RicoS321

Aye, pretty much how I see it. Especially the 11-1. It showed spectacularly that he didn't understand his business (good hoose builder <> good fitba chairman). It's just nae that instinctive for him. I would add though, that he's been in the mix for a long time now. I think that familiarity didn't help when the hun debacle came about. He deals with the other chairman regularly, especially the Tim, and they all actively work together in what seems to be a "lets just keep things ticking over" mode, with very little invention and very little change. That familiarity has led to him, essentially, towing the line. However, I'd expect stronger plays by both Fraser and Yule who, for men in their position(s), keep a relatively low profile. It's rare in business to see a company chairman have such responsibility without strong direction of both CFO and CEO. Our - as supporters - enemies are the SFA and perhaps the huns/tims, as well as the TV companies. Those are Milne's facilitators. There's always going to be a huge disparity. We're never likely to be represented by someone with such opposing views.

Nope. What they're saying makes entire sense if you've bothered to read the thread. It's been outlined perfectly. The basic points are: You can't increase height of the South stand due to the flats behind. You can't increase height of the Merkland due to the flats behind. Those aren't planning considerations to be debated, they're red-lines. You simply can't do it. What we don't have - and what I, and others have been asking for, and should have been provided for by the club - is the exact measurements and proposals that make up the 12,000 seater stadium proposed. The reason for this is to verify that figure. That figure (such an accurate figure I mean) should not have been obtainable without drawings and plans, so I'd like to see those plans in order that qualified people can verify them (i.e definitely nae you, and nae me either). That would show the exact dimensions proposed and any assumptions made. That should be a reasonable request for any fan/member of a club that is being asked to move from their home of 100+ years. The reason I raise is questions is because: No evidence for the 12,000 seater stadium has been provided There is no good reason for not providing that evidence if it is accurate The 12,000 figure was changed from 12,500 without explanation Post-Loirston, Milne was on record saying that we would have to look again at Pittodrie The above never happened, but would not have been raised as a possibility if the 12K figure was accurate and the club had drawings to back it up I believe the club has sought to present that figure as being as low as possible Because of that, I then believe that a larger figure could be achieved if seeking to maximise, rather than minimise the number I would accept a 17K stadium at Pittodrie over a 20K stadium at Kingsford I believe that with imagination and creativity, that figure could be reached I'm exceptionally surprised at the number of people who are happy to accept that it isn't possible based on being presented with no evidence That's about it.

Do you mean the plans that the club submitted for planning when selling Pittodrie a couple of years back? They were public if so, with no attempt to hide them. On the club website as I remember.

Pittodrie impressed me the most because it wasn't in Westhill

I was. Not specifically you, or members of this site, of course. But dons fans. The club have approached this with the "we know what's best for you" approach (also known as the "don't ask any questions" approach). As they did with Loirston. They're telling us what's best for us. In short, they've treated the support like idiots (many have lived up to that....), instead of involving them in a transparent project - like Hertz have done with their new stand. There was no scrutiny allowed for the 12K figure and no evidence presented, but fans were expected to ignore all that shite and "get behind" kingsford. That's not the way a football club should be run. Whether fan-owned or not, the club should be run as something more than a business. They're a private company that can do what the fuck they like after all, but in reality the club should be treated as an entity that transcends existing the ownership who are mere custodians. You're right, the lack of collaboration with key stakeholders has led to that divide (the cornering of the council especially - like they've learned nothing from the Loirston project) but, for me, the biggest stakeholder is the support, and they certainly haven't been fully involved.

I think yer missing some pretty important details in there though! Whilst I obviously don't believe the 12K figure, suggestions like this are pretty unhelpful as they can easily be shot down (for example, we need more area behind the stands than previously because of changed regulations). This makes it seem like there's no possible way that it could be built, when really we need to see the drawings. As AK says, it should have been a collaborative process. Everything should have been transparent, detailed and discussed.

All a bit contrived I'd say. It's like wrestling these days. I heard Johnny Hayes is going to be providing a translation service for McGregor.

Yep. Mentioned on hundreds of occasions. They used to say 12.5K, but it went down to 12K for some reason.

Nonsense. I was at Westhill shopping centre yesterday lunch time and could have been killed. I couldn't sleep last night thinking that perhaps, because I have not been supportive of the stadium, it was me they were after. I might phone into the radio or something. That should help.

Consistency I expect. He'll blow hot and cold. Not just cause of age of course, but the position he plays in can be difficult if a full back gets the better of you earlier in the game. As happened to GMS at the weekend. The full back won the first few races and had the upper hand from then on. We've paid £250K for a guy that plays in his position also, and McInnes will want to give GMS every opportunity to repay that fee (I don't believe he will, he looks the same as he always has - inconsistent and reactive). I don't think it is unreasonable yet in terms of him starting games. However, we've got the additional problem of having too many senior players in attacking roles on the bench. We need to get rid of at least one, or at least demote one in order to ensure more game time for Wright. It's the old issue of feeling that you have to play players just because they've been signed. McInnes addressed this pretty quickly with Storey, giving him little game time, so I expect he'll do similar with Maynard too as the season progresses. That leaves just Rooney to keep happy, and I imagine that May will make way over the next few games to give Rooney a run in the striker role for the last 20 minutes of games, with Maynard featuring less and less. I suppose it's a case of keeping players happy, and I suspect that younger players are easier to inform that they're nae getting a game than guys you've just attracted to the club with the promise of fitba. They suffer from familiarity I suppose. I don't think McInnes will be alone in that though.

