Miller: Dons need perfect storm to take on Old Firm
As Milne stands down, Miller offers a candid assessment
Willie Miller concedes it will take “the perfect storm” of circumstances for Aberdeen to win a fifth league title.
But with new chairman Dave Cormack at the helm, he reckons the Dons are perfectly placed to take advantage should the stars align.
US-based multimillionaire Cormack announced himself as outgoing Pittodrie chief Stewart Milne’s successor in midweek.
It came with bold talk of knocking the Old Firm off their perch.
That was music to Red Army ears – and legendary skipper Miller understands why.
Having won 12 major honours with the Dons – including three league titles – he knows the currency of hope still holds huge value in the Granite City.
And thanks to the harder form of currency Cormack has already found for the club, Miller believes Pittodrie punters are entitled to dream big.
“The fans should be excited about what Dave Cormack could potentially bring to the club,” said the man who led the club to their greatest triumph, the 1983 European Cup-Winners’ Cup in Gothenburg.
“Competing with Celtic and Rangers is always going to be a huge task.
“But if he feels he can do it, why not say it? “When people involved in Aberdeen have talked about success in recent times, they have done it, quite sensibly, on the basis of competing in, and winning the odd cup, and striving to be as high up the league as possible.
“But Aberdeen fans want to think about success in terms of winning league titles and consistently winning cups.
“That is very difficult to achieve, but if Dave Cormack believes he can do it, why shouldn’t the fans be excited about it?
“That level of ambition should absolutely be applauded.
“He has brought a lot to the club already, primarily in the form of the training facility, which was an old standing joke around the club. It has been being talked about for as long as I can remember.
“Dave Cormack has managed to deliver the bulk of the finance, if not all of it, for that.
“That’s very encouraging, not just in terms of his ambition, but also that he can back it up with both contacts and finance.”
Talking about winning titles is one thing. Actually doing it is another altogether.
Even in the Cormack era, Aberdeen will be up against it to outpunch Celtic and Rangers over the course of a season.
But despite the Glasgow sides’ financial advantage, Miller knows underdogs do sometimes have their day – as long as they are ready to strike when the opportunity presents itself.
“You really need the perfect storm in terms of circumstances if we’re talking about winning a title,” Miller continued.
“Revenue at Aberdeen these days is around £15-16 million, with a wage bill somewhere around 60% of that, which is a sensible ratio.
“That’s far beyond where the club was the last time I was involved.
“However, it’s still way, way short of what Rangers and Celtic can spend. So the challenge is, if winning a title is the aim, to make sure you’re over-performing at the same time they’re under-performing.
“In purely financial terms, I can’t see Aberdeen ever competing with the Old Firm.
“These days, Celtic have a war chest from the Champions League and Europa League that even Rangers will find difficult to match.
“So for Aberdeen to compete around the top of the league with these teams is always going to be difficult, unless you get that perfect storm.
“Aberdeen need to be absolutely perfectly tuned so they can capitalise if and when the Old Firm are enduring a rough time, or perhaps some managerial turmoil.
“It’s a rare occurrence, but it can happen, and Leicester City proved that in England.
“The challenge for Aberdeen is to ensure they are in a position to take advantage if the circumstances arise for them to do so.”
Miller and outgoing chairman Milne didn’t always see eye-to-eye over the years, particularly around 2012 when the former was removed from the club’s board as well as his role of director of football.
But in summing up the outgoing chairman’s efforts, Miller is more than happy to give due credit.
“Stewart deserves credit for how he has managed the challenges of leading the club,” he said.“There have been no shortage of those over the years.
“But particularly when it comes to stepping down from the chairmanship, I think he has handled it very well.
“He always said if he could find somebody with the necessary financial and business acumen, he would step down, and that’s what he’s done.
“Look at what happened at Rangers after David Murray left.
“Stewart probably could have done something similar if he’d wanted to, but he stuck to his word and has handed the club over, in a good position, to somebody who is able and prepared to support it going forward.
“For me, that’s worthy of recognition.”