Wanted: Aberdeen manager. Managerial experience required as well as a track record of being a proven motivator. Oh, and the ability to fix a leaky defence would be helpful, too.
If it seems a bit simplistic to break down what is needed at the Dons after Jim Goodwin’s departure then that’s because it is.
Following eight years under the stewardship of one man in Derek McInnes, the search is now under way – again – for a new man in the Dons dugout.
Remarkably, two men have come and gone since McInnes parted company with Aberdeen two years ago, yet the issues facing the club are largely unchanged.
A squad which should be competing near the top of the table (in terms of money spent anyway) is underperforming, struggling to win games and is slipping down the league.
Goodwin’s record was almost identical to that of the man he replaced in February last year – Stephen Glass.
The form book was remarkably similar, too, with the Dons having spells of promising results followed by long periods where they suffered one morale-sapping loss after another.
Goodwin can say he improved the attack, but the defence was his Achilles heel and the failure to fix this issue, allied to the awful away record, has been his downfall.
Evaluating what has gone wrong at Pittodrie is the easy part, though. Everyone can see where the problems are and where immediate improvement is needed.
The tough part is homing in on who is the man for the job to sort the problems.
Usual suspects in the bookmakers’ frame
The usual list of runners and riders have been assembled and there are little surprises.
Paul Lambert, Neil Lennon and Jack Ross are the obvious early names in the frame. All three have experience of Scottish football and all three have a point to prove after disappointing spells at their last clubs.
Lambert, whose only managerial role in Scotland was his first with Livingston back in the 2005-06 season, has been out of work since leaving Ipswich Town two years ago.
His halcyon days in the dugout were at Norwich City and that was 11 years ago. There’s been precious little to write home about from his time at Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Wolves, Stoke or Ipswich since.
Lennon, who guided Celtic to five titles, four Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup, has been out of work since leaving Omonia in Cyprus. He led them to the Cypriot Cup, but lasted all of seven months and was dismissed in October with the club seventh in the league.
Ross managed just 10 weeks in charge at his last club, Dundee United.
A promising appointment quickly became a horror-show for all and sundry with the Tangerines shipping 18 goals in their opening five matches, including an infamous 9-0 home defeat by Celtic.
The big question is whether Aberdeen fans will be in a rush to accept guys who have struggled to make much headway in their last jobs?
What about men currently working at other clubs?
The next tranche being mentioned by bookmakers are those already in a job. Livingston boss David Martindale and Darren Fletcher, technical director at Manchester United.
Martindale has worked wonders at Livi on a fraction of the budget Aberdeen have but managing a Livingston team where expectations are low is a world away from Pittodrie – plus the Dons have just been down that route in taking Goodwin from St Mirren last year.
Then there’s Fletcher. He seems to be mentioned every time this job becomes available.
He is at one of the biggest clubs in the world, but as a manager he is unproven.
He would have to really fancy taking on a managerial role to consider leaving Old Trafford for Aberdeen, as it’s hard to see the Dons coming up with a financial package to tempt him to move north.
Former candidates back in contention?
That brings us to Danny Cowley. A man who was in the frame along with Glass two years ago, only to withdraw mid-interview as he had accepted the job at Portsmouth.
Having built his reputation by leading Lincoln City to the FA Cup quarter-final in 2017, Cowley was surprisingly sacked by Huddersfield Town in the summer of 2020, despite keeping the club in the Championship.
He was in the frame to replace McInnes before accepting the job at Portsmouth, but Cowley is available again after being dismissed by Pompey in January.
He lost his job after going nine games without a win. It was a stark contrast to how his side started the season, with Pompey unbeaten in nine matches, scoring 16 goals, before their fortunes dipped.
He, like Lennon and Ross, is no doubt keen on a redemption tale, but is he still of interest to the Dons?
Time will tell.
Having tried an untested man and then someone with Premiership experience, but had no discernible change, it seems unlikely Aberdeen will tread down either path so quickly again.
Is it time for Aberdeen to look further afield again?
Perhaps it is time for a radical shift in appointing someone from outside Britain.
The Dons have only done it once in their history – when they lured Ebbe Skovdahl to Scotland from Danish side Brondby.
The Dane was manager at the Dons when Dave Cormack was chief executive between 2000 and 2001, so it is not as if the Aberdeen chairman would be taking a step into the unknown here should he choose to take the club down that path again.
Maybe Aberdeen’s ability to cast the net wider for players in 2023 will lead to them using their contacts to find a manager this time round.
A needle is required for this particular football haystack as picking out a potential candidate not from Britain would be quite the task.
But for fun, let’s throw in someone completely unknown to most Dons fans in Spaniard Marti Cifuentes.
The 40-year-old has worked in his homeland, Norway and Denmark prior to being appointed manager of Swedish side Hammarby a year ago.
Martí Cifuentes has left AaB to become the head coach of Hammarby. pic.twitter.com/TK0dzmILLM
— Football24/7 (@foet247europa) January 12, 2022
Since his appointment, he has been manager of the month twice, led the club to the final of the Svenska Cupen where they lost on penalties to Malmo and guided his club to a third place finish in the league, and with it qualification for next season’s Europa Conference League.
But whoever takes on this particular task, it is vital the Dons get this one right.
Two failed appointments have left Aberdeen floundering and falling behind their rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership and they can ill-afford a third.
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