http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/627030?UserKey=0

 

Big men main targets for Dons boss

By The Fat Postie

 

ABERDEEN’S dressing room next season could resemble a scene out of 1970s hit sci-fi television series ‘Land of the Giants’ if Jimmy Calderwood has his way.

 

The Dons boss is busy with plans to totally rebuild his squad in the summer, with up to 10 new players poised to be brought on board.

 

And Calderwood revealed he has targeted an army of six foot-plus players in an effort to add more muscle to a squad he admits “gets bullied about too much.â€

 

The ‘Giants’ in the television series are actually residents of an alien planet that astronauts from Earth accidentally landed on.

 

But Calderwood aims to have some equally formidable figures wandering about Pittodrie once his summer signing spree is at an end.

 

He started by signing Oldham Athletic’s strapping midfielder Gary McDonald, but more muscle men are on the way.

 

Calderwood said: “McDonald is over 6ft tall and powerfully built and a few of the other ones we bring in will be along the same lines.

 

“We are not a big physical side and that has caused us a few problems.

 

“Sometimes we get bullied about too much.

 

“But if we get the players I’ve targeted, I’d like to think we won’t have that headache next season. “This season the height of the team has been pretty average.

 

“Zander Diamond, Andrew Considine and Lee Miller are big enough to put themselves about.

 

“Scott Severin is also pretty powerful and good in the air, despite not being as tall as many of his opponents.

 

“Otherwise it’s a bit of a challenge for us, particularly when it comes to attacking and defending at set pieces.

 

“If you want to improve your team, you have to look at what is lacking and sort it out.

 

“McDonald will give us that bit of extra physical strength in midfield, with the added bonus that he can also get box to box and score goals.

 

“Now we have to get the same at the back, where we’ve clearly had problems because Russell Anderson left and Richie Byrne was out injured for so long.

 

“We need to get in a bit more strength to back up Zander and Andrew and make sure we are better equipped to cope with what is becoming an increasing trend for teams to go with powerful big strikers and long ball tactics.

 

“You can see that down in England in particular now, where most of the front players are absolutely massive.

 

“It means more games are now being decided by corners and free-kicks because they are harder to defend.

 

“The same is happening in Scotland as well and we have to keep up with that trend.â€

 

Calderwood stressed his muscle men will also have to be good footballers if they want to be taken on board.

 

He said: “I could go out and sign half-a-dozen giants tomorrow, but that’s no use if they can’t pass a ball.

 

“I want big men, but they must also have skill and be players who are able to bring something extra.

 

“McDonald gives us that, but so must the others.â€

 

Calderwood is continuing to deflect away any talk of specific targets at this stage.

 

But he confirmed the plan is to eventually have an 18-man first team squad backed up by a group of eight players aged 21 or under.

 

“We are working on a few deals because we have to strengthen every part of the team,†he said.

 

“Four years ago I thought I was going to have to have a clear-out.

 

“But I soon discovered some of the players were good enough, but just lacked confidence.

 

“The building blocks – Russell Anderson, Kevin McNaughton, Chris Clark and Markus Heikkinen – were already there.

 

“I brought in Scott Severin right away, but knew we still had a lot of quality to work with.

 

“It’s different now though.

 

“It’s a total overhaul that is required, which will be more difficult.â€

 

JIMMY’S SHOPPING LIST

 

Goalkeepers

 

ABERDEEN have been linked with Ryan Esson and Stefan Postma. Jimmy said: “We will definitely take in another one to challenge Jamie Langfield for the top spot.

 

“John Batemen is a great prospect, but still a bit young.â€

 

Defence

 

DUNFERMLINE’S Scott Wilson has been linked. Jimmy said: “It has still to be decided if Alan Maybury will be with us, so we may need to look for another experienced right-back.

 

“We will definitely be taking in another central defender.

 

“You only need to look at our goals against record this season for evidence of why we must increase the number of quality of defenders available to us. “More experience is required.â€

 

Midfield

 

MARK Kerr is on the list of those targeted to bolster the midfield. Jimmy said: “Barry Nicholson is going, but we have already got a replacement in Gary McDonald.

 

“It has still to be decided if Stuart Duff, who can play at the back or in midfield, is staying.

