Aberdeen board need to back McGhee

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Aberdeen board need to back McGhee

 

Jim Spence | 15:33 UK time, Wednesday, 23 September 2009

 

The Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne needs to dig deep to help Mark McGhee strengthen the current side.

 

That much is evident after a Dundee team, which has seen substantial summer investment, deservedly knocked the Dons out of the Co-operative Insurance Cup.

 

McGhee admitted his side's defensive performance was shambolic, while Pittodrie legend Joe Harper has accused the players of lacking the bottle for the big occasion.

 

Now chairman Milne must find the cash to allow his manager a fighting chance to compete in the Premier League.

 

Dundee splashed the cash for Leigh Griffiths and Maros Klimpl. Both players were apparently on the Dons radar, but proved too expensive for their budget.

 

Griffiths striking prowess knocked the Dons out of the cup, while midfielder Klimpl has the kind of bite not seen at Pittodrie since the days of Neale Cooper.

 

And the man who provided the funds to bring those players to Dens Park, Calum Melville, is a multi-millionaire life-long Aberdeen fan based in the Granite City.

 

Before the current recession, Milne had an estimated worth of £500m, and while a few quid may have since been shaved off that figure, there is surely still enough in the kitty to give Aberdeen fans a glimmer of hope.

 

Without cash to spend, McGhee will have to fight with one hand tied behind his back to compete with Dundee United, Hearts, Hibs and Motherwell, never mind posing a threat to the traditional Old Firm dominance.

 

The late Dundee United chairman Eddie Thompson threw half of his personal wealth at trying to rebuild the Tannadice club, and while a fair chunk of that money was spent unwisely, he understood that personal commitment went with the territory of being chairman.

 

Milne is worth perhaps twenty times what Thompson was, and while chucking money at a football club is not a long-term solution, sometimes it is a short-term necessity to stabilise the side and push them forward.

 

In the long run the Dons need to produce their own talent through their youth ranks and scouting system.

 

And youngsters Peter Pawlett, Michael Paton and Chris Maguire all outshone their more experienced team-mates after coming off the bench at Dens Park.

 

However, as the economist J.K. Galbraith said, "In the long run we're all dead".

 

So, when the transfer window opens in January, the Aberdeen chairman needs to ask himself just how deep his commitment to his club and manager goes.

 

If he can't or won't find the money to give McGhee a chance to rebuild the squad, the Dons fans are likely to stay away in increasing numbers, further limiting the straitened budget available to the boss.

 

McGhee enjoys legendary status among the Pittodrie faithful, who are willing to cut the new man some slack, but they are fast running out of patience with those at boardroom level.

[Ptayles]

Finally someone in the media that speaks some sense

[capitalsharpie]

Aye Jim Spence is a good loon. Brings an air of sensibleness to the sportssound nonsense

[El Padre™]

The sad thing is that it will never happen. Ever.

[manc_don]

Two very truthful articles in one day, its just a shame that such a(nother) shambolic event brings them out.

[CtS]

He's absolutely right.

 

Milne should have thrown cash at the manager when he arrived, a fresh start for the club, new management, new players, rejuvinated support, a nice set of fixtures for the first month or so, we could have been flying.

 

But instead it's typical Aberdeen, same old same old, doing everything arseways. Milne could be a fucking legend - like Thompson was at Utd, but can any dons fan imagine holding their chairman in such high regard?

 

I know I cant.

 

 

[octavion]

SM must go

 

DONALD FARS YER MILLIONS.

[SlowClap]

The late Dundee United chairman Eddie Thompson threw half of his personal wealth at trying to rebuild the Tannadice club, and while a fair chunk of that money was spent unwisely, he understood that personal commitment went with the territory of being chairman.

 

Absolutely bang on.

 

It's odd that the club mysteriously seems to find the money to pay off contracts of their current management team at their caprice followed by compensation for other clubs managers.  However, when it comes to players, there's nae a biscuit tin to be found.

 

Eddie Thomson's strategy may have been a bit extreme but what SM doesn't seem to realise is that he could make himself an overnight hero by investing just 1% of his personal wealth into the club, 2% and I'd carry him to the games on my own back. 

