Tam Cowan in the Daily Ranger

[Kowalski]

It's not all bad for Dons.. at least they can flog tossed-away scarves

 

Don't know about you but I wasn't too surprised to see Aberdeen getting gubbed by Raith Rovers on Tuesday night.

 

After all, the writing was surely on the wall just three days earlier when the dismal Dons could only draw with Celtic.

To be honest, it breaks my heart to see the once mighty Aberdeen in such a hellish state. I've had a wee soft spot for the Dons ever since their greatest ever team turned on the style at Fir Park just a few weeks before their 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup triumph.

 

If memory serves (I was only a 14-year-old boy at the time) it was a re-arranged midweek match and, after being quite rightly applauded on to the park by the Motherwell players and fans, Gordon Strachan & Co played some lovely exhibition stuff as they strolled to a 3-0 win.

 

Changed days, eh? I watched the full game going into the BBC the other night and Aberdeen were a truly sorry sight.

 

Particularly when you consider Raith Rovers had to contend with illness, injuries and suspensions, while another key player - Mark Campbell - was lying in hospital after a car crash 24 hours before the match.

 

To be brutally honest, though, considering what the Dons contributed to this tie, I reckon the Kirkcaldy club could have fielded 11 rolls of linoleum and still sailed through to the next round.

 

You know it's getting grim for the Aberdeen fans when one of them - BBC Sportsound's Richard Gordon - received a sympathetic text live on air ... from Murdo MacLeod.

 

After his heart scare, poor old Murdo was probably thinking: "Aye, there's always somebody worse off than yourself."

 

Of course, it wasn't such a bad night for the Aberdeen board. At full-time, they had lots of scarves to gather up that can now be sold second-hand in the club shop.

 

On a more serious note, the knuckle-dragger who spat on Mark McGhee should be strapped to a seat at Pittodrie and forced to watch every game from now until the end of the season.

 

You simply can't condone that sort of barbaric behaviour and that's why I am insisting the punishment fits the crime.

 

Perhaps someone from the club should also attempt to track down Donald Trump and remind him football is Scotland's real national sport.

 

Instead of plunging £1billion into some poncey golf resort a few miles north of Pittodrie, what about coaxing the US zillionaire to bankroll a Dons revival?

 

I'd love to see some sort of huge investment at Pittodrie as, in my book, Aberdeen are the only club you can seriously contemplate challenging the Old Firm and freshening up Scottish football. It's a huge city which, unlike Dundee and Edinburgh, has very few Celtic and Rangers fans.

 

They've got a big support and it's hard to think of a better example of a sleeping giant.

 

But without a major cash injection, I don't think it's too far-fetched to imagine Aberdeen eventually being relegated from the SPL.

 

And that's when the nightmare would really begin. Well, imagine what it would be like if they had to play a First Division team EVERY week.

[dave_min]

Read thread title - enough to put me off reading further

 

It's an alright atricle.

[McMaster]

aye fairly good. its a shame cowan and spiers can see whats happenin at afc but some people inside the club cant.

[tsr]

Aberdeen is loaded with old firm glory hunters though.

 

The rest of it was fairly OK.

[Reekie_Red]

Nae so much Aberdeen being full of Old Firm glory hunters. It's the surrounding commuter-towns that are full-to-the-brim of huns and tims.

 

As much as I hated reading that, I actually agree with Tam that it's only a matter of time before Aberdeen get relegated for the first time in history. I say give it 2 years and we'll be down. The only thing that will save us is if McGhee bins his team of bottlers ... and that includes many players who've had it too easy at the club - Mackie, Aluko, Kerr, McDonald for starters

[Dandy_Don]

Agreed 100% Reekie.

[tsr]

I know I said I was giving him predicting but I seriously do not see us getting relegated in our history ever, the league is that bad.

[BobbyBiscuit]

I know I said I was giving him predicting but I seriously do not see us getting relegated in our history ever, the league is that bad.

 

Same here, a saving grace really.

 

In the last ten years or so, there must have been maybe 10-12 results that have caused me to utter the words "If that doesn't wake Milne up to the fact we need serious investment nothing will."  And as you know, he's never invested money for the playing side, and I actually think he knows we won't get relegated because other sides are just so fucking shite whereas we're just shite.

