Bogbrush1903

I hope so, he's no use to us quality wise for where we want to be...and I still maintain we shouldn't have signed him if he wasn't prepared to commit to living in the Aberdeen area.

It's definitely a long shot, there's a good chance there will be no supporters at that match...

Bill was on the books of the European Cup Winners Cup holders by that time... Surely one of the best uncapped Scottish players of the 1980s... although he could frustrate his own supporters especially during his spell at The Dons.

I take your point that I might've been flippant regarding Rioch, Masson and Gemmill being "past it" especially given Gemmill's moment of brilliance in the final match ; however, I'll attempt to elaborate. Now 1978 is slightly before my time before memories (I was only born in 1975) but, for me looking back, Rioch and Masson suddenly seemed to appear from nowhere together in 1976 and then disappeared together after the 1978 World Cup. They sort of came as a double act like Morecombe & Wise or Little & Large. Therefore, what's good for one is good for the other in my view. Both with an Aberdeenshire background. I know Masson had been integral to the QPR team that rose to title challengers in the 1975/76 which must have been the catalyst for his late career call to Scotland duty. I knew he had scored in the 1976 England match but he actually had a decent scoring rate for a Scottish international playmaker (5 in 17) although he was on the penalties. He maybe didn't have enough experience away from the English leagues. He seemed to do well in the Home Internationals but only managed 75 minutes in Argentina. Was that through injury or had he been banished for the missed penalty? I just remember watching Masson for Notts County on a MoTD circa 1979/80 and he was the veteran of the team, sitting pulling the strings but already a distant memory for the Scottish team. I was surprised to learn that Rioch was part of the Derby County league title under Dave McKay. Was he a regular in that season? I suppose that's what elevated him to Scotland consideration. Like Masson, a reasonably good scoring average for a Scotland midfielder. However, by 1979 the best playing days for Rioch was all in the past. Gemmill was also part of the insipid performance against Iran. He did play well against The Netherlands, scoring two although the penalty had far less pressure on it than Masson's against Peru. His goal was legendary assisted by Dutch defenders diving in all around him. If the Dutch had defended like they did against Scotland then they would have struggled to qualify for Argentina let alone reach the final. I'm not saying the Dutch weren't playing at full tilt but let's just say we caught them on a good day. Again, as with Rioch and Masson, by 1979 his top level playing career was coming end, with his body starting to let him down. He had missed the semi-final and final of the European Cup with Nottingham Forest through injury and that was pretty much it for Gemmill in the top flight apart from a spell with a hopeless Birmingham City side. Therefore, I just meant that all three were nearing the end of their top flight playing careers where maybe they would've been at there peak at the finals of the 1976 European Championships. The Euro 1976 qualifying took place in 1974/1975 but Masson didn't participate in any of the matches and Gemmill played only in one.. In other matters, why wasn't Willie Pettigrew included in the 40? He had done good enough for Scotland only a year or two previous like Masson and Rioch?

It's a very good resource on St Mirren matches. I've found my first match that I ever attended along with the programme cover that I remember so well with John McMaster. Don't you think that the hair suggests it's more in the style of Billy Abercromby at the time?

But the state of the pitch, size of the stand, the nice weather and the hair on top of the head suggests that it's probably this game at Snake Mountain on 20th August 1983 and the player isn't Drew Jarvie. What did John McEachran look like?

Ah right, so John Greig didn't fancy him. It kinda of shatters the Chick Young mythology of why it was such a disgrace Cooper didn't play more than 22 times when he wasn't even playing regularly for his club side (under both Greig and latterly Souness). However, we'll be forever indebted for Cooper's efforts in 1986 qualification; holding his nerve in the Cardiff cauldron on September 10th 1985 and for calming nerves with an excellent free-kick opener against Australia. Unfortunately, it wasn't a prelude for a great 1986 World Cup for Cooper or Scotland though. It's a pity injury robbed, by this time, veteren Motherwell Cooper from showcasing his talents one final time in 1990...

