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Pretty sure Brown will be back - Goodwin said he just didn't risk him v United as he wasn't fully fit, but the extra few days should be enough. Robbie Neilson actually been getting it tight from Hearts fans for months, they're not happy at all with the football they're playing (only Aberdeen that gets the unrealistic expectations thing thrown at us though).

Thing is, all the teams above us in the hunt for fourth have been rubbish too. If they were good, they've be more than three points away from us. If we go up a level, we're better than all of them. Hibs, Motherwell, Dundee United, St Mirren. Livingston too if you like since they're on the same points as us. New manager or not, no excuses for not finishing in a European spot. Well we've got a new manager, so there's a transition there. We've got an entirely new defence and a young one at that. Two of them (the youngest two) have been absent with injuries. Our front line for next season will be Ramirez, Watkins & Besuijen. They haven't played together yet. And Funso Ojo is still trying to transition into a footballer from whatever sport it was he was playing before.

I don't think fourth this season and third next season is too lofty an expectation. We're currently only three points off fourth. We were, for a brief time, fourth last weekend when leading against Motherwell. The team in fourth (Hibernian) are similar to us in that they are in transition. I'd say our biggest threat to fourth is Dundee United, so tomorrow is a big one. Lose tomorrow and it becomes difficult, but still not impossible. I also think much of Goodwin's team building has been done for him. It's a relatively young team. It's just a case of fixing a few things rather than overhauling the squad. In summer we might lose Ramsay, Ferguson and possibly Brown. Two of those would go for sizeable transfer fees. Ojo & McGeouch might leave. So we'd be looking at bringing in 5/6 players - that's a normal summer turnover.

On Scott Brown - I'm not sure he will go to St Mirren. I think he'll have a petted lip for a while because his mate got sacked, and will probably sound St Mirren out, but I think most people would be advising him not to quit playing & take on what is still a relatively big job at St Mirren so soon. Hopefully Goodwin gets the arm around him and convinces him the Dons are going to the very top and he should stick around for the journey.

Pitch inspection at 10am. Probably benefits us if it is called off injury wise and gives Goodwin time on training ground with players. But, if it goes ahead Goodwin in charge apparently - not shirking it and doing the watching from the stand thing which always annoys me with new managers.

Jamie McGrath, Conor McCarthy, Ethan Erhahon, Cammy MacPherson and Jake Doyle-Hayes and most recent sighing Alex Greive are all young players who have been brought in and developed under Goodwin. Jay Henderson has come through their youth system and into the first team. Would suggest St Mirren's youth system not being as productive as Aberdeen's is more down to investment from the club rather than anything to do with Goodwin.

Almost forgot we have a game today, so has everyone else going by the thread. Feel we need a win, but think it'll be a draw. Will Brown play? If he does is this his last game? What sort of reception does he get? I think likely he'll be injured anyway.

Scott Brown - I'd be gutted if he left. Think there's still a good player there, a strong captain, and he'll be a huge loss. Also think it's fair too early for him to be thinking of becoming a manager. But, if it does happen, does Glass go there as assistant?

He's five days older than me, which is unsettling. I already refuse to accept the entire playing squad are younger than me now.

I do like Aberdeen's strategy here of interviewing Jack Ross, which means we'll pretty much accept anyone to avoid having him announced as boss. In the same way he's announcing a 16,000 capacity stadium so that we'll all be happy with a 17,000 capacity one. Well played Dave.

You've mixed up "having a big budget" with "having 10 times the budget of your nearest challenger." At Celtic, only twice was Lennon up against a decent Rangers team - his first full season (they finished 2nd) and last season (finished 2nd). Every other season Mark McGhee could have won the league.

Tommy Wright's teams were brutal to watch, and he's an arsehole. That's two reasons to not want him. I don't think pointing out Lennon's failures and weaknesses is "pedantic" but each to their own.

Will likely be the new manager's first home game, Fergie coming home, big pre-match display, and "the New Firm derby" if they sort of thing tickles you. Gutted I'm working otherwise I'd definitely be driving up for it so not surprised ticket sales are good. Just think, if Cormack had his way with a 16,000 capacity stadium, it not only would be sold out but around 500-1000 who currently have tickets would have been turned away.

