Summer Signings Confirmed

[Guest]

i was listening to sportsound today and everyone on there reckons we have got a really good player in Flood, Houston stating that he had numerous set-to's with him because he used to take teamamets to task that he felt were'nt giving thier all, if thats the case then that is somethng i would be happy to see continue.

 

This.

 

We've been lacking someone to kick some ass since the days of Lee Richardson, Jim Bett etc.

 

Of course, he needs to back that up by leading by example. We've had many a player who's quick to point the finger of blame but unfortunately not being able to be holier than thow in their own performance (Severin being the biggest culprit).

 

And of course, having a more senior player that the younger lads can aspire to be like, and take their medicine when told, will be a godsend.

[ollie1903]

Did he have a good season? No.

 

[a don in oz]

 

The inescapable truth there is that... in fact, they are both black.

 

Apply that to this situation if you will.

[robbo]

 

Looked tidy enough, but sod all blood, sweat and tears. Look at someone like Brian Irvine for commitment, drive and enthusiasm. That's the trouble with most players to pull on a red shirt in recent years - next to no passion for the club. Going through the motions.

Sorry but that's utter garbage. You have no idea how committed rae is to staying in as close to his peak as he can. How much effort he goes to and what he does out with the club is unbelievable. To say he was going through the motions is ill informed pish...

[The Boofon]

He's still a hun bastard according to Redstar.

 

On that note where the fuck has he disappeared to?

 

Brown gone, Rae and Hughes both on the way out potentially and Redstar is AWOL.

 

FFS.

[Huntlysheep]

He's still a hun bastard according to Redstar.

 

On that note where the fuck has he disappeared to?

 

Brown gone, Rae and Hughes both on the way out potentially and Redstar is AWOL.

 

FFS.

Crying & angry cause he can't slag Brown, Rae & Hughes off anymore.

[Dom Sullivan]

He's still a hun bastard according to Redstar.

On that note where the fuck has he disappeared to?

Brown gone, Rae and Hughes both on the way out potentially and Redstar is AWOL.

FFS.

Oh, I think he will reappear as soon as McInnes signs someone who has set foot in Govan at some point in their lives :-)

[King Street Loon]

You are defending Rae with regard to him having had a 'good' season for us. Either that, or your comment in ill informed (which doesn't add up anyway seeing as they are more own 'formed' opinions), is random at best.

 

If you really feel Gavin Rae gave his all for Aberdeen last season, then you're stark raving mad. I want to see Aberdeen players give 100%, like their lives depended on it. Ozzy, Anderson, McGinn, Considine, Jack, Low, Reynolds perhaps - about the only players I feel who come out firing on all cylinders. In that sense, if we are to sign Robson, I hope he comes in his Caley or Celtic mode, and not in the MacNamara/Hughes/Rae mode of seeing out the end of their playing days with the luxury that they were afforded (until such time as being released or let go).

 

In your defence, I thought you were the young lad who posts on here and didn't realise you were the father of the loon who plays for our youth team. That said, I still think you're miles off with your opinion on Rae, who I admit was once a good player, but a shadow of his former self in a red shirt. Whether that was a lack of high enough targets being set by Brown, or a lack of his own get up and go, I have no idea. But disappoint he most certainly did.

I think you're being incredibly unfair.

It's not Rae's fault that he was picked every week.

Both managers felt he had something to offer the team and even when his form dipped due to, IMO carrying the midfield and running out of steam his commitment never wavered.

He probably realised an ambition in playing for the Dons and he never once hid in any game.

[ericblack4boss]

i have to say that i too think Rae is being unfairly criticsed, yeah his legs have gone , and he is'nt the driving force in midfield but i have heard also that he loved AFC, so he went to the huns maybe if we hadnt turned him down before he went to Dundee he might have been with us then,

 

But i have to say at the start of the season on better pitches i thought rae looked head and shoulders above the rest of the midfield.

[Huntlysheep]

Rae is a Dons fan i read in EE a few weeks ago said it was a dream to play for his hometown club so i believe he gave a 100%, just think he's too old & couldn't carry team anymore just like KSL said, plus probably a top earner & Mcinnes feels he could use that cash to strengthen other areas.

[rossafc92]

Rae's form dipped as soon as we lost Ryan Fraser. Indeed, that applies to most of the first XI as well.

