manc_don Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 I'd also add Kairat to that list. They've bottled it three times in my opinion, Kairat, Maribor and Apollon. Anyway, looking forward to being able to watch some of the game when I wake up. Will be another game the boys get to watch with me. Not a bad way to start the day (hopefully). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicoS321 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 1 hour ago, tom_widdows said: Maribor will always be 'bottling it' to me. They were nothing special that season and were knocked out in the next round by a team from Azerbajin Yes there was the blow of the referee awarding a penalty rather than letting McGinn's goal stand but Rooney then misses and then the disasterous OG in the last minute to rub salt into the wound. Agreed (I probably wouldn't describe as bottling, but we should have beaten them), but what I meant was that they were favourites going into the game. I'd class them as a level above Stavanger. I'd put Stavanger in the Skonta Riga category, Vilnius, that sort of mob. Certainly not Groningen or Rijeka level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicoS321 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 11 minutes ago, manc_don said: I'd also add Kairat to that list. They've bottled it three times in my opinion, Kairat, Maribor and Apollon. Anyway, looking forward to being able to watch some of the game when I wake up. Will be another game the boys get to watch with me. Not a bad way to start the day (hopefully). Did we bottle Apollon away? I don't think so. Unless you include Milne in that, because we went into that game without a striker, when all we needed to do was spend an extra £150K on Moult. We were never going to be good enough to beat them at their place, only narrowly beating them at Pittodrie. They were a good team and we had an off-form Stockley or Maynard up front. I remember advocating starting Tansey (fuck me) and playing McLean up front rather than waste our time on those two jokers. We then signed Stevie May - too late, and too shite. In the end, I think we got lucky not to be on the end of a hiding. Kairat were a good team too, I suppose it's the definition of "bottle" that I take issue with. We didn't lack bottle (belief) via Rijeka or Groningen, just as we didn't when we beat the hun at hampden and ibrox the other year. I just don't think you can invoke "bottle" each time we don't win and ignore the times we do beat a team that is better than ourselves (or everyone would class as better than us). I think it's just a lazy term. I'd say we were unlucky against Kairat, we didn't hold back in the way we would against the Tim. Apollon we simply didn't have a good enough team and we were always going to be found out. I think the Maribor one is definitely the one that comes closest to "bottle" (or lack of belief). For me, the damage was done in the first leg by letting in that away goal in a game where we should have tanked them. We were miles better than them and had lots of chances, with their random break being one of the few they had and they scored. I think the lack of belief stemmed from that, it was like nothing was going our way, and that's up to the manager to overcome before the game. The circumstances surrounding the penalty (I think if McGinn hadn't gone on to score, Rooney would have finished it; I think he was put off by that) probably gave us even more of an "everything's conspiring against us" attitude. Of the three, it's definitely the only one where I'd say that we were the better team over two legs and should definitely have got through the tie. The other two would have just required a very, very good performance and would have been up there with some of our other good victories where we've been second favourite. To me lack of bottle would be losing to Kilmarnock in a cup semi final or something, not losing a game you're objecvtively expected to lose. There are very few of those under McInnes, we generally scrape through them in spectacularly ugly fashion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jute Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Would argue it is bottling. We were expected to lose to Rijeka and Groningen so pressure was off and players played well. Apollon, Maribor and Kairat were all winnable ties so there was some expectation/pressure and we blew all 3. Do accept that lack of a striker was a mitigating factor in Cyprus. Anyway this is another winnable tie and if we approach it in the right manner I am confident we will go through. PPV bought so I can rant at TV. Glad it’s close door as if it wasn’t I would currently be paying the cost of the PPV a pint. Oot flat as still working from home flat flat 2-1 Watkins and Hedges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tup1 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 We are a lot better than they will think we are. 2-0 to the Dons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicoS321 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 3 hours ago, Jute said: Would argue it is bottling. We were expected to lose to Rijeka and Groningen so pressure was off and players played well. Apollon, Maribor and Kairat were all winnable ties so there was some expectation/pressure and we blew all 3. We were second favourites for all three games though. Kairat had spent a fair bit of dough (Tymoshchuk etc.), certainly more than Rijeka and Groningen could dream of. Maribor had more recent success than either of those two also. They definitely were not more winnable than the Rijeka and Groningen. All five ties were winnable, it's just that we weren't favourites. The only argument I'm making here is the bland use of the word "bottle". It just seems like a meaningless catch all. If we had lack of bottle in the three games we lost, then we had lots of bottle in the games we won. It's just a bit silly. As I say, to me bottle would mean we lost to a team we shouldn't be losing to (where we weren't favourites), and in my mind it needs to be happening regularly in order to say that a team "lacks bottle" (or a manager does, given the change of players over the years). Maybe you guys have a different definition (belief, perhaps?), but I'm struggling to see how you can cherry pick a couple of games and - in the original comment - use it as a reason for us not being favourites tonight. Although I'm struggling full stop to see why we aren't favourites tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Whats the views on likely line up. Does Del tinker with a winning team or leave it as is ? Different type of away game to the usual in Europe with no safety net of a return leg at home to come. Hope he doesn't over think this one and just goes for it Team should be confident enough and capable of getting the result we require. Day one of my self isolation today and have sent a mercy message