P&J: McGhee’s timely reminder

[Kowalski]

McGhee’s timely reminder

 

Published: 04/09/2009

 

MARK McGhee fears it will be another two years before he has an Aberdeen team capable of competing for third place in the SPL.

 

The Dons manager insists he has inherited a squad of players with the potential to challenge again for Europa League qualification but, given the financial restrictions he is working with, it will take the rest of this season and the whole of the next campaign to build a strong enough squad.

 

He said: “I don’t think this team is anywhere near being the standard I need to achieve my ambitions. I don’t think that is being hard on them. When you look at the squad there is a nucleus of experience, but we could be done with another three or four players.

 

“I think this time next year we will look different and by the start of the third season I would be here, I would expect to have a team put together which would be really competitive in a challenge for third spot.â€

 

McGhee was able to bring about an immediate and drastic improvement at former club Motherwell, leading the club to third place in his first season in charge, but he believes the circumstances he faces at Pittodrie are very different from those at Fir Park. He said: “I was able to do it quicker at Motherwell as I had different players there. The team I had there was at a different stage from this one.â€

[dave_min]

Shame you've only got a 2 year deal then 

[baggy89]

I was able to do it quicker at Motherwell as I had different players there. The team I had there was at a different stage from this one

 

Aye a team that had finished second bottom, not fourth the previous season!

 

Wonder what they are making of this on other forums. Jimmy would have been strung up by his balls for this utterance. Lack of ambition etc etc ...

[stoney]

Just telling us what we already know, previous manager run us into the ground and Mcghee has a massive clean up job to do, we have a good batch of youngstars who will make the club some money and we will be a stronger team with them in the coming years.

 

Youth is the future of our club.

[El Padre™]

Just telling us what we already know, previous manager run us into the ground and Mcghee has a massive clean up job to do, we have a good batch of youngstars who will make the club some money and we will be a stronger team with them in the coming years.

 

Youth is the future of our club.

 

[stoney]

Dont see how.

 

We paid thousands in wages for Seve, Mair, Smith, Vidal and Hodgkiss probably Bossu you too. Who made the club no money and had no sell on value. With youngstars (who actually have talent and potential) coming through not only does it give us a better product on the park it also gives us a better product to sell, If we are going to survive we have to start getting a return for players, Jimmys biggest problem was he never took a gamble and gave youth a chance, he signed Journeymen who were useless and the team and were never going to make the club any money.

 

We have a manager in now who is willing to work with the youth, when Calderwood couldnt be even bothered to watch them play.

[El Padre™]

Dont see how.

 

We paid thousands in wages for Seve, Mair, Smith, Vidal and Hodgkiss probably Bossu you too. Who made the club no money and had no sell on value. With youngstars (who actually have talent and potential) coming through not only does it give us a better product on the park it also gives us a better product to sell, If we are going to survive we have to start getting a return for players, Jimmys biggest problem was he never took a gamble and gave youth a chance, he signed Journeymen who were useless and the team and were never going to make the club any money.

 

We have a manager in now who is willing to work with the youth, when Calderwood couldnt be even bothered to watch them play.

 

Complete and utter bollocks Stoney. I'm bored of going over this. Jimmy played more than enough youth, we had the youngest squad in the league last season. You clearly have no clue how long it takes to develop youth players.

 

Either that or you're fishing. I know which one I think it is.

[stoney]

Lets see some facts then. Sorry i forgot they dont count for shit on here.

 

Aberdeen had the youngest squad - utter fucking drivel

 

Pick any game from last season and i'll bet the opposing team had a younger team than us. Infact i'll do it myself.

 

Lets go for...........Hamilton at home when they beat us.

[BrownyBrown]

I like the bit that he somehow ran us into the ground (4th place/Europe) but left us with a fantastic legacy of youth players that will be the future of our club.

 

Thank you Jimmy. 

[El Padre™]

Lets see some facts then. Sorry i forgot they dont count for shit on here.

 

Aberdeen had the youngest squad - utter fucking drivel

 

Pick any game from last season and i'll bet the opposing team had a younger team than us. Infact i'll do it myself.

 

Lets go for...........Hamilton at home when they beat us.

 

We had the youngest squad in the league last year, that is a fact. Average age was something like 23. You stick to the drivel, I'll stick to the facts.

[stoney]

Team on the day for that random game was aberdeen 293 years - hamilton 265 years i'll do the squad as well although i dont seen the point as i know the end result.

[El Padre™]

Team on the day for that random game was aberdeen 293 years - hamilton 265 years i'll do the squad as well although i dont seen the point as i know the end result.

 

It was something that AFC was applauded for constantly last season, by pundits and media alike. Put your fishing rod away, it's boring as fuck.

[stoney]

Aberdeen used 21 players in first team games last season

 

Langfield, Foster, Severin, Considine, Mulgrew, Kerr, Mcdonald, Aluko, Miller, Mackie, Bossu, JDV, Duff, smith, Maguire, Mair, Paton, Pawlett, Vidal, Wright.

 

I just did the age now (nothing changes apart from everyone will be a year younger than now obviously as it was this time last year) Also rounded up to years rather than months obviously too time consuming

 

Total age was 540 for those players average was 25.7

 

Hamilton used a massive 32 players last year (and a heap of oldies in there too)

 

and they came in at a total of 821 years, average of 25.6

 

And im willing to bet that Motherwell had a far younger squad than us.

