Dons_1988 Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Squad building has been poor ever since 2017. There have been some individual successes but ultimately it’s lacked real strategy and purpose. From 2014 to 2017 you could see in every window how the team was evolving from the core of a good side to the near finished article in the 2017 cup final. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngusTheBull Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 2 minutes ago, Sheep62 said: Ah f**k Angus, you just know don't you I've did hesitate before posting that... sorry lads 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukDukGoose Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Dons_1988 said: Squad building has been poor ever since 2017. There have been some individual successes but ultimately it’s lacked real strategy and purpose. From 2014 to 2017 you could see in every window how the team was evolving from the core of a good side to the near finished article in the 2017 cup final. Aye. This is the main reason why I've been wanting change. Ignore poor results or poor football. We touched on it at the weekend but we ended up signing 3 centre mids that do the same role. Ferguson can also do the job and it's how he is expected to play when McCrorie is in there with him. That then left us with three similar subs and two will be on a good wage. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Merkland Red said: Aye. This is the main reason why I've been wanting change. Ignore poor results or poor football. We touched on it at the weekend but we ended up signing 3 centre mids that do the same role. Ferguson can also do the job and it's how he is expected to play when McCrorie is in there with him. That then left us with three similar subs and two will be on a good wage. Aye recruitment has been poor. We've been playing catch up since 2017. After Mcinnes flirted with Sunderland we had about a fortnight to put a team together for EL qualifiers. He didn't actually do that badly there, our points total in 17/18 was fairly remarkable given we had the arse ripped out of the team the summer before. But it was definitely about getting whoever was available and good instead of a clear plan. Too many loans/short term fixes, having to rebuild every Summer has killed us really. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lubo_blaha Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Squad building has been poor ever since 2017. There have been some individual successes but ultimately it’s lacked real strategy and purpose. From 2014 to 2017 you could see in every window how the team was evolving from the core of a good side to the near finished article in the 2017 cup final. Agreed. Nearly all of our big signings pre 2017 turned out well (Flood, Robson, Rooney, Logan, McLean, Shinnie, Lewis) and coupled with the fact that we didn’t lose any major players in this players apart from retirements, we improved year on year. Since then, we’ve signed the likes of May, Arnason, Tansey, Devlin, Forrester, Gleeson, Bryson, Ojo etc. who would have been brought in to be regular starters and none of them have been good enough, not to mention plenty of others in the current squad who I’m giving the benefit of the doubt to. On the flip side Cosgrove and Ferguson turned out to be great signings but I doubt either were brought in to be regular starters, certainly not immediately. I think we’d benefit from a director of football type role going forward for recruitment and to have more of a ‘football specialist’ between the board and manager. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukDukGoose Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Dons_1988 said: Aye recruitment has been poor. We've been playing catch up since 2017. After Mcinnes flirted with Sunderland we had about a fortnight to put a team together for EL qualifiers. He didn't actually do that badly there, our points total in 17/18 was fairly remarkable given we had the arse ripped out of the team the summer before. But it was definitely about getting whoever was available and good instead of a clear plan. Too many loans/short term fixes, having to rebuild every Summer has killed us really. Yeah absolutely. 33 minutes ago, lubo_blaha said: Agreed. Nearly all of our big signings pre 2017 turned out well (Flood, Robson, Rooney, Logan, McLean, Shinnie, Lewis) and coupled with the fact that we didn’t lose any major players in this players apart from retirements, we improved year on year. Since then, we’ve signed the likes of May, Arnason, Tansey, Devlin, Forrester, Gleeson, Bryson, Ojo etc. who would have been brought in to be regular starters and none of them have been good enough, not to mention plenty of others in the current squad who I’m giving the benefit of the doubt to. On the flip side Cosgrove and Ferguson turned out to be great signings but I doubt either were brought in to be regular starters, certainly not immediately. I think we’d benefit from a director of football type role going forward for recruitment and to have more of a ‘football specialist’ between the board and manager. Yeah this is spot on. I've been saying the same about the DoF. Ok it is an added expense but if you have a man who shares the boards vision then you are in a better place if your manager is poached or it