Player of the Season – Part II

I just read redandwhite’s player of the season article and felt an urge to respond.

I was surprised by the inclusion of Scott Severin, who must be the worst captain in club football history. Severin was horrific the past season. If Calderwood had told the players to follow Severin’s example maybe that would be the reason we saw so many half-hearted performances last season. Severin showed absolutely no captain’s qualities whatsoever in the 20 or so games I saw, whether in real, television or a dodgy illegal stream. Not vocal and not any good, why is he on the pitch, let alone captain? If I was manager I wouldn’t have played him at all. I never recall seeing a game where Severin put in 100% effort, nor one where he lead by example, bar the last 2 or 3 in order to win a move elsewhere. Says something for his attitude. I would probably vote him the worst player of the season, knowing what he is capable of. At least it is accepted Mackie et al are p*sh.

Zander Diamond, well, he’s been solid and reliable. Very vocal too. It’s clear he is not the most skillful player in the world but a brick wall at the back – I can’t remember him costing us a goal this season. Always gives 100%, never lets you down. Definitely not player of the season however.

Sone Aluko is by far the most skillful player at Aberdeen. A crap game for Aluko is like a man of the match performance for Mackie, and it is expectations that sometimes lead to criticism of Aluko. When he gets the ball down the left you’re expecting/hoping for him to beat the player in front, run through on goal and get a shot in, but that’s what his team-mates think too. I’ve noticed that, bar Miller and McDonald etc., everyone else leaves him to it, offering no support and they all run straight towards goal. In a way it’s not really his fault. Or not at all actually. In a better side he’d perform better, but again, not my player of the season.

It hasn’t been Lee Miller’s season really. Clearly the best of our current strikers, but 12 goals is still not enough. He went through a long period without scoring, had he continued his early season form he would have finished with around 20. Not my player of the season.

It was a tough one to decide between Langfield and Kerr, but I went with the one I thought had the biggest impact on the team. Langfield had his best season so far in his Aberdeen career, winning us many points along the way, including that world-class last minute save against Motherwell that turned out was crucial for our European qualification. He should be captain in my opinion as he leads by example and is usually the most vocal player on the pitch. He managed to go through the entire season without a single ‘clanger’ and really brushed up on his kicking. However, I don’t think he had as much impact as…

Mark Kerr. Without this guy, we would have been in deep trouble last season. It was incredible how he looked like a veteran in the Aberdeen midfield, when in fact he only joined last summer. Rarely put a pass astray and was the hardest working player on the pitch. Full of passion, but at the same time kept the tempo of play steady. The entire midfield fell apart every game he never played, everything worked through him. All in all just a fantastic season from him. My player of the season.