Jimmy Calderwood

A look back on a larger than life character & his spell at AB24...

As the North East of Scotland continued to mourn the loss of one of it’s favourite sons in the form of Denis Law, the breaking news on Sunday that former Aberdeen manager, Jimmy Calderwood, had also passed away provided a sobering double whammy of gut punches to the Granite City.

The enigmatic Calderwood fully burst into the consciousness of the Aberdeen support when he made the move from Dunfermline Athletic to the Dons in the summer of 2004. After 18 abject months in charge, hampered by budget cuts, Steve Paterson had been unceremoniously dumped from his role by incoming Director of Football, Willie Miller, at the end of the 2003/04 season.

Paterson’s side finishing in 11th spot in his sole season in charge - a humbling 8 points adrift of Kilmarnock in 10th and with a tally exactly half of a Hearts side that finished in 3rd.

Enter Calderwood.

It’s sometimes easy to forget that, in pure footballing terms, Calderwood took a massive gamble to depart East End Park for Pittodrie. Having cut his managerial teeth in the Netherlands with Willem II Tilburg and then at NEC Nijmegen, Calderwood returned to Scotland in November 1999 to join Dunfermline, then of the First Division.

Calderwood’s impact at Dunfermline was immediate, the Pars ascending back to the Premier League at the end of the 99/00 season. Calderwood’s side then comfortably avoided relegation the following season and began to consolidate themselves back within the top flight. A 6th place finish in 01/02, followed by a 5th place finish in 02/03 continued the steady rate of progression at East End Park, culminating in a final position of 4th in 03/04 and a losing appearance in the Scottish Cup Final that season.

All of which meant that Dunfermline would return to European football the following season - the first time in 35 years that the Pars would grace the European stage.

Compare and contrast to the goings on at Pittodrie in the preceding years…

Whilst there can be no doubt that in terms of “size” of club, Aberdeen dwarfed that of Dunfermline but make no mistake, it took huge belief and courage in his conviction to leave Fife and head North at this point in his career.

Calderwood’s appointment at Aberdeen came 2 weeks after Paterson’s final game in charge of the Dons - a dismal 2-1 defeat at home to Dundee but the initial signs appeared to be that Paterson would be given the opportunity to take the team into the next campaign.

Willie Miller returned to Aberdeen on 24th May 2004 in his new role as Director of Football and, on the same day, Paterson along with his assistant, Duncan Shearer were dismissed from their roles. Miller, in his autobiography, The Don, will tell you that Stewart Milne made the decision to release Paterson in order to give Miller a clean slate to work from and that the decision had already been made:-

….before I re-entered the fray, Stewart Milne axed Steve Paterson and Duncan Shearer, which he said he had done to present me with a clean slate. Stewart told the press that Steve had been given as much time as possible to revive the club’s fortunes, but radical action was now required….he was convinced that the most effective way forward would be to allow me the opportunity to bring in my owner management team…..

Perhaps the cynic in me would suggest that Milne wouldn’t have given Paterson & Shearer the chop without the nod from Willie but, nonetheless, Miller already knew who he wanted in the Pittodrie hot-seat - Jimmy Calderwood.

A new era

Miller & Calderwood had a shared history, they had played together for a Glasgow primary school select that toured the United States nearly 40 years’ prior although Miller is always at pains to point out that the two men could hardly be regarded as bosom buddies and that the decision to approach Calderwood & his assistant, Jimmy Nicholl, was purely made on a footballing level:-

….I wanted them to be our management team because of their coaching abilities. Jimmy [Calderwood] was the type of big personality and enthusiast I wanted at the club… he was a man I knew could lift the dressing room.

….he had learned a lot during his time in the Netherlands, which was no surprise given he’d worked under the likes of Louis van Gaal, Johan Cruyff, Arrigo Sacchi and Rinus Michels.

….his Dunfermline side played open, attractive football which is what I wanted at Aberdeen.

The first sign of Aberdeen’s new intent under Calderwood came early - the free transfer acquisition of Scott Severin from Hearts within a month of Jimmy being installed. Severin was already a Scottish international on arrival at Aberdeen and had been captain of the Jambos on occasion.

