Superstar Tradesman

Three at the back isn't really what I'd call setting your stall out defensively.

I see Boris still made it to work on his bike.

Those who panic over loosing the odd game here and there really need to take a good, hard, long think about things. Even the team in the 80s would loose from time to time. Get over it.

Don't stand so close to him.

You mean the new stadium isn't close to completion yet?

The field of play: Any other random pictures you'd like to post? I'm bored, someone amuse me, is it the weekend yet?

That wouldn't look any better in black and white.

Fashion police?

I'm not overly bothered by what they're up to. I'm just interested to know if we gave some of them a hard time for all the wrong reasons or if more clubs down there will be alerted to the fact there may well be some decent players up here.

His head and his heart are certainly in the right place but his shoes are on the wrong feet and he's also got his arse and his elbow confused.

I remember reading some time ago that McNaughton was a hit down south but how have the other lads gotten on who left us recently? Clark scored a wonder goal deflection on his debut having came off the bench having not touched the ball up until that point but what do their fans make of him now? How's Baz Nicholson fairing against the bigger, stronger lads down south? We all know what happened to Anderson but what are the locals making of Hart? Anyone still keep an eye on ex-players, know them personally or bother to check up on them on other team's chatsites?

I'm surprised that so many are worried about getting in suitable replacements. The team now looks more balanced now than it ever did. Folk lament that we still haven't replaced Anderson but we had a great run in Europe, two semi finals *cough* and now we're back in the mix this year without him. Nicolson who took a while to get going but was chipping in with a fair few goals and regularly playing well before he left, seems to have been forgotten already. Smith who has been injured forever, will I'm sure be welcomed back by all of us but there's not really been a huge gap left in the space where he should be every Saturday. Maybe we have more strength in depth than we give the team credit for?

The Teddy Scott thing was written with tongue firmly in cheek. What I'm trying to say is that folk have said "I won't be going" purely because it's Darren's gig. What happens if Man United or another team of such stature gets pulled in, are they going to stick to their guns just because it's his testimonial? Poor show if that's the case and I for one am embarressed to know that they're 'supporting' my team. As for it being sentimental bollocks - If there's ever any time for sentimentallity then I'd suggest that a testimonial for one of our longest serving players is probably that time.

It’s been well publicised that not all fans think JC is doing a good job. Obviously they’re wrong but let’s not start another one of those threads. A trend that I’ve noticed during his time here and one that alerts me to the fact he’s a good manager is that we don’t want any of our players leaving. Those that have made the move like Hart, Anderson, Clark and McNaughton were all courted by other clubs, Barry Nicolson fancied a change and didn’t have long to wait until someone offered him a fresh start. Lovell and Stevie Crawford more or less were shown the door but both found clubs straight away. Now this week there’s Seve rumours flying around about whether he’ll leave and if those rumours are to be believed then a few clubs are also keen. We had a revolving door for both players and managers for quite sometime and although we’ve had a fair few changes under JC, I certainly don’t remember loosing much sleep prior to JC’s arrival. So is this because he has an eye for player and can identify ones that other lesser managers can’t? Or is he just getting the best out of them when other clubs and managers failed? Is it the training that’s improved these guys? Could other managers not convince them to take the loooooong, arduous drive up the A90 and he’s been the difference in these negotiations? All of the above, none of the above or something else completely? Thoughts?

Well there you go. I just thought he was a pal of Sir Alex and used to sleep on the snooker table when he missed the last bus back to Ellon. My point was that if someone behind the scenes gets honoured with a testimonial, then someone who has played in the first team for over 10 years certainly deserves one.

We need someone who gets stuck in but never looses his cool with the ref. Someone who is experienced and who knows the other teams, grounds and competitions inside and out. Someone who lives and breathes AFC and has the club at heart. A "Mr Aberdeen" if you will.

Zander is the joker at the club and although he could lead by example on the park, I still think he's got a lot of growing up to do.

How's that bypass coming along?

Bollocks. He's been a great servant for the club and although he's not the most gifted, he's easily worthy of a testimonial. I'm sure most of us attended Teddy Scott's testimonial. A man who had a broom cupboard at Pittodrie full of empty champagne bottles, old scarves and more stinky used football shirts than Craig Bellamy, Jim Hamilton and Nicolas Anelka combined. Other than that I'm not really sure what Teddy did for us to warrent 20,000 people turning up to honour him? He certainly never put us through to the last 32 in the UEFA cup. He never robbed the ball off of Rab Douglas and gave us the best Xmas present ever. He never lept like a salmon and nodded in the goal that gave us a trip to Berlin. Nor did he jump ship to other teams when he's been offered a better deal because he's one of us. Personally I'm pwoud, vewy pwoud we have a player like Darren Mackie at our club.