 

“It will also be into the summer before we know if Josh Walker or Sone Aluko are going to be allowed to stay with us for next season. But we will sign other midfielders because we lacked strength in depth in certain areas.â€

 

Strikers

 

SLOVAKIAN Pavrol Masaryk is among those who have been mentioned. Jimmy said: “Steve Lovell is leaving, so we will definitely sign one more experienced hitman. It will be two if Lee Miller decides to go as well.

 

“I want to add a bit more power and find a player who can deliver more goals.

 

“That won’t be so easy on our budget.â€

 

The bottom bit is just purely ripped off websites such as this, shock horror!

 

 

Terribly written article.  Embarressing even.

 

Was it not the last couple of days that the same EE was telling us that little strikers Burchill and Huckerby have been looked at?

Oh dear, more long ball football to come then 

I could go out and sign half-a-dozen giants tomorrow, but that’s no use if they can’t pass a ball.

How does he explain Richie Byrne then...?

Oh dear, more long ball football to come then 

 

Was going to go and post the same thing. Happy days, I suppose at least it will be less frustrating as that will be what we expect to see, as apposed a team we know that can actually play football on the ground but rarely deliver.  

Long ball football is fine as long as JC signs players who are clever enough to play it.

All I want for Christmas is some dirty bastard in midfield to snap whatever cunt comes his way.

Long ball football is fine as long as JC signs players who are clever enough to play it.

 

There lies the flaw in the plan i think....

 

It's a shame because when we do play good quick passing football we tend to look quite good, even if it very rarely happens

 

 

There lies the flaw in the plan i think....

 

It's a shame because when we do play good quick passing football we tend to look quite good, even if it very rarely happens

 

 

Agree with that.  On the few occasions we set out to play football and attack from the start we look a more than capable side.

It's not the size that counts but what you do with it? Or so I have been told.

 

We certainly need a balance between height/weight/strength, but to me it is more the mentality of players getting stuck in. Yes you have a Drogba, but you also have a Martins and an Owen at Newcastle, Tevez, Kuyt, Schavchenko, etc. Plenty of good players who are not giants. Carvalho is not giant but a tough defender, Gary Neville and Patrice Evra are strong, Cannavaro was the best defender in the world at 5'9''. In midfield you have a Flamini, Gattuso, etc. Paul Hartley and Barry Robson are tough but no giants.

 

Aberdeen's attendance is falling because of a lack of quality and entertainment. I don't see this increasing trend of long ball football. You need players who can play with bite, 11 Richie Byrne's won't succeed. Again, as I posted in another topic, we need a team of fighters and winners, it's not the size but the mentality and belief. Hopefully we are reading this article wrongly, but it doesn't seem to inspire.

 

Height at corners, free kicks etc helps, but proper marking and defending helps more, and I've seen us lose a lot more goals this year to mistakes and poor play than due to a lack of height.

 

JC cannot say anything in the media without most of us reading it in a negative manner - does he not see this? Silence is golden IMHO right now.

I wouldn't read too much into this.  Last season we were told we were looking for old fashioned wingers so that we could widen the play and have a more "continental style of play".

 

Well we signed a few wide men and have created fuck all from the channels.....  whenever they actually got a game. 

I would have though tall midfielders were a no-no for JC's style of fitba.

 

After all, the taller the midfielder, the more chance there is of the ball hitting him in the head when it's being launched up towards the opposition goalkeeper by our defence, which seems to be the sum total of JC's tactical nous.

 

In any case, height does not necessarily equate to strength. Yet again JC and Charlie Allan are massaging each other's egos by speaking shite to each other and passing it off as either a) serious tactical talk or b) serious journalism.

 

In reality, it's neither: it's a lazy and ignorant way of analysing football, and a lazy way for a dirty picket-breaking scab journalist reporting what someone has actually said.

JC cannot say anything in the media without most of us reading it in a negative manner - does he not see this? Silence is golden IMHO right now.

 

Good post. When I read that he said this though, I thought it was pretty accurate. I defy anyone to read negative into this wee gem...

 

“If you want to improve your team, you have to look at what is lacking and sort it out."

“I brought in Scott Severin right away, but knew we still had a lot of quality to work with.

 

Unfortunate phrasing - or, as an increasing number of us feel, right on the money.

 

So JC had two options this summer, really, for improving things next season:

 

1) Better football, better players

 

2) Same football, larger and angrier players

 

Ah well.

 

 

 

 

Good post. When I read that he said this though, I thought it was pretty accurate. I defy anyone to read negative into this wee gem...

 

“If you want to improve your team, you have to look at what is lacking and sort it out."

