The Famous Aberdeen - Season 2022/23

[tarapoa]

2 hours ago, Merkland Red said:

If teams sit as deep as they do against you in Scotland you've four options. 

1) Shoot from range

2) play it wide to cross it

3) play long balls over the top

4) play the ball around to find a bit of space once the defence commit.

We go for option 4 but some of the players just aren't good enough to do it. Ojo, for example, usually takes 3 touches to do what a Celtic player will do in one. Hedges was good at making the space but was too one footed and usually shot when he should pass and vice versa.

Glass is not the man for me but I think we'll look back at the good work he started favourably a long time after he's gone. Same as we did with Paw Broon.

Agree with this - but in this claustrophic league when you play each other so often, teams soon lose the ability to surprise their opponents.

Having the ability, nous and in-game management to vary the strategy against the "low block" $hitfesters should be the way - but in terms of playing the percentages option 4 is probably the worst when there is not the quality of player to execute.

......and this gets back to Matty Longstaff's strange observation that it was long ball stuff here - we've gone from using that too often in the latter days of the previous regime, to seldom doing so anymore.

Edited February 10, 2022 by tarapoa

[DukDukGoose]

16 minutes ago, tarapoa said:

Agree with this - but in this claustrophic league when you play each other so often, teams soon lose the ability to surprise their opponents.

Having the ability, nous and in-game management to vary the strategy against the "low block" $hitfesters should be the way - but in terms of playing the percentages option 4 is probably the worst when there is not the quality of player to execute.

......and this gets back to Matty Longstaff's strange observation that it was long ball stuff here - we've gone from using that too often in the latter days of the previous regime, to seldom doing so anymore.

There needs to be a happy medium somewhere. There was a game under Derek where he said we needed more crosses. Most of us on here despaired, especially when the stats should about 30 odd crosses had been fired in to the opposition box with no success. Could say the same about the current regime.

There was a point last night where we had a throw wide right. 5 or 6 passes later we were genuinely back to Bates with the ball in the left back position. This was at 2-0, early-ish in the second half. I'm not one for lumping crosses in for little reason but the sideways passing didn't get us anywhere either.

[gudge1903]

My point earlier regarding the stats and analysis stuff is that I think we're stuck with Glass until the recruitment fails or is successful. 

Just think for a moment (imagination needed) if (big IF) Glass has us firing on all cylinders with a new and exciting squad maybe breathing down the ugly sisters necks or going for cup glory then a competent manager will jump at the opportunity when it presents itself.

A sustainable and successful recruitment policy is only way to grow season ticket numbers. We can't have future Derek McInnes types losing top performers like McGinn and Hayes and having no idea how to replace or find similar players in our budget. Then kick the can down the road until we can sign the same guys again almost done it with GMS too

If this works (we will know for sure by Christmas) then replacing managers and coaches will be easier. Also, if we have confidence to sign guys like and or better than Besuijen on 4.5 or 5 year deals then we should get robbed less often by bigger clubs than before. We will hold the aces with potential suitors.

Sack Glass now and no one will want to see this experiment through especially the next manager. If this really starts heading in right direction we will get coaches and managers above most Scottish clubs station interested in taking us forward as their will be less risk to them personally and will see us as a potential positive move, heading into Europe with a decent squad has to be the aim, then more cash and kudos will follow.

Need to hold tight for now. It's tough. But there's tougher shit out there (Iost my Mrs last year and I'm bringing my 3 kids up myself so I know more than most about the big bad world ) We'd love a long-term AFC** that we could actually get excited about not just the 3rd is as good as it gets. There's ways for our club to have a serious push at the league every 3 or 4 years if we can buy right, sell right, reinvest right and develope players right.

It can work, let's hope it does. Ignore the auld men that want us back training on beach and full control going from an Alex Ferguson to an Ian f*cking Porterfield to Alex Smith. Yes we have swung more drastically than Calderwood to McGhee to McInnes. I can mind it.

 

(I wanted Glass sacked too but I also want to change how we do stuff, so it's Glass until....well, next season, we need some positivity, hopefully he lays groundwork for future success if he's not up to it himself)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[72redz]

3 hours ago, gudge1903 said:

Our biggest issue is our new recruitment policy based on stats.  On one hand I'd love us to sack Glass and get a proven and tested guy in but we'd be back usual nonsense of signing guys with injury history or that have failed down south and want to come home.

I've wanted us to follow clubs like Brentford etc for years. Unfortunately for us, Cormack and Glass is this is ground zero. If this experiment is going to work then next season is the time to judge although season tickets etc will take a hit until the evidence starts to show a stats based recruitment is better than McInnes old pals act or asking Shay Logan who he jumped about with in English lower leagues.

