Willie Miller looks at positives from Dons' season

[Kowalski]

Upbeat Miller looks at the positives from Dons’ season

 

ABERDEEN DIRECTOR SAYS DESPITE HAMPDEN HUMILIATION CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN A SUCCESS

 

By Michael Gannon

 

Published: 17/04/2008

 

Willie Miller watched in dismay along with Aberdeen supporters at Hampden last weekend as the Dons’ hopes of a Scottish Cup final and the prospect of a second successive European campaign crashed down around them.

 

Disappointment hit the Aberdeen director of football every bit as hard as the 14,000 supporters in the stadium and countless more watching on television.

 

The 4-3 defeat to First Division Queen of the South, preceded by the 4-1 hammering by Dundee United in the League Cup semi, has plunged the club into meltdown as supporters have vented their fury at players, management and board.

 

Semi-final failure is often the hardest to stomach, with glory close enough to taste.

 

When the Dons capitulated for the second time this season at the penultimate stage, Miller could understand why supporters have been engulfed in anger and depression.

 

The margins between failure and success are painfully thin and the Dons have found themselves on the wrong side.

 

Miller believes despite the morose end to the campaign, this season should be recognised as a success.

 

He said: “Everyone is bitterly disappointed not to make a final after having two chances to get there. I would suggest if we had made it to even one of those finals it would have been seen as a fabulous season, but now we have people thinking it has been an awful season.

 

“I do not think it has been either.

 

“We have to look at the season overall and then dissect it.

 

“But we are not kidding ourselves, the manner of the defeats in the semi-finals has brought us down as a club and is what is making the majority of the supporters depressed.

 

“I can understand the supporters’ reaction.

 

“I am the last person people have to tell how disappointing it was. If the supporters felt bad I wouldn’t want to say how bad I felt.

 

“We cannot put up much of a defence for the way we played in both of them.

 

“The second half of the League Cup was very unprofessional in the manner we conceded the goals and got a man sent off. You would have thought they would have learned from it.

 

“Unfortunately, that was not the case and they did not handle the occasion at Hamp-den at all.

 

“We do not have many players who have the experience of playing in those games and it showed.â€

 

Miller pointed to the club’s run to the last 32 of the Uefa Cup and qualification for the top six in the SPL as plus points of this rollercoaster season.

 

He said: “We have had some huge high spots as well as those low ones.

 

“The European adventure was fabulous, it gave us some great memories for our young and older supporters.

 

“It also gave us a fair amount of finance as well to help the business side of the football club.

 

“It is a season where we have to look at the bigger picture rather than let our emotions take over at this time.

 

“People say we scraped into the top six, but we are sitting six points behind Dundee United and Hibs, both would say they have had good seasons.

 

“We are only eight points behind Motherwell and have they had a good season?

 

“Everyone seems to say so, but they have not reached any semi-finals and none of the other clubs have had runs in Europe.â€

 

He's obviously trying to be positive while facing criticism himself, but I think I agree with his comments.

[oldred]

Success for him YES  he scooped a 3 year deal.

[Superstar Tradesman]

He is actually right in what he's saying.  The problem is the fans are hurting from this latest setback and no amount of talk or glossing over the bad bits will entice them back.

 

What the club does between now and the start of next season is really going to make or break it for a few thousand season ticket holders.

 

But it wouldn't surprise me one jot if they release a little cash, make some half decent signings, get our interest up and then sell Zander and Considine for peanuts in January and pull in some dirge to replace them.

 

Round, round, round we go.

[Kowalski]

then sell Considine for peanuts in January

 

I wouldn't lose any sleep if that were to happen.

[Superstar Tradesman]

I wouldn't lose any sleep if that were to happen.

 

When we have Byrne, Duff, Bus, etc, waiting in the wings to step right in?

 

Considine can at least play football and it's only his lapses of concentration that let him down.  I can't ever remember being scared when he's on the ball or of him making any lunging tackles.

 

Hopefully with more games he irons these mistakes out.

[bilbobaggins]

When we have Byrne, Duff, Bus, etc, waiting in the wings to step right in?

 

Considine can at least play football and it's only his lapses of concentration that let him down.  I can't ever remember being scared when he's on the ball or of him making any lunging tackles.

 

Hopefully with more games he irons these mistakes out.

 

Byrne or Bus will not be at the club next year. Duff has a few games to make his mark.

 

Keep up.

[BobbyBiscuit]

So what happened to the £1.4m that we had to spend? All being taken up by wages?

[Slim]

Or we just don't want to alert clubs to the fact we can pay transfer fees and don't want to have our arse bitten like we have in the past?

[BobbyBiscuit]

Or we just don't want to alert clubs to the fact we can pay transfer fees and don't want to have our arse bitten like we have in the past?

 

That had crossed my mind as well, but then, why go to the press with it some months ago?

[Superstar Tradesman]

Byrne or Bus will not be at the club next year. Duff has a few games to make his mark.

 

Keep up.

 

I heard what's been said but don't doubt for one second that any one of them will be called up at the witching hour, when we fail miserably to fill the gaps during the transfer window.

