Kmcalpin

over the eyars, and I'm going back to the Tubby Ogston and Ally Shewan days, referees rarely give us much at Pittodrie. The Dons have tightened up their defence considerably since the 3 -3 draw. A draw for us will be a great result but for them very poor.

Quite a day it was. 136,000 inside Hampden with thousands locked out. The feeling before the game was that, given the weather conditions, if we could hold Dundee until HT, then we could beat them. Snuffing out Billy Steele, their star man, would be crucial. A banner before the game proclaimed "We're not afraid of Steele as we've handled it all our lives". Just how it turned out: we held them until the break then scored 4 second half goals.

Just a rumour of course, but I hope there's no substance to it. Lauded as a real coup when he chose St Johnstone instead of us but he flopped in Perth. At the time Saints fans said he was too small and lightweight for the league - Tierney Mkii?

I tend to agree Grizzly. I did hear though that it was complicated. Something to do with the insurance claim that the club submitted. I think the upshot was that because of the pay out, we couldn't charge for season tickets or something like that. I felt guilty because we received a season's free TV and another season of free season tickets. A fair few fans were uncomfortable with that and paid for their tickets either in full or in part.

A very modest inflationary increase would have been in order, but I'm not complaining if prices are frozen. Most folks wages or pensions have increased slightly. Inflation is now about 3%. In effect then, season tickets will be very slightly cheaper for many.

They won't get it. In fairness though, the very fact that he plays for Aberdeen, and before he even kicked a ball, automatically means he's a very good player. That's worth £1-2m alone.

The most likely scenario I think Bobby. I also think St Johnstone will take a point from Hibs. No reason to panic though. At the end of the season I think we'll finish 9th, 3 points above the 11th placed team. We can beat Livingston and draw in the last game, that should be be enough. Our superior goal difference will be a valuable cushion too.

Yes, thats corrrect. However when he signed there was a hint offering him an extended deal into next season .

If true, where does that leave Sam Nicholson? Would there be room for both?

If his contract was terminated by St Johnstone, then yes, he would have received a pay off from them.

Bill Bowie is personally paying £6K of his £10K weekly salary. Its a short term loan deal.

If true, we should hold off until the summer to find out if any other raptors circle. On the face of it, a good deal, with the proviso that the devil is in the detail.

Agree 100%. Football in Scotland is constantly changing and moving forward and not always for the best. Clubs at our mid table level like Killie, Dundee and St Mirren are "finding money" from somewhere, albeit that might not be from sustainable sources. Its becoming harder to compete with them. So, in order to stand still, we have to increase our income. Transfer income is not gauranteed and can be unpredictable. Young players are now moving on earlier for meagre compensation as the big boys of world football get greedier, and the authorities simply stand aside meekly. Fans too are changing and are becoming far harder to please and demanding. Many younger and middle aged spectators have been weaned on a diet of English Premier League football and that is now the standard, to which they are accustomed. As a club we have to update, modernise and increase our income streams sonehow as you rightly point out. Nothing is permanent but change.

Is Harry Paton back in training? Thought I saw him in a Fb post.

Good post. Irrespective of how its been achieved, ie through development of the Academy, we have always been a selling club. Whatever investment model we adopt in future, that will never change. Thats not to say, of course, that we shouldn't maximise other income streams. Of course we should.