Biggest issue regarding this year is how the f*CK we ended up with dumplings like Jumbo JET etc. I think we just hoped a few of these guys would hit it off well enough to keep us in top 3 or 4 in league.

Glass may fail but we can't go back to signing Forresters and Gleesons on big bucks who are absolutely murder. I'm encouraged by Besuijen and if AFC are signing guys like that with pace, tenacity, ability and sell on value then we may just be onto something.

Stats, scouting and exploring new markets that are less expensive than English lower leagues are the future. We need Glass to be a relative success next year to show future prospective managers and coaches that coaching a first team being fed by stats based recruitment is less risky than taking over a more traditional club and their recruitment policy.

It's the hope that kills you but it needs more than a season to judge coaching, new recruitment and all the other crap that goes with itm

 

(I know it looks bad just now but we need to stick it out as the possible benefits are huge for us)

 

I agree with a good bit of this. First year was aye gan tae be difficult, nae helped by the ludicrous recruitment aroon the DoF and Head o Recruitment. It’s difficult tae ken fah was behind some of oor signings. But, he needs results tae justify anither season

[Highloon]

I don't think it's that clear what he's trying to do in the final third. 

Totally agree

[scottorae]

I agree with a good bit of this. First year was aye gan tae be difficult, nae helped by the ludicrous recruitment aroon the DoF and Head o Recruitment. It’s difficult tae ken fah was behind some of oor signings. But, he needs results tae justify anither season

As do I.

However, the failure to sort out the defence and stop chucking goals in after 8 months is almost a sackable offence in itself, given the amount of cash spent on them wage wise.

That said, the summer does offer the chance to get rid of Ojo, McGeough and maybe move on some other high earners. If they can get that right, (Besuijen looks like an excellent signing) then it could be really interesting

[Alex_14]

Gudge, firstly sorry to hear about your loss. The AFC brethren are always here for you, genuinely.

Perhaps it’s an old school way of thinking but Glass needs to mould a tactic to the players he’s got first. If they aren’t up to the Glassball attacking vision then he needs to solidify us first, liaise with the head of recruitment and DoF about what he wants to do / how he wants to play, then transition to that.

[HarleyQuinn]

5 minutes ago, scottorae said:

 

As do I.

However, the failure to sort out the defence and stop chucking goals in after 8 months is almost a sackable offence in itself, given the amount of cash spent on them wage wise.

That said, the summer does offer the chance to get rid of Ojo, McGeough and maybe move on some other high earners. If they can get that right, (Besuijen looks like an excellent signing) then it could be really interesting

 

This.

I regard Vicente Besuijen as Mowbray/Gunn's first signing under the new recruitment strategy. It takes 10-12 months to identify the right players for the system Glass is playing. I'm optimistic we'll see a marked improvement in recruitment going forward. This upcoming summer should resolve a lot of the problems we've seen this season. 

[Rodhull]

19 minutes ago, IDoNotKnowThisOne said:

He's going to be good under a better manager. 
 

Players tend not to develop as well in hostile and toxic environments. 
 

I'd like to see Mowbray/Someone competent and familiar with the structure. 

Unless you're itk about something that's gone on behind the scenes is it a hostile/toxic environment?

Just because things are going poorly and morale could be low doesn't necessarily make it either of those things.

[Rodhull]

Just now, IDoNotKnowThisOne said:

I'm talking about fans and their current fury. Players don't tend to develop in hostile atmospheres, knowing every time there's a mistake there'll be groans and moans. I mean there are anyway, but it's exacerbated by the predicament we're in. 
 

I couldn't possibly say it's a hostile or toxic environment from the inside. I have no idea. Dressing rooms that consistently lose generally aren't happy places though, you'd think. When the manager is chucking players under the bus from time to time as well, that can't make the guys feel good. 

 

It might be amazing, who knows? If it is it's not translating on to the pitch. 

 

I'm purely talking the support, who've been sold a crock of shit and been made to swallow it as well. 
 

 

 

If players weren't able to develop because the fans were angry bellends then no Aberdeen player would have developed in my lifetime.

That's not me defending Glass or the current situation in any way but I don't think the fans should be having that much of an effect. Aberdeen fans are always miserable and ready to turn more than most clubs.

[Jacksgranda]

18 minutes ago, Rodhull said:

If players weren't able to develop because the fans were angry bellends then no Aberdeen player would have developed in my lifetime.

That's not me defending Glass or the current situation in any way but I don't think the fans should be having that much of an effect. Aberdeen fans are always miserable and ready to turn more than most clubs.

That's the Pittodrie of my youth...

