A day of the week

Ah Motherwell, about the only team in the league with a worse pitch than ourselves right now. So this game was never going to be a silky passing affair. The way we are playing right now however, a good pitch would make no difference to our misfiring 'stars'.

A pretty paltry crowd of 4,600 is inside Fir Park for this feast of football and the Dons quickly go a goal down inside 9 minutes. From there on the first half is all Motherwell, with the Dons struggling to even get out of their own half.

Jimmy 'shoogly peg' Blunderwood obviously read the riot act at halftime and changed the formation from a 3-5-2 to our more regular 4-4-2. This had immediate results, with Maguire blasting in the equaliser off the bar following a flick on from the returning Lee Miller.

The joy was short lived however as Andrew Considine was soon given his marching orders for two poor challenges on Clarkson and it was backs to the wall once more. Motherwell almost snatched it right at the death, only to be denied by a Langfield wonder save. See it in all its glory here.

Inverness at home on Saturday. Win and its 'top 6' glory again this season! Woo! Apparently there is a demostration planned for after the game regardless of the result. It could get interesting.

I find myself sitting in a bar on George Street, Sydney, with my brother. The time is 5.45am. What are we doing here at this ungodly hour you may ask? Well, it just so happens the 'mighty' Dons are playing Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup and we've got front row seats (to put it another way, we're the only 2 people in the entire pub).

But more on that tantalising story later. What's happened with the Dons since i've been away in a nicer and warmer country on holiday? Well, to put it bluntly, we've been utter horse. I won't be going into any details to save my sanity, but the results have been as follows:

Aberdeen 0 - 0 Kilmarnock (Horrific game the day before I left to go to Australia).

St Mirren 1 - 1 Aberdeen (Tommy Wright on target).

Aberdeen 1 - 0 Hamilton (Maguire with the goal).

Hibernian 0 - 0 Aberdeen

So all in all, it's fair to say i've missed the square root of fuck all. Which brings me back to 'Cheers' bar. Australia. Did I mention it's nice and warm? Ice cold Schooner in hand (no, nothing dirty, a weird Australian name for a beer), ready for a majestic cup win and a trip to Hampden when I return home.

The match kicks off. And nothing happens. And I mean nothing. We are awful. The pitch looks awful. Dunfermline have the better chances. I'm not going to say anymore than that. There is nothing to say. The fact that Jimmy 'the tactician' Calderwood matches their 4-5-1 formation says it all. Spineless, gutless, a total shambles.

We should be ripping shite teams like this to pieces at home, not playing to their strengths and tactics. A total mess from start to finish. On to penalties, and it was blindly obvious we were going to lose. I thought it was particularly fitting that Dick Foster missed the last kick. A total disgrace of a performance from a total disgrace of a player. He wouldn't get a game in the Highland League.

To say the backlash has been fierce is an understatement. I think the winds of change will be whistling down Pittodrie way sooner rather than later at this rate. Watch this space. I don't even know when our next game is.....

Well. What can I say? That was a turn up for the books! 4 goals (yes, I did just say that) against the Tims. When was the last time that happened? Frank McDougal. He scored all 4 that day... we spread them out a little yesterday though (it would be rude not to).

I was confident all week that we'd get some sort of result in this game. I thought perhaps a sneaky 1-0 or 2-1 win given the decent run of form we'd been on of late. We almost got a full turnout of season tickets too.... almost. 5 of the ticket owners present.... one day it'll happen, perhaps the Rankgers game next Saturday.

So, we head down towards the stadium, past the hordes of weird looking people with no teeth, weird shaped faces and an even weirder dress sense. A motley crew and no mistake. Once the stench had left my nostrils I grabbed myself a chicken pie and a wee bovril to ward off the cold and took my seat... ready for a routine Dons win... or something along those lines.

The first 10 minutes did not look good for us. Celtic were all over us. Oh dear. Slowly but surely we worked ourselves into the game however. Aluko in particular was menacing down the left and whipping in some wonderful crosses (more on that aspect of the game later).

We finally took the lead around the half hour mark with a wonderful goal from Gary McDonald. The ball broke to Duff on the left wing, he turned well and put a great ball towards the back post, McDonald pulled off his marker and planted a great header beyond Brown into the top corner. No chance. YES!

