I was very interested to read Aberdeen President Dave Cormack’s comments on his club’s disappointing run.
He has fully supported his manager Stephen Glass even though the Dons have now gone 10 games without a win and all credit goes to him for that support, although he must be a concerned man.
Since winning a last-minute goal at Livingston on August 8, Aberdeen has had a scorching spell in SPL and Europe’s losses to Qarabag and the Scottish League Cup to Raith Rovers have not helped.
Five straight losses saw them slip from fourth place to ninth place and with their next three opponents being Hibs, Rangers and Hearts, things don’t seem to be getting any easier any time soon.
When I watch Aberdeen struggling it reminds me of a conversation I had with four of their older supporters after a game in 2017.
I was done watching his son Ryan play against Kilmarnock during his Donation loan spell and, in a mediocre game under appalling conditions, Aberdeen thankfully got the upper hand, which kept them second in the table behind the Celtic and several points ahead of the Rangers.
I dared to suggest that it was as good as it gets for Aberdeen and that they should celebrate three consecutive second places which guaranteed them European football.
The four gentlemen could not disagree more! They demanded Aberdeen be a challenge year after year for the SPFL title and, as is often the case when discussing Aberdeen with their fans, the club’s successes in the 1980s were mentioned.
I tried to argue that the disparity between the resources of Aberdeen and the old company was nowhere near as great as it is today, and this has a direct consequence in terms of regular competition with them. I also pointed out how good I felt about their manager at the time, Derek.
MacInnes was coping with his pool of players and budget cuts, but I felt my point was falling on deaf ears. I said there could be a lot tougher times ahead for the Donations and when you look at their current situation I might have called it correctly.
Today the seven remaining Highland League clubs in the Scottish Cup second round and I hope many of them make it to the third round.
Nairn heads to Aberdeen to play top juniors Banks O’Dee and Rothes have an overnight trip to Dumfriesshire to play against Lowland League side Dalbeattie Star and both clubs will need to be at their best to progress against their non-league counterparts.
Brechin should have too much quality at home against Haddington Athletic and I expect Brora to continue his good form with a home win over Albion Rovers. Formartine should be at their
the best at North Lodge Park if they want to defeat Forfar who has only lost once in his league
Two campaigns to date.
This leaves Buckie Thistle and Huntly on their trips to Kelty Hearts and Stenhousemuir and the two
are great challenges. While Buckie has a talented squad, it would be seen as a major upset if he returned from Fife with a win as Kelty soars high atop Ligue 2 and is undefeated in 10. Huntly is in the middle of the Highland table. League and I would expect Stenhousemuir to have too much experience for them in a single game.
Hopefully we can see up to four in the draw as it’s always positive for northern football when our non-league clubs are involved in the third round and beyond.