It would be an overstatement to say the transfer window slammed shut for the Dons at the start of the week. Rather, it closed in a quiet relaxed manner, one which did not meet with much approval from the Red Army.
The obvious talking point was the failure to add to the team’s striking options.
As has been the case since last summer, we have Christian Ramirez, and that’s about it.
There are some youngsters who are largely untried and untested, there are more experienced players who could fill in short-term if required, and there is Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who has done nothing to suggest he is the answer.
We are left hoping and praying that Christian remains injury-free. If he does pick up a knock which rules him out for any period of time, Stephen Glass has a major problem on his hands.
I know the club was chasing a number of targets, but none of them came to fruition.
The manager wants quality rather than quantity and was understandably keen to avoid a repeat of last year’s deadline day panic buys, but a second centre-forward was a priority, and the Dons have had months to sort out a deal.
I fully appreciate that January is traditionally a difficult market to find a regular goalscorer, and Adam Rooney apart, Aberdeen’s track record is not great at this time of year, but given the time they had, it is surprising the club was unable to bring someone else in.
Adam Montgomery looks to be a decent prospect, but he seems highly unlikely to have anything other than a brief spell at Pittodrie, and the Dons might have been better served trying to develop one of their own kids, rather than giving Celtic a helping hand.
He is a versatile player, can perform in a few different positions, but was not what the team desperately needed at this stage.
The big plus was retaining Calvin Ramsay and Lewis Ferguson. It might be the last few months in an Aberdeen shirt for both, but the club has the upper hand given the length of their contracts, and there should be a cash windfall in the summer which will go a long way towards funding Stephen’s rebuild of the squad.
The one significant departure was Ryan Hedges. When fit, he made an impact, but the player had switched off and had to go, and I know the club was disappointed with his attitude towards the end.
Vicente Besuijen had a quiet debut in Dingwall, but hopefully he will settle in quickly and fill the void. I look forward to seeing what he has to offer, and what Dante Polvara can bring to the team once he has recovered from his hernia operation.
The manager could do with both flying out of the traps to help quieten the discontent among the fans and improve the success rate of his signings. I wrote last week that too many of the new faces had failed to impress; compare that with Ange Postecoglou’s record at Celtic Park, where virtually every player has so far caught the eye.
I appreciate they are operating in different markets, but paying big transfer fees is no guarantee. The important factor is identifying and securing the right players for your team – I hope Stephen has done that with his recent captures.
How did Raith not see the outrage signing Goodwillie would spark?
The headlines have been dominated most of the week by Raith Rovers, and the Kirkcaldy club’s inexplicable decision to sign David Goodwillie.
The outcry was inevitable and entirely predictable, as was the exodus which took place at Stark’s Park with sponsors, directors, employees and volunteers all walking away.
Fans, some of whom had followed the team for decades, ripped up their season tickets.
Rovers’ initial statement, incredibly, made things even worse!
Forty-eight hours on, and presumably having counted the financial cost and reputational damage, Raith finally did the right thing, apologised, and announced that the player would never pull on a shirt for them.
Many clubs had previously considered a move for Goodwillie, but stepped away knowing the outrage it would spark.
Given how settled and relatively anonymous he was at Clyde, I was surprised he even made the move, and it may be an eventual return to Broadwood is his only option.
