Next Season Optimism

Got a feeling that next season could be our best one in so many years. Just with so many players out of contract, we could be on for players playing above themselves as so often happens when they need a new contract. See Darren Mackie as your most perfect example.

The list of players out of contract next season include Anderson, Hart, Clark, Nicholson, Lovell, Miller, Byrne, Diamond from my reckoning.

Anyone else on the same thinking as me or have I gone off the rails?

I am more worried about a lot of those players not wanting to stick around that I am optimistic about next year. A lot of those players dont have anything to prove and I would be happier for next year if we can secure the likes of Anderson, Hart, Lovell and Nicholson especially.

I think the optimism levels for next season are critically hinged on how we finish off this season.

A chance of European football I'd hope would boost confidence in the team and fans, we'd see players more likely to renew contracts, fans would hopefully return and we'd see season ticket sales go up.

3rd is a minimum for the team this season. If we don't make it it'll be a bitter blow to the club with another chance of Europe passing us by agonisingly closely. Heads go down and the doom and gloom that is never too far away would return - in the fans and the players.

Making the step up to the UEFA cup is crucial for us imo.

I'll start thinking about next season at the end of May.

I'll start thinking about next season at the end of May.

Exactly. I'm enjoying the competitiveness of this season enough at the moment, no need to think about next season til we know how well this one has gone first.

yeah, lets get this season done before we worry or look forward to next season

I'll start thinking about next season at the end of May.

Aye, this one's not over yet.

Gotta say it is nice to be talking about Europe like it's a done deal in March and that it is our's to lose.

I'll be even more optimistic if we come away from Ibrox with 3 points for the 1st time in 16 years on Saturday.

Will depend hugely on if we manage to keep hold of russel.  Any enthusiasm for next season is tempered by the fact to live up to our league performance will be a struggle.  But then I am a professional pessimist.  On the good side, we surely can't be any worse in the cups.........can we?

Will depend hugely on if we manage to keep hold of russel.  Any enthusiasm for next season is tempered by the fact to live up to our league performance will be a struggle.  But then I am a professional pessimist.  On the good side, we surely can't be any worse in the cups.........can we?

Nah, if we get into Europe we'll get to at least the 3rd round of the league cup.

Progress.

I think the European Qualifier matches will allow us to gel as a team faster and that should translate to a better early season performance.  This in turn should translate to better Cup experiences

Think we may well get 3rd and European spot to get crowds interested again but next season will be much more difficult to do the same.  At many times we have pushed our luck which thankfully has held out and is unlikely to do so to same extent again.  Expectation will be much higher aswell.

I wonder how ST sales will pan out.

Given this seasons sales and crowds I can't see much of an increase. No doubt folk will hold off again, go to a few games at the start of the season, then when we aren't winning 5-0 and playing like the dutch of the 70s they'll fuck off and return to moaning like bitches.

The only thing that is really gonna get the crowds back in is excitement, which is most easily come by from a good cup run.  Has to be a priorty next year as I would imagine we will be there or there abouts for  3rd/4th without much effort

Mailing out application forms again will be a good start.  Suicide last year trying to do it all online!! 

I can only see us being let down next season. I applaud JC for what he has done over the last few years and I feel excited and proud of Aberdeen again.

However, I fear JC has taken us as far as he can. He has made us very hard to beat and put us at the top end of the league again. We may even get a brief flirtation with europe again. JC did exactly this with Dunfermline.

He is only interested in bringing in tried and tested players who cost small but significant amounts of money. He doesn't try to unearth players who are at the bottom of a curve and will deliver significantly more with coaching and management. He appears to have very little interest in our youth development. Net result is that we get a team who are very competent but are already playing at the top of their game, there is very little room for growth and development.

I suspect the only tangible progress we could make next season is a credible title challenge and settling for CL with a few rounds in the UEFA cup. This feels like a step change from what we have now and would require a better manager to deliver it. I can't see it with JC in charge.

All I see left in the tank is a good cup run next season, JC could probably still muster that up along with a top 4 finish and we would possibly feel content but not elated. Although a cup run would fill everyone temporarily with a sense that we had progressed, its a slight falsity if you examine the teams who have occupied the last 4 of our cups in recent years. Its no great shakes but probably the best chance of a smile we are gonna get.

Just  my thoughts.

I hear what you're saying Ajja but I think we need to cut JC a bit of slack here. He's pretty much improved us season on season since he arrived (with some minor blips!). I think that until we witness a downturn or stagnation in results we should keep faith with the guy. Sometimes I wonder what Calderwood has to do to win over some of the fans.

Glad they are just your thoughts Ajja,

No offense min, but that is a truly down side to look at things from.  JC never had the fan base at Dunfermline to even come close to getting even partial backing financially.  That said I am not trying to paint a rosy picture for Aberdeen but they do have more money than the Pars.

