29th January - The burning question of the day? Was last nights Pittodrie match a football match or a farce? A pointless farce would have to be the answer. Of course if the Dandies has won we would have happily taken the points and not said too much about the conditions, or would we? There must have been a lot of fans, especially in the South Stand, who could not see what was going on in large parts of the first half. The rain was whipping into their faces and it was clear that the linesman was having difficulties and not only with his countless late offside decisions. In fact he and the ref discussed it late on in that half and it looked like they were seriously considering calling it off. Well, they should have. There is no way that modern football should expect fans to sit through weather like we had last night - even the normally well sheltered upper deck of the Dick End was letting in water and everybody in the ground, including players and officials, were chilled to the marrow. How many people are off work or school today as a direct result of last night's conditions? That's hard to measure, but it is a good bet that it will have been more than a few.
Let's give "summer" football a go, where is the pleasure in watching the game in winter? Football clubs will argue that they would lose spectators in summer because people are away on holiday or doing other summery things, but that has to be proved. Who is to say that crowds wouldn't actually be better because more people want to spend time out of doors than do in the winter months. Choosing the best time to close the game down may be a little bit contentious, but January and February would be a good bet. We'd still have months at either end of the season that could be miserable weather wise, but these would be times when people were enthusiastic for a new season or the leagues would be reaching a climax. Surely it is worth a try? Failing that, then maybe the Dons should be looking not just for a new stadium, but for one that is completely roofed over to protect the faithful people who want to watch them no matter what. Cost? Sure it would cost a hell of a lot, but the facility (probably with artificial turf) would be a real earner because it would be usable 24/7 for a multitude of purposes and, who knows, might even generate enough revenue to allow us the luxury of buying a striker now and again.
Shepherd Spy
With the SPL seeming to have sorted out their differences we should also be looking for them to now tackle some of the many problems besetting our domestic game. The fixtures lists dreamed up by the SPL are chaotic and create loads of problems for fans, especially when we go on the road. They also need to stop the constant chopping and changing of fixtures at the drop of a hat - both dates and kick-off times are just a lottery nowadays. Most of all though, they should sort out a broadcasting deal that gives all clubs in the league a decent shake instead of this current one that is little more than extra sponsorship for the old farm. Televising matches away from Ibrox and Parkhead only serves to emphasise the fact that the BBC have been going all out to make the gruesome twosome the only real beneficiaries of this seasons TV games.
9th January - After five weeks insulated from one of the football manager's biggest and riskiest tasks,
another piece in the Steve Paterson jigsaw will fall into place this month, the transfer market the only place
in Scotland with its window open. The Red Army should be utterly underwhelmed by Pelé's first signing. There
are two types of player in the First Division - the undiscovered young gun waiting for the step up on one hand,
and the undistinguished 29-year-old journeyman who's found his level on the other.
First things first - whatever Steve Tosh may be or have been, one thing he can count on, as is the case for all
his colleagues, is 100% support from TRF for every second he is on the pitch representing Aberdeen. His short-lived
Livingston days may have been, from the Dandy's point of view, remarkable only for Tosh's apparently over-inflated
opinion of his own ability and his Pittodrie fight with Zerouali, but as soon as he signed on the dotted line that
became water under the bridge. For what it's worth, Tosh has come across this week as a bloke who genuinely appreciates
the place AFC holds in the Scottish game and realises a move to Todders is too good for him to turn down. Steve
Tosh, I am utterly certain, will give us everything he has in every match. That doesn't make him a good buy though.
So did Andy Dow.
AFC has spent much of the last few seasons attempting to reduce the size of a squad which had become so numerous
that I daresay there were guys there who wouldn't have known each other's names if they weren't written on their
shirts. In Ebbe Skovdahl's first season in charge, THIRTY-FIVE different players turned out for the first team,
even at that a further eleven were registered but not used. The surplus has been cut away and nowadays most of
those kicking their heels on Saturday afternoons are genuine 'prospects for the future'. The most recent AFCplc
annual report shows that the wages-to-turnover ratio was slashed over last season from 87.7% to 69.8%, and states
that "the Club is looking to reduce this ratio further over the next two years". The clear inference
is that we can no longer afford to pay for mediocre players to sit in the reserves.
This season, Aberdeen has called upon the services of 27 players, all but two of whom are still at Pittodrie. The
redundancy of days gone by has been reduced as, with one or two exceptions in the likes of Morrison and Watson,
nobody outwith this group could call himself any sort of candidate for first team selection this season. It's true
that not all of these players are particularly good, but for all that the Dons already have more than two teams'
worth of blokes who at the very least should each individually be able to play a game in the SPL without making
complete tits of themselves. Remember Ross O'Donoghue? Five substitute appearances constitute his entire career
so far so we can't be that desperate for midfielders. It's not an embarrassment of riches but you cannot demand
that from a club losing more than two million a year. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY FOR MORE OF THE SAME. Any players
that AFC brings in this January must be ones who are targeted to remedy a specific deficiency in its starting XI
or demonstrate the clear potential to improve upon what it has - please, a centre forward who can score goals.
Steve Tosh is not better than what already passes for back midfield players at Pittodrie. He is certainly not as
good as the outstanding Deloumeaux, and would not measure up to a fully operational Bisconti, if such a thing were
still to be available to Paterson. Pound for pound he probably ain't as good as Darren Young either, but though
admittedly superior to Fergus Tiernan he simply does not have what it takes to help push this club to the next
stage. If the Dons are happy to fill their team with stout, reliable players from Division 1, then the Dons will
become a stout, reliable Division 1 team.
Meanwhile, Inverness director of football Graeme Bennett reckons his trump card in keeping top target Dennis Wyness
away from Pittodrie is that, while the Jags are dicing for the Division 1 title, the Dons have nothing to play
for between now and May. With little prospect of there being any promotion to the SPL this season and Dundee United
firmly strapped into the ejector seat besides, and the top six disappearing towards the horizon with games rapidly
running out before the split, he has a point. Which makes Pelé's decision to spend what little he has on
the likes of Steve Tosh all the harder to fathom. Any new faces are unlikely themselves to turn 2002-03 into anything
more than the mid-table obscurity it already is. The January transfer window is by and large securely locked since
almost all players are contracted to clubs and others are unwilling to pay to prise them away when they can have
them for free in June; committing funds now to bring in nothing squad-fillers takes them out of the kitty for summer,
when SP's team building begins in earnest.
Paterson the coach may have scored some points for his opening salvo in charge, but all in all a very inauspicious
start for Paterson the wheeler-dealer.
Pissed-Off Merkie
What a difference a positive approach to playing an old farm team makes. Paterson told his players that we don't lie down for anybody and we sure as hell didn't. The Dandies were the better team over the piece and their attacking play was truly exciting to watch. When last did you see our midfield swarming forward at pace to get into the opposition box? And what a masterstroke using Deloumeaux in the heart of the defence. It is impossible to find fault with most of this performance and it was only the lack of a decent goalscorer that stopped us from turning celtic over for the fist time in ages.
Of course we are only celebrating a draw, but it was a serious sign of progress and was achieved with a team that the manager doesn't necessarily think is good enough. Now we can enjoy the winter break and look forward to returning with some new players in harness and ready to have a right good go at the remainder of the league campaign and the prospect of a decent Cup run for once.