A bleak future

FOR any Aberdeen fan who knows his history, the date May 3rd, 1980 has a special significance, for it was on that day that the Dons became champions of Scotland, their second league title since 1955.

A team comprising of names that would eventually form the backbone of the side that would dominate Scottish football in the early 80's and conquer Europe, beat Hibernian 5-0 at Easter Road to take League trophy out of Glasgow for the first time since Kilmarnock won it back in 1965.

Aberdeen, with Bobby Clark in goals, Andy Kennedy, Alex McLeish, Willie Miller and Doug Rougvie in the backline, a midfield made up of Gordon Strachan, Andy Watson, John McMaster and Ian Scanlon and a forward line comprising Stevie Archibald and Mark McGhee had put together a fourteen game unbeaten run - which involved back-to-back victories over Celtic at Parkhead - to help the Dons reach this pivotal game.

The only possibly fly in the ointment were defending champions Celtic, who needed a win away at Love Street to reclaim top spot, and so snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. On the day though, all the pieces fell into place for Aberdeen, as goals from Stevie Archibald, Andy Watson and a brace from Ian Scanlon helped the Dons to an easy win over an already relegated Hibs.As the game ended, ears where glued to radios for news of the score at Love Street, a game still being played as the Aberdeen players waited on the pitch. There was a small scare - Celtic where awarded a penalty, only for the referee to change his mind - but the game remained at 0-0; Aberdeen where crowned champions. As the fans and players celebrated, an ecstatic Alex Ferguson danced on the pitch at Easter Road. None of us knew it then, but the north-east of Scotland was in for a short but thrilling roller-coaster ride.

Wind forward the clock 30 years.

The man who scored the fourth goal in that memorable victory at Easter Road is being interviewed by the BBC's Euan McIlwraith. His side, 9th in the table and with only four points since the split, has just lost 3-1 at home to Hamilton, a game in which four of his players are booked, three goals conceded (with the proceedings getting off to a start with a goal in the first minute) and two men are sent off.

It is hard to justify such a game, but McGhee does at least try, something that can't be said of his failing squad. The usual excuses are rolled out: the squad is not strong enough, he knows where the weaknesses are, the lack of funds in the transfer window, the team is under strength, he's managing a team that's failing, and, my own favourite, his managerial record was good.

His irritation is clearly building as Euan continues to press the Aberdeen gaffer on the reasons for the poor performances, but it is only when McGhee is asked whether he's happy with his own position, that he huffs and walks out and off, ending the interview.

Walking out is something that's become common-place at Pittodrie this season. Walking out on the fans, as evidenced by the gutless capitulations against Falkirk, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, Hamilton, not to mention Raith Rovers and Dundee; nearly eight months on, the Sigma Olomouc results is still hard to take. Walking out on the team are the supporters, whose numbers at home games have been dwindling for some time now, a reflection at their discontent at what they see on the park, and their pessimistic outlook on the future.

For Willie Miller, another legend playing on that sunny afternoon in May 1980, this decline must hurt. Once Aberdeen's influential and much respected captain, and now Aberdeen's Director of Football, together Miller and McGhee won the league, the Scottish Cup, the League Cup, The Cup Winners Cup and the European Super Cup with Aberdeen. In his new lofty position Miller knows as well as anyone who knows and loves the club that the current state of affairs should not be allowed to continue.

At the current rate of decline, Aberdeen, a once proud club, look set to enter a period of confirmed mediocrity, a team on the cusp of joining the ranks of St Mirren, Hamilton, Falkirk and Kilmarnock in the bottom-to-middle of the SPL. A team that loses more than they win, and for whom each season is a matter of keeping their heads above water, as much on the park as in the bank.

I'm no expert, but from what I've seen so far, McGhee does not strike me as the man to take the club forward. I'm actually amazed he's even lasted the season. His transfer-market dealings over the summer will go a long way to determining his own future, as well as the future of the club. With average crowds at Pittodrie still only marginally above 10,000, his task is to clear the decks, bring in new players and put back into the team the sort of pride and drive to succeed that stood the Dons in good stead back in 1980. Hopefully, that will bring the fans back too.

As McGhee was at pains to point out before he walked out of his interview, he's aware of the limitations of his playing staff as well as the budget available to him. Money is an issue and it is hard to attract players to an unfashionable club. It's a fair point, but not one unique to Aberdeen.

With the exception of Rangers and Celtic, just about every club above Aberdeen (and possibly even below, Kilmarnock excepted) are in similar financial straits than the Dons, yet the lack of money has not stopped them from putting together decent sides and decent results. St Johnstone have been terrific on a budget much smaller than that of Aberdeen’s while Hamilton's scouts uncovered a rich vein of talent in James McArthur and former team-mate James McCarthy. St Mirren have built a decent stadium and beaten Celtic 4-0, so they must be doing something right.

A minor miracle excepted, it's hard to see any Aberdeen team repeat what Ferguson's first championship-winning team did back in 1980, or at least come even close to repeating that amazing feat.

While the chairman might want a nice new stadium, most fans just want a club to be proud of, with a team that at least makes an effort to compete, unlike the mishmash of overpaid, unmotivated and uninterested medium to low-skilled footballers that amble out of the tunnel on match day.

Thirty years on to the day from the momentous victory at Easter Road, and I'm reading the match reports after the latest debacle at Pittodrie: "Unacceptable", says one, "the worst performance by an Aberdeen side in many a long year" says another. The local press minces no words: "no style, no substance. Precious little poise and a bleak future".

A bleak future indeed.