Saturday was dismal and dire and the ‘Dandy Dons‘ ran out worthy winners in a day to remember for the dark blues.
Storm Desmond wiped out a lot of the Scottish fixtures this weekend and by half time, many a Dundee fan were praying it would descend on Dens Park and the game would be called off. Unfortunately it would not happen and the only storms that would happen in Dundee would be on the park with Aberdeen outplaying us and in the stands as the fans reacted to another game without a win and a very poor performance.
I honestly thought we could get something from this game but it was clear as day in the first few minutes that we would come away with the square root of nothing. Aberdeen outfought us, out-muscled us and outplayed us. We lacked any creativity in the middle, any threat from the wide positions and the defence seemed to be all over the place. It was a shambles.
In the second half we did get ourselves in a few attacking positions but you can only put that down to Aberdeen taking it down a gear. There were absolutely no positives to take from this game. I had to also go into work after this game so I did not even have the comfort of a cold pint to make up for a wasted Saturday afternoon.
This defeat and the nature of it have of course brought out some disgruntled fans within our support. Most want Hartley to change it about as the style we are playing just now does not seem to be working at all but we also have some that are calling for him to go. Yes, we are a few defeats away from being dragged down to the bottom with our neighbours but then again we are only a few wins away from challenging for fourth place in the league. My opinion on all this calling for the head of the manager’s head is simple.
It is utter madness!
My opinion is he has made some signings this season that have not worked out and he is trying to work with what he has got until the transfer window opens. We have certainly got the players at our disposal to win games but we have not got the consistency to go hand in hand with it.
I firmly believe that Hartley is the man to takes us forward and a bad result against a very good Aberdeen side will have me calling for him to get the old heave-ho. Sometimes we are too quick to call for the managers head. I recall twice we punted a manager while top of the league! If we were seven points adrift at the bottom then it might have been the case but we are far off from holding up the league.
Hartley deserves time and I am sure he will be given it.
One of the major problems we face is replacing Kevin Thomson when he is injured. We have no one of his quality or close to it in our back up for his position. If I was Hartley and would be making a Christmas list this year, headed by a Kevin Thomson style player who is not injury prone followed closely by a creative midfielder.
Moving on from Dundee news, last night the SPFL announced a revamped League Cup format along with a new television deal with BT Sports to go with it. We will also see thirteen games broadcasted live which is big leap from the three or four we get now. The League Cup has been seen as a bit of a dead horse to some sections of Scottish fans so hopefully this can rekindle some interest in it. It has certainly got mine.
A brief summary of how it will change is as follows.
- The new season will start in July.
- It will consist of eight groups of five teams.
- Winners of the Highland and Lowland Leagues will enter the cup
- Each team will play each another once.
- The eight group winners and four best runners up will proceed to the last sixteen.
They will be joined by the four Scottish teams who compete in Europe.
An interesting change in the points system will certainly raise a few eyebrows. The traditional three points for a win and one point for a draw remain intact but the SPFL have implemented their own M. Night Shyamalan twist.
If the game ends in a draw then both teams get a point. Check. The game will then automatically go to a penalty shootout where the winner will get an extra point. Check …….. oh, wait a minute?
It is certainly a bold move for the suits in charge but you know what? Why not try i.! We can see how it pans out and if it proves to be a stinker then it can easily be binned.
We will also see the return of a winter break. This will be in the first two weeks in January and is a move that will please a lot of fans up here. One question I have to ask is with the Cup starting near the end of July, when will the previous season end and pre-season start? These details have yet to be realised so far.
It is great to see the cup and the Scottish game get some much needed revenue. Funds of £8 million from BT Sports over four years for forty-four teams might not spread very far but considering it has been without any major backers for a good few years, it is fantastic to see the powers that be to try and breath some new life into it.