doesn't work out. The first group of players mostly fit a system, when we could counter attack. Flood was the ball winner and Robson was an experienced head. We then needed a RB to get up the park as Shaughnessy didn't cut it and neither did our forwards which led to the Rooney signing. McLean and Shinnie were no brainers and again fit the style of play (althoguh McLean took a bit longer to bed in). The second group are players who on paper should have worked but didn't. Some due to previous injuries catching up with them which is frustrating. I'd be amazed if Ferguson was bought to start but he certainly took his chance when given to him. Another major issue is the players bought back for a second time. I can't think of any other team in Scotland who have taken as many players back for a second stint. Motherwell, maybe? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Mahelp Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 2 hours ago, Merkland Red said: Another major issue is the players bought back for a second time. I can't think of any other team in Scotland who have taken as many players back for a second stint. Motherwell, maybe? Hibs fans are always desperate to get some fat jakey coked up fuckwit back in their team because he once kissed the badge or sang a song about refugees. It's only a matter of time until Griffiths gets his dream move back to his comfort blanket. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Game of throw-ins Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 6 hours ago, CCB19035 said: Someone made a good point, an Aberdeen blogger I think, or a journalist? I canna mind. Anyway, this person said that McInnes seems to get in good players who become available, rather than a player who fits a specific style or system. Good examples of that being Ojo, James Wilson and Greg Stewart. All good players, but bought to play roles that weren't their strong points. Stewart was asked to play and do a shift on the right, Wilson the same, and Ojo was brought in as a defensive midfielder supposed to keep things simple and win us the ball back, yet we played with the ball going over is head 99% of the time. Even this season, it's plain for every sane person to see that Kennedy and Hedges definitely aren't wing backs, we're even pushing our luck with Hayes playing there, but because he has this fixed notion on how he wants the team to play, he shoehorns in guys to positions they aren't comfortable with. How many times have we liked up and everyone's went "what the f**k is this" with regards to formation and tactics. It's bizarre. I think we tend to underestimate how random our signing policy is, not because of McInnes's preferences but because it's the nature of the beast. Managers' awareness of what is available is highly driven by what the people generating the stats tell them. The pool of players that, on the face of it at least, might strengthen our squad AND might be prepared to come to Scotland AND are available to a club with our budget, is much smaller than we think. And everybody knows who they are, because every club is seeing the same stats. The days when a shrewd talent scout or manager could trawl around a few reserve games and spot talent everybody else has missed are long gone. That's why Scottish clubs with a similar budget to ours (basically Hibs and Hearts) and ourselves are so often competing to sign the same players. And because signing new players are always a gamble, there will be a randomness to which ones succeed and which ones don't. Fans like a nice narrative, if player A signs for Hibs and does well and player B signs for Aberdeen and doesn't, it's because the Hibs manager has a better eye for a player. The truth is much more likely to be that both managers had nearly identical opinions on the two players and chance rather than judgement determined which one turned up at which club. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacksgranda Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 On 17/02/2021 at 20:48, BucksburnDandy said: Tonight was a microcosm of the McInnes era v Celtic. Sit off until we go behind then start going at them but too late as we are already chasing our tail. Ultimately despite a pretty reasonable performance, we have now won 1 game in the last 10 and are on the worst barren run in the 118 year history of the club - a worse barren run than any of the shite served up by Shaw, Pearson, Bonthrone, Alex Miller, Hegarty, Skovdahl, Paterson, McGhee and Brown. The statistics are hard to defend despite a reasonable 60 minute performance. Is it really? On 19/02/2021 at 12:22, kingjoey said: One year ago today I witnessed one of the most incredible matches, if not the most incredible, in my 74 years at Rugby Park in the Scottish Cup. Memories. You're not that age, surely? On 19/02/2021 at 21:38, G-MAN said: Some cracking old ones in here. When you think of the ones that aren’t on here (Hearts Tynecastle, Double at Easter Road, Home to Kilmarnock) McGinn was top class. Excellent. I prefer the Dons playing in white shorts, tbqhwy. On 20/02/2021 at 08:44, kingjoey said: I know that’s its probably just me, but that means absolutely nothing to me. You’d be as well showing a picture of a plate of chips. I could understand that a lot better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 IMO Aberdeen are in a weird place recruitment wise, in that you need proven talented players to maintain your position as "third force", but also can't afford to sign better than what you've got, so you take a lot of punts on cheap players who may get there (Kennedy, Ojo), and sign any decent player whos available in your price range. