RicoS321

Guessing Ramsay isn't quite fit yet. Don't want to risk our most valuable asset etc.

I have a feeling that was pre Milne. I think there might have been some council shenanigans over the sale of that land too, but can't remember. That said, Milne was discussing bellfield way before anything was built around much of pittodrie, so if we'd acted on pittodrie at that point, we could have gained planning permission prior to any housing development. The housing plans would then have had to be adjusted in consideration of that. That said, the nail was firmly in the pittodrie coffin the minute the RDS was built without thought to the rest of the ground.

That's not correct. The option to not move and wait for something better was (and still is if required) always on the table. If the beach hadn't raised its head, I'm fairly certain Cormack wouldn't be moving us to Westhill, he'd have cancelled the project (probably citing cashflow or whatever easy excuse). Milne was so heavily invested in moving (quite literally, given his preference shares) that he couldn't be objective on Kingsford. He'd literally have moved us anywhere. Milne wasn't working with the options available at all, just one of them.

Some game. Real shame Arbroath couldn't hold on. Even the draw would have given then another glimmer. Anyway, McInnes done a good job there. Not sure Arbroath will do it in the playoffs.

Kingsford was and is wrong in its entirety. It's illiterate. It would have ruined the club. I believe it was a case of anywhere we can for Milne, so focused he was on the move at all costs. The best option was simply to wait. I don't think that Cormack would have been that desperate to move to put forward such a reckless suggestion as Kingsford. Milne's an identikit housing estate builder. Buildings in the middle of nowhere, unintegrated and without thought to their function or surroundings. Cormack very much hinted at Kingsford not going ahead not long after he became chairman (before the beach suggestion), I don't believe he was ever fully behind it. The plan B would have been to stay at pittodrie until other options presented themselves. A far, far better option than moving out of Aberdeen because you've convinced yourself that there's some sort of ticking stadium time bomb. Yep, that was fucking atrocious. However, it did directly benefit the club. I doubt he's taking a share of profit on that move. The capacity conundrum is a really difficult one. I don't see us ever getting a 20K stadium filled regularly, and I completely see the logic in reducing capacity to create scarcity. 18k would sit nicely with me, but I have absolutely no justification for that figure other than it sounds about right. I never miss a big game at pittodrie anyway because I'm basically the best fan ever.

I didn't get the hatred for Milne either, however Kingsford stadium was the most I'll considered nonsense ever suggested, which would likely have seen the end of the club in my opinion. It was the mark of a guy who had probably had enough and just wanted to put something on the table that had a possibility of being built. The fact that so many were in support was staggering. Cormack has immediately canned that idea, which he obviously felt he had to go along with when just an ordinary board member for some weird reason. What is more apparent from Milne's time in charge is that it really isn't an easy job and you're going to make lots of mistakes on the way. Cormack will be no different and I think we'll have to wait a good 5-10 years in order to form a worthwhile opinion. I think we should still criticise where it's due but he does appear to be trying stuff and his intentions seem good (just as they were in Milne's case I believe).

No. It's very possible that the preferred candidates didn't want to come to the Dons (he did say that Glass was one of the ones happy with the change in recruitment strategy).

I haven't listened yet but I don't remember him saying that Glass was first choice, just that he was the best candidate interviewed. I could be wrong.

Another nail in the coffin of the spectator sport.

I'm quite glad that the notion that the good coach under a good manager makes a good manager theory has been disproven.

Yes

Would have thought that the zero experience managers would be such a failure?

Just to clarify, again, I wasn't suggesting Goodwin should have a new manager bounce, just that it is a recorded thing that happens (for obvious reasons). It has little bearing on the long term performance of the team. English pish league - new manager bounce Blog from some weirdo, also English

If we're spending another season with Bates playing on his wrong foot (especially as Dunne is left footed I think), then I'm throwing my season ticket in the sea. Edit: which is frustrating, as it's on my phone.

