Aberdeen must be more adventurous and brave in possession to kick-start their stuttering Premiership campaign.
The Dons have become a hard watch and the footage of the 1-1 draw with St Johnstone should be quickly consigned to the vaults as a video nasty.
There was nothing that excited me about Aberdeen’s play against the Perth Saints and I find that concerning.
Whenever a Dons player was in possession I wasn’t up in my seat in expectation at something exciting that could potentially happen.
Instead Aberdeen’s play just fizzled out – much like the Premiership campaign will if they don’t immediately improve.
Football is about winning and entertaining – and the Dons failed to deliver on both counts in Perth on Wednesday night.
As I watched the game against St Johnstone my heart was saying ‘come on, we can do this, we can win’.
But what I was watching was something completely different as the game unfolded against St Johnstone.
I don’t think Aberdeen are playing together as they seem to be performing more as individuals.
And those individuals look nervous at the prospect of doing something different with the ball.
Aberdeen had no bravery to their play when in possession against St Johnstone.
I know there was a major rebuild of the squad in the summer with 14 signings but they should be gelling by now.
Against St Johnstone the Dons’ passing was poor and they struggled to do anything with possesssion.
St Johnstone won most of the second balls.
It was terrible from the Dons and they must dramatically improve their levels ahead of a run of games that will make or break the dwindling hope of finishing third.
The failure to retain a lead against St Johnstone means Barry Robson’s side are 16 points behind third-placed Hearts.
Granted the Dons hold three games in hand on the Tynecastle club but it is still a mammoth points chasm.
Which is why Saturday’s trip to Hearts is so huge.
If Aberdeen win it will rekindle hopes of launching a bid to finish third.
However if they lose, or even draw, I fear it will effectively kill off any hopes of emulating last season’s third-placed Premiership finish.
Aberdeen racked up seven straight wins last season to rocket up the table and overtake Hearts to finish third.
It will take a similar run this campaign to push for third, but only if they beat Hearts in Edinburgh on Saturday.
If Hearts win they would move 19 points clear.
I fear that would be too big a gap to close as Hearts are in good form and Aberdeen are far too inconsistent.
That inconsistency is so frustrating and potentially damaging.
Aberdeen have delivered strong performances in the Premiership at times such as the 3-1 win against Rangers at Ibrox.
But they have failed to consistently deliver those levels for any period of time.
It is all too stop/start this season which is why the Reds are in the bottom six.
Yes, the Dons have games in hand but you have to win them to make that count.
Aberdeen have a testing run of Premiership game against Hearts, Dundee (h), Celtic (h) and Rangers (a) looming.
In Celtic, Rangers and Hearts they face the teams occupying the top three positions in the Premiership over less than two weeks.
It is vital the Reds find form and deliver results in that run otherwise hopes of a third-placed finish will disappear over the horizon.
Surprise at no game time for Besuijen
I’m surprised winger Vicente Besuijen has had zero game time for Aberdeen this season.
Besuijen made an impressive start to his Dons career but fell out of favour under former manager Jim Goodwin.
He failed to get any game time under his replacement, Barry Robson.
At times this season Aberdeen have needed pace and creativity out wide which Besuijen could potentially bring.
When he was in the first team Besuijen was a tricky player who could cause problems for opponents.
Yet it is now a full year since the Dutch winger last featured for the Dons in the 1-0 Scottish Cup defeat to Darvel.
So it was no surprise Besuijen moved to Dutch second tier club side FC Emmen on loan for the rest of the season.
Besuijen is under contract with Aberdeen until 2026.
Footballers need to be playing regularly so hopefully Besuijen gets that game time with FC Emmen.
Ideally this will turn into a permanent move for Besuijen.
If he is not getting any game time at Pittodrie then there is no point him being on the wage bill for another two years beyond that loan deal.
VICENTE 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐈𝐉𝐄𝐍 = ❤️🤍
Welkom bij de club!#HIERKOMIKWEG pic.twitter.com/346SeoOL0j— FC Emmen (@FC_Emmen) January 25, 2024
Buckie Thistle can hold heads high
Buckie Thistle can hold their heads high after losing 5-0 to Celtic in the Scottish Cup fourth round at Parkhead.
They were far from overawed and were up for a battle against the cup holders.
Buckie Thistle did the club, their supporters and the Highland League proud with their valiant effort against Celtic.
And they also secured a valuable pay day for the club.
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