Sir, – In February 2021, I expressed my concerns in a letter published in The Press and Journal that those calling for the sacking of Derek McInnes should be careful what they wished for.
Sadly, my concerns were justified and one year on the club is managerless, out of both cups and potentially, without a turnaround in form, fighting a relegation battle.
It is now imperative that the Aberdeen FC board select a manager who has the experience, skill set, knowledge of Scottish football and, most importantly, a passion for success at the highest level.
I am sure there will be a long list of potential managers mentioned in the forthcoming days but very few will fit the criteria to restore the club to the standing the fans demand and deserve. I don’t envy the task facing the board in selecting the new manager but they must realise that the club can no longer experiment as they did with the appointment of Stephen Glass. The club cannot afford to get the new appointment wrong and have a subsequent revolving door of managers which, the club knows from experience, does not provide the stability and foundation for continued success.
George Henderson, Woodstock Road, Aberdeen.
Will PM questions be multiple choice?
Sir, – I was surprised to hear that the Met inquiry into the Downing Street parties is to be conducted by email questionnaire. This poses a couple of questions: What will happen if interviewees simply respond “no comment”, and will Boris Johnson’s questionnaire have multiple-choice answers to accommodate the various versions of
events he has presented to the House of Commons?
Rob Merson, St Mary’s Drive, Ellon.
Good to read Bell telling it like it is
Sir, – Alex Bell deserves our respect for changing his mind about the Nationalist/
Green independence “mission”.
I just wish his sentence: “The honest path to independence involves some tough years, and lots of radical decisions about how to structure the state so it is more efficient at less cost” had been front and centre of the foreword to the Scotland’s Future independence manifesto he helped to write in 2013.
The last seven years may have been a lot different and more realistic.
Allan Sutherland, Willow Row, Stonehaven.
Football star ought to do time over cat
Sir, – What I know about football is minimal but I can tell you I was outraged to read that West Ham player Kurt Zouma gets paid an obscene £125,000 a week for kicking a ball round a park.
As Moyes’s subsequent explanation showed what football has become. It’s big business now, prestige and money orientated and to hell with standards of decency or right or wrong. It was good to see Moyes being roundly condemned.
So will West Ham take Zouma back ? If it were left to the club I suspect they’d chance it, but in this instance public pressure will decide the matter for them. As it did recently over Raith Rovers’ signing of David Goodwillie.
I reckon Zouma could do with time inside for the attack on the cat, pointless fining him when he has more money than he knows what to do with.
Keith Fernie, Drakies Avenue, Inverness.