December and the upcoming window

[LA-Don]

Well, December will be a really interesting and challenging month with 8 games in 27 days. This Saturday will be tough as we were lucky against the huns last time and they do play with the aggression/confidence/drive that we lack as clearly shown today. A loss on Saturday could be the beginning of an awful month because with the result today we're vulnerable.

 

We don't have a squad to cope with 8 games in a month. We will need to see Storie, Storey, Burns, and Pawlett more but all 4 have done little or nothing this season to date. Maddison leaves in January and I'd really like to see us show some ambition by going after Ali Crawford to replace him. We also MUST sign at least one dominating central midfielder. Today showed we lacked a powerful and dominating CM, a point I've made many times.

 

I also think this month will show our leadership or lack of on the park - I think we are missing Robson, Flood, and even Paul Quinn, vocal players who will put it about on the park. We showed today we're powderpuff and these 8 games will be more about drive, determination, and character than skill. The next 8 games will definitely define our season.

[manc_don]

Great post LA-don and hard to disagree with any of it.  This upcoming transfer window is make or break for DM.  My patience with him is wearing very thin.  I really hope we give a good account of ourselves on Saturday but I fear that he'll revert to similar tactics to try and "stop them playing".  All of this is incredibly frustrating because we have a team that can hurt others but very rarely are they allowed to play the way we know they can.  Oh for a Heikkenen or Seve type player.

 

I said it to a few yesterday, we cannot, under no circumstances, finish below the newco.  It would appear that teams are getting back to thinking that they should fear them (they really shouldn't) but it would be completely unacceptable to finish below them.

[irnbru1903]

 

I am losing faith that McInnes has what it takes to move us forward given the resources he has at his disposal. He has a knack of playing good players out of position rendering them useless and then has them playing tactics that so clearly do not work and yet he persists with them.

On the field I feel we have regressed over the past couple of years ... pretty much since cadger retired and Robson took a back seat which kind of proves that we have no natural leader on the park at the moment. Shinnie has potential for this but when he is played out of position not so much.

We obviously need something to bolster our first team. Too many underperforming players and the new guys that have come in are just not up to scratch. Stockley .... carthorse. Burns .... quick but does nothing. Storey .... who? Maddison .... ok but a bit of a luxury player that can't tackle. O'Connor .... best of the bunch but is he really good enough? Lewis .... better than we have had and yet didn't really make a save yesterday.

It would be good to see the momentum building again like during the "sheep are on fire" period but optimism is on hiatus at the moment.

[Ten Caat]

We will definately need to spend in January if we want to finish above der tribute Huns. They are utterly honking but have a big squad which will be added to and so will be able to cope with the inevitable injuries and suspensions that come second half of the season.

They are also managing to win games 3 minutes or so after when the full time whistle should really have been parped.

  As said before, and as yesterday proved, we urgently need a big bruiser of a midfielder. Draper at ICT would do a decent job at our level. As for replacing Maddison, not really sure Ali Crawford cuts it. He is even more lightweight than Hayes but without the speed that Hayes possesses nor the keep trying attitude Hayes has even when he is having a stinker. Probably pie in the sky thinking here but I'd like the board to show some ambition and fire in a bid for John McGinn at the cabbage. £500k or so outlay with a view to cashing in 18 months later for a couple of million.

Oh hang on its Milne sanctioning the spending 

 

[KennyFuckinPowers]

Ali Crawford would be a good signing, used to bang his drum over on Abmad. He is a tricky wee player who's capable of scoring key goals, but then again, Kenny McLean fell into that category at St Mirren. In any case, we are 100% short of at least 1 sitting midfielder, McLean is an attack minded player and should be played there.

 

Would also like to see more of Miles Storey, an absolute conundrum as to why we signed him, Can understand why actually, just confused as to why he's seeing so little game time. Would actually love to see a Stockley/Storey partnership, Rooney is obviously a big player for us, but as is Niall McGinn, and he's been rightly dropped, so same should apply to Rooney.

[BigAl]

Think the John McGinn ship has sailed

His next move will be English Chumpionship side

[Fairliered]

Yesterday showed that we need Rico type midfielder.

It also showed that Shinnie should be LB and captain.

[A llad insane]

Said for a while we should go for Ali Crawford. Be surprised if we can manage to extend the Maddison deal further.

[LA-Don]

We're in a tough spot. To sign a quality player costs money obviously. Whether Jackson Irvine or Will Vaulks were the answer or not as the midfield enforcer, we could have afforded the transfer fee (not much diff money to Kenny McLean probably) but cannot match weekly wages of the championship. John McGinn is long gone, cannot afford the fee or wages he'd get down south. Who is out there now that we can afford both the fee and wages??

 

I feel we miss the boat on talent like these guys. While Ali Crawford is a different position to Vaulks and Irvine, them plus the likes of McGinn, Crawford, Greg Stewart, Souttar etc are all players we should be snapping up early before they move on to bigger things. Other than McLean, Hayes, and Shinnie, what other 'best of the rest' have we signed in recent years? We definitely can do better with home grown signings.

 

I credit McInnes for being able to snap up Shinnie, McGinn, Hayes, and hold on to those guys as well as Rooney, but the gaping hole in the middle of our midfield (ok, a central defender too) is what is definitely limiting our progress. Fix the heart of our team and I think we're stronger at the back, will have more of the ball, and create and score more. The fact that this has been a clear problem area for some time that hasn't been fixed by DM (although O'Connor was maybe intended to be the solution) obviously has contributed to the DM doubters and the increasing pressure on and frustration with him.