Surgery required to save Aberdeen defence from blunt trauma
Familiarity. A considerable acquaintance with or established intimacy with something, like a pair of well travelled shoes, the groove worn in a favourite chair, or the Aberdeen fan’s fear of the Scottish Cup.
Rory McArdle’s last minute equaliser against St Mirren may have given the travelling support some relief from a match they scarcely deserved anything from, but there is a sinister sense of déjà vu over the return fixture at Pittodrie. St Mirren may not have won in Aberdeen in twenty four years, but in the last two seasons Aberdeen have taken both Raith Rovers and Dunfermline to home replays in which they were heavily favoured to win. As the saying goes, it was the classic David vs Goliath encounter, everyone knows who emerged victorious.
Perhaps there is a little more determination in this side that in recent showings. For the third Scottish Cup game in a row the Dons found a goal in additional time, and having called on Jamie Langfield to perform heroics to keep any form of life in the season there cannot possibly be a repeat of the defensive incoherence that plagued the second half in Paisley. Can there?
While there may need to be an overhaul of several positions during the summer, depending on contract negotiations, the Aberdeen defence remains in need of the most urgent need of surgery. After relatively solid displays from a partnership of Rory McArdle and Andrew Considine, Zander Diamond and Nikola Vujadinovic were the preferred duo against St Mirren. Their palpable fear in the latter stages of Saturday’s encounter underlined the need for at least one new centre back.
Michael Higdon is a very capable SPL player with enough experience to be a valuable asset to any battling side in the division. On Saturday, Diamond and Vujadinovic made Higdon look like Carlos Tevez, backing off his runs, being routinely beaten in the air and consistently pulled out of position when the striker dropped deeper. Vujadinovic is six foot three, built like a wrestler and has survived derbies in Sofia and Belgrade. In his time Zander Diamond has successfully silenced Dado Prso, Peter Odemwingie, Marcus Allback and Luca Toni. What has gone wrong?
Nikola Vujadinovic is unlikely to remain at the club past the end of the season, given he is contracted to Udinese. Perhaps the quicker pace or more physical nature of Scottish football has startled the Montenegrin, but he still does not seem comfortable with elementary aspects of the game in this country.
Diamond’s fall from grace has been altogether more disappointing. It is a damning indictment that should the defender complete a proposed move to Hearts under freedom of contract, there will be few dissenting voices. Such a loss is particularly upsetting considering the impact Diamond made when first introduced to the side. At the age of just 18 he made his debut in a 2-0 victory of Dundee United, and has remained in the first team for the last seven years. Initial excitement over his progress looked to be well placed as he captained Scotland under 21’s, but injuries and a severe lack of form in the last two seasons have seen him fall from the favour of the fans.
What is especially puzzling is the sudden weakness against more physical forwards. The battering-ram striker is not a new addition to the pantheon of SPL tactics – some would suggest it is the default – so why have the likes of Kevin Kyle, Gary Hooper, Francis Jeffers and Higdon recently found so much joy playing against him? Performances in previous seasons have been of an exceptional standard, so his abilities are not in question, no matter how well they may have been hidden in the past two years. Could Brown coax the best out of the player, or is a parting of ways mutually beneficial?
Given how effective Higdon was on Saturday we can rest assured that he will be deployed again at Pittodrie on Wednesday. Craig Brown has made it very clear that any contract negotiations will be effected by the outcome of the quarter final. It could be the last chance for several players to save their Dons’ careers.
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