Times: Crunch time for Jimmy Calderwood as Aberdeen plumb the depths

[Superstar Tradesman]

Out of that whole piece earlier, I think the end part speaks volumes:

 

Of course the grass is not always greener and it's highly debatable whether the Dons can afford a better management team but maybe they've taken Aberdeen as far as they can, or possibly as far as the club can go.

 

Unless you're a miracle worker then you’re not going to take the team any further than the very occasional semi, final or trip into Europe.  Look at any other team in the league other than the OF and you’ll see they’ve all roughly had the same amount of half-arsed success as us.  Sure a few of them have lifted one piece of silverware over the years of the SPL, but where are they the season after?  You can of course argue that we’ve not had a final or any silverware but we’ve been a lot further in Europe than most and ask anyone about the 4-0 tanking of Copenhagen or the 2-2 draw with Bayern and I’m sure they’ll admit it was better than any trip to Hampden to see Robbie Winters pull on the goalie gloves.

 

The problem is nobody is building a team or has built a team to slot nicely into 3rd spot each season behind the OF to then mount a serious challenge against them.  Look at Motherwell for instance who were flying last season.  Dumped out of Europe already and playing mediocre pish with only 3 points more than us who apparently all running round pushing the panic button asking for the manager’s head on a silver tea tray.  If Dingus was in charge of us lot at this moment in time, would we be happy about that position after finishing 3rd?

 

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

Calderwood has lost one of, if not the best player at the club every season, this season he's down at least 2 of his best players from the start of last.

 

You can't be expected to mount a challenge consistently when after 3 or four years you have to rebuild the team. If money was invested in the team there is every chance we would be far more consistent.

 

The problem is, if we are successful, other teams will want our players, teams who can pay a shitload more and the club and Calderwood just can't compete with that. I reckon that will apply to pretty much everyone around us too so getting into 3rd and then pushing on from there is far more difficult than it would otherwise appear.

[BobbyBiscuit]

Out of that whole piece earlier, I think the end part speaks volumes:

 

Unless you're a miracle worker then you’re not going to take the team any further than the very occasional semi, final or trip into Europe.  Look at any other team in the league other than the OF and you’ll see they’ve all roughly had the same amount of half-arsed success as us.  Sure a few of them have lifted one piece of silverware over the years of the SPL, but where are they the season after?  You can of course argue that we’ve not had a final or any silverware but we’ve been a lot further in Europe than most and ask anyone about the 4-0 tanking of Copenhagen or the 2-2 draw with Bayern and I’m sure they’ll admit it was better than any trip to Hampden to see Robbie Winters pull on the goalie gloves.

 

The problem is nobody is building a team or has built a team to slot nicely into 3rd spot each season behind the OF to then mount a serious challenge against them.  Look at Motherwell for instance who were flying last season.  Dumped out of Europe already and playing mediocre pish with only 3 points more than us who apparently all running round pushing the panic button asking for the manager’s head on a silver tea tray.  If Dingus was in charge of us lot at this moment in time, would we be happy about that position after finishing 3rd?

 

 

Ok then, we'll just stick with JC forever then? And accept mediocrity forever as well?

 

MAYBE it is as far the club can go, but what the fuck is wrong with testing that out and actually trying to better ourselves?

[Edinburghdon]

Ok then, we'll just stick with JC forever then? And accept mediocrity forever as well?

 

MAYBE it is as far the club can go, but what the fuck is wrong with testing that out and actually trying to better ourselves?

 

Seems to me like sacking calderwood just now and bringing someone else in puts us back to square one, as it stands we made quite alot of money last year, which has allowed us to start spending again which in turn allows us to keep on building. No one is saying we should accept mediocracy but any major improvement will be gradual.

 

The performances are picking up, so the enxt thing to click into place is the results, as long as they start coming soon then theres relaly no need to panic (yet)

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

Stick with JC forever?

 

It may be a bitter pill to swallow but mediocrity is here to stay for some time, it's been around already for a long time, just we've had a more tolerable version of mediocrity of late.

