Panda

This kinda feels like I'm basically posting a BBC press release here, but for anyone interested Sportscene is showing the Masters live on 14 November, which is in Aberdeen this year - not Augusta. Aberdeen, Dundee United, Celtic and Rangers are the four teams. Six-a-side. So not just the treble this year but the quadruple up for grabs. Aberdeen: Russell Anderson, Eoin Jess, Joe Lewis, Derek Young, Jonny Hayes, Gavin Rae, Kevin McNaughton and Lee Miller. Rangers: Barry Ferguson, Jermain Defoe, Kris Boyd, Lee McCulloch, Graham Dorrans, Pedro Mendes, Roy Carroll and Dean Sheils. Celtic: Stiliyan Petrov, Scott Brown, Charlie Mulgrew, Simon Donnelly, Gary Hooper, Darren O’Dea, Joe Ledley and Michael McGovern. Dundee United: Willo Flood, Mark Wilson, Craig Conway, Gary Kenneth, John Rankin, Jon Daly, Danny Swanson, Paul Gallacher I dunno if we want separate match threads for each game to piss off Rico? Anyway, be good to see Eoin Jess and Kevin McNaughton in particular again in Aberdeen shirts. Dunno why Scott Brown is turning out for Celtic, presumably couldn't get in the Dons team.

They are equally horrific shouts, but Lennon, Mowbray and Brown are not only ex-Celtic but also ex-Hibs. Mowbray is unrealistic anyway because of his health issues and he doesn't want to manage in Scotland, but I can't see Hearts appointing a former Hibs manager anyway. As for Lennon and Brown, they are both despised in Gorgie. It'd be like Aberdeen going for Durrant or Hateley. Not a hope Hearts ever consider them, and I doubt either man will be putting their name forward either.

Lennon, Mowbray and Brown? I will pay your mortgage for a year if Hearts appoint any of them.

This is where the season begins to unravel. Sold out away end, Aberdeen fans arriving in expectant mood, only to be met by a poor performance and Thelin's first defeat. Nisbet to miss a few sitters, Gueye to revert to his early-Aberdeen form, Clarkson to struggle to make an impact, Rubezic to be caught out for one goal and to be at fault for the penalty, Keskinen to go missing. Rangers to beat Hibs to narrow the gap on us to two points. I mean, I might be wrong. If I am then sorry Dundee for jinxing you.

The more I read up on Neil the more I was against him becoming Aberdeen manager. Got Norwich promoted and was heralded as a great up and coming manager, but since then he's had more failures than success. Norwich: After relegation, was sacked after seven wins in 24 and Norwich eighth in Championship. Preston: 16th in Championship. Sunderland: Wasn't there long enough, but were second I think when he took over and he got them promoted from League One through a play-off. Wasn't the miracle some made it out to be. Stoke: Finished 16th, then was sacked the following season when they were 20th. That doesn't make him a terrible manager - the English Championship is a tough division. There's worse names Hearts could appoint. But I'd have been underwhelmed had he came here. Would be genuinely intrigued how he would do at Hearts.

Should be the Saturday game as Celtic have a Champions League game on the Tuesday. So 12:15pm or 5:30pm, take your pick.

Would quite like them to give it to Alex Neil, just so we can see what we supposedly missed out on.

The game is actually in Azerbaijan behind closed doors. So an even longer trip.

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/blogs/news/club-statement-steven-naismith Naismith gone

Think there'll be an announcement today that Naismith is gone.

Thing with Sokler is he's a useful number 10 the way he can link the play, but he's behind Clarkson, Gueye and even McGrath to play there. He's not at the level we need to play as a striker. You wouldn't really consider him a winger. Maybe an inverted one but then you'd expect him to be able to finish, which he can't. I think he might be a perennial "decent player but where do we play him?" until we eventually send him on loan to Slovenia.

Interesting that when MacDonald came on he replaced Molloy at LCB, while Milne was at RB in place of Devlin. Thought the Gueye wide right experiment was okay. You could see the plan was for him to meet the ball at the edge of the six-yard box. It's nice that we're unpredictable. Anyway, let's stay humble.

Sokler nearly missed that! But now he needs just one more to be level top goal scorer in the competition.

Miovski starts for Girona away to Valencia.

Interesting that Clarkson and Gueye both start. I presume that means McGrath on the right and Gueye on the left, with Clarkson in the middle. @OrlandoDon got his wish with a Palaversa start.

