Beating Kilmarnock in CIS Cup will appease fans

 

ABERDEEN boss Jimmy Calderwood believes an away win over Kilmarnock tomorrow night will help calm the Red Army.

 

After earning just one point from four home matches at Pittodrie, Calderwood is confident his side's impressive form on the road can see them through to the quarter-finals.

 

Dons football director Willie Miller insists a cup final place is vital to his plan to re-build the club and make it a major power once again.

 

And Calderwood said: "I know the supporters are frustrated by what's happened at Pittodrie and the best way to start repaying them is to give them another long cup run to savour.

 

"It has been poor in terms of home results but we have a one hundred per cent record away from home and haven't conceded a goal on our travels yet.

 

"Hopefully that's not tempting fate for the game at Kilmarnock but we go there with confidence even if it's the hardest tie we could have got at this stage.

 

"It's not what we were looking for as a seeded team in this round so the draw wasn't kind but we seem to have the bit between our teeth away from home.

 

"We have only lost six league goals overall after six games and if you continue that ratio until the end of the season you wouldn't be too unhappy.

 

"If you want to win trophies then you have to do well at difficult venues and hopefully, we will come back from Ayrshire in a good mood again.

 

"There is still loads of time to do something about our poor home league form but this competition is settled on the night and we want to be involved in every competition.

 

"We got to the semi-finals of both competitions last year and it was absolutely fabulous as it created so much interest and excitement at the club.

 

"The only disappointment was not going all the way to the Final and this is our chance to make amends, we are determined to keep the run going."

 

Calderwood was at Rugby Park to see Kilmarnock lose to Celtic on Sunday but still reckons it will be tough to maintain their formidable away record.

 

He said: "I know it will be a hard game, it always is down there and Jim Jefferies has steered Kilmarnock to a good start again.

 

"But we want to make sure we get this club back to a final and hopefully win it."

 

Which impressive away form would this be? Three 1-0's against Motherwell, Ayr and St Mirren, none of which could be described as impressive wins on their own, possibly getting the job done.......

 

so, you're at work.......

you make a schloppy mistake that costs your company a tangible amount....  you get a rollicking

you do it again,  you get hauled over the coals and put on probation

you do it again and again......

 

and someone high up decides you're a complete arse and shows you the door.

 

 

Just back from game.....so fucking angry not going to post anything tonight, but believe me I'm going to have plenty to say on this tomorrow

so, you're at work.......

you make a schloppy mistake that costs your company a tangible amount....   you get a rollicking

you do it again,  you get hauled over the coals and put on probation

you do it again and again......

 

and someone high up decides you're a complete arse and shows you the door.

 

Does Stewart Milne have a boss at Pittodrie?

JC away to speak on BBC Scotland

Don't think many others would touch us with a barge pole -

utter nonsense

 

 

 

btw anyone want a ticket for Saturday?

Does Stewart Milne have a boss at Pittodrie?

 

Not really, but I'd imagine he is answerable to shareholders and to a certain extent the fans.

 

Don't worry he has a human shield though...

Don't worry he has a human shield though...

 

Indeed he has.

 

A mass clear out is needed from top to bottom but as that will never happen, probably time to change the manager.  3 year contract could prove a problem though.

I think he'll get a few games to try and turn it round though.  Xmas at the latest.

Not really, but I'd imagine he is answerable to shareholders and to a certain extent the fans.

 

Don't worry he has a human shield though...

answerable to the fans

 

What went wrong?

 

Defensively ll over place...........Footballingwise we did well.........We knocked it about down the sides and knocked about it well........

 

We will keep working on it..............we have to work a lot harder in training, we got to take it on the chin and get on with it...........

 

Anything to say to the fans?

Their angry the managers angry and we are sorry........

 

We did well?

 

First time he has ever said sorry?

Sorry doesn't cut it.

Going on past experience I expect JC to get a bonus tomorrow

What went wrong?

 

Anything to say to the fans?

We did well?

 

First time he has ever said sorry?

 

Jesus,  JC says "sorry"  -  damn, they must really have been bad.

Going back a few posts, the one defender who has shown he deserves a place in the side is Lee Mair....

I didn't hear JC take any of the blame/responsibilty for yet another embarrassing cup defeat. Did I miss that bit 

Going on past experience I expect JC to get a bonus tomorrow

Aye - a new improved contract.  