 

Calderwood may not bring brilliance to Pittodrie, frankly I doubt if anyone could but he has brought a tolerable form of mediocrity.

 

 

[BobbyBiscuit]

Seems to me like sacking calderwood just now and bringing someone else in puts us back to square one, as it stands we made quite alot of money last year, which has allowed us to start spending again which in turn allows us to keep on building. No one is saying we should accept mediocracy but any major improvement will be gradual.

 

The performances are picking up, so the enxt thing to click into place is the results, as long as they start coming soon then theres relaly no need to panic (yet)

 

Already said that i'm willing to give him a bit of time, but the realist/pessimist in me believes that we're only one block away from being back at square one already, a huge reason for that is the money he's spent in the transfer market/wages.  The standard of player at Pittodrie is piss poor.

[Edinburghdon]

Already said that i'm willing to give him a bit of time, but the realist/pessimist in me believes that we're only one block away from being back at square one already, a huge reason for that is the money he's spent in the transfer market/wages.  The standard of player at Pittodrie is piss poor.

 

I'd say the standard of our 1st 11 is pretty stong just now

[BobbyBiscuit]

I'd say the standard of our 1st 11 is pretty stong just now

 

what's our first XI then?

[glasgow sheep]

Ok then, we'll just stick with JC forever then? And accept mediocrity forever as well?

 

MAYBE it is as far the club can go, but what the fuck is wrong with testing that out and actually trying to better ourselves?

Stick with JC forever?

 

It may be a bitter pill to swallow but mediocrity is here to stay for some time, it's been around already for a long time, just we've had a more tolerable version of mediocrity of late.

 

Calderwood may not bring brilliance to Pittodrie, frankly I doubt if anyone could but he has brought a tolerable form of mediocrity.

 

 

 

That's the thing.

Are we to accept that this is as good as it will get?

Is it wrong, or "unrealistic" to hope, expect, that the club can do better?

Surely we are bigger and better than most clubs in the SPL.  Should our expectations not be above the same "half-arsed success" that the rest have had?

 

Should we not be aiming to be getting into europe most seasons?

Should we not be aiming for cup finals and cup wins?

Should we not, at the very least, expect a manager to replace our main (only) centre back after 18months?

Should we not expect some ambition from the club?

 

Perhaps a change won't work. Perhaps it will.

The unremitting mediocrity of our league performances over the last 18months is surely not hard to better.

[Superstar Tradesman]

Ok then, we'll just stick with JC forever then? And accept mediocrity forever as well?

 

MAYBE it is as far the club can go, but what the fuck is wrong with testing that out and actually trying to better ourselves?

 

Which fuckwit said anything of the sort coz it certainly wasn't me?

 

I was merely highlighting the fact that the league is fucking bollocks and anyone with half an ounce of grit and determination could rise to that challenge.

 

Full marks for our board (yeah that's right, I'm praising the fuckers) for cutting costs a lot sooner than the rest of the league.  We copped a lot of stick regarding league positions and toasters to get some sort of wage structure and cost cutting strategy underway.  But they've done fuck all to capitalise on that and we're still having to suffer for it.

 

Now before the chants of "we've got no money" starts up, I'll explain that I don't think it would have taken much to build on our 3rd place finish and last 32 in Europe.

 

It was rumoured that it would only have cost a few hundred quid to keep Hart at the club.  We let him go along with Clark just before the Semi with QoTS.

 

We take in our highest lump sum in years for our team captain and still haven't spent anything to replace him.

 

We rake in TV money and gate receipts for all our European exploits and can't wave a few quid to keep a team together.

 

Had we established ourselves as 3rd place regulars then and there, then we could have been taking a slice (albeit a small one) out of that debt each season.  Which is going nowhere fast even after all the cost cutting, wage structuring and shocking football we've had to endure.

 

The board and club are yet again treading water and I'm convinced they're pinning their hopes on building a decent youth set up to sell our way out of this mess.

 

Which means more years of this yo-yo league shite.

[BobbyBiscuit]

Which fuckwit said anything of the sort coz it certainly wasn't me?

 

 

Dry your eyes, petal.

