Pre Season 2021/22
A summer that can only get 10/10 when it comes to keeping players, buying players and sorting out contracts. On the flip side we had to gamble on stocking our side up with a stacked first team, lots on loan and a overflowing under 20s including a few players without work permits.
A very strange summer with far more players leaving than joining. The EU ban is causing chaos to my transfer plans but we picked up a stunning French midfielder on a free and possibly the best regen DR in the save at almost double the record fee for a Scottish team.
Manager Changes
Cesare Prandelli - Seville
Igor Denisov - Spartak Moscow
Liam Fox - St Mirren
Laurent Blanc - Anderlecht
Fernando Hierro - Napoli
Season Targets
SPL - Winners
Scottish Cup - Win
League Cup - Win
Champions League - Last 16
We've cut back our spending and will spend less time trying to find a set starting 11 s we'll have a settled side going into the Champions League games.
Pre season friendly's
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Amazingly we beat Wolfsburg, Arsenal and Barcelona but lost to French 2nd Division side Red Star FC! The final game against Barcelona saw me loose Scotland star CB Callum Dickson for 6 months & our new record signing for 2 months! Wantaway midfielder Fernando Rey was the stand out player in pre season.
Pre Season Prices
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Looks like its the top 4 then the rest. Hearts end of season form last year reflects in there middle of the road on there own price. Motherwell, Hamilton and Raith are favorites for relegation
Transfers
Transfer records for a single deal and total sales are smashed but it came at a cost as several key players move on
Aberdeen Transfers
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Axel Hock - DR
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Our only major signing of the summer He's been on my "unrealistic" short list for years and when his team Mainz were relegated a realistic fee of £21.5m was the buy out clause but the expected offers from Bayern and the like never came and we had a unchallenged run at him. Thankfully the usual twats at the work permit office must of had a day off as we add a 3rd career player to our defense. IF We can convince him to stay long term at the end of his contract in 2026! Buy out fee is £60m
Thierry Richard - MC
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Our only other 1st team signing in the window so far come from France on a free transfer. Had a promising start in his mid teens but never developed with Caen in the French 2nd division. Hoping to get his chance at Pittodrie
3 More players joining our a ever weakening u20 team
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Out
5 regular starters from last seasons team move on. Last years record transfer
Calum Chambers goes back to England with Southampton with our £11.25m immediately returned with another £4m to come over the next two years. His right wing man
Isaac Pereira had £8m buy out clause that he was unwilling to negotiate so he moved on to Napoli. For £1m less the man that i expected to change the teams fortunes around
Serge Gnabry went back home to Arsenal with £7m almost covering his medical bills. Most controversial move of the summer was long term captain
Ryan Jack. He had a awful season compared to the rest of the squad and felt like he had not grown with the squad and its time to give others a chance. Jack can at least say he's now in the top 10 for overall Aberdeen appearances with 399 and still has a good few years to go down south and prove himself. Former starting player
Christoher Jullien. He had sank to the depths of being a squad player so £4,5m cheque from Sunderland was enough to turn my head. Final major player on the move was
Oussama Tannane. Never broke into a starting spot and with other wingers coming back from loans another £4m total return was not to be sniffed at. Two youth player's i couldnt get into the first team and was not willing to sign contract extensions were
Karl Sveinsson & Miroslav Hora. One went to Dundee the other went to Real Madrid.....
World Transfers
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This summer has been mental. The oil rich teams have spent huge sums while Man Utd spent £30m on Lewis Cook and another £30m on Wayne Walker who my Aberdeen players ran rings round 2 seasons ago when he was at Celtic on loan.
SPL Transfers
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Take out Aberdeen and it a poor summer for the SPL with Celtic loosing a few key players. Hibs make less profile additions but the best of the youngsters that moved south Alen Brtan, Jack Munro and Joe Page all join there champions League challenge. Rangers biggest addition was 33 year old Adam Lallana.
SquadView attachment 106398
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The starting team looks to have improved from the rest of the squad. Only the center of the midfield is up for questions. Ross Macauley will also be on a short leash as with him and Adam Smith the worry for this is this could be too soon?
Youth team
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This is the weakest u20s team i've had since the first season thanks to Brexit
Starting 11
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I've kept changes to a minimum. Hock was bought in as a once in a save addition. Smith gets the first shot at replacing Ryan Jack in the midfield while our star play Lozano finally has a work permit and is joined on the wing by u20 star Ross Maccauley who's name i never spell right