Why is Aberdeen Football Club in decline?

[rocket_scientist]

A couple of staunch Milne supporters have just said that the club has been in decline ever since Anderson died.

 

I can't argue with that. Just wondering why they, and others, feel that AFC plc is in decline?

[dave_min]

Decline?

 

It's been the best season we've had since I was born?

[LondonScottish]

Who are these "staunch Milne supporters" you speak of?

[Guest swaddon]

In my opinion, replacing Fergie with Porterfield signalled the beginning of the end. I mean, Manchester United won't replace him with someone like Gus Macpherson, will they?

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

Probably a great many reasons, Anderson's death, Donald's being tight, departure of Ferguson, appointment and financial backing of a succession of poor managers, trying to match the Old Firm in vastly different financial circumstances, apparently good signings not living up to the price.

[manc_don]

Probably a great many reasons, Anderson's death, Donald's being tight, departure of Ferguson, appointment and financial backing of a succession of poor managers, trying to match the Old Firm in vastly different financial circumstances, apparently good signings not living up to the price.

 

Can't argue with that at all. You just get the feeling there is something wrong with the club, even though as D_M said, its been the most successful season since i've been a Dandy.

[Superstar Tradesman]

Stuart Milne doesn't give a fuck.

[Sharpie]

Scottish football hit a decline around the same time the Old Firm started to flourish financially. A lot of clubs were living beyond their means and are now suffering because of it, not just Aberdeen. Aberdeen were badly hit as the board felt they needed to spend money to keep up with Rangers in the late 80's / early 90's. Had the board at the time decided to be more careful in the transfer market they would have been lynched. Further down the line when the SKY TV money disappeared it the decline became quite rapid.

[SWA]

A couple of staunch Milne supporters have just said that the club has been in decline ever since Anderson died.

 

Fuckin hell, they told me he went tae Sunderland.

 

[Guest fatshaft]

Who are these "staunch Milne supporters" you speak of?

Hmmm, I have an inkling 

 

Stuart Milne doesn't give a fuck.

Based on what? The fact he's still in charge despite the constant griping with his Chairmanship? The fact he's a lifelong Dons fan? Or what?

 

A couple of staunch Milne supporters have just said that the club has been in decline ever since Anderson died.

 

I can't argue with that. Just wondering why they, and others, feel that AFC plc is in decline?

 

Aberdeen has never been the same without Chris Anderson's hand on the tiller, but we are looking in better shape than we've been for a number of years, Tango or no Tango, Milne or no Milne. The decline - which I would say wasn't linear anyway - probably stopped/bottomed out with Ebbe or Patterson, and is rising again at the moment.

 

The period from Fergie to Portaloo was arguably the biggest reversal in fortunes during the last 30 years at any time.

 

Worst Chairman in my lifetime - Ian Donald, what exactly did he do? Best/most effective board member - Chris Anderson, and no-one's even close.

 

 

[rocket_scientist]

1. Based on what? The fact he's still in charge despite the constant griping with his Chairmanship? The fact he's a lifelong Dons fan? Or what?

Can't agree, even though you're allegedly quoting me.

 

2. Aberdeen has never been the same without Chris Anderson's hand on the tiller, but we are looking in better shape than we've been for a number of years, Tango or no Tango, Milne or no Milne. The decline - which I would say wasn't linear anyway - probably stopped/bottomed out with Ebbe or Patterson, and is rising again at the moment.

 

3. The period from Fergie to Portaloo was arguably the biggest reversal in fortunes during the last 30 years at any time.

 

4. Worst Chairman in my lifetime - Ian Donald, what exactly did he do? Best/most effective board member - Chris Anderson, and no-one's even close.

 

1. Can't agree with yourself? Hmmm. Swore you wrote the club was in decline today. Oh you did.

 

2. I agree with you here, Fat shaft, in that CA was a good steady ship-keeper. Can not see Tango and Miller taking us forward though.

 

3. No. After Porterfield, the club was playing magnificent football and but for Smiffy's asurd team selection at Ibrox, when it really mattered, deserved to win the league.

 

4. Agree that Ian was not cut out for it, but Milne starves this club of ambition, and has been openly hostile to shareholders, and employed Miller as a stooge. He took this club into debt and it escalated pretty quickly under him, whilst his own personal net worth accelerated skywards.

 

So if you said the club was in decline this morning, you're now saying we're on the up under Calderwood. You could be right. I don't agree, but time will tell.

[Kowalski]

Shouldn't Ian Donald take the blame for trying to keep up with the Huns in the early 90s without realising the consequences?  Stewart Milne  didn't improve things either and got us into further debt, but the board have finally steadied the ship financially and we should be beginning to see a reversing of our debt (mainly thanks to Calderwood this season though!).

 

I do think that while we went through all these changes of management, that the board needed to take a much harder look at itself.  And I suppose it did by getting Willie Miller back, who is now Milne's stooge and is taking all the criticism that Milne used to get. 

 

I'm sure Milne would step aside if somebody did really want to run AFC, but there is no white knight out there so we probably should be grateful he is guaranteeing the debt.

 

On the park, I don't think we're in decline.

[stoney]

Decline?

 

It's been the best season we've had since I was born?

