Match Thread Aberdeen V Motherwell (0 - 1)

[Tord31]

Have now seen it again. Langfield and Sutton never touch the ball. Langfield has Suttons hand on his shoulder and takes an elbow in the face. Yes it should probably be a foul. Bloody unlucky sequence of events - the way it hits bar and lands to them etc and then is blocked on line and they still get it

 

Can see why ref (and some pundits) make an arguement for no foul. langfield has completely missed the ball doesnt even get a finger to it

[Redstar]

langfield has completely missed the ball doesnt even get a finger to it

Nothing more to add.

[fifered]

 

Yep...I think MacInnes basically has no faith in the guys on the fringe of the squad, which will be proven by the whole lot of them being punted over the next couple of months. Essentially though, probably the safest way out of today was to play Well at their own game and stick another defender on for the last 10 and frustrate them. Not that I'm a fan of that tbh...but at least it displays adaptability. Its always made me sink a little when we've gone behind..generally it results in a defeat or draw. Theres never a good sign we'll score tonnes of goals, which is always frustrating given how many times we've dominated games and got fuck all.

Would agree with mcinnes having an apparent lack of faith in the fringe players. Hayes is our best attacking outlet and it weakens our attacking options significantly playing him at left back but the options on the bench obviously don't cut it. Don't agree with some saying put Reynolds at left back though.

 

Mcinnes will hopefully get us a decent left back, sign up Logan and then look to get some varied attacking options for next season. Then we'll be looking good.

[Tord31]

Reynolds left back only a shout for last few minutes of todays match which could have 'won' us 2nd place.

[strachanmcgheegoal]

Reserving judgement til I see highlights. Looked horrendous from the Merkie!

 

Transfer list

 

Bread and butter keeper we can trust

Left back to get Hayes back to where he's most effective.

Anyone else, anywhere else.

[alderossi]

I was absolutely raging at the end of the game.clear foul on clangers, but I suppose it gave the media their 'end of season drama' story.i feel aberdeen have been completely shafted by refs in the last two weeks.

However, you've got to hand to it motherwell finishing second in the league again with such limited resources.their pretty awful to watch and couldnt cope with celtic, dundee utd and aberdeen when they hit top gear.what they did tho was grind out the wins against the lower teams. Thats something the dons couldnt consistently do, esp against hearts, Inverness and ross county.

Disappointing end to the season but overall its been a good one with some memorable results.hoping mcinnes can bring in couple of quality players to improve the squad.hope some of the youngsters like low, smith and mcmanus can step up and fight for a place in the first team.

[Byrne Baby Byrne]

We've been shafted by refs... What about Dundee Uniteds clear on side equaliser for 2-2 ln Tuesday?

 

Enough blaming the referees - we fucked it up ourselves

[ScottishJohn]

We've been shafted by refs... What about Dundee Uniteds clear on side equaliser for 2-2 ln Tuesday?

 

Enough blaming the referees - we fucked it up ourselves

 

His flailing arm was infront of the defender = offside.

[Guest milne_afc]

 

His flailing arm was infront of the defender = offside.

You can't score with your arm. Not offside.

[DrHook1903]

Completely bizarre game today. I feel that Motherwell were a bit of a disgrace to be honest, I think McCall's face up until the goal said it all, he looked a bit embarrassed, only for his blushes to be spared by what can only be described as an utterly disgraceful goal.

 

That said, I felt that we offered absolutely no cutting edge at all, we all knew we would have to break them down, be more adventurous etc... Yet were content with the sideway passing that has cost us several points at home this season. We simply cannot break teams down when the onus is on us at home. Something Derek and Co will have to find a solution too during pre-season.

 

Back to the game today though, may as well get straight to it, the goal. The free-kick was hit several yards ahead of where it should have been, Langfield was definitely wiped out, cannot make excuses for Sutton or Motherwell, the goal should not have stood. Again though, had we been able to break them down, it wouldn't have been an issue.

