BEST& WORST ABERDEEN
Chris Crighton of The Red Final fanzine remembers Gothenburg glory and the turning circle of Dave Bus
XI
BEST: Jim Leighton, Doug Rougvie, Alex Mcleish, Willie Miller, John Mcmaster, Neale Cooper, Gordon Strachan, Neil Simpson, Peter Weir, Eric Black, Mark Mcghee. Substitute: John Hewitt. The team who won the 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup Final in Gothenburg simply could not be embellished upon.
WORST: The comic troupe assembled by Danish boss Ebbe Skovdahl not long after his appointment in 1999 – they found extraordinarily effective ways to get regularly trounced.
PLAYER
B: Many Dons legends have walked the corridors of Pittodrie, but all would bow before the majesty of captain Miller [ above right].
W: There’s been plenty of dog meat too, and when you chuck in the bonus of a comedy name, many would opt for Dave Bus [ right] – a Dutch defender who turned as quickly as said mode of transport, and allowed as many in.
MOMENT
B: Adam Rooney’s shootout- clinching penalty bulging the net to finally see off Inverness in the 2014 League Cup Final, ending almost two decades of trophyless drought. Aberdonians are not naturally given to tears, but many were shed in those moments.
W: Getting thumped 9- 0 at Celtic Park in November 2010. If you’ve never had to sit through the last five minutes of a game desperately hoping your team at least keeps the score down to single figures, I hope it stays that way for you ( sorry, Southampton fans).
GAME
B: Pittodrie’s greatest night – March 16, 1983, when two goals in a minute sent Aberdeen into the Cup Winners’ Cup semis at Bayern Munich’s expense.
W: Losing the league title on the final day of the 1990- 91 season, when only a draw was required.
SEASON
B: Although the club’s most renowned achievement came in 1982- 83, there’s a strong case that 1983- 84 was better, returning a league and Scottish Cup double and the European Super Cup.
W: The unforeseen calamity of ’ 94- 95, when a team that had finished in the top four in all but one of the previous 18 seasons managed to escape a first ever relegation only thanks to a spurt of wins in the final five weeks.
NICKNAME
B: Eugene ‘ Who’s Yer’ Dadi. W: Sorry Jamie Langfield, but it’s not exactly ideal when your goalkeeper is universally known as ‘ Clangers’.
CULT HERO
B: Norman Goldie passed away in 2016, but he was an elderly gent who’d trek from Torry to Pittodrie on Saturdays carrying a giant AFC flag, with one red and one white sock poking out of his sandals. His seat was retired by the club.
W: If there is such a thing as a worst cult hero, it must be the goalkeeping version of Robbie Winters – the 5ft 9in centre forward who played the entire 2000 Scottish Cup Final in goal after Leighton’s jaw was broken in the first two minutes, and gave a performance hapless and heroic in equal measure.
MANAGER
B: Need you ask?
W: All records exist to be broken.
HAIRCUT
B: Drew Jarvie’s combover, sported for 386 outings and helping us all through the trauma of follicular erosion.
W: The comically obvious wig of former Dons chairman Stewart Milne, prior to its ceremonial binning.
AWAY TRIP
B: Visiting the twin grounds of Dundee is usually good fun.
W: In the interest of making a point, I’ll go for Inverness or Ross County and challenge anyone from south of Perth who likes to call those games ‘ northern derbies’ to endure the tractor- infested single carriageway from Aberdeen up to Dingwall and report back.
HARD MAN
B: Rougvie [ left] – a smiling assassin, but with emphasis more on the assassination than the teeth.
W: Nigel Pepper. Getting sent off a mere six minutes after coming on as a sub, then marking your return from suspension by getting sent off inside 20 SECONDS is spectacularly pointless.