Good v Evil 2010/11 Round 1

[glasgow sheep]

So what do we think for Sunday?

Apart from the fucking ridiculous kick off time (we're leaving Glasgow at 0830 FFS fuck sake)

 

After two good wins followed by two poor/terrible losses we seem to have steadied the ship with a draw and win both after coming from behind.  More than that we actually progressed in a cup game that we should, on paper, be winning (how often have we said that in the last few years?).

 

With so many players missing however and their new winger liable to have the freedom of Pittodrie I'm pretty worried about the game.  Yes we have a great record at home vs them but will that be enough?  I doubt we'll be seeing Wattie come up here playing for a draw as he has done in the recent past for example.

 

Fingers crossed big Vern gets on the score sheet again and the defence manage to keep their wits about them for more than 10seconds and we might get something.......I'll take 0-0 now.

 

 

[maverick sheep]

I'm worried we could need to score 2 or 3 to get anything from the game.

 

I'd go for;

 

Langfield

McArdle Diamond Ifil Vuja

Folly

Mackie Young Paton

Maguire

Vernon

 

Can't see any option other than play very narrow in defence and just hope they can't win headers in the box. I'd maybe even play Jack instead of Paton or Young.

[manc_don]

Not confident about Sunday at all, with all the players with any creative nouse injured it would appear we will struggle to get anything. I think we're going into this game with possibly the weakest team for a long time. That said though, who knows, there could be a spirit within the team that thrives on a backs to the wall mentality. A draw would do me fine right now.

[glasgow sheep]

I'm worried we could need to score 2 or 3 to get anything from the game.

 

I'd go for;

 

Langfield

McArdle Diamond Ifil Vuja

Folly

Mackie Young Paton

Maguire

Vernon

 

Can't see any option other than play very narrow in defence and just hope they can't win headers in the box. I'd maybe even play Jack instead of Paton or Young.

 

Did we establish if Paton was alive or not?

[glasgow sheep]

Donztok Gaylords iz gay lol!!!

 

Dinna worry aboot it please - just tell us yer breakfast plans followed by some capslock...

 

I'm hivin a bacon roll wi broon saas then WE'RE GONNA PUMP THE HUN C*NTS!!!

 

ye catch my drift, yeah?

 

Breakfast plans?

Beer on teh PARTEE BUZZS!

[Harcus]

Sausages, Lager and 4-0 DANDY DONZ!!

[glasgow sheep]

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/aberdeen/199012-do-aberdeen-only-raise-their-game-against-the-old-firm/

 

If there were a list of lazy Scottish football clichés, somewhere amongst the annals of journalistic torpor of “Aberdeen should have been relegated in 2000”, “the SPL holds the Old Firm back” and “there was a New Firm in the 1980s” you would find the firmly held theory that Aberdeen only raise their game against Rangers.

 

The theory goes that these matches are so important to our season that we focus all our attentions on beating our deadliest rivals, at the expense of our league form. Previously under-performing players will find a new lease of life, fans will increase the volume levels and the Dons will find new levels of cohesion in these two games.

 

Let’s take the time to kill this myth dead. Whether it is Boca Juniors v River Plate, Kilmarnock v Ayr or Watford v Luton, clashes between fierce rivals have never been won by skill alone. No matter what the respective standing is between rival clubs, when it comes to the grudge match, league tables have never been an issue.

 

When the next Old Firm derby arrives, how often will the old adage of “form goes out the window” get trotted out? Why is this so descriptive of one particular rivalry and not of another?

 

Take the recent game between Rangers and Manchester United. There can be no argument that Manchester United have a vastly superior team, infinitely more resources and no small advantage in ability.

 

Yet Walter Smith’s men earned a draw at Old Trafford. Was that Rangers “only raising their game for the Champions League” or was it that the sense of occasion immediately lifts spirits and focuses the mind?

 

Rangers may not be as prestigious as Fergie’s men but they are reigning Scottish champions and have been more often than not in the past two decades. With European jaunts kept to a minimum in the last decade, it’s no surprise that fixtures against the title holders have more bite.

 

Of course, there is the added benefit that the rivalry with Rangers attracts a big crowd. Any professional footballer gets a boost from a partisan crowd and Aberdeen players will be no different. No-one can doubt that a team performs better with 12 players than they do with 11, although back in the days of Mike McCurry, it simply evened the odds.

 

Our European matches against Lokomotiv Moscow, Copenhagen and Bayern Munich, as well as recent crunch matches with Hearts and Hibs, have shown just how much of a difference a vocal support can be. A huge part of Aberdeen “raising their game”, in any match, is down to our own support. Obviously, the same applies to our matches against Celtic but more on this later.