There' a difference between looking for a problem, and figuring out what it actually is...

Agree with that.  On the few occasions we set out to play football and attack from the start we look a more than capable side.

 

And there the problem lies. We are very capable of good attacking football.......it just doesnt happen often enough.

 

There' a difference between looking for a problem, and figuring out what it actually is...

 

It was still pretty decent of him to share this insight with us. None of us have ever been managers... nor played football.

“I want big men, but they must also have skill and be players who are able to bring something extra".

 

Just in case any of you missed it.

I don't think the problem is height, weight, speed etc. The problem is attitude/mentality of players. We have no leadership, drive, no captain, motivational, inspirational players etc. When we play well our players look good but this is rare - far too often our players are inconsistent, timid, and disappear. We don't seem to have any real winners who fight for the cause. We have no players who always get stuck in and involved and most/all players have games when the game passes them by. Our form and inconsistency shows this. All our players thrive off others but everyone is looking to each other instead of taking the lead role. Russell was good at getting stuck in and being involved, Steve Tosh did this in midfield when he was here, but we've had very few leaders and mentally strong players for years.

 

Since it is 25 yrs since 83 you look at that team - McLeish, Miller, Kennedy, Rougvie, Cooper, Simpson, Bell, and Strachan all played with passion and confidence, and got stuck in in every game - plus they had the skill and intelligence (some more than others) to know what to do with the ball. Rarely did you see a game that passed them by or they weren't involved. Mckimmie, Weir, McGhee, Black, and Hewitt thrived off this and gave us the added flair. Obviously leadership from Fergie played a major part too.

 

When times are tough players need to stand up and show their mental strength - we have very few if any who do that.

When times are tough players need to stand up and show their mental strength - we have very few if any who do that.

 

JC would have us believe that this is because there are very few players with character around. Some believe that it starts from the top. Agree with your post.

It has been the successful template in Scottish football. Big Laddies.

 

Smith, O'Neill adopted this and it worked. They do have to be able to play a bit too and unfortunately those types are probably out of our reach financially.

Don't really agree with the 'big laddies' comment. Celtic have good balance - you have Hartley, McGeady, Nakamura, Naylor, Brown, McDonald, and Wilson, not big guys, but you do have some size in Balde, McManus, VOHesselink etc. They can play on the deck and pump the long ball when needed. Rangers have Whittaker, Davis, Ferguson, Thomson, Novo, Adam, Darchville is thick and fast but not big gusy. Similar to Celtic as they do have big guys when needed. The difference is the mentality of the player.

 

We have our big guys in Miller, Diamond, Considine, Byrne, Bus etc., and maybe you could add Lovell - they are just not the same presence or quality. And we have Duff and Mackie ;0)

Don't really agree with the 'big laddies' comment. Celtic have good balance - you have Hartley, McGeady, Nakamura, Naylor, Brown, McDonald, and Wilson, not big guys, but you do have some size in Balde, McManus, VOHesselink etc. They can play on the deck and pump the long ball when needed. Rangers have Whittaker, Davis, Ferguson, Thomson, Novo, Adam, Darchville is thick and fast but not big gusy. Similar to Celtic as they do have big guys when needed. The difference is the mentality of the player.

 

We have our big guys in Miller, Diamond, Considine, Byrne, Bus etc., and maybe you could add Lovell - they are just not the same presence or quality. And we have Duff and Mackie ;0)

 

Strachan is not O'Neil and Smith has assembled a pretty huge back 4. That said, big and talented players are getting out of their reach too.

Don't really agree with the 'big laddies' comment. Celtic have good balance - you have Hartley, McGeady, Nakamura, Naylor, Brown, McDonald, and Wilson, not big guys, but you do have some size in Balde, McManus, VOHesselink etc. They can play on the deck and pump the long ball when needed. Rangers have Whittaker, Davis, Ferguson, Thomson, Novo, Adam, Darchville is thick and fast but not big gusy. Similar to Celtic as they do have big guys when needed. The difference is the mentality of the player.

 

We have our big guys in Miller, Diamond, Considine, Byrne, Bus etc., and maybe you could add Lovell - they are just not the same presence or quality. And we have Duff and Mackie ;0)

 

TF did refer to O'Neill where he brought in the likes of Sutton, Hartson, Balde, Varga etc and was route one football to the head of Sutton.

Misread, agree on the O'Neil part!