RicoS321

Not with our players he wouldn't. McInnes isn't exactly a purist, and..... you might have a point.

Motherwell seem to manage it fine.

We're keeping him. Forever.

It's not just the three year project shite though, it's that the previous three managers have been fucking awful too (I'm not including the trauma of Warnock), and nobody wants another sacking and another search for a new guy. Tonight is definitely on Thelin though. Why Armstrong wasn't off at the same time as Kjartansson, I've nae idea. We needed something to stem the flow of the game, and a double sub would have given them something to think about. Also, the coaching is going wrong on the back three somewhere. Devlin is screaming for help getting back in on Youan, but Milne sits right in the middle rather than come across. He should be reading that one-two and helping out his other defender. Hanley would have up the other end. The reason it's a coaching thing is because even I mentioned this issue before the game, where the back three seem to hold their positions when one goes up, and we constantly lose goals to it. It's on Milne really, but he's a young lad who could have that positioning coached into him. Obviously, there is no mitigating the second. Normally the part of Mitov's game that is reliable. Jensen should have booted him harder. Anyway, a very poor second half. Hopefully he'll start to throw caution to the wind from now on and just play the team that finished from the start every week.

We're having a great last two minutes

It's really two. Nisbet appears to be playing behind Keskinen and Bilalovic.

It's an attempt to draw the other team out. It's fine. We've kept it well generally.

Aye, Armstrong is dropping in quite a bit, generally just buzzing about everywhere. He's a bit of a liability in midfield at times though! Kjartansson playing on their number 22, with Aouchiche on Mulligan when they've got the ball. Karlsson been good, must've heard me slagging him off. Working hard. Good even game. Neither side sitting in, but both quite cagey. Not sure Kjartansson will have the ninety in him. Expect him to be off around the hour. He's been okay.

Aye. Good to see him getting in there though. He just mistimed the run slightly.

Looks correct. Lazetic tends to play further forward than Nisbet does, it's more akin to a 3-4-3 when he's there, although he has recently been pushing on a bit. I expect Kjartansson will sit behind Aouchiche for large parts, with the latter pressing a bit higher, as that's what they do when Polvara is there.

Agreed, but he ran his arse off against Utd and was tiring towards the end. One game a week from him is more than enough.

No, that's disgusting. Why would anyone take pleasure in predicting another's death? Fiver on Attenborough.

Not really. The same formation we play every week, with most players playing in the correct location.

Kjstartansson you could (but shouldn't) say

Nah, this is the transfer and Kjartansson height thread.

Barron runs like he's four feet though.

Don't think so. Maybe marginally more so than Jack, but he doesn't look particularly big or physical. Certainly not close to Polvara in that regard. I'd say Jack is probably the correct comparison all round, except in the category of dirty Judas rat.

It has been Devlin a lot too, but he didn't seem to do that against Utd, with Milne taking over. It didn't work. A lot of our goals (or opportunities given away) are caused by us giving simple ball away in midfield (see Aouchiche against Utd) when one of our back three is advanced. They get caught on the turn and make an arse of a simple clearance they would normally deal with, and the other two lose their bearings and fail to cover. It seems to happen most weeks, punished or unpunished. It should be easy to coach the cover though. When one steps up, the other two form a central two, and only return when the player is back in position. That would be at the cost of giving space wide left or right, but you'd fancy our chances against a winger running from deep rather than a one on one with a striker in behind. Maybe the option of the midfielder dropping in is better though, if they have the discipline.

Think we'll stick with the back three, at least until the windae opens. Probably a good idea away to a team that also plays a three. Kjartansson and Aouchiche for me, with Gyamfi and Lobban wide, Keskinen, Nisbet and Bilalovic the front three. 2-7. McGrath with two goals to put them 2-0 up at half time. Boyle with a second booking for diving, and us to get seven quick goals in the last ten minutes.

This. Kjartansson immediately looks like he'll read the game better than Dante. He is already in position, covering fullbacks, sitting in or pushing up as required. He doesn't need to have a lot of strength, he can just slow the game down until we're back in position. Polvara generally has to put in a challenge because he's a yard or two behind where he needs to be, and puts himself in the position to be out-muscled, which he's going to be 50% of the time. I think Polvara is better with the long raking pass, and is very good with both feet. In a "better the devil you know" sense, I hope he stays. He's a fantastic utility player (Dom Ball, but much better). He'll play 20 games at least for us every season. If he can be taught to be more aggressive he'd be very good. Also, as an argument against my own suggestion of moving to a back three, it is important to factor in that most teams in the league are playing a back three at the moment, and it's often pragmatic to match up. It just seems that we're asking a defender (either Devlin or Knoester) to be an auxiliary midfielder for a lot of the games at Pittodrie, and it might be better having a midfielder being an auxiliary defender. I think Kjartansson might be the only one capable though (Nilsen five years ago).

I'm wondering if we might change back to a back four soon, which might change my mind on a midfielder requirement. Aouchiche, in my opinion, is now fulfilling the Ramadani role. He covers a shite tonne of ground in a game, and is technically decent, if not brilliant. Not immensely strong in the tackle but doesn't shirk a challenge either. Secondly, I think Kjartansson looks like he might be a player. He reads the game very well, that much is obvious, and he reminds me very much of Jack (rat Hun cunt etc) in that midfield - positionally very good and so doesn't need to fly into challenges, and also covers the fullbacks. I'm thinking a 4-1-4-1, with Aouchiche and Armstrong in front of Kjartansson, who drops in to help the defence when necessary. A striker, then, might be the priority. Plus a fast as fuck wide player. Done. We could also have the back three, of course, in a 3-1-4-1-1, but that feels like too many numbers.

I thought it was a little bit 2006ish if I'm honest. You'll learn. English prick likely isn't acceptable either, and I expect it to be gone from acceptable lexicon by the end of the decade. Hun bastard, and Tim cunt, are eternally merited, and should be used in a balanced way that conveys the correct amount of hate without being so overused that they lose their spitefulness. Hopefully @BigAl can keep tally and moderate if either of those two terms borders on light-heartedness.

2 pens?

Someone wrote a poem instead of a limerick, which must've broken the thread.

It's not that interesting. How many songs has Karlsson got to his name? None Because he's a dick.