Oh wait... but it's Celtic. I forgot. Straight up the park. Goal for Brown. Dreadful marking. Jesus wept... we've seen this before all too often. Time to roll up the sleeves and get on with it.

But wait... hark, what's this? 2-1 the Dons! A wonderful ball from Kerr, the Celtic defence are static and in steps an unmarked Duff to volley past a helpless Brown in the Celtic goal. First Dons goal for the local boy, and what a cracker to open his account. Half time, all is well.

Into the second half, and what do we do? You guessed it. Sit deep and defend our lead. BIG mistake, especially against Celtic. They throw everthing at us, and what happens? You guessed it. Equaliser, Scott McDonald (the swine). Here we go, a late Celtic winner, just like at Parkhead earlier in the year.

We seem to be made of sterner stuff right now however. We seem to roll our sleeves up and go for it. And it pays off, big style. A free kick is whipped in by Mulgrew and Diamond throws himself headfirst at it and the ball arrows into the top corner. Then the ref blows for a foul on Mackie. Then it's disallowed. Then it's a penalty to us. No wait, it's a goal! Come on Dons, hold on for a well deserved 3 points.

A minute later. Free kick (again). Whipped in by Mulgrew (again). Diamond at the back post (again). GOAL! (again) 4-2 Aberdeen. Cue mad celebrations. I think we ended up about 2 rows down when that 4th goal went in. Absolutely amazing. Only one team was winning from that point on.

On watching the post match analysis when I got home one thing struck me. Gordon Strachan comes across as a bitter, bitter man. He can never hold his hands up and admit his team were well beaten on the day. All rubbish goals apparently, the pitch was useless too apparently. His glib remarks that used to be funny and refreshing when he was managing in England do little now to hide the fact he's struggling under the pressure of managing a big team. In fact they are no longer even funny, he just comes across as an arse.

All in all a wonderful day. Re-live it here in all it's glory. Roll on next Saturday and Rangers at Pittodrie. It's about time we pulled off an old firm double. Lets hope the boys (and the fans) are up for it. Until then....

ONE LEE MILLER, THERE'S ONLY ONE LEE MILLER, ONE LEEEEE MILLLLLERRRRRRR, THERE'S ONLY ONE LEE MILLER! Yes, Big Lee does it yet again! Kilmarnock away. The last time there we got royally humped in the CIS cup, with the mighty Bertie Bassett (sorry Bossu) in between the sticks. Surely time for revenge?

Again, a radio job for me. A round trip to Kilmarnock on a Tuesday night really didn't grab me by the cockles. Still, I had a few informants at the game to keep me up to speed. Now, a nice bright start will do nicely, keep it tight.... oh dear, 1-0 to Killie 10 minutes in.

SHITE!!! Ah well, that's us done, we'll never come back from that were my immortal words. What's that you say? 1-1 Lee Miller. Surely not! See, I always knew we'd come back from 1-0 down. What did I tell you?

Into the second half and another magnificent goal (which turned out to be the winner) from a man on a red hot run of form. He can do no wrong right now. Let's hope he keeps up this goal scoring record against the old firm in the forthcoming matches.

2-1 Aberdeen. Final score. Match reaction and highlights are available here. Backs to the wall for the last 20 minutes or so, with a few chances for Kilmarnock to equalise but a great away win in the end. And more importantly, up into the European places with everything to play for in the remainder of the season.

In saying this, holding on to Lee Miller is vital in order that this becomes a reality. Unless someone comes in with a 'silly money' bid, we really must keep hold of our top scorer and best player. The club need to show a level of ambition and show we are not there to sell a player as soon as the first offer comes in (Russell Anderson anyone?). Especially to Rangers, which would be a bad move for Miller. He wants European football, and if we continue playing in this manner, it is a certainty for next season. Keeping this squad together and adding to it, rather than losing some of our best assets, should be the priority. To be fair to Willie Miller and Jimmy Calderwood, they have come out and said he is going nowhere and even Big Lee himself has said he's settled and enjoying his football. But then it is football.... who knows what will happen in the next couple of weeks. Watch this space.

Up next, Celtic. At Pittodrie. About time we beat them up here. Can't wait!