 

My only gripe with Derek is, the fact we seem to have literally no Plan B, teams clocked on to our style of playing maybe in the last quarter of the season, hence why we dropped so many points. Barry Robson is a complete passenger on the wing, it's as obvious anything I have ever seen when he drags back onto his left foot, we need him in the middle where he is more effective, see Cup win over Celtic and New Year Game vs Pikeys. He strolled they games. So for me, a simple solution today could have been to stick Jack at RB, move Logan to LB and put Robson in where Jack was to allow Hayes to play in the wing, he looked up for it today did Hayes, but had to be more defensive, which is a waste.

 

Fellow dandies, we have finished 3rd, won the League Cup and have European Football to look forward too next season, albeit probably not for long, but it may attract a quality couple of players to help us push on next season domestically.

 

Compare that to the last 4-5 seasons, a bit of consistency next season and we may well have runners-up spot consolidated with a few games to spare.

[West Coast Red]

I've been at the last two Aberdeen v Motherwell games and we have completely dominated both games. To only take one point from both those games is criminal as we were so superior both times.

 

We got a bit of luck at the end of the 2-2 game at Fir Park with Russell's handball but in football they say you make your own luck and not even the most ardent Motherwell fan could deny that we deserved a result that day as we battered them the whole of the second half. Today Motherwell got the lucky break at the end but can anyone really say they did anything to deserve it? We dominated the game against them again they didn't deserve any luck today. They've finished second but no way are they are better team than us. No way.

[Stoney]

rumour has it players had a party after the game,

 

not sure what they could have possibly been celbrating

[Tord31]

Surprised they'd want to spend time together having just lost two weeks of their summer holiday

 

in other news - One match ban for Anderson?

[Poodler]

rumour has it players had a party after the game,

 

not sure what they could have possibly been celbrating

 

 

Hopefully the end of Langfields number one stint.

[Stoney]

fingers crossed

[Poodler]

Think they will be oot in town tonight? I may take a wander down to Espo once Im finished here in the library and see if I can scoosh Clangers in the jaw. I wonder if Zola is a good dancer?

[King Street Loon]

Surprised they'd want to spend time together having just lost two weeks of their summer holiday

in other news - One match ban for Anderson?

Yellow card accrual?

[Tord31]

six for the season in league normally means one game ban. will find out on thursday/friday

[RUL]

rumour has it players had a party after the game,

 

not sure what they could have possibly been celbrating

 

The end of 9 months hard work? They've put everything they had into this season. I think a lot of us feel there is no plan b but our plan a is at least decent viewing and it's not easy with our resources to have a plan b. Motherwell had none either, they fluked a goal at the end, that's football.

[K-9]

Moan ref moan ref moan. Before ball even got to invisible hands Motherwell should have had stonewall penalty. As Vernon had hold of Motherwell players shirt hauling him back.

[Josh83]

We played for the draw got what we deserved! Say dross at home since the cup win boring draws similar to that under Calderwood and brown. To scared to go out and win the game.

 

But what really annoyed me was that the players didn't have the decency to thank the fans at the end of the game. That's something that should be addressed who do they think they are not one of them is bigger than the club should take a long hard look at their selves

[Guest]

Still stunned with the way that all ended. Totally stunned.

 

McGinn was a shambles - again, as he was against Utd. Geez, when he's insipid, he's really insipid.

 

Just plucked up the courage to go watch Sportscene highlights.

[Foster14]

I was disappointed today, mainly because at the end, after trying to score for long parts of the match, the last 10 we just decided the draw was enough.

 

Robson's best performances for us have been in the centre. Hayes was our main attacking threat on the wing (he even was today from full back) before he got injured in the league cup semi. Pawlett was anonymous for large parts of the game. McGinn has scored from a central position a few times.

 

To me, all it needed was a wee reshuffle early in the second half and we'd have won that. Pawlett up against their left back. McGinn just off Vernon. Hayes to left wing. Robson to central midfield (bit of a nasty streak to combat Lasley's). Jack to RB. Logan to LB.

 

From 8 February onwards, you struggle to find many games where we've met our full potential, and squad size etc can all be blamed, but there has been a slight stubbornness from the management team to put out the best team available, instead preferring the 11 "best" players, shoehorned in to a formation.

 

I think the summer therefore should hopefully be focussed on adding players who fit the system, or who are adaptable.

