Aberdeen lose another legend with the passing of ‘father figure’ Scott

Man who served Dons for 49 years dies at 83

motto is A Posse Ad Esse – from possibility to reality – have not broken any rules in signing the players. The Fa also stressed its own sponsorship deal with Budweiser was “entirely separate” to Wembley FC’s tie-up with the american beer firm.

Budweiser believe they are “championing the magic of the Fa Cup” as part of their overall strategy for sponsoring the competition although the PR stunt has already attracted criticism from those who argue that it is a shameless attempt to buy into the romance of the competition. Fans of other non-league clubs perceive the backing FC Wembley are receiving to be unfair, with the club’s progress set to be screened by ESPN in a fly-on-thewall series.

“The initiative shines a light on non-league football, reminding people of the importance of amateur football in contributing to the development of the national game,” FC Wembley manager ian Bates contended. “a year ago we were playing in front of an empty grandstand and the clubhouse was falling down. Now the investment means great times are waiting for Wembley FC and we can’t wait to kick off our Fa Cup campaign.”

The news of Caniggia’s return to football comes ten years after the striker made a surprise comeback for argentina, following an indian summer spent with dundee and Rangers. The player made a startling move to dens Park under ivano Bonetti, after a period in the wilderness following a drugs ban for using cocaine and a fall-out with argentina manager daniel Passarella, who ordered him to cut his long hair. it is unknown whether Caniggia’s grooming habits will be an issue for Bates, his new manager at FC Wembley.

The club’s best performance in the Fa Cup is when they reached the first round proper in 198081, where they were beaten by Enfield. Their latest bid to reach Wembley, the stadium located in their own borough, begins on 11 august, in the extra-preliminary round of the famous competition. modern Scottish football. it proved one of Scott’s many significant contributions to life at Pittodrie.

archie Knox worked with Scott in the club’s glory years under alex Ferguson, and he recalled the then kit manager’s unbreakable bond with many of the players. his room at Pittodrie, known as his shrine since it contained a remarkable amount of souvenirs and club keepsakes, was a port in a storm for players seeking sanctuary from Ferguson’s “hairdryer” and Knox’s own often hard-line outlook.

“he was a father figure for all the first-team players as well as the young ones,” Knox told The Scotsman yesterday. “That’s who’d they first turn to if they had any bother. it would not be alex and it would not be myself, it was Ted who they would all turn to. That would just be one of his many jobs.”

Knox himself used Scott, who arrived at Pittodrie in 1954 as a budding centre-half, as a sounding-board. he felt some trepidation at the step up to full-time football after a spell as manager at Forfar athletic. “he was a great help to me, i was starting a new job,” he said. “i needed all the help i could get. Ted was there all the time for me. he was a remarkable man in many ways,” added Knox. “he really devoted his life to aberdeen Football Club. he spent a lot more time here than he did at home. holidays were not his scene. at this time of year he might take the odd day off but he would be in most days in the close season.

“he did an unimaginable job here. he was kit man, reserve team trainer, he took the youths training in the car park – it did not matter whether it was hail, rain or shine, he was out there. he never shirked anything at all. Even on Sundays he would fix up a game with another team because someone mentioned there was a player it would be good to have a look at. he was phenomenal.”

Ferguson, one of 15 managers under whom Scott served, was handed a shock when he arrived at aberdeen from St Mirren in 1978 and discovered someone who got to the ground even earlier than he did each day. “Ted got the 7am bus in from Ellon every morning and the last bus to Ellon every night at 10pm,” recalled Knox, now back at Pittodrie as assistant to manager Craig Brown. “alex eventually got him a wee Fiesta van, which was a runaround van everyone used here for odd jobs. he gave that to Ted. and you’d have thought he’s given Ted the world, he now had transport in and out and he did not have to wait on the bus, which he had taken for a lot of years.” although Ferguson might have ruled with a rod of iron during his time at Pittodrie there was still no doubt who was Mr aberdeen. Ferguson was as alert to this as anyone, bringing up a full-strength Manchester united side to salute Scott at his testimonial match in 1999, the year the old Trafford side won the Champions league. Scott, who played one first-team game for aberdeen, finally retired four years later.

“There is a room next to the dressing room where alex and i used to go prior to a game, we would use it as a wee meeting room,” said Knox. “But it was always Ted’s room. That is where he operated. You had to knock on the door to go in, even alex. No-one took any liberties.”

Scott was once the cause of one of Ferguson’s temper tantrums, prior to a game against FC Sion en route to Cup Winners’ Cup glory in Gothenburg, in 1983. “apparently Ted had put the wrong socks in to the kit hamper, and alex said: ‘that bloody Ted Scott, wait ’til we get back, he’s getting sacked!’

Wee Gordon [Strachan] piped up: ‘aye, and you will need ten people to replace him’. it was absolutely true, of course.” RaChEl Corsie’s first-half goal was enough for Scotland’s women to complete a Group 4 double over ireland in Cork last night and stay firmly on course for the Euro 2013 finals in Sweden.

The Scots now need just one point from their remaining matches against Wales and France to guarantee, at worst, a play-off place.

“it’s great to have taken six points from six against israel and ireland but we haven’t changed our target which was to win our last four games,” said coach anna Signeul. “We will take that on into the last two games in September. We started off fantastically well – a bit like the first half against israel. We maybe should have scored a couple of more goals in the first half, but all that mattered was that we held on for the win.” Corsie’s 25thminute goal, when she forced the ball home after ireland goalkeeper Emma Byrne had made a good save from Jenny Beattie’s powerful header, was a deserved reward for Scotland’s early pressure. They pinned ireland back from the kick-off, and were unlucky not to add a second when Kim little’s long range shot went narrowly over the bar.

although it was fraught at the end, the visitors, with Celtic midfielder Megan Sneddon winning her 100th cap, deserved the three points.

Fay; Jones, Corsie, Dieke, Small; Love, Sneddon, Little, Lauder (Evans 68); J Ross, Beattie (L Ross 75).