little bit longer lads. Make us dream again... screenrecording-02-16-2026-13-46-51-1_FjKCcAMa.mp4

Don't know if I've said this on here before so apologies if I'm repeating myself. But someone well known within Scottish football enquired at the beginning of last season what Aberdeen were doing so differently in training under Thelin to produce such a stunning run of results. What methods was he using, what drills, was it more intense, more tactical, etc. Just what genius was leading Aberdeen to this run of wins? He was told they were not doing anything different than what they normally do...

I might concede the first three paragraphs, grudgingly, mainly because last season's league performances mean nothing to me. But no, not the cup. Hearts were not better then us, was pretty even until they went down to 10, and Devlin should have been off long before he did. I'd have fancied our chances at 11 v 11. "Celtic were off it". So were we in that case, I saw us play much better than that last season. But even so, the best players on the park were wearing red that day.

Aye I am calmed by the fact Lutz has clearly done his homework on this guy and followed his progress for a while, to the point that his tenure in France and the wait to get him hasn't weakened Lutz's resolve to appoint him. Thelin perhaps was good on paper, but maybe a deeper dive would have shown a few more cracks, not that you can ever guarantee success or failure.

I'm not having this. It wasn't a lucky start to the season. It was a team that needed to improve to keep the run going, and unfortunately didn't, but they earned every single one of those wins, the same way I wouldn't suggest the three months without a win after it was "unlucky". If anything, considering Hibs were very fortunate with some refereeing decisions in various games in the run in, we were perhaps UNLUCKY not to have had a chance of third on the final day. And as for the cup, what was lucky about it? We actually trailed for most of the game due to Celtic getting some good fortune. Let's not denigrate one of the best days in our recent history. Thought that sentence was leading up to Panda there

Trying to see the positives of him starting in summer; I think him being able to sit back, watch the games, and begin planning who will stay/go/come in will be very beneficial. Thelin didn't have that luxury, being the manager of Elfsborg still. Likely too (unless Leven/Doc produce some magic) that, like Thelin and McInnes (for Hearts), he has the League Cup group stage to build some momentum for his first games. But, it's also a lot of effort for a guy whose record isn't that good. Healthy win rate at Brann and won a cup. Off a poor spell in France (and I went on a Horneland/St Ettienne rabbit hole and really struggled to find many fans not absolutely slating him), but then a new language, league, culture - it was a difficult gig to take on. Maybe Scotland and Aberdeen will suit him more. Cant say my excitement levels are the same as they were when Thelin was the target, but then maybe that's down to Thelin himself not being as good as I thought he'd be. But Lutz seems pretty determined this is the guy, and apart from our dignity, what have we got to lose?

Yep, four games in 14 days on that pitch.

Been told we might get an update tonight or tomorrow. I'll revisit this on Saturday when we don't Andreas Hinkel (who was linked earlier in the thread). He's said he hasn't spoken to Aberdeen and it's news to him, so if Horneland falls through I think we can rule him out.