Motherwell Vs Aberdeen: Match Preview

Kick Off: 3pm

With Aberdeen’s top six aspirations all but ended for the season, most of their remaining league fixtures will probably be surrounding by a certain degree of malaise. Nevertheless, with a cup semi at Celtic on the horizon Craig Brown will be anxious to build up some momentum ahead of the clash with a team that Aberdeen have failed to beat in five attempts this season. Brown’s old side Motherwell will be anxious to get one over their former boss and will provide Aberdeen with stern opposition, particularly with home advantage on their side.

After three weeks without a fixture Aberdeen have a few new injury worries to contend with. David McNamee is a major doubt with a hamstring strain, Ryan Jack is out with tonsilitis and Zander Diamond is suspended. Dons skipper Paul Hartley has joined their list of long term absentees, along with Fraser Fyvie, Darren Mackie and Yoan Folly. All will probably miss the rest of the season. Derek Young is the obvious choice to replace Hartley alongside Rob Milsom in the centre of midfield (unless he is needed at right back) – what he sometimes lacks in technical ability he more than makes up for in experience and work rate. With Chris Maguire and Scott Vernon both finding the net in Aberdeen's previous fixture, Nick Blackman will have a tough task on his hands finding a place in the starting XI against a Motherwell side that he scored ten goals as a part of during the first half of this season. Interestingly right back Maurice Ross, who spent a brief period with Aberdeen last season, has been drafted into the Motherwell squad and could make his debut after signing on a short term deal from Beijing Guoan.

While it is difficult to drum up enthusiasm for what ultimately will be another fruitless league season for Aberdeen, the remaining fixtures are vital for assessing just how much of an effect Craig Brown has truly had on an underachieving squad. While he had an unquestionably fantastic start, the wins have begun to dry up in recent weeks and the spectre of Mark McGhee’s reign of terror has not yet been fully banished. Brown is a fantastic manager and a strong end to this season would cement my belief that he can lead this Aberdeen team to the league position that its quality arguably merits.

Brazil 2 - 0 Scotland

Brazil: Cesar, Alves, Lucio, Silva, Santos, Lucas Leiva (Sandro, 86), Elano (Elias, 82), Ramires, Jadson (Lucas Rodriguez, 72), Neymar (Renato Augusto, 89), Leandro (Oliveira, 78)

Scotland:McGregor, Hutton, G. Caldwell, Berra (Wilson, 73), Crainey, Adam (Snodgrass, 78), Brown, Morrison (Cowie, 90), McArthur (Bannan, 56), Whittaker (Commons, 64), Miller (Mackail-Smith, 87)

Sometimes it's fun to sit back, relax and enjoy an utterly inconsequential game of football. We all know that Scotland are nowhere near as good as Brazil, we all knew that they would get beaten today and most of us probably had a good idea of the sort of unambitious football that Scotland would utilise. Of course none of this stopped me watching Sunday afternoons match, and largely enjoying it, despite the predictable nature of the result.

Scotland were pretty abject throughout, looking woeful and shorn of ideas both with and without the ball. The plan seemed to be to get the ball to Charlie Adam - playing in a deep lying central position - as quickly as possible, with Adam looking to ping balls out to the wings. Sadly, one excellent free kick delivery aside the Blackpool midfielder had a poor match, often looking to do much and misplacing several passes. For a player playing just in front of the back four he also seemed to lack any defensive instinct whatsoever and eventually gave away the penalty that led to Brazil's second goal. Craig Levein chose two fairly conservative wide players in Scott Brown and Steven Whittaker, with much of the former's attacking instinct having been curbed in his time at Celtic. The plan seemed to be for them to get up down the pitch, providing an attacking outlet while still tracking Brazil's wide man - Jadson and the brilliant Neymar. Sadly neither provided much in the way of each attacking intent or defensive solidarity, with Brown in particular looking lost throughout and failing to get forward and support an increasingly isolated Kenny Miller.

James Morrison and James McArthur looked like strangers playing in the centre of midfield and both put in undistinguished performances. Morrison probably looked the most exciting Scottish player of the day (albeit in very brief instances) but lacked time on the ball and struggled to play the right passes. Perhaps surprisingly, the team looked a lot more cohesive after Barry Bannan came on for McArthur. Bannan is clearly a cracking young talent, looking good on the ball as well as intelligent without it. I would like to see him starting alongside Charlie Adam in the centre of Scotland's midfield. The defence put in an archetypal 'blood and guts' performance, never saying die but looking outclassed by a below par Brazilian frontline. Gary Caldwell's spectacular double block in the second half was a particular highlight.

