This might be the only time ever that I compare Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood with his counterpart at Liverpool, Rafa Benitez. Here goes, though: both these guys depend on European competition for their current employment.
It's quite blatant, as I pointed out even before the debacle against Barnsley, where Liverpool showed as much backbone as a starfish (have I used that simile before? I can't be bothered reading previous posts to check) , Rafa Benitez is a dead man walking. He has pretty decent players at his disposal, you have to say, but their season now effectively rests on the Champions League. Again. 46 million spent in the summer, and the entire campaign now rests on a match against Inter Milan on February. Liverpool are the footballing equivalent of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (except Romney maybe didn't spend quite as much money, and at least he came second).
Meanwhile, whisper it in the North-East, at least until after the return game in Munich, but take away the UEFA Cup campaign and Aberdeen have been underachieving considerably. Third in the table last year, they currently lie eighth in the SPL after defeat at Easter Road on Sunday. To be fair, the fans have noticed; while they will cheer all night long in matches against Copenhagen and Bayern, I was at the recent defeat to Hearts, where the Dons showed the attacking instincts of a panda and offer about as much entertainment value as having your knee replaced. The home fans were irate, and rightly so; more ominously, the anger was directed towards none other than the Tango Man himself. If you recall the next home game, an absolute gubbing by Celtic (note to the press, one great game at Pittodrie does not automatically put Aiden McGeady on a par with the world's best) then the Bayern result seems more and more like the luckiest result since OJ Simpson got off.
Yes, we're all aware that Aberdeen are still apparently 12mil in debt (how do you manage to still be only breaking even when you haven't paid a transfer fee in 2 years and you sold your best player for secven figures in July?) and that might explain why they have lost two seasoned players on the cheap in the transfer window. But how can teenage loan signings from down South be a long term solution? They are hardly going to stay next year, so what do you do, bring in more loan signings? And what if they aren't as good as the last ones?
And sorry, Jimmy, but when you were Dunfermline manager you used to play ridiculously offensive teams, and you were lauded for it. What's happening now? He at least showed intiative by using 2 strikers on Thursday, but no longer do you see full-backs over the halfway line, nor do you see more than two of the midfielders ever advancing beyond the centre circle. It's dull and boring, and add the lack of quality to that and you might well have a cure for insomnia. Yet, if your defence was this poor (Diamond and Considine are erratic and clumsy, McNamara is miles past it and they don't call Mair "Night" for nothing), surely you might as well play on the attack? They've shifted 14 goals in 4 games, for the love of goodness. In reality, if Lee Miller leaves at the end of the season (he probably will) where are Aberdeen going to get goals from? Only he and Jamie Smith show any sort of cutting edge.
So, in conclusion, Aberdeen have under-performing players, poor tactics and apparently empty wallets. And the heroes are two 18 year olds who will leave in May. They're red, they're dead, and they're not bouncing on anybody's heads any time soon. That's even if they avoid the drubbing at the Allianz Arena.
L.
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