DMAA

FWIW, asked a colleague who is a Leeds season ticket holder about Roofe and he said, My concerns on Roofe are the fee and injuries. 27 is a great age for the here and now but it's probably when a player is at peak value, in today's market it's like buying a brand new car in terms of depreciation. Now that he's signed though it's times to put those concerns to the side. If he can keep fit he could be a huge player this season. Our front three have badly lacked end product at crucial times (and yes I include Alfredo in that). Roofe could bring just the qualities we need and, crucially, walks into our starting 11.

I think Aribo is probably our best player, or will emerge as our best player this season. Where to play him is a difficult one but I think he should be one of the centre mids, ideally on the right side, so that we have players with attacking ability coming from deep too. One of the advantages Celtic have had over us against the diddy teams has been that they have McGregor basically where we often play Kamara. One creates and scores goals from deep and the other doesn't, it makes a big difference.

Sometimes I think Youtube compilations can be very good. You could tell from Aribo's one that he was a very good player with huge potential. I think number 9s are harder because Youtube shows you they can score strikers goals, but the best strikers aren't distinguished by the type of goals they score but how often they can do it.

It’s very hard to tell how good he is from the very little there is of him on YouTube. He does seem very much a number 9 poacher to me.

I’ve had a hectic day so haven’t had a look at YouTube yet but certainly on paper he looks like the target man type I felt we needed. Very exciting times. We needed upgrades in the attacking positions.

Looking forward to watching the interview. He better say that it was a “no brainer”.

I hadn’t heard about the Itten link when I posted earlier. On paper he looks very promising. The two of them coming in would be different, potentially very good. I hadn’t heard the Zungu rumour either. I didn’t see it with him but if that is who the management were set on then it is bad news for it to fall through.

This was one of my concerns. I thought he had just picked up another injury? Looks done though so I’ll trust Gerrard and I look forward to seeing how he fits in to the team.

I’m not convinced he’s the kind of forward we need. It will be interesting to hear the particulars of the deal.

Well it’s not that simple, this originated from a French journalist who has a very good reputation and the Lille president confirmed their interest in him, adding weight to the journalists claim that personal terms had been agreed. There are also Alfredo’s own comments and Gerrard’s interview today. Based on those facts, not what our press have said, I believe he wants out and I don’t blame him. It is in that context that I want a swift conclusion to the matter.

It’s an opinion, nobody on this forum can ever be certain if anything like that. And it’s not a matter of being desperate for him to leave, it is an opinion that it has reached the stage where something like very likely to happen and the quicker it happens the better because being on the cusp of a move is never good for a striker’s form.

His head has turned. If he doesn’t get his move now he won’t be at his best for a long time. This window is open till October remember. I want a quick conclusion to it and new, hungry players brought in asap.

Didn’t get to see the game but we have to see that as a good 3 points given our mixed record there. Excellent finish from Kent. That’s where he excels, using his pace running onto a ball on the counter attack. I do hope the Morelos situation comes to a conclusion soon. We need to him sold and fresh blood brought in asap. He won’t be at his best with his head turned.

Disappointed for Edmundson, I thought he really deserved a run in the team. Anyway, good luck to Balogun.

I wouldn’t phrase it like that ? it was more due to how many goals and assist he had got that it was noteworthy, especially in the context of other players having played in more thrashings than him with fewer assists.

I admit I have barely seen him, you’re probably right.

It would be really good to see Jamie Murphy come on today. I still believe he is one of our best players when fit and possesses many of the qualities we often lack. It would be good to see Calvin Bassey get minutes if the opportunity arose too. He looks like a real prospect. I really hope Greg Stewart gets more opportunities this season too. As predicted, he was very productive with the very little time he was given on the pitch last season. It isn’t easy to produce when you aren’t played regularly and are thrown on here and there but in the equivalent of just over 4 x 90 minutes he scored 3 and assisted 3.

The source looks unreliable to say the least but an exciting link, he looks very good.

Exactly. It was clear as day he wasn’t the type who would fit our system. And I thought it was clear that he was an Aberdeen level player too.

Is that Cosgrove taking out Stevie May?

Right now I am pessimistic, but there is a lot of uncertainty regarding who will be signed with the Morelos money. Last season we fell short due to a lack of creativity and quality in the final third. There was also a lack of bottle and leadership. We are starting this season with the exact same team but we don’t know how the team will change when things start to move. I am happy with our defence (including depth). In the 3 midfield positions i think we can improve. Jack and Aribo are good enough but the third position needs strengthened. in the 2 attacking midfield positions Hagi is good enough but the other side needs strengthened. Kent has strengths and has a role to play but he’s not a starting 11 player for me who can be relied on to unlock deep lying defences. Up front, I for one won’t mind replacing Morelos. 12 goals in 26 league games isn’t good enough, it cost us. 7 of those 12 came in easy games we won by at least 4 goals, and only 2 directly won us points (4). Yes, this is a very simplistic summary but I think we need someone who will score more goals domestically. The constant jeering clearly gets to Alfredo. Defoe got a fraction of the minutes and ended as our top goal scorer in the league.

A very strange start to the season. The team who starts this game could be very different from the team who starts the 3rd/4th game.

Credit to him for two good assists in Europe but it was a strange signing from the start. A winger who excels on the counter attack signed for a system that doesn’t play wingers and plays against packed defences.

True but Pittodrie last season did play a part. They weren’t intimidating in the least but the cheers when passes went astray and boos clearly played a part on Jack, you could see him suddenly making very uncharacteristic mistakes and soon they were back in the game.

I didn’t make either of those claims