 

 

Hopefully not with us though or a contract taken out on him!!

Going back a few posts, the one defender who has shown he deserves a place in the side is Lee Mair....

didn't you read?

He has to prove himself in the reserves <shrugs shoulders smilie>

Going back a few posts, the one defender who has shown he deserves a place in the side is Lee Mair....

 

I agree.

But its the same Lee Mair that was getting absolute pelters from some sections of the support at the start of this season.

no "just back from the game" posts yet?

 

Eye witness account from another forum:

 

Im just back, where the **** do I start after that?

Bossu is the most inept professional footballer I have ever seen in my life, I honestly dont think Id have spilled half the shots he did and Ive never played in goals in my life. Calderwood should be sacked on this signing alone! What the hell are Willie Miller and Stewart Milne thinking when they see this clown in goals?

Zander Diamond had the nightmare of all nightmares, made to look stupid time and again. Him and Severin are far to slow at the back, Mair doesnt add much pace but did ok and looks much more composed.

Foster was all over the place, he isnt a great footballer but I feel sorry for him, he was in a different position every 5 mins.

Lee Miller was crap, spent half the game trying to win free kicks, maybe he should try challenging for the ****ing ball instead.

Kerr was awful, Ive quite liked the look of him so far but he was useless and deserved the hook(as did most)

The rest werent great either but they were better than the above.

Referee was unbeleivable, who was he? Some of the easiest decisions went completely the wrong way and his allowing of the time wasting was really frustrating.Worst Ive seen for quite some time.

Should have been many more goals for Killie as their forwards missed plenty of easy chances.

****ing shambles. JC get to ****!!!!

Just back from game.....so fucking angry not going to post anything tonight, but believe me I'm going to have plenty to say on this tomorrow

 

Decided to have my rant in another post.

Still fucking raging

It’s a cup of woe for Aberdeen as they crash at Kilmarnock

an aberdeen slapstick show reminiscent of the heyday of laurel and hardy

 

By Michael Gannon

 

Published: 25/09/2008

 

While the BBC showed the League Cup tie at Firhill between Partick Thistle and Rangers, the supporters at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park were treated to the Comedy Channel.

 

Kilmarnock tried in vain to out-do Aberdeen in the comical defending stakes, but were no match for Jimmy Calderwood’s men – who put on a slapstick show not seen since the heyday of Laurel and Hardy.

 

The problem is, however, that this is no joke. The situation at Aberdeen is deadly serious.

 

Six goals were scored in 33 breathless minutes here and the most surprising thing was that Aberdeen managed to plunder two of them.

 

Killie forward Conor Sammon ran Dons due Scott Severin and Zander Diamond ragged as he grabbed a double to bookend a David Fenandez strike and a Mehdi Taouil penalty kick.

 

Gary McDonald netted against his old club to make it briefly 1-1 and then Lee Miller added a penalty to haul the Dons temporarily back to 3-2.

 

The net result of a shambolic first-half show – reminiscent of their laugh-a-minute display against Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup semi-final last season – is that the Dons have departed the League Cup and been plunged ever-closer into a full-out revolt from their fed-up supporters.

 

It took just 110 seconds for Calderwood's game plan to go down the drain as Fernandez was allowed to rise unchallenged to head the ball into the path of Sammon, who brushed off the challenge of Severin before drilling through Bossu.

 

It was the worst possible start for the Dons but they found themselves level after six minutes when McDonald pounced on a deflected shot from Sone Aluko and fired the ball high into the net.

 

It was the perfect response but the home advantage was restored after just 12 minutes and, yet again, the defending was utterly contemptible.

 

Jamie Hamill's ball was not dealt with by Severin, although Bossu should have come and claimed, and the captain's duffed clearance fell to Fernandez, who gleefully buried the ball into the net from the near post.

 

Worse was to follow for the beleaguered Dons as chief tormentor Fernandez got in behind Severin and managed to get his shot away – despite rugged attention from the Aberdeen captain.

 

Referee Dougie McDonald awarded a goal kick but his assistant spotted something more untoward in Severin's intentions and the decision was changed to a penalty, which Taouil emphatically converted. Aberdeen were all over the place at the back and Fernandez and Craig Bryson both had shots blocked, and spilled, by Bossu before the keeper eventually gathered.

