ON WAY OUT?

 

12:00 - 25 February 2008

 

Jimmy Calderwood is preparing to axe at least 10 players in a major Pittodrie purge this summer.

 

The Dons boss has finally lost patience with his flops following the dire 3-1 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

 

Aberdeen's sudden slump has seen them slip to ninth in the table, 11 points behind third placed Motherwell who also have two games in hand. Calderwood said: "It's now quite clear I have a major rebuilding job on my hands."

 

Dutch trio Karim Touzani, Dave Bus and Jeffrey de Visscher are likely to be under threat.

 

Steve Lovell will lead the mass exodus in the close season along with Dan Smith while Stuart Duff, Lee Mair and the experienced Jackie McNamara could also go.

 

Calderwood would love to keep loan stars Josh Walker and Sone Aluko but the teen pair will return to England this summer.

 

He added: "The performances we are producing right now aren't good enough for Aberdeen Football Club.

 

"We've set high standards but they have slipped drastically and I won't settle for second best.

 

"You learn from every game and it's now apparent we need to make big changes.

 

"Playing at a great club like Aberdeen comes with extra expectation levels.

 

"It takes a certain person to handle that and sometimes some individuals can only go so far as a player.

 

"Maybe a few have been punching above their weight but are now being found and when that happens it's time for surgery.

 

"I'm preparing for a massive turnaround and it's looking like I'll be into double figures in terms of the number of departures."

 

Calderwood stayed in Glasgow last night as he heads south of the border to trawl the lower leagues for fresh talent.

 

Jimmy Nicholl and Sandy Clark will also head off on scouting missions in a bid to net new players.

 

And Willie Miller has promised his manager will be given cash to fund his red revolution.

 

"I'm off on my travels again trying to make inroads into strengthening the team," said Calderwood.

 

"I'll be in England tonight taking in games as we step up our search for fresh talent.

 

"I've got a chance to look at some games coming up and we'll be watching a lot more in the coming months.

 

"That's because we need to improve the quality we have to get us back up to where we want to be in terms of our league position."

 

Calderwood made several changes for the Killie clash including handing keeper Derek Soutar a shock recall.

 

The former Dundee man is expected to retain his place for Wednesday's match with Motherwell at Pittodrie despite losing three goals at Rugby Park.

 

"Derek's display didn't have anything to do with us losing three goals," said Calderwood.

 

"He couldn't do anything to stop them as it was just very bad defending.

 

"It's up to Derek if he wants to keep his place in the side but I can't blame him at all for what happened against Kilmarnock."

Look at it this way Al.... we've easily got 10 players at the club who'll never see the light of day and 10 more who should never get a game anyway.

 

Deek Yung's never seen the light of day.

 

The worrying thing is it's taken JC this long to realise how shite some of the players mentioned are.

 

Even more so, he signed most or all of them!!

This was in the EE remember. Not like Dons stories to be sensationalised.

I've got an idea.  Don't get rid of any of the players, bar the ones intent on leaving anyway.

Bring in a proper football MANAGER who can play the best people in their best positions every week without having to resort to a tombola and see if we can get a few more of those types of performances we've seen this squad produce (Hibs/United/Copenhagen/Munich at home)

Then let him spend money on players he has seen, scouted and understands to improve the squad rather than punts on players his son recommended or who he got in his last lot of pannini stickers

Another worrying factor to this unfolding debacle is that he looks to have no idea who these replacemet players are. He is only now starting to look around, and has nobody in mind. which begs the question as to how well the players we have brought in were actually looked at before signing. Signed by specualtion and heresay i reckon.

I can hardly wait for the prospect of a team of players hurriedly bashed together by JC and his merry men in just one summer. Imagine...

 

In goals, number one...A DUTCH AMATEUR IN HIS THIRTIES WHO WAS ONCE A TRAINEE FOR FEYENOORD!

 

Number two...A FREE TRANSFER FROM DUNFERMLINE!

 

Number four...A BIG, UGLY ENGLISH CENTRE HALF WHO LOOKED NO' BAD PLAYING FOR ROTHERHAM!

 

In midfield... SOME PREMIERSHIP KID WITH A BAD ATTITUDE WHO IS BITTER AT BEING FARMED OUT ON LOAN TO THE SPL!

 

And up front....

...

 

... DARREN MACKIE!

I doubt Calderwood has any intention of binning so many players. His mumbling to the press is a common tactic used by managers who are getting desperate when they are struggling to get their team motivated by using their own conventional methods.

Didn't we have an "8 players out" headline about a year and a half ago?

 

Personally I'd welcome 10 out but only if he stops taking players in who won't see the light of day.

Didn't we have an "8 players out" headline about a year and a half ago?

 

Personally I'd welcome 10 out but only if he stops taking players in who won't see the light of day.

 

Deek Yung's done well for us

That's one out of a list of Dan Smith, Lee Mair, McCulloch, Daal, Jonathan Smith, Kurrant, Mixu brothers, JVD, Bus, etc......

That's one out of a list of Dan Smith, Lee Mair, McCulloch, Daal, Jonathan Smith, Kurrant, Mixu brothers, JVD, Bus, etc......

 

Who?

