McFadden disgusted by Pittodrie McGhee abuse
Motherwell No.2 says Aberdeen fans were ‘ridiculous’ towards his manager
WEDNESDAY night wasn’t a good one if you are of a Motherwell persuasion. The small band of supporters who made their way up and down the A90 who witnessed their team hit the self destruct button. Then hit it again. And again. And again...
Speaking to James McFadden, it was also an eye-opening experience standing on the touchline, but for a host of varying reasons. Being used to dealing with a football team with the consistency of a Mary Berry rice pudding knocked up after a night down the Legion, seeing this group of players go from the sublime to the ridiculous is not that much of a shock to the senses.
What was surprising, though, was the attention given to the man who, until his dismissal into the stand midway through the second half, stood beside him.
Ever since Mark McGhee’s reign at Pittodrie in 2009 and 2010 – one that will forever be associated with that 9-0 tanking at Parkhead – those who fill the creaky stands near the North Sea don’t need any encouragement to berate the man they once idolised. As a young striker, he was of course part of the team that defeated Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final of 1983. He also scored against Hamburg to help them clinch the European Super Cup the following season.
Yet, even those achievements did not save him from a barrage of abuse from those in the stands behind him, much to the shock of his understudy just a couple of feet away.
“To hear the abuse from them during the game was bad enough but what ensued after his sending off was ridiculous,” said McFadden, highlighting the moment where McGhee was sent to the stand before being videoed and goaded by a punter in the Pittodrie main stand. “I’d known that his relationship with the supporters wasn’t as good as it had been after his time as manager up there but we have players from the 1991 Scottish Cup-winning team who are treated as heroes when they come back here.
“That’s the way it should be because they’ve done a great service to this club – our fans still worship the ground they walk on.
“You always hear about the glory days of Aberdeen but it seems to me that their fans have forgotten exactly what he did for them.
“I would loved to have been part of a team that had won titles and cups and European trophies – as it is, I had a season-and-a-half in the first team and our fans were excellent any time I came back. So I can’t believe the way the Aberdeen support has treated him and I think the sheer extent of [the bile] left the manager in a state of disbelief as well.
“If you didn’t know that he had played for them you would assume that he played for their biggest rivals – that’s how far I would go.
“It was as if he had played for a rival team and he was vilified by rival fans. You would not have known he is one of the top scorers in their history and played for their best team ever.”
There still remains confusion in the Motherwell camp over why McGhee was dismissed in the first place during a dismal night for the Lanarkshire club. The Motherwell manager spoke afterwards of the bizarre behaviour of fourth official John McKendrick that eventually led to referee Alan Muir being called over. Two days on and McFadden seemed as perplexed as his gaffer over a decision as the Fir Park club wait to hear what disciplinary action would be taken against him.
“There is a process to be followed so there will be a hearing. I don’t know when that is so Mark could be available for the next game as well. We’ll wait for the outcome,” said McFadden.
On the back of that drubbing, Motherwell now have the unenviable task of going to Parkhead today to face unbeaten Premiership leaders Celtic.
However, encouragement can still be taken from previous meetings, and McFadden said: “Generally, we tend to bounce back so we will be raring to go.
“We felt we should have won the last game [Celtic won 4-3 with a last-minute winner] – and probably should have got a draw at least.”
You always hear about the glory days of Aberdeen but their fans have forgotten exactly what he did for them. I can’t believe the way they treated him