Interview With the Enemy: Aberdeen

By: Matt | August 14th, 2009

So, if I were Danny Dyer, I would probably remark something about it being nearly “FOOTBALL DAY!” in a Fake Real Cockney accent. Maybe then I’d say how it would be “Propa Nawwwty”! I am not Danny Dyer, so no need to fear that. However, our imaginary Football Factory star is right that the start of the season is nearly upon us! Celtic kick off the season tomorrow with a trip up north to Aberdeen. After a decent preseason and an exciting third round of Champions League qualifying, it’s time to play for real. To learn about our opponent tomorrow, I talked to Seb formerly of (and hopefully returning to) the Aberdeen Offside and of the Scottish Football blog, Inside Left. I asked him about the good old days of Aberdeen, the mediocre new days, Mark McGhee, Europe, and his thoughts about tomorrow match and the upcoming season.

Q. Most people think that Celtic and Rangers have long dominated the Scottish football scene, but Aberdeen was both a SPL force and in the European scene as well in the 1980’s, including a Cup Winners Cup in 1983. What were those days like as an Aberdeen supporter?

A. The biggest difference between then and now, is that in those days everything just seemed to click into place – we had a great manager, a great team and a great board. Our stadium was the first all-seater ground in the country. In short, everything was set up for sucess.

Aberdeen FC’s rise to the top of the Scottish domestic scene was timed perfectly with the rise of the oil boom in Aberdeen, and the rise of the city generally. The town was on a real high, with large multinationals coming to the North-East, bringing oil money and prosperity with it. There was a confidence – and almost arrogance – in the air as the town and it’s people prospered.

Although in the years leading up to (and including ‘83) we finished 2nd and 3rd in the League, we won the Scottish Cup four times between ‘82 and ‘86. The team was regularly beating the Old Firm, and our rivalry with Dundee United made for exciting fixtures. Moreover, teams hated going to Pittodrie and generally had to work hard to get results. In other words, the team was confident, winning the league in ‘84 and ‘85 (the last team outside the Old Firm to do so) and making headlines around the world. All in all, not bad for a team from a provincial back-water of the country.

Q. Consequently, Aberdeen has since seemingly dropped into the second tier of the SPL of teams who are fighting for third and other play-off spots. Do Aberdeen fans feel they can return to those glory years and what is the consensus about the state of the SPL from Dons fans?

A. Had you asked this question in 1993, i’d have said that most of us would be quite realistic in demanding an SPL title. However, most of us are realists as years of gradual decline have set our expectations. Since our last league win in ‘85, we’ve come close to winning the league, recording a few second place finishes between ‘89 and ‘94, but a series of poor managers and poor players have seen us slide into top-half mediocrity.

Funnily enough, Jimmy Calderwood, for all his faults, has still been the most sucesfull manager we’ve had for some time, and where it not for his dismal failure in the domestic Cups, I reckon he’d still be there now.

Even with the spending power of the Old Firm, Aberdeen would still have problems attracting talent to the club. We’re in a league dominated by two giants, we’re unfashionable far north and simply not that attractive a prospect for ambitious footballers.

As for the current state of the SPL? Short of getting rid of Rangers and Celtic, there’s not much to say really. The Old Firm have capitalized on their success and outgrown the league. They’re beatable, as we showed twice in recent seasons, but in the long course of the season, they’re not going to be caught anytime soon.

Q. Mark McGhee replaced Jimmy Calderwood at Aberdeen this year, but McGhee was also linked to the Celtic job as well. What are Dons supporters view of McGhee?

A. The fact that the man is a club legend papers over the cracks of an otherwise patchy managerial career. That ‘legend’ tag will buy him time and a lot of forgiveness in the league, but he’s going to have to win a Cup at the very least in order to be a sucess as far as the Board are concerned.

I can forgive the man for wanting to go to Celtic. If you had a choice, wouldn’t you go there? Don’t forget, he was a Celtic player for a long time too, so you shouldn’t be too surprised for expressing an interest.

It’s possibly herecy to say this, but I was actually quite happy with Calderwood. As for McGhee, I’d have prefered John Hughes to be honest. A manager with a similar style to McGhee, who was used to working with small budgets and, more importantly, he’s not a former player carrying all that ‘legend’ stuff that is more of a hindrance then a help. After all, Willie Miller nearly got us relegated …

After a good run in the UEFA Cup two season ago, reaching the final 32, Aberdeen were unceremoniously knocked out the new Europa League. What was the reaction to this loss?

Shock, to be honest. Again, we’re not going to win the Europa League, but you’d have wanted us to progress a bit further than we did. Don’t forget, two years ago we stuck 4 past Copenhagen and held Bayern Munich to a draw at Pittodrie. Our performance was dire, but we had a lot of injuries – putting Stuart Duff and Derek Young in defence was always going to lead to problems.

At least we didn’t get pumped by a team from Liechtenstein …

Any big signings by the Dons this offseason?

No, but it’s not for want of trying. I’m hopefull that Jerel Ifil will do a good job alongside Considine and Diamond when he’s back from injury. Ifil, a former Swindon Town captain impressed against a full-strength Hull side. Reda Johnson would have been good too, but he prefered Plymouth to Aberdeen, while Stephen Hughes would also have been a good option in the middle of the park to replace Scott Severin.

In the past we’ve had success with loan signings. Aluko is a class player, as was Vidal and Hodgkiss before that. In the absence of any permanent signings, I think loan deals are our best bet.

Zander Diamond has constantly been linked with Celtic, due to the fact that he seems to be Celtic daft. Is there any reaction to a Aberdeen player being so openly a fan of Celtic?

Not really. His dedication and comitment to the club has never been in doubt. I’ve never once seen a game against Celtic where I thought Diamond was batting for the other side, as they say.

Put it this way: it wouldn’t surprise me if he did go. The club are short of cash and need to sell before they buy. We’d get 850k for him, easy. The question is, can we tempt anyone to come north to replace him, and, given our shaky defence at the moment anyway, would selling Diamond not be the equavalent of football suicide?

What are your expectations for this season for Aberdeen? Can they get back to the third place spot, or even higher?

I think it’s going to be a long season. McGhee’s 4-3-3 hasn’t settled well after years of Calderwood’s “formation wheel of fortune”. Although we have the spine of a good team (Langfield, Diamond, Kerr, Miller), we’re a few defenders short of a solid back line, and Mackie’s luck wont hold forever.

I think we’re going to get 5th this year, with Hearts and United above us. My own minimum expectation is at least one Cup final.

Who should Celtic fans be looking out for in the opening match? Who will cause Celtic the most problems? What is your prediction for the match?

Sone Aluko is always a threat up the wings, and in Charlie Mulgrew we have our very own dead-ball specialist. I’m tipping Chris Maguire to finally break through the ranks and make himself a class striker. Calderwood used to play him up the wings, which is not his position. McGhee will hopefully play him up front with Miller.

The game will be an interesting test of McGhee’s confidence in the side. If we go 4-3-3, then it’ll be Langfield, Foster, Diamond (if fit, otherwise Considine), Ifil, Mulgrew; McDonald, Kerr, Duff; Maguire, Miller, Aluko.

As for the score: I’d tip Celtic to win, but in a close game. 2-1.

Special thanks to Seb for taking the time to answer my questions. Check out the Inside Left blog where Seb does some great work on. Be sure to pester him to come back to the Aberdeen blog on here as well.

The Celtic end of the preview will come soon. Stay tuned, and Keep the Faith!