I don't think he's been a stand-out other than the last couple games, which funnily enough coincides with him looking for a new contract. Up until then he was making the same silly mistakes as the rest of the back line, which saw us loose the first load of games. In otherwords I think Andy Considine could fill his shoes quite easily and for half the speculated wages. Seve hasn't scored in God knows how long. Zander, Andy and Charlie all have which leaves him in the same bucket as Foster. His long throws never seem to cause any problems for the opposition so I really don't think I'd loose too much sleep if he was playing for someone else. Kerr and McDonald have replaced him and Nicolson in the middle of the park and I'd say that he'd struggle to get a game there now in front of those two. [quote author= link=topic=7453.msg115097#msg115097 date=1233056451]Aluko going to the Old Firm?!? Most moves that are touted in the press are utter sh*te so to use that as basis for one side of a debate is completely pointless. Whether they're true or not we'll probably never know. But even if it is speculation, where's Seve's name in the papers? [quote author= link=topic=7453.msg115097#msg115097 date=1233056451]As for the Scotland squad point, we all know how Aberdeen players are treated when it comes to selection, and to be fair to Severin he's up against some really good players for a place in the Scotland midfield (Ferguson, Fletcher, Brown, etc.). Fair enough but Miller and Langfield have been mentioned due to call offs, there's been Scotland B team meetings, the Karin Cup and our youngsters in different age catagories are all skirting about the teams. Let's not kid ourselves, Seve maybe experienced but he's not good enough for a first team place these days and only picked up one(?) cap when he was at the top of his game. Even if the aforementioned were all injured, there are probably another half dozen who would go in there ahead of him and not because of who he plays for. [quote author= link=topic=7453.msg115097#msg115097 date=1233056451]Also, how'd you know no-one came in for him? Just because it's not in the press doesn't mean there was no interest. Well he was looking for a move and never got one. That to me says nobody of any merit was looking for his services. If it was a money move he was after then I'd be surprised if anyone couldn't better the wages we were offering so why did he stay? If he stays I'll be happy enough but the deal is there, take it or leave it Seve. If we were to get money now or keep him until summer then again I'd be happy enough. JC will replace him just as he has done with so many others so I won't be worring about getting someone else in to cover him. [quote author= link=topic=7453.msg115097#msg115097 date=1233056451]The only person that's mentioned Hibs is you. Not my quote. Check the thread again.

Well the quote I read was along the lines of 'Take neither a Jew nor Christian as a friend, this way it will be easier when your time comes to slay them'.

I think a lot of people on here are mixing the Seve we first signed and the one we've had for the past 2 or 3 seasons. He stalled over contract negotiations before and nobody came in for him, he's not had a sniff of the Scotland squad in that time and his name is never banded about for a move to the Glasgow parasites like Miller, Zander or Aluko. If our club captain thinks Hibs is the way forward then I say we need a new captain with more ambition. Whether he stays or not.

I'm half way through The Lion's Game now and so far I'm a little disappointed. It's quite a thick book (by Demille's standard) although it's not taking me long to get through it as his books are easy to digest. But the baddie is so good at what he does that the good guys just haven't got any leads to go on and I'm sort of feeling as bored as they are, waiting around for him to slip up so they can actually start tracking him down! That said, the start of the book was gripping and quite freaky/scary to think about. It's really going to have to pick up pace soon as it's got quite a lot to fit in if they're going to catch this guy in what's left of the book. So far the main guy Corey, who is a great character, has just been twiddling his thumbs and sitting in meetings. Although I sort of want to read the Koran now. It sounds nuts!

Ach, he's only started playing well again round the time he had to earn a new contract. I don't think he really should be getting that much stick from the fans and quite surprised to hear he is (well, sort of, par for the course with some of our 'supporters') but I doubt he'll go anywhere better than here. Slightly better wages in a shitey lower league beckons. Should be easy enough to replace. But who gets the armband?

It's the three miserable looking fuckers under the flag that crack me up. Three generations of boredom right there.