And so it begins

Thoughts ahead of the league opener in Perth tonight

Can anything be taken from the group stages?

The League Cup group stages are a hiding to nothing in most cases with the main goal avoiding embarrassment. Four wins out of four is the bare minimum for Aberdeen and let’s not forget Jim Goodwin did the same only two years ago.

However, considered as pre-season it has allowed Thelin an opportunity to implement his ideas in a competitive but lower pressure environment, let him get a good look at the squad (good and bad) and built confidence in certain players.

Negative looks at Airdrie game and first half v Dumbarton

The pessimist in me sees warning signs in the game against Airdrie and the Dumbarton first half. In the former, the championship side with a possession approach were able to cut Aberdeen open on a number of occasions. In the latter a stuffy defence was able to frustrate Aberdeen and create some chances on the counter. St Johnstone will adopt a similar approach tonight and have better players in which to implement it.

Can we call it the Miovski saga?

It seems likely Bojan Miovski will play tonight. The North Macedonian did not feature against Dumbarton after his second half cameo against Airdrie and you can’t help thinking this has not panned out the way the club expected a few weeks ago. A £3M bid from Espanyol was turned down and it doesn’t look like there will be a quick resolution. I would still think the North Macedonian will be gone by the end of the window but the club have not exactly held their cards close to their chest in terms of valuation and intentions.

Then there’s the question of his replacement Ester Sokler who has scored four times in the group stages but will likely find himself back on the bench if Miovski is restored.

Misery in Perth

St. Johnstone away is always a grind but will present a barometer for Thelin. One of the major positives seems to be his ability to react to the opposition and find what seems to be his favourite word - solutions. There are unlikely to be any tactical surprises from Craig Levein’s side. Aberdeen’s success in these fixtures will define Thelin’s tenure as much as any of the glamour fixtures. Whether these ‘solutions’ come from the start or at half-time the Dons need to find a way to win.

Clarkson Hole

Leighton Clarkson has been one of the outstanding performers of the season so far so it’s a major blow to lose him for the next eight weeks.

The obvious replacement is Jamie McGrath but this then creates another issue on the left wing. Perhaps we will see Miovski drop in here, or Sokler moved wide. Maybe even one of the forgetten men Besuijen or Gueye will step into the breach.

Personally I would love to see Fletcher Boyd given an opportunity in the #10 but Thelin may want to go with experience for this one.

Of course it’s a marathon not a sprint and we’ve promised ourselves we will be patient but it would be a major buzz kill if the Dons get off to a losing start tonight. It may however be the trigger for Mr Cormack to loosen the purse strings. Every cloud and all that.

Enjoy the game. COYR.