The Long Man

That's it. Highland derby for one semi final, Glasgow derby for the other. Final, repeat of last year's semi final. lol

Superb performance. Let's hope we can build on it for the rest of the season. Doninpeace, to give him credit, is right - we would have won with or without the penalty decision, such was our dominance. What the teacup storm obscured was the build up to the decision, with Draper auditioning for the Messi stand-in competition. However, I feel it is only fair to Aberdeen that we do the same to the Glasgow Grasshoppers, and show them how to play the beautiful game.

Excellent news. He makes such a difference to the side. one of the best prospects we have had for a long time. The struggle is going to be to hold on to him, as by the end of the season plenty of other clubs will be alerted to his skills. I hope we can make him and Swindon a decent offer when the time comes and persuade him to stay.

We are a tightly run club, and don't like overpaying or going into the red, but Miles is a really great investment who will repay the relatively modest sum it would take to make Swindon happy. So I hope the club appreciate the value of investing for the future, and the difference between him and our other signings this season. There is no comparison. Take the opportunity and don't be so timid.

Storey is so good that he is worth shelling out for if that is what it takes. He will repay it handsomely.

Yes, in the first half things fell for us, despite County looking more dangerous although failing to bury any of their 3 or 4 decent chances. They were making inroads on the right against Tremarco and Wedderburn, who didn't look up to it and was wisely subbed early second half. After recent form, we were all expecting an onslaught in the second half with some nervy defending, but strangely it never came. Caley actually improved, passing much better, dominating the game and unlucky not to score more. Storey was a joy to watch, his ball skills creating options on both flanks, twisting and turning, leaving defenders in his wake. County obviously missed Boyce, but I thought the hype was they were a team. I was actually surprised at how poor they were when they needed to step up. Great result for morale, and for things to come this year.

If Hughes is still in the huff with Raven, then it is simple for Aberdeen - just send Shinnie down that side and boom! I hope he can be a bit more mature than that and restore our back line to its proven quality.

Quote BBC: "John Hughes's men are rampant!" I can't remember when we could last have that said about us

If Yogi is frustrated, then he could always reflect on how small profit margins mean that signings have to be astute, good value and positive additions to the squad.

Let's sign him up and throw in Lopez as part of the deal.

That was the longest 6 minutes extra time ever. Phew, over the line. Great performance, chaps. Good to have Vincent back, apparently Polworth was good value. What a difference 8 days makes. Upwards and onwards. Can we sign Storey?

Class of 72, amo amas amat Caledonius Thistelaramius

Scarlet - yes, I took Latin, as did most of my contemporaries, under the beady eye of Jess Thomson, who must have taught generations of Invernesians. Such was the curriculum of our vitae. Quod erat demonstrandum.

Oh Terry, you had a nice job with plenty to play for, but you thought you were bigger than that. Oh how the mighty are fallen. What will your excuse be this time? Sic transit, Gloria.

Anybody could see that he was the best attacking left backs in the country last season, and only had to watch the semifinal for the evidence, particularly the winning goal. So i am glad he is getting the belated recognition, and it will benefit Scotland. Whoever he ends up with, and he ought to be able to go a lot further than Aberdeen, he will always be one of ours.

You mean exploiting the weakness of a small club with their strong arm tactics and financial muscle to underpay for a player and diminish the opposition, instead of understanding that a healthy SPL requires a degree of fairness and respect for other clubs. Besides, Deila has shown no aptitude for harnessing what talent he has, so I am not convinced it is in Ryan's best interests either.

FFS, don't encourage them!

The whole thing is pretty depressing after the highs of last season. Celtic have been extremely cynical in waiting until the last day of the transfer window, knowing we couldn't refuse a half-decent offer, which is all it is, especially considering the fees other young Scottish players have gone for. Totally agree that we should have played hardball, even if it meant taking a big risk. At the very least we should have insisted on the loan back to be the whole season. I also hope, but probably in vain, that we insisted on appearance bonuses to up the fee, and a big percentage of any sell-on fee (Lyon apparently got 25% of Monaco's fee from Man U, for example). On the playing side, I wonder if this will work out for Ryan. Many young promising players have disappeared at Celtic, not getting the opportunities or consistency they needed. They have a pretty bloated squad already. I think he would have been well advised to bide his time and mature his game before leaving for bigger pastures. The choice would then be greater for him in terms of options of bigger clubs. I think a team with a more progressive young manager would have suited him better, without all the baggage and delusions of Celtic. Look how rubbish they were against Malmo, for instance. And can we trust Hughes to spend any funds wisely? After the rotten transfer policy of this summer, I remain to be convinced.

Reminds me of those many anonymous players who turned up under Butcher and lasted a game or two before disappearing into a black hole. Maybe they're still there.

Well I don't think he is doing us any favours. Plus he seems to be remarkably unprepared and unable to replace these players. So fail in my book. I would prefer he just shuts up about them, instead of intimating that he would be happy to see them go.

Well it is depressing enough being stripped of our best players after last season, but with Hughes having broadcast Ryan's availability, and Celtic cannily leaving it until the end of the transfer window, we will no doubt be taken for a ride yet again. We ought to be safeguarding our interests, especially by insisting on hefty sell-on fees, but I have no faith in our negotiating ability after this latest blunder.

Great! But what does it say about our forwards that it takes a defender to show them how to do it.

BBC: Neither side looking as if they are capable of finding the net this afternoon. Mutombo and Vigurs missed glorious chances for ICT. Hemmings and Stewart working hard for Dundee but no cutting edge. Game has a distinct 0-0 look about it! We can't buy a goal

Having seen the highlights I thought it was quite telling how Lopez tied himself in knots and Ryan had to take the ball off him and show him how it's done. On another note I wish john Hughes would shut up about Ryan. Over promoting him as a Scotland player - why don't you just hang a big 'for sale' notice round his neck? It only puts added, unnecessary expectation on his shoulders, when he is nowhere near ready for that, plus invites others to snap him up while he is still young and cheap. Give him time and space to develop without more pressure. An appropriate response would be, "he is a great prospect, and we are keen to develop him and protect his talents. Time will tell what level he can achieve". That is all.

From the ever excellent Twitter feed, it sounds like Lopez is grafting behind Christie, and teeing him up, as for the goal. Accident or design?