to a mate for supplies as arrived home and no beers in garage fridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicoS321 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 10 minutes ago, BigAl said: Whats the views on likely line up. Does Del tinker with a winning team or leave it as is ? Different type of away game to the usual in Europe with no safety net of a return leg at home to come. Hope he doesn't over think this one and just goes for it Team should be confident enough and capable of getting the result we require. Day one of my self isolation today and have sent a mercy message to a mate for supplies as arrived home and no beers in garage fridge Good on you if you last the two weeks like. I think I read something like 12% of folk actually stuck to the quarantine restrictions. I think I might text one of my mates and tell him I'm in quarantine and ask him to bring me some booze too. Has to be the same team. Unless there are any plastic pitch issues. Maybe give Hoban a bit more time to make sure he's 100% sorted and take Taylor in? I'm guessing that he'll be fairly quick to invoke the game management if we go a goal up. In a way I hope we go a goal down, just so that we're forced to play some fitba. I think we're more likely to come from behind and win than we are to take a one nil lead and see it out (even though our statistics would not back up my argument at all). I take it away goals aren't a thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 11 minutes ago, RicoS321 said: Good on you if you last the two weeks like. I think I read something like 12% of folk actually stuck to the quarantine restrictions. I think I might text one of my mates and tell him I'm in quarantine and ask him to bring me some booze too. Isolation for all those coming back from Greece was only announced @ 9pm the night before we flew out so never really had chance to plan it. We have plenty food in freezer and given I work from home, I'm going to give it a right good go. Will miss not getting onto golf course though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madbadteacher Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Oot Work Work Work 0-0 lose 11-10 on penalties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA-Don Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Interesting comments about Kairat. From my memory they were much better than us, and had an excellent attacking mid who I think scored a cracker too. Don’t think we bottled it against them, they were the better team. Do think we bottled it against Apollon and Maribor, thought they were beatable and we didn’t perform to our ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicoS321 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 (edited) McGeouch in for Kennedy. Mental. How does that work? A 3-1-3-3? Or McGeouch playing wing back, or McRorie? Seems like an unnecessary fuck aboot with the lineup like. Edit: think Kennedy might be injured. Edited September 17, 2020 by RicoS321 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicoS321 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 A 3-5-2 maybe? -------------------Lewis----------------- ----Hoban----------McKenna-----Considine----- Hedges---McRorie---Fergie--McGeouch---Hayes --------------Wright---------Watkins------------ something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wee toon red Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Unless it’s back to 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 lewis mccrorie mckenna Hoban consi hedges mcgeouch Fergie hayes wright Watkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicoS321 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Yep, maybe. Although we'll really miss McRorie in the centre. I'm guessing it'll actually be as we were, but with McRorie on the right and McGeouch in the centre. I always get the impression with McInnes that he like to keep players happy. McGeouch has been unfortunate not to be in the team of late and as soon as a spot comes up, he launches him in. With Logan on the bench, I'd have preferred we played the same team and just switched Logan in for Kennedy. Or even McGinn if we want to go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DantheDon Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 I think we were reasonably good against Kairat at Pittodrie. If I remember we had a good go and just lacked that bit of composure in the final third. Think it was winnable, but like a few here I wouldn't call this team bottlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeeBass Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 I think all three ties against Kairat Almaty, Maribor, Apollon Limassol were very winnable and we should have had at least two from three bite at Play-Off Round. What did other people think were major differences to us winning against then losing four years apart with HNK Rijeka?? Seems last year is a puzzling loss especially in Croatia. I'll be delighted if we make Sporting Lisbon tie later but I'm just not feeling football generally speaking right now without any supporters. I hate one legged crap too. Plus it has been regionalised meaning any normal year and we probably wouldn't have got the teams we have nevermind Portuguese mob lying in wait. Play-Off Round gets drawn tomorrow for playing 1st October right? Let us hope we at least give ourselves chance of being in hat tonight. Our other friends FC Copenhagen left it very late but somebody I know had £4,000 on them to win outright against IFK Gotenborg so I'm pleased somebody has had a decent end to their day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayrshire_don74 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 mcrorie rwb bizarre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Anyone think this could finish nothing each Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Fucking hell Should have buried it Wright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayrshire_don74 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 scott wright yet again flatters hopeless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madbadteacher Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 8 minutes ago, BigAl said: Anyone think this could finish nothing each Yeah, I did earlier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayrshire_don74 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 overloading the right side hey guess what he isnt a rb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA-Don Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 More likely 3-3! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayrshire_don74 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 another shithouse performance plays players not in optimal positions happens every year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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