Aberdeen v St Johnstone programme
Players Feature | Adam Rooney
As Scotland goes, you’d be hard pushed to get much further from Dublin than the Granite City, but in Aberdeen’s fair city, where the football’s so pretty, it’s our contingent of Irishmen that are doing plenty to propel the Dons toward an end of season that might yet go down in the history books.
Our latest acquisition, goalscorer extraordinaire Adam Rooney, has signed for the Dons for a good few quid a week less than his namesake Wayne has just pocketed at Manchester United, but he could have every bit as big an impact on our fortunes in the next few years as Wayne might have on things at Old Trafford.
His story started out across the Irish Sea, just as it did for a couple of Aberdeen stars that Adam knows plenty about.
“I grew up in Dublin. There are different leagues for all the different counties in Ireland. DDSL is the Dublin District League and that is the strongest set up. Even lads who have been playing in other counties, like Cork and Kerry, because all the scouts come to Dublin to watch the games in that League, all the best players land up in the capital and the scouts then take the players from there over to the UK. There are certainly far better opportunities for the players in Dublin to get spotted than anywhere else in the country.
“When I played in Dublin, I was aware of Willo Flood. When I was coming up through the Irish youth ranks, everyone would speak about him, he was very highly regarded. Jonny Hayes was a couple of years older than me, so although I didn’t play against him, I did see him play a few times, so I knew who he was and how good a player he was. Willo and Jonny come from the same area in Dublin, an area that has produced quite a number of players over the years”.
AFC Former Player’s Club Feature | Brian Mitchell
This week’s Former Players interview by Sean Graham is with another one of the younger local players to make a name for himself at the club in the glorious era for the club. Mr dependable Brian Mitchell.
What do you remember about your early days at Pittodrie?
It was hard work!It was very much disciplined under Alex Ferguson and Archie Knox. We trained most afternoons and as I was on the ground staff we had plenty of jobs to do as well and they had to be 100% right otherwise they had to be done again! I remember washing the bus and Archie inspecting it – if there was one slight mark or smudge on the windows we had to do it all again from the start!
The club had a fantastic amount of success after they won the Scottish Cup in 82 and this was the springboard for even more success, what was it like to be around the club at that time?
Again, it’s only when you reflect that you realise how special a time it was. Every week we were in Europe and remember we used to have a sweep to see who we would draw. Fergie used to come out to training on a Friday and announce where we were heading to next and we just got swept away on a wave as it just seemed natural and part of life to experience all the success. I remember the fans queuing for hours and hours to get European tickets and league games regularly having over 20,000. The town had such a buzz but Fergie made sure we were not allowed to enjoy the success to much as he was always on top of the