Transfer Window 2015

[thestooge]

I don't want to be negative after what was a strong weekend performance, but, in my opinion, Goodwillie did nothing on Sat to show why McInnes has shown such faith in him.

 

It wasn't a hopeless performance, not by a long way, he had a few nice touches with his back to goal, but he also squandered a lot of possession in the final third and when he did get through on goal, he fell over his own feet.  Several times too, we were advancing at pace and Goodwillie was running away from goal, ending up behind the player in possession, when we desperately needed more bodies in the box.

 

We create a lot of chances, we had numerous dangerous balls into the box at the weekend, Goodwillie isn't looking like the guy to provide that cutting edge.  The argument that he is supporting and holding up play only holds so much water, and I thought Rooney did more in terms of supporting as well as providing a clinical finish and I'd not put faith in Goodwillie, an unproven youngster in Shankland or a guy on loan until Jan.

 

For me, if we genuinely want to challenge for the title, and I don't think we're a huge amount away from that being credible, we need another striker, one with a track record of scoring in the SPL.  If we can do that by 31st Aug, I'll be pissing my pants with excitement.

[Reidzer 1314]

I agree with you an the title challenge Stooge, if we are serious about pushing for the title then we would need to add to the squad further.

 

I ma not saying that we dont have a good squad but I just think we would need more depth and probably a little bit of extra quality to push Celtic further than we did last time.

 

Celtic changed around 7-8 players for their game against Dundee Utd at the weekend and still won the game comfortably. I am not saying we need to add 7 or 8 more players as we dont have the finances for that but it just shows you what we are up against. 

[RicoS321]

I agree stooge. I really want to like Goodwillie, I think he is a really talented individual, but he doesn't seem to have a place in an actual football team, which is a tad confusing. He has the passing, touch, vision and skill to be a creative midfielder but not the pace, positional sense nor work ethic. He has the strength and awareness to be a great striker, but again his positional sense, slowness and lack of composure in the box let him down. Which leaves us with a guy that looks fantastic on the ball, but actually does very little for the team. His situation in the first half where he took the ball off the Dundee player and was left one-on-one with the centre half was not dissimilar to Rooney's (where he won the penalty). He just tripped over his own feet. At first I thought he lacked pace to be a goalscorer, but that doesn't affect Rooney. I then thought it was confidence, but he doesn't seem to lack confidence either, it's more an in-built dithering.

 

I thought Parker made some intelligent runs when he came on - certainly didn't hide. However, I would like to have seen him take a touch inside and hit it, rather than slip it to McGinn on the overlap (Shinnie's chance near end of BBC highlights). Someone like Stevie May would have buried that. I don't see us signing another striker, and I don't think Parker will be the answer (certainly wouldn't rule him out either), so I think we just have to hope for a fit Rooney, at least until January.

[manc_don]

Probably a very good description, a footballer that doesn't have a place in a football team.  I'm concerned that going with one striker that is capable of scoring goals until Jan at the very earliest is a massive risk.  Guess having the goals across the team is helping us a bit more this season but it's risky strategy.  I'd like to have two recognised goal scorers up front.

 

From what I saw of the highlights on alba, Parker looked good and that run into the box where he laid it off to McGinn was good, good weight to it.  Can't remember if there was a shot on or not.  Regardless, I'd like us to be signing one or two others before it closes but seems like this is increasingly unlikely    Guess we have to hope that despite septic having the luxury of being able to rest 8 players, that it will cause them inconsistency because of the squad size. I'm not paying any attention to the arab result, they are shite.

[rocket_scientist]

I've always liked Goodwillie as a footballer. I was delighted that he came to Aberdeen. Since he's been here, I see that he still has the potential to be an excellent footballer. He's just never delivered excellence for us.

 

One of the main reasons for me is how he's being managed. I have no idea what role he has in our team and what specific functions he's meant to be carrying out. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that he knows either.

 

The tactical vacuum that I suspect is contributing to his under-performance is either managerial inexperience or managerial incompetence. The other glaring mistakes that McInnes has made were sticking with Langfield and Leighton for two years and the signing of Zola, who was quite obviously unfit for purpose, the suggestion of this arising within 3 minutes of his debut, painfully confirmed as the opening game of that season unfolded. That he kept on giving Zola chances was stubbornness in the extreme, unless he actually thought the donkey had merits that none of us could see.

 

Another suspicion of weak man-management is McGinn. Niall's purple patch when he scored 9 games in a row or 9 in 10 or whatever it was, the same period when he scored for his country v. Portugal, was pre-Derek. The fact that he shows flashes of brilliance but has never delivered consistency suggests motivational issues for me. I hope that the fact that our manager doesn't get enough from our two most gifted footballers - McGinn and Goodwill - isn't an indication of a ceiling that he's hit already in his managerial abilities, one that may limit him ever getting further in his career or ever enjoying major success.

