AFC's Managers in the 21st Century - RANKED & WHY

[JumboJET]

Hi all. 

Not to distract from the enlightening "Next Manager" thread, here we can list how we would rank Aberdeen's (permanent & interim, not caretakers) managers in the 21st century and why we chose that order.

Here is my list.

1. Jimmy Calderwood - The UEFA Cup run is the club's greatest achievement this century. And although he wasn't perfect, supporting Aberdeen was enjoyable. 
2. Neil 'Warno' Warnock - In 10 years he will be looked back on with great fondness. He has laid the foundations for the next gaffer to succeed and also signed Hoilett, a player who would never even consider coming here without a personality like Warno. 
3. Derek McInnes - Won a trophy. Failed in European competitions (despite some great results) and managed us in the easiest time to do so in our history. (No huns, Hibs or Hearts)
4. Broonzer - Saved us from relegation and laid the foundations for Del
5. Robson - Got us group stage European football when bottom six looked more likely. Fucked it this season.
6. Glass - Had the right ideas, good result against Hacken. Just didn't work.
7. Ebbe - Pretty shite but was good fun. Got us into Europe.
8. Pele - Alchy who missed a match and had to leave in a car boot. He had little money to work with but still fucked it.
9. Goodwin - A good talker but very, very shit. 5-0, Darvel, 6-0, made Cormack cry.
10. McGhee - 9-0, his first press conference, Sigma, Ifil, would have been relegated

How about you?

JUMBY

[zeroisgod76]

1 McInnes

2. Calderwood

After this its varying degrees of shite. No real plus points for any of them.

[Andy_123]

31 minutes ago, zeroisgod76 said:

1 McInnes

2. Calderwood

After this its varying degrees of shite. No real plus points for any of them.

On the whole can't disagree with this. A disgrace that over the past 20 years we've only had 2 managers who have been any good.  

Personally I feel Brown gets a harder time than he deserves from some. Inherited an absolute shower of shit but McInnes would never have had the early success he did without Brown's work beforehand.

[Guest Matt Armstrong's Dog]

1. McInnes

2. Brown

3. Calderwood 

4. Glass 

5. Robson

(The rest don't even deserve a mention.)

[JumboJET]

31 minutes ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

1. McInnes

2. Brown

3. Calderwood 

4. Glass 

5. Robson

(The rest don't even deserve a mention.)

Broonzer higher than Jimmy... how come @Matt Armstrong's Dog?

[zeroisgod76]

34 minutes ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

1. McInnes

2. Brown

3. Calderwood 

4. Glass 

5. Robson

(The rest don't even deserve a mention.)

Robson and Glass don't deserve a mention either really. Both equally as shite as the likes of Ebbe, Goodwin etc. 

[Guest Matt Armstrong's Dog]

8 minutes ago, JumboJET said:

Broonzer higher than Jimmy... how come @Matt Armstrong's Dog?

He brought stability and integrity back to our club plus he instilled a brand of football into our players at time that was great to be in attendance to watch.

2 of the best games I've seen Aberdeen teams play was during the tenure of Craig Brown; A 2-1 win away to St. Johnstone (we absolutely crucified them that day, so don't be fooled by the result) and a 4-1 demolition of St. Mirren at Ferguslie.

[Andy_123]

1 minute ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

He brought stability and integrity back to our club plus he instilled a brand of football into our players at time that was great to be in attendance to watch.

2 of the best games I've seen Aberdeen teams play was during the tenure of Craig Brown; A 2-1 win away to St. Johnstone (we absolutely crucified them that day, so don't be fooled by the result) and a 4-1 demolition of St. Mirren at Ferguslie.

Jimmy demolished Copenhagen 4-0.

I think that second 45 mins was the best I've ever seen us play in my 31 years on this earth so far 

[Guest Matt Armstrong's Dog]

11 minutes ago, zeroisgod76 said:

Robson and Glass don't deserve a mention either really. Both equally as shite as the likes of Ebbe, Goodwin etc. 

Robson gets a mention as he got us to a cup final at his first time of asking and led AFC into Europe as well, whilst Glass, as I alluded to the other day, was not feart to go toe-to-toe with RIFC and Celtic, an attribute every Aberdeen manager should possess but sadly most don't.

[zeroisgod76]

4 minutes ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

Robson gets a mention as he got us to a cup final at his first time of asking and led AFC into Europe as well, whilst Glass, as I alluded to the other day, was not feart to go toe-to-toe with RIFC and Celtic, an attribute every Aberdeen manager should possess but sadly most don't.

Ebbe got us to 2 cup finals in his first season and into Europe.

[Guest Matt Armstrong's Dog]

31 minutes ago, Andy_123 said:

Jimmy demolished Copenhagen 4-0.

I think that second 45 mins was the best I've ever seen us play in my 31 years on this earth so far 

There is no denying we were good in the second half of the match against Copenhagen, though they folded very tamely after our first goal.

However, plaudits very much go to the players representing AFC that joyous night for going for the jugular of their opponents.

