RicoS321

In fairness, we were the shitest of all the top six teams last season and the beaks obviously think that playing the scum at home is the be all and end all. In reality, it means a game that we wouldn't be favourites to win in anyway is now away from home (and after they have anything to play for), with St Mirren then having to come to pittodrie in what can only be seen as a major disadvantage for them. As Panda says, this is actually very good for us. If we can get six points at home then we'd definitely finish third. Hearts aren't taking eleven points in the remaining fixtures, and even four points in those two games would likely be enough. Assuming those fixtures aren't bollocks. Edit: I see you've addressed the point already!

If we take him for free, then they can have half of any future transfer fees. Just like Duk. Seems reasonable.

That's a bit harsh. On the reliant robin. Willie Miller keeps calling him a Rolls Royce of a player on the radio too, seems McInnes' original description (which we all probably agreed with after his first couple of games) has stuck. He definitely brings a lot to a team and squad, but he'd probably be in the land rover defender (not the new abominations) category. Very reliable, easy to fix (he's always down injured and is invariably fine) and can run forever.

Wigan offloading Shinnie apparently. Hopefully get that one tied up shortly.

Once you started the thread, I felt I had no choice. It's a form of entrapment.

Alternatively, we double down on the strategy, in the hope that the law of averages will return one good *ayden.

Continuing on, the squad for next season so far (and apologies again to those missed), and a view on whether we should keep or not (or will be outwith our hands): Roos - keep McRorie - leave (outwith our hands probably) Hayes - keep MacKenzie - keep Stewart - leave (fire into the sea) Richardson - leave (cut our losses) Ramadani - keep Barron - leave (outwith our hands probably) Duncan - keep Morris - leave (cut our losses) Roberts - leave (cut our losses) Besuijen - keep (borderline, would be interesting to see if Robson can get anything out of him) Duk - keep (outwith our hands perhaps, although the game yesterday will have shown many teams that he's far from the finished article and might not be worth the investment if not playing every week) Miovski - keep (outwith our hands possibly, but I think we'll get another year, or six months at least, from him despite that header) That leaves a maximum of 14 signed players for next season, with 4 of those definitely not good enough, another 2 likely to leave, with a further 2 possibly leaving, which gives us a minimum of 6 signed players for next season (two of those being McKenzie and Besuijen who probably aren't quite good enough). Of course, we should have a great chance of signing Shinnie, and hopefully MacDonald can be persuaded too. If we take the middle figure of 10 signed players, of which two are squad players (I think we can rely on Hayes to play a good chunk of games for another season), then we'll need at least another 5 players. At last season's rates then we'd need to sign 10 players at least to replace those guys. That's a mammoth task, and a lot of first teamers.

We all know that this thread shouldn't have been started until May, but seeing as it has, is it worth including a review of this season's signings to give an idea of what to expect this summer, and also a break down of the squad for next season so far? That was a rhetorical question, of course it is. Signings Roos - success Miovski - success Duk - success Ramadani - success Stewart - failure Morris - failure Richardson - failure Roberts - failure MacDonald - success Myslovic - failure (borderline, perhaps, potential to turn it round) Loanees Clarkson - success Coulson - failure (borderline, but he hasn't held down a place and has performed worse than Hayes) Shinnie - success Pollock - success Markanday - failure Gorter - success (not going to be here next season, and not going to get minutes this one, but clearly a good goalkeeper) Apologies if I've missed anyone. That's a 50% success rate in terms of signings and a 66% success rate in terms of loanees (Coulson and Gorter both debatable either way). I'd say that's fairly decent, and probably quite indicative of what we can expect in any given season (two windows). Had we not had the exceptional January window of 66% success rate, we'd have been struggling for top 6 in my opinion, but given the tremendous turnover in personnel last summer, that's exactly what we should have expected and also indicative of what will likely happen next season.

His best position is the one he's currently playing in, wing back as part of a 3/5, he can also play right back too. At best, he's a stop gap for centre mid and centre back, you definitely wouldn't want him playing either for long spells. £2M would be an absolutely fantastic bit of business. We will very much miss his athleticism and ability to run with the ball to get us up the park, but his decision making is poor (he was very lucky to get a free kick at one point yesterday when he turned into trouble instead of just keeping going, and that sort of thing happens quite regularly) and is passing is week. I think he's maybe had a couple of assists all season, and it's rare for his final ball to cause difficulties for the opposition. That said, it's a terrible time to be losing him. We've got such a huge turnover of staff this summer, we're already on a hiding to nothing in terms of recruitment, so a known SPFL quantity is of massive benefit. Barron is an interesting one too, it looks like offers are beginning to come in for him. I think he's a great player, who'll go on to have a good career, but I also think he could massively benefit from another year here, especially with Clarkson moving on and leaving that number 6 role as Barron's to lose. Ryan Duncan barely featured prior to signing his new contract, and has featured heavily since, and Barron has hardly kicked a ball since not agreeing a new deal. I wonder if this is a new hard line that the club is taking with young players? I'm not sure I agree with it, and I'd love to see Barron spend his final year here and kick on as I think that would be hugely beneficial for the team.