Having attracted interest from England, the signing of Severin was a real coup for the Dons, especially given our well-documented plight in the season prior. It was hard not to feel for Steve Paterson at this time - he’d been forced to work with one (if not both hands) tied behind his back in terms of finances yet, as soon as he departed, funds were found to bring in quality players of the level of Severin.

In fairness to Calderwood, it would be unfair to suggest that he was suddenly provided a blank cheque book with which to mould his side - the likes of Derek Adams, Fernando Pasquinelli & Steven Craig were modest acquisitions before the showbiz arrival of Noel Whelan.

An underwhelming pre-season trip to the Netherlands followed, as did some classic Jimmyisms - with Vit Valenta described in the press by Calderwood as being “too good” for Aberdeen a particular highlight of that particular junket but the Dons went into a first season under Calderwood in decent spirits and what better way to get things up and running than a home game against Rangers?

As far as Aberdeen/Rangers games go, this one was far from a classic - perhaps best remembered for Chris Burke suffering heat-stroke. This was though a gutsy, determined performance by an Aberdeen side that demonstrated much improved character compared to the previous season. Calderwood’s exuberant celebration at full-time was, perhaps, slightly over the top for a goalless draw on the opening day of the season but it signaled a level of relief from the new manager that he knew he had something to build on and his decision to leave Dunfermline may have been justified.

A goalless draw at Tynecastle was followed up by a 1-0 win at Dunfermline, Noel Whelan with his first goal for the Dons before he disappeared for a couple of months with a bad back, triggered by the new plastic pitch at East End Park before Berwick Rangers were disposed of in the League Cup and the Dons rounded off August with a 2-0 win over Livingston thanks to a double from Steven Craig. An unbeaten first month saw belief grow in the North East about our chances under the new manager.

A draw at Tannadice and win at Rugby Park in the league saw the good run continue before the first wobble of the campaign as Rangers visited Pittodrie again, this time in the League Cup and handed Calderwood his first defeat - a 2-0 win that was routine in the extreme for the visitors which was followed up by Hibs taking 3 points from Pittodrie the following Saturday.

Calderwood’s side rallied though in October - a point at home to Dundee before the odd scenario of the Dons being the away side at Pittodrie against ICT played out - Aberdeen with a comfortable 3-1 win to get back to winning ways. Motherwell then dispatched at Pittodrie before Calderwood’s side went visited Celtic Park on 27th October and came away with a dramatic 3-2 win. Early goals from Mackie & Pasquinelli had the Dons two up inside 6 minutes before a Hartson brace saw the game level with 20 minutes to go - the Dons resisting an onslaught from the home side to then grab the winner in stoppage time thanks to John Stewart’s arrowed finish.

Having faced both Glasgow sides in the league and taken 4 points from 6, were the Dons serious contenders for a title race?

Maybe not quite… Next up, the Dons headed for Ibrox, a statement result here would signify that Aberdeen were, indeed, back and the Glasgow duopoly was in danger of being broken apart. This game is, perhaps, best known for being one of the only times that Calderwood invoked his mythical 2-4-4 formation during his time at the Dons.

Steven Thompson’s goal just before half-time saw the Ibrox side take the lead into the break before Lovenkrands made it 2 on 69 minutes. Calderwood, to his credit, decided to go for broke, the end result saw Rangers add another 3 to their tally and the Dons left Glasgow with collective tails between our legs.

November, December, January & February saw results fluctuate with the Dons also exiting the Scottish Cup with a 4-1 defeat at Tannadice before 3 wins and a draw in March saw the league campaign gather pace as the finishing line approached before a trip to Parkhead in April saw Calderwood’s men take an early 2-0 lead in Glasgow’s East End for the second time in the campaign. Unfortunately this time the home side turned the game around with goals from Varga, Hartson & Bellamy.

Despite that defeat, the Dons place in the Top 6 was confirmed and all eyes were on whether Aberdeen could chase down Hibs for 3rd place - a win over Motherwell coupled with a draw in the Edinburgh derby saw that opportunity materialise further before 2 defeats to Rangers & Celtic saw the Dons travel to Easter Road for a make or break encounter. Lubo Blaha (remember him?) with a sparkling 45 minute showing coupled with a Darren Mackie double saw the Dons take the points ahead of a visit to Pittodrie of Hearts the following week whilst Hibs hosted a Rangers side needing a result to win the title.