 

The club appear to constantly put the cart before the horse and demand the support of the fans to improve the product on the park.  I say put the product on the pitch first and save your breath asking.

 

Over and out.

[Reekie_Red]

Absolutely bang on.

 

It's odd that the club mysteriously seems to find the money to pay off contracts of their current management team at their caprice followed by compensation for other clubs managers.  However, when it comes to players, there's nae a biscuit tin to be found.

 

Eddie Thomson's strategy may have been a bit extreme but what SM doesn't seem to realise is that he could make himself an overnight hero by investing just 1% of his personal wealth into the club, 2% and I'd carry him to the games on my own back. 

 

The club appear to constantly put the cart before the horse and demand the support of the fans to improve the product on the park.  I say put the product on the pitch first and save your breath asking.

 

Over and out.

 

 

Right on!

 

Milne's been doing the sensible thing for a decade now, by trying to get the club to survive on its own without injections of cash from his own wealth.

 

However, the only two clubs who've succeeded in doing this in Scotland in recent times are Hibernian and St Mirren. One lives by selling its players at extortionate prices. The other lives by selling its ground to supermarket giants and getting them to build a new stadium in the process.

 

1. We saw a glimmer of hope when we sold Clark for £300k and Hart for £200k. But when you see twats like Scott Brown being sold for £4.5million, it beggars belief how someone of the quality of Russell Anderson can walk for £1m.

 

2. Unless Donald Trump wants to build the first hole of his golf course on the ground beneath Pittodrie Stadium, we're never gonna get anywhere near the £7million that Pittodrie's worth. Even then, when we do sell it, we've got no physical asset against our name to use as collateral if the banks start knocking on our door.

 

So, Milne, what are you going to do? We've given you enough opportunity to try to get things right. We've seen you cut the size of the club's cloth, squad after squad gets trimmed, every year we get closer to having to permanently shut down the Main Stand.  And I can't really imagine that the past 12 months have done very many positive things to our overall debt.

 

It's time to either show the colour of your money, or let someone else do it. Apparently the only reason Calum Melville didn't chuck his money at Aberdeen FC was because Milne was there, and he didn't think the money would be spent wisely. Time to move aside Stewarty!

[paulinho]

@Reekie Red - Russell Anderson left for £1m because he was in the last year of his contract.

[Reekie_Red]

And that is part of the problem, paulinho. Hibs make hefty profits because they sign their promising players up on LLLOOOONNNGGGG term deals and then put them up for sale when they've still got 3 years to run.

 

We, however, have a habit of selling our players when they are in the final year of their contract. Being honest, our most sellable asset right now is Aluko. He's still contracted for another year and a half. Nae fuckin way is he gonna sign a new contract with us. So I reckon we've got to look at selling Aluko this January or, at the VERY VERY latest, next summer.

[Madbadteacher]

And that is part of the problem, paulinho. Hibs make hefty profits because they sign their promising players up on LLLOOOONNNGGGG term deals and then put them up for sale when they've still got 3 years to run.

 

No they don't put them up for sale, the press spunks over them and touts them for the OF/England and Hibs take the money and laugh all the way to the bank.

[paulinho]

@Reekie Red - Am I right to think that Aberdeen has a policy regarding the length of contract it gives out to players?

 

Whilst I do not think that Scott Brown is worth the money Celtic paid Hibernian (even though my opinion contradicts this as I believe a player is worth what a club is prepared to pay for him) he is a better player than Russell Anderson, as good as Russell was.

[paulinho]

@Slowclap - Your suggestion that Milne should donate x% of his personal wealth is an interesting one but to that I have two questions.

 

Is Milne's personal wealth as large as is suggested (£400m or thereabouts) and does he actually have this much in the bank or is this in assets?

 

What obligation does Milne have to the club that he should give up any percentage of his alleged wealth?  By all accounts he has already donated large sums of money to the club.

 

@fatjim - Should I use the quote function?  My sincerest apologies if I'm not posting the way I should.

[dave_min]

Is Milne's personal wealth as large as is suggested (£400m or thereabouts) and does he actually have this much in the bank or is this in assets?

