Apologies for lengthy cut 'n' paste jobbies.

 

MANAGER MUST ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR FAILURES AND RECOGNISE THE CLUB IS NOT MOVING FORWARD

BY PAUL THIRD

 

Published: 25/03/2009

 

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood and his coaching staff should be sacked after the club’s Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Dunfermline.

 

The Aberdeen FC Supporters’ Society has asked Dons director of football Willie Miller to act after last Wednesday’s penalty shootout defeat at Pittodrie.

 

The society, formerly the AFC Trust, wants Miller, a member of the group, to hold his manager to account for the failure to deliver in cup competitions in his five-year tenure at Pittodrie.

 

Society board member Gordon Duncan says members want a change of manager.

 

He said: “Jimmy has done well to restore respectability at the club in the league and the Uefa Cup run last year was memorable.

 

“However, the cup performances year on year show no signs of improvement.

 

“In the 10 cup campaigns we have had, Aberdeen have started as favourites on five occasions – against Dunfermline, Queen of the South, Queen’s Park, Kilmarnock and Motherwell – and lost all of them.

 

“The club can point to being in the top six every season, and rightly so, but we are not seeing signs of the club moving forward any more.â€

 

In the letter sent to Miller, the society states: “He (Calderwood) appears to be tactically inept, continually changes team layout, players and tactics, creating confusion on and off the pitch and appears to be incapable of motivating the team for crucial games. The team performs as if it has no idea how it is meant to be playing, has no passion, commitment and very little skill. This is further demonstrated by his substitutions. How can a team that swept Celtic virtually into the North Sea a few weeks ago capitulate so meekly to Dunfermline and in some of our other disasters this season?

 

“We, as long-suffering supporters have had enough, are fed up being told we have unrealistic expectations and somehow this is our fault.

 

“We do not expect to be winning the SPL, however we do expect to be beating lower division opposition in the cups rather than losing to them in successive seasons.â€

 

The society believes Calderwood’s failure to show any culpability is a major factor in supporters wanting him removed from Pittodrie.

 

“We are fed up of Jimmy’s continual blaming of players, the pitch and anything else that takes his fancy, rather than taking personal responsibility. We were collectively dismayed Jimmy and the management team were given lucrative long-term contracts, presumably based on last season’s run in Europe.

 

“We are sure you must accept this was a big mistake now. The team is no longer improving and although it will be costly to move the entire management team, we must bite the bullet and do so. Action is required now.â€

 

Dons director Miller is disappointed the society has ignored its previous approach of engaging in dialogue with the club in favour of a more public condemnation.

 

He said: “The club, myself and Duncan Fraser (managing director) have an open-door policy within Pittodrie as far as the society is concerned. We have had regular meetings with them in my five years at the club and have always been full and frank with them. We will contact the society, of which I am a member, and ask them to come in for chat about their concerns.â€

 

Dear Willie

 

Open Letter from AFC Supporters Society concerning AFC Performance

 

Since its inception all that AFC Trust (now AFC Supporters Society) has asked for is change for the better and some progress, on football matters. Largely, since you took over as Director of Football, we have left you to get on with it and trusted you to deliver. The establishment of the AFC Youth Academy was a welcome and positive step.

 

However, after a few days reflection on recent events, we can no longer tolerate what is happening on the pitch. For three years in a row, we have been dumped out of cup competitions by lower league opposition and also humbled by Kilmarnock and Dundee United. Losses to Queens Park, Queen of the South and Dunfermline, in the circumstances that they occurred are simply unacceptable, and the supporters need to see some accountability for such results. Similarly, we have flattered to deceive in the league alternating from good spells to some atrocious football.

 

There is no evidence of further progress, rather the reverse. There is very little evidence of young players coming through or being given a chance. On paper, with McDonald, Kerr, Miller, Aluko and (when fit, Smith), we have some of the best players in the league. We also have some of the worst and as a team, we are mostly ineffective.