Also, his post match interview was class. He either gets it or talks like he gets it. Very refreshing.

Brilliant result, fantastic second half performance. Scales was immense today, won absolutely everything, and an amazing deliberate strike for the goal. The front three were poor in the first half, but Duncan and Miovski obviously took the half time team talk to heart as they put themselves about so well in that second period. There was obviously an emphasis on putting pressure on their fullbacks too, with Hayes and McRorie playing much higher which just got us up the pitch and allowed the front players to play. Duk was fairly pish today, but wasn't required! Ramadani did brilliantly and Clarkson is just a phenomenal footballer. Roos' saves also top drawer, he did magnificently.

Hayes signs a one year extension. No brainer really.

Harsh. Van Veen has a great touch and is fairly skilful. He's just very slow. He's having a purple patch this season, which I'd doubt whether he'd replicate again. His movement seems to have improved this season, which is weird for a guy in his thirties, but it suggests that it could be a one off (think Doidge had similar for Hibs one year as an example). He's one of those guys that we'll consistently tell ourselves that we could do better than but we end up signing jet equivalents that don't do better. But we should at least try to sign better rather than settling for a guy who probably won't repeat a season where he's maybe had a fitness spurt or just everything going right.

And my daughter is being forced to watch it this weekend. For research purposes.

Good to see the PFA backing Shinnie. Hopefully something comes of that. It'd be nice to see other players, perhaps even clubs, back him publicly too. The extra game pish has to change. That's a guy potentially playing for his future (here or elsewhere) with only a handful of games left to play. It's outrageous that some bureaucratic, arrogant fucker can demean a player in such a fashion.

I actually thought the Morelos one was the correct decision in the end. Nobody seemed to realise that the rules had been changed a while prior to that (including the ref), to allow for a little petulance. Regardless, you're right about subjectivity, but I didn't imagine at all that a subjective process could come to that conclusion. To the point that concluding that the appeal was frivolous has lost all subjectivity and is actually biased (not against the Dons, but against questioning authority as you say). I can't think of a better example of a borderline decision that the appeals process is designed for. I'd love to have seen the club publish it's defence in the statement. I do wonder about the rule that states: "The Claim had no prospect of success". I guess that is there to catch an invalid claim, like appealing violent conduct. At the very least, the SFA should be forced to tell us which rule they have applied in the additional punishment (13.21.8.1.3).

If anything, asking for a review with a new panel is a little bit frivolous. Another three matches?

13.21.8.1 In the event of a Claim being dismissed the Tribunal must then Determine whether: 13.21.8.1.1 The Claim had no prospect of success; 13.21.8.1.2 The Claim was an abuse of process or a delaying tactic for the sanction originally imposed; 13.21.8.1.3 The Claim was frivolous. I don't think it can be frivolous (it could, but it's unlikely). It can't be because of a delaying tactic, because it was a fast track that would always be settled prior to the next match but I suspect it could be a technicality that means it had no prospect of success. Perhaps because it was "serious foul play", which can't be appealed? Edit: or can only be appealed for mistaken identity type reasons. It's a fair trawl through the rules like.

My apologies..... That's fucking unbelievable. Nothing remotely frivolous about the appeal. This borderline case is surely exactly what the appeals process is for?

Disgusting. I'll get back to you in May when this thread should be started.

I watched ICT scrape past cove at the weekend, and I think they're in with a chance.

That's correct, thanks. I actually don't mind foster as a pundit in fairness. His remit is to ask simple questions and not stray too far into a topic, which he does well.

Absolutely rank. Cheered on by the usual wankstains no doubt.

They're not throwing the book at him. They're not going to overturn it either, but there's a very good case to be heard for it not being a red, it's an incredibly contentious decision given that it was a follow through. They can only extend the ban for a frivolous appeal, and it certainly isn't that. He's clearly in control and I think that can be proven by the fact that he pulls his leg back. The county player is much less in control and arriving late (again, not a red). I think that the ref got it right (and had a clear view of it) in real time, however at the very least there is a strong argument that it should have only been a yellow even after the slow motion, out of context, pish. I think that's how the club will make their case too.

Exactly. He's a conventional number 9. He's also being doing okay with his hold up play since Goodwin went. He's a very good team player, with a great understanding of where to move. There are signs of late that the two are forming a partnership, and Miovski is integral to that. Duk's game intelligence, or lack of, is what will put some teams off that would otherwise take a punt on him. Together they're doing well, especially in the two rather than with Duk out wide. Miovski has been unlucky not to get a goal in the last couple of games after being in good positions.