 

All his wealth is in assets, and his current wealth is much closer to £100million than to £400million

 

What obligation does Milne have to the club that he should give up any percentage of his alleged wealth?  By all accounts he has already donated large sums of money to the club.

 

He is the Chairman - it's his job to do this kind of thing.

[paulinho]

@dave_min - Milne's wealth is £100m, 1% of that is £1m.  He'd need to give up at least 20% of his wealth to sort out the finances of the club.  He has fmaily, there's no way that's going to happen.

 

His job as Chairman does not mean that he has to dip into his personal wealth.  We keep hearing that Eddie Thompson did it but that doesn't wash with me I'm afraid.  I cannot recall Dundee United being better than Aberdeen during Thompson's time as Chairman there.

[dave_min]

@dave_min - Milne's wealth is £100m, 1% of that is £1m.  He'd need to give up at least 20% of his wealth to sort out the finances of the club.  He has fmaily, there's no way that's going to happen.

 

No shit sherlock!

 

His job as Chairman does not mean that he has to dip into his personal wealth.  We keep hearing that Eddie Thompson did it but that doesn't wash with me I'm afraid.  I cannot recall Dundee United being better than Aberdeen during Thompson's time as Chairman there.

 

Thomson spent money badly. And he only really started investing massively was when he knew he was dying so he could leave a legacy.

 

And if Milne really was the die-hard Dons fan he claimed to be he would invest his cash in the club, much like me or you do.

[tom_widdows]

Absolutely bang on.

 

It's odd that the club mysteriously seems to find the money to pay off contracts of their current management team at their caprice followed by compensation for other clubs managers.  However, when it comes to players, there's nae a biscuit tin to be found.

 

Eddie Thomson's strategy may have been a bit extreme but what SM doesn't seem to realise is that he could make himself an overnight hero by investing just 1% of his personal wealth into the club, 2% and I'd carry him to the games on my own back. 

 

The club appear to constantly put the cart before the horse and demand the support of the fans to improve the product on the park.  I say put the product on the pitch first and save your breath asking.

 

Over and out.

 

 

Thompson is a legend at tannadice you say?

what exactly has all his investment brought united?

2002-03 11th

2003-04 5th

2004-05 9th

2005-06 9th

2006-07 9th

2007-08 5th & League cup final

2008-09 5th

 

Wow. I mean wow!

 

I think that about sums up todays reality tv culture. YOu are classed as legendary for achieving mediocre to fuck all.

[tom_widdows]

No shit sherlock!

 

Thomson spent money badly. And he only really started investing massively was when he knew he was dying so he could leave a legacy.

 

And if Milne really was the die-hard Dons fan he claimed to be he would invest his cash in the club, much like me or you do.

 

lets see now

 

i win several million on the lottery. Do I invest in a football club?

 

Do I fuck. id be as well just burning the suitcase the money is delivered in

[dave_min]

lets see now

 

i win several million on the lottery. Do I invest in a football club?

 

Do I fuck. id be as well just burning the suitcase the money is delivered in

 

My point was I invest far too much of my hard earned following the Dons about the country, buying strips and all that shite, nae a lottery win.

[paulinho]

@dave_min - An investment is something in which you expect to see a return.  If you can explain how someone can invest money in Aberdeen and expect to make it back with profit then I'm interested to hear it.

 

There are many great business-minded people out there and I am confient that 99.9% would agree with me that Aberdeen are a club that are not worth investing for a multitude of reasons.

 

We - me and you - do not invest in the club.  Does 20% of your income go to the club?  I bet not.

 

If instead you think that Milne should give money to the club for nothing then you need to seriously think about what you're saying.  Being a 'die-hard' has nothing to do with it.

 

As I've already said, he has already given money to the club.  Aberdeen FC has to learn to be self-sufficient.

[dave_min]

@dave_min - An investment is something in which you expect to see a return.  If you can explain how someone can invest money in Aberdeen and expect to make it back with profit then I'm interested to hear it.