Were I in JC's shoes, I would Expect at least to qualify in whichever European Cup we're in; at least to the Group stage.  The extra games that would give and the travel it might require would be welcoming to bring the team together much quicker.  In addition there would be extra revenue from any TV or admission that should be well in excess of any costs.  These funds, or at least part of these funds should be put into the January Transfer window.

Early this season I was saying we only needed to score 1 extra goal a game to turn things for the season and it has happened in the League but been lacking in the Cups.  The heightened competition to start the season should get things going for the CIS Cup and see us at the very least into the Quarter-Finals.  

In the League, I fully expect to be able to stand toe to toe and trade punches with the Old Firm.  I do not expect to win the league but I do expect to make it a tighter race and be virtually assured of Europe before the split.

In the Scottish Cup, I see Aberdeen going at least to the Semis.

That is the next progressive Step forward. 08-09 will be the year we start to see Serious hardware chances coming our way.

Building and stumbling forward is a must in sport.

I hear what you're saying Ajja but I think we need to cut JC a bit of slack here. He's pretty much improved us season on season since he arrived (with some minor blips!). I think that until we witness a downturn or stagnation in results we should keep faith with the guy. Sometimes I wonder what Calderwood has to do to win over some of the fans.

I am not against JC, as I said I feel he has done some steller work in putting us back in the frame for credibility and possibly real opportunity for minor honours. However, my rational mind tells me he is limited in where he can go from here. I think he is a decent man manager and that he has some skills in pulling together a group of guys who can play at a decent level. However, he is old school. He believes that if you get a bunch of competent footballers and get them to go out on the piss together then they will gel into a brilliant team. I don't believe that style of management has a place in the modern game. Players lives are far more complex and individualistic these days and the team spirit and community feel is only part of what makes a good team. We have to be turning over stones and looking for the uncut diamonds as well as developing our own. JC targets players who have already hit their best so a club like ours will not be able to make the step change required to genuinely compete for major honours unless we can improve players significantly.

I am delighted with the position we now find ourselves in after years of embarrassment after embarrassment but I also have to be realistic about where we go next. I agree steady progress has been achieved and steady progress is a good thing but the next stage is a very big step away in my mind. To get there I think we need a manager who has more tools in his box than JC, a manager who has tactical ability, modern man management skills, a belief in youth development and will take some risks with sourcing underdeveloped players to blend with some experienced ones.

While I wait for that I can only look to Saturday and hope we get it right up the scum.

I'm faily optimistic about next season. We WILL have a stronger and more confident squad. I think back to the QP fiasco and there was a team full of players PETRIFIED to lose or make a mistake. They played like they were scared, compare that to what I saw on Saturday........

Yes, the hun can't possibly have as bad a start, but can sellic be so lucky again with all their last minute comebacks?

Now I'm not for one minute saying we'll win the league (although I always like to make believe we can), but we should be looking at securing either 3rd or 2nd as a minimum!

It'll never be 80-86 again I know, but surely we can get closer to those days than we have been for most of the 90s and 00s?

I can only see us being let down next season. I applaud JC for what he has done over the last few years and I feel excited and proud of Aberdeen again.

 

However, I fear JC has taken us as far as he can. He has made us very hard to beat and put us at the top end of the league again. We may even get a brief flirtation with europe again. JC did exactly this with Dunfermline.

 

He is only interested in bringing in tried and tested players who cost small but significant amounts of money. He doesn't try to unearth players who are at the bottom of a curve and will deliver significantly more with coaching and management. He appears to have very little interest in our youth development. Net result is that we get a team who are very competent but are already playing at the top of their game, there is very little room for growth and development.

 

I suspect the only tangible progress we could make next season is a credible title challenge and settling for CL with a few rounds in the UEFA cup. This feels like a step change from what we have now and would require a better manager to deliver it. I can't see it with JC in charge.

 

All I see left in the tank is a good cup run next season, JC could probably still muster that up along with a top 4 finish and we would possibly feel content but not elated. Although a cup run would fill everyone temporarily with a sense that we had progressed, its a slight falsity if you examine the teams who have occupied the last 4 of our cups in recent years. Its no great shakes but probably the best chance of a smile we are gonna get.

 

Just  my thoughts.

With your point on the teams reaching the last 4 of the cup, surely this must realise at what wasted opportunities the past two seasons have been to get on a good cup run. Other than the Queens park disaster, the cup draws haven't exactly been kind to us in all fairness. Gretna didn't get a single SPL side right up until the final last season

I can only see us being let down next season. I applaud JC for what he has done over the last few years and I feel excited and proud of Aberdeen again.

