Hampden is Celtic’s

By any measure, Aberdeen are in miserable form.  They have not scored a goal in 192 minutes football and have won only three of 17 league games since Christmas.  In the middle of that spell, they kicked off a crisis at Celtic, when a draw at Pittodrie was one of only two from nine points Celtic took in a month which saw the pendulum swing across the city.

Just days before that draw with Celtic, they sacked manager Barry Robson, who was only in the job a year.  He followed Jim Goodwin, who survived just less than a year.  That appointment came after Stephen Glass was dismissed 11 months after his appointment.  Since Barry left town, the club has made interim appointments of Peter Leven, Neil Warnock, then Peter Leven again.

In the three years since fans and major shareholder decided they could do better than Derek McInnes, the football public of Aberdeen have been taught a harsh lesson.  McInnes was in the job 8 years, won a trophy and had a percentage win rate unknown elsewhere by Aberdeen fans under 40.

They have a budget and squad superior to most  clubs in the league, but are a shambles of a club.  Search ‘Dunning-Kruger effect’ and you are bound to see photos of the Aberdeen chief exec and fans, experts all on things they have never done.  Mount Stupid is in Aberdeen, not far from the beach.

Instead of the third place they should be, they are ninth, but for what it’s worth, the pending appointment of Elfsborg manager, Jimmy Thelin, should improve things next season, especially if Jimmy brings in his own people – like a CEO and fans.  I don’t think the current crop are going to make the cut.

When we dropped points at Pittodrie, we suffered from the managerial change bounce, Robson was sacked immediately before our game.  Coincidentally, tomorrow’s Scottish Cup semi-final in Aberdeen’s first game since Thelin’s appointment was announced.

Expect Aberdeen players to care more about this one than a normal fixture.  They also have the incentive of European football to play for, which would be theirs for reaching the final.

Hampden, though, is our place.  We have a better record there over the last eight years than we do at Celtic Park.  22 wins and a solitary defeat after extra time is testament of how Celtic have repeatedly raised their game when it really counts.  Expect the champions to continue their recent good form.