Again, this list of 40 is scraping the bottom of the barrel but does highlight where we were weakest and the paucity of midfielders are very evident. Niether McNab, Payne or Fitzpatrick would prove themselves to be international class although the latter might've been if he had landed at Aberdeen in the late 1970s/1980s before the move fell through. Rioch, Masson and Gemmill were all past their best by 1978, although the latter will forever be remembered for his slaloming run past the Dutch defenders to score Scotland's third. I would've liked to have seen Gemmill play in 1974 perhaps in front of Bremner who was in the twilight of his playing career. Poor Roy Aitken missed out on 1978 and 1982 but the former was too early for him. What a pity John Wark wasn't included in the final selection to go to Argentina though. Up front, Arthur Graham also missed out on 1978 and 1982. 1978 would've been far more likely for him than 1982 though. Andy Gray, another to miss out in 78 and 82 (would also miss out in 86 too). I think 1978 was his most likeliest (it was unfortunate for him that the 1986 World Cup was just a year too late for him after his brief renaissance at Everton) but he had blotted his copy book with indiscipline in Prague during the qualifiers and was, quite rightly, passed over. 1978 was too late for Joe Harper, and perhaps Willie Johnston and if Gray couldn't be trusted for on-field discipline then neither should've Johnston. Derek Johnstone should'nt have been anywhere near the squad. I'm surprised that Narey made the final 40 in 1978 as it was just before United would prove themselves as a force in Scottish football with two League Cup wins. Hegarty was a couple of years older though and might've been an option as, like McQueen, he was useful in the opposition's box at set plays. However, with McQueen unfit, we don't seem to have many options for the naturally commanding centre-back type role (Roddie MacDonald!!) which maybe forced McLeod's hand slightly to include him although it proved a terribly ill-judged decision. Willie Miller would've definitely made my squad. As was the way in the 1970s, none of those goalies fill me with any confidence. I assume that was the second David Stewart of Leeds that played in the 1975 European Cup Final rather than Scotland World Cup 1974 star. It's a pity the latter wasn't still an option in 1978 as I've always thought he was a decent keeper for the time. Alan Rough!!! Haha, no way... oh wait he made the squad and played in all three games To be fair to Rough in 1978 though, he had played well at Anfield against Wales; so perhaps worth a try in 1978 with the 1974 David Harvey unavailable but definitely not in 1982 when Leighton had usurped him in quality. Rough wouldn't have made my Iran team after the Peru match though.

Wow, I've never see the initial 40 before and it just shows how thin the options were, I mean he's scraping the barrel there seemingly just adding players to make up the 40. I mean Iain McCulloch, for a moment I got mixed up with the Killie goalie Alan but then remembered that Jimmy Sirrell had got Notts County flying through the leagues with a Scottish striker. But an international player! Certainly not George McCluskey! I would've turned to Frank McGarvey first, and it would be McGarvey that would become the internationalist whilst McCluskey slipped into the lower leagues in England during the 1980s. Des Bremner! Last capped in 1976, ok a European Cup winner like Evans but was never going to Spain. Which should've been the case with Evans too. I wonder if Stein felt under pressure to include one of the European Cup winning Scots? Didn't Ken McNaught also winning a European Cup medal? Bobby Russell! A good enough player when he broke through in the late 1970s but by the early 1980s he's struggling in a struggling Oldco team. He would have a bit of an Indian summer with Motherwell though. Derek Johnstone!! No thanks, I wouldn't have taken him to Argentina let alone Spain Arthur Graham! I know he played a few games in 1979 and scored against Argentina but by 1982 he should've been internationally obsolete...and was apart from this 40! Alan Rough!!! Haha, no way... oh wait he made the squad and played in all three games I know Jim Bett had made his debut in the Hampden win over a weak Dutch team just before the finals, he was from the same mining village as Stein and a class act on the pitch but the fact that Stein wouldn't play him again until 1984 means he was filling up the numbers in the 40 in 1982 and always likely to drop out. I didn't know that about Kennedy. He was a far better and experienced player in 1982 than he was when he actually made the team(albeit because of injuries) in 1978. He was certainly a fit player but couldn't have played much more for Scotland after 1978. I would've played Leighton, McLeish and Miller in the 1982 World Cup Finals but I think adding another Aberdeen defensive player would've been a step too far. I think that I would've taken Albiston instead of Frank Gray at left-back and my preferred defensive line would've been Leighton-Burley-Albiston-McLeish and Miller. Easy for me though, I'm not getting put under pressure by Dalglish and Souness to include their pal. Again though, like Kennedy, a player appears at the wrong World Cup. Albiston plays in 1986 (I think against Uruguay), by which time he was finished at the top level but doesn't play in 1982 where he had good experience but youth on his side.

