Up for the Magnificent Cup

At last the Dons are back into the competition that they have won more often than any other club in the northeast - the Aberdeenshire Cup. On particular director had been pushing for this to happen for some time and now it is a refreshing reality.
There are benefits all round, the AFC under-19s get to participate in a quality competition against (usually) very physical sides which will help their experience and toughen them up. They'll play all of their games away from Pittodrie so they are getting out and about in the Shire so supporters will have more chance to see them. The home sides will benefit from decent gates and a wee financial boost. Most of all, the trophy - one of the oldest and most magnificent in the world of football - could end up back at Pittodrie which it has so often graced in the past, taking pride of place for supporters to see when they come in for a stadium tour.

Well, it's a bit quiet now!

The grass is growing and being mown and looking lovely, so that's something ready for the new season. As everybody has now seen, the pre-season tour and training camp is all sorted out, shame we couldn't get a decent friendly at Pittodrie though. Mind you a wee trip to Germany would be welcome if at all possible. Newly promoted Kaiserslautern should make attractive opposition and give the Dons a good hard match ahead of the not so attractive Hamilton coming to open the season on the 14th.
The real silence is on the player recruitment front. With Willie Miller on holiday and end date for players' current contracts not quite upon us, sod all is happening which is frustrating all round and not helpful for season ticket sales.
Players have too much power nowadays and their ability to hold up transfer deals in case better offers come along should be stomped on somehow by the authorities. Not that you can ever expect much help from the SFA, UEFA or FIFA unless your club is in the fat cat category.
One thing's for sure, the claptrap coming from Kevin Drinkel about Mulgrew is nothing but a negotiating stance. No way is good-time Charlie coming back for pre-season with us.
We need to see action on the signings front pretty quickly now or players will be arriving too late for a decent pre-season and after last season's farcial start and tiresome dithering we can't afford that again. Any player who arrives in camp too late for the start of training should be on double shifts till he catches up.

Not So Quiet on the Pittodrie Front

Football may go to sleep for a few weeks in early summer (ignoring the World Cup which is already so hyped to death it has become a drag) but plenty stirs inside Pittodrie.
Now's the time for all kinds of maintenance work to be done, stepping up the rate of seat replacement, getting new carpets down, painting, electrics, structural stuff. Then there's the high energy work to do on restoring the pitch to full glory after the ravages of the past horrendous winter.
Coaches are hard at work at their desks planning for pre-season outings and new training routines and how best to settle in newly signed youngsters. The Youth Development effort never stops and over the summer the rate of scouting youth tournaments reaches a peak. At the senior level, the phone lines are buzzing as the work of procuring new players carries on.
In the gym the cacophonous blare of music pounds the eardrums as the most conscientious players work at their fitness levels ahead of what is sure to be a gruelling pre-season of rigorous training and preparatory friendly matches. The gaffer wants them to hit the ground running this time so they really need to get the work in early.
Commercial staff are working hard to renew business with corporate supporters and find new clients, whilst the ticket office is steadily turning out new season tickets for early birds. Phones ring, callers call.
Yup, its all go at every level of AFC, though to read the papers (do many people still do this?) it could be assumed that nothing is happening.