 

It is probably no small coincidence that our pitiful ticket allocation at Ibrox has coincided with our long wait for a victory in Glasgow. Aberdeen always take thousands of supporters to away matches and often outnumber our hosts. The fact that Rangers limit our numbers to just a few hundred shows that they too are aware of the Red Army’s influence.

 

Call it a premonition but at least one tabloid journalist will this week suggest that the bad blood between fans started in 1988/89. Obviously, there was no sign of animosity when Willie Johnston stamped on John McMaster’s neck in 1980..

 

Incidents on and off the pitch were not uncommon well before this date, and so whenever we are told otherwise, it adds to an already burning resentment. All of this sparks interest in the game, and explains the increased crowds.

 

The notion that we play better against Rangers than Celtic is equally preposterous. In the last decade we’ve taken 21 points from Rangers, but managed 16 points against their Old Firm rivals. Considering the fact that Celtic have been marginally the better side in the last decade, that statistic would seem to suggest a similar level of resistance.

 

Given that, the SPL title is never won in the Old Firm encounters. But in their results against the other clubs, Pittodrie has played its fair share in deciding the destination of Championships to either side of Glasgow.

 

Perhaps it is an unpopular theory but there would certainly be an argument to suggest that over the years, Rangers have raised their game against us. In the midst of the Paul le Guen experiment, when the boys in blue were being defeated by Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup, and Caley Thistle in the league, they still managed to regain focus for the showdown at Pittodrie.

 

Or, perhaps this is confirmation after all, that, to use one of the aforementioned clichés, the formbook really does go out the window when these sides meet. We know we need to be at our best to win these games but what better time to show your intentions than against an old foe?

 

Thomas Watt is STV Sport's fan writer for Aberdeen. STV are always on the lookout for supporters from Scottish clubs to have their say. If you'd like to make your point, over and above commenting on this article, get in touch by writing to sport@stv.tv.

[tlg1903]

Excellent article, really enjoyed reading it. The mccurry line was lol worthy.  Anyone else think we should play hardball with the Huns about getting a better allocation for ibrox? They give us a pittance of their  ground, approximately 1.7% going by 900 seats from a 51024 capacity shithole  Why don't we do the same? That would mean giving them 364 tickets for pittodrie.  The rules state that a reasonable number of seats must be made available for away fans, nothing unreasonable about giving the same as you have recieved

[glasgow sheep]

[Mentorred]

:lolabove:

[mizer]

At the moment im resigned to losing but by kick off I will be back thinking we can win.

[BobbyBiscuit]

MM says Ryan Jack is in "serious contention" for a start on Sunday and Michael Paton will be back on the bench.

[capitalsharpie]

good news at last...

[Aberdeen_Ladette]

Trying to be optimistic, however Hartley's injury was the straw that broke this sheep's back 

 

I'm trying to remain positive, .. as I remember end of November last year being away in London/Crawley for the weekend; we had very weakened team ; but there I was Aberdeen top on, in the hotel bar, though fearing the worst. The euphoria afterwards was brill!

 

This year's team have a backbone, passion and team spirit, as well as showing effort (that has been missing for years) i.e aren't spineless, lethargic, couldn't care less cnuts.

However as we know, all our creative players are injured from a paper-thin unbalanced squad....

 

Hopefully, Good will win over Evil 

[dunblanedon]

Here's the thing. If you speak to any Huns supporter, if they're honest they'll tell you that Scumdee Utd game apart, they're not that great or creative themselves. McGhee will do exactly what we expect and park the bus with a hope that a hero will emerge in the closing stages to do the right thing and stick the ball in the pokey for a lovely 1-0 victory. SF.

[Cowie]

So what do we think for Sunday?

Apart from the fucking ridiculous kick off time (we're leaving Glasgow at 0830 FFS fuck sake)

 

 

 

Think thats bad? try 7am from Newcastle. + Its my turn to drive. 

[dave_min]

I'm gonna have to be up by midday tomorrow

[Ptayles]

Im going to the pub for 10

[BobbyBiscuit]

will the pub be open at 10 on a sunday?

[Ptayles]

Yes. The Northern Golf club is open at 10

[RDU_64]

First league game of the season for me, after my first game of the season with the narrow but pleasing win against Raith in the cup. I am worried about having the trio of Aluko, Pawlett and Hartely out. Hartely would have been in his element against the Huns at Pittodrie and I'm sure would have given as good as he got against the scumbags.

 

Hopefully, get a good result anyhow!

[manc_don]

COME ON EWE REDS!!!

[mizer]

Last chance to do the predictor

 

http://www.donstalk.co.uk/messageboard/index.php?topic=13280.msg202072#new

[Rebus30]

Leaving Balmedie at 1215 masel....nae probs...C'mon the Dons! 

[glasgowdon]

Not looking forward to this at all.