Jimwasoutofpositionbut escaped Dons’ clear-out
It looks certain there will be a major overhaul of the Aberdeen squad this summer.
But there could still be a chance for players to make an impression on manager Jim Goodwin as the Dons play out their last three games of the season.
Former defender Jim Whyte made his competitive debut for the Pittodrie club on this day 57 years ago.
He went on to become a highly- rated rightback but lined up in central defence when Aberdeen faced St Johnstone in a Summer Cup tie at Muirton Park on May 1, 1965.
Although the Reds lost 2- 0, he was reported as making “a splendid debut at centre-half”.
Jim recalled: “I had been signed as a full-back for Aberdeen by Tommy Pearson, but Eddie Turnbull had taken over as manager when I made the first-team.
“Like so many young footballers, I’d wanted to be a striker, but I was moved back and was playing there for Kilsyth Rangers when I got the move to Pittodrie.
“I think my debut was in central defence because Jim Mccormick was injured.
“I remember being up against St Johnstone’s Bobby Dickson. He was a wing- half, but was being given a run out at centre-forward. “He was a big lad, but I think I coped. “There was a huge clear-out at Aberdeen that summer. Eddie Turnbull was preparing for his first full season as manager, and 17 players left the club.
“I was delighted to be one of those staying on. “I was then played at right- back, with Ally Shewan on the other side of the defence.
“Full- backs weren’t encouraged to cross the half- way line when I first started playing, but Eddie encouraged Ally and I to get up the field.
“We were the first overlapping full- backs at Aberdeen.”
It’s 55 years since they reached the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic under Turnbull. The Dons were beaten 2- 0 by the side that would win the European Cup less than a month later.
There’s no doubt Aberdeen’s bid to win the Cup wasn’t helped by being without their manager.
Eddie Turnbull was laid-up in with an infection, and attempted to deliver a typically robust teamtalk from his bed at the Gleneagles Hotel.
Jim said: “The other thing that didn’t go to plan was the lack of a police escort to the game.
“I always remember the bus finally arriving at Hampden Park, and the clock above the entrance was showing twenty pas two.
“It meant we didn’t have time to soak up the atmosphere, and get a proper warm-up.
“I’m not saying we would have beaten Celtic but better preparation would have helped us. “We had drawn both league games with them.
“I was in the pool for the 1970 Scottish Cup Final when Aberdeen beat Celtic, but an Achilles injury I’d suffered earlier in the year meant I didn’t make the team.”
Jim might have experienced a spell in England if things had gone differently.
He said: “Aberdeen played in the US as the Washington Whips in the summer of 1967.
“Wolves, a team we played three times in America, wanted to sign Frank Munro and me the following year.
“Eddie agreed to sell Frank, but wouldn’t let me go. On another occasion, Leicester City bid £25,000 for me but the offer was refused.”
Jim spent five years with Kilmarnock after leaving Aberdeen. His last game as a professional was a 4-0 defeat against his former club at Pittodrie in 1975.
He said: “I enjoyed my time at Killie, but it didn’t go too well right at the end.
“I remember being made captain by Willie Fernie for a 5-0 win against Stranraer at the start of my last season – and being dropped the next week. After that, I was mostly a substitute.”
Jim, now 77, is on the committee of the Aberdeen Former Players’ Association.