Kmcalpin

Whilst not wishing any club to go under, anything which takes money out of the top tiers of English football can only be a good thing. It might just help to even things up.

Absolutely. I don't know in exactly how many games, Vale has been playing behind Bair in an advanced midfield role but I do know thats been the case in the last 2. We've drawn one of those and lost the other. The single goal we did score was through a defender. Now, its simplistic and wrong to attribute both of those results solely to this one tactical move. However, there is more evidence to show that it has not worked than to show that it has worked. Then again someone could argue that this move is more about not losing goals than scoring them. An overly cautious approach if true.

Some truth in what you say, but I'm more optimistic. SK will have more money available to him for a start. Not in terms of the gross amount but certainly in terms of the net amount. Wages for the likes of Barry Maguire, Conor Wilkinson, Nathan McGinley, Callum Butcher etc will be freed up to spend on newcomers. These players contributed little to our campaign this term but did eat up a substantial part of the wages budget. Hopefully Jon Obika too. On the debit side, yes we'll lose Blair Spittal for sure. Maybe Theo Bair and Lennon Miller - but those moves are by no means certain. As for the rest of the OOC players, there's no-one I'm desperate to keep. Maybe some other youngsters coming through too? There will be huge departure and arrival list this summer, but even if we only attain a 50% success rate in incomers then we should still strengthen. Add to that, that SK will now know his squad better and will be aware of weaknesses.

Fair point. Add to that, that we the fans, don't know the personalities in the squad and its hard to come up with an answer. What this conundrum does highlight is that the team lacks an onfield leader, something many of us have been saying for some time.

We could confirm our safety on Saturday, if we beat Livingston and either or both of St Johnstone and Ross County lose. There's life in the old dog yet though as we saw at Almondvale on Saturday. Take nothing for granted.

Pretty much agree with that, although I'm still not 100% convinced of Blaney yet. Maybe 2 central defenders?

Just watched the TV highlights. A few points stood out for me. * Vale playing behind Bair again in midfield. At least that won't happen next week. Another striker will be playing in midfield. No need to sign many more sr trikers in the summer just sign more midfielders! * Kelly flapping at a cross again. * Never a red card. As Handsome Devil says on P & B, no intent, wins the ball, no excessive force, and Aberdeen player comes in late. A yellow card. Aberdeen certainly seem to have the Indian sign over us with referees, don't they.

We can't lay all the blame at either Kelly's door nor that of the central defence. Both are equally to blame. There are other factors too of course such as a weak central midfield. However Kelly and and our central defenders are incompatible and are not right for each other. If we keep Kelly then the central defence needs to be cleared out or if we keep the central defence then Kelly needs to depart. In reality a combibation of both is likely.

Heading for Rugby Park allegedly.

A good day today in terms of results although it would have been the icing on the cake to pick up something ourselves. For us to be caught by either Ross County or St Johnstone now they need to record 2 wins and 2 draws and 2 wins and a draw respectively, and for us to pick up nothing. We should be safe enough for 9th place and the bottom 6 table will probably look pretty much as is in terms of final placings. I'd have bitten your hand off months ago to finish 10th never mind 9th. The consolation for our good friends in Dingwall and Perth is that whoever finishes 11th should coast through the play offs.

It was disappointing, but entirely expected, not take something from the game. It was always going to be a huge ask. Very disappointing too to lose Vale to a red card but again you expect that kind of incident at Pittodrie. I'm more concerned at his absence next week. Results elsewhere really went in our favour to make it a decent day. The games at Livingston and Perth were always going to be more important for us today than our own game.

Next week won't be the walkover many are expecting. However, we should be good enough for 3 points. Drop Spittal please (his Well career seems to be over) and field 2 strikers as strikers.

I have no idea whatsoever about SK's contract negotiations with Liam Kelly, nor should I. However if we are keen to retain his services then it has to be framed as part of a far wider package. To me that isn't worth it, as he's not that crucial to our defensive capabilities. If we are to retain him, we'll need a formation and wing backs capable of preventing crosses into the box.. We'll also need to sign two huge and commanding central defenders to protect him from aerial threats. Thats an awful lot to ask in order to keep your goalie.

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.