[Guest Matt Armstrong's Dog]

5 minutes ago, zeroisgod76 said:

Ebbe got us to 2 cup finals in his first season and into Europe.

I put it more down to fate rather than Skovdahl's management prowess for Aberdeen reaching 2 domestic cup finals in his first season at the club.

We were very fortunate to get by Falkirk and Livingston in the LC that season, and in the SC, St. Mirren and ICT should have knocked us out but it's not our fault they failed to get through.

Skovdahl was manager when we were getting hammered 7-0 (twice) by the tims and 5-0 against the dead club. There were plenty of other thrashings we endured during his tenure as well.

The Bohemians debacle. Enough said. 

He made our club a fucking laughing stock. Truly unforgivable.

[1903Afc]

26 minutes ago, Andy_123 said:

Jimmy demolished Copenhagen 4-0.

I think that second 45 mins was the best I've ever seen us play in my 31 years on this earth so far 

this. atmosphere was electric that night.

[RabidGiraffe]

1. McInnes - Trophy, cup finals, always top 4, and Europe every year

2. Calderwood - Consistently good in the league, that euro run, but shit in the cups, loved the tombola and his bonus ball players

3. Ebbe - Had to sort out AFM's mess, gave youth a chance, cup finals and Europe, still quotable over 20 years later

4. Brown - Steadied the ship after McGhee tried to sink it, mid table mediocrity, laid the groundwork for McInnes

5. Robson - Euros and a cup final (which he unforgivably bottled), hopeless in the league, hoofball crap

6. Glass - Wasn't ready for it, Dave's first managerial mistake

7. Patterson - Had to find players in the football equivalent of the aisle in the middle of Lidl, alky, got the boot in a boot

8. Goodwin - Darvel, Hibs, Hearts, 90 minutes in our own half at home against Celtic, his pressers

9. McGhee - Had high hopes of McGhee, possibly the most experienced manager we've had in terms of club football, was a fucking disaster.  We hated him and he hated us, y'know.

That's a painful list to look at, ranging mostly from mediocre to fucking shit.  Fucking sad that someone as poor as Robson is as high as number 5.

[RabidGiraffe]

30 minutes ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

I put it more down to fate rather than Skovdahl's management prowess for Aberdeen reaching 2 domestic cup finals in his first season at the club.

We were very fortunate to get by Falkirk and Livingston in the LC that season, and in the SC, St. Mirren and ICT should have knocked us out but it's not our fault they failed to get through.

Skovdahl was manager when we were getting hammered 7-0 (twice) by the tims and 5-0 against the dead club. There were plenty of other thrashings we endured during his tenure as well.

The Bohemians debacle. Enough said. 

He made our club a fucking laughing stock. Truly unforgivable.

I'd say Alex Fucking Miller had already made us a laughing stock.

Tbh I'd completely forgotten about some of the hammerings we took under Ebbe, I must have purged them from my mind, although I now vaguely recall a couple of thrashings by Livi too.

[Schapenneuker]

1. McInnes. In 2017 gave us the best Dons team in probably 25 years. Should have won more than 1 trophy but was surprisingly poor in cups at a point in time when every man and his dug could win the Scottish. Could have won the league with more financial backing and more conviction. 

2. Calderwood. Brought some fun back to the club after years of utter cack. Had a fun European run thanks to a daft system that allowed us almost to stroll into the last 32. Like McInnes, his downfall was not the league but cup competitions. QoS, Queens Park, Dunfermline, Raith Rovers. All enough to keep a Dons fan awake at night. 

3. The rest of the shite. Maybe Pa Broon, because he at least brought stability after McGhee. 

Last. McGhee. Nuff said. 

Slim pickings I'm afraid. 

[Guest Matt Armstrong's Dog]

9 minutes ago, RabidGiraffe said:

I'd say Alex Fucking Miller had already made us a laughing stock.

Tbh I'd completely forgotten about some of the hammerings we took under Ebbe, I must have purged them from my mind, although I now vaguely recall a couple of thrashings by Livi too.

Alex Miller was an abomination of an appointment and the results and performances of our club reflected that. 

He left the remnants of a poor squad for Paul Hegarty and then Skovdahl to sort out.

However, it doesn't excuse Skovdahl's pitiful time as our manager.

[madjockmcferson]

sounds about right, though ill say at least goodwin's teams played some really nice football...albeit we got battered too often. still, i was at least entertained.  mcinness / calderwood a toss up. winning something > not winning something but getting out of that group was an amazing achievement and, if its possible, an under-rated one. certainly some of my best memories this century 

[RabidGiraffe]

3 minutes ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

Alex Miller was an abomination of an appointment and the results and performances of our club reflected that. 

He left the remnants of a poor squad for Paul Hegarty and then Skovdahl to sort out.

However, it doesn't excuse Skovdahl's pitiful time as our manager.

Time has possibly left me with rose-tinted glasses of the Ebbe years.  There were some good signings, good games and results.  (Does that record of winning nine home league games in a row still stand?)

But you're right, some of it was atrocious too. 

I'd settle for calling it "mixed".

