Dons fans hoping Ebbe days are here once more
Aberdeen’s move to line up the second Scandinavian manager in the club’s history has rekindled fond memories of their first.
Swede Jimmy Thelin, currently head coach of his homeland club Elfsborg, has been lined up to take charge at Pittodrie in June.
And when he does so, among his predecessors will be the avuncular Dane, Ebbe Skovdahl, who led the Granite City club between 1999 and 2002.
Skovdahl, who died in 2020, was a hugely popular figure among supporters – not least because of his habit of conjuring up a quirky quote for every occasion.
Perhaps the most celebrated was his defence of his tactics in the 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Celtic: “The operation was a success, but the patient died.”
Yet, if he had Aberdeen flirting with disaster – they were spared a playoff at the end of his first season only because Falkirk’s stadium did not meet requirements for the top flight – it was not all bad.
He brought Hicham Zerouali, Roberto Bisconti and Arild Stavrum to the Scottish game and led the Dons to both the 2000 Scottish Cup Final and 2000 League Cup Final, in which they finished runners up to Rangers and Celtic, respectively.
“Ebbe was a good guy, someone who was probably ahead of his time,” said Darren Young, skipper of the side which brought European football back to Pittodrie through their fourth-place finish in 2001-02.
“He had us playing 4-2-3-1. I will be honest, for whatever reason, it was a concept we could not really grasp.
“When he put us back to 4-4-2, we won, which was brilliant for us, but he kept trying to revisit 4-2-3-1.
“Looking back, I have to think the players were the ones who were not up to scratch.
“Ebbe had his own ways. Some of it was decent and other bits the boys were not so keen on.
“He tried hard, I remember he brought beds in for us during pre-season, so guys could get a decent recovery rather than spending all their time driving backwards and forwards.
“Plus, of course, his quotes after games were excellent value. We used to write them all down on a big board we kept in the dressing room.
“Eventually, Gardner Spiers (one of the assistant coaches) found it and said right, that needs to go.
“There was the time when he came through when the lads had the dressing room set up with about three cups of water on top of the door waiting to soak whoever came through.
“Ebbe was not a frequent visitor, but he popped in this time, and he got absolutely drenched. To be fair, he took it well.”
As a Scottish manager himself – he led Stirling Albion to the League Two title last season – Young could be forgiven for being dubious about the benefits to clubs of looking further afield.
“I always like to give everyone a chance to show what they can do, and it will be the same in this case,” he said.
“Certainly, I can understand why Aberdeen have chosen to go down a different route this time.
“For me, bringing Neil Warnock in made no sense. It seemed like a panic appointment. He did not really know Scottish football and did not know any of the players.
“Now, that could be the case for quite a few new managers, but the difference was they knew he was not going be around for next season.
“So, they were wasting two or three months where a new manager could come in, set his formations up, and have a look at his squad. From there you see who you have got and who you need to bring in.
“As it was, you have players thinking well this guy is not going to be here next season anyway.
“One look at the results tells you the story.”