That's not how the application was been made though, so I don't think they can do that, it'll be all or nothing wouldn't it? The club will be wanting to force their hand.

Nah, the loans thing was way back. They've had more than enough time to get something sorted after several attempts. The most recent being the BOD one with RGU that fell through very late in the process because of access times or something (stuff that should have been made clear on day one). That makes a mockery of the various statements about it being necessary to have training ground and stadium in the same location - we were more than happy for that not to be the case very recently. The scaremongering around what will happen if the stadium doesn't go through is a little crass like, and using the training as any part of that is massively disingenuous. Despite the shite transport plan, I think it'll sail through in a few weeks.

I think it's because the Pistachio is actually a seed and nae a nut. But I could be wrong (I'm nae). So it's seed is protected. It's just the way it evolved via natural selection. Yer earlier pistachios offered nae protection to their seeds, and only the eens with the protective shell survived to give birth to yer later pistachios. Question is, do we move beyond natural selection shortly? I reckon so. Better than jesus, that's us.

Jesus forgives your intolerance of others.

1st September and the midweek after, against Lithuania and Malta. Nae real surprise regarding the squad. Shinnie should be ahead of McGinn, but not really too bad otherwise. Nae Rhodes unsurprisingly, nae Burke either. Seeing as that inconsiderate fucker Nips didn't provide a link whilst angrily starting a thread, here it is.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40999223

Missed an absolute sitter against Hamilton, which didn't help him. It's not that though, he's capable of the odd bit of skill and effort here and there much like Goodwillie, but it's hiding his massive weaknesses. May was available nearly every time Considine got the ball at the weekend. He was available everytime McLean, Tansey or Shinnie got the ball. He made the space in front of the defence his domain, allowing us to retain the ball high up the park. He does this by putting his body between the defender and the ball. He's either getting a free-kick or bringing someone else into the game, or just misplacing a pass. Maynard came on, and immediately the defender was just taking that step beyond him and picking up the pass into his feet. He's a yard short to every single pass, never in front of his man and when he gets the ball he panics (at one point at the weekend just headering the ball into open space just to get rid of it). It's exactly the same as Goodwillie was (other than he doesn't do that stupid falling over and holding his head thing), hiding in open space, pretending to make the run for the over the top ball rather than take the ball into feet. Rooney is a yard short of pace at the moment but he's still making the runs and is just a bit short on finishing and opportunities. Rooney is short of form, Maynard has forgotten what to do. Doing the easy bit like occasionally tanking around to close down a defender will only take you so far. He's not going to make it. I suspect he's only still here because we've only just signed him. I think January will be the end of him. The problem for me is that he's taking that space on the bench because we have signed him. But as Nips says, we're unlikely to see a youngster get on anyway, so maybe it's fine to keep him on the bench.

Maynard is gash and shouldn't have been signed. I suspect it was a stop gap in case we didn't get in another striker. Would like to see him moved on as he's taking up game time that would be better served for others (Wright should have been on way before him at the weekend for example). Rooney will be here for as long as is required. Two good strikers fighting for one position is fine. Punt Stockley and promote youth. Given May's injury record over the last couple of seasons, I'd expect to see lots of Rooney this season. Unfortunately, I think McInnes will continue with the Rooney wide left shite for some time to come as he tries to keep him happy and fit with some game time.

Just watched the highlights back on Red TV. Exactly as I rembered it - fairly pish. Disagree with Rocket, thought Stewart was good when he came on, played some nice stuff and unlucky not to score after a great run. Every defender made a mistake that could have resulted in a goal yesterday, as did Tansey and Shinnie with sloppy passing, with Christie putting the icing on the cake with a beautiful assist for theirs. I understand he's young and won't play every game, but Wright should have been on that pitch for at least the last 30 minutes. GMS was pash, as was Christie. Bringing on the black Goodwillie is embarrassing, he's gash. As Goodwillie, Parker, Monakana, Burns etc etc have before, he's taking up game time that should be afforded to our youngster. McInnes needs to quickly see that he's pish and stop bringing him on and let him go in January. That's the trouble with having a big squad of senior players, you have to keep playing them. Rooney out wide with Wright on the bench is nonsense, although I understand he probably did it just to let him get some game time and offer some hold up play out wide. May and O'Connor were good, McLean and maybe Tansey pass marks. Rest were pish.

Meh. He's just an al' Ant or Dec.

Yep, out of contract in the summer. Very similar to Considine, decent on the ball and strong. However, he's pap on his left foot. That was his major problem last season, McInnes kept playing him left side because he didn't trust Taylor (correctly) to make contact with the ball on his wrong foot. A good run of games on the right side of defence will see him come good, which he was crying out for last season.

That sounds like it could be pretty entertaining to be honest.

You do realise that everyone has Simmie and Durrant on their user name? It's the Donstalk equivalent of "Likes" (and dislikes). You've regularly asserted in this thread that "it's just a forum". You're correct. So calm the fuck doon.

Yep, an excellent point.

I hate union square, it's a fuckin weird place. I have been to it though. Once or twice. I like the improvements to the train and bus station. The rest is gash. The food places are pap. I'd rather have seen an open space with trees.

Ace min, looking forward to it. Enjoy your holiday!