Kmcalpin

Any team news yet?

Pretty much it. A lot of behind the scenes horse trading went on behind closed doors but basically when the time came Aberdeen sided with Celtic over several issues and the chance was lost. Anyway thats our tickets, 23 of them, ordered and they should be available for collection by next Friday. A heads up for the office staff as they're doing a good job under pressure. Cup Finals are fantastic but they do put the whole club under pressure.

A good point. Its not just how well individual players have performed over a season but what standard of opponents they have faced.

Confusing term. Presumably all the other seating is inaccessible.

Cedric Kipre?

Is the official bus park at Hampden only for official MFC buses? If not, where would we get passes for this car park?

Going by the injuries sustained by Main, Rose and McHugh it must have been some game on Saturday. County's impending clashes with Partick and Hamilton promise to be brutal in the original sense of the word.

It seems that Andy Rose has a cracked, not broken, collar bone. He's been ruled out of remaining league games and is in a race against time to be fit for the final.

That sums it up well for me. I can see us us stumbling along for the next few weeks picking up a draw or two whilst other sides below us beat 7 bells out of each other (hopefully not against us) and drop points to ensure our safety. Remaining games with the likes of Ross County, Accies, Dundee and Partick playing each other could end up in bloodbaths. Its going to be akin to someone throwing a lump of raw meat into a cage full of starving pit bulls.

I'll consult my spreadsheet.

Some suggestion on Facebook that Andy Rose has broken his collar bone and is beng sent for an x-ray. Hopefully thats not the case.

Is it not £60k per place?

I'm not for resting a lot of players, but we have scope to change things a bit with an eye on the final. As Joe says look at players who are maybe not 100% fit and either rest them or take them off early. The likes of Frear, Grimshaw, Hendrie, Ciftci, Bigi, MacLean and Maguire could all get some game time, depending on how things were going. You'd think there will be at least one change from last Saturday as McHugh returns from suspension.

Thats right. However our goal difference advantage although 12 to the good could theoretically be overturned. So, as things stand, we need 1 point to be mathematically safe from automatic relegation.

He deserves it and has grown into the role very well. Motherwell through and through. A great ambassador for the club.

Thats my major concern Iain. Fitness permitting, I've have Ciftci playing as much as possible in the remaining league games. Sid could be brought on as sub and maybe James Scott could get a few minutes taste of first team action. It might have to be a case of starting with a combination of Main and Bowman but taking them off early depending on how the game was going. We do have limited options in that area of the team.

We receive 33%. Of the total gate, some 4,000 - 5,000 will be complimentary. From the total gate income 33% goes on expenses (including VAT I think) and the residual 66% is split between the two teams.

Don't forget to deduct 20% for VAT Shaka. You also have to factor in concessions.

I hope he recovers quickly as he's had rotten luck with injuries. The referee was badly at fault for not stopping the game. He must have been the only one in the ground who did not realise it was a head injury and even tried to encourage the lad to get to his feet.

I wasn't surprised when I heard that Liam Grimshaw was starting, but given his form this season I was a little concerned. However I needn't have been. He chased, harried, and closed down for 90 minutes plus and was instrumental in unsettling the Dons. I'd like to see to more of him in the final few weeks. If he can continue like that he'll have earned a new deal. Overall though a real team performance.

If Cardiff offer £100k for Carson that would easy to turn down. There will also be interest in Cadden, Campbell, Kipre and Main.

Good post G & F. Its very hard to estimate additional revenues but its interesting to try. I'd say that the revenue from the additional OF game would be of the order of £50-60K taking into account extra expenses and VAT. Transfers about right give or take a few thousnad. TV revenues are £32,500 per game. As far as the cup runs are concerned: * don't forget that 20% of each ticket sold is skimmed off in VAT. For every £30 ticket sold yesterday the Treasury earned £6. * for each game played roughly a third of revenue is deducted for expenses. * we get a 50% share of programme and catering cash from Hampden appearances. As for Hampden appearances a healthy proportion of thee attendance generates no imcome. For the final I'd estimate that as much as 5,000 tickets will be dished out free to member club, dignitaries and corporate sponsors. Trying to work out our likely income for the final:- say a 45,000 paying crowd at an average of say £20(???) = £900,000 - our share would be £300,000. Add to that the TV fee of £32,500 and sponsorship prize money of £100,000 = £432,500. Add to that programme/catering cash and our own hospitality (anybody's guess) and deduct player bonuses. I'd say we're looking at a bottom line of about £400K from the final but thats a very rough guesstimate. A very healthy year financially and thats critical for our future.

Our rebuilding plans just got a bit easier with a cup final payday next month.

Great result today although it was a strange game. We didn't play great football but got all the basics right. The team ran their hearts out, fought for every ball and took their chances and thats why they won. No real failures today although I though Main, Bowman, Kipre, Campbell and Grimshaw were the pick of the bunch. At 2-0 Aberdeen still had a chance but the 3rd goal killed the tie. A lot fewer Dons fans there than their average league attendance still thats not important. A real day to savour two finals in one season! Our accountant will also be very pleased indeed. If she was happy before she'll be delirious now. Another big pay day beckons. Well done to Robbo, Keef and the players. Support too was tremendous.

Curtis Main for me for I thought Grimshaw, Campbell, Bowman and Kipre were also standouts.