[hilton]

Along with Jack our most consistent player has been Mcginn . especially under under Mcinnes  ,  Mcginn had spell for few weeks start last  season  when he was aff form it happens ,but since then  he has been great  , up there with Jess for ability and be sad day when he leaves.  massive player to our team.    Mcinnes seems to get lot more right than wrong and after years we have had I am well happy with that  , he is also quick to change things when its not happening . As for Goodwillie this season results have been great and his own performances has been excellent when he starts, Saturday along with others ok he was not at his best but we can all see massive improvement.    Aye it would be great to see him bang the net but with the rest the team chipping in its not looking like a problem,  but agree with others another proven striker would make us stronger and its a major worry if Rooney gets injured  .  but lets see what Parker brings you never know he might surprise us fucking hope so.

 

[rocket_scientist]

In terms of the squad, we HAVE to strengthen if we have any ambitions to win the league.

 

We've only got 11 strong enough footballers, with Considine as good enough quality back-up.

 

When fit, these are indisputably our best 11, although Saturday was the first time McInnes picked the best available 10 to start: -

 

Ward

Logan - Taylor - Reynolds - Shinnie

Jack - MacLean

McGinn - Hayes

Rooney - Goodwillie

 

An injury to any one of these leaves us exposed, although as stated, Considine is a good enough footballer.

 

We HAVE to buy now. We don't have enough cover in this squad.

 

I look forward to the day Flood and Robson don't even make our bench, particularly the latter. Flood has steel, heart and balls but isn't getting any younger and is well past his best.

[hilton]

rocket did you see who was on our bench in the first game the season?  think that showed we have great squad players,  we can not and will not compete with the tims in that department there in a different league financially .  aye its frustrating as we aint that far away.    so next best thing is to have the next best squad players.  I think we can safely say we have that yes?  Aye I  love see another striker come in and maybe it might happen ye never  know as  that could be that extra bit that turns our dreams into reality but I am far fae unhappy with what we have got compared to the rest in the league.

[rocket_scientist]

rocket did you see who was on our bench in the first game the season?  think that showed we have great squad players,  we can not and will not compete with the tims in that department there in a different league financially .  aye its frustrating as we aint that far away.    so next best thing is to have the next best squad players.  I think we can safely say we have that yes?  Aye I  love see another striker come in and maybe it might happen ye never  know as  that could be that extra bit that turns our dreams into reality but I am far fae unhappy with what we have got compared to the rest in the league.

 

That bench included McGinn, Jack and Goodwillie who all came on and who are 3 of our best 11! Until the subs, we weren't doing much in that game and it had draw written all over it.

 

Pawlett was on that bench too and is a frustrating player, one that I don't think will be good enough to get a regular start.

 

My point/opinion is that we don't have enough strength in depth beyond our best 11, one of whom is injured right now.

 

Consi and Pawlett can do a job. Too early for me to say re Quinn but not hugely excited by him so far.

 

We can't win the league without spending money. It's really that simple for me.

 

Depends how much ambition we have. Given our chairman and his track record, I'm not expecting much. We just had our debt wiped out by the Donalds. Another 1,000 on the gate x 10 games = 1/4 a million. We've got loads of missing fans that will come back if there's a chance to hunt glory. Celtic aren't that good but we've got to show ambition to compete with them and NOW is the time to do it in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

[BobbyBiscuit]

 

Depends how much ambition we have. Given our chairman and his track record, I'm not expecting much. We just had our debt wiped out by the Donalds. Another 1,000 on the gate x 10 games = 1/4 a million. We've got loads of missing fans that will come back if there's a chance to hunt glory. Celtic aren't that good but we've got to show ambition to compete with them and NOW is the time to do it in my opinion.

 

The time has to be now. Celtic signing the likes of Ciftci and Scott Allan shows this if nothing else does - these guys do not improve Celtic in my opinion but that is where they are at now. We have to be more aggressive this season in believing we can do it though (as well as investment in the side), the 1-1 draw at Dens Park last season showed that our players and management didn't really believe we were going for the title. It has to be different this season.

[hilton]

rocket last year Jack Mcgin Hayes Taylor Flood Pawlett all had spells of being injured , Reynolds already been out all season and apparently he is our best defender and we have not missed him, so that tells ye we have a squad that can handle injuries . Only place we need make stronger is up front it might still happen. regards winning the league as poor as the  tims can be on certain days    financially and squad wise there still in a different world . We need keep improving and under Mcinnies we are, only two years ago we had under 4k season tickets and crowds 7k , we have only had two good seasons in about 20 odd , so time be bit realistic with finances, did we ever think two years ago we could tie down all our best players with great contracts and sign Shinnie and Mclean ?.  new stadium and  training facilities have also got be sorted out.    But once again agree with others  $600k for May or similar level player would be magic and could be the answer to our dreams but think we ken that sort money aint going be happening .

