October 2008 Archives

What a difference two games can make. Calderwood was on the footballing equivalent of death row before the Falkirk game, a win and a draw later and he's on probation, despite some media mischief-making on Saturday. Despite the club's fervent backing of the manager, two defeats and a bottom placing going into November would have tried the patience of most supporters.

Firstly, it was a rather bizarre story that JC would be getting sacked the Monday after the Hearts game, having won at Falkirk and with the potential to win at Tynecastle. Normally sackings are preceded by abject hammerings, rather than two good results on the bounce. Nonetheless, the story had no foundation, to the frustration, it has to be said, of at least 50% of the Aberdeen support.

However, performances and results have been a little more positive lately. The first half at Falkirk was utterly dreadful (for which the team selection was certainly to blame), but when Aluko came on in the second half we looked a different side. Falkirk had their chances, of course, but we got the little bit of luck we've been missing for most of the season when Lovell inexplicably scooped the ball over the bar. The team sitting back for the last half hour was not pretty, but with JC under so much pressure, the need for 3 points over-rode the need to entertain.

Against Hearts we looked a bit better as well, with Seve back in the middle. It was a great game, and full marks to the linesman at the end. It is all very well saying a referee shouldn't change his decision, but when it is clearly incorrect, of course it should be reversed. Michael Stewart's explanation on Setanta, that he "anticipated contact" fooled absolutely no-one...he took a dive of the sort at Mikoliunas would have been pilloried for. Justice was done, and a deserved point went back up the road.

Next thing is to sort out our home form. One point out of a possible fifteen means that Kilmarnock will be confident of getting something on Saturday, but we badly need a home victory. With Seve, Aluko, Miller and Mackie firing on all cylinders, it's more than possible. Three points and we're right back in the mix before heading for a difficult game at Tannadice. In Cald we trust!

On Saturday I found myself at Hampden for Scotland's qualifier with Norway, which produced the most unbelievable miss, amongst other disappointment.

While this should really be a Dons blog, I've been extremely disappointed with some of the coverage given to Scotland after the game, particularly in view of the Kris Boyd saga.

Firstly, almost all the comments I've seen have been entirely pro-Boyd, anti-Burley. A number of people have called for Burley to get sacked. After three competitive games, of which we have lost one. Yes, Scotland never started in the first half (similar to Macedonia), McFadden was isolated etc etc, but I can't fathom why a support who gave so much time to Berti Vogts' mediocrity seem intent on disposing of Burley (who was the best manager in the country a few seasons ago) after a few games. Had Iwelumo put the ball in the net, he might have been hailed as a genius.

Next, Kris Boyd. The media have built him into some sort of talisman...but I can't honestly remember when he last scored for Scotland. His scoring record is undoubtedly excellent for both club and country, but I don't think Burley should be criticised for picking the form players. After all, Iwelumo has an excellent record this season, whereas Boyd has been used sporadically by Rangers - and Daniel Cousin was preferred against Celtic, despite wanting to leave the club.

Either way, it's unfortunate that Boyd has walked out. Despite an utterly horrific performance at Pittodrie earlier in the season, he's no doubt an excellent player, and he knows where the goal is. However, he has made his choice, and when Burley goes, which will hopefully be later rather than sooner, he should not automatically think he can walk back into the squad.

Incidentally, I wonder if the reaction would have been a player had criticised Walter Smith and walked out. Somewhat different I would imagine.

Anyway, back to club duty this weekend, and the Dandies have a tricky trip to Falkirk. We have a good record against the Bairns, but we had a good one against Hamilton and ICT until this season as well. A defeat will leave us rooted to the bottom, which will increase the pressure on Jimmy Calderwood (who must have been delighted with a week's respite). We should have a full squad, so there is no excuse for not turning in a performance.

Bottom of the league, having lost five on the bounce…could it be any worse?

Well, it could be. The performance on Saturday was slightly encouraging, in that we definitely didn’t deserve to lose. Mackie and Miller looked a bit better together, Seve looked assured in the middle of the park, Mark Kerr did well for the goal and Aluko was good in the first half. There were a good few fans applauding the players off, which says a lot in the circumstances.

Then the downsides…we gave away far too many chances, and Hibs could have killed the game before Miller scored the equaliser. And the second half, when we should have gone for the kill, ended up a bit of a damp squib with our most creative player, Aluko, being starved of the ball. We are also gifting goals with our defending.

So what now? Well Calderwood will not be going for the foreseeable future, and I think giving him more time is the correct decision…for now. The games this season have been so marginal that we could have won or lost any of them, and a combination of bad luck and (more often) mistakes have cost us. Thinking back to last season, we weren’t playing much better than we did on Saturday, but we managed to grind out the results. A win or a break might yet kick-start the season.

That being said, even the most ardent Calderwood fan would agree that any manager who loses five games in a row, in any league, will be under pressure. We have Falkirk away and Hearts away in our next two games. Two defeats would see us rock bottom with seven straight defeats, with (almost) one round of fixtures played. There are a lot of arguments for and against the management of Jimmy Calderwood, but the league table will ultimately be the most compelling.

Hello and welcome to my Dons blog.

The story so far…we have lost to ICT for the first time ever, lost to Hamilton at Pittodrie for the first time in 70 years, and lost our last 4 games. So not the brightest of starts to the season. We have Hibs at home on Saturday, which is never an easy fixture, followed by Falkirk and Hearts away, and if results continue to be poor then the pressure will really be building on Jimmy Calderwood.

From the fans’ point of view, there is genuine concern that Calderwood can take the club any further forward, but the display against Celtic has shown what sort of football the team are capable of – if we can play like that in the next three games, we will have nine points. However, we are equally capable of three defeats, and seven defeats in a row is enough to put justifiable pressure on any manager at any level.

Saturday’s game will be the most important of the three, as it is at Pittodrie. One point out of 12 at home is certainly not good enough, and Hibs will definitely fancy their chances. A win, and it sets things up nicely for the trips to Falkirk and Tynecastle after the international break. A defeat, and the team will travel with some trepidation. But most of all, after putting up with some frankly terrible football in the other home games (and, to be honest, the aways) this season, some good football would be very, very welcome.