Dundee United v Aberdeen

[TheDeeDon]

Apparently there is an interview on redtv from Thelin going on about seeing a different performance from the team tomorrow.

I havent seen it but it’s been implied that certain players have been told to pull the finger out and stop sulking,probably in a nicer way from Thelin.

I heard a rumour today about issues within the squad but will wait to see what happens tomorrow night to decide if it’s worth mentioning.

Basically if the effort and performance doesnt improve tomorrow night then the comments from Thelin and Mitov in the last few days would suggest that we are in a worrying situation squad wise.

The squad is basically a Thelin squad too, so I really hope the unrest rumours are untrue.

A huge game for us tomorrow night and a win will kill a lot of the noise being made.

Jimmy doesn't speak like a beaten man.

[TheDeeDon]

Shinnie in the P&J today, must have been from yesterdays press conference for todays game, speaking about new players not carrying the weight of expectation of playing for Aberdeen.

Captain Graeme Shinnie warns Aberdeen’s new players must show they can handle the weight of playing for the club.

Boss Jimmy Thelin made 13 signings during the summer transfer window, but the rebuilt Reds are bottom of the Premiership table.

The struggling Dons also crashed out of the Premier Sports Cup and failed to reach the Europa League, losing out in the play-offs.

Shinnie revealed he is so frustrated by the winless form slump, he delivered a few home truths in the dressing room after the cup loss to Motherwell on Saturday.
He says the onus is on players to prove they can handle the pressure and demands of being a Don, starting against Dundee United at Tannadice on Tuesday.
Players have to ‘carry that weight’

The 34-year0old accepts flak will be directed at manager Thelin because that is the nature of football.

But he reckons it is the players who deserve criticism, not Thelin, as they are given everything needed to win- but failing to deliver.

Shinnie said: “Players are at Aberdeen because they deserve to be here, but they have to carry that weight.

“I’ve been here for a long time and it’s a demanding club.

“If you don’t want to be somewhere so demanding, then I don’t really understand why you would be in football.

“This is the best place to go and play your football, as the fans back us every week.

“There are some big, big games that you’re involved in, such as European football.

“You’ve got to stand up, bring your talent into the game and have the character to go and produce.”

Asked if the pressure and demands of playing for Aberdeen can be tough for new signings to adapt to, Shinnie said: “Yes, I think so – it depends where they’ve been.

“It can be hostile here when you’re not winning. You’ve got to be thick-skinned and able to deal with it.

“That’s what I said in there (dressing room).

“You need to be able to rise above it and have the character to go and show your quality in the game.

“Somebody’s waiting for someone else to do it.

“It’s got to be: ‘Hold on a minute, I’ll be the one to go and score us a goal’.

“We haven’t scored in four games.

“Somebody has to be: ‘Right, I’ll go and take the reins and I’ll go and do it’.

“That’s what you need in these moments.”

Boss Thelin led Aberdeen to Scottish Cup glory in May to end the club’s 11-year trophy drought in his first season at Pittodrie.
Players, not Thelin, deserve criticism

However, the Reds have failed to build on silverware success.

This season Aberdeen have won only once in eight games, away in the Premier Sports Cup to Championship Morton.

Of the other matches, they have lost five and drawn two.

The club skipper insists the Swede gives his team all the tools to win matches, but the players that are not delivering.

Shinnie said: “The manager always takes the flak for it, that is the way it is in football.

“As players we’ve got to take the majority of it, actually, if I’m being honest.

“He’s demanded things out of the squad that, come a game, players haven’t been doing.

“It’s frustrating for him.

“He’s given us all the tools and the tactics and everything that we need to go and win.

“And it goes missing on a Saturday and people aren’t doing what he’s asking us to do.

“We’re letting him down in that aspect.

“Then he takes the brunt of the criticism, which is unfair – but that’s how football works.

“That’s why I try and drive the team on to change things around for us and for the manager as well.”
Harsh truths delivered by Shinnie

In the aftermath of the loss to Motherwell on Saturday, skipper Shinnie let his team-mates know their lack of intensity was not good enough.

He said: “After a loss, I’ll always have talks.

“I’ll always speak to the dressing room and tell them what I think.

“Tell them why we haven’t won and what we’ve done wrong.

“There’s been a few this season.

“I thought the second half intensity was not good enough, so I let them know that. It’s just little things.
“After a game, it’s obviously high emotions. That’s when I tend to have a bit of a go, which you need.

“Now I want a couple of weeks where I don’t have to, and can can just say well done and get on with it.

“You’ve got to deal with these times as well, as football is very up and down.

“We had the highs at the end of last season (Scottish Cup win) and we have the lows at the start of this season.

“You have to deal with both, stay level-headed and just keep trying to drive the team on.

“That’s all I can do.”

Aberdeen’s Premiership woes stretch way back into last season.
Transforming talent into victories

The Reds have won only five of their previous 31 league matches from November last year.

Shinnie’s faith is unshakeable Aberdeen will rise again under Thelin.

Why is he so confident?

“The talent in the squad,” said Shinnie.

“The talent is clearly there to see.

“I know there’s some new faces and they’re only just in the door.
“But unfortunately in football you don’t get a lot of time to settle in and they need to hit the ground running.

“It’s just trying to drive it into them and get them to carry their training abilities, that I see every day, into the games.”