 

Regardless of this 'world wide search' that's supposedly going on.

[Guest bloo_toon_red]

Regardless of this 'world wide search' that's supposedly going on.

 

I think we all know by now that it is in fact a world wide web search of rumours from fans forums initiated by chief scout fat postie.

[bilbobaggins]

I'm envoking the AFC Chat Law on this thread.

 

 

* AFC Chat law states that any internet forum discussion about football will ultimately (or within 3 posts, whichever is quicker) end in Jimmy Calderwood being called a fat useless orange bastard who can't coach, doesn't give youth a chance and is the sole cause of missing thousands of fans.

 

It's a bit like Godwin's law but less amusing.

 

 

[Montana]

Facts - Aberdeen consistent Top 6 with Calderwood, reaching Europe, reaching cup semi-finals - positon improved, club generating income. This is all positive and remember this is WM job on the line too.

 

Dirty Great Big Fucking Elephant in the room - Tactics are fucked up, its shite to watch, squad full of bi-polar bottlers and we do a mean impression of a Division One Side who would struggle to get promoted, attendances pish.

 

Please AFC its on you all - not just JC - but from the board down - do something in the forthcoming months to recapture our interest.... sign good players - not dross and have a plan to combat the falling attendances which involves some marketing and changing prices to enable 18K a week to attend Pittodrie vs 12K.

[Mackie's ace!]

I still don't think we'd get 18k every week if the prices were changed.

 

You think we'd almost double crowds by charging £15/£10 conc v St Mirren?

[Harcus]

It's not doubling, it's adding on a third. 

 

Prices changes are not going to happen, however much they need to. I also agree with Sneckie that dropping a few quid of the price of a ticket versus the St Mirrens, Killies, Gretnas etc is not going to make a massive difference.

[CtS]

'Feel good factor' is essential at any football club during the summer months, we had it last May due to beating Rangers on the last day and qualifying for Europe.  We would have had it again if we were going to Hampden for the cup final.  I agree that due to recent disapointments and the lack of European football next season, the big nobs at Pittodrie need to make at least one significant signing, along with several less imaginative signings, to rekindle the fans interest / enthusiasm. 

 

Big clubs all over the world do it, a big name signing means selling more shirts and season tickets, and gives everyone who cares about the club renewed hope for the new season.

 

We need a lift.

[Guest bloo_toon_red]

We do need a big name signing.

 

The big question is are we going to get one on £3k a week though?

 

Charlie Nicholas, Hans Gillhaus, Paul Bernard, Craig Hignett - all signings that in the past generated massive interest.

 

Jimmy has surprised us each season with some impressive signings though, so let's not be too hasty.  Severin, Nicholson, Lovell, Smith, McNamara, even Maybury were all players of the calibre we like to see here and I wouldn't bet against him signing up another one or two good players in the close season.

 

Keep the faith.

[bilbobaggins]

Keep the faith indeed.

 

I see KKK has us of [sic] to hell in a handcart.

 

Prediction of relegation next season

 

 

[Ajja]

I may be demented but I'm actually looking forward to the turnaround in personnel at the club. It feels like things have got pretty stale around the squad and a change will be good, even if all the players we bring in are not of an exceptionally high standard I'd hope we woul dat least nail a few good ones.

 

Also, 12K to 18K is a 50% increase, not double or a third 

[Reekie_Red]

It's not doubling, it's adding on a third. 

 

Prices changes are not going to happen, however much they need to. I also agree with Sneckie that dropping a few quid of the price of a ticket versus the St Mirrens, Killies, Gretnas etc is not going to make a massive difference.

 

Perhaps not. But maybe running a few incentives. Remember the two-for-one deal a few seasons ago? It ended up in our biggest crowd of the season being a mid-season league game vs St Johnstone. We need to generate some sort of interest in the game again. Inviting new fans to pittodrie might be a way of doing this, just as it was for the St Johnstone match.

[tlg1903]

I may be demented but I'm actually looking forward to the turnaround in personnel at the club. It feels like things have got pretty stale around the squad and a change will be good, even if all the players we bring in are not of an exceptionally high standard I'd hope we woul dat least nail a few good ones.

 

Also, 12K to 18K is a 50% increase, not double or a third 

 

Yeah i know what you mean ajja, the only player/s i'd be disapointed about leaving are miller and nicholson.  The squad definitely needs a spring clean, particularily in midfield.  Hell it might even give seve a kick up the ass enough to make him the player he was a few seasons back.

[Mackie's ace!]

It's not doubling, it's adding on a third. 

 

 

Also, 12K to 18K is a 50% increase, not double or a third 

 

Aberdeen 1 St Mirren 1

Date : 2008-03-22

Venue : Pittodrie Stadium

Attendance : 9779

Comp : Clydesdale Bank Premier League

Referee : C Allan

[dave_min]

Aberdeen 1    St Mirren 1

Date :    2008-03-22

Venue : Pittodrie Stadium

Attendance :    9779

Comp :    Clydesdale Bank Premier League   

Referee :    C Allan

 

I can only apologise, I was away for that weekend.