It has not been a good week for Aberdeen. The cup replay against Raith Rovers ended up as little more than a stay of execution and that particular fiasco was followed by a complete collapse at Falkirk, the worst side in the SPL, on Saturday.

When the bones of this season are picked over, it should be noted that we have taken just a single point from three meetings with the Bairns. They have only accrued 20 points so far this season and we’ve rather generously helped their survival hopes by gifting them seven of them.

While we are not yet in full crisis, there are certainly alarm bells ringing. There may be no silverware and there may be no European dream, but we definitely need to get our season restarted before it sinks to Allan McGregor-esque levels of dignity. Raith didn’t beat us because they defended valiantly, or because they raised their game. They beat us because we offered nothing going forward and they showed the modicum of professionalism that befit their status. There was a similar story at Falkirk, where we couldn’t capitalise on a perfect start and were outmanoeuvred by Steven Pressley, tactical genius. It wasn’t pretty.

The cup problem is now a fairly chronic situation, as we’ve now been eliminated from the Scottish Cup by Raith, Dunfermline and Queen of the South in the last three years. It is clear that this stigma is starting to weigh on the heads of some players, as the reputation for being cup bottlers grows. With each passing year and with each fixture against lower league opposition, the stigma of the previous years’ defeats grows heavier and becomes more likely to suffocate our performance. It’s less an albatross around our necks, more of a noose.

Part of this problem is down to the fact we have a squad that is a long way from maturity. In the cases of some – Fraser Fyvie, Peter Pawlett, Michael Paton, Sone Aluko, even Charlie Mulgrew – this is to be expected, as they are youngsters expected to perform a man’s job. It is altogether more problematic behaviour from some of the senior members of the squad. Immaturity from a 16-year-old, in his first professional season is hardly surprising, the same thing from a 27-year-old veteran of 10 years is beyond worrying.

In the two games this week, there has been a distinct lack of responsibility from the older heads. All too often this season there have been games where our more experienced players have been anonymous, especially when we have faced a setback. Since losing the likes of Russell Anderson and Scott Severin we have a distinct lack of heart when the chips are down. At times, it has been astonishingly easy to sort the men from the boys – the men play elsewhere than Pittodrie. If there is to be any salvaging of dignity this season, then we must demand more from these individuals.

Aberdeen may not be the most prestigious club in the world to play for, but we do have some pedigree, we do have a larger fan base than most SPL sides and we do continue to pay higher wages than most sides in Scotland. For the majority of players currently at Pittodrie, playing for Aberdeen will be the highlight of their careers.

For every Kevin McNaughton, Markus Heikkenen or Barry Nicholson, there are a dozen David Rowsons, Scott Severins, Jamie Smiths, Scott Michies, Steve Lovells, Andrew Bagshaws, Gary Dempseys, Phil McGuires, Eric Delomeauxs, Darren Youngs, Derek Whytes and even Eoin Jess’ who will look back on their career and see that their careers were never as good after they left Aberdeen. If more of the current crop realised that this might be as good as it gets, it might provide greater motivation.

As fans we don’t expect European glory, despite the obvious cliché about Aberdeen’s “unrealistic expectations”. We don’t expect a repeat of Gothenburg any time soon and don’t see a title challenge being a conversation Miller and McGhee will be having any minute now. Whenever the fans get restless, the popular consensus is always that it is because of “unrealistic expectations”.

May I take the time to slay that particular myth. It isn’t unrealistic to beat Queen of the South, Dunfermline or Raith over two games. It isn’t unrealistic to expect a top six finish, or to be able to beat Falkirk at least once a season. It certainly isn’t unrealistic to believe that we will match the efforts of our opposition. We knew this was a season of transition but that change should not mean the campaign is a complete write off.

The problem seems to be that the fans know exactly what is feasible and realistic and have set their barometers for success accordingly, only to be let down. As a result, we have a fight on our hands to salvage anything positive from the season and this week hasn’t been full of examples of combative spirit. Having spent weeks looking at the teams above us, we need to start picking up points so we don’t have to look over our shoulder. When we have managed to bare our teeth, we’ve been a match for any side in the league. We’ve got eight games to start showing some heart.

©2010 stv.tv

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