 

It's a shite state of affairs.

 

shite.

[capitalsharpie]

Jesus, I agree with something written in the daily retard.

 

I feel dirty.

[Jute]

I know I said I was giving him predicting but I seriously do not see us getting relegated in our history ever, the league is that bad.

 

That is only saving grace.

[redordead]

read this yesterday and thought it was pretty much bang on. should be a huge newcastle like club. unfortunately he forgets that a lot of the "good people" of the city are there for the oil and have their own teams from their home towns before they moved north.

It'll take more than signing Jim Paterson to convert these people into regular attendees at Pittodrie

[tsr]

Whilst that's true to an extent when I lived in Alford the amount of folk who didn't bother with the club but were into football was incredible, and these were local folk.

[rocknroll]

John Hartson in the Sun.

 

CELTA VIGO had a player called Peter Luccin who once spat on me.

UEFA threw the book at him, hit him with a three-game European ban and a massive fine.

 

But the midfielder was really lucky...

 

Lucky I didn't realise he'd done it until I was back home watching the incident on Sky Sports News.

 

Had I known at the time I don't know what could have happened.

 

In fact, yes I do.

 

I'd have grabbed him by the throat.

 

There's nothing worse in football than someone gobbing on you.

 

So when I heard this week that Mark McGhee was spat at by his own fans one word crossed my mind.

 

DESPICABLE.

 

McGhee's Aberdeen had just been knocked out of the Scottish Cup by First Division Raith Rovers so their supporters had every right to vent their fury.

 

They were entitled to shout every piece of abuse they wanted.

 

But spitting on him as he made his way up the touchline is nothing short of vile.

 

McGhee hasn't covered himself in any glory since taking charge at Pittodrie - but he doesn't deserve to be covered in phlegm.

 

You have to class that defeat as one of the worst the club has ever suffered.

 

But we're still talking about a respected figure within the Scottish game and someone who was part of their greatest-ever night.

 

He deserves respect.

 

He showed class by accepting what came his way from some scum supporter because I know a lot of people in football who would have snapped.

 

Myself included.

 

But McGhee's guilt at that result probably saved his job at Aberdeen and his entire career.

 

Let's be honest, he'd have lost both had he jumped into the crowd. Same thing had he spat back.

 

McGhee's players deserved no credit for the way they handled themselves on Tuesday night - but he does.

 

The fact he walked up the Pittodrie touchline at all speaks volumes for him.

 

McGhee could quite easily have gone on to the pitch and made his way to the tunnel from there, avoiding any direct abuse.

 

But he took his dumps like a man.

 

Listen, Aberdeen in my eyes are the third biggest club in the country and what happened simply was nowhere near good enough. But that club has had this coming for years.

 

They've had good gaffers and players in the past but let them go. Just look at this January. Why was Lee Miller allowed to leave?

 

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Okay, his contract was up in May but Miller was one of their better players - if not THE best player the club had on its books.

 

For me it goes down as gross mismanagement that he was allowed to reach a situation where he had six months left on his deal.

 

Look through that squad and there are decent players there. We're not talking top quality because if they were genuine class, let's be honest, they wouldn't be playing for Aberdeen.

 

But they simply haven't been getting the results they should.

 

And it's not a case of the players cheating their boss or the supporters.

 

Just look at the way they played against Celtic last weekend.

 

They caused my old club all sorts of problems and fully deserved to get a point in a 4-4 draw, even though it was in the dying seconds.

 

It begs the question, how they can play like that one week and then be so bad just days later?

 

I wrote last week McGhee was bang out of order to even consider resting his key men for the visit of Tony Mowbray's side but he chose a strong line-up and got his reward.

 

It just shows how much management is a thankless task when your players let you down so badly in the game that arguably matters so much.

 

The club have had some glory nights in years gone by but the fact is it's too many years if you ask me.

 

They consider themselves a big club up there but it's high time the people there started to show it. For their own sakes.

[redbush]

It's an alright atricle.

Cowan's article is definitely ok. Didn't realise he had a brain

[Rebus30]

Cowan's article is definitely ok. Didn't realise he had a brain