Kmcalpin

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?

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.

We'll find out details in due course, so need to get our knickers in a twist just yet. With regard to your point, we should all remember that, as things stand, Society reps on the board outnumber other directors by 2:1. However thats a good question. The 2 Society members on the Board, Douglas Dickie and Tom Feely are effectively wearing 2 hats. By default, the Society wasn't cut out.

We're spoilt for choice. My top 3 would be Bair's solo dink against Livingston; Spittal's rocket against Ross County and his gaol against Celtic. I'll opt for the latter.

Vale beside Bair please, not behind him. Not confident about this one as Aberdeen seem to know how to beat us this term, with us holding on for a draw after being 3 up last time out at Pittodrie. They may also have a new manager bounce, if there is such a thing.

I agree with most of that. Not convinced by Davor though, but thats balanced by Paton, who has done a job. To be fair, he's brought in some decent loan signings: Vale, Gent, Spencer, and Biereth, although he got his fingers burnt with the latter two. Halliday? I just don't know,. I wasn't as concerned as many when he first signed but he hasn't really worked out. Now is that down to lack of fitness or his legs going? Maybe a bit of both. I just hope SK knows. Midfield is an area we definitely need to strengthen for next season.

For the year ended May 2022 our total staff costs were 5.2m. Now that includes all staff of course, although the playing side will account for the majority of that. I'm sure I read somewhere that Killie's budget was about the same, as was St Johnstones (their average player salary was below ours but they have traditionallly carried huge squads). Ross County's would likely be above ours as would both Dundee clubs. SK mentioned last year that Dundee "blew us out of the water" when offering a player terms. United would likely have had a player budget about 25-30% above ours. Educated guesswork on my part.

An intriguing set of fixtures. They could make for an interesting last day if St Johnstone need to win to stay up. I'd like to have them earlier. I had expected an A H A H A sequence.