 

When Fraser was on the ball, it was giving the likes of Rae the opportunity to join the attack without having to burst a gut to get there. Fraser's close ball control and ability to weave in and around defenders meant there was time for Rae to get into the box and have a go. It is no coincidence that he didn't score for us after October.

 

When Fraser left, Brown had no real contingency plan. He just stuck Pawlett in there and hoped it work. With both he and Hayes being of different styles to Fraser, Rae's role in the side changed - even more so when Brown opted to play him alongside Hughes. The midfield became painfully slow and it wasn't so much the fault of Rae and Hughes, but Brown for not realising the two of them could not play together as the central pairing.

 

Thus, it would be unfair to criticise Rae for not trying, he always seemed willing in games. With the way the side changed after Fraser's departure, coupled with his age, it was never going to work out for Rae in the latter half of the season.

[Guest]

Gavin Rae = average midfielder. He's been let go as he provided nothing we couldn't get from the likes of Ryan Jack. I don't buy this stuff about his legs have gone. We're not asking these guys to run a marathon during matches. Even if he wasn't a box to box player, I still expected him to give far more in terms of dogged determination, hell for leather attitude and swash-buckling up-and-at-em approach.
Was left very much disappointed in his season - expected more from him in both performance and team leadership. I think then, the fact that so many of you are singing his praises, shows just how low the level of expectation has been of Aberdeen players in recent times. I've got nothing at all against Gavin, but think the replacement of Flood, will be like night and day (or in a cunning Arab pun.... like Morning, Noon and Night!!).

[zander]

Tried 100%?

 

See Darren Mackie.

[Guest]

Tried 100%?

 

See Darren Mackie.

 

I don't think Darren Mackie did try 100%. Yes, he would always chase a lost cause (like Dodds), but that is different to being savy and being efficient in the manner in which you play the game (like Dodds was, and he learned how to improve as a player as his career progressed). How many times was Mackie caught offside? How many times did he fail to comprehend or read the flight or path of the ball? This for me is not just down to a lack of ability, it's being bloody lazy in his approach to learn the fundemental basics of football. Another player who was just happy to be at AFC and moreover, to go through the motions without giving his all to be the best player he could be. Never really improved from the day he slipped on a red shirt if I'm being honest.

 

For me, this sums up the main issue with AFC over the last 20 odd years - we've been seen as a soft touch for players coming in and getting a contract. They've not exactly had to try hard to maintain their 1st team place. Guys like Hughes getting picked week in, week out by Brown, on the basis that he was once a good player. We need to develop a squad where every single player gives their utmost, not just for professional pride, but for the famous Aberdeen and their loyal band of followers!

 

Near enough every fan would give their left arm to play for Aberdeen.

[boboisared]

Gavin Rae = average midfielder. He's been let go as he provided nothing we couldn't get from the likes of Ryan Jack. I don't buy this stuff about his legs have gone. We're not asking these guys to run a marathon during matches. Even if he wasn't a box to box player, I still expected him to give far more in terms of dogged determination, hell for leather attitude and swash-buckling up-and-at-em approach.

Was left very much disappointed in his season - expected more from him in both performance and team leadership. I think then, the fact that so many of you are singing his praises, shows just how low the level of expectation has been of Aberdeen players in recent times. I've got nothing at all against Gavin, but think the replacement of Flood, will be like night and day (or in a cunning Arab pun.... like Morning, Noon and Night!!).

No one has said that. What we're saying is that at 35 he was finding it increasingly harder to get from box to box at the same tempo as opponents almost half his age.

[Guest]

No one has said that. What we're saying is that at 35 he was finding it increasingly harder to get from box to box at the same tempo as opponents almost half his age.

 

Wow - 35..... what a dinasour! I just don't buy into this. Eddie Izzard is 51 and is running 27 marathons in 27 days!! A professional footballer should be able to keep themselves in tip-top condition to the extent they can run their asses into the gorund for two 45 min stints. If not, then either they are leading a life not condusive to professional athlete's (which let's face it, they are athletes), or our training regime sucks beyond belief. It's probably a combination of both.

 

There are many, many examples of players being able to continue to play at ther very highest level, well into their 30's (Giggs, Scholes). Stop making excuses for Rae or any other player who has not given thier utmost for AFC. WE SHOULD BE SETTING THE BAR HIGHER FFS!!