 

It was a crap goal to lose and should have been disallowed, but I think we've had our luck at times this season with things like that. The timing and nature of it was galling and we can point to it being the difference between 2nd and 3rd (it is a major one) but there are many other contributing factors.

 

After seasons of shite football being served up to get terrible results, I'd have taken third place and a cup win at the start of the season. I still do. Just a disappointing finish to the season and to a degree, the feel good factor has diminished as a result.

 

Just have to hope the off the field happenings over the summer reinvigorate that feel good factor (and I think it will, considerably), and the management team can build a squad to improve even further on this season.

[Foster14]

We played for the draw got what we deserved!

 

Not sure on that like. Motherwell defended quite well and we spurned our chances when they didn't. The formation and way we set out was pretty much as we have gone a lot of this season, and won games.

[King Street Loon]

We played for the draw got what we deserved! Say dross at home since the cup win boring draws similar to that under Calderwood and brown. To scared to go out and win the game.

But what really annoyed me was that the players didn't have the decency to thank the fans at the end of the game. That's something that should be addressed who do they think they are not one of them is bigger than the club should take a long hard look at their selves

I don't think they were too scared to go out and win the game. I feel that with the way we were set up and our inability to create chances are what cost us.

[Foster14]

I meant final by the way, for Hayes...

[The_Next_Legend]

Fuck me the majority of you are hard to please! By no means are we the finished article, but we've finished 3rd, won a cup and was in the semi of another! What a belter of a season we have had! McInnes and TD have worked wonders with a team that's finished 9th like 5 years in a row! The positives are there to kick on next season and make second spot ours... We are lacking players and depth in a squad, we can see that! But no more than Derek McInnes! He will go out and buy in summer and get the players he thinks will benefit us, have some faith guys. It's all easy being a fan and saying do this and do that... But McInnes is the manager and you all have to have faith, getting beat today is hard to take, had it been 0-0 though everyone on here would be like "aww great end to season, set out and got what we as needed" we were hard done by, by a blatant foul on langers, that's football though it happens! the important thing is for everyone to chill out accept it and look forward to Europe next season... Stresses me out seeing how much of moan! Start of the season I would have bit your hand off to win a cup and finish second, McInnes and the team deserve praise for what they've acheieved! Yes today's result is dissapointing but will be forgotten about once we play our first tie in Europe! COYR

[K-9]

 

Not sure on that like. Motherwell defended quite well and we spurned our chances when they didn't. The formation and way we set out was pretty much as we have gone a lot of this season, and won games.

Think that is the problem. In second half of season we struggled badly at times as teams knew exactly how we set up and knew how to nullify us somewhat and them it showed up badly that we are lacking a plan b. Lot of work to be done.

[K-9]

Fuck me the majority of you are hard to please! By no means are we the finished article, but we've finished 3rd, won a cup and was in the semi of another! What a belter of a season we have had! McInnes and TD have worked wonders with a team that's finished 9th like 5 years in a row! The positives are there to kick on next season and make second spot ours... We are lacking players and depth in a squad, we can see that! But no more than Derek McInnes! He will go out and buy in summer and get the players he thinks will benefit us, have some faith guys. It's all easy being a fan and saying do this and do that... But McInnes is the manager and you all have to have faith, getting beat today is hard to take, had it been 0-0 though everyone on here would be like "aww great end to season, set out and got what we as needed" we were hard done by, by a blatant foul on langers, that's football though it happens! the important thing is for everyone to chill out accept it and look forward to Europe next season... Stresses me out seeing how much of moan! Start of the season I would have bit your hand off to win a cup and finish second, McInnes and the team deserve praise for what they've acheieved! Yes today's result is dissapointing but will be forgotten about once we play our first tie in Europe! COYR

They get, and have got great praise when they deserve it this season but today there are glaring points to everyone that deserve the slating it is getting.

[strachanmcgheegoal]

I'll forgive them the non acknowledgement at the end as they were clearly gutted. You are correct on the risks of playing for a draw. It's all hindsight now but I wonder if things would have been different if we'd needed the win. Atmosphere shite. Management no plan B. Players had that end of season look to them. Bench nothing to offer. Motherwell surprisingly shite. Lasley cunt.