[rocket_scientist]

We would disagree on many things I suspect. That's cool.

[manc_don]

It is rare, but I definitely agree with Rocket on this one.  We are close, we're not talking about breaking the bank here but a couple of shrewd signings that could take us to the next level.  More Shinnie / McLean type signings are required. Celtic are miles ahead, but they are there to be taken and squad rotation can have it's draw backs.  We've already made good progress in terms of our domestic start following Europe compared to last season but the season is still very young.  Need to keep the momentum up and our squad is incredibly thin.  Unfortunately I also think that given that we are only recently debt free, the directors may be a bit cautious on expanding our budget.

[Reidzer 1314]

I guess it will all boil down to ambition really.

 

I am not saying we go and get ourselves into debt again, far from it but I think another couple of good signings even on free transfers would go a long way for us pushing for the league and of course going all the way in a cup again.

 

 

[Goldie03]

The time has to be now. Celtic signing the likes of Ciftci and Scott Allan shows this if nothing else does - these guys do not improve Celtic in my opinion but that is where they are at now. We have to be more aggressive this season in believing we can do it though (as well as investment in the side), the 1-1 draw at Dens Park last season showed that our players and management didn't really believe we were going for the title. It has to be different this season.

 

This ^^^^^^ .............the Dundee game was massive last season along with the Celtic one in Glasgow and we didn't have the ambition or belief in either of them

 

Interesting that most folk I know reckon Celtic will win the league this time with even more points than they did last season!!

[tlg1903]

We were the better team for a large part of the game at the San giro but the heads went when the second goal went in. There's a steeliness about the team that we lacked before, the win at tannadice showed that for me, and I would be surprised to see us capitulate like that to anyone this season.

I've said for quite a while now I would like an extra cm in the bisco/heikkinen/arni mould brought in as this is now the only position I feel we lack options.

[thestooge]

I think there is more to it than just signing another player or two.  Finding players who'll improve us now is really tough.

 

We've done great business with McLean and Shinnie but finding others in that type of position is challenging.

 

Shinnie turned down 10k a week at Birmingham.  How many would do the same?

 

Marley Watkins, in my opinion, would have been a great signing, but he took 8k a week to move down south.

 

Stevie May, I believe, wants to come here, but a permanent move won't happen in the short term because he's also on an 8k a week deal.  We might get him on loan now, if Sheffield Wed play ball and pay a decent wedge of his wages, but if he does score 15-20 goals in a season for us, again he'll be priced out of our market.

 

We are comfortably outspending the rest of the SPL, we're creaming off the best of the rest (at least when we sign the likes of Shinnie or McLean, they're continuing to develop, nae like many times in the past when the old firm have signed great young players and left them in the reserves).  But we're now at a stage where to improve our side, we need to be attracting the sort of players that are also attracting the attention of mid-level Championship sides who still blow us out of the water financially.

 

There are plenty of people saying we've moved beyond players like Willo Flood.  That's not something I personally agree on, I think he has a valuable role to play, but I think even those critical of Flood accept he'd be a star player at every other SPL side, excluding ourselves and Celtic.

 

McInnes maybe does need to get creative with the loan market, Ward certainly seems a decent addition, Hector and Logan have been in the past, hopefully May can come in and Parker is an interesting one too but finding a player who'd improve us, available for free or a fee less than half a million quid, whose wage demands would be sub 5k a week isn't exactly easy.

 

We may need to take a gamble, and I'd be happier for McInnes to do that than any other manager in our recent history, on a player like Slater, or McGinn, or Christie (probably becoming less of a gamble and more cost prohibitive now), or Stewart (likely also now on the radar of clubs down south, 13 goals in 34 last season, 3 in 5 this)), or Crawford, but I don't think any of those players would necessarily walk into our first 11 and would realistically need a season or two to reach the standard we require.

 

I do think McInnes is right to be cautious with his remaining budget and hold out for the last minute moves but I do still expect a striker to arrive before Monday. 

[rocket_scientist]

I am amazed how close some of you think we are to being competitive enough to win the league.

 

Our best 11 are certainly capable of winning every game in Scotland, including against Celtic.

 

But behind our best 11, we're nowhere near strong enough to win the league.

 

Squads win leagues, not 11, 12 or even 13 good players.

 

I reckon we have too big a gulf in class behind our best 11.

