Superstar Tradesman

Just because he's not being touted for a big move doesn't mean he's not good enough for AFC. The club has invested time and money in the lad and it looks like they're finally beginning to reap the rewards from that. In that time they've probably let a handful of other young lads go that weren't showing as much promise as Maguire. Regardless of your thoughts on Maguire, it would be foolish not to offer him a new deal or cash in on him at this stage. I really don't see what the arguement is here?

Well if your preconception of Croatia is some sort of disease ridden hellhole with bulletholes in the sides of buildings from their spat with the Serbs then you're in for a nice surprise. The Romans conquered the country and used the coastline as their holiday retreats and for good reason. I don't think I've seen water as clear as the Adriatic anywhere I've been before. It was jumping off a boat into tap water!

For Athens, see Napoli.

Would Maguire and Stoney fit in the same barrel?

Other than the 47 tickets sold together and the folk posting on here, how big a deal are the Red Army making of this? I just can't seem to muster up any enthusiasm as I keep feeling physically sick thinking about my last trip to Hampden.

He's only been half decent for the past 6 months, if that. I'd make him a final offer and if he refuses then I'd drop the fucker from the squad and see how much interest he gets from not being in the shop window. If he still goes then we get £300-400k development fee (if that's true) and it also sets a president to any other youth players that they still have a long way to go before the can start acting like prima donnas. We made him, we should have the balls to break him.

Couldn't say, never been. That said, I wouldn't rule out using Napoli to fly in and out of. Just don't spend any time there. In a weird sort of way it's an experience just seeing what a mess the place is. *EDIT* Just realised I have a couple snaps on me that sums it all up. This one was taken between Napoli and Sorrento: And this one is taken from the exact same vantage point looking directly down: Again, a nice wee town, not much happening. Stayed there the night and had an ice cream on the beach before I had a dunk in the sea, where I rapidly found myself up to my tits in bits of junk and used nappies. The Napolis really are a filthy bunch of cunts who have spoiled that coastline and I'm only now remembering how much I hate the fuckers for doing so.

Yup, I can also attest to it being a dump. The reason being that you may remember a few years ago that the Mafia run disposal companies threw a wabbler over something or other and went on strike. Meaning that the residents went about dumping all their rubbish wherever they saw fit. Out on the street, down alleyways, out in the countryside, over the nearest hedgerow or straight in the sea. Lovely. I've no idea whether it's still on going but tons and tons of plastic bags, milk cartons, Coke cans, fridges, dishwashers and such, just don't disappear over night. So aye, Naples is a shithole and during the warmer times of the year when the rubbish heats up a bit, it's a stinky shithole. The best thing that could happen is they pile all the rubbish into Vesuvius and it errupts, wiping out the stinking piles of rubbish and the fucking locals who let it come to that. As mentioned before though, Pompeii is a must. Bari I've only passed through and my head was well up my arse after one of the most fucked up, overnight ferries I've ever had the misfortune of being on. So I couldn't comment on that other than to say 'it was sunny' and 'looked alright'. I've also hired a car and drove the Amalfi coastline from Napoli right down to Villa San Giovanni where I took a (thankfully) short ferry across to Sicily. Passed through all the towns on route, most of which are more or less the same - built right on the cliffs, overlooking a small bay, restaurants, hotels and bus tours galore. Sorrento being the biggie and I wouldn't be surprised if the phrase 'tourist trap' was coined right there. It is a beautiful town and I couldn't really fault it other than being extortionate compared to the other towns on the way. There literally is one road in and one road out, it's built on a really steep incline so everything slopes down to the shore so you'll find yourself down there most days having to weave past just about every shop, bar and eatery in town on the way down there and on the way back. Once you're there, you're there! And as the incline is a good 45 degrees you're bound to stop to spend your cash by days end! But fuck it, you're on holiday! The road down the coast is eventful to say the least. Mostly single laned, weaving round the sides of cliffs where you'll have to dodge scooters and buses on blind corners and halfway through narrow tunnels in the rock where you'll have to open your window and pull your wing mirrors in. Cracking views though and shitloads of beaches once you're a bit further south. A few of the Italians I met scribbled on the names of 'secret beaches' on a map I have long since lost that they went to at weekends, away from all the tourist spots. I'll google map it and see if any of them ring a bell if white sandy beaches are what you're looking for? (most of the beaches are black volcanic rock or pebble due to volcanic activity) I also stayed in Amalfi (the town itself) for a few nights. Probably my pick of the towns down that way. It was a lot quieter than Sorrento and really chilled out. I thought it was superb.