I was hoping he'd maybe go abroad and see how he gets on. Maybe Barcelona... Wouldn't surprise me if Liverpool went for him though, it's definitely the level he should be attempting to get to in his career. In my opinion he's not going to develop here unfortunately, he's probably too good for a season in the SPFL. To get the best out of his career, he probably needs an interim move abroad somewhere or lower EPL or a Norwich type going for promotion. Obviously a lot could go wrong either way, but I think he's going very far in the game. Hopefully he'll get the right move to make it happen (with a massive sell on).

I didn't suggest it was applicable to us, just that it's a fairly well known phenomenon. It also only "works" if you sack a manager during a season. That only started happening in the nineties with Aitken taking over from Miller. Hegarty gave us a level of improvement after Satan too. Paterson, Brown, McInnes and Glass with no bounce.

I agree, I was just pointing out that it's very common for a new manager to put a run of results together when they first join. For what it's worth, I don't think it really applies to a team that has a high turnover of managers. We might have expected a new manager bounce with Glass (we didn't), but the players that have been there since McInnes must feel a little disillusioned by this point. Similar to when we moved from calderwood through to Brown I expect.

There are many, many examples of that. It even has a name: the new manager bounce. There's studies on it and everything. It apparently has a 15 game average effect. It doesn't always occur. It generally has no bearing on the long term performance of the manager.

He'll undoubtedly take the Alex Smith approach and be ultra cautious. Although strictly speaking a draw is not enough. They'd still have to beat Raith.

Decent game at Hampden, with hearts winning. Some tasty tackles and Gordon pulling off another top class save.

ICT beat Killie tonight. If Arbroath win tomorrow then next Friday will be immense.

Not as bad as the new away goals don't count rule.

To be fair, it sounded like that's what you were saying with your "writing him off already" comment, it was a little hyperbolic. I agree. It's very common in fitba fans, and people in general (not Orlando Don generally I don't think). People quick to point out a very obvious problem, but then unwilling to articulate and discuss the workings. It's why we still have Westminster and a two party system where people can other the other side without the need to think. And question time. I don't listen to any fitba phone ins, but they were riddled with messes making statements instead of asking questions: Presenter: so caller, you're through, what's your question? Mess: aye, Aberdeen are a disgrace, I've never seen us this bad and I've been gan for 57 year Presenter: so what do you think the problem is? Mess: well, it's just nae acceptable, is it? Presenter: okay, so what do you think the problem is? Mess: well, well, we just shouldnae be losing to Ross County. Presenter: great, thanks for your call. That was a seething mess from Aberdeen with an on-air seethe. Then you get moron pundits unable to articulate and discuss basic points about fitba. When they're proven wrong, they revert to the "well, it wasn't like that in my day, I can assure you". Anyway, Goodwin's handling of the Considine situation was completely unprofessional and a huge stain on his judgement and the club's ability to handle themselves without recourse to statements. I expect better. If Goodwin is given autonomy over signings then the change from Glass to Goodwin is already worse for the club in the long term. Telling players they can leave in the summer before the county game lacked basic intelligence. Otherwise, I think he'll turn it around in a couple of seasons if the seething messes are willing to allow it. I don't think Glass was ever that good a manager, so I'm fine with him not getting longer to prove otherwise.

If the intent to replace the goalie is being instigated by Lewis then I think it's fair enough to replace him. If we're replacing him because we don't think he's good enough then I'd be questioning Goodwin. Peak Joe Lewis was the best goalie in the league, peak Hladky was earning a place on the Salford bench. The two are incomparable, not even close. One of the avenues that we're forced to go down at AFC is taking players in that have are perhaps going through a stale part of their career and rekindling any potential they might have had. I see zero reason why that shouldn't apply to players already at the club, and especially under a new manager. I mean, we've heard Goodwin on numerous occasions talking up Matty Kennedy in that regard, who hasn't had a tenth of the career of Lewis. It's clearly confirmation bias because he's tried to sign him in the past, and it's where we need experienced people in the club raising questions to that effect. Why is Kennedy deemed salvageable whilst Lewis is too much work? Both should easily have another 3-4 good years in them before getting to the tough calls you might make with Considine or Brown. Lewis is a good goalie that needs good management and a good defence in front of him.

I'm firmly of the belief that you should never get a goalkeeper that's smaller than your previous one. You should look to get one that's incrementally larger until such time that the goals are completely filled.