 

Whilst we recognise that Jimmy Calderwood joined the club when it was at a low ebb, stabilised matters in the league and has ensured top six finishes in each of his seasons, it is now clear that he has taken this process as far as he can and we now need to get fresh blood to take the club to the next level – which is competing in cup finals and being credible third place challengers (and who knows, following Hearts example, perhaps higher). He appears to be tactically inept, continually changes team layout, players and tactics, creating confusion on and off the pitch and appears to be incapable of motivating the team for crucial games. The team perform as if they have no idea how they are meant to be playing, have no passion, commitment and very little skill. This is further demonstrated by his substitutions in recent matches. How can a team that swept Celtic virtually into The North Sea a few weeks ago capitulate so meekly to Dunfermline and in some of our other disasters this season?

 

Last seasons run in Europe was welcome and exciting but we have failed to capitalise on that with subsequent performances. The coffers will suffer as a consequence meaning next season will again be difficult.

 

We, as long suffering fans have had enough, we are completely fed up being told we have unrealistic expectations and somehow this is our fault. Lets be crystal clear we do not expect to be winning the SPL, however we DO expect to be beating lower division opposition in the cups rather than losing to them in successive seasons. We are also fed up of Jimmys continual blaming of players, the pitch and anything else that takes his fancy, rather than taking some personal responsibility. For a long time, we have been looking for some leadership from him, some humility and some dignity.

 

We were collectively dismayed that Jimmy and the management team were given lucrative long term contracts, presumably based on last seasons run in Europe. I am sure you must accept this was a big mistake now. The team is no longer improving and although it will be costly to move the entire management team, we must bite the bullet and do so. To stand by and hope things get better is not an option.

 

Action is required now.

 

Yours sincerely

 

AFC Trust Society Board

 

I wonder if Milne, Miller and Calderwood are starting to get the message?

Harry Potter is a cunt

 

That I don't disagree with, but he does seem quite eloquent and comes across quite well in the press.

ach - yer probably right but I'm an old cynic.

 

They seemed happy enough when they met the board at the end of last year though. Why didn't they just meet again - they knew there was an open door policy.

 

Or why not write a letter to the board requesting a meeting - then write to the press to tell them they had requested a meeting and the points they would raise. "Open Letters" seem very sensationalist to me - pandering to the tabloid press and dumb masses.

 

They made it clear that they have approached the 'open door' several times to no avail so felt that this would be the only way to add substance and weight to their concerns. Have to say it has been pretty successful in getting attention on the issue, we should see that as positive if we are looking for action to be taken.

Jager - I don't see what your problem is with the Trust.

 

They've basically sent a well thought out letter to the local rag which covers just about all our concerns.  Something that each of us spend snippets of our time in here and various other boards saying day in, day out.  Largely just going round in circles and not actually getting to the bottom of.

 

Had they went to the board and actually got answers then we might not have heard about it.  Had they went and not got any answers then we certainly wouldn't have.  The went to the paper as they and Ajja reminded you because they'd tried and hadn't got anywhere.

 

Now we all know.

 

That torch burning and pitchfork waving joke of a protest that other folk are getting themselves worked up about.  Now that's sensationalist bollocks.

"That torch burning and pitchfork waving joke of a protest that other folk are getting themselves worked up about."

 

when that happening ! fancy a bit o that burn him burn him i say

 

Oh wait he is aready??

 

Fuck it jimmy must stay ! all you lot shouting for his head what you like he is building something here !

My problem isn't with the trust (although - they have made themselves anonymous as soon as they got their man on the board - so that is a problem).  I don't think the letter was well thought out and looked like "snippets" from a message board.

 

Just a few points. The sentiment was right. The method and execution weren't good in my opinion. They've left themselves open to the club giving them the brush off.

 

Dont know if I've missed this already but, do they represent your shares?

My problem isn't with the trust (although - they have made themselves anonymous as soon as they got their man on the board - so that is a problem).  I don't think the letter was well thought out and looked like "snippets" from a message board.

 

Just a few points. The sentiment was right. The method and execution weren't good in my opinion. They've left themselves open to the club giving them the brush off.

 

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on them too.

Well at least they're doing something about it rather than just posting snippets.  Someone had to say something, we're all itching to, so why not them?

 

Doesn't matter if they've "lost focus" by having less members as 1 person saying the right thing and getting attention for it is good enough for me.  Up until now nobody was being heard as us fans don't have any link to the boardroom no matter how many times fitshisnamethefansrep-cough gets mentioned.

