Soccer Football - Scottish League Cup - Semi Final - Rangers v Aberdeen - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - January 15, 2023 Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin before the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
I’m always glad title races aren’t decided on days like today.
Why do I say that? Because days like this are off days for us? Sometimes we’re off form, and that happens. Today, we had a team missing several key players, and an unknown number may have been suffering from the flu. I sympathise because I’m suffering from it myself right now.
When I say I’m glad title races aren’t decided on days like this, I mean days when the opposition, playing at home, makes no effort whatsoever to win the game. They set out purely to limit damage in front of their own fans, barely stepping out of their own half. And yet, in Scotland, we have a football culture that thinks this approach is worthy of credit. It is not, and I’m not giving Jim Goodwin any.
Imagine title races could be decided like this. Imagine we dropped a sufficient amount of points from games at away grounds where the opposition doesn’t even come out of their own penalty box. What kind of title race would that be? What would it say about the game here? Nothing good, that’s for sure.
Scottish football is full of managers like Goodwin, who believe there’s merit in that kind of anti-football. Today’s spectacle—or lack thereof—was an atrocity that passed for football. The media, as usual, is focused on the soap opera of “what does this mean for the title race?” I’ll tell you what it means: absolutely nothing. I still expect us to win the league comfortably, with a double-digit margin. Why? Because on days like this, we usually manage to get the job done.
And thank God we do, because Scottish football is in a bad enough state without seeing the major prizes determined by afternoons like that.
This was one of those forgettable matches that will have faded entirely from memory by season’s end. Why wouldn’t it? It wasn’t a classic by any stretch. Games that become classics are ones where both teams try to score and put on a show. Today, we huffed and puffed but couldn’t break down their defence. They’ll get credit for being “disciplined” and “organised,” but elsewhere in the footballing world, this would be called what it is: negative.
Parking the bus in front of your home fans is the height of negativity.
Yet our media, as usual, will praise them for taking points off the champions.
Nobody will condemn the way it was done.
It’s a theme I’ve written about every season for the past five years. There’s always a game like this. We usually win them, and then you hear the hard-luck stories about how the opposition “didn’t deserve that.”
Well, yes, they did. If we’d nicked a late winner today, it would’ve been entirely deserved. But Goodwin, one of the most mediocre managers in the game, will be hailed as a tactical genius. What utter nonsense.
If all football looked like this, no one would watch it. Not a soul.
As for us, we didn’t do nearly enough. There wasn’t enough movement, running in the box, or invention. That said, the manager’s decision to bring on Idah and leave Kyogo on the pitch did open things up slightly. It’s the first indication that he’s working on a Plan B, and it’s not before time. Don’t get me wrong, Plan A has been fantastic this season, but every team needs a Plan B.
I’m not in the mood for recriminations today, and it’s not just because I feel absolutely wretched. There’s no point. By the end of December, we’ll still be top by a considerable margin. If we win at Ibrox in January, the league is over. Over the course of a season, you’ll always have off days like this one.
Rodgers mentioned a sickness bug in his post-match presser, and the team selection reflected that. The right side of the pitch was unrecognisable compared to what we’ve been used to this season.
Ralston and Yang are not first-choice players, and Yang, in particular, isn’t suited to what Rodgers expects from his wide men—cutting inside and getting shots on target. Yang has his qualities, but he’s the last type of player you want on a day like today.
In contrast, I thought Palma looked much better when he came on. He does cut inside and try to get shots on target. Given the choice, I’d pick Palma every day of the week, especially against anti-football managers like Goodwin is.
So no rants or meltdowns from me.
It was a poor performance from us but an even worse one from the home side, who played wholly depressing football. Packing the penalty box with 11 players is hardly a tactical masterstroke, yet the media will spin it as such. In any other football culture, that approach would be roundly condemned.
Onward to the next game, Celtic, and let’s put this one in the rearview where it most definitely belongs.
Very disappointing but these games happen…
To wild today to walk up to the boozer so listened in on BBC Radio Scotland –
Jesus – The commontator must be Dundee United daft…
Or is he ?
Willing United on at all times especially in injury time –
And constantly wittering on about as you say James – The implications in the title rece…
Didn’t actually know that Dundee United were actually in one !
James, since Aberdeen away our performances have not been to the high standard we have come to expect.
All we are doing now is giving them hope!
DU’s performance reminded me of Celtic’s against Atalanta. In both cases the side with the higher budget failed to break down their opponent’s resistance.
No complaints if we have a sickness issue, however, Celtic are not playing well and have not been for a wee while. That was a very average team we played in the cup final and we huffed and puffed there too. Do some players require rest or are they now past their best days, Kyogo springs to mind. Idah is not being kept on the bench by sparkling form by Kyogo, that’s for sure
I agree with you on Goodwin but please don’t try to pass off Yang and Palma as anything other than wastes of jerseys.
Horrible spoiler tactics by goodwins team. At home and against a seriously weakened Celtic defence tae and ah think they got out their own half about twice in the 1st half. Anybody who gives them credit for that shit bag, out and out negative performance, needs a big reality check. Can understand maybe away from home, tho playin like that at home, they should be embarrassed instead of congratulatin theirselves.
No gripes from me either. We played well enough and controlled the game. Forget the opposition’s tactics for it was our own finishing that let us down. Two points dropped but still undefeated and there will be more days like this before season’s end. We shall not be moved.
Poor today, tough conditions. Didn’t have much to do but thought Welsh and Scales were solid. You’ll need to explain Taylor’s approach to me though…their fullback on a yellow from 25th minute and instead of isolating him and getting Maeda one on one, Taylor kept coming across, getting in the passing lane for the ball out wide and then bringing other defenders across, letting them help out the fullback. Surely you mix it up and leave Maeda to hit the bye-line – he’s got the defender for pace and he can’t risk a red? Trying to play through the lines in the middle of the park with the wind making control difficult was the hard option every time.
Definitely not a game we’ll remember come May when we lift the trophy and there were certainly mitigating circumstances (weather, illnesses robbing us of our 2 main CBs and Khun) BUT we’ve seen this story too many times before under Brendan- slow passive side to side and backwards passing and refusing to actually go to the bye line – instead our wide men come inside into the already ridiculously congested space!! We could have played for the rest of the day and night and not looked like scoring. Brendan has a blind spot re his style and tactics and unless he changes, days like today will become more frequent just like his first tenure where each season got progressively worse in terms of play.
We have won the first trophy of the season, we are unbeaten domestically and so far we are progressing admirably in Europe. However, you say we are getting progressively worse…..have you been actually watching us this season?
Turn it up FFS!
Kyogo is miles off it and should be dropped.
I actually thought some of our football was excellent in abysmal conditions.
I have to agree with you re Goodwin’s approach to this game. It was awful and so negative. I do understand that mindset, to a certain extent when playing at CP, but when at home, at least have a go!
I thought it was Sevco in disguise or a throwback to Martindale’s Livi teams.
As it was, we weren’t as effective in the final third and ultimately dropped two points.
Is that the title race back on lol?
We are always in control of our own destiny and I would like to think there won’t be too many critics after yesterday’s game.
As someone has already mentioned, 9 pts clear in the league, one win from the CL knockout stages and the first trophy safely back at Paradise. Not too terrible when you compare the status quo, to this time last year and the crescendo of negativity that was emanating from a lot of fans !
Enjoy these times ! HH