 

However, I fear JC has taken us as far as he can. He has made us very hard to beat and put us at the top end of the league again. We may even get a brief flirtation with europe again. JC did exactly this with Dunfermline.

 

He is only interested in bringing in tried and tested players who cost small but significant amounts of money. He doesn't try to unearth players who are at the bottom of a curve and will deliver significantly more with coaching and management. He appears to have very little interest in our youth development. Net result is that we get a team who are very competent but are already playing at the top of their game, there is very little room for growth and development.

 

I suspect the only tangible progress we could make next season is a credible title challenge and settling for CL with a few rounds in the UEFA cup. This feels like a step change from what we have now and would require a better manager to deliver it. I can't see it with JC in charge.

 

All I see left in the tank is a good cup run next season, JC could probably still muster that up along with a top 4 finish and we would possibly feel content but not elated. Although a cup run would fill everyone temporarily with a sense that we had progressed, its a slight falsity if you examine the teams who have occupied the last 4 of our cups in recent years. Its no great shakes but probably the best chance of a smile we are gonna get.

 

Just  my thoughts.

 

With your point on the teams reaching the last 4 of the cup, surely this must realise at what wasted opportunities the past two seasons have been to get on a good cup run. Other than the Queens park disaster, the cup draws haven't exactly been kind to us in all fairness. Gretna didn't get a single SPL side right up until the final last season

Queens Park, Hibs, Motherwell, Hearts, United - the last 5 sides to put us out of cups.  To progress in cups you need to beat these side as still avoiding the old firm!!

I think folk are being a little over critical of Calderwood here. What youth players had he had a chance to bring through? I would say the only two that have looked worth their salt are Considine (a regular under Jimmy) and MacGuire (knocking on the door age 18). Foster has become an infinitely better player under Jimmy, and we are the only side in the SPL who can regularly field 6 or 7 players to come through our own youth setup. I dont think our youth system is perfect, but Willie Miller sees that as one of our most important development areas and I trust him to deliver in that area.

The tried and tested players JC has brought in have been the right players at the right time. If Brewster is to offer us the same next season as he has already this season I would offer him a new contract now. For far too long we had no experience and we finally have a fairly experienced squad. Its not like the side is filled with old players- Brewster is the oldest by 12 years.

I can only see us being let down next season. I applaud JC for what he has done over the last few years and I feel excited and proud of Aberdeen again.

 

However, I fear JC has taken us as far as he can. He has made us very hard to beat and put us at the top end of the league again. We may even get a brief flirtation with europe again. JC did exactly this with Dunfermline.

 

He is only interested in bringing in tried and tested players who cost small but significant amounts of money. He doesn't try to unearth players who are at the bottom of a curve and will deliver significantly more with coaching and management. He appears to have very little interest in our youth development. Net result is that we get a team who are very competent but are already playing at the top of their game, there is very little room for growth and development.

 

I suspect the only tangible progress we could make next season is a credible title challenge and settling for CL with a few rounds in the UEFA cup. This feels like a step change from what we have now and would require a better manager to deliver it. I can't see it with JC in charge.

 

All I see left in the tank is a good cup run next season, JC could probably still muster that up along with a top 4 finish and we would possibly feel content but not elated. Although a cup run would fill everyone temporarily with a sense that we had progressed, its a slight falsity if you examine the teams who have occupied the last 4 of our cups in recent years. Its no great shakes but probably the best chance of a smile we are gonna get.

 

Just  my thoughts.

 

With your point on the teams reaching the last 4 of the cup, surely this must realise at what wasted opportunities the past two seasons have been to get on a good cup run. Other than the Queens park disaster, the cup draws haven't exactly been kind to us in all fairness. Gretna didn't get a single SPL side right up until the final last season

 

Queens Park, Hibs, Motherwell, Hearts, United - the last 5 sides to put us out of cups.  To progress in cups you need to beat these side as still avoiding the old firm!!

Agreed but to think that teams like Gretna were able to fluke getting good draws all the way to the final and then almost beat Hearts shows that we've been unlucky. But as I say, you're right, if we're going to win cups, we need to be beating teams like Hibs, Motherwell etc otherwise we don't deserve to win it

However, I fear JC has taken us as far as he can. He has made us very hard to beat and put us at the top end of the league again.

Maybe he's taken us as far as a relatively poor club like Aberdeen can actually go, with the obivous exception of a cup run?

Or do you genuinely think it is realistic to expect us to regularly challenge the Old Firm again?

I agree with whoever it was asked what Jimmy has to do to win the fans over - seems like until we win the league again some of our fans will never be happy and even then they'll probably moan that we didn't do the treble or something.

Wee Toon,

I hope you're not implying that we have absolutely no money.  Every league has this issue. Haves V Have Nots.  Certainly we're better off than some clubs...