[Byrne Baby Byrne]

Wow - 35..... what a dinasour! I just don't buy into this. Eddie Izzard is 51 and is running 27 marathons in 27 days!! A professional footballer should be able to keep themselves in tip-top condition to the extent they can run their asses into the gorund for two 45 min stints. If not, then either they are leading a life not condusive to professional athlete's (which let's face it, they are athletes), or our training regime sucks beyond belief. It's probably a combination of both.

 

There are many, many examples of players being able to continue to play at ther very highest level, well into their 30's (Giggs, Scholes). Stop making excuses for Rae or any other player who has not given thier utmost for AFC. WE SHOULD BE SETTING THE BAR HIGHER FFS!!

 

What shite you are speaking in this thread

[Guest]

What shite you are speaking in this thread

 

Ok, another clever dick who doesn't back up their comments with reasoning. Point out what is shite and produce your own opinions that oppose this insteas of just generic abuse.

[Sonoftherock]

Wow - 35..... what a dinasour! I just don't buy into this. Eddie Izzard is 51 and is running 27 marathons in 27 days!! A professional footballer should be able to keep themselves in tip-top condition to the extent they can run their asses into the gorund for two 45 min stints. If not, then either they are leading a life not condusive to professional athlete's (which let's face it, they are athletes), or our training regime sucks beyond belief. It's probably a combination of both.

 

There are many, many examples of players being able to continue to play at ther very highest level, well into their 30's (Giggs, Scholes). Stop making excuses for Rae or any other player who has not given thier utmost for AFC. WE SHOULD BE SETTING THE BAR HIGHER FFS!! IN ADDITION, I AM STILL ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS THAT MYSELF, AND MY 5 PROFESSIONAL FRIENDS, HAVE BEEN FORCED TO VACATE OUR SEATS IN THE RDU FOR THE FORTHCOMING SEASON FFS!!

[Guest]

 

Wow - 35..... what a dinasour! I just don't buy into this. Eddie Izzard is 51 and is running 27 marathons in 27 days!! A professional footballer should be able to keep themselves in tip-top condition to the extent they can run their asses into the gorund for two 45 min stints. If not, then either they are leading a life not condusive to professional athlete's (which let's face it, they are athletes), or our training regime sucks beyond belief. It's probably a combination of both.

 

There are many, many examples of players being able to continue to play at ther very highest level, well into their 30's (Giggs, Scholes). Stop making excuses for Rae or any other player who has not given thier utmost for AFC. WE SHOULD BE SETTING THE BAR HIGHER FFS!! IN ADDITION, I AM STILL ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS THAT MYSELF, AND MY 5 PROFESSIONAL FRIENDS, HAVE BEEN FORCED TO VACATE OUR SEATS IN THE RDU FOR THE FORTHCOMING SEASON FFS!!

You not got better things to do in Perth on a public holiday? Saddo.....

[Sonoftherock]

You not got better things to do in Perth on a public holiday? Saddo.....

 

 

Sitting at home struggling through a raging hangover! Reading your rantings has helped put a smile back on my face though!

[Karl Fletcher]

TWL, are you packing in supporting the Dons or are you going to renew next season?

[Byrne Baby Byrne]

Ok, another clever dick who doesn't back up their comments with reasoning. Point out what is shite and produce your own opinions that oppose this insteas of just generic abuse.

 

Haha. Sorry chief. Comparing playing football to running marathons is a bit daft for me.

 

Eddie Izzard's efforts are impressive however.

[Guest]

How so? Both involve high degrees of aerobic fitness and stamina. I was mostly blowing your concept that age is a barrier to fitness levels.

[The Boofon]

How so? Both involve high degrees of aerobic fitness and stamina. I was mostly blowing your concept that age is a barrier to fitness levels.

Compare Eddie's finishing time to the London Marathon winner.

 

Using Eddie Izzard as an example of older people keeping fit is as ridiculous an example as you could use.

 

You really are a fucking balloon.

[boboisared]

Wow - 35..... what a dinasour! I just don't buy into this. Eddie Izzard is 51 and is running 27 marathons in 27 days!! A professional footballer should be able to keep themselves in tip-top condition to the extent they can run their asses into the gorund for two 45 min stints. If not, then either they are leading a life not condusive to professional athlete's (which let's face it, they are athletes), or our training regime sucks beyond belief. It's probably a combination of both.