 

Even if they don't take notice of what the Trust want them to do, at least they know there's a storm brewing.

I disagree here. "A storm brewing" is not good during times of financial uncertainty with 6 million debt. Stability has seen us wipe 3 million of the debt in the past few years.

 

I still think their letter lost all credibility when they cited Hearts as a model to follow.

 

Ach - I don't know. I tend to think more about the financial stability and long term sustainability of the club - other think only about football quality - there's no doubt a happy medium, just difficult to gain that reading snippets on message boards.

 

Although sacking him will cost us money, keeping him may cost us more in the long run. Not reaching cup finals, not getting into Europe, tying up players like Derek Young on contracts (I appreciate that he's probably amongst the lower earners) is costing us. 

 

The financial situation is going to be a burden on us for the forseeable future, but there does come a point where you have to gamble;where you just can't let things trundle on as they are just because things aren't as bad as they used to be. 

 

The big worry for me is he keeps his job, season ticket sales plummet and we then have our annual disasterous start to the season and then the board act and sack him. By the time they get a new guy in he's working with players whom he may not want and can't get his own ones in and the deadwood out because the window has closed.

 

JC has said in the paper today that he and Willie Miller "decided not to criticise the fans" in the wake of this open letter. By saying that he is effectively criticising the fans, for nothing more than having an opinion and a bit of passion about the club.  We all know JC's PR skills are limited, but how does he think comments like that will help his position at the club?  I also worry that if he keeps his job, the tide will have turned so much against him that the boo-boys in our support become more vocal and even less patient with the lads on the pitch. That's the last thing we need.

I suspect that we have to accept that the quality of communication is not the critical issue here, its all about volume and penetration.

 

Milne, Miller and Calderwood will always have an instinctive reaction to this level of criticism whether it be fans booing, protesting at the doors, spouting on forums or writing letters. They will naturally think 'these people do not understand what is going on at this club and have no real knowledge of how running a football club in todays economic environment works'. This will illicit the same response designed to calm the hysteria as they have no interest in flames being fanned but at the same time they will fire little shots across the bows of the fans to say 'you don't know what you are talking about'.

 

If we want to publicly impress upon the management that its time for a change then the society have gone about ensuring public scrutiny. They may not have written an eloquent and beautifully structured prose in order to achieve it but they have, nonetheless, done so. This letter has the effect of pushing debate to the fore and enforces the club to respond in some way, it also removes the opinion from the terraces and puts it into heart of the club.

 

If the management wish to continue to put up the shutters and deny that there is a problem then they will do so but I believe that this communication makes them look less competent and less committed to 'open discussion' if they choose that route.

I disagree here. "A storm brewing" is not good during times of financial uncertainty with 6 million debt. Stability has seen us wipe 3 million of the debt in the past few years.

 

I still think their letter lost all credibility when they cited Hearts as a model to follow.

 

Ach - I don't know. I tend to think more about the financial stability and long term sustainability of the club - other think only about football quality - there's no doubt a happy medium, just difficult to gain that reading snippets on message boards.

 

A storm brewing at the club you love is surely never a good thing, financial uncertainty or not?

 

If they were suggesting using Hearts as some sort of "recovery model" I agree this is ludicrous. I would hope, however, they were simply putting Hearts across as hope for the future that teams can make inroads to the infirm.

 

On the subject of financial stability, how much has it cost the club by not progressing in cup competitions, in three seasons, against lower league opposition? Last seasons exit cost us a place in europe this season - at what cost? Each position lost in the league costs the club money. Average gates may be up at the moment but I strongly suspect, with the "storm brewing", will come a fall in gate receipts, again losing money to the club. This comes right down to a lack of motivation amongst fans potentially hitting the club in a fall in sales of merchandise. In my opinion keeping Jimmy is costing the club now.

 

Calderwood shows an incredible arrogance for a man that has hurt the fans so much. Rather than shouldering at least an element of the blame for failure he simply says it's his turn to have the heat turned up on him. If he sets himself any standards as a manager at all surely he can't avoid seeing he has failed to meet them. So why doesn't he admit this to us and, if he still feels he is the man for the job, explain what he is going to do to push things forward? He never appears so shy when it comes to publicly attacking the players, the fans, pitches, or any other barrier he feels he can hide behind.

