When it came to predicting football results, Paul the Octopus was an oracle of the world game.
Before a match at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the talented mollusks’ caretakers presented him with two food boxes, each decorated with the flags of the teams playing in the upcoming match.
The Water World’s Inspector Gadget would extend one of his eight tentacles and make his choice.
By the end of the tournament he had amassed a record of twelve out of fourteen correct predictions; a pass rate of approximately 85.7 percent.
Unfortunately, the expected lifespan of an octopus is shorter than that of the average Hibernian manager, and Paul’s rise to fame came shortly before his death in October 2010.
Despite efforts to find a copper-bottomed replacement, the Opta Supercomputer has proven less reliable than an underwater cephalopod.
Jimmy Thelin has transformed Aberdeen’s fortunes, with the Pittodrie club off to a flying start this season
Paul the Octopus rightly chooses Spain as the winner of the 2010 World Cup semi-final
Aberdeen’s Premier Sports Cup win over Spartans extended their winning run to 11 games
And if Aberdeen continues like this, the predictions drawn up by Opta’s nerds and boffins ahead of the Scottish Premier League kick-off will look even more disappointing than usual.
Barely any data software was needed to identify Celtic as the likely champions. After 12 titles in the last 13, a toddler’s abacus could have figured that out.
The *real* embarrassment for Opta is that they tipped Rangers to finish second, Hearts and Kilmarnock to build on their third and fourth places from last season and, get this, Aberdeen to finish fifth.
After leading for five games, Jimmy Thelin’s Dons have a 100 percent record in the league. Proving that supercomputers are less reliable than a 1982 Spectrum ZX, they sit at the top of the league alongside Celtic.
Beat Dundee today and Pittodrie will equal the Scottish record of twelve consecutive wins set by Martin O’Neill’s Celtic in 2000.
There’s a reason why columns like this are usually written in September, and not later.
The fixture list has been favorable for the Dons so far, with games against Kilmarnock and St Mirren thanks to their opponents’ European involvement during the week.
In the 2018/19 season, Craig Levein’s Hearts went 13 games unbeaten in all competitions before their first meeting with Rangers ended in a 3-1 defeat.
Shortly afterwards they went on a run of one win in ten games, which did nothing to aid Levein’s recovery from a summer heart attack.
After the Dens match today, Aberdeen will host Hearts at Pittodrie next weekend and the coming weeks will provide an accurate picture of how improved this Dons side really is.
Alex Ferguson’s claim that the team that wins trophies wins games in Glasgow will be put to the test for the first time in a fortnight.
Next up is a midweek match against Rangers at Pittodrie on October 30, before heading back south three days later for a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Brendan Rodgers’ double winners. Add in a few more games against Glasgow’s big two in December and Thelin’s early promise will come under some serious scrutiny before Christmas.
Kevin Nisbet was a welcome addition after the sale of Bojan Miovski
Until now, the SPFL’s match software has been friendlier to Aberdeen than Opta’s supercomputer.
Six of Aberdeen’s eleven games were won against lower league opponents. Seven have come to Pittodrie.
Of the five league matches played so far, three were against teams that finished in the bottom six of the Premier League last season. The other two were home games against Kilmarnock and St Mirren, both of whom had played away from home in Europe the previous Thursday.
None of that changes the fact that Thelin has signed well and, crucially, improved the players who were already there.
Dons fans say skipper Graeme Shinnie looks ten years younger. Jack MacKenzie has improved by leaps and bounds.
The combination of Graeme Shinnie and Sivert Heltne Nilsen was a big hit in midfield
Seven clean sheets are testament to the intelligent recruitment of goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov, with veteran midfielder Sivert Heltne Nilsen already developing into Pittodrie player of the season.
In response to the sale of top scorer Bojan Miovski to Girona for £6.8 million, Thelin brought in the hungry Kevin Nisbet and began to transform Papa Gueye from a striker who couldn’t hit the back of a cow with a banjo into the new Romelu Lukaku.
By doing the simple things well, Thelin has immediately improved Aberdeen and anyone who cares about Scottish football should welcome that.
Everyone has their own idea of what a battered game needs most. A top flight of 16 teams. Summer football. More youth development. Celtic and Rangers leave for England. The SFA brass burn in a big fire.
Thirty years since they last made a serious attempt to win the title would do nothing more for the SPFL’s credibility and spectacle than Aberdeen keeping Rangers at bay and giving Celtic a sustainable run for their money .
Scottish game must stop biting the hand that feeds
A new UEFA report shows Scotland can’t get enough when it comes to football.
The ‘European Club Talent and Competition Landscape’ reports that the SPFL recorded significantly higher attendances per capita than any other top flight last season.
The Premiership had 18.36 visitors per 1,000 people. That figure is 80 percent higher than second-placed Portugal’s Primeira Liga, which has 10.23 paying gamblers per 1,000 inhabitants.
Attendance at Scottish sites compares favorably with that in other European countries
The Dutch Eredivisie was in third place with 9.16 match visitors per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by the English Premier League with 6.77 visitors.
An outsider might see the numbers and conclude that the SPFL is doing something right.
Try telling that to the fans being asked to pay £38 to go to the Premier Sports Cup semi-final in November when energy prices are rising.
Or the diehards who travel across the country to kick off at 12.30pm on Sunday for broadcasters who don’t pay nearly enough for the inconvenience.
Not to mention the supporters who, until late Thursday afternoon, had no idea whether they would be going to the Rangers-Hibs match at Ibrox tomorrow afternoon.
Our game is happy to accept sponsorship from alcohol companies, but less keen to serve drinks
On the one hand, fans in Scotland are regarded as an antisocial mob that cannot be trusted at away games. On the other hand, they are a cash cow that needs to be squeezed and milked until there is nothing left to give.
Now there are finally signs that football fans are being treated with a little respect.
Since 1980, supporters have been prohibited from having a drink on the grounds. Now SNP member George Adam has called for a reconsideration of the ban. And with the 2026 Scottish elections just around the corner, Health Secretary Neil Gray knows a vote winner when he sees one.
When the door opens, it’s time for the SFA and the SPFL to make a push.
The ban is anachronistic nonsense. It’s time to stop biting the hand that feeds.
Brown made the right decision to bypass St. Johnstone
After a ‘thanks, but no thanks’ from Scott Brown, St. Johnstone owner Adam Webb headed back for another try. He did no better the second time.
Scott Brown is building a fine reputation as manager at high-flying Ayr United
Forget all the fuss about St Johnstone not making management offers. Acting as Craig Levein’s successor was clearly Brown’s job, and when he saw red flags waving everywhere, he declined.
The former Celtic captain made a wise decision. His instincts served him well.
Ayr United are a progressive club, sitting at the top of the Championship and clearly going in the right direction. It’s hard to say the same for St. Johnstone.
Continue as he is, winning games and challenging for promotion, and Brown is a future manager of Hibernian. Time will tell if that seems like a better move than St Johnstone.