 

The relentless action continued as Darren Mackie was halted after being sandwiched in the box by Frazer Wright and Jamie Fowler. Miller blasted home the resultant spot kick.

 

Killie grabbed a fourth on 33 minutes after Fowler clipped the ball into the path of Sammon who, once again, waltzed between the two Dons centre backs and poked the ball past Bossu.

 

Foster thumped the Killie crossbar – but thankfully the half-time whistle arrived, allowing both sets of supporters to enjoy a brief lie down.

 

The Dons defence, though, continued to provide as much challenge as training-ground cones. Fowler came close and Killie substitute Donovan Simmonds rattled the post. Bossu made several saves as the home team threatened to run riot. No need to panic at Pittodrie? You must be joking.

 

KILMARNOCK – Combe, Fowler, Hamill, Lilley, Wright, Ford, Bryson, Sammon (Simmonds 46), Pascali, Taouil, Fernandez.

 

ABERDEEN – Bossu, Hodgkiss, Severin, Diamond, Mulgrew (Young 64), Foster, Kerr (Mair 46), McDonald, Aluko, Miller, Mackie.

Dons out after comedy of errors

No defence for Aberdeen as they concede four goals and crash out of the cup at kilmarnock

 

By Michael Gannon

 

Published: 25/09/2008

 

Jimmy Calderwood

More Pictures

 

Aberdeen tumbled out of the League Cup last night after calamitous defending saw Jimmy Calderwood's side slump to a 4-2 defeat at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park.

 

A double from Conor Sammon, a David Fernandez strike and a Mehdi Taouil penalty saw Killie through, with goals from Gary McDonald and a Lee Miller penalty provided momentary glimpses of hope for the visitors.

 

It took the hosts just 110 seconds to open the scoring and, although the Dons replied soon after, they were undone by a series of defensive blunders as the Rugby Park crowd witnessed six goals in just 33 minutes.

 

Aberdeen were a shambles at the back throughout in a rearguard display similar to the one seen at Hampden in their humiliating 4-3 Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Queen of the South.

 

Kilmarnock may have been gifted their victory but they were worthy winners and the scoreline could have been even more grim for Aberdeen.

 

The defeat has added pressure on the Dons following an unimpressive start to their SPL campaign.

 

Calderwood's side has yet to win at home this season following miserable defeats by Caley Thistle, Hamilton and then Dundee United at the weekend. They have picked up just one point at Pittodrie, against Rangers, but they have had no such problems on the road before this evening. This shocking defeat ended their unbeaten run on their travels this term having racked up victories at Motherwell and St Mirren in the SPL and Ayr United in the previous round in the League Cup.

 

Kilmarnock represented a difficult test, having lost only to the Old Firm this season and they were favourites going into last night's match. The Dons were looking to progress one stage further in the competition than they managed last term, when Calderwood’s men reached the semi-finals only to be humbled by Dundee United.

 

Aberdeen were thumped 4-1 by the Arabs at Tynecastle and there was more semi-final anguish in the Scottish Cup against Queen of the South.

 

The Dons supporters have not participated in a final since the League Cup in 2000, when the Reds lost to Celtic, and it is now 13 years since they watched their side lift silverware in this tournament since defeating Dundee in 1995. The Scottish Cup now represents their only realistic chance of ending that drought.

 

Meanwhile, the Dons have received some minor comfort with the news after attacker Jamie Smith resumed light training yesterday after two weeks out with a calf injury.

Why were Hodgkiss and Bossu playing? This was such an important game for us, even this early in the season, so why play them? It's not like we were playing Berwick Rangers at home and could blood youngsters/fringe players, Killie away was one of the toughest draws we could have got. Surely we should have played our strongest 11 (if we actually have one??)

 

Premiership teams play fringe players/youngsters due to schedule congestion/fatigue/experience due to cups/Europe/internationals etc., what were we thinking? Are we the Scottish Chelsea with such squad depth that we can afford to do this?

 

How much at fault were Bossu and Hodgkiss for the goals? (although not defending the other clowns as it sounds like we were all awful.)

Bossu at fault, but not sure I'd apportion much blame to Hodgkiss. Certainly far from the worst of our starting back four

Bossu at fault

 

I thought he played well.  I know for a fact that Leighton's not holding Bossu responsible for last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lge3hyQt-Nc