The day after the Saturday before

By: TheNorthernLight | October 21st, 2008

We’re just after taking down the bunting following our latest victory. The alcohol induced headache is subsiding, the dull throb-throb-throbbing fading with the vision of Lee Miller’s rocket header into the net. Aye, we love the smell of victory in the morning.

Some of you reading this might well be supporters of teams for whom winning is an every-weekend occurrence, something you take for granted almost, like yer Cellicks, yer Orcs, yer Stenhousemuirs and so on. Some of you might be supporters of teams for whom a victory every other weekend in front of a home crowd is enough to make your weekend; the Hearts, the Dundee United’s and the Partick Thistle’s of this world. And there’s a third sub-group who just expect their team to win the odd game, doesn’t matter which one, any will do as long as we don’t go down. Sure, you know the ones – St. Mirren, Clyde, Annan and so on.

There was a time when we belonged firmly in that first group. As the last non Old Firm team to win the league, Aberdeen where once upon a long-ago the top team in Scotland. A defeat on a Saturday was the expectation, not the rule. Then , as the team gradually started to fade during the 90’s and the revolving door into the managers office needed more and more WD-40 to keep it opening smoothly, we slipped slowly into that second group. We where still winning, but not as frequently as before. A win on a Saturday was still expected, but they were getting harder to come by. This season – at least so far – we’ve slipped back into old habits, and into that third group. A win on a Saturday is a lucky scrape, not the foregone conclusion that it once was.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We’re happy with the points against Falkirk. We’re happy with the performance in that game. We’re happy with the formation, any formation as long as it produces results. If only we could make winning a regular occurrence. This season, the Dons have been awful (Peterhead, Caley, Dundee United), they’ve been average(the second half against Rangers) and they’ve been good (Hibs). But what we’re lacking is a large dose of consistency and, what pundits like to call, the “final product”. We’re still the only side in the SPL not to have won at home. That might change against Killie on 01 November, though given the way they’re playing it could be a tough game. Perhaps the game against St. Mirren on 11 November might give us that ‘1′ on the ‘Home Wins’ column and get our season on the road to redemption.

Jamie Smith, talking to the Aberdeen FC website yesterday believes that Aberdeen’s dismal home form in the Scottish Premier League could be down to the high expectations of their supporters and that “the pressure to produce the goods in front of their own fans could be contributing to their own downfall“. I think he’s got a point, but as an Aberdeen fan who has seen the team through some of its best times and its worst, my expectations over the years have changed. Once I demanded league titles, Cup victories, a decent run in Europe. Now, I just don’t want AFC to be a laughing stock. I’m not expecting us to win the league or another European trophy (and I think 99,99% of the Red Army share that expectation), but at the very least I expect us to beat Dundee United, Hibs and Inverness (indeed, anyone but Celtic and Rangers) at home, in the way we once did.

Is that too much to ask for?