 

what are you 5 or 6 

[rocket_scientist]

Shouldn't Ian Donald take the blame for trying to keep up with the Huns in the early 90s without realising the consequences?  Stewart Milne  didn't improve things either and got us into further debt, but the board have finally steadied the ship financially and we should be beginning to see a reversing of our debt (mainly thanks to Calderwood this season though!).

 

I do think that while we went through all these changes of management, that the board needed to take a much harder look at itself.  And I suppose it did by getting Willie Miller back, who is now Milne's stooge and is taking all the criticism that Milne used to get. 

 

I'm sure Milne would step aside if somebody did really want to run AFC, but there is no white knight out there so we probably should be grateful he is guaranteeing the debt.

 

On the park, I don't think we're in decline.

 

Ian D ran the club with zero debt, ever. The building of the RDS put us in the red for the first time, to the tune of £2m. The debt that SM guarantees is the one he built.

[Guest fatshaft]

1. Can't agree with yourself? Hmmm. Swore you wrote the club was in decline today. Oh you did.

 

As a point of order, what I said was...

Many just like to slag Wiggy for the sake of it. Dick Donald gets far too much credit, when it was Chris Anderson who was the real success behind the scenes. Once he sadly died, the Aberdeen decline began.

 

 

Thread Title :

Why is Aberdeen Football Club in decline?

You're taking us being in decline as read.

 

But has Aberdeen FC been in constant decline? From Fergie we went backwards under that fucking clown Portaloo, then hit the relative heights under Smith/Scott and held for a while under Willie, before starting a long decline until we bottomed out under Ebbe/Patterson, from there we have moved forward again under Tango. Our graph of success, taking 1983 as a starting point, looks like an inverted dromodary.

 

Have we declined from the Anderson/Fergie days? Undoubtedly.  Are we in decline at the moment? I don't think many would say we are.

 

We are all suffering from the semi-final hangover, having had what we thought was a near certain cup final place so abysmally whipped from under us. If we'd been playing Celtic and lost 1-0 we'd have taken a good season overall, on the back of an improving season last year. It's the manner of how the season has gone that has irked most of us, rather than what has actually taken place in black & white terms. Our hopes were raised and dashed a number of times this season, but most notably in two semis, so near, yet so far.....

[brownie]

This is exactly the sort of thread you would expect to see on KKK Chat.

 

DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM

[stonefish100]

This is exactly the sort of thread you would expect to see on KKK Chat.

 

DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM

 

Aye with the same main instigators as KKK.

 

There may be trouble ahead

[SWA]

Aye with the same main instigators as KKK.

 

Ah did ask a week or so ago aboot this http://www.thedandies.co.uk/messageboard/index.php?topic=3822.msg50120#msg50120

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

From then to now there has been a fairly steady decline until the arrival of Calderwood.

 

There HAS been a significant but steady recovery since then.

[kelt]

From then to now there has been a fairly steady decline until the arrival of Calderwood.

 

There HAS been a significant but steady recovery since then.

 

I think we're confusing the health of the club with the health of the team.... which are two separate (if related) things.

 

The team has definitely been improving under Calderwood.  Tasked with getting us a cup run to match his solid top 6 finishes, he did that in style this year, before flying off the rails in spectacular fashion with a hammering from United, a humiliation from Queen of the South, and a lesson in football from Bayern Munich. 

 

We also got our customary top 6 finish again, by the skin of our fore, and the slight cash boost said top 6 finish will give us.

 

The CLUB on the other hand continues to post losses each year, regardless of top 6 finishes. And mounting debt means the club IS in decline, year after year.

 

This year was an anomaly, with the great big stack of cash that the three cup runs brought us.  also the sale of Anderson for a couple of hundred thousand, the sales of clark and Hart for similar amounts, will bring in about 500k more than we have in transfer fees for 10 years.

 

So we'll post a profit this year, and the CLUB will, for the first time in over a decade, show a positive balance.

 

We'll then go back to losing money each year and continue the almost uninterrupted decline.

 

 

[Superstar Tradesman]

Decline is the wrong word to use.

 

Rot would probably do it justice.

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

I think we're confusing the health of the club with the health of the team.... which are two separate (if related) things.

 

The CLUB on the other hand continues to post losses each year, regardless of top 6 finishes. And mounting debt means the club IS in decline, year after year.

 

This year was an anomaly, with the great big stack of cash that the three cup runs brought us.  also the sale of Anderson for a couple of hundred thousand, the sales of clark and Hart for similar amounts, will bring in about 500k more than we have in transfer fees for 10 years.

 

So we'll post a profit this year, and the CLUB will, for the first time in over a decade, show a positive balance.

 

We'll then go back to losing money each year and continue the almost uninterrupted decline.

 

 

 

Probably about spot on.

[rocket_scientist]

Decline is the wrong word to use.

 

Rot would probably do it justice.

 

Spot on too.

 

 

Where's the DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM sayers? The ones that have their heads in the sand, or have the monopoly on positive thinking?

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

I'm very positive about the TEAM. As kelt says, there has to be a distinction between the two ie club and team.

 

Despite saying that, I just have to have some kind of belief that people that are skilled in business will know far more about how to conduct the business of the club than I will. That is of course, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary!

[rocket_scientist]

If only the distinction was a clear demarcation. Unfortunately the ambition of the board, the investment of funds being made available to the "football side of the business" dictate how far the team can go. This is where the two are inevitably intertwined.