Well.... sort of. Certainly a potential banana skin to avoid! Something which we haven't been very successful at in recent cup 'runs'. Alloa Athlectic away, on their mighty synthetic surface. Over the course of the match build up Jimmy has maligned it saying it was a disgrace, then that it was better than expected. And after the game itself proclaimed it 'a leveller'. What. The. Fuck. Are. You. On. About. Jimmy?

Still, a 3,000 sellout and a good soaking for the Dons fans on the terraces due to the abysmal weather!

The match itself? As I wasn't there, I can't really put forth much of a review. By the sounds of things on the radio and in the press, we started the game brightly, culminating in a deflected opener by man of the moment Lee Miller from a MaGuire shot.

After that? What do you think? The usual... we sit back, ask them to come at us, and lose a bizarre equaliser just before half time. Alloa have the ball in the net, the ref then disallows it, then awards them a penalty, which is then delayed due to rolls of ticket tape being launched onto the pitch by the Dons fans behind the goal.

All is well shortly after the break as Sone Aluko scores what proves to be the winner. Cue a few anxious moments before the final whistle, but we've scraped through and more importantly have a home tie for once in the next round (against East Fife).


On another note, congratulations to 'Handsome Lee' for picking up the player of the month award. Well deserved for the big man and hopefully the rumors of imminent bids for him from The scum, Leeds and Norwich are well off the mark. If they are true, nothing less than £2M should be accepted for a man at the very top of his game.

Next up? It's back to league business tonight.... Kilmarnock away in a rearranged fixture from the end of last year. Win this and we're up to 4th. We won't blow it. Will we? Till tomorrow......

Rain. Again. Lots of rain. Rain, rain, rain. Still, at least the huns didn't win. Yes, it's that time of the week again. Saturday morning (although no whiff of a hangover) which makes a somewhat refreshing change.

I literally couldn't give the tickets away for the game, and 4 were available. I did find a couple of hardy souls to use 2 of them though. On with the assortment of winter clothing (although I stupidly forgot my gloves and scarf, so in reality I blew it) and off we set for the hallowed turf.

Falkirk, surely we'll beat them today? Although they haven't won here since the 50's, but then again neither had Caley or Hamilton until this season.... GULP!

By the time we arrive we are well and truly DRENCHED. Complete set of bastards. This had better be a good game.

As it turns out we didn't fare too badly on that front. A bright opening spell is capped off with a great passing move culminating with my namesake being hauled down in the box for a stonewall penalty.

Up steps the man of the moment, the outstanding (yet again) Lee Miller to cooly slot it home. From there on it was all pretty much one way traffic in the first half, which was compounded with a second goal for the Dons. A great ball whipped in by Maguire and Lee Miller is at the back post to squeeze it in for a fantastic finish across the keeper. He was also unlucky not to complete the hat trick a few moments later with a stinging shot from the edge of the box.

So, all bodes well for the second half! Or so we think. Why do we have this mentality of defending so deep once we take a lead? Really? The second half was a complete contrast. We should be going out and looking to turn on the style, score a few goals and get a few more bums back on seats at Pittodrie. But no, we sit back, lose a terrible goal (scored by Lovell of all people) but thankfully hold on to take the 3 points. Surely we need to take heed of this warning and be a little more positive.

Speaking of positives, Lee Miller and Gary McDonald were outstanding. And we have now won 4 on the spin at home, which is very encouraging given the start we had.

Match highlights and reaction

Chant of the day: OH MACKIE GOOOOOOOOOOO, MACKIE, MACKIE, MACKIE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.......

Season ticket count: 5 out of 6 used....... we'll get that perfect 6 one day. Mark my words.

On reflection, staying up until 4am playing FIFA on the Playsation on Friday was not the best of ideas. Fun at the time mind you, but that's besides the point.

I awake to a slightly groggy, throbbing head, complain to myself a lot, and then turn on the tv to soak up the delights of Hearts v Rangers with a cup of tea.

Bad result for the Dons, although the Huns losing is always a sight to behold.

2pm.... where is Ryan?

2.15pm.... where is Ryan?

2.30pm.... where is... Oh, he slept in and is on his way.

