17 Aug 2026 16:11:04
Hi,
We seemed to look/play better without Shankland, we will see when he is back in the team from the start.
Would have liked to have him 2/3 years ago, when we had the chance, but we did not rate him at that time!
Still could come good, but for me from the bench!
Would like to be proved wrong!
17 Aug 2026 17:43:03
Probably, but what I will say is we definitely played better without Dio and Devlin, particularly Devlin who, on the face of it, looks ok but after watching an analysis video, he slows down any move and picks the wrong forward pass often.
17 Aug 2026 17:57:08
So has McInnes made the wrong decision in making Shankland our captain? Always better if the captain is playing.
17 Aug 2026 18:29:33
Is Shankland not the club captain and the match day captain will be whoever McInnes deems suitable based on the team he selects?
17 Aug 2026 18:39:01
I wouldn't have made Shanks captain, but that's clearly the level of faith DM had in him at the time, so each time he starts on the bench it makes you wonder if he questions that now. I think Souttar or Raskin would have been next in line under previous managers, so with transfer talk around them they wouldn't have crossed DM's mind.
17 Aug 2026 18:46:38
Not without Shankland as such, but a formation that is natural to everybody.
17 Aug 2026 19:03:18
Would say formation to be fair, three mids needed when two wingers/forwards around loan striker, 4-4-2 with two wingers leaves us with huge spaces when ball turnover. A Shankland goal from open play and he will kick on.
17 Aug 2026 19:20:24
We can't play 4-4-2 in the vast majority of our games, as it will allow opposition midfielders to overrun us in there, and that's where the game is won and lost. 🤔 🇬🇧
17 Aug 2026 19:23:23
I think, and still do, that Shankland is the 3rd best striker at the club. I do, however, hope he proves me wrong at some point. We should definitely still have got him, mind he was on a free, and I think once he's full fit and firing, he will score a few goals for us.