 

Thanks for the patronising business lesson there. Milne has invested in the Dons in the past, and as a result of these investments, he has raised his profile, which has in turn helped to grow his company from the local housebuilder it was when he first got on the Board, which has made him more money - it's not just about the Dons balance sheet you know?

 

There are many great business-minded people out there and I am confient that 99.9% would agree with me that Aberdeen are a club that are not worth investing for a multitude of reasons.

 

Would depend on who you ask really.

 

We - me and you - do not invest in the club.  Does 20% of your income go to the club?  I bet not.

 

How would you describe my giving money to the club every week then?

And as a percentage how much do you think of what I earn this week i'll spend going to Glasgow and back following the Dons? I bet it's a lot closer to 120% than 20%

 

If instead you think that Milne should give money to the club for nothing then you need to seriously think about what you're saying.  Being a 'die-hard' has nothing to do with it.

 

When did I say this then?

 

As I've already said, he has already given money to the club.  Aberdeen FC has to learn to be self-sufficient.

 

Once again, no shit sherlock!

[paulinho]

dave_min - You are trying to turn an interesting debate into an argument you stupid little boy.

 

I did not intend to give you a patronising business lesson but merely wanted to explain the meaning of the word invest.  A businessman will only invest in something if they think they will get a return.  Dragon's Den.  Watch it.

 

My point regarding 99.9% of businessmen stands, there aren't any investing in Scottish clubs are there? 

 

The Scottish game is in an unhealthy state just now, and Aberdeen are in a rut due to new stadium requirements and the issue surrounding the little money coming into the Scottish game.  Find me someone who says they are worth investing in and I'll show you a madman.  First off you need around £10m to service the debt.  Then £20-30m for a new stadium.  Then £xm to improve the product on the pitch.  I'd go as far to say £50m.  When would anyone expect to see a return on that?

 

The money you give to the club every week is not an investment, I assume you don't really believe it is.

 

I have no idea what you earn but there's no way that you spend 20% of it on Aberdeen FC in a year.  If you do, fair fucks to you, but I don't believe you do and I think you know it as well. 

 

If you are spending 120% of your income on Aberdeen FC this weekend then you need to take on another paper round.  Spending money on beer, trains, and so on is not going into the pocket of Aberdeen FC .  We were not talking about the money you spend following Aberdeen, we were talking about how much money you put into the club.

 

And if you agree that the club has to be self-sufficient then why are you complaining that Milne isn't giving his money to the club?

[minijc]

@dave_min - You are trying to turn an interesting debate into an argument you stupid little boy.

 

I did not intend to give you a patronising business lesson but merely wanted to explain the meaning of the word invest.  A businessman will only invest in something if they think they will get a return.  Dragon's Den.  Watch it.

 

My point regarding 99.9% of businessmen stands, there aren't any investing in Scottish clubs are there? 

 

The Scottish game is in an unhealthy state just now, and Aberdeen are in a rut due to new stadium requirements and the issue surrounding the little money coming into the Scottish game.  Find me someone who says they are worth investing in and I'll show you a madman.  First off you need around £10m to service the debt.  Then £20-30m for a new stadium.  Then £xm to improve the product on the pitch.  I'd go as far to say £50m.  When would anyone expect to see a return on that?

 

The money you give to the club every week is not an investment, I assume you don't really believe it is.

 

I have no idea what you earn but there's no way that you spend 20% of it on Aberdeen FC in a year.  If you do, fair fucks to you, but I don't believe you do and I think you know it as well. 

 

If you are spending 120% of your income on Aberdeen FC this weekend then you need to take on another paper round.  Spending money on beer, trains, and so on is not going into the pocket of Aberdeen FC .  We were not talking about the money you spend following Aberdeen, we were talking about how much money you put into the club.

 

And if you agree that the club has to be self-sufficient then why are you complaining that Milne isn't giving his money to the club?

Sorted it for you.

[paulinho]

@minijc - What have you sorted?

 

@dave_min - This is the quote you made about Milne being a die-hard

 

And if Milne really was the die-hard Dons fan he claimed to be he would invest his cash in the club, much like me or you do.

 

I've explained why he won't invest in the club as he won't see a return, which I'd like to think you'd agree with, so you are asking him to give money for nothing.