 

I'm also not convinced that McInnes will ever prove good enough to win a title.

[thestooge]

I think we have a reasonable squad and a very good first 11.

 

I'd go with a best 11 of:

 

Ward

Logan Taylor Reynolds Shinnie

Jack McLean

Hayes Pawlett McGinn

Rooney

 

I think Brown (GK), Quinn (RB/CB), Considine (LB/CB), Flood (DM), Smith (AM), and Goodwillie (AM, maybe, not at striker) provide us with a decent range of cover in most positions, we're short of a striker though, as previously stated.  If we have one or two players injured or suspended, we can cope, any more than that and it will become a struggle, though guys like Parker, Wright, Rose, Storie and Culjack may be able to step up.

 

If we didn't need to balance the books, yeah, another defender, a box to box midfielder, a winger and a keeper would be great, but at the moment I'd prioritise a striker and I'd be perfectly happy to throw all our remaining resources at a Stevie May shaped basket.

 

 

[rocket_scientist]

So do you think this "reasonable squad" and "very good" first 11 is good enough to win the league come May?

 

With or without May?

[thestooge]

I'd not put my mortgage on it.

 

Do I think we can perform better than Celtic vs the rest? Yes, but only marginally.  I think there is a gulf between us both and the rest.  Hearts do add something to the mix and it remains to be seen how they stack up against us but I'm fairly confident that both ourselves and Celtic will gain a similar points total excluding head to heads.

 

Do I think we can beat Celtic? Yes.  Do I think we'll get the better of them in the 4 head to heads.  No.  I don't. But if we get a win and a draw or better, particularly when Celtic still have European football and we can sow a seed of doubt for the remainder of the campaign, then I think it gives us a real chance.

 

Do I think we'll win the league?  No.

Do I think we'll push the title race into May?  Hopefully.

Do I think it's beyond all possibility that we could achieve our greatest success since 83? No.  But we'll need more goals, as it's likely going to be converting draws to wins that will see us succeed.

 

It's a long shot but the gulf in resources is currently considerably greater than the gulf in quality, which I think has been further bridged this summer.

[RicoS321]

Rocket, I don't honestly believe it is good enough. And actually, I think May is slightly over-rated too! What I mean is that I think he worked very hard and reached the limits of his game at St Johnstone. I didn't really see the room for improvement in his game that others thought there would be. Although I would welcome the opportunity for us to find out. As Stooge says though, it's not as simple as signing a couple of players. The budget we have is only going to stretch to the best of the rest SPL players and loan players as he mentioned. I'd add that even if we were to stretch to 3 players then there's a high percentage chance that at least one of those will be pish (maybe nae pish, but not good enough, or just not settle). We'd have to be looking at taking in 5-6 players of a good standard - realistically - to challenge Celtic.

 

That said, our squad is good enough to beat every team outside Celtic on the basis of rotating 3 players regularly in my opinion. I don't see it as unreasonable Cammy Smith, Quinn and Goodwillie/Pawlett getting 90 minutes against Partick/Hamilton/ICT/County/Killie/Well and us winning them all. I think our squad players are good enough to beat 50-75% of teams. In terms of challenging Celtic, it's going to be about luck. Luck on the day in terms of our personnel (i.e. having everyone fit), their personnel and refereeing decisions against the best 2-3 teams in the country. I don't think we'll get that luck, but if come January we're still up there then we need to bring another couple of players in to really challenge. That's part of the usefulness of the transfer window I suppose. Although Celtic also get to join in unfortunately.

[rocket_scientist]

Anyone thinking we can win the league can grab 22/1 right now.

 

That equates to the bookies thinking there's a less than 5% chance that we will.

 

22's is not good enough to attract my money but by the sounds of it, more than generous for some.

 

I think the prospect of Stevie May's potential contribution is being over-rated too.

 

I just can't believe that McInnes and this squad are good enough to win the league.

 

Yes it's miles better than the previous two decades but it's still not title-winning potential in my book.

 

Not a chance. Nor will it become one this season as the board won't speculate to accumulate.

 

 

[thestooge]

I'd say around 20/1 is about right.

 

The oddest remain stacked against us.

 

I don't think May is over-rated.  People just think he could make a difference.  He could turn a few draws into wins, which with our possession dominance but lack of conversion seems reasonable, given his record of 27 goals in 49 appearances for St J in 2013/14. I think signing May will add points to our tally come the end of the season.  Those extra points could well mean prizes this year.

 

That said, if we are looking like genuine contenders come Jan, I'd fully expect Celtic to unsettle our squad with bids for McGinn or Hayes or whoever.

[hilton]

20/1  fair price considering the gulf in resources . that's were we are at.