[blowupsheep]

So game day it is and here we go again.
Will Jimmy finally make some formation changes, will Jimmy finally make some tactical changes, or will he continue with his fkd up stubborn approach and finally get his P45 in the morning.
I said it on another thread but for me, but for me I would like to see us lining up with something like this:

Mitov.
Dorrington (or Milne)
Knoester
Gyamfi
Devlin (nae laughing up the back, but he is streets ahead of the heed band fanny Jensen He is really sh1te) )
Armstrong (or Shinnie) (Captain role)
Clarkson
Karlsson
Milanovic (although nae convinced with him as of yet)
Nisbet
Lazetic

Ok a tweak here and there but something like that would work for me and I really think is worth giving it a go.

Cmon to fk JT and the dons, sort this sh1t out as we are Aberdeen Football Club ffs we are way better than this.

No better place to start our season than at Tannadump tonight but I have ma doubts

[Don Julio]

Strong stuff from Shinnie. If the players aren?t doing what they?re asked on the pitch, thats not Thelin?s fault unless it?s too complicated for them.

Trivia question. Who scored Aberdeen?s last league goal?

[blowupsheep]

Trivia question. Who scored Aberdeen?s last league goal?

Okkels

[swaddon2]

Trivia question. Who scored Aberdeen?s last league goal?

Ernie Winchester.

[blowupsheep]

Ernie Winchester.

RIP Ernie, they just dinna make strikers of that mould any more.
Below is his appearances versus goals ratio team for the teams he turned out for (taken from wikipedia)

Years Team Apps (Gls)
1959–1967- Aberdeen 123 (71)
1967-Chicago Spurs 13 (13)
1968-Kansas City Spurs 27 (10)
1968–1972 Hearts 48 (6)
1972–1973-Arbroath 33 (0)

Total 244 (100)

That's fkn impressive by anyone's standards, a goal every 1.7 games for the dandies, wow, jist wow.
Thats pretty much on a par with King Joey

RIP Ernie

[OneBrianIrvine]

Strong stuff from Shinnie. If the players aren?t doing what they?re asked on the pitch, thats not Thelin?s fault unless it?s too complicated for them.

Trivia question. Who scored Aberdeen?s last league goal?

Strong stuff indeed. The second half intensity wasn’t good enough? I hope someone had a go right back at him for his ridiculous foul that saw him carded then taken off before he was sent off. It didn’t help us, we need his drive on the pitch, drive, not stupidity. I like Shinnie but his ego lets him(us) down at times.

Last league goal - not a scooby

[RED_JOHN]

You have got to laugh at players like Graeme Shinnie advising players who have just signed for Aberdeen what the expectations and pressure is like playing for this club. How many managers has he seen sacked during his spell with the club? He would be better worrying about himself as I would show him the door.
He has been involved in too many different managers teams who have ALL been sacked.

[rico94]

Some of that is a bit harsh on Shinnie.

Yesterday he was getting criticised for leaving Mitov to address the media about the performance on Saturday not being good enough and now he has done the same thing people are saying hes got nerve having a go at the other players.

I didnt think his challenge on Saturday was that bad either, certainly not as stupid as Devlins one against Falkirk that got him sent off.

To me Shinnie is at the stage of his career where we shouldnt be having to play him week in week out but there is no one else in the squad that can drive the team on.

This has been an issue long before Thelin walked in the door so I guess the requirement team dont consider the players character when they are looking at the data.

[blowupsheep]

Just seen tonights starting 11

Why a fkn why does he insist on playing that useless headbanded muppet Jensen
Picking him week in week out should be a sackable offence right there 😡😡😡

[TheDeeDon]

Just seen tonights starting 11

Why a fkn why does he insist on playing that useless headbanded muppet Jensen
Picking him week in week out should be a sackable offence right there 😡😡😡

Not the line up I expected.

I really hope to flock we get the points tonight.

A bad result tonight could see things turn very nasty.

Come on Aberdeen, just win this game.

[OneBrianIrvine]

BBC has Armstrong up front and Nisbet left midfield. Put a little effort in…

[RED_JOHN]

Some of that is a bit harsh on Shinnie.

Yesterday he was getting criticised for leaving Mitov to address the media about the performance on Saturday not being good enough and now he has done the same thing people are saying hes got nerve having a go at the other players.

I didnt think his challenge on Saturday was that bad either, certainly not as stupid as Devlins one against Falkirk that got him sent off.

To me Shinnie is at the stage of his career where we shouldnt be having to play him week in week out but there is no one else in the squad that can drive the team on.

This has been an issue long before Thelin walked in the door so I guess the requirement team dont consider the players character when they are looking at the data.

How is your old man getting on?


I don’t think it’s harsh on Shinnie. I just am not a fan of players who keep being involved after seeing manager after manager getting sacked. I think a good solution for the club would be to address this situation and move all these types on as quickly as possible. Rumours of Shinnie and Devlin being their last season here will hopefully be true.

It looks on paper as a 4-2-3-1 again and as you all know I am not a fan of this negative tactic.

Like the rest of us I hope we get the win tonight and what I am happy about is the removal of Ohsh!t, Keskinen and Shinnie. The lad we signed from AC Milan is maybe injured as he can think himself unlucky to be behind Nisbet and Yengi for a squad place. Both of those have had enough minutes and produced extremely little in return.
Jensen can count himself lucky to start but Devlin is rank and doesn’t deserve a starting role. With Topi benched he might not see as much of the ball going forward as he has done for the start of this season.

[OneBrianIrvine]

Well several who I thought needed dropped have been. But no Shinnie?
Maybe JT judges him better as a ‘closer’ - new ****y modern football speak.

Devlin still suspended? Clarkson injured/ill? Surely not just bombed out squad altogether.
I’d have started all three of them.


As ever midfield gives me the fear but COME ON YOU REDS