Losing to Dunfermline will mean Dons fans hate team more than they hated me
Mar 20 2009 Mark Hateley
I WAS once kicked by an Aberdeen fan outside Pittodrie's front door while signing autographs for disabled kids.
That takes a special kind of hatred, don't you think?
Not for a moment do I believe that every one of those who used to scream bloody murder at me in that stadium literally wanted me to be hurt, although such was the vitriol that sometimes you wondered.
But in the 1990s when Rangers and Aberdeen contested every trophy - be it cup finals or the league - I was their No.1 hate figure, the big Englishman who kept scoring vital goals against their team for the club they detested most. I was never going to be loved.
Yet I would guess that at this moment I would be a far more popular figure in the Granite City than every player in red who let down themselves, their manager and those supporters on Wednesday.
I know there was a call to the Daily Record Hotline demanding the team be put in stocks. Some would say that's taking the soft option.
Losing to Dunfermline - fourth from bottom of the First Division - in the Scottish Cup is pretty bad. To do it in a replay and at home is unforgivable.
And the fact three teams from the lower leagues have beaten Aberdeen in cup competitions over three years is indefensible.
I can only hope the players take a good long look at themselves after yet another dismal display.
Not good enough. Nowhere near it, in fact. The fans who didn't like me at least had a team they could be proud of.
Now Aberdeen are shocking and everyone has to take the blame.
Cards on the table. I like Jimmy Calderwood a lot. I admire his bravery, character and genuinely always believed he was a good manager who could move up to a higher level some day.
That might not happen now because the people he signed for continually let the man down.
Calderwood said recently that perhaps he had a shelf life up north. He was probably right. I can see him going in the summer. Whether he walks or is pushed remains to be seen.
Right now there are Aberdeen fans who want him out of the door.
Five seasons without a final, not a hint of silverware. And this will be the first decade since the 1960s that they haven't won a thing. It's a pretty long crime sheet.
But I would point the finger at the players and ask them if they really believe they have given everything for the club.
Truth is, they are not good enough and, even worse, have the wrong attitude.
Fans will accept a player who is perhaps not as gifted but gives his all. As for someone who can play and doesn't try, that's the worst crime of all.
And here is my message for the Aberdeen players - not one of you is anywhere near good enough not to treat every game as your last.
They can't treat any side with contempt and that's exactly what they did to Dunfermline.
Aberdeen thought all they had to do was turn up, that they were the better side with far more talent. It wouldn't be aproblem. Semi-final here we come.
So they failed to match Dunfermline's spirit and hard work. Great idea, lads.
This is a squad who can't string together four good results in a row, who can go weeks, sometimes months, without a win. Working you b**** off is something that shouldn't have to be spoken about.
But where was the self motivation?
They knew Falkirk were waiting for them in the semi-final and that Celtic were already out. What an opportunity.
But still they couldn't raise themselves.
Can you imagine what would happen if this side came up against the Aberdeen of the early 1990s, the team that were my Rangers' biggest rivals?
Alex McLeish, Jim Bett, Eoin Jess, Lee Richardson and Theo Snelders on one side. They would be up against Darren Mackie, Richie Foster and the rest.
I wonder who would win that one.
We used to have some great games against them. I loved it. Aberdeen would batter us for 90 minutes and we would win 1-0, especially on their own patch.
That idiot who kicked me on the ankle while I was talking to some kids had a lot of pent-up aggression. He was banned for life after that which has probably done him a favour.
Funny thing is, this current Dons team have probably taken as many, if not more, points from Rangers than they did back then.
That is a disgrace all on its own.
What is the point in beating Celtic 4-2 then hardly winning a game since then?
Oh, they'll put up a fight when Rangers are in town - two draws at Pittodrie this season - then lose to a First Division side and not even one at the top of their league.
That smacks to me of an attitude problem. Too many players don't put their all into each game. You can carry maybe three in a team, not five, six, seven or eight.
I have always liked Lee Miller. It was no surprise to me he was missing on Wednesday. But Aberdeen should surely be good enough to survive without one guy.
Where do they go from here? If the fans had their way, most of them would be anywhere but Pittodrie. Time to get some honest boys in who are prepared to give their all.
In every single game.
Calderwood may well be on his way out and there aren't many who could justifiably complain if they were to follow him through the door.