As someone pointed out, McInnes didn't arrive with much more experience than Goodwin and, for the first 4 years at least, did alright. People look at St Johnstone & think because they won those two cups last season, that every manager of a small club should be aiming for that. Lets be honest here, it was a fluke in a weird season when nothing was normal. If you look at the smaller clubs in the Premiership, the normal is that they don't win anything. Motherwell - nothing since 1991. Dundee - I'm not even sure but haven't won the Scottish Cup since 1910. Livi one trophy in their history, Ross County I think it's one in their history, etc. What Goodwin has done at St Mirren might not look impressive, in the same way that Celtic fans wouldn't look at McInnes making four cup finals & staying top four as impressive. But, for the size of club he's managing, he's actually doing very well which is why you'll struggle to find many St Mirren fans who want him to leave. He's earned the chance to take on a big club with five times the budget to see what he can do. If it's not us, maybe it's Hibs or Hearts. Would I prefer a big name - of course, in the same way that if you had offered me a 40-year-old Ibrahimovic or Christian Ramirez with an average goal scoring record, I'd take Zlatan all day long. But Ramirez has done alright, and maybe Goodwin does too. People talking up Hibs finishing third as an achievement. Aberdeen were really poor that season. Hearts were out of the division. Hibs didn't at any point appear to be impressive. Hibs fans were desperate to get rid of Ross, even when he finished third he was getting slated. He bottled very winnable semi-finals. They were far too inconsistent. He didn't really build anything at Hibs. The reason I rate Goodwin over Ross is because Ross, twice, has had a chance at a big club & not done the business. This is third time lucky if you like. Goodwin hasn't and there's still that unknown about him which is intriguing, but from what I've seen he has the ability to make a small club hard to beat, deal with the loss of big players, and with a bit of money you wonder what he could do with that team. And that makes me wonder what he could do with us. Are Lennon's stats good though? Winning trophies with Celtic when you have the biggest budget - most managers in the Premiership could probably do that. At Hibs, they were eighth when he left them. Lennon actually comes across as a manager who hasn't moved with the times. I'm told his training was really poor. Tactically he was poor. That Celtic team unravelled spectacularly last season. Yeh, it was a bit of a freak season, but they were in a mess when Postecoglou took over.

Do you want a hug? I know this new manager lark is stressful for all of us but try to remain positive pal.

This is actually the first time since the Rangers game that I'm actually getting to watch an Aberdeen game so I for one am very excited. Presume McCrorie & Lewis out? Think I'd rather have Robbie Winters in goal over the current options. Last time we had interim bosses in charge it led to the debuts of Ramsay & Mackenzie. So fully expecting Barron, Ruth and Shingler all to get a run-out, and a year from now us to be turning down bids from Sunderland & Sampdoria.

You weren't "scrutinised" for suggesting foreign managers. It was because you suggested three crap ones while beating your chest about being ambitious.

Putting two and two together here, but Scott Burns reporting There have also been applicants with English Premier League experience and with top Championship CVs. Jokanovic may well be one of them.

It's actually two cup semi-finals. And as someone else pointed out, technically he's foreign. You're won over now aren't you? I'll send you my PayPal details so we can get the Goodwin flag ready for his appointment.

Yeh, and I explained my reasons for Goodwin. Yours is "they're foreign" and "once made a semi-final".

If we appoint Jack Ross, it would be as disheartening as it was when we appointed Alex Miller. He reminds me a lot of him - dour in interviews, no real coherent plan with Hibs, showed a bit of promise as a younger manager but hasn't progressed into anything other than very ordinary. Give us something to be excited about Cormack? Fuck it, let HaarDon pick the next boss.

What am I missing here? Some guy made a semi-final, one guy won promotion from a lower league. Hold me back.

And what's so ambitious about the three guys you've touted, aside from the fact they're foreign? What's Pedro Caixinha doing these days?

I was asking the same this time last year when he was being touted to replace McInnes. I wanted evidence he could actually have a sustained level of consistency and wasn't just a one-off (ala Callum Davidson. To be fair, after that he took them to the Scottish Cup semi-final, and now has St Mirren back in the top six (which doesn't sound exciting but they haven't done it since 1986 or something). They draw a lot of games (11 this season) but a lot of that is down to lacking a goalscorer. I mean, they're playing Curtis Main up front. But they're generally solid at the back (13 clean sheets compared to our five). But on the other hand they're actually not long off an 11-game run without a win. Although you could also point out within that run they drew with Celtic, and actually only lost five of them. So aye, I do tend to think with a bigger budget he could do something with us. Just please not Jack Ross.

He'll be in Scotland this week too, save us having to pay flights to Norway Goodwin will jump at the Aberdeen job. Also I'm fairly sure Glass had a big say in transfers - certainly Polvara would have been one of his.