Dons - Caley - 26/12 - 3PM

[manc_don]

Main Stand and Lower RDS sold out so far. Hopefully we manage to get a full house as the team and management team have turned things around. The game at Killie on the weekend was a great statement of intent.  They didn't settle for a 2-0 win which I think we've all criticised them of previously. They went for it.  Caley haven't been on great form themselves recently so hopefully we can capitalise on this and continue our resurgence.  A win will take us top of the table (hopefully for more than 24 hours) with Hearts playing Septic at the cowshed the following day.

 

Results vary quite a bit between ourselves, with no one team dominating either fixture, although we were victors the last time they visited Pittodrie.

 

I'd again look to start the same team as last weekend with Jack coming on. I don't think he's played well enough to deserve a starting place back yet. If he does I don't think Flood should play as they don't really play well together.

 

In/Out: Out

Prematcher: Family home

Match: Heathrow

Postmatcher: en-route to Kiwi land

Prediction: 2-1 Dons, McGinn, Rooney

[tlg1903]

I'll be disappointed if we don't play ict off the park here, they nearly lost to fucking utd at home ffs. I would be keeping Shinnie at lb, ict like to play the patient passing game and having pacy fb's on both sides would really help us counter attack them effectively so same team bar Reynolds in for Quinn for me.

 

In

Supporters bus/golf club

Main

Supporters bus back to Inverness

3-0 Hayes, Rooney, Goodwillie

 

I said at the start of the month that we had a real chance of a maximum points December and it warms the cockles of my normally cynical heart to see this unfolding. Not that I want to tempt fate but it really looks like the resurgent plastic whistle are biggest threat to that now.

[scunnered999]

In/Out: Out

Prematcher: On hols

Match: Ankor Wat

Postmatcher: Cambodia

Prediction: 3 - 0 Rooney(2)/McGinn

 

I hope I have severely underestimated the score and that we absolutely stuff the Teuchter Huns - I hate them more than Rangers, Margaret Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch combined!

[Tyrant]

In/Out: Out

Prematcher: On hols

Match: Ankor Wat

Postmatcher: Cambodia

Prediction: 3 - 0 Rooney(2)/McGinn

 

I hope I have severely underestimated the score and that we absolutely stuff the Teuchter Huns - I hate them more than Rangers, Margaret Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch combined!

 

 

Jesus Christ min. That's a lot of hate! I don't even hate no voters that much.

[Jute]

Never confident about games against Caley as always tight affairs. Cannot see this being much different as they always seem to save best performances for games against us but if we can keep the performance levels of the last few weeks going we should have enough to win.

 

In

Archies

Y

Visitng family and over eating

1-0 Rooney

[Leftside]

First home game of the season.

 

In

Scotia bar

South stand

Scotia bar

2 0 Rooney and Hayes, hopefully an early goal to open the game up.

[manc_don]

Looks like the club are predicting a crowd of about 16k, I'd hope for a few more to be honest! I'm sure we used to get about 18K for the same fixture did we not?

[manc_don]

Section Y, merkland and RDS upper tickets only remain

[Madbadteacher]

Out

At the girlfriend's

At the girlfriend's

At the girlfriend's

3-0 to the Famous, Rooney, Pawlett and Reynolds

[manc_don]

According to the club 16k tickets were sold before Christmas eve, hopefully a good crowd and 3 points will do 

[manc_don]

1-0 down at the moment. Sounds like a messy and very wet affair.

[ayrshire_don74]

Surprise surprise bottlecrashes again

[Madbadteacher]

OK, good fightback for a draw? Crappy performance and lucky? Gollum ruined the game?

Please enlighten me, thank you.

[manc_don]

Sounded like a deserved draw in the end, two dodgy penalties apparently. Gollum at his shitey finest

[tlg1903]

He was soooooo bad today

[Jute]

Another game where we only played for one half. First half was the typical bottlecrash when we have a big crowd or the chance of going top. Caley adapted to the conditions far better in the first half and created the better chances. We were much better in second half especially after Gollum awarded Caley a very soft penalty. McGinn took his goal well and Rooney's penalty was well taken. Looked like hand ball from where I was sitting but radio suggested otherwise. Draw was probably fair result especially given the conditions. I am only just starting to dry out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thestooge]

I think saying we only played for one half is harsh. The first half didn't go to plan in as much as we went in a goal down but ICT were limited to 3 breaks in the entire half (and I'm nae convinced that 2 of the 3 weren't offside) and we were largely on top. Jack is getting it in the neck again but I don't think he had a bad game at all, yes he played a lot of sideways passes, even when we were 2 down, but McInnes clearly had faith in our game plan and we didn't go all out until late in the game. We normally play a very patient game, we don't overload in attack and instead trust that the players we have in the final third will have the quality required to play through our opponents. They generally do. While I can understand fans being frustrated when guys like Jack continue with a possession based game instead of charging forward or playing risky passes, I'm glad the team and McInnes believe in themselves a little more despite the grumbles from the terraces.

 

I'm seeing a lot of positive comments on Draper again, how he'd be a great addition to our side but, for me, he's a perfectly serviceable SPL player but short on the technical ability we require and some why behind the quality of Jack or the intensity of Flood. Again the comments from yesterday were of the cliched "bossed the midfield" variety but his side were on the backfoot from start to finish and even with a 2 goal advantage were never on top, I didn't see him impose himself at all.

 

For me, the main positives from yesterday were the fight and spirit that earned a point. Some will feel it was 2 points dropped but I think the players deserve great credit for rescuing something despite the conditions and officials. Mclean deserves special mention for his contribution as does McGinn, for me they were our stand out performers.

 

Negatives for me where the initial selection of Quinn over Reynolds and the use of Shinnie in midfield. I appreciate we had issues with illness but I just dinna like Shinnie in the middle, he's the best left back in the league and when he plays there we're a far better balanced side. Quinn was at fault for both goals (though that's harsh for the second, which didn't look like a pen to me) but he was also turned far too easily a couple of times before the goals. He's not a patch on Reynolds in terms of overall quality and I think yesterday was a day when Reynolds pace in particular would have been useful. The other negative was the appearance of Goodwillie over Smith. I just canna stand Goodwillie and yesterday he was hopeless, he did keep plugging away but almost every time the ball came to him, the move ended and we lost the ball. Time to go.

 

Special mention for Collum. That was yet another disgraceful performance from him. He's out of his depth to an embarrassing degree. He will be a national disgrace at the Euros. He got all the big decisions wrong again yesterday but, frustratingly, he also got a huge percentage of the clear cut and innocuous ones wrong too. He's a fuckwit. Literally everyone in Scottish football things he's a clown, how can he possibly remain in post with such a catalogue of ineptitude against him now?

[Leftside]

Stooge, agree with most of your thoughts. Goodwillie for me is joke figure, just not a funny joke. When smith came on against killie he looked good, goodwill came on and made no contribution. Must be so frustrating for the kid to see a spent force like goodwillie getting on ahead of him.