http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football-news/scottish-football/spl-football/aberdeen-fc/2008/03/07/jimmy-calderwood-ready-for-aberdeen-contract-rebels-showdown-86908-20343066/

 

Jimmy Calderwood Ready For Aberdeen Contract Rebels Showdown

 

Mar 7 2008 By Ian Orr

 

JIMMY CALDERWOOD will demand to know next week if Lee Miller and Barry Nicholson will accept contract offers or move on in the summer.

 

The Aberdeen boss is desperate for his star striker and midfielder to commit to new deals, having become mainstays in his starting lineup.

 

Miller, who has scored nine goals, and Nicholson, who has weighed in with six goals, remain pivotal in Calderwood's future plans.

 

But they have been reluctant to sign the new terms that have been put on the table.

 

Now the time has come for answers so the Dons boss knows where he needs to strengthen in the summer and how much he will have to spend. Calderwood plans to to have talks with the duo after Sunday's Scottish Cup quarter-final showdown with Celtic at Pittodrie.

 

He said: "We want to know what is happening and Lee and Barry know that.

 

"We will wait until after the Celtic game to speak with them so hopefully we will know more then."

 

Miller's decision might also sway Calder wood's decision on whether to retain Steve Lovell.

 

The Englishman will find out next week if he has a future with the club - when the manager kick-starts his preparations for next season.

 

The striker looked on his way out, having fallen behind Miller and Darren Mackie in the pecking order.

 

But the 27-year-old came in from the cold in the draw against Mother well and scored against Rangers in the 3-1 defeat at Ibrox last Saturday.

 

That raised Lovell's popularity with the Dons fans and also made the manager reconsider his plans to let the Englishman go in the summer.

 

Calderwood said: "We will see what happens this time next week.

 

"We will speak to different people and Steve himself and I will take it from there."

 

Calderwood admits his side have not performed at their peak this season and insisted the situation is not as bad as has been suggested.

 

He blamed a string of injury problems for the club's plight and said: "We have had a nightmare run of injuries and it has been impossible at times.

 

"We had so many injuries that you are too scared to train the players.

 

"It has been horrendous at times and it is a fact that if you lose your best players then you are going to struggle.

 

"Because of the number of players we have used and the number of games we are playing in it has cost us."

 

One of Calderwood's players is convinced all is not lost and that the Dons will reach the Scottish Cup Final.

 

Derek Young was advised by his boss to book an early holiday after it was revealed knee ligament injury will rule him out for at least six weeks.

 

But Young, back with the Dons for a second spell, rejected the offer because he is desperate to make it third time lucky at Hampden after losing two finals there with Dunfermline.

 

Calderwood said: "I was kidding him by saying his season was over but I knew by the look he shot me that he doesn't think so.

 

"If we can progress in the Cup then I am sure he will be fighting to be back for the latter stages of the competitions.

 

"Derek has been involved in two finals with Dunfermline and would love to play in another one for the chance to get a winner's medal at last.

 

"He is very low at the moment, which is not like him but, hopefully, we can win against Celtic on Sunday and give him something to fight for."

 

Now I'm confused. Did Lee Miller not sign a new contract?

Nicholson won’t let cup debacle influence future

 

By Michael Gannon

 

Published: 14/04/2008

 

Barry Nicholson reckons it will take a long time for Aberdeen to recover from their humiliating defeat by Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.

 

The Aberdeen midfielder will not, however, let the massive disappointment influence his decision on his future at the club.

 

Nicholson, who is out of contract in the summer, is set to decide whether or not to accept a new offer within the next 10 days – and a host of English Championship clubs are watching.

 

Nicholson scored Aberdeen’s second equaliser as they fell behind three times to First Division Queens before former Dons attacker John Stewart scored the winner to inflict one of the biggest Scottish Cup shocks of all time on the Pittodrie club.

 

Another former Dons player, Steve Tosh, gave the Doonhamers a first-half lead, with Paul Burns and Sean O’Connor also scoring for the Dumfries men. Andrew Considine twice levelled, either side of Nicholson’s goal, before Stewart earned Queens a place in the final.

 

Nicholson said: “This will not have anything to do with my choice in the summer. The decision will be down to whether or not I want a fresh challenge.

 

“It is a very sore one and it will take a long time for the players to get over this.