Aberdeen held up our side of the bargain - a 2-0 win over the Jambos saw us reach the same points tally as Hibs (61) - and when Novo scored for Rangers at Easter Road, hopes were high that the Ibrox side would look to finish their season with a flourish - as it was, both sides were satisfied with a 1-0 scoreline for Rangers. Rangers only ever needed to win the game and hope that Celtic stumbled at Motherwell whilst Hibs retained a 2 goal advantage over Aberdeen and had a vastly superior goal scored tally. In scenes reminiscent of the 1982 World Cup where West German & Austria settled on a 1-0 win for the West Germans, Easter Road was the scene of very little football for the final 30 minutes.

For Aberdeen and Calderwood, this was a bittersweet way for the season to finish up but the season had been a vast improvement on the last couple.

Calderwood had been brought in to Aberdeen on the premise of his adventurous footballing style, an interesting foot note on that first season for Calderwood was the fact that in that first season, the focus was squarely on making Aberdeen a side that was hard to beat - 39 goals conceded was the 3rd lowest in the division. Only 44 goals scored in 38 league games was a surprisingly low number, indeed, that placed Aberdeen squarely in 6th spot in the league table for goals scored.

A season to build on

It was apparent that Calderwood was keen to strengthen his striking options ahead of his second campaign and he was backed heavily by the board that summer - Lee Miller was trailed for much of the summer before he made the move to Dundee United instead but Barry Nicholson, Steve Lovell and Jamie Smith all made the move to the North East. Nicholson & Lovell joining for nearly £500,000 combined and those moves were supplemented further with Jamie Langfield joining from Dunfermline.

After such an encouraging start to life at Aberdeen and with the cheque book back out at AB24, hopes were high going into the 2005-06 season amongst the Red Army.

The Dons rattling through a staggering 9 pre-season games including outings at Montrose & Fraserburgh where trialist, Piotr Wlodarczyk, netted 4 times in two games but failed to land a contract.

Another pre-season trip to Holland saw the first of use of his son, Scott, to make up the numbers before the season started in earnest with a trip to Tannadice where who else but Lee Miller would score within 7 minutes to put United ahead but Barry Nicholson would get his Aberdeen career off to a flyer with the equaliser in front of the massed Red Army in the Shed early in the second half.

Defeat to Kilmarnock at Pittodrie was a real setback before the Dons put in a great performance to beat Rangers 3-2 the following weekend - goals from Anderson & a well-worked move involving Smith, Nicholson and then a classy finish from Lovell appeared to have the reds on easy street before Prso & an overhead kick from Lovenkrands pulled the away side level - step forward Jamie Smith who smashed home a long-range effort late in the game that saw Pittodrie erupt.

With Nicholson, Lovell & Smith all off the mark early in their respective spells at Aberdeen, the general feeling was one of hoping that this would see Calderwood’s side kick on and really make this a season to remember.

For whatever reason, it just never really clicked that campaign - a lack of consistency affecting the side with Aberdeen struggling to convert draws into wins. Indeed, Aberdeen lost less games (10) than in the season prior (13) but 15 draws was the most of anyone in the league and was over double the number from the 04/05 campaign. If you are generous and just move 6 of those draws into wins, a tally of 66 points would have seen Aberdeen finish comfortably in 4th once again.

Nonetheless, the season still produced some memorable moments - the win over Rangers mentioned above followed up by another win over the Govan side in the Pittodrie snow a first win at Tynecastle since 1999 and a turnaround Scottish Cup win at Tannadice (via Richie Byrne Corner) live long in the memory.

2006/07 - A return to Europe

Perhaps Jimmy saw the same as I do now, looking back on the data - that the side he had assembled the season prior was good enough to propel Aberdeen back into Europe, it just needed to be a little more consistent and have a little more belief. Despite the departure of Kevin McNaughton to Cardiff, It’s telling that Calderwood didn’t dip into the transfer market to the same extent as in previous years - Karim Touzani the standout summer signing before Calderwood finally got his man in the form of Lee Miller - the striker finally signing for Aberdeen late in the August transfer window.

Having impressed during his loan spell at Hearts, Miller’s time at United had been a miserable one and he arrived at Aberdeen in need of a shot in the arm to spark his career. Calderwood clearly rated the big man and, it’s probably not unfair to suggest that Miller was the missing piece in the side that had struggled the season before.