 

What you guys have done is listend to jimmys spin about how young the team is and not look at whos actually PLAYED in the first team.

 

Bottom line is that the players the PLAYED for us last season had an average age of 25.7 (if you want to take a year off that as we have obviously aged a year that would be 24.7) im willing to bet any amount of money that is not the youngest team from last year.

[El Padre™]

Aberdeen used 21 players in first team games last season

 

Langfield, Foster, Severin, Considine, Mulgrew, Kerr, Mcdonald, Aluko, Miller, Mackie, Bossu, JDV, Duff, smith, Maguire, Mair, Paton, Pawlett, Vidal, Wright.

 

I just did the age now (nothing changes apart from everyone will be a year younger than now obviously as it was this time last year) Also rounded up to years rather than months obviously 

 

Total age was 540 for those players average was 25.7

 

Hamilton used a massive 32 players last year (and a heap of oldies in there too)

 

and they came in at a total of 821 years, average of 25.6

 

And im willing to bet that Motherwell had a far younger squad than us.

 

What you guys have done is listend to jimmys spin about how young the team is and not look at whos actually PLAYED in the first team.

 

Bottom line is that the players the PLAYED for us last season had an average age of 25.7 (if you want to take a year off that as we have obviously aged a year that would be 24.7) im willing to bet any amount of money that is not the youngest team from last year.

 

I never actually recall hearing Jimmy saying it, but it was mentioned regularly on Scotsport or Sportscene whatever program we had last year, and on Setanta. I never bothered to collate the stats as I'm not actually that sad. 

[baggy89]

Comments like it's going to take three years (ie replace the whole team) to get third is hardly going to give the current team confidence, is it?

What great man management skills!! He probably learned that from Jack Hayward when he was at Wolves "If this team makes the Premiership I will buy a whole new squad"

[El Padre™]

Interestingly enough Stoney, a quick search gave me this:

At 26, Mark Kerr and Gary McDonald were brought in, while teenager Sone Aluko has proven a revelation. As Miller points out, the average age of the starting XI which overcame Celtic was just 23.

 

[stoney]

Interestingly enough Stoney, a quick search gave me this: 

 

Squad and team on the day are different things stoney.

 

:wave:

[Roccovellhung]

Team on the day for that random game was aberdeen 293 years - hamilton 265 years i'll do the squad as well although i dont seen the point as i know the end result.

 

Hmmm, picking one example out of over 30 to prove a point isnae really that scientific is it?

 

I'm pretty fecking sure that some of the huns teams for example would be older than oor starting XI

[El Padre™]

Regardless of whether the average age was 23 or 25, it's still a young team. McGhee was left with a decent core, barring Seve, who was a player that most people blamed for a lot of our defeats and castigated regularly for being a shit captain. To say Calderwood wrecked our team or club is just pure and utter bollocks. Again, you should stick to glory hunting with Man Utd.

[stoney]

Im right though.

 

As much as you hate to accept it, im right.

 

And i have also been advised that due to the inclimate weather i can leave work.............

 

Pub for stoney 

[El Padre™]

Im right though.

 

As much as you hate to accept it, im right.

 

And i have also been advised that due to the inclimate weather i can leave work.............

 

Pub for stoney 

 

 

Everything asides from the average age was absolute bollocks, nae luck Stoney.

[K-9]

Interestingly enough Stoney, a quick search gave me this: 

At 26, Mark Kerr and Gary McDonald were brought in, while teenager Sone Aluko has proven a revelation. As Miller points out, the average age of the starting XI which overcame Celtic was just 23.

Well from team from game we beat Celtic last season we had just 1 player under ages of 23 in starting line up who was Aluko at 19 and just 3 under age of 25.

 

As far as i worked out really quickly the ages of the team at time of game were:

 

Langfield 29

Foster 23

Severin 29

Diamond 23

Mulgrew 25

Duff 26

McDonald 26

Kerr 26

Aluko 19

Miller 25

Mackie 26

[K-9]

What about the subs?

 

You need to have 3 under 21 players don't you?

So with them that would bring the average down.

Subs dont count in a starting XI.

 

But:

Maguire 20 (only sub used)

Bossu 28

Wright 24

Vidal 19

De Visscher 27

Mair 28

Considine 21

[baggy89]

Well from team from game we beat Celtic last season we had just 1 player under ages of 23 in starting line up who was Aluko at 19 and just 3 under age of 25.

 

As far as i worked out really quickly the ages of the team at time of game were:

 

Langfield 29

Foster 23

Severin 29

Diamond 23

Mulgrew 25

Duff 26

McDonald 26

Kerr 26

Aluko 19

Miller 25

Mackie 26

 

So, as that was the team that finished fourth and they are all reaching their prime footballing years (for the most part the next three years will be their prime), was Mark McGhee correct in saying that

 

by the start of the third season I would be here, I would expect to have a team put together which would be really competitive in a challenge for third spot

 

That team should be (and would have been) competitive in challenging for third spot THIS year,  NEXT year and the year after that, to state otherwise is crap.

[Kowalski]

So if Calderwood has left us with such a shite team, does that mean we over performed last season to finish 4th?