 

“It was a great chance for us to get to a major cup final and we have let the supporters and ourselves down badly. We did not start very brightly and they got the goal. Once we scored you would have thought we could have gone on and taken confidence from it, but they managed to get in front a couple of times.â€

 

Nicholson accepted that Aberdeen’s woeful defending cost them again, but insisted the entire team is to blame.

 

He said: “Not just the defence was poor, but our defending all over the park.

 

“We had some chances. Zander Diamond hit the post and bar and I had a shot saved late on.

 

“But if you concede goals like that then you do not deserve to win.

 

“It has been a season of highs and lows, but mistakes have cost us.

 

“I don’t think it was a lack of effort. I think everyone gave their all, but we made mistakes and lacked sufficient composure.â€

Hurtful as it was, would hardly go as far as describe this as one of the biggest Scottish Cup shocks of all time.

 

Not just in hindsight, but could see it coming, and sure I'm not alone in this.

So they've got another 10 days to decide have they? 

 

Pandering to a couple of cunts who aren't showing any interest in the cause is hardly following Willie Miller's statement of "we only want players who want to play for Aberdeen" now is it.

 

How about sign by Friday or you're out the door come summer whether you've got a club or not.

So they've got another 10 days to decide have they?  

 

Pandering to a couple of cunts who aren't showing any interest in the cause is hardly following Willie Miller's statement of "we only want players who want to play for Aberdeen" now is it.

 

How about sign by Friday or you're out the door come summer whether you've got a club or not.

 

Think you're being far to lenient there ST..... if it was down to me, I'd haul their arse's in after training this morning, and say there is your new contract, take it away and come in with it signed tomorrow at 9 o'clock or don't bother coming back full stop.

I know I was arguing against folk who were saying that Nicholson and Miller shouldn't be getting a game again until they sign, but the difference now is we have absoutely FUCK ALL left to play for this season.

Nicholson and Miller were two of the better players on saturday, but when I read they were getting another 10 days, I thought it was a joke. As much as I am sad to see them both leaving and quite scared of the future without them, we need to blood some youngsters and not play these two. We have nothing to play for now and nothing to lose.

Think you're being far to lenient there ST..... if it was down to me, I'd haul their arse's in after training this morning, and say there is your new contract, take it away and come in with it signed tomorrow at 9 o'clock or don't bother coming back full stop.

I know I was arguing against folk who were saying that Nicholson and Miller shouldn't be getting a game again until they sign, but the difference now is we have absoutely FUCK ALL left to play for this season.

 

However unlikely it may sound, we can still mathematically get 3rd place.  Its probably not going to happen, but the team should go for it in the next two games.  If we don't win both, then bin Miller and Nicholson if they haven't signed, and play some youngsters.

However unlikely it may sound, we can still mathematically get 3rd place.  Its probably not going to happen, but the team should go for it in the next two games.  If we don't win both, then bin Miller and Nicholson if they haven't signed, and play some youngsters.

 

Mathematically possible I can accept, but in all honesty not even the most positive thinking person in the world can hold any kind of hope of it happening

Possible replacements for all of our out of contract players should have been identified well into last year so that as soon as it hit Janusry 1st, we could make a move for these players, offer the players we wanted to keep the best offer we could, and operate on a first come first served basis.

 

These players have now got us over a barrel and there's no way whoever at the club is responsible should have let it come this far.

Its also set a prescedent as why would anyone sign a contract at aberdeen if they know they can leave it till the last minute and if they dont get a better offer they can still sign on.

 

they should have stuck to the original deadline, it might be different if we were talking about top class players but if barry nic and lee miller can hold us to ransom what chance have we got....

 

These players have now got us over a barrel and there's no way whoever at the club is responsible should have let it come this far.

 

Difficult to see past one William Miller on this one Slim

Another 10 days? What an insult to the management and more importantly to us, the support. They are now ONLY waiting for the chumpionship vultures to start circling. We wont get third place, blood some younsters, who might actually fight for the jersey. They should get dumped on the bench the rest of the season.

Mathematically possible I can accept, but in all honesty not even the most positive thinking person in the world can hold any kind of hope of it happening

 

You're right, I don't think we'll get 3rd.

You're right, I don't think we'll get 3rd.

 

I rest my case then

 

I'd have told Barry Nic to do one long before now.  He clearly doesn't want to play for the club beyond this season.  We're out the Cup now with no chance of UEFA Cup football next season.  Do the decent thing and tell the fans you're leaving.  Same goes for Miller.