Next weekend’s Scottish Cup tie between Aberdeen and Dunfermline is a fitting time for both clubs to pay tribute to their former manager Jimmy Calderwood.
Jimmy, who was Dons manager from 2004 to 2009, sadly died last month following a lengthy battle with dementia.
He brought European football to Dunfermline, reaching the 2004 Scottish Cup final and a fourth-place finish in the top-flight, before making the move to Pittodrie.
He was a popular Aberdeen manager – and great to deal with from a press perspective.
These days some football managers won’t entertain the idea of taking a phone call from a journalist.
But, alongside the lengthy press conferences in the build-up to games, Jimmy would be available to chat on the phone if a talking point arose.
Even when he left the Dons he would always be happy to speak about the club and it was abundantly clear how much he enjoyed his time at Pittodrie.
Jimmy was the first Aberdeen manager I had dealings with as a trainee reporter while covering Dons games for the Press Association.
For someone who was new to the role, he was generous with his time and made the task of interviewing the Aberdeen manager a far less daunting experience than it could have been, although he wasn’t afraid to let a reporter know if he didn’t like their line of questioning.
European nights and top-four finishes
The Uefa Cup run during the 2007-08 season was the standout highlight of Jimmy’s time at Pittodrie but his tenure was one of real consistency in the league.
He had inherited an Aberdeen team which finished 11th in the 2003-04 season. Jimmy’s Dons sides finished fourth on three occasions, third once and sixth once. After Jimmy had departed, the Dons finished ninth in each of the next three seasons.
Calderwood was possibly appreciated more after he had left Pittodrie but he always appeared to be pretty popular with the Dons support during his time in charge.
There was an element of some people in Scottish football and beyond – for whatever reason – not giving Jimmy the respect he deserved.
He was a very attack-minded, modern coach shaped by his lengthy period in the Netherlands – and his willingness to go for broke and play only two defenders as he chased a game was a winner with fans. If your team is going to lose you would rather see them doing it while going for broke.
The one press conference with Jimmy I’ll never forget was after a drab encounter at Pittodrie against Hamilton. The game finished 1-0 to the Dons and I had hoped to liven up proceedings by asking about a half-time switch which saw Richard Foster replace Javan Vidal.
“Why did you take off Vidal so soon?” I queried, expecting raucous laughter and high fives at my witty pun from the other reporters.
Instead, a deafening silence from Jimmy and the assembled groups of grumpy hacks who were still thawing out after sitting through an uninspiring 90 minutes.
Jimmy started to talk about Javan picking up a knock when – mercifully – one of the journalists in the room pointed at me and chortled: “Haha, Vidal Sassoon.”
Jimmy started laughing too and walked out the room with a smile on his face, adding: “I’ll have to tell the boys that one.”
A surprise departure from Pittodrie
The most dramatic press conference, however, was Jimmy’s final one – although we didn’t realise that until after it had finished.
The Dons had just secured European football by beating Hibernian 2-1 on the final day of the season.
Jimmy came in to do press and praised his players for getting the job done and ending the season on a positive note.
But not too long after he had left, word started to filter through that Jimmy and the Dons were parting company.
We suddenly realised the 10 minute interview Jimmy had given us was completely useless and obsolete and the search was on to try to find him before he left Pittodrie for the final time.
We tracked him down as he walked to the car park – surrounded by Dons fans trying to get his autograph and completely unaware Jimmy was no longer Aberdeen manager.
He opted against adding to his post-match comments but he left with his head held high and waved as he drove off.
A failure to match the league consistency with success in the cup competitions was the apparent reason the Dons board decided the time was right for a change.
Unfortunately the Dons replaced a manager with a 42% win rate to Mark McGhee who won only 24% of his games in the hotseat.
Maybe it was the right time for Jimmy to depart but it took a substantial period for the Dons to regain the consistency he had provided in the league.
Hopefully next Sunday’s Scottish Cup tie gives the supporters of the Dons and Dunfermline the chance to remember a man who did a fine job at both clubs.
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