Just how can Cormack and Co Make Aberdeen Great Again?
JOE BIDEN’S impassioned State of the Union address in the House of Representatives in Washington DC on Thursday evening drew whoops and hollers of approval from many of those in attendance.
“We will not walk away,” said the United States president to loud applause as he called on Congress to approve more funding for Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia.
It is fair to say that when Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack issued exactly the same defiant message on X, formerly Twitter, last Saturday night it was not quite so well received.
Cormack felt compelled to assure irate fans of the Pittodrie club that he and his associates would meet the challenges they were facing head on in the wake of an excruciating defeat to St Mirren at the SMiSA Stadium.
His intentions were admirable. His choice of words, though, proved rather unfortunate. “We don’t do walking away,” he posted on the social media website. Talk about inflaming an already volatile situation.
That was, of course, the exact phrase which Ally McCoist used after Rangers suffered their cataclysmic financial implosion back in 2012. It was quickly latched onto by followers of the Ibrox outfit and became their rallying cry during those dark days.
Cormack would have been as well releasing a video of himself dancing down Edmiston Drive wearing a Union Jack T-shirt and singing Four Lads Had A Dream.
This has, no doubt about it, been an annus horribilis for the Dons. Their cinch Premiership reverse in Paisley at the weekend left them just four points above second-bottom Ross County in the table with 10 matches remaining. Neil Warnock, their caretaker manager, has admitted they are now in a battle to avoid relegation.
If they lose their Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final to Kilmarnock at Pittodrie this afternoon – and they will be doing very well to beat one of the form teams in the country and progress to the last four – the backlash in the stands will be considerable.
Supporters are likely to direct their anger towards the occupants of the directors’ box should they lose. But could they demand that Warnock be sacked as well? The veteran Englishman is only in charge until the end of the 2023/24 campaign. But fan power ousted Jim Goodwin and Barry Robson. No plot twist can be ruled out in this soap opera.
So what on earth does Cormack do, to bastardise a slogan popularised by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, to Make Aberdeen Great Again?
It would, given their dire form of late, appear to be as difficult a task as restoring the economic prosperity and international reputation of the United States.
The solution to their sad decline is, though, fairly simple. Appointing a time-served and hungry manager with a proven track record in Scottish football would cure a great many of their ills.
That is not something which their major shareholder has done since assuming control at his boyhood heroes four years ago and allowing Derek McInnes to depart. Bringing in Stephen Glass, Goodwin and Robson has not worked out. But were their failures really any great surprise given their lack of experience before taking on one of the most challenging jobs in the country?
Warnock is certainly no freshfaced rookie. Aberdeen is the 20th
Atlanta-based Cormack is in serious danger of becoming a Trumptype comedy figure given the calamities he has presided over
position the 75-year-old has held in a coaching career that has spanned five decades. Bringing in such a big name was a box-office move which, momentarily at least, generated excitement in the north-east. But the arrival of the straight-talking Yorkshireman has hardly sparked an upturn in fortunes.
He has overseen just one triumph – against part-time League Two minnows Bonnyrigg Rose in the last round of the cup – in seven matches despite the wealth of talent which he has at his disposal.
The former Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Leeds United, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town manager was only ever a short-term fix. Only time will tell if it was a good one. There are, though, many suitable long-term options out there.
Neil Lennon this week confessed that he was “very much interested”. There would doubtless be unhappiness among some Dons diehards if someone who is synonymous with their bitter rivals Celtic was brought in. But the Northern Irishman would have little difficulty coping with the demands of the high-pressure role having operated at such a high level in the past if he was targeted.
Exactly the same could be said of Malky Mackay or Alex Neil. The latter has stated that he does not want to return to his homeland and is looking for an opening down south. However, the former Preston North End, Sunderland and Stoke City head coach is exactly the sort of figure they should be pursuing.
As is Stephen Robinson, the man responsible for their latest defeat. The 49-year-old has worked wonders on a limited budget at St Mirren since succeeding Goodwin two years ago and has his side challenging for a European spot. He might not be a particularly sexy appointment, but he would, at the very least, make Aberdeen competitive again.
Atlanta-based Cormack is in serious danger of becoming a Trump-type comedy figure given the calamities he has presided over – but he can easily quell the growing unhappiness among the Aberdeen support by getting his next major decision right.
TOMORROW Susan Egelstaff