Levein was quick to remind the public post-match that Scotland are missing a lot of players, but this was a still a poor performance. Scotland are obviously technically inferior to Brazil but also seemed to lack both the off the ball movement and work rate of their South American counterparts. More importantly, they often struggled to string more than two passes together, leading to ironic cheers during a brief spell of second half possession. There were encouraging signs - Barry Bannan's impressive cameo for one - but they were few and far between, at least from where I was sitting.

On a solely personal level I was pretty gutted that Chris Maguire didn't come on, I am obviously ridiculously biased but I still think he deserved at least a few minutes at the end. Maybe next time - as long as he keeps putting the performances in for the Dons of course!

What Next for Walter Smith?

Walter Smith has hit the headlines this week after clinching the Scottish League Cup, his 20th trophy as Rangers manager. It has been no secret that Smith will leave Rangers in the summer, but what seems to have often been lost in the shuffle is that he plans to remain in management after his four year tenure at Ibrox comes to an end. Even Smith's wikipedia page suggests that the Rangers legend will be retiring in the summer but comments made by the Scottish manager in November suggest that this is not the case, with Smith apparently planning to remain in football in some capacity.

The big question in any case seems to be, if not Rangers, where else? Of his 30 year management career Smith has spent 11 years with the Glasgow club and a further 11 years in various roles within the Scottish National team's structure. Just four years have been spent South of the border, during a relatively unsuccessful spell at Everton and a brief stint as Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United. Indeed, Smith's departure from Rangers could be born more of a desire to prove his managerial credentials elsewhere than anything else.

As with many other elder statesmen of the game, an international role seems likely and would possibly sate his need for the game without bringing the day to day to pressures of club management. Sadly Smith's inauspicious abandonment of the Scottish National Team in favor of a return to Rangers may have burned bridges with the Scottish FA and current manager Craig Levein seems to have the support of the men in charge, if not perhaps all of the fans. If Smith's unhappy spell at Everton has put him off English club management a move abroad could be an unlikely, if semi-logical step. David O'Leary and Tony Adams have recently been lured to the Middle East, due in no part to the no doubt hefty pay checks accompanying their arrivals. While such a move would possibly not be as attractive to Smith from a footballing perspective, the idea of Don Revie-esque semi retirement could appeal to him.

While initially seeming pretty ludicrous, a return to Manchester United to link up with old friend Sir Alex Ferguson could also be an interesting proposition to Smith. Current Assistant Manager Mike Phelan, while being a reliable presence often sadly resembles a court jester who has been promoted to a position far above his station. Most Manchester United fans would react with horror to the idea of Phelan having any sort of tactical input, with Dutch Coach Rene Meulensteen seeming to provide the brains of the operation. Equally ludicrous might be the idea of Smith replacing Sir Alex, but his links to Sir Alex and his experience steadying the ship with Rangers after Paul Le Guen's disastrous misadventures at Ibrox may make such a idea slightly more tenable. One thing that would count against him in this regard is his lack of tactical nous and stoicly pragmatic nature. Given the choice Smith would always stick with his old favourites, as seen by his loyalty to players such as David Weir and Lee Mcullough. His propensity for conservative tactics would also probably not sit kindly with many United fans, nor the men at the top.

Sadly it seems that despite being an obviously capable manager, Walter Smith's love affair with Rangers has severely limited his potential options. Most British football fans would scoff at his unfashionably negative tactics and loyalty to veteran players, despite the widely favorable results they have achieved over the years. To me, the most likely scenario for Smith would be either a move abroad - whether in club or International management - or a reconciliation with the SFA and a return to the Scottish National Team. Whatever his future brings, what cannot be denied is Smith's status as one of the greatest managers ever to grace the Scottish league. Ally McCoist is set to take over at Ibrox in the summer, and the difficulty of the task on his hands should not be underestimated.

The Return of Ricky Foster?

One of the more confusing transfer deals of last summer was Ricky Foster's loan move from Aberdeen to Rangers, with perma-crocked striker Andrius Velicka heading in the opposite direction. While Velicka was largely a disappointment at Aberdeen, failing to get a run in the side and scoring just one goal before his release in January, Foster has performed generally well at Rangers, earning plaudits for his Champions League displays against Manchester United and Valencia.

You would have thought that Aberdeen fans would be delighted at the potential return of a defender with experience at the very highest level. Sadly many cannot see past the rivalry between Rangers and the Dons, with Foster earning the ire of some after comments such as 'Ibrox is the best stadium that I have ever played at' and 'I feel at home at Rangers'. Football fans are notoriously reactionary and it is perhaps not surprising that many would greet Foster's return with flaming torches rather than banners, but you might expect a little more realism from supporters of a team who until January were without a single natural full back. Whatever Foster's limitations he is certainly a more capable full back than Rory McArdle and is not as prone to falling apart as David McNamee seems to be. Wherever Foster's loyalties ultimately lie, as long as he puts in 100% for the Dons it would be foolish to condemn him - his return would see the Dons squad strengthened with McNamee and Smith potentially leaving in the summer.