I've liked that but I do think John Robertson and Joe Jordon were on the decline by 1982 and the latter certainly had injury problems too. Hindsight has proven that Stein didn't pick the strongest squad available to him. If Allan Evans was going to be tried then it should've been in 1981 when Villa were winning the title. By 1982, and despite the European Cup win (where they beat Valur, Dynamo Berlin, Dynamo Kiev, Anderlecht and Bayern Munich) they were already on a fairly precipitous slide. You don't try out a new to international football centre half on the eve of a World Cup. However, perhaps Evans is being unfairly judged because his only World Cup game he had the calamitous Hanson beside him. Hansen should've been nowhere near the first XI. He had partner McLeish (0-3 defeat in Spain before the finals), Evans (two goals against NZ) and Miller (the Soviet Union disaster). He was probably the weakest defender out of the four and should've been weeded out long before the Soviet Union match. I agree that McGrain would've been good in 1978 but was past it internationally by 1982. I'm not sure if Burley was fully fit as he had suffered a serious injury in 1981 I think but either Burley or Ray Stewart would've been more likely right-backs by 1982. Despite his goal, I wouldn't have played Narey against Brazil, nor would've Hartford (past it by 1982), Hansen (shite), or John Robertson (fitness levels in Seville heat) been in the team. I wonder if Charlie Nicholas would've been taken had he not been injured. He certainly was still waiting for his first cap. For a winger, I can't remember Davie Cooper's form at the time but he was certainly in the international wilderness. As an Aberdeen fan, I would've been more inclined to try out Peter Weir. However, out of the squad he picked, I would have favoured Archibald purely for his form with Spurs at the time, although hindisght also tells us that it never happened for him at international level. Stein didn't have the best of times as Scottish manager; however, conversely, I would've loved to see how he fared as manager in 1978. Although, he had died by 1986, I think the 1986 World Cup would've been very difficult experience for him had he lived to see it (and had he managed to get us past Australia)

How much do you think the sale of Pittodrie will cover the flattening, preparation and construction of the new stadium at the proposed beach site? Between 25% to 30% if they get a move on. With the UK and Scottish Governments both canning the development of new oilfields then one would imagine that land value is only going depreciate in Aberdeen going forward. Then if we're building at the beach whilst playing at Pittodrie for say two years then we're basically covering the costs of two sites for that period time, plus the flattening of two sites and any infrastructure that needs to be put in place to get the proposed beach site ready for building on. I genuinely think the proposed beach site is pie in the sky stuff. I'm pretty certain that we will not be moving into a stadium at the beach for season 2025/26 and nor will it happen anytime in the next decade. They might return to the Westhill site but that would sound the death knell for the club.

Can someone remind me why we can't build a smaller 16k/17k stadium at the current site where Pittodrie sits?

I think a lockdown and empty stadium in late March is very unlikely.

I did forecast at the start of last season that Callum Davidson would lead St Johnstone to relegation and he led them to the cup double and top 6. I might be closer to it this season mind you.

It will be interesting to see if the plans include scope for increasing capacity at an undetermined point in the future. I would be surprised if the design included unfilled corners similar to the original Snake Mountain rebuild or McDiarmid with individual stands as we don't see that style much now and that wasn't the stadium design on the blueprints for Westhill. I'm inclined to think that we won't see anything happening with regards new stadium for at least another ten years.