We seem to have got into a cycle of bringing in pish players in the January window and letting them leave again at the end of the season, people like McFarlane and Duff were never going to improve the results or the product on the park.  Derek Young has been ok-ish, but many of Jimmy's signings have been bewildering.

 

As said above, if ten (or possibly more) of the names mentioned leave, it's an admission of failure by Jimmy because he signed each and every one of the feckers.

 

Steve Lovell is ten times the player Chris Maguire is, yet Lovell will be moved on and Maguire will stay.  This is the thing that pisses me off most, makes you wonder about Jimmy's man-management skills.

We seem to have got into a cycle of bringing in pish players in the January window and letting them leave again at the end of the season, people like McFarlane and Duff were never going to improve the results or the product on the park.  Derek Young has been ok-ish, but many of Jimmy's signings have been bewildering.

 

As said above, if ten (or possibly more) of the names mentioned leave, it's an admission of failure by Jimmy because he signed each and every one of the feckers.

 

Steve Lovell is ten times the player Chris Maguire is, yet Lovell will be moved on and Maguire will stay.  This is the thing that pisses me off most, makes you wonder about Jimmy's man-management skills.

 

Absolutely, what is also bewildering is that the guys who are getting moved on (according to the article anyway) are guys who aren't even getting a game. I know that the argument will be that if they're not good enough to oust those in possession of the starting places then they should be binned, but there are guys who are playing EVERY week who should be going first. In fact, with the exception of Diamond, I'd actually like to see all of the "untouchables" shipped out.

If i were to do a comprehensive cull of the playing staff at AFC, Diamond would be kept, and an assortment of others (Lovell, Miller, Smith, Nicholson, Langfield, Seve) would be given a severe kick up the arse, lose yer form and yer out type talk. The rest, as far as I'm concerned, can get right to fuck.

Who?

 

Exactly. 

 

(I meant McFarlane)

 

I think this is a major problem, one that should be added to the 99 list.  As all the fans seem to see it but it seems to escape the attention down Pittodrie Street.

 

The first 11 aren't being challenged for positions so we bring in nothing other than cover in January.  The first 11 still don't have anything to worry about and so the cycle continues.

 

In my AFC-world, we'd only bring in players who were better than we already had.  If they're not good enough then they don't come in.  I'd prefer playing a 16 year old for a few weeks until we could bring in shite-for-cover if need be.

In my AFC-world, we'd only bring in players who were better than we already had.  If they're not good enough then they don't come in.  I'd prefer playing a 16 year old for a few weeks until we could bring in shite-for-cover if need be.

 

I'd bet that ye were all excited with the squad we had at the start o the season though?  It's just nae worked oot for a variety o reasons.  The big problem for me has been the out-o-contract players.  Someone's gotta be held accountable for that.  It's obviously unsettled the squad.

I'd bet that ye were all excited with the squad we had at the start o the season though?  It's just nae worked oot for a variety o reasons.  The big problem for me has been the out-o-contract players.  Someone's gotta be held accountable for that.  It's obviously unsettled the squad.

 

I was excited and to be honest it's only really Jackie Mac that's let me down.  It's the no-marks that we're bringing in each January that annoys me as we've already enough dross to take up the slack if need be and we should never have been getting rid of first team regulars for £350k (even although it looked a decent amount for Clark).

 

Keeping those players for another 6 months would have saw us reach a cup final, possibly two or another chance of a European place which would easily have paid recouped that cost.

Would it surprise anyone that the name of Scott Wilson is being mentioned in today's EE? 

Cant Jimmy see we need a clever player at the back to play beside Zander?  Wilson is a buffoon.

Keeping those players for another 6 months would have saw us reach a cup final, possibly two or another chance of a European place which would easily have paid recouped that cost.

 

Yeah man, the january transfer window really screwed us as it's unsettled the squad and the players brought in are either nae good enough or haven't settled. 

Remember Alex Ferguson saying recently that he won't sign players in the Jan transfer window again because ye need time to bed them intae the squad.  The signings of Evra and Vidic were what he pointed toward.  Struggled initialy but are now integral parts o his first 11.

He wouldn't always be injured if the cocking manager would let him recover from his injuries. In fact. That can be said for all injuries we get. 

 

The medical staff at Pittodrie appear to be fucking clueless.

I'd bet that ye were all excited with the squad we had at the start o the season though?  It's just nae worked oot for a variety o reasons.  The big problem for me has been the out-o-contract players.  Someone's gotta be held accountable for that.  It's obviously unsettled the squad.

 

i was quietly confdent at the start of the season with the thought of a settled backline in place, yes. But my quiet concern was where the goals walways ere gonna come fae.

 

In my AFC-world, we'd only bring in players who were better than we already had.  If they're not good enough then they don't come in.  I'd prefer playing a 16 year old for a few weeks until we could bring in shite-for-cover if need be.

 

I would agree. I suspect Calderwood would too. Obviously apart from the 16 year old bit.

 

The board have not given him the readies to replace the players who have left with players good enough to do so nor to create enough competition by bringing in players good enough to challenge the current woefully underperforming squad.

See these 10 players to be axed..... can I do it?

 

 

 

Cant Jimmy see we need a clever player at the back to play beside Zander?  Wilson is a buffoon.

 

I still maintain that we have the daftest squad in the league. We have a team of buffoons.