 

 

I was merely highlighting the fact that the league is fucking bollocks and anyone with half an ounce of grit and determination could rise to that challenge.

 

Full marks for our board (yeah that's right, I'm praising the fuckers) for cutting costs a lot sooner than the rest of the league.  We copped a lot of stick regarding league positions and toasters to get some sort of wage structure and cost cutting strategy underway.  But they've done fuck all to capitalise on that and we're still having to suffer for it.

 

Now before the chants of "we've got no money" starts up, I'll explain that I don't think it would have taken much to build on our 3rd place finish and last 32 in Europe.

 

It was rumoured that it would only have cost a few hundred quid to keep Hart at the club.  We let him go along with Clark just before the Semi with QoTS.

 

We take in our highest lump sum in years for our team captain and still haven't spent anything to replace him.

 

We rake in TV money and gate receipts for all our European exploits and can't wave a few quid to keep a team together.

 

Had we established ourselves as 3rd place regulars then and there, then we could have been taking a slice (albeit a small one) out of that debt each season.  Which is going nowhere fast even after all the cost cutting, wage structuring and shocking football we've had to endure.

 

The board and club are yet again treading water and I'm convinced they're pinning their hopes on building a decent youth set up to sell our way out of this mess.

 

Which means more years of this yo-yo league shite.

 

All very, very fair points. Would you trust the manager to spend any available money adequately though?

[glasgow sheep]

Which fuckwit said anything of the sort coz it certainly wasn't me?

 

I was merely highlighting the fact that the league is fucking bollocks and anyone with half an ounce of grit and determination could rise to that challenge.

 

Full marks for our board (yeah that's right, I'm praising the fuckers) for cutting costs a lot sooner than the rest of the league.  We copped a lot of stick regarding league positions and toasters to get some sort of wage structure and cost cutting strategy underway.  But they've done fuck all to capitalise on that and we're still having to suffer for it.

 

Now before the chants of "we've got no money" starts up, I'll explain that I don't think it would have taken much to build on our 3rd place finish and last 32 in Europe.

 

It was rumoured that it would only have cost a few hundred quid to keep Hart at the club.  We let him go along with Clark just before the Semi with QoTS.

 

We take in our highest lump sum in years for our team captain and still haven't spent anything to replace him.

 

We rake in TV money and gate receipts for all our European exploits and can't wave a few quid to keep a team together.

 

Had we established ourselves as 3rd place regulars then and there, then we could have been taking a slice (albeit a small one) out of that debt each season.  Which is going nowhere fast even after all the cost cutting, wage structuring and shocking football we've had to endure.

 

The board and club are yet again treading water and I'm convinced they're pinning their hopes on building a decent youth set up to sell our way out of this mess.

 

Which means more years of this yo-yo league shite.

 

It's hard to argue with any of that.

 

However I feel that even given the meagre resources JC has been given (and in the main they are more substantial than most) he should have done better than he has.  Any team can blow one cup semi final. To lose 2 so spectacularly and seemingly learn nothing is an indictment on his ability.  To continuously fuck about with the team, as he did last year and this, seemingly clueless as to it's best composition, is equally not good enough.

 

To still not to have replaced Anderson and play imposters like Bossu in our most important game of the season to date is down right negligent.

 

None of this is the boards fault.

 

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

Bossu was bad, but to single him out would be very wide of the mark.

 

Zander?

 

JC has been given fuck all like what has been needed to "replace" players. Folk always wanting Ferrari fitba on Ford money.

[BobbyBiscuit]

JC has been given fuck all like what has been needed to "replace" players. Folk always wanting Ferrari fitba on Ford money.

 

So why are we getting "Lada" players?

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

So why are we getting "Lada" players?

 

Are we? The last 2 seasons would suggest otherwise.

[Superstar Tradesman]

All very, very fair points. Would you trust the manager to spend any available money adequately though?

 

Yeah I would actually.

 

I feel a lot of his signings wouldn't have been made if he wasn't forced to beef the squad up with numbers.  The Mixu Bros et al were brought in with the scraps of what was left in the kitty and never saw the light of day as a 'break glass in case of emergency' contingency.

