Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin is still trying to find his best formation as his three at the back was exposed at Rangers.
I thought the Dons boss had his formation worked out with the back three prior to the trip to Ibrox.
However, the extent the back three was exposed by Rangers was quite frightening at times in the 4-1 loss.
Rangers had 35 shots on goal, which is a concerning statistic.
My outlook has always been winning first and entertaining second, and it looked like it was entertainment first at Ibrox for Aberdeen.
When you do that at Ibrox then the likelihood is you are not going to come away with anything other than a humiliation, which it eventually was as Rangers ran riot with the number of chances they created as they took advantage of the spaces.
It will be a learning process for Aberdeen.
The whole point of any game of football is to win it.
Yes, you want to win it with a bit of style and take the game to the opposition.
However, at Ibrox, that outlook fell flat on its face.
It is maybe time for reflection on that one.
When you play at Ibrox and Celtic Park, you know no matter what form they are in they have good players.
And let’s face it, that was a depleted Rangers team with a lot of players out injured.
After a summer rebuild at Pittodrie, it has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for Aberdeen with ups and downs.
We are now at the stage where the Dons have played every team in the Premiership, and Motherwell twice.
Aberdeen are sitting fourth in the table and will overtake third-placed Hibs should they beat them at Pittodrie on Friday.
That is an acceptable position after a summer rebuild.
I would hope the manager and chairman Dave Cormack will aim to bring in more signings during the January transfer window.
Other teams will certainly be looking at the winter window to try to strengthen their squads.
But Rangers and Celtic are still out of touch.
It is admirable that Aberdeen are trying to close the gap on them.
But if Rangers are not doing well, they will just go to the war chest.
Celtic are the same and are now talking about transfers in January.
I anticipate Aberdeen will be contesting with Hibs and Hearts for third spot this season and the Edinburgh clubs will also look to strengthen.
Aberdeen have to look at the first quarter of the season and take the plus and negative points from it.
They have to fix the away form, which has been poor.
However, the form at Pittodrie has been good and Aberdeen are scoring goals.
Duk in particular looks like a real threat and danger to any team, and I include Rangers and Celtic in that.
Despite the loss at Ibrox, I am still confident Aberdeen can get third spot.
Aberdeen have a huge match against Hibs at Pittodrie on Friday evening.
The Dons will no doubt feel aggrieved after their last clash with Hibs when they lost at Easter Road earlier this season.
Aberdeen were 1-0 up until an incident where Hibs were awarded a controversial penalty and Liam Scales was sent off.
The Dons would go on to lose that game 3-1.
Friday night football offers Aberdeen the opportunity to leapfrog third-placed Hibs, who are only a point ahead of the Reds.
Aberdeen also have a game in hand on Hibs so they are in a decent position going into that match.
It is vital the Dons learn lessons from the defeat at Rangers, but they also have to bounce back from it straight away.
There can be no hangovers from that Ibrox defeat.
Aberdeen’s form in front of their supporters at Pittodrie has been positive so far this season.
They have to deliver that home form to jump back up to third in the Premiership table.
No shortage of controversy with VAR
Aberdeen’s 4-1 defeat by Rangers offers further proved that if we thought VAR would eradicate controversy, we are living in la-la land.
Rangers were awarded a penalty following a VAR decision on a Jayden Richardson hand-ball.
James Tavernier hit the post with the resultant spot-kick.
The Richardson hand-ball was nonsense.
If the referee looks at that there is no intention – it is a total miskick from the Dons player and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
The ball came off Richardson’s leg and hit him on the arm.
You have to raise your arm to balance yourself.
How that can be deemed a penalty kick, I don’t know.
My only thought is that the people doing VAR are asking the referee to have a look.
Then maybe the referee feels under pressure and obliged to give the decision.
There is still a long way to go before VAR is perfected.
I know it is new and you have to respect there will be teething problems.
But let’s hope they can smooth it out in the weeks to come.
Aberdeen Women in historic victory
Hopefully, a historic first win at Pittodrie by Aberdeen Women will be the first of many.
Aberdeen Women beat Glasgow Women 2-0 on Sunday to pick up their first SWPL 1 win of the season.
A bumper 1,652-strong crowd were at Pittodrie to cheer on the Dons Women in their second-ever game at the stadium.
Nadine Hanssen scored her first goal for the club to set Aberdeen on the way to a first-ever win at Pittodrie.
Jess Broadrick added another to seal the historic victory.
Ideally, the first win of the season will give Aberdeen a lift to drive them on for the rest of the campaign.
Like the men’s team, there is a certain expectation if you are associated with Aberdeen.
That goes with the women as well.
Hopefully, the progress that has been made can be continued and we see more games and positive results for them at Pittodrie.
It was a great turnout and fans in the north-east have to be applauded for embracing the women’s team and turning out in numbers.
🤳 📝
Brilliant to see so many fans outside Pittodrie after today's game.
Share with us your pics from today and we will RT the best! pic.twitter.com/olsn7RyZ0Q
— Aberdeen FC Women (@AberdeenWomen) October 30, 2022
It helps the players to have fans turn out, creating an atmosphere at a big venue.
Hopefully, this is the start of Aberdeen Women building up some positive momentum in SWPL 1.
Unfortunately, Aberdeen will have to wait three weeks to play their next game, which is an away trip to Motherwell on November 20.
However, when that game does come along, they can go into it with real confidence.
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