Behind the scenes.....

[Sandaldinho]

I had a long chat with one of my friends at Pittodrie on Saturday night. Afterwards I had a lot more respect for Mark McGhee than I have had all season. There is a storm brewing behing the scenes at Pittodrie and it could all blow up at the end of the season. Here is the info:

 

1 - McGhee blew his top at the start of the season when he was told there would be no more money. He claims he was told that despite the Setanta collapse that he would have a certain budget. He threatened to walk away saying he had been misled. Stewart Milne persuaded him to stay. McGhee kept his mouth shut for the good of the club.

 

2 - The Reda Johnstone affair that made him look so stupid was not down to him. He wanted to sign the guy straight off but Willie was against it. Even when he went to Paris to sign him it stumbled because of money. Again McGhee kept his mouth shut for the good of the club.

 

3 - Milne and Miller want to reduce the budget for next year. It is a big argument. McGhee unlike JC has not made this a public fight.

 

4 - Lee Miller - There was never any chance of the £600K for Lee Miller going into the team. McGhee didn't want to lose him but W Miller was insistent because it will help manage the deficit - which I can understand but its in keeping with there is no support from the Board for improving the team.

 

5 - Jim Obrien - McGhee did all the preparatory work and persuaded Jim to join the Dons and Motherwell to let him go for the bargain price of £20k. It was both Miller and Milne who said that no money should be spent. McGhee was sick and felt undermined yet again.

 

6 - There is some big row coming about Willie Miller and his relationship with Agents. Some wont even talk to him now and that has caused problems with trying to talk to certain players for next year.

 

7 - All in all Mark McGhee has been working under increasing pressure from the fans in terms of disatisfaction and increasing pressure from the Board because they are not backing him. He is a proud man and feels he owes it to his reputation and to the long suffering fans to improve the team which means that he would not want to be seen to walk away but its a very difficult job.

 

I have to say that I have been critical of McGhee. I do think he has made mistakes. But when you see what else has been going on it makes you wonder who would want the Aberdeen job with Willie and Stewart cutting your feet at every opportunity. Mark, unlike others, is clearly a man of integrity and for that I have tremedous respect.

 

somebody posted this on another website chat forum. don't know if thre is any truth in any of this but made an interesting read

 

[Guest donindundonald]

If this is true, I have every sympathy with McGhee and it would seem that he HAS been misled and unsupported at every decent attempt he has made at changing things.

 

He has however signed four players who dont seem to have improved things AT ALL (Paul Marshall, Jim Paterson, Steven McLean, Jerel Ifil) so I can't cut him much slack on the performances of the signings he has been able to make.

 

If this is true, I only wish he would either start to maintain a dignified silence with the media, or say it as he see's it. I'm really sick of the wishy washy skirting around the actual truth.

 

I think he does understand that we the fans are soooo f#*kin frustrated with not knowing whats going on. I am sure that our club is close to his heart and it is eating away at him that we cant seem to get results.

 

I for one am hoping that we start the summer with quick announcements on who we are signing.

[Kowalski]

1 - McGhee blew his top at the start of the season when he was told there would be no more money. He claims he was told that despite the Setanta collapse that he would have a certain budget. He threatened to walk away saying he had been misled. Stewart Milne persuaded him to stay. McGhee kept his mouth shut for the good of the club.

 

He still managed to sign players.

 

I smell shite.

[mizer]

Point 5 is pure pish, therefore I think there is a good chance the rest of it is pish.

[Mentorred]

And he still had a squad that got into Europe last season.

Plus how much money do you need to spend to beat Raith Rovers.

[dave_min]

Can somebody pass me the salt?

 

I need a large pinch of it.

[manc_don]

Can somebody pass me the salt?

 

I need a large pinch of it.

 

Sea or table?

[RDU_64]

Christ that's a lot of pish. Maybe in an attempt to deflect some of the pressure and criticism away from McGhee, by laying the blame somewhere else. Or maybe it's McGhee himself?!  Point 7 would certainly make you think so....

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

London Scottish fucking wrote that!

 

 

[Guest rocket debris]

Point 5 is pure pish, therefore I think there is a good chance the rest of it is pish.

Is that right? How do you know it's pure pish byraway?

[kelt]

McGhee is soooooooo fuckin hard done by. 

 

I wonder if AFC manager Jimmy Philip back in 1917 was under similar spending constraints when he led the club to 11 games without a win. After all, he only had spending cuts dictated by the first world war to contend with... not a patch on McGhee's current constraints... obviously.

 

There's a large degree of bollocks attached to this "I've nae money" thing to be sure.  If you have no money then you go out and pick up talented youngsters or emerging talents for sweeties.  Aberdeen have been utterly hopeless at identifying young talent for years, so McGhee continuing on in this recent tradition is hardly surprising.

 

Is it really beyond the realms of possibility that a team of good, young players could be assembled?  The SPL is, at best, a third rate league.. it's not like they would be expected to beat teams like Real, Arsenal or even Brighton... they'd be up against St. Mirren, St Johnstone and Falkirk....

 

...christ, I reckon a few Sunday league teams would give those clubs a good game.

 

Might be an idea to get a couple of decent scouts in.

 

 

[mizer]

Is that right? How do you know it's pure pish byraway?

 

From a member of his family.