On exiting my flat and heading to the theatre of dreams (to meet the aforementioned Ryan) I am delighted I opted for 2 pairs of socks (on reflection, 3 pairs would have been needed). I am however, a bit gutted I forgot my scarf as it is indeed brass monkeys in the Granite City on this fine winter afternoon.

Anyway, he finally arrives and we get inside and huddle up for warmth as best we can (and not in a sexy party kind of way). The match kicks off (Jimmy's 200th in charge), let the action commenceeeeeeeeeZZZZZZZZZzzzzZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz. Whoa.... What was that? I feel asleep? Well I would have been totally justified had I done so as the first half of 'football' was absolutely horrendous, with nothing at all of note I can recall. Not to mention the fact the atmosphere, for want of a better word, was sorely lacking.

The only real entertainment was the small hardy band of Motherwell supporters being harrassed by the stewards for actually trying to create some noise and excitement.

Into the second half we stumble.... and thankfully it's a marked improvement. The Dons actually start putting a few passes together and create some chances. It takes a tactical masterclass from Calderwood (or an injury to Considine) to change the game however and make the breakthrough. Aluko delivers a great ball from the right and the 'just on' McDonald pounces to flash a great header into the back of the net.

A few moments later and DeVisscher pings a great ball into the box before Mackie is dumped in the box. Penalty, red card for Quinn, and totally justified. The 'well keeper (Smith) tries in vain to put Miller off by throwing water in his direction (the twat), but handsome Lee confidently smashes the ball home.

Game over.

And but for some better luck it could have been 4 or 5.

Match reaction and highlights

Highlight of the day? Seeing Gus arriving rather 'refreshed' from a morning at the pub.

Season ticket count? 3 out of 6. Things are going downhill. And fast. And Dunc still hasn't seen a win. The swine.

EDIT: Raith Rovers or Alloa in the Scottish Cup 4th round ... away. Just for a change. I'll be paying a visit to Jonathan's that weekend. Bring it on.

My head is fuzzy. Long haul travel always does that. The kick off is 12.30 tomorrow, live on Setanta, what a feast of football fun for the UK (alliteration aside). My optimism has returned after my re-energising break away. Not to mention the fact that watching the Toronto Blue Jays get minced at baseball has convinced me the Dons can't do any worse.

Silly, silly me. When will I ever learn? I awake to my flat buzzer going off. What's that? Who? When? Who am I? Oh, it's my cousin... i've slept in, again. We still have half an hour till kick off though. Nae probs, quick shower and off we go, full of enthusiasm on a bright, sunny, and I daresay warm Aberdeen day.

Pittodrie is fast approaching, looming ever closer and closer as the anticipation to kick off and a kickstart to the season builds. Tommy Wright starting eh! 3 up front, should be a cracking game. We best get some refreshments inside to tide us over. Ah, flat coca-cola and a nice heartburn steak pie. Life doesn't get much better.

I sense the feeling that this blog will contain more stories about the pre and post match as opposed to the football itself (that much seems apparent after only 2 posts). Anyway, what needs to be said about the game? Not much to be honest, suffice to say we were again horrendous, devoid of any apparent tactics, flare or effort and slumped to a 3rd home defeat in 4 games. Poor show indeed. Aberdeen 0 - 1 Dundee United. Entertainment.... you guessed it.... a bit fat 0.

Our great leader had the following to say:

"It was a game we absolutely dominated in the first half, we created a few chances. The thing that's doing us in is individual mistakes.

"It started at the start of the season, and its not finished yet. I know we can play a lot better.

"Goals change games, it suited United to play on the counter-attack, but it just wouldn't break for us.

"You get days like that in football, but individual errors are costing us big time."

My day didn't get much better when I got to the pub. What? My fantasy team are second bottom? Seriously? The beer did NOT taste good after this latest bombshell, but several made me forget the trials and tribulations of the day and sent me home oblivious to the fact I had the more sobering prospect of going back to work on Monday (Tuesday actually as Monday was a local holiday).

Next up. Killie. In the cup. Away. I dread to think.

On a side note, our mighty 6 is also starting to dwindle (already). Don't say I didn't warn you.

Season ticket count: 6
Actual Attendance: 3