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Q And A Night With Alex And David


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All in All a good night, very positive management duo who never shirked a question and took a couple of awkward questions in their stride,

Basically they want the team to move up (obviously) cannot promise 4th place but believe it is achievable although a very tough ask given we have 5 games against the blue lot, Hibs and feckin Falkirk.

They want to get a scouting system set up. They do not like playing the ball out from the back because "we do not have the silky players like Barcelona who can play it out from the back and get it up the park, nobody in Scotland has". Also added "I watched youth teams and cannot believe that they insist on playing it out only for the opposition to nip in and set up an attack" "it's unbelievable man" he says "man" quite often.

First target was a centre-half but that broke down in negotiations and after not having many other options and little time, he then opted for Gary Irvine and will be moving Sean Kelly and Keith Watson inside.

Jim Goodwin is itching to get back playing but after discussions and calming Jim down a bit they decided he needs a wee bit more time to heal properly (he has had a wee twitch elsewhere during training).

They seem to be talking long term involvement, one fan said he would not renew his season ticket if Alex and David (Faz as Alex calls him) were to be let go at the end of the season, Alex turned to Fitzy and said " did you hear that ? get the chairman telt"

They are keen to fast-track young players up through the teams, with the view that if they are good enough they will get the chance.

They don't want shrinking violets and believe we need strong players to survive in this and any other league.

They are of the opinion that the game in Scotland and in England suffers from modern day coaching and although some of it is good - "fannying about at the back is just not on man"

Thanks to all the 90+ fans who attended and donated £220 for youth development.

James Hunter from SMTV and radio filmed the event and reckons it will be available to view on Saints you tube by Monday or Tuesday.

TIPPY TAPPY SHITE FITBA

GET IT TAE F*CK !!!!!

thumbup2.gifthumbup2.gifthumbup2.gifthumbup2.gifthumbup2.gif

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Regards tipy tapy fitbaw, why not play it out from the back? We can't hold the ball up so why not play it on the deck? Why can't professional football players pass a ball 10-20 yards?

Now I know some times clear your lines and I agree with that, but some of the best football I witnessed was playing it out under Hendrie and Lennon,

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Regards tipy tapy fitbaw, why not play it out from the back? We can't hold the ball up so why not play it on the deck? Why can't professional football players pass a ball 10-20 yards?

Now I know some times clear your lines and I agree with that, but some of the best football I witnessed was playing it out under Hendrie and Lennon,

As stated - we do not have the quality of players who are able to do this and get away with it - a full set of defenders with that ability are not within the budget of any Scottish and most English clubs according to Alex Rae.

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In all honesty there is no reason the youth teams should change what they are doing. It's Alex Rae's opinion and fair play to him for it, but youth football should be about technique and learning the right way to be a better footballer. It's fairly easy to hoof the ball for anyone, regardless of whether you are good or not. Not quite the same when it comes to passing and moving when all you have learned is to hoof the ball...

Edited by Bart Simpson
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Interesting comments about youth and playing from the back. That's what our youth academy have been instructed to do right through the ranks for a number of years.

He doesn't like it David.

Interesting that a number of people in the professional game don't think much of youth football as it is run within clubs in the UK. Derek McInnes for one has no time for it and actually got rid of it while he was at St Johnstone. He thought it was a waste of £100K every year and spent the money on his player budget. His thinking was apparently that the returns were not worth the effort nor the financial investment as the number of quality players produced by the combined 42 clubs over the previous 10 years wasn't enough to get eleven on the park. Don't know what the current state of youth football at Aberdeen is - he might have convinced wee Stuarty to give it the elbow for all I know.

Also the transfer market in Scottish Football is no longer operating in the traditional way and most clubs now sign players either on freedom of contract or on loan. I guess AR is of a similar mind. How many players of real quality has the youth system north of the border produced since 2000? What huge transfer fees have been paid to our clubs. I'm struggling here and even the national team is full of players with English accents.