A shock exit to Queens Park in the League Cup 2nd Round in late August saw pressure begin to grow on Calderwood but his side really hit their groove as the winter rolled around - an unbeaten November gave way to December where only Rangers, Celtic & United were able to take maximum points from the Dons - a 1-0 win at Hearts thanks to a late Lovell goal saw Aberdeen move into second spot for a period and 7 clear of the Jambos.

A sloppy January threatened to derail the campaign but a solid March saw the side remain in pole position for that European spot. However, a 4-2 defeat to United at Pittodrie in the final game before the split saw those hopes take a dent. A 2-2 draw with Hibs, followed up by a 3-0 win over Kilmarnock at Pittodrie saw the side enter the final stretch with a 4 point advantage over Hearts ahead of a Tynecastle meeting between the sides on 6th May. A raucous atmosphere saw Hearts take an early lead with Velicka netting on 14 minutes, it’s credit to Calderwood’s side that they didn’t allow the game to slip away from them despite a strong showing from the home side in the first forty-five minutes.

Just as it looked as though time was running out and our lead would be cut to a solitary point before facing Celtic & Rangers back to back, up popped Barry Nicholson to net following a cross ball by Craig Brewster to send the massed ranks of the Red Army behind the goal into raptures - Nicholson sent off in the aftermath for taking his top off but nobody cared - the 4 point gap was maintained and the Dons held their destiny in their own hands.

A 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park meant that everything hinged on a final day meeting with Rangers at Pittodrie - and, for once, the Dons pulled out a performance when it really mattered.

A long-range effort from Scott Severin on 21 minutes got things up and running - I’m pretty certain that Seve won’t have hit a ball any sweeter than that one in his career before Steve Lovell sent Pittodrie wild with the Dons’ second goal, just 11 minutes later as he nipped in front of McGregor to loft the ball over the stranded ‘keeper.

The Dons saw it out comfortably to take the victory and ensure a return to European football the following season. A truly great afternoon at the old lady and the celebrations afterwards in the city went long into the night.

A return to Europe

The close season saw a number of players who had been key in securing a return to Europe depart, none perhaps more keenly felt than that of captain, Russell Anderson whose titanic performances during the 2006/07 season saw him secure a big money move to English Premier League side, Sunderland. Scott Severin assumed the captain’s armband for the season ahead as the likes of Lee Mair, Jackie McNamara (ugh), Derek Young & Jeffrey de Visscher made the move to Aberdeen.

There was a highly inauspicious start to the league campaign - a 1-0 defeat at Tannadice on the opening day was followed up by draws with Hibs & Hearts and a defeat to Celtic - indeed, the Dons ended August without a win to our names before finally securing a 1-0 win at Kilmarnock on 1st September thanks to a goal from Lee Miller.

A home defeat to Motherwell in the league was less than ideal preparation for the midweek’s UEFA Cup First Round, First Leg tie with Dnipro. The Ukranians, a formidable outfit for Calderwood’s side to navigate having humbled Hibs at the same stage of the UEFA Cup a couple of seasons prior - the Hibees tumbling out 5-1 on aggregate.

As it was, the Dons put in a fine performance at Pittodrie and were unlucky not to win the game, there was much frustration that there was not an advantage to take to Ukraine but the visitors had failed to notch an away goal, something that would become crucial in the coming weeks…

Partick Thistle were dispatched in the League Cup before newly promoted Gretna (yes, remember that was a thing) were also defeated before a date with destiny as the Dons travelled to Dnipropetrovsk, looking to claim a place in the UEFA Cup Group stage for the first time.

After an early scare, Calderwood’s charges settled into the game and took the lead in spectacular style - Foster with an inch-perfect ball into the middle which was met by a diving Darren Mackie to nod in his 50th goal for the club to send the travelling support (and those watching at home on TV) into a state of bedlam. What is it about Aberdeen and diving headers in Europe?

From there on, the home side began to force the Dons defence backwards and peppered Jamie Langfield’s goal with efforts from all over - despite the incessant pressure, the Aberdeen backline remained resolute with Langfield producing his finest 90 minutes for the club. A fluke equaliser for Dnipro with 15 minutes to go set up a nervy finale but Calderwood’s side held out for a famous win - the first time that Aberdeen had won a tie on away goals and the first time that we had overcome a home draw to qualify in our history. The Dons were through with a number of big guns awaiting in the groups.