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarapoa Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 He did very well in his earlier years - but it's a good point, just about every player Aberdeen are linked with - either Hibs, Hearts or both seem to be in for and vice versa for their players. Still seems reluctant to cast his net wider than the UK/Ireland market - and even Kamberi would never have been signed if he hadn't played in this league before. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrewDon Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 I suspect Cormack will move to a DoF model when McInnes eventually does leave, and whoever replaces him will be a head coach rather than a manager. Whilst it's not a good reason to keep him at all, I do think the transition from McInnes to his replacement has the potential to be quite tricky because the manager's remit is currently quite comprehensive and he has been here for so long now. Hopefully a structural change would have the advantage of making those transitions a bit smoother and less painful in the future. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjoey Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Jacksgranda said: You're not that age, surely? I prefer the Dons playing in white shorts, tbqhwy. You’re right, nowhere near 74, but just responding to an ongoing slur by @Dons_1988. Can’t agree about the white shorts. Although we wore them when I started out in life, I much prefer red shorts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacksgranda Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 3 minutes ago, kingjoey said: You’re right, nowhere near 74, but just responding to an ongoing slur by @Dons_1988. Can’t agree about the white shorts. Although we wore them when I started out in life, I much prefer red shorts. I think seeing the Dons in white shorts makes me feel young again... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resk Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 I quite liked the white shorts. I'd be happy if we mostly stuck with all-red but had a season in white shorts every four or five years. The change kit should be white tops and black shorts though, none of this blue or gold shite. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukDukGoose Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 3 hours ago, Game of throw-ins said: I think we tend to underestimate how random our signing policy is, not because of McInnes's preferences but because it's the nature of the beast. Managers' awareness of what is available is highly driven by what the people generating the stats tell them. The pool of players that, on the face of it at least, might strengthen our squad AND might be prepared to come to Scotland AND are available to a club with our budget, is much smaller than we think. And everybody knows who they are, because every club is seeing the same stats. The days when a shrewd talent scout or manager could trawl around a few reserve games and spot talent everybody else has missed are long gone. That's why Scottish clubs with a similar budget to ours (basically Hibs and Hearts) and ourselves are so often competing to sign the same players. And because signing new players are always a gamble, there will be a randomness to which ones succeed and which ones don't. Fans like a nice narrative, if player A signs for Hibs and does well and player B signs for Aberdeen and doesn't, it's because the Hibs manager has a better eye for a player. The truth is much more likely to be that both managers had nearly identical opinions on the two players and chance rather than judgement determined which one turned up at which club. We could also try looking at the lower leagues in Scotland too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highland_mechanic Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 59 minutes ago, Merkland Red said: We could also try looking at the lower leagues in Scotland too. Apart from Kevin Nisbet I can't think of any lower league players I would have liked to have seen us try to sign. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukDukGoose Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 37 minutes ago, highland_mechanic said: Apart from Kevin Nisbet I can't think of any lower league players I would have liked to have seen us try to sign. Livi are a few points behind us and have been very shrewd with their lower league pick ups. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betting competition Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 50 minutes ago, highland_mechanic said: Apart from Kevin Nisbet I can't think of any lower league players I would have liked to have seen us try to sign. Lyndon Dykes? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Not sure any of us could say with confidence that there’s no one in the lower leagues we could be picking up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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