The word ‘legend’ has been thrown around a lot these last few days in the pubs of Aberdeen. There’s talk of rekindling the spirit of ‘83, of domestic success and of fortress Pittodrie around the Aberdeen FC forums and fansites.
If, as is widely expected, Mark McGhee returns to the club where he more than earned his legend status, he can expect a mostly warm welcome from the Pittodrie support hankering for success after many years in the footballing wilderness.
In his five years at Pittodrie from 1979 to 1984, the striker, signed from Newcastle United for £75,000 was part of the Dons team that for a short period in the early 80’s conquered Scotland and Europe. In over 250 appearances all competitions, McGhee, nicknamed “Dingus” by team mate John McMaster, scored over 100 goals and was voted the PFA players’ player of the year in 1982. He had already moved on to SV Hamburg just before the start of the season that would see Aberdeen win their final league title in 1985 – the last time a team from outside of Glasgow would win the league.
His reputation as a capable manager was largely forged at Reading, Millwall and Brighton, teams with whom he achieved promotion in his first seasons in charge. When he joined Motherwell in June 2007, he transformed the team that narrowly avoided relegation to the First Division and led them to their highest league finish for many years. McGhee narrowly missed out on the Scotland job, the SFA instead opting for George Burley, and was a flight away from being manager at Hearts before having second thoughts, instead preferring to lead Motherwell into Europe.
While McGhee’s first season at Fir Park was a tremendous success, his second season proved less so. A poor start saw Motherwell struggle to find any consistent form, the side never reaching into the top half of the table. Early exits from the Scottish Cup and the League Cup, coupled with a first round exit in Europe to French mid-table side AS Nancy took a lot of the shine off the highs of the previous season.
It’s a reflection of the state of Scottish football that no silverware has crossed the threshold at Aberdeen, a club that in modern terms anyway, is one of the most successful in Scotland. The last addition to the Pittodrie trophy room was the Scottish League Cup in 1995, when goals by Duncan Shearer (himself a former assistant manager at Aberdeen) and Billy Dodds saw the Dons beat Dundee 2-0 in the final.
No one can doubt McGhee’s sentimental desire to return to the north-east and the club where he made such a name for himself. As McGhee himself says:
“for me, there is an element of sentimentality attached to the Aberdeen job. This is an opportunity to manage a club where I had fantastic success and memories as a player, so there is an element of going home about the Aberdeen job for me and I quite like that.”
But McGhee should be aware that he’s entering into uncharted territory. While he’s never had a history with any of the clubs he has previously managed, rejoining Aberdeen could open up a potential can of worms and put at stake the reputation that he still retains with the Pittodrie faithful. It is perhaps a mark of the man that he’s willing to accept the challenge.
History tells us that former legends – or even mere former players – do not always succeed as managers. John Greig at Rangers, Billy McNeill and Kenny Dalglish at Celtic are all examples of cult heroes who failed to repeat their on-field magic from the dugout. More recent examples include Mixu Paateleinen and Craig Brewster, while in England Gareth Southgate and Kevin Keegan have been unable to turn their clubs fortunes around.
Aberdeen have been guilty of clinging to sentimentality in the past. Willie Miller, McGhee’s captain during those glory days of the early 80’s and another of the ‘legends’ at Pittodrie became manager at Aberdeen in February 1992 following the departure of Alex Smith and Jocky Scott. Two second-placed finishes in Millers first full seasons in charge where followed by steadily worsening performances, until in one of Aberdeen’s darkest moments, they lost to Latvian minnows Skonto Riga in the UEFA Cup. Struggling in the bottom half for most of the season (the Dons would never be placed higher than 6th), following a 3-1 defeat away to Kilmarnock, the club had no option but to sack Miller.
The team McGhee inherits is possibly one of the strongest sides seen at Pittodrie for some time. His liking for a 4-3-3 formation suits the likes of Aluko, Kerr, Macdonald and Mulgrew and will hopefully bring back the sort of attacking football that has not been seen at Pittodrie for quite some time.
And while no one expects Aberdeen to win the league, most fans expect the club to return to winning ways. For McGhee, bringing silverware back to Aberdeen should be his first priority: the lack of domestic cup success is (according to the club at least anyway) what ultimately cost Jimmy Calderwood, the man he will succeed, his job. European qualification should be considered his second target, as his predecessor has set the standard in his last two seasons at the club.
With a fair slice of luck and the support of the fans and club, McGhee should go a long way, but, as Willie Miller discovered, your legendary status can only help you for so long.
Related posts:
- Gie’s a break, min!
- Hearts lose 4-0. What is going wrong with football in Scotland?
- McGhee takes a Cup gamble
- More losers in Europe?
- Aberdeen slump to new European low.
Tags: Aberdeen, Motherwell, News, SPL