ABERDEEN’S season will be over next weekend when Celtic come calling in the Scottish Cup.
Not even home advantage will save the dismal Dons. Dismal? The word doesn’t even begin to explain how bad this Pittodrie squad is.
Twenty-three goals shipped in seven games during February certainly give a clue. It began with the 4-1 League Cup semi-final defeat by Dundee United followed days later by a 5-1 Pittodrie thrashing by Celtic. The 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich restored a bit of pride.
But it also posed the question as to why the level of first-half performance that night is seldom in evidence and was certainly missing days later when they lost 3-1 to Hibs at Easter Road.
The 5-1 battering in Munich was not unexpected and that was followed by a dreadful performance at Rugby Park where Kilmarnock ended their own poor run with an easy 3-1 victory.
There were five Aberdeen players in the penalty box all marking fresh air at Killie’s first goal.
You wonder how effective the manager and coaches are on the training ground when you witness something like that.
February ended with the defence unable to protect a lead in the 1-1 draw with Motherwell. When some misguided souls recently waxed lyrical about Aberdeen still competing in three cup competitions and having a chance of third place in the SPL I forecast that in the blink of an eye they could be out of them all and in the bottom half of the League.
Five bad defeats and two draws in a month backed my judgement that all is not well with this club. When manager Jimmy Calderwood, above, took the reins Aberdeen had been in the doldrums. He gave them an initial lift but they are sinking again.
It was a blunder to recently award him a new three-year contract. The alarm bells were already ringing. What was Stewart Milne and his board thinking about?
Calderwood’s post-match interviews invariably include comments like: “This cannot go on†and “this is unacceptableâ€. But it has and he must take a huge part of the blame.
Refuge
After defeat by Killie he said he would have to get rid of an entire team and build from scratch. What does it say about his judgement of players? He signed them and still selects them. The latest comment is his final refuge. He has nowhere else to hide.
The board, saddled with Calderwood’s deal, will attempt to batten down the hatches and hope to escape the ire of long-suffering fans till summer. Even then, is Calderwood the man to lead them forward?
The answer has to be no. When young players see him walk into the dressing room what do you imagine they think? Is he a figure to inspire? Again, no.
The same applies to director of football Willie Miller, a magnificent defender who must look in horror at the likes of the Rugby Park fiasco.
But he is miscast in this role. He’s not the inspiring skipper of old and after an unsuccessful spell as manager at Pittodrie he too cuts the figure of a loser. His backing of Calderwood’s new deal merely emphasised poor judgement.
The board now find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Can they afford to bite the bullet and pay the compensation required if the club is to change direction?
Surely they must look at what Craig Levein has achieved at Dundee United, Mark McGhee at Motherwell, John Hughes at Falkirk and the early impact by Mixu Paatelainen at Hibs. I fear the mob will soon be at the door.
PS: Hang this up in the dressing room Jimmy — it’s your only chance against Celtic!
Saw this in the paper on sunday and i actually dont like Mcnee but think he not far wrong with what he is saying. What does everyone else think?
CALDERWOOD MUST CARRY CAN
ABERDEEN’S season will be over next weekend when Celtic come calling in the Scottish Cup.
Not even home advantage will save the dismal Dons. Dismal? The word doesn’t even begin to explain how bad this Pittodrie squad is.
Twenty-three goals shipped in seven games during February certainly give a clue. It began with the 4-1 League Cup semi-final defeat by Dundee United followed days later by a 5-1 Pittodrie thrashing by Celtic. The 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich restored a bit of pride.
But it also posed the question as to why the level of first-half performance that night is seldom in evidence and was certainly missing days later when they lost 3-1 to Hibs at Easter Road.
The 5-1 battering in Munich was not unexpected and that was followed by a dreadful performance at Rugby Park where Kilmarnock ended their own poor run with an easy 3-1 victory.
There were five Aberdeen players in the penalty box all marking fresh air at Killie’s first goal.
You wonder how effective the manager and coaches are on the training ground when you witness something like that.
February ended with the defence unable to protect a lead in the 1-1 draw with Motherwell. When some misguided souls recently waxed lyrical about Aberdeen still competing in three cup competitions and having a chance of third place in the SPL I forecast that in the blink of an eye they could be out of them all and in the bottom half of the League.
Five bad defeats and two draws in a month backed my judgement that all is not well with this club. When manager Jimmy Calderwood, above, took the reins Aberdeen had been in the doldrums. He gave them an initial lift but they are sinking again.
It was a blunder to recently award him a new three-year contract. The alarm bells were already ringing. What was Stewart Milne and his board thinking about?
Calderwood’s post-match interviews invariably include comments like: “This cannot go on†and “this is unacceptableâ€. But it has and he must take a huge part of the blame.
Refuge
After defeat by Killie he said he would have to get rid of an entire team and build from scratch. What does it say about his judgement of players? He signed them and still selects them. The latest comment is his final refuge. He has nowhere else to hide.
The board, saddled with Calderwood’s deal, will attempt to batten down the hatches and hope to escape the ire of long-suffering fans till summer. Even then, is Calderwood the man to lead them forward?
The answer has to be no. When young players see him walk into the dressing room what do you imagine they think? Is he a figure to inspire? Again, no.
The same applies to director of football Willie Miller, a magnificent defender who must look in horror at the likes of the Rugby Park fiasco.
But he is miscast in this role. He’s not the inspiring skipper of old and after an unsuccessful spell as manager at Pittodrie he too cuts the figure of a loser. His backing of Calderwood’s new deal merely emphasised poor judgement.
The board now find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Can they afford to bite the bullet and pay the compensation required if the club is to change direction?
Surely they must look at what Craig Levein has achieved at Dundee United, Mark McGhee at Motherwell, John Hughes at Falkirk and the early impact by Mixu Paatelainen at Hibs. I fear the mob will soon be at the door.
PS: Hang this up in the dressing room Jimmy — it’s your only chance against Celtic!
Saw this in the paper on sunday and i actually dont like Mcnee but think he not far wrong with what he is saying. What does everyone else think?