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If only Fergie, Clunie and co had had the foresight to have demanded sperm samples from the players of the golden era of the late 70's and early 80's we could have easily solved the problem of youth development.

What has changed so radically in this country that we can no longer have players coming into our team with half the skills of guys like Peter Weir, Frank McGarvey, Stevie Clarke, Bobby Reid, Iain Munro, Lex Richardson, Tony Fitzpatrick, Billy Stark, Frank MacDougall, Dougie Somner, Alan Logan, Jackie Copland and Aber.

To think that midfield three of Stark, Richardson and Fitzpatrick would run rings round the current lot standing on one leg.

Modern fitba is PISH.

It gets coached out of the young guys i think, if they have the talent they should be allowed to play to their strengths and not be subject to strict patterns of play, by all means get them fit and tell them where to position themselves, far too easy to spot a pattern and nip in there and take the ball back.

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Interesting that a number of people in the professional game don't think much of youth football as it is run within clubs in the UK. Derek McInnes for one has no time for it and actually got rid of it while he was at St Johnstone. He thought it was a waste of £100K every year and spent the money on his player budget. His thinking was apparently that the returns were not worth the effort nor the financial investment as the number of quality players produced by the combined 42 clubs over the previous 10 years wasn't enough to get eleven on the park. Don't know what the current state of youth football at Aberdeen is - he might have convinced wee Stuarty to give it the elbow for all I know.

Also the transfer market in Scottish Football is no longer operating in the traditional way and most clubs now sign players either on freedom of contract or on loan. I guess AR is of a similar mind. How many players of real quality has the youth system north of the border produced since 2000? What huge transfer fees have been paid to our clubs. I'm struggling here and even the national team is full of players with English accents.

McCarthy and McArthur.
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Interesting that a number of people in the professional game don't think much of youth football as it is run within clubs in the UK. Derek McInnes for one has no time for it and actually got rid of it while he was at St Johnstone. He thought it was a waste of £100K every year and spent the money on his player budget. His thinking was apparently that the returns were not worth the effort nor the financial investment as the number of quality players produced by the combined 42 clubs over the previous 10 years wasn't enough to get eleven on the park. Don't know what the current state of youth football at Aberdeen is - he might have convinced wee Stuarty to give it the elbow for all I know.

Also the transfer market in Scottish Football is no longer operating in the traditional way and most clubs now sign players either on freedom of contract or on loan. I guess AR is of a similar mind. How many players of real quality has the youth system north of the border produced since 2000? What huge transfer fees have been paid to our clubs. I'm struggling here and even the national team is full of players with English accents.

It is all about opportunity. Young players no longer get the opportunity to play at a higher level for a sustained period and therefore fail to develop. The 10 team league in the top flight was self serving, elitist and simply a gravy train for the top teams in Scotland through the 90s. The national team has suffered as a result. The glory days, as the press would have us believe, involved spending money that teams never had on journeymen from abroad to the detriment of local talent. Now the money has gone the fear of relegation staves the incentive to play more attractive football and give youngsters the chance to develop. Increase the league sizes let youngsters have a go playing decent football and you'll see a change.

That said if you want results full stop there are plenty of lower league players down south for the lauded Terry Butcheresque approach.

It's about perspective. What you describe is correct in the short term but has clearly, in my mind, been to the detriment of the game. We can argue about Pro Youth/Youth coaching but the stars of the 70s were all young guys given a chance to play a certain way and not journeymen rigidly following a one dimensional plan.

It is not youth coaching that is wrong it is the need for instant success and therefore the lack of opportunity at the point of completing youth football that is the problem in my mind.

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Very disappointing comments to read from the new management team. The football has been utter murder to watch under them so far, and while I'm aware they are just in the door and can't be blamed for the standard of player, it does not bode well. Hibs away we didnt even try to get more than one player over the 30 yard line.

Scottish football is now miles behind even Swedish and Icelandic football, never mind Belgian or Barcelona!! This sounds like a return to the dark ages. I'd happily see the back of these two at the end of the season.