Foster himself seems pragmatic about the situation, conceding today that as things stood he would be a Dons player next season and that he was looked forward to working with Craig Brown and Archie Knox. These could merely be the words of a professional trying his best not to burn potential bridges, but Foster is under contract until 2013 and would command a decent enough transfer fee if he was to decide to move on.

Despite the Foster/Velicka swap largely proving disastrous this season, at the very least it will add an extra zero to his future transfer fee, and could potentially see the Dons possessing a far more experienced and accomplished player next season, working under an undoubtedly superior management team. In my mind the omens seem to be pretty good for Aberdeen.

Chris Maguire to leave Aberdeen?

Chris Maguire's six year spell at Aberdeen looks to be coming to an end after the 22 year old forwards agent admitted that he had rejected an initial offer from the Dons and would be speaking to other clubs. Aberdeen would be due a compensation fee if Maguire was to move on, but it will no doubt be a blow for Craig Brown and his top six aspirations. Despite a relatively modest goal return of 14 in 122 league appearances for the club Maguire has cemented his first team place this season after a successful loan spell at Kilmarnock last year. Aberdeen have been linked with Brechin forward Rory McAllister as a possible replacement for Maguire in recent weeks - the 23 year old Aberdonian has scored 45 goals in his last two seasons in the Scottish 2nd Division and is out of contract this summer. Craig Brown yesterday conceded that he was interested in McAllister when speaking to the Evening Express newspaper.

For my money losing Maguire would be a blow for both the player and the club. If Aberdeen are to move forward they need to keep their best players - particularly given Maguire and Scott Vernon's blossoming partnership up front. McAllister is in good form but is unproven at the top level. The potential compensation fee of £300,000 would hopefully allow Craig Brown to bring in a striker with more SPL experience as well as possibly freeing up the funds to strengthen other areas of the squad.

What is most important of course is not to jump the gun - Maguire is still an Aberdeen player and has not personally commented on the matter. While it seems unlikely that he will stay at Pittodrie next season there is every chance that his circumstances will change. I for one will be fully behind Chris for the rest of the season.

My Favourite Pundits: Rob MacLean

Being described as the Scottish Gary Lineker is not likely be a comparison that elicits rejoicing from most broadcasters North of the border, but given MacLean's role fronting SPL highlights program Sportscene it is an obvious one to make.

While MacLean has not enjoyed Lineker's illustrious footballing career the similarities do not end with their job descriptions. MacLean is far from the stereotypical dour Scotsman and is always an affable presence. Despite reporting on a league where allegations of bias and corruption are as rife as the zero's in Wayne Rooney's bank account MacLean is also refreshingly even handed. As with Lineker, MacLean seems so at ease in the presenters chair that a certain air of (obviously unintentional) smugness can creep in from time to time but it is thankfully always reined in to managable Pierce Brosnanesque levels.

Despite Sportscene's many faults as a highlights package the quality of its guests cannot be faulted, with a revolving door SPL managers taking part and even national team manager Craig Levein taking time out from hunting down passports and birth certificates to make the occasional appearance. It is with these high profile guests that MacLean demonstrates his aptitude for hosting, keeping discussion ticking over nicely without ever dominating proceedings himself.

His critics would perhaps argue that he is bland, but I would say that in an age where self promoting, obnoxious pundits are the norm a presenter of MacLean's quality deserves more plaudits than he generally recieves. ESPN sign him up!

A Cup Semi and a Call Up for Aberdeen

Aberdeen had two pieces of good news last night after following their Scottish Cup Quarter Final Replay defeat of St. Mirren, striker Chris Maguire was called up to the Scottish National squad for the second time. Maguire won his first cap as a substitute in the friendly victory over Northern Ireland last month and will be looking to add to it against Brazil next Saturday. With Kenny Miller the only out and out striker in the squad, I think Maguire can be fairly confident of getting a few more international minutes under his belt.

It was Maguire's goal that opened the scoring against St Mirren, before Scott Vernon put the Dons two up shortly before half time. Despite Nikola Vujadinovic's calamitous own goal just seconds after coming on, Aberdeen managed to hold on and have booked a Scottish Cup Semi Final against this seasons bogey team, Celtic. Despite our shocking record against them this season, I would much prefer to win the Scottish cup having beaten one of the Old Firm, and have every confidence that Aberdeen can finally avenge the 9-0 capitulation earlier this season. Come on the Dons!