He didn't pick a fit Scott Brown for one game, Rangers away. I agree with the last line. I just don't agree with the assertion he wasn't a leader at all. He was no Anthony Stewart, let's put it that way. This we can agree on

No, only on the online player. They'll probably use RedTV commentary today from the Aberdeen game, they tend to just use the club commentary of the home club. They only give a toss about Celtic and Rangers.

Brown would pop up everywhere. He definitely covered more ground than Nilsen. He may have been on the team sheet as a holding midfielder but that's not how he played. How closely did you follow Nilsen's career before he joined Aberdeen? Time will tell what? That a 32 year old on a three year contract might prove to be better for Aberdeen than a 36 year old who played in a poor team and didn't finish the season? Or that Nilsen is/was a better player than Brown? Because that would be a silly statement to make considering Brown played at a far higher level than Nilsen. It's not about respecting your opinion, it's that deciding after 10 games that Nilsen is a better holding midfielder than Scott Brown "ever was for any club" is ridiculous.

He left because Goodwin told him he wouldn't get doing any coaching, not that he wasn't going to play. Because you said Goodwin just wasn't going to pick him, were the truth was he was injured. You then suggested this was a made up injury to hide Goodwin not picking him, despite him being injured before Goodwin arrived. I don't remember any of this at all. This is the first I've ever read of any lack of respect from his teammates.

Again, we're rewriting history here. He did his hamstring against St Johnstone before Goodwin had taken charge, which meant he missed the next two games, then made his comeback from injury against Hearts where he clearly wasn't fit. Goodwin's scorched earth policy was why he left, not because he wasn't good enough. This was the same Goodwin who didn't want to play Ramirez either. Again, I refuse to believe he was more than capable in the first half of the season, but by February had lost it. He was 36, recoveries from injuries take longer, he was playing out of position in a poor team and the season was becoming a slog.

They didn't play the same position at Aberdeen though, that's my point. My point is that Brown SHOULD have been playing the position Nilsen was. He was actually playing as a box-to-box midfielder about five years after he lost that ability to do it. At Celtic he played as more of a holding midfielder because he had Callum McGregor as his Graeme Shinnie. The Brown/McGregor partnership is essentially what we have now with Nilsen/Shinnie. Come on mate, I'm all for club bias here, but suggesting Nilsen is a better holding midfielder than Scott Brown "ever was for any club" based on 10 games is outrageously parochial. Again, we're rewriting history here. Brown at one point - at the age of 31 so not far off Nilsen's age - had the best passing stats in the Champions League. Even at Aberdeen one of the big things that impressed me was his passing. I always remember one moment, in a game v St Johnstone, where he played a brilliant outside the foot pass from deep to Austin Samuels (remember him), took out about four St Johnstone players, and sent Samuels clean through on goal. Samuel's effort was so bad I think he hit it out for a throw in. Again, I'm not wanting to make this a Nilsen v Brown thing, but Nilsen has played 10 games. We're talking about leadership and players being a liability. Nilsen arrived at Aberdeen with a reputation for getting himself suspended. Nilsen has made an impressive start, he may well go on to have a fine Aberdeen career and I certainly hope it's more successful than Brown's was at Aberdeen. But I maintain that Brown was a lot better at Aberdeen than some of you are giving him credit for, and a better leader than given credit for too.

Except he was getting a game under Goodwin.. He didn't need dropped, he needed a position change. I remember arguing he should have been playing as a holding midfielder with McCrorie and Ferguson playing around him, which is similar to Nilsen having Shinnie and Clarkson around him. When you say "leader" what are you actually meaning, because I think we're arguing two different meanings here.

No I don't have to accept your rewriting of history. He was very good for the first part of the season, far more than "flashes of his former self once or twice". Hacken home, Hibs home, Hearts home, Rangers home and away are fine in particular that stand out. He retired because he left Aberdeen, there were very little options for him if he wished to pursue his coaching career while still playing at the top. Ferguson and McCrorie were also played out of position. McCrorie especially. Brown's performances had no bearing on theirs. You're just making things up now. Well no-one is near Shinnie. But the debate was Nilsen/Brown. As impressive as Nilsen has been so far, I don't see anything I wasn't seeing in Scott Brown three years ago, except that Nilsen has better players around him in a more organised team.

But how did Brown become a liability? Overplayed? Having to do the work of two or three players because he had people like Funso Ojo around him? Was Brown not a victim of being in a poor team, and also being 36? Do you think even a younger Nilsen would have thrived in that team? I think Brown did well but was overplayed in that wrong role/position. I think you stick that version of Scott Brown in our current team and he'd be doing just as well as Nilsen is.

No Duk on the menu this weekend according to Thelin, too early for him.