der Berliner 3,719 Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 (edited) Alas, it is good to know that they do not need us and will get on trackk all by themselves and their friends* ... Aberdeen are a club that is down in the dumps following their AGM 21 Dec 2012 00:01 CHAIRMAN Stewart Milne's plans to build a shiny new stadium look to be in ruins, crowds are on the slide and the club should consider emulating what Charles Green has done for Rangers. AT Aberdeen’s AGM on Wednesday it was time to re-elect the board of directors – including chairman Stewart Milne. It went down to a show of hands. First to reinstate the building tycoon, where most were raised, followed by the objections. One solitary hand rose. And the biggest surprise was the arm didn’t belong to Milne. He certainly could be forgiven for wanting to bail after 18 long and fruitless years. The building tycoon certainly has enough on his plate with the housing market crash. Milne has sunk fortunes into Aberdeen and his plans to build a shiny new stadium while buying up Pittodrie for flats looks to be in ruins. Perhaps it’s understandable then the club in general looks so glum. The stadium is in development hell and the debt close to £11million despite Milne and shareholders Aberdeen Asset Management writing off £5.75m in loans as shares. The top table at the AGM looked like an Reverend I M Jolly convention. It wasn’t much better in the cheap seats. In days past, there would be hundreds queuing up to take pot shots at the Aberdeen board for years of failure. There were barely 100 on Wednesday and they were so apathetic it looked like a struggle to find the energy to even raise a hand to vote. The crowds are on the slide again as well so here’s a club that could do with a shake from top to bottom to wake it from its slumber. You’d need to whisper it in the Granite City but Aberdeen should be looking to Rangers and Charles Green for inspiration. Green might not be for everyone but not many can argue with what he’s achieved by leading from the front, banging on doors and shouting his cause from the rooftops. The result? Millions in the bank, thousands in the stands and the image created of a club that is up for a fight. Who knows where it might end? But the contrast at Pittodrie is startling. There’s hardly a whimper from the Aberdeen board from one month to the next. The shattering stadium news from the council was met with a deflated response on the club’s website. Green has mobilised his fans, while Aberdeen’s apathy at the top has seeped right down to the punters. There is no tub-thumping. No definitive answers. No clear plans for the future, whether it is the manager’s contract or a new home. Instead it’s a barrage of corporate speak. It’s ‘serious progress’, lots of ticking of boxes and all the while ‘going forward’, which have to be the most grating, meaningless business gobbledygook buzz phrases used these days. But even Milne was trumped by his new executive vice chairman George Yule at the AGM, though, when he described the club as a ‘customer facing business’. No? Me neither. I thought we were talking about a football club, not a new brand of peas. Yule has been brought on board to allow Milne to take a back seat. He made a promising start when he spoke candidly about a potential title challenge. No doubt he was advised to reel it in now the momentum has gone – and talking about a customer facing business is hardly going to rally the troops. Aberdeen is the richest city in the Scotland and an international business hub. There is not another senior club for 75 miles and there are 250,000 folk on their doorstep. There’s a proper football club hiding behind the crumbling Pittodrie facade. The question is – who is going to drag it out of the coma? It’s time for the Dons board to raise their hands – and roll up their sleeves. Milne .... that's the guy who only yesterday told the willing audience that Rangers will not be reinvited or fast-tracked back into the new setup. They do not need us ... but then again, just imagine what a fresh surrounding it will be once we are back in the higher stratas of Scottish football, while the likes of Aberdeen and Hearts and Dundee United enjoy a stay in division 3? * ... who'll gladly share their CL riches. Edited December 21, 2012 by der Berliner 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
foggy dewhurst 0 Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 jings crivens help ma boab 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 unfortunately the customers seats are facing the pitch! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERRAB 3,617 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Funniest part was Aberdeen Asset Management writing off £5.75m loans as shares. These shares will be worthless soon you can be sure. Might as well have flushed the £5.75m down the toilet. Stuart Milne would have held the toilet seat for them I'm sure 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Funniest part was Aberdeen Asset Management writing off £5.75m loans as shares. These shares will be worthless soon you can be sure. Might as well have flushed the £5.75m down the toilet. Stuart Milne would have held the toilet seat for them I'm sure Milne wrote off some of the debt owed to him too, right ? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
54andcounting 0 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Is this the football team who hasn't won a trophy for 22 years? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,720 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 According to the Liar Spiers all is well with the SPL: In truth, Terry, I wouldn't go that far, but your enthusiasm is encouraging. And you remind us that our cynicism is often misplaced and sometimes even corrosive. The fact is that in the wake of the demise of Rangers - and all of that saga's unleashed bickering and poison - there has still been much to savour about the SPL this season. Rangers, due to their liquidation and having to start afresh, have left a gaping hole in the SPL terrain. For many of us, the sooner the club clambers back to the top flight, the better. But there is no more to be gained from continually straining at the SPL through an Ibrox prism. That damage has been done. Life moves on. In one sense I know exactly where Terry Butcher is coming from. For the first time in 20 odd years I am taking in a non-Old Firm SPL campaign, and have been pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it has been. Having done the Ibrox/Celtic Park beat incessantly for two decades, this season I've gone to games at Hibs, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and St Mirren, and enjoyed a lot of what I've witnessed. And I've discovered something. The SPL, beyond the Old Firm narrative, is competitive, eye-catching, and (in relative terms) filled with players of no little skill. Motherwell, having waged a terrific campaign so far, are a case in point. Jamie Murphy and Henrik Ojamaa are fine footballers to watch. I also remember Walter Smith once describing Keith Lasley as "a really good SPL player who is terrific for his team". St Johnstone, save for listening to Stuart Cosgrove haver about them, are a team I never thought I'd have much time for. Yet players like Murray Davidson, Liam Craig, Gregory Tade, Rowan Vine and Stevie MacLean have made McDiarmid Park a highly enjoyable trip on a Saturday afternoon. As for the two Highland clubs, Caley Thistle and Ross County…who isn't thrilled by their progress? A generation ago it would have been inconceivable that these two northern clubs, just 14 miles apart, could be gracing the SPL like this. It has been very refreshing. The SPL table – as it stands in early January 2013 – is testament to a pretty decent product. Yes, Celtic are going to win the league but, thus far at least, not by the embarrassing margin that many (including me) had predicted. Arguably, the greatest quality the SPL has going for it this season is its erratic appeal. Even Celtic have discovered that teams will inflict unseen, random damage on one another. If you can live with the reality that this is not the English Premier League, the Bundesliga, or La Liga, there is much to be enjoyed. No-one need have any illusions about the SPL. In terms of football and finance, Rangers are sorely missed. Many attendances also seem sparse, and the political infighting over Rangers has become tedious. There is little doubt that, compared to 10 years ago, the SPL has less sheen and prestige about it. It is hard to imagine a Dick Advocaat or a Martin O’Neill being enticed to this environment in its current condition. On the other hand, 10 years ago the SPL was a financial house of cards, fit only for impending crisis. Today, better late than never, the league is at least trying to live within its means. Terry Butcher certainly has no doubts about Scotland’s top flight. "The SPL is a great league. Every team is capable of beating the others. I can't remember enjoying it so much. Long may it continue." There is contentment to be had in just accepting the SPL for what it is. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERRAB 3,617 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Aye it's a great league Speirs. SKY about to walk & no replacement for CB sponsorship equals financial KO's soon 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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