On Friday 10th of November 2017, Aberdeen Football Club will induct more Club legends into the prestigious AFC Hall of Fame. The 2017 edition sees another star-studded line-up enter, including three Gothenburg Greats and a member of the first Dons League Championship winning side.

Former players Neale Cooper and John McMaster will enter along with their former Assistant Manager, Archie Knox. The three played pivotal roles in a golden era at Pittodrie and lifted European silverware in 1983. The fourth inductee is the late Graham Leggat. Graham scored an incredible 92 goals in 152 games for Aberdeen and was an integral part of the League Championship in 1954/55. He will be posthumously inducted at the event.

The 2017 AFC Hall of Fame Dinner is once again sponsored by Rainbow City Taxis and will take place in the AAM Lounge in the Richard Donald Stand. The event promises to be a fantastic occasion for AFC supporters, sponsors and partners as we look back at the careers of more great contributors to the Club. Tickets for this prestigious event are still available and are priced at £79+ VAT and include a 3-course meal, Hall of Fame presentation and Q&A session with inductees Neale Cooper, Archie Knox and John McMaster.

Broadcaster & Dons fan, Richard Gordon will host the event and he recently wrote in RedMatchday about the prestigious event.

'In a couple of weeks time it will once again be my pleasure and privilege to host the club’s annual Hall of Fame Dinner at Pittodrie.

After some years of neglect the event was resuscitated in 2015 in the best possible fashion, with the induction of Sir Alex Ferguson. Last year, Ally MacLeod, Stuart Kennedy and Alex McLeish were honoured and the ranks of those recognised will swell to twenty-five next month as Archie Knox, John McMaster and Neale Cooper are given thanks for their massive contributions to the Dons.

The roll of honour reads, as you would expect, like a Who’s Who of Aberdeen legends. There are other Gothenburg Greats: Willie Miller, Neil Simpson, Jim Leighton and John Hewitt, with more surely to follow in future years. There are stars of the 70s such as Henning Boel, Arthur Graham and Drew Jarvie, and those from further back like Fred Martin, Ally Shewan, Martin Buchan and Alec Young. Directors Dick Donald and Chris Anderson were among the early inductees, as was club record goalscorer, Joe Harper.

What stands out a mile is that no-one who has played in almost the last quarter of a century has been included. Jim Leighton did feature, briefly, in the 2000 Scottish Cup Final, but he was recognised for his magnificent service back in the 1980s, and that means that since Jim Bett left the club in 1994, not a single player has performed in such a way to demand inclusion in the Hall of Fame.

There have clearly been a few guys in the years since who merit further consideration; many of you will come up with various names, but I would argue that there is just one glaring omission from that time, and that is long-serving club captain and leader, Russell Anderson. He will surely be honoured in the coming seasons.

The fact that no-one from the 2000s, and hardly anyone from the 90s, is in the HoF is to a large extent an indictment on where the club was for most of that period. The flip-side of that is that the upturn in recent years under Derek McInnes should lead to many more contemporary candidates being short-listed.

Without pausing for even a few seconds, I can reel off Niall McGinn, Jonny Hayes, Adam Rooney and Andrew Considine as definite contenders, and if they spend a few more years at Pittodrie, Graeme Shinnie and Joe Lewis should also be potential inductees. Aside from the players, Derek himself will surely also be honoured in the near future given the incredible turnaround in fortunes he has masterminded.

I have seen first-hand just what it meant to the likes of Stuart Kennedy and Alex McLeish to be recognised in that way. These are two of the toughest, most battle-hardened competitors the game of football has ever known, and yet both were genuinely quite emotional last year as they were inducted.

It’s a way for the club to say thank you to those who have performed above and beyond the call of duty, who have helped propel Aberdeen FC into the headlines, and who have brought success and silverware to Pittodrie.

But it’s also nice for the players to know that while they may have moved on or ended their careers many years previously, there will always be a place for them in our north east corner of Scotland.

It’s a night of unadulterated wallowing, of celebrating past triumphs, of reliving some of the best moments in our club’s history. And I cannot wait for it.'

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