PittodrieGoesBerserk

What you all seemed to have missed is the fact that we've only managed to score that many 'twice in the past ten years'.  So to aim for that this season is neither shooting for mediocrity nor is it lacking in ambition.

 

We've finished 3rd and 4th twice in the past five or six seasons by scoring less than 30 so if we can get them geared towards that then I'd say it'll put us in good stead.

 

30 between 4 strikers may not look like much but it's still a challenge for them and one they have a chance of actually succeeding at but only if they knuckle down.

Agreed Tradesman. It's got to be remembered that the four strikers are not going to be playing at the same time.

ABERDEEN’S front men are ready to match the 30-goal target set for them by manager Jimmy Calderwood.

 

That’s the verdict of reserve team coach Sandy Clark after spending the last month sharpening up their front-men for the big SPL kick-off.

 

Calderwood wants his four main strikers to deliver at least 30 goals between them to bolster Aberdeen’s chances of qualifying for Europe.

 

That’s something that has happened only twice in the last 10 seasons. But Clark is convinced Lee Miller, Darren Mackie, Chris Maguire and new man Tommy Wright have it in them to give Calderwood what he wants.

 

“It’s a very reasonable target,†said Sandy, who was a top-class striker himself with Hearts, Rangers and West Ham.

 

“All four are capable of delivering their fair share and will get their chance over the course of the campaign.

 

“It is very rare nowadays for one strike pairing to get the luxury of playing together all season.

 

“Injuries and suspensions mean you tend to find the combinations change quite a lot.

 

“But a target of 30 goals means they will need to get about seven or eight each.

 

“It’s not really a lot when you look at it that way, so we will all be disappointed if they stay fit and can’t deliver that total.

 

“Lee was our top scorer last season and I’m sure he will score more than his fair share again.

 

“Darren is fit again and eager to make up for lost time after only getting four last time.

 

“Darren always seems to score the important ones though, and I am certain he will continue that.

 

“Wee Chris is going to be a lot more involved as well and I’m excited by the thought of what he could achieve in the new season.

 

“Tommy will do his bit as well.

 

“I was sent to watch him play and was impressed by his aggression and sheer will to get in about defenders and win the ball.

 

“If we get the ball wide so that it can be delivered into the area the way Tommy likes it, I am certain he will score a good number of goals.â€

 

In the days when Sandy was a player, most Scottish clubs had one striker who was expected to deliver the bulk of that 30-goal target on his own – but he accepts times have changed.

 

“Football has become more squad orientated, so you don’t see many teams sticking with the same strikers all of the time,†he said.

 

“In one of the seasons I played for Hearts, we only used 14 players the whole season.

 

“When you are playing every week it stands to reason that you will have more chance of scoring goals.

 

“But strikers now find their playing time restricted because their club may choose to go with one up or make some other tactical change.

 

“I played with Ally McCoist at Rangers and John Robertson at Hearts, who were among the greatest of what you would class as old fashioned poachers.

 

“They did very little in games at times, but would then pop up with the goals that mattered.

 

“Few clubs can afford the luxury of players like those now.

 

“The strikers have become the first line of defence, so they have to be a lot more mobile and be willing to track back a lot more than some of the great names from the past did.â€

 

Sandy spent extra hours in Holland supervising special shooting drills at their training ground in Delden.

 

He was delighted with the way the players improved the quality of their shooting and movement over the course of 10 days.

 

“They are looking sharp and are now ready to go,†he said.

 

“Strikers are only as good as the delivery they get and that is something we worked on a lot.

 

“Most of our drills involve moving the ball about at pace and firing into the area early for the strikers.

 

“We also incorporate a bit of competition to add a bit more bite to the training.

 

“They take part in various shooting competitions and you would be amazed at how competitive they get at times.

 

“The quality of finishing was exceptional at times. But the strikers now have to prove they can do the same when the real action starts.â€

I think Hearts will be in the mix for third too. There was nothing separating us from them last season yet we finished fourth and they came eighth. Now they have a manager, they will be back up the table.

Personally I don't think Utd will be in the top four, they will struggle to replace Kerr, Robson and Hunt. It'll be Hearts, Motherwell and (fingers crossed) us in the battle for European places.

Here's the quote:

Several Dons players were left battered and bruised after the clash with Vitesse.

 

That means the Reds will field a skeleton side in tonight’s friendly against amateur side Rietvogels.

 

Aberdeen had hoped to include a mystery Belgian central defender in their line-up, but he failed to appear this morning.

 

Nicholl said: “We are trying to contact the player’s agent to find out what has happened.

 

“Tonight’s game would have been ideal, particularly when we are so stretched for defenders.

 

“We are having to ask Scott Severin to play at centre-back for the second time in two days, when he could do with a rest.

 

“Jamie Smith has also agreed to give it a go as a makeshift left-back.â€

Suggests it's nae a misquote.

Sorry, should've added more info. 

The EE quotes Jimmy Nicholl as saying that Jamie Smith will fill in at left-back for tonight's friendly against Rietvogels. 

I thought I'd seen every one of Tango's tactical permutations, but this one beats the lot. 