I can understand why we would only want a 16,000 to 17,000 seater stadium, as it's been proved really, at least in the last 30 years domestically that a capacity of that amount will be sufficient for the home support with a token amount given to the away support similar to Tynecastle. However, for European games, the capacity of 16k/17k wouldn't cater for the home support, especially if we fulfill Cormack's expressed desire of being a Top 100 European club regularly making past August and into the group stages of European competition. In the modern era, since McInnes led us back to the qualifying rounds of Europe, we've been officially over 17 k on six occasions: vs Real Sociedad 17,676 vs Kairat 20,317 vs Maribor 17,105 vs Siroki Brijeg 17,067 vs Apollon 20,085 vs Burnley 20,313 Only once, against Burnley, did a big away support contribute to the attendance. The Sociedad match we were already two goals down and pretty much out of the competition in many supporters minds by the time the second leg took place. Therefore, a successful Aberdeen team might find that demand exceeds capacity. I'm undecided whether that's a good thing or bad thing. I can see advantages and disadvantages from limiting the capacity to an attendance to a capacity that would be insufficient. I don't think a scramble for tickets is necessarily a disadvantage. It creates that 'golden' ticket feeling and may drive up interest when, if the game was played at Pittodrie, people would be less concerned of securing a ticket and may wait until the last minute to purchase. *Note, Groningen was the only match during this era that the official attendance was between 16k and 17k.

I agree with regards the likelihood of Hibs appointing McInnes. Ron Gordon, if that's who is being quoted, is basically describing the antithesis of latter day Delboy. If you add to the mix that Dave Cormack and Ron Gordon are, in Cormack's words, friendly and Cormack would unlikely be singing the praises of McInnes, I would hazard a guess that there's no chance McInnes will be the next Hibs manager.

He throws his hat into the ring for everything, a modern day Ossie Ardiles... everyone knows he won't be the next Hibs manager but the media must go through this tedious charade

We do need someone to keep tabs on the English market but I hope Mowbray or someone at the club monitors the lower leagues and youngsters in Scotland too for potential signings. There isn't a cornucopia of talent in Scotland; however, there are gems to be found occasionally that can be picked up relatively, in comparison to England, cheaply. We certainly seem to have missed out on youngsters from the surrounding area in recent times, for example, with Armstrong, the Souttars and Ryan Gauld.

Just go for a 45 minutes walk and don't bother with the football. The cons outweigh the pros and you can still box off the pros without going to the match. Logically, based on your list, you shouldn't go.

Every time I watch Alan Hansen for Scotland he looked absolutely mince and that short clip isn't an exception to the rule...

Kenny McDowell is sitting precariously, if only someone had known he would end up at the tribute act they could've gave him a nudge. If only Lambert had applied a bit of pressure with his hands in that position.

One man's shitey period is another man's halcyonic era. I remember speaking wistfully to a Dundee fan on a train, as we were both en route to our respective away matches (mine was Celtic 3-0 Aberdeen when Jerel Ifil played) about players such as Peter Mackie, Jim Smith and Vince Mennie as I fondly remembered my Panini sticker albums and scudding them every time we played. He started getting a bit touchy and thought I was a United supporter. It was then that I realised that not everyone enjoyed the 1980s. Perhaps I would've been the same if the Dons had been managed by Alex Rennie and not Alex Ferguson.

I had forgotten Robertson was sent off by the same L.B Thow that refereed 8th October 1988

Just with regards the 0-5 reverse at McDiarmid in September 1990, there was a crowd of 8,711 in the stadium that day, and after a very satisfactory start to the season (including a Bobby Connor double beating Borussia Dortmund in a pre-season friendly!) that horrendous defeat would kick-start a poor spell of league form in October which would eventually cost us the league title on the last day of the season. Scottish football forgets how close we came to lifting the league title five years after Fergie left and how close we were to becoming the first Scottish club to enter the new Champions League format. Perhaps the fans would have been less forgiving of failure in recent times if the 1991 League title and been the catalyst for another period of sustained success during the 1990s. And it would have perhaps allowed the Fergie-era Dons to slip more easily into our history rather than become the one true stand out period of sustained success. Even as late as the early-90s, we felt a different club than what we've become. We were a club feared by all domestically and that scoreline, St Johnstone 5-0 Aberdeen was a Scottish wide sensation that nowadays would be less of an impact and shock (as we saw in 2015). Nobody beat Aberdeen 5 nil and certainly not St Johnstone who, as @Bob Mahelp describes, we had dominated on the few occasions we met them during the 1980s.