Just when you thought Aberdeen must surely be on the way to a better standard of chairman, the new guy is two minutes in the door and decides to play to the gallery of goons in a most spectacular and unhinged manner.
Ranting on Twitter about an SFA disciplinary decision which was absolutely 100% right and calling one of our players a cheat?
Not even Dave King would have done that.
To say Lennon didn’t miss him is an understatement. I would sincerely hope that the club is prepared to back the manager and release its own statement.
Kris Ajer was accused of “feigning injury.” Leigh Griffiths was dragged into the morass for the alleged “stamp” on Lewis Ferguson, with the Aberdeen chairman tweeting a picture of both that and what Cosgrove was sent off for.
A still photo can paint any impression you like.
One of my articles on the Celtic-Lazio ties ran with this picture.
Now, that’s probably not a brilliant choice when there’s madness in the air over the neo-fascist supporters of the Italian club. Lennon is not making a fascist salute, and Leigh Griffiths did not stamp on Lewis Ferguson. Every expert agrees that Cosgrove – who is a bit of a ned – deserved the red card. Aberdeen got fairness that day on the pitch and since.
In some ways it’s encouraging to hear their new chairman banging on about justice being done. We’ll see how up for it he is when he realises his team is being disenfranchised by the financial doping at Ibrox. Will he be as vocal then?
Like others, he’s already got himself in a fluster over minor matters when much bigger problems are facing him, his club and the game. But it is a typical piece of grandstanding for a club’s own fans, and that he’s done it on social media is about as graceless and artless as you’ll get.
There’s a reason I don’t want Peter Lawwell or on our board on Twitter after all.
This was a piece of playing to the gallery, nothing more.
It won’t reverse the decision and nor should it, it won’t make McInnes a better manager or give them a better football team. Other clubs excel at this petty behaviour. Aberdeen will never be as good at it as Sevco, or as gloriously unhinged. If that’s what they are trying for they should stop now.
As it stands, it’s the Aberdeen chairman – and indeed their whole club – who look like complete amateurs and fools tonight. “It’s absolutely embarrassing,” Lennon said.
But he said a lot more.
“I’m not having that at all. Kris Ajer is the victim in this, he was on the end of a very heavy challenge. There was no feigning injury, there was no play acting.”
It’s funny too that Lennon should remind people that Ajer was the victim.
The commentator on BT Sport today had a weird take on the affair when he referred to Ajer as “involved in the sending off.” Presumably in the same way that someone who’s been murdered was “involved in the crime” and with the killer. Really, this is the kind of pish we have to put up with.
No wonder Lennon was fuming.
“Kris Ajer is a model professional and I’m not having somebody from the Aberdeen board – or anyone else – talking about my players like that. First of all, it’s not true, it’s a lie, and second of all these things should be kept in-house,” he said.
Yeah, and not splattered all over Twitter like somebody moaning about getting dumped.
“We’ve been very balanced on the issue, we’ve tried to play it down, but when you see comments like that coming from the chairman of Aberdeen we’re not tolerating it as a club and I’m certainly not as a manager.” I sincerely hope the club itself has something to say on it.
Lennon went into full-on defence mode.
“Ajer’s a player I think every club in this country would want in their team, he’s a model professional on and off the field and I think it’s very naive from Mr Cormack. It’s an attack on my player and he’s done absolutely nothing wrong, absolutely nothing.”
He followed it up with a fine summation, one we’d all agree with.
“The comments are absolutely disgraceful.”
Indeed they are, but what will be more disgraceful is if this is what it looks like; a cheap stunt, and that Aberdeen slides back into being what they’ve always been. Mute and disinterested. Worse will be if this the first attempt at aping the attitudes at Sevco.
Bad start, Mr Chairman. Bad, bad start.
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