 

Personally I welcome what the unfortunately accronymed "ASS" has done, and I do believe that, particularly post Dunfermline debacle, their sentiments probably do represent a majority opinion. It is possibly not the best written letter of all time but they are football fans, not necesarily English experts.

 

 

So we could be seeing out the end of the season manager-less if the protest fannies get their way. But then again, these idiots even want the club to fail to attain Europe just to get JC out and to massage their own egos... crazy.

No one person is bigger than the club - JMG protest lynch mob included.

 

These idiots are not Aberdeen fans then. I now firmly want Jimmy to go - regardless if we make europe or not.

 

Anyone who wants Aberdeen to fail to reach europe in some hope that will seal Jimmy's downfall, well they are simply not fans of Aberdeen.

A storm brewing at the club you love is surely never a good thing, financial uncertainty or not?

 

If they were suggesting using Hearts as some sort of "recovery model" I agree this is ludicrous. I would hope, however, they were simply putting Hearts across as hope for the future that teams can make inroads to the infirm.

 

1. On the subject of financial stability, how much has it cost the club by not progressing in cup competitions, in three seasons, against lower league opposition? Last seasons exit cost us a place in europe this season - at what cost? Each position lost in the league costs the club money. Average gates may be up at the moment but I strongly suspect, with the "storm brewing", will come a fall in gate receipts, again losing money to the club This comes right down to a lack of motivation amongst fans potentially hitting the club in a fall in sales of merchandise. In my opinion keeping Jimmy is costing the club now.

 

2. Calderwood shows an incredible arrogance for a man that has hurt the fans so much. Rather than shouldering at least an element of the blame for failure he simply says it's his turn to have the heat turned up on him. If he sets himself any standards as a manager at all surely he can't avoid seeing he has failed to meet them. So why doesn't he admit this to us and, if he still feels he is the man for the job, explain what he is going to do to push things forward? He never appears so shy when it comes to publicly attacking the players, the fans, pitches, or any other barrier he feels he can hide behind.

 

3. Personally I welcome what the unfortunately accronymed "ASS" has done, and I do believe that, particularly post Dunfermline debacle, their sentiments probably do represent a majority opinion. It is possibly not the best written letter of all time but they are football fans, not necesarily English experts.

 

1. Excellent point on potential lost revenue. Merchandise is contracted out though so makes no difference to AFC coffers.

 

2. If he had any dignity he would have resigned after the Dunfermline replay embarrassment. That he has not, nor even sincerely apologised or taken a mm/mcg/smidgen of blame, I agree shows incredible arrogance.

 

3.  at noticing acronym ASS! 

 

+1

Anyone just receive this email from AFChat (despite not even being a member there anymore!?!?)

 

manc_don,

 

A group of AFC fans are organising a protest against Jimmy Calderwood and the management team at AFC. They plan to meet at the Broadhill bar at 12.00 ahead of the home tie against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on the 11th of April, with a demonstration scheduled to take place at 2pm. Will you be joining in or do you think this is a terrible idea? Have your say on the AFC Chat message board. Best

 

Regards The AFC Chat Team

Stand Free!

Anyone just receive this email from AFChat (despite not even being a member there anymore!?!?)

 

 

Yup 

I might add, I think its a daft idea and won't be protrayed in the meeeja very well. I want him out, but in the summer. Doing this will only unsettle the team in what is a game we NEED to win.

Remember how we laughed at Hearts when they tried to protest? Hmm.

Anyone just receive this email from AFChat (despite not even being a member there anymore!?!?)

 

 

Affirmative

Remember how we laughed at Hearts when they tried to protest? Hmm.

Nothing wrong with a protest if it is carried out properly. A half-arsed attempt organised by a bunch of fannies from afc hat before a game is only likely to pour ridicule on the majority view that JC has to go.

Nothing wrong with a protest if it is carried out properly. A half-arsed attempt organised by a bunch of fannies from afc hat before a game is only likely to pour ridicule on the majority view that JC has to go.

 

Too true. It shows the level of feeling amongst the support, there's nothing wrong with a protest, but the mechanics of this one are a little strange.