The Dons were drawn in Group B alongside Panathinaikos, Lokomotiv Moscow, Atletico Madrid & Copenhagen - a stern test awaited! With league and League Cup form settling down, the Red Army could look ahead to trips to Athens & Madrid with Lokomotiv & Copenhagen scheduled to travel to the Granite City. With 3 teams from each group qualifying, there was always the hope that a couple of favourable results may see us sneak into the last 32…

Panathinaikos were up first and if there was any misconception as to the standard that we would face in the group stage, this certainly focused minds - a 3-0 defeat at the Nea Smyrni Stadium was a humbling reminder as to the step up in quality that the side would face at this stage of European football.

The visit of Lokomotiv Moscow in November certainly offered the prospect of getting some points onto the board and when Zander Diamond headed in the opener just before the half hour mark, there was a real belief that we could secure a much needed 3 points. Future Chelsea player, Branislav Ivanovic with an ill-deserved equaliser in first half injury time and that goal seemed to knock the confidence from the men in red as the second half petered away with little in the way of clear cut opportunities for either side.

The next day, hundreds of supporters lined the Main Stand before being ushered under cover to sleep in the RDS concourse, desperate to ensure that they would secure tickets for the game in Madrid against Atletico. As it turned out, there needn’t have been quite the level of panic for this one but it provides a story for the grand-kids if nothing else.

If you know, you know.

A 4-1 defeat at Tynecastle in the league, followed up by a 3-0 defeat at Parkhead was not the ideal preparation for a trip to take on La Liga’s Atletico Madrid. The massed ranks of the Red Army descending on the Spanish capital with Fairy liquid in the fountains and pilgrimages to the Bernabaeu plentiful. The poor tour guides smiling with good grace as they were asked for the 400th time during the day as to where the 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup was as scores of Aberdonians made their way through the fabled trophy room.

A star-studded Atletico side lay in wait - Thiago Motta, Diego Forlan, Sergio “Kun” Aguero & Rodriguez Maxi all lining up in the starting XI for Atleti in the, by then crumbling Vicente Calderon.

The Dons forced into an unwanted line up with Barry Nicholson having to take a place on the bench due to illness but Calderwood’s side put up a brave showing despite an early scare when Pernia hit the post inside 3 minutes. Injuries to McNamara (shat it most likely) and then Jamie Smith prior to half-time only serving to make the task that much harder for the men in red but just as it looked as though we had seen it through to half-time, a daft penalty kick given away by Michael Hart (who had been imperious to that point) which was converted by Forlan.

A second goal for the home side followed on the hour mark but this carried a huge element of luck as Simao’s free kick hit the post and rebounded off the back of Langfield’s bonce and into the net.

A performance to be proud of but a result that many feared would be enough to see the Dons exit the tournament. For all of that though, the Red Army enjoyed their evening in Madrid - 2 Willie Millers and all that.

All eyes were on matchday 4 and the hope was that both Lokomotiv & Copenhagen would fail to win their matches which would open up the prospect of a win for Aberdeen over Copenhagen being enough to secure passage to the last 32.

As Idlewild played at Moshulu, Atletico took the points in Copenhagen whilst Lokomotiv fell to a couple of late goals in Greece and the path had opened up - an Aberdeen win over the Danes would see us qualify whilst a draw was good enough for Copenhagen.

A sold-out Pittodrie, five days before Christmas welcomed Copenhagen into an atmosphere that puts goosebumps onto my arms just thinking about. The drone of the thousands of vuvuzelas handed out around the ground was deafening as a new generation of Aberdeen fans got to their own version of Munich ‘83 to enjoy.

A nervy and cagey first 45 minutes gave way to an unforgettable second half display as the Dons ran over the Danes, inspired by Jamie Smith’s finest performance in a red shirt.

Langfield’s ball up the park missed by a defender and Smith was on hand to lob the ball into the top corner of the net from distance to set the blue touch paper alight.

Smith’s second coming ten minutes later, latching onto a fine ball by Lee Miller to finish low past the goalkeeper and Pittodrie was unhinged.

Copenhagen had no clue what had hit them, Miller continuing to torment their backline and he was key again in the 3rd goal as his cross was turned into his own net by Antonsson before Foster rounded things off with a late goal.

