The search is under way for another Aberdeen manager after Jim Goodwin’s 11-month tenure was brought to an end by the club.
Monday’s Scottish Cup exit at Darvel, the shock to end them all in the history of the Scottish Cup, was the final straw for the Aberdeen support.
But, following two days of deliberation the Dons board decided to give their under pressure boss one last chance.
But after a crushing 6-0 defeat against Hibernian at Easter Road, Goodwin’s time in charge has finally come to an end.
The search is now under way for a replacement and Goodwin’s successor would do well to avoid the key mistakes made by the departing Aberdeen manager.
Fixing the defence is the easy part
Maybe it was the fact it was his first day on the job. Perhaps he felt he had done so adequately at Alloa and St Mirren previously.
But there is little doubt Goodwin’s confidence in himself to fix a leaky defence within a couple of weeks has weighed heavily on him since.
The Irishman claimed keeping clean sheets was the easy part of coaching and managing.
It was a bold call but Goodwin went further, insisting the issue could be easily ironed out in the next week or so.
This came just minutes after taking charge of his first game, the 1-1 draw at Motherwell on February 19, 2022.
It proved a little more challenging than first thought as it took the Dons until April 30 to record their first clean sheet of the Goodwin era in the 1-0 win against Dundee at Pittodrie.
The added one more on the final day of last season in the goalless draw against his former club St Mirren.
Despite an overhaul of his defence, Goodwin presided over 10 clean sheets this season, and four of them came in the first four group games against lower league opposition in the League Cup in July.
Recruitment
Speaking of overhauls, it was a busy summer of transfer activity at Pittodrie and the results have been mixed.
Let’s start with the defence.
A new goalkeeper in Kelle Roos, two loan signings in Liam Scales and Hayden Coulson, a new captain in free agent Anthony Stewart and £300,000 shelled out for Jayden Richardson from Nottingham Forest.
New faces were welcome but in hindsight there were not enough defenders among them.
The early signs were encouraging with four wins and four clean sheets in the League Cup but fast forward to 2023 and Richardson finds himself on the bench most weeks as his defensive skills have been found to be wanting. He was not in the squad for the 6-0 defeat against Hibernian.
Coulson’s forward play is impressive but questions remain over his defensive qualities too.
Scales can be described as inconsistent while the wholehearted Stewart has also been erratic.
Two red cards in his last six games have done little to win over the doubting Dons support he can be a permanent solution.
Further forward Shayden Morris is another player whose contribution has been next to nil.
The Dons shelled out a six-figure fee for the speedy winger from Fleetwood Town but there has been little evidence of what he offers so far.
Add in an unfortunate serious hamstring injury for Callum Roberts, the man known as ‘the Geordie Messi’ by Notts County fans, and you have a mixture of players who have been unavailable, out of form, or inconsistent.
But it was a huge turnaround in the summer and there were also some acquisitions which have proven far more successful, such as Bojan Miovski, Ylber Ramadani and Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes.
Player relationships
You call it straight talking, brutal honesty or tough talking.
But Goodwin’s desire to put his stamp on the dressing room ruffled a few feathers in his time at the club.
Telling players they have no future then watching the club drop like a stone was no surprise.
It also left the manager relying on them to dig the club out of the relegation-threatened hole it was in.
In hindsight it was a move which could have spectacularly backfired too and who knows where we would be if the Dons were in the Championship this season.
The handling of Andy Considine’s departure from the club was a mess.
It was Goodwin’s right to withdraw a contract offer made by his predecessor Stephen Glass to the long-serving defender but it should have been handled so much better.
Considine was hurt by the decision while Goodwin felt he and the club had been thrown under a bus by the Considine camp when the news he was leaving was leaked.
Whether you agree with the decision or not, once the decision had been made it should have been announced.
It was too big a story for anyone to expect it to be kept quiet for days.
Scott Brown’s loss of status from player-coach to no longer wanted also developed quickly.
The former Celtic captain has done it all in Scottish football and while his best years were behind him, his leadership qualities would have been invaluable in the dressing room of a side struggling in the bottom half of the table.
But no sooner had Goodwin arrived then Brown’s services were no longer needed. He hung up his boots within weeks of leaving.
Finally there is Christian Ramirez.
The American went from leading goalscorer to being allowed to return home before the season had finished with the manager citing fatigue.
He returned to start the season as the recognised number nine, only to be reallocated the number 99 following the arrival of Bojan Miovski.
His departure earlier this month for Columbus Crew of the MLS must have come as a relief to all parties.
Tactical indecision
Ross McCrorie must wonder if he’s coming or going by this point.
Goodwin hailed McCrorie as a midfield lynchpin when he arrived and insisted the engine room was the former Scotland under-21 international’s best position.
He started the season there alongside Ylber Ramadani and looked impressive. His drive from midfield even brought some goals too.
But as the results started to tail off so too did the manager’s faith in McCrorie in midfield.
A shift to a back three was implemented following the 4-0 defeat by Dundee United at Tannadice in October with McCrorie dropping back alongside Scales and Stewart.
It looked to have worked too as results improved and the Dons went into the World Cup break in November in third place.
But four straight defeats since then led to Goodwin switching back to a back four with McCrorie moved to another position at right back.
With one win in 10 games since Lionel Messi got his hands on the World Cup trophy in December Aberdeen’s best shape and personnel remains guesswork.
Defensive approach against Celtic
Intermixed among the back three vs back four debate have been some questionable decisions.
The ultra-defensive approach to Celtic’s visit to Pittodrie is where fans’ faith in the manager started to wane.
Aberdeen set out their stall for a draw and almost got it until Callum McGregor’s goal three minutes from time gave the Hoops all three points.
Dons fans might have accepted the approach if their team had taken a point. But the fury which greeted the approach was significant.
Conceding two late goals in stoppage time to lose to Rangers a few days later after trying to hold onto a slender lead did little to improve the mood.
That brings us to the game for which Goodwin’s place in Aberdeen’s history will be etched.
Defeat at Darvel, five tiers below the Dons, on national television.
A game his side had to win, coming after a 5-0 rout by Hearts, saw the manager bench leading scorer Miovski and the combative Graeme Shinnie.
He handed loan signing Patrick Myslovic his first start for the club while Ryan Duncan made his second start.
Calamity followed as Jordan Kirkpatrick’s goal gave Darvel victory.
His board stood by him initially but for the fans there was no way back.
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