What you got to lose? The boy's a legend, I'm sure you'll regret not going a lot more than going along to see fit like. It's probably on a Tuesday night as well, what else you going to be doing that night? Get a ticket and go get entertained by one of the biggest influences in modern music.

Are folk really discussing how much of a nightmare traffic will be when Pittodrie is currently sitting spitting distance from the city centre?

Nail on the head.

Well if he "scores a free kick against St Mirren and a hatrick against Dundee" then he's already as good as Jess. According to Millertime at least.

Speaking of Bond..... I watched The Longest Day recently, which is a black and white flick about the Normandy landings on D-Day. Connery was in it, strangely enough he plays an Irishman (with a thick Scottish accent of course) who bitterly complains that the Scots can't play the bagpipes and the role of the piper who accompanies the soldiers onto the beach should have been Irish. Way to go Sean. Anyway, if you haven't seen the film, it's well worth a watch and if you've never heard the story of Bill Millin (the piper on that day) then get yourself educated sharpish. Story goes that he walked up and down the beach playing the pipes during the landings and he later found out zat ze Germans didn't bother shooting him because they thought he a bit special in the head. Bill Millin - look him up.

This. And this. The board thought they could cut yet more corners and blame it on the fact Setanta went tits up. That failed, we were heading for the drop and they realised for once they'd have to spend money but only after Brown twisted their arms.

*yawnsmilie*

Can't say I give a fuck if I'm going to be honest, in fact I'm not enough bothered enough to click 'Aye' or 'Nit'. I certainly wouldn't go to the lengths of fuming on chatsites or shouting at the boys who waved it. That to me just suggests that AFC fans would rather moan about their own club and fans than concentrate on supporting the team or anything related to the club. Some bright spark decided to change an emblem of a Communist freedom fighter (or terrorist as the saying goes) into a Willie Miller t-shirt a few years ago and nobody seemed to have a problem with that. If it was an Israeli flag or Hammer and Sickle with a couple Euro stars thrown in for good measure(TMSuperstar Tradesman2011) I doubt anyone would bat an eyelid. So why bother getting your red and white knickers in a twist about this? Personally I've a bigger problem with a flag with Taz on it sporting a Dons kit: Never understood that but again, I'm not going to get all cyber-angry.

Craig Brown should start sounding out the Vale full backs and offload a few dozen of our surplus strikers.

Didn't think there was anything wrong with the tackle and have to say that it summed up our whole performance. From where I was sitting it looked like Folly stood off the ball and invited the tackle when he should have made the ball his and been well clear, before having time to pick out a decent cross. We lacked urgency and pulled out of too many tackles.

Couldn't really pick a stand-out but noticable contributions coming from Bebo who looked dead on his feet with 20 mins still to go (too much Xmas pudding?), Langfield who looked solid thoughout and Aluko who never gave up despite the rough justice.

In/oot: In - Haven't graced Pittodrie since 1st game of the season. Prematch: Bobbin Match: Sooth Postmatch: Scotia Prediction: 1-2

Pffffffft. If you're trying to make someone sound inspirational then you're going to have to try a lot harder than a free kick against St Mirren and a hatrick against Dundee. Zero was a decent player who liked a stepover. He'd often beat his man before trying to be smart by beating him again, only to step on the ball and lose it. Very frustrating to watch, actually, Sone is probably a better comparison. Zero shone in a team of Thornleys, Teirnans, Rutkiewiczs and Dadis. Jess stood out in a team surrounded by Bett, Snelders, Shearer, McLeish and McKimmie. Zero didn't even come close.

If Zero had of been called something like Smith or Buchan then I doubt he'd even have registered on anyone's radar. I've seen Mackie or Maguire score just as flamboyant goals as Zero and I've found myself just as frustrated as watching that pair as I did watching 'the Magician'.

Does that mean he'll also be growing back the peado-tache he formerly sported?

Do I detect a hint of optimism?

Telling people what they like to drink would be my guess.