4-0 to the Dons, an outstanding result and performance - the defining game of Calderwood’s tenure with the Club.

The following day, the Granite City awoke for the annual Mad Friday nonsense but all eyes were on Nyon at lunchtime, just who would the Dons be pulled out of the hat with in the last 32? Spurs? Leverkusen? Hamburg? Villarreal? Fiorentina? Everton? PSV? Galatasaray? Benfica?

As fate would have it, a reunion with Bayern Munich was pulled first out of the hat - 25 years on from that famous night in 1983, the Germans would have the opportunity to exact revenge on the Dons.

Many in the football media were anticipating a St. Valentine’s Day Massacre at Pittodrie as the Bavarian giants rolled into town. Instead, another famous European night was put into the record books as Munich failed to leave the North East of Scotland with a victory for the second time. Calderwood’s side were at it from the off, Miller causing Lucio and Demichelis at the heart of the Bayern defence all manner of problems and it was no shock when Josh Walker netted his first goal for the Dons on 24 minutes - the ball rolled back from Aluko and the young Englishman curled a delightful effort into the corner of the net and Pittodrie was in dreamland.

A quickfire response from Klose only quelled the atmosphere for so long as Aluko put the Dons back in front on 41 minutes, latching onto a lovely ball through by Miller and the on-loan winger fired underneath Rensing and Aberdeen went in at the break a goal to the good.

Maybury penalised early in the second half for a handball in the box, Altintop having his initial effort from the penalty mark stopped by Langfield but ‘keeper was helpless as the ball rebounded to the Bayern midfielder to tap home.

The Bundesliga side dominating possession in the second period but, generally, failing to trouble Langfield significantly in the second half bar an effort from Podolski - Aberdeen holding Bayern at bay and the sides would head for southern Germany with the tie in the balance.

Credit cards and life savings had to either be max’d out or drained further as the Red Army’s European adventures continued - an estimated 7,000 making the trip to Munich, drinking numerous bierhalle’s dry and making the very most of Bavarian hospitality.

The cavernous Allianz Arena, built for the 2006 World Cup, was a far cry from the Olympic Stadium that the likes of Miller and McLeish had visited in 1983 but could this collection of Reds match the achievement of their predecessors and progress at Bayern’s expense?

Well… No. Bayern were out of the traps fast in the return leg, Podolski rattling Langfield’s bar with an outrageous volley just seconds into the game. Lucio with the opener on 12 minutes when his effort snuck past Langfield before there was THE moment for Aberdeen - Mackie played in behind the Munich defence but he could only drill his effort wide of goal with only Kahn to beat.

Van Buyten then made it 2 before half-time with a header from 6 yards. Unbowed, the Dons had the ball in the net within 10 minutes of the restart - Mackie getting onto an Aluko cross but the goal was ruled out for offside. Munich settled the tie on 71 minutes as Podolksi pounced on a rebound from a Langfield save before the German international grabbed his second a matter of minutes later.

Steve Lovell did manage to grab a consolation goal for the visitors - heading a de Visscher free kick beyond Kahn to the delight of the travelling support whose exuberant celebrations befuddled the average Bavarian. The scoring wasn’t done there though as van Bommel hit a low drive past Langfield - in the end a 7-3 aggregate score line was harsh on the Dons who acquitted themselves well against European royalty.

A frustrating league season petered out with Aberdeen finally landing up in 4th spot, 7 points behind Motherwell in 3rd - the main highlight of the back end of the league campaign being the final day victory over Rangers at Pittodrie, the 2-0 win denying the Govan side any chance of winning the title which Celtic wrapped up with a win at Tannadice the same evening.

The final season

There was a school of thought that, perhaps, Calderwood’s time had really been up at the end of the 2007/08 season. The European run had been a thing of wonder and respectability, on a continental level had been restored but failings in the domestic cups (more on that later) and a faltering league campaign meant that questions remained as to whether Jimmy had taken the team as far as he could.

In spite of that, Calderwood remained in charge for the following campaign. The loss of Barry Nicholson, in particular, from the squad that summer was a significant one. Whilst money was made available for Calderwood to attempt to strengthen the squad, the likes of Mark Kerr and Gary McDonald never really hit the heights of Nicholson and Severin. Charlie Mulgrew had a decent enough first season and cash was made available to acquire Sone Aluko on a permanent deal and nightclub bouncer turned “footballer” Tommy Wright was also signed for a pricey £100k.