 

He built the squad that got us 3rd place, cup semis and the last 32 in Europe and if the team wasn't continually having to start from fresh each season then I'm sure he could press on from that.

 

We all laugh and joke about multi-millionaire chairmen who go out and buy the top players without consulting their managers first, like they’re playing a real life version of football manager.  But we’re at the other end of the scale where our manager is trying to build a squad, manages to take us to a point where we have a chance to better ourselves (chance of a final or build on a 3rd place finish) and is told some of his key players are on their way and he has peanuts to spend to replace them.

 

It’s mission impossible and if he wasn’t such a stubborn, headstrong, determined character then I’d wager he’d have walked by now.

 

[BobbyBiscuit]

Are we? The last 2 seasons would suggest otherwise.

 

The current squad would suggest we won't be repeating the "success" of the last two seasons.

[stoney]

what's our first XI then?

 

This week or last week? 

 

I would go for

 

Langfield

 

Mulgrew (still not conviced hes a defender)

Diamond

???

???

 

Aluko

Kerr

Mcdonald

???

 

Miller

???

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

The current squad would suggest we won't be repeating the "success" of the last two seasons.

 

The previous squads have done the same.

[BobbyBiscuit]

The previous squads have done the same.

 

Maybe, that doesn't mean this one will go on to achieve what they did though.

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

Maybe, that doesn't mean this one will go on to achieve what they did though.

 

Doesn't mean it won't.

[BobbyBiscuit]

Doesn't mean it won't.

 

Absolutely. But in my opinion, we're going to struggle with that group of players. Hope I'm wrong though.

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

Absolutely. But in my opinion, we're going to struggle with that group of players. Hope I'm wrong though.

 

So do I. I stand by what I said after the Hibs game, I thought they played some really decent fitba, better than the majority of last season. We will play an awful lot worse and win, we already have in fact.

 

The defence continues to kill us though and I still believe if anything is going to give Calderwood gip, it's that.

[ntbear]

Which fuckwit said anything of the sort coz it certainly wasn't me?

 

I was merely highlighting the fact that the league is fucking bollocks and anyone with half an ounce of grit and determination could rise to that challenge.

 

Full marks for our board (yeah that's right, I'm praising the fuckers) for cutting costs a lot sooner than the rest of the league.  We copped a lot of stick regarding league positions and toasters to get some sort of wage structure and cost cutting strategy underway.  But they've done fuck all to capitalise on that and we're still having to suffer for it.

 

Now before the chants of "we've got no money" starts up, I'll explain that I don't think it would have taken much to build on our 3rd place finish and last 32 in Europe.

 

It was rumoured that it would only have cost a few hundred quid to keep Hart at the club.  We let him go along with Clark just before the Semi with QoTS.

 

We take in our highest lump sum in years for our team captain and still haven't spent anything to replace him.

 

We rake in TV money and gate receipts for all our European exploits and can't wave a few quid to keep a team together.

 

Had we established ourselves as 3rd place regulars then and there, then we could have been taking a slice (albeit a small one) out of that debt each season.  Which is going nowhere fast even after all the cost cutting, wage structuring and shocking football we've had to endure.

 

The board and club are yet again treading water and I'm convinced they're pinning their hopes on building a decent youth set up to sell our way out of this mess.

 

Which means more years of this yo-yo league shite.

 

100% correct, which is why Miller and Milne need to go and we need a board in who will support JC and the club with the reources they need. Until that day, we are going to struggle and maybe have a flash in the pan season every once in a while.

[Superstar Tradesman]

100% correct, which is why Miller and Milne need to go and we need a board in who will support JC and the club with the reources they need. Until that day, we are going to struggle and maybe have a flash in the pan season every once in a while.

 

I really don't get the Miller bashing? 

 

We were shit, he was asking questions of the club, they employed him, he came in, got rid of Paterson, took in JC and we've been arguably a lot better since.

 

Yet folk still piss, moan and ask what he's doing.  Perhaps he's not the missing part of the puzzle but he's definitely one of the key pieces if you ask me.

 

I really don't get the Miller bashing?