[Frank Grimes]

The fitbatweets gadgie is all aboard the #GoodwinTrain

 

 

[Rodhull]

58 minutes ago, IDoNotKnowThisOne said:

Well, who was the last player pre McInnes to go for good money? Anderson in 2007 for £1,000,000? 
 

McInnes comes in and does a good job, meaning we're able to nurture "talent" like Cosgrove, Ferguson, Mckenna...all of whom made/will make the club good money. 
 

I remember guys like Paton, Megginson, Jack coming through in the McGhee days. Most of them didn't go on to make it for Aberdeen, with the exception of the rat Jack, but he really only came on to a game under McInnes- when the club started doing well. 
 

Point being, it's hard to nurture sellable talent when the on pitch performance is poor. Ideally these guys are getting bedded into what is already a good side with good pros to help them. We don't have a good side at the moment, and most of our experienced pros are fucking dogmeat. 
 

There's a difference between Aberdeen fans being general moaners, which I know is the case, and this current predicament of anger and bordering hate towards the club and the ownership/staff. 
 

A bit of pressure is good, an expectation to win games. When it starts to turn as ugly and as sour as it's going atm, it can't be good for the development of young players. 

I mean I'm not sure things are all that much different from the fans now as they were for the last couple of years of McInnes. Regarding the development of players I'm still not convinced it's all that much to do with the fans. As you say McInnes came in and did well so it could be argued it was down to him but I'm not sure many would say that he was a manager that could overwhelmingly be described as someone that gave youth players a chance.

True about not receiving decent fees for players for some time but that could also be argued as being down to the clubs management of contracts. Someone like Fraser could have got us more money had the club managed his contract situation better. Even when Calderwood was doing pretty well as manager I don't remember us getting decent money for anyone either though.

[DukDukGoose]

41 minutes ago, Frank Grimes said:

The fitbatweets gadgie is all aboard the #GoodwinTrain

 

 

St Mirren fans seem to flip flop between keeping him and sacking him. I don't think he's the answer.

[Dons_1988]

1 minute ago, IDoNotKnowThisOne said:

Beyond just that, he wouldn't work in the current system. 
 

It's becoming clearer and clearer why Glass was the man hand picked. Just happy to be here and will bark like a dog when required. 
 

 

I don’t think it’s helpful to make sweeping statements about glass’ character. 

If the process to appoint him was shite (it was), it’s not his fault. He took the opportunity that arose for him. 

[Dons_1988]

Just now, IDoNotKnowThisOne said:

I'm not intending to be disparaging towards Glass in saying so. I'm just saying he's landed the jackpot in terms of his first ever management job, why would he want to ruffle any feathers? He's got no credentials to back up the position and it would only be natural for him to not want to clash with any superiors. 
 

Do you think Glass would've went knocking on the proverbial door in February 1st when we clearly missed out on a fair few targets? McInnes would've, because he had some pedigree to back up his position as a football manager. 
 

 

 

You don’t know that he didn’t. 

I guarantee that he won’t have been happy with how the January window went, in any case. 

[coprolite]

13 minutes ago, IDoNotKnowThisOne said:

No, I don't doubt that. But what position is he in to demand anything from the board? 
 

If I got offered a job way above my pay grade, and I was earning good money and had an excellent opportunity, and there were things I didn't like about the job. It's less likely I'd do and start complaining or making demands to bosses, I'd be happy to be there. 
 

Now, if Cormack appointed one of the experienced, competent men on the list, the chances of them accepting a January window like that with the season we've had, are slim to none. 
 

That's my only point. It's clear to me to see that's precisely why he was selected over undoubtedly more experienced, better candidates. 

That might be true but it seems unlikely. 

Pure supposition. 

[AJF]

31 minutes ago, IDoNotKnowThisOne said:

If I got offered a job way above my pay grade, and I was earning good money and had an excellent opportunity, and there were things I didn't like about the job. It's less likely I'd do and start complaining or making demands to bosses, I'd be happy to be there. 

You would definitely start complaining and making demands if you were in a job where your time there is entirely dependant on performance.

You will be out on your arse if you just coast by and maintain you are just “happy to be there”.

[Game of throw-ins]

31 minutes ago, AJF said:

You would definitely start complaining and making demands if you were in a job where your time there is entirely dependant on performance.

You will be out on your arse if you just coast by and maintain you are just “happy to be there”.

Not if your employer is a guy who would regard complaining and making demands as a sackable offense. 

McInnes was so enraged by Dave's behaviour in last year's window that he (very uncharacteristically) complained in the press.

A couple of months later he was gone.

[gudge1903]

McInnes had to go. Boy was trying to resign GMS after resigning Hayes and McGinn. He's the reason we are forced into finding a new way of finding players. 

Glass is just carrying the can until this process () is fully in place.