A 3rd Round exit in the League Cup to Kilmarnock did little to quell the noise around Calderwood’s future and 5 losses on the spin between September & October hardly helped. Decent form in December & January saw the league campaign get back on track but this was a wildly inconsistent Aberdeen side - a 4-2 win over Celtic at Pittodrie followed up by a goal-less draw with Rangers seemed to indicate that the team had turned a corner, only for those 2 results to be followed up with a miserable 1-0 defeat to Falkirk.

Defeat on penalties to Dunfermline in a Scottish Cup Quarter Final Replay was, in all likelihood, the moment that the Aberdeen board made the decision to part ways with Calderwood although that decision wouldn’t be forthcoming for a few weeks yet. With 4th place enough to secure a European spot, the Dons rallied enough to be in contention on the final day, needing to beat Hibs at Pittodrie and hope for United to be beaten by Rangers at Tannadice - the Ibrox side needing a win to secure the title. With United beaten 3-0, the Dons did their part, goals from Miller in comical fashion and a free kick from Charile Mulgrew enough to see Aberdeen qualify for the newly re-branded Europa League the following campaign.

As the sun burned down on Pittodrie, there was an odd atmosphere around the ground - rumours had been flying for a couple of days that, no matter the outcome , Calderwood was likely to be given his jotters - the big surprise was that the announcement came as swiftly. Within minutes of the final whistle, news began to filter through via BBC Radio Scotland that Calderwood’s employment had been terminated - news that came as a shock to many within the club who had huge amounts of time for the manager. The mood around the club was not one of celebration about a return to Europe but one that was more akin to a funeral tea and, perhaps that says a lot about what the man meant to so many within the club itself.

Calderwood - In Retrospect

Upon his departure, Calderwood left Pittodrie with a record of 226 games in charge in all competitions, 94 wins, 59 draws and 73 defeats - a win percentage of 42%. At the time, only Ian Porterfield, Willie Miller and the co-manager pairing of Jocky Scott & Alex Smith had better records post-Fergie. Indeed, Calderwood’s numbers were the best of any Aberdeen manager since Willie Miller departed in 1995 and Calderwood oversaw more matches in charge than anyone since Ferguson.

It’s more than fair to say that Calderwood restored a lot of pride in supporting Aberdeen and certainly made following the club more enjoyable - the dire days of Alex Miller & Steve Paterson were in stark contrast to the 5 years that Jimmy was in the Pittodrie hotseat. The European run of 2007/08 gave a new generation of fans their own selection of special occasions both at home and abroad to tell their own kids and grandkids about, similar to our own parents who had Munich ‘83 and Gothenburg.

Of course, all was not rosy during Calderwood’s tenure. Failure to make it to a domestic Cup Final during his spell remains a significant frustration - the double failure in both semi-finals in 2008 will, forever, remain a dark spot on Calderwood’s record. The League Cup semi-final at Tynecastle against United was shambolic with too many in the side suffering stage fright of an epic scale with headloss moments all over the place. Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup semi? Perhaps the less said about that one the better - an utterly abysmal afternoon at the National Stadium that saw a glorious opportunity to lift the Scottish Cup go begging. There is no doubt in my mind that we would’ve won the Cup that season had we made it to the final - that Rangers side was completely out of gas after their run to Manchester and the UEFA Cup Final - as was demonstrated by just how far Queens pushed them in the final itself.

Despite those failings, Calderwood’s time at Aberdeen is, deservedly, viewed as being a positive one. It’s hard to describe just how dire, how morose and how deflated the support felt at the end of the 2003/04 season.

Our club felt like one without direction, without purpose and just hoping to exist. The arrival of Calderwood sparked life back into the club, his larger than life presence and jocular exterior gave the supporters something to believe in. Talk to anyone who played under him and they will tell you that his man management was second to none - players loved playing for him, staff loved working for him and it showed. In many ways, Calderwood was a modern-day Ally MacLeod - a man who dared to dream that he could restore the past glories of our club and make us a force to be reckoned with domestically and on the European stage.

For a few moments, he did just that - and we shall be forever thankful for those moments.

Rest in peace, Jimmy.