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All in All a good night, very positive management duo who never shirked a question and took a couple of awkward questions in their stride,

Basically they want the team to move up (obviously) cannot promise 4th place but believe it is achievable although a very tough ask given we have 5 games against the blue lot, Hibs and feckin Falkirk.

They want to get a scouting system set up. They do not like playing the ball out from the back because "we do not have the silky players like Barcelona who can play it out from the back and get it up the park, nobody in Scotland has". Also added "I watched youth teams and cannot believe that they insist on playing it out only for the opposition to nip in and set up an attack" "it's unbelievable man" he says "man" quite often.

First target was a centre-half but that broke down in negotiations and after not having many other options and little time, he then opted for Gary Irvine and will be moving Sean Kelly and Keith Watson inside.

Jim Goodwin is itching to get back playing but after discussions and calming Jim down a bit they decided he needs a wee bit more time to heal properly (he has had a wee twitch elsewhere during training).

They seem to be talking long term involvement, one fan said he would not renew his season ticket if Alex and David (Faz as Alex calls him) were to be let go at the end of the season, Alex turned to Fitzy and said " did you hear that ? get the chairman telt"

They are keen to fast-track young players up through the teams, with the view that if they are good enough they will get the chance.

They don't want shrinking violets and believe we need strong players to survive in this and any other league.

They are of the opinion that the game in Scotland and in England suffers from modern day coaching and although some of it is good - "fannying about at the back is just not on man"

Thanks to all the 90+ fans who attended and donated £220 for youth development.

James Hunter from SMTV and radio filmed the event and reckons it will be available to view on Saints you tube by Monday or Tuesday.

Fantastic!

Alex Rae sounds like a top guy!

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Regards tipy tapy fitbaw, why not play it out from the back? We can't hold the ball up so why not play it on the deck? Why can't professional football players pass a ball 10-20 yards?

Now I know some times clear your lines and I agree with that, but some of the best football I witnessed was playing it out under Hendrie and Lennon,

The reason professional players struggle to pass a ball 10-20 yards is because of a little thing called the opposition! They try to intercept and tackle... At high speed!

As for Tom Hendrie, most of the goals that season were punts to Yardley and set plays!

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I agree.

It was just an excuse to revisit that goal. Celebrations that day at Ibrox were similar to the 99/00 season with last minute goals. #carnage.

Just a shame John Hewitt's goal all those years ago was not captured by TV.

The thing is, other than 3 bombscare passes at the beginning of that move, the attack was actually quick and swift, hitting Rangers (now in liquidation) on the break.

Not really your typical 'tippy tappy' move at all!

Quality celebrations ....

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'Coachitis' is the scourge of modern football (which is shite btw). I grew up watching the game in the 70s & 80s when the tactical choices available to managers were limited to 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and who could scare their players the most to get the maximum out of them. Some players were overweight, some were just thugs, but many had plenty of skill and natural ability.

Pre match meals were steak and chips, warm ups were a few individual sprints, a couple of half arsed stretches and battering shots at the keeper. It all sounds so primitive now, but it was bloody great!

And I haven't even mentioned the colour of their boots.....

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'Coachitis' is the scourge of modern football (which is shite btw). I grew up watching the game in the 70s & 80s when the tactical choices available to managers were limited to 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and who could scare their players the most to get the maximum out of them. Some players were overweight, some were just thugs, but many had plenty of skill and natural ability.

Pre match meals were steak and chips, warm ups were a few individual sprints, a couple of half arsed stretches and battering shots at the keeper. It all sounds so primitive now, but it was bloody great!

And I haven't even mentioned the colour of their boots.....

And youth teams played on blaize pitches with mitre balls!

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Damn i knew there was another question that should have been asked.

AR did say at one point he always wore a short sleeved shirt growing up so no-one could call him a Jessie....so I think the coloured boots have had their day at the Paisley 2021 stadium.....

Edited by BLF
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