It was a busy day in the transfer window for the Dons yesterday with two new arrivals but it is clear where Jim Goodwin’s priorities still lie now that the transfer window has opened.
The return of Graeme Shinnie to Pittodrie is a terrific bit of business for the club.
The former skipper is just the sort of player the team needs. He will bring drive and leadership at a crucial stage of the season.
He has been joined at the club by Slovakia under-21 international Patrik Myslovic.
He will be an unknown quantity to Dons fans but the fact he has played more than 100 games since making his first team debut at 16 shows the young lad has something about him.
We all know Shinnie will bring energy to the midfield but I hope Myslovic will add some guile to the team.
Both players are welcome additions to the squad and it’s great to see the Dons add more competition for places.
But for me it is still the defence which requires the most attention.
I watched the Dons keep a clean sheet against Ross County on Monday but that wasn’t too difficult a task considering County were more interested in defending themselves to take a point back north.
A rare clean sheet was the only positive to be found from a frustrating return to Pittodrie for the Dons and it is clear they are lacking in some areas.
It was a big turnover of players in the summer but not every new arrival has been a success.
The manager would clearly like to make more changes but whether there will be scope for Goodwin to make as many as he would like is another matter though.
Winter window has been challenging for the Dons in recent years
January is a notoriously tough time for managers to wheel and deal. We’ve seen that in the last couple of years at Pittodrie.
Last year Stephen Glass brought in Vicente Besuijen, Dante Polvara and Adam Montgomery.
The year before Derek McInnes lost Sam Cosgrove, Scott Wright and Curtis Main and replaced them with loan signings in Fraser Hornby, Florian Kamberi and Callum Hendry.
This season there has been more goals in the team but the service has dried up to leading goalscorer Bojan Miovski in the last couple of months and it shows.
He must be frustrated at the lack of quality service coming his way. I know I would be if I was in his shoes.
Some may need to move on before more new arrivals come in
Christian Ramirez was deployed just off him on Monday and it didn’t work for me.
It was the American striker’s first start in months but I didn’t see a hunger to make an impact in the game from him.
I would have expected to see a player chomping at the bit to make a positive impression after being given a rare chance but he struggled to get into the game.
I’ve said for months it is probably in the best interests of both parties for him to move on this month. It would give him a fresh start somewhere else and also free up a big wage for the manager to improve his squad.
If Goodwin had his way he would be looking to strengthen all areas but we’ve got to be realistic here – the defence is the priority.
I say that because I feel as if I’m watching the same ball-watching errors being made now that I saw back in August.
I know the manager wants his team to play from the back too but I don’t know if he has the players to do it.
Young Jack Milne received rave reviews at the start of the season but we haven’t seen him in the first team which suggests he is not quite ready.
More competition to put pressure on those already at the club to perform is needed.
Goodwin has some good midfielders in his squad who are certainly better passers of the ball than his defenders and unless he can bring in others to do the role the focus should be on trying to play through them rather than over them.
Dons’ top six hopes under threat as rivals close in
Tomorrow’s game against St Johnstone has become a vital match for the Dons.
One draw and four defeats has resulted in the Dons falling to fourth, five points adrift of a Hearts team who also have a game in hand.
Jim Goodwin insists his players are up for the challenge of pushing Hearts for third place but I wonder if the Dons have missed a huge chance to pile the pressure on.
Hearts have had big injury problems all season and European commitments but Aberdeen’s poor run of results has allowed Robbie Neilson’s side to overtake them and pull clear of the chasing pack.
Right now I’d be more nervous looking at the teams closing in on the Dons.
St Johnstone will move above the Dons if they win at Pittodrie.
Depending on results elsewhere there is a possibility Aberdeen will be out of the top six completely after this weekend.
If that scenario isn’t enough to fire up the Dons players to go out and ruin Andy Considine’s return to Pittodrie and give themselves a much-needed boost ahead of next weekend’s League Cup semi-final against Rangers then nothing will.
Hartley return to Cove makes sense
Good luck to Paul Hartley on his return to Cove Rangers.
I was surprised to see Jim McIntyre leave the club following the 6-1 defeat Caley Thistle but I wasn’t sure whether Hartley would return given he left the club for Hartlepool United in the summer.
Clearly the grass wasn’t greener on the other side in England and Hartley’s hopes of working his way up the ladder in England didn’t materialise.
But he knows the players at Balmoral and more importantly they know him. If he can pick up where he left off last season then hopefully Cove can have a strong finish to the season.
Conversation