 

There are many, many examples of players being able to continue to play at ther very highest level, well into their 30's (Giggs, Scholes). Stop making excuses for Rae or any other player who has not given thier utmost for AFC. WE SHOULD BE SETTING THE BAR HIGHER FFS!!

Football involves short bursts of energy whilst maintaining decent levels of fitness to last the game. If you're training for football you prepare this way, i.e adding short sharp sprints during your distance run.

 

You don't sprint in a marathon. Marathon running is nothing like a game of football.

 

If you want to discuss apples and oranges we can open a supermarket thread.

[Byrne Baby Byrne]

How so? Both involve high degrees of aerobic fitness and stamina. I was mostly blowing your concept that age is a barrier to fitness levels.

What Izzard is doing is hardly competitive though. Will he do his time faster than people a good bit younger than him? Does he need to? No.

 

2 decades of professional football is going to take its toll on you. You don't see many 35 year old midfielders running the show. Just because some old shite is running 27 marathons doesn't mean Gavin Rae should be at his fitness peak at 35!

 

I personally thought Rae had a crap season apart from the first few months. I don't think it was lack of effort though. He's been released though, so what does it matter now.

[Guest]

Compare Eddie's finishing time to the London Marathon winner.

 

Using Eddie Izzard as an example of older people keeping fit is as ridiculous an example as you could use.

 

You really are a fucking balloon.

 

 

Football involves short bursts of energy whilst maintaining decent levels of fitness to last the game. If you're training for football you prepare this way, i.e adding short sharp sprints during your distance run.

 

You don't sprint in a marathon. Marathon running is nothing like a game of football.

 

If you want to discuss apples and oranges we can open a supermarket thread.

 

 

What Izzard is doing is hardly competitive though. Will he do his time faster than people a good bit younger than him? Does he need to? No.

 

2 decades of professional football is going to take its toll on you. You don't see many 35 year old midfielders running the show. Just because some old shite is running 27 marathons doesn't mean Gavin Rae should be at his fitness peak at 35!

 

I personally thought Rae had a crap season apart from the first few months. I don't think it was lack of effort though. He's been released though, so what does it matter now.

 

You know, there's a level of pedancy on this forum, not seen in the wider World. It's beggars belief at times.

 

Who cares about marathon's.... it could well have been cycling or swimming I used as an example. The point I was making was that age should not be a barrier to fitness. If you think that a 35 year old cannot keep themselves in shape to enable them to perform as they did, at say, 25, then you need to go and study the finer details of sports fitness. Sure, your body will not be the same as it was, and anyone over the age of 30 can testify that they are not the same as they used to be. But then again, most of us don't get paid a salary to be a professional sportsman or woman.

 

With the correct diet, correct lifestyle and correct fitness regime, anyone aged 30-35 should be able to pour their guts out for 90 mins. Recovery may take slightly longer, but again, we should be using all modern methods of sports science to achieve this goal.

 

Giving someone the benefit of the doubt because of their age, is no excuse. I admit that it gets harder for pros as they get on, but this should be more to do with injuries than aerobic fitness.

 

And take your gobs for a shite if you think that modern football is only about short sharp bursts. Most players need to run in excess of 10kms per game - so they should be AT LEAST able to do that within a decent time, in order to be at peak condition throughout the game. Any pro not able to complete a 10km run in sub 40mins, should be binned!

 

Fitness is not just about conditioning of the body, but also conditioning of the mind.

 

Some shite spoken here, but certainly nae from me. Heid cases so ye's are

[Guest]

TWL, are you packing in supporting the Dons or are you going to renew next season?

 

We're all renewing, although retain our disappointment in the way this was handled, and reasons given. Would you believe that 'easier for logisictics' were given as one of the main factors for closing the RDU? That from our new Head of Community, who it appears had the casting vote, even though many Board members were opposed to the proposal.

 

As it happens, we're struggling to get seats together and may end up in Main Stand.

[Byrne Baby Byrne]

Oh right. Ok. I guess you are right.

 

I guess it's just a coincidence that there's so few 35+ year old professional midfielders at the top of their game.