Apparently we're after Warren Cummings (Bournemouth). According to MAD that is.

Tango said in yesterday's paper that he's not interested in Warren Cummings.

I hadn't had an issue with the speed until a couple of days ago, and now it is often very slow. 

Yaaaaaaaaaaas/Booooooooooooooo, we've won/lost against some lower league pish/unknown Dutch pish/Champions' League-winning pish !!

I hope that [trialist A] gets to fuck, and [youngster X] went to my school and acted the cunt so despite his goal/hat-trick/stellar performance he can get to fuck/Dundee/Neptune.

I'm never getting a season ticket again/thinking fucking hell it's only a fucking pre-season friendly for fuck's sake.

No transfer fee, no signing on fee and piddling wages for a 19-year-old striker with potential plus SPL and European experience who a number of top-division sides would be delighted to have on their books.

Sounds good to me. 

I know Buchan did - he was a midfielder - but Dow must've been playing in midfield then too, and he was a left back.

Warner

Anderson Perry Whyte Smith

Hart Mayer Buchan Dow

Jess Winters

That's fuckin terrifying.

I like the way that only 14 minutes after Farts scored their 5th, Hegarty went all-out attack by putting Wyness on for Dow and Darren Young on for Mayer.No further goals were scored. 

"33 Eoin Jess, Aberdeen to Coventry City, £2m, February 1996

 

An unsuccessful spell at Highfield Road had the Scotsman scuttling back to Aberdeen for a third of the original transfer fee"

 

Cheeky bastards

Outrageous. 

It was 35% of the original transfer fee.

How about this one?

Aberdeen 2 Hearts 5

 

 

Paul Hegarty walked away from his last game as Aberdeen boss a disappointed man after his team were torn apart by Hearts.

 

Gary McSwegan scored a superb hat-trick to complete the misery for Hegarty.

 

The leaky Dons defence finished the season having let in a massive 71 goals and whoever gets the manager's job at Pittodrie he will have to make sure his first priority is to buy some quality defenders.

 

Dons keeper Tony Warner, whose loan spell from Liverpool officially ended after today's defeat, has conceded 17 goals in just six games.

 

Hegarty had hoped that his troops would give him a win for his final game in charge and after an encouraging first half performance this looked on the cards but Hearts, whose manager Jim Jefferies is one of the names in the frame for the vacant Pittodrie post, wiped Aberdeen away with four goals in a 19-minute spell in the second half.

 

Hearts got off to a flyer when McSwegan opened the scoring, firing a low right-foot shot past Warner with only two minutes gone.

 

Aberdeen clawed themselves back into the match with an equaliser five minutes later when Jamie Buchan smashed a 25-yarder past Roddy McKenzie in the Hearts goal.

 

Although that was the end of the scoring for the first half, Aberdeen had the lion's share of possession and had more chances with Andreas Mayer coming close on three occasions.

 

By half-time it looked as if Aberdeen would come out in the second half to finish the visitors off but a double by McSwegan and a Colin Cameron penalty within the opening seven minutes of the half put paid to any hopes of Hegarty getting his final day wish.

 

Dons striker Eoin Jess pulled a goal back in 61 minutes but this was never going to be enough and Hearts completed the scoring through Thomas Flogal in 64 minutes.

 

The Aberdeen board will now have a close look at who to bring in as Hegarty's replacement and with an announcement due shortly, the long-suffering Dons fans will hope that this time the club will bring in the right man.

 

Teams

 

Aberdeen: Warner, Perry, Whyte, Smith, Jess, Mayer (Young 78), Dow (Wyness 78), Anderson, Buchan, Hart, Winters.

 

Subs Not Used: Leighton, Pepper, Hamilton.

 

Goals: Buchan 7, Jess 61.

 

Hearts: McKenzie, Naysmith, Ritchie, Adam (Jenkinson 84), Cameron, Jackson (Makel 78), Flogel, Pressley, Murray, Severin, McSwegan (Juanjo 78).

 

Subs Not Used: McPherson, Strang.

 

Booked: Cameron.

 

Goals: McSwegan 2, 47, 49, Cameron 52 pen, Flogel 64.

 

Att: 13,042

 

Ref: J Rowbotham (Kirkcaldy).

Let's play Guess the Formation too - as far as I can make out we have six defenders in the starting XI. 

Some folk complain when we appear to do nothing.

 

Some folk complain when we appear to do something.

 

Some folk just complain.

And some dinna! 

Talk is of Severin going to Mordor in a straight swap for Gow.

The player exchange is fine, but I'd be looking for at least £500,000 plus Gow. After all, Severin has about 9 years left in him going by Smith's signing history.

Has this move gone through yet? He would be ideal for us.

Motherwell have had a few loanees/signings from the OF in recent years. I wonder if it's just because the players wouldn't have to move house?

I don't think that, I always thought Jimmy generally based them around the more experienced age bracket.

 

That's correct manc_don. Fergie's speaking shit. Tango doesn't give a fuck about the youth system.

Yeah, there's no point in complaining about not getting someone we'd never heard of a week ago. There'll be a few of these before the end of the transfer window I'm sure.