It probably has something to do with him having a likeable character, whereas most of the rest of our former managers have had something intrinsically dislikeable about them.

[Guest Matt Armstrong's Dog]

12 minutes ago, RabidGiraffe said:

Time has possibly left me with rose-tinted glasses of the Ebbe years.  There were some good signings, good games and results.  (Does that record of winning nine home league games in a row still stand?)

But you're right, some of it was atrocious too. 

I'd settle for calling it "mixed".

It probably has something to do with him having a likeable character, whereas most of the rest of our former managers have had something intrinsically dislikeable about them.

A very fair summary indeed min.

Mixed is a very good word to assess Skovdahl's time at Aberdeen. Unfortunately, most of it was embarrassing and unacceptably poor, although there were (just) a few highs along the way. 

[zeroisgod76]

1 hour ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

I put it more down to fate rather than Skovdahl's management prowess for Aberdeen reaching 2 domestic cup finals in his first season at the club.

We were very fortunate to get by Falkirk and Livingston in the LC that season, and in the SC, St. Mirren and ICT should have knocked us out but it's not our fault they failed to get through.

Skovdahl was manager when we were getting hammered 7-0 (twice) by the tims and 5-0 against the dead club. There were plenty of other thrashings we endured during his tenure as well.

The Bohemians debacle. Enough said. 

He made our club a fucking laughing stock. Truly unforgivable.

Fair do's. Don't disagree with a lot of that, just think a lot of that is relevant to Robson as well. We were fortunate that we went on a good run at the exact same time as Hearts fell apart 'again'.  Were fortunate to beat St Johnstone and Ross County in that run, and could have been a couple of goals down against Dundee United at half time before Duk's wonder goal gave us a lift. Then our arses collapsed after the split.

And our run to the league cup final included struggling past a Stirling Albion team currently 3rd bottom of League One.

Personally i'd go McInnes, Calderwood... fair enough Brown deserves some credit but the other 7 are equal levels of shite.

Embarrassing what we've had to put up with over the past 24 years when you really look at it.

[Guest Matt Armstrong's Dog]

10 minutes ago, zeroisgod76 said:

Fair do's. Don't disagree with a lot of that, just think a lot of that is relevant to Robson as well. We were fortunate that we went on a good run at the exact same time as Hearts fell apart 'again'.  Were fortunate to beat St Johnstone and Ross County in that run, and could have been a couple of goals down against Dundee United at half time before Duk's wonder goal gave us a lift. Then our arses collapsed after the split.

And our run to the league cup final included struggling past a Stirling Albion team currently 3rd bottom of League One.

Personally i'd go McInnes, Calderwood... fair enough Brown deserves some credit but the other 7 are equal levels of shite.

Embarrassing what we've had to put up with over the past 24 years when you really look at it.

Hard to argue with any of that min.👍

[Rico1903]

I have a feeling in a few season’s time Jimmy T is going to be in a position to compete with Del and Calderwood for top spot. 

[donswin1983]

4 hours ago, JumboJET said:

Broonzer higher than Jimmy... how come @Matt Armstrong's Dog?

Jackie McNamara, Queen of the South, Queens Park, Jackie McNamara and Queen of the South. 
 

[NEM]

4 hours ago, Matt Armstrong's Dog said:

Robson gets a mention as he got us to a cup final at his first time of asking .

And proceeded to put on the most cowardly pathetic attempt at winning a cup final in the history of football. He gets zero credit for that.

 

[Simply Red]

Stephen Glass getting a shout is wild.

Him, Goodwin get in the bin. 
 

DM

Jimmy

Brooner

the rest can gtf

Ebbe was awful and we got raped in those 2 finals.

[RabidGiraffe]

13 minutes ago, Simply Red said:

Ebbe was awful and we got raped in those 2 finals.

My only memory of those finals is Winters having to put on the gloves after that wee hun prick broke Leighton's jaw in the first 5 minutes.  

You were only allowed three subs on the bench and we didn't have a sub goalie.

[RabidGiraffe]

2 hours ago, Rico1903 said:

I have a feeling in a few season’s time Jimmy T is going to be in a position to compete with Del and Calderwood for top spot. 

Hopefully Jimmy T will be knocking Del off the top stop. 

Looking at the list, minimum expectation for him should be number 3, which should be remarkably easy considering.

[Guest Matt Armstrong's Dog]

33 minutes ago, NEM said:

And proceeded to put on the most cowardly pathetic attempt at winning a cup final in the history of football. He gets zero credit for that.

 

It was woeful indeed min. However, we were well and truly conned that day. 

[Simply Red]

29 minutes ago, RabidGiraffe said:

My only memory of those finals is Winters having to put on the gloves after that wee hun prick broke Leighton's jaw in the first 5 minutes.  

You were only allowed three subs on the bench and we didn't have a sub goalie.

The “Gio” final🤮

You could argue that we stood a chance if Leighton didnt get assaulted by Wallace but im guessing we would have still got pumped. We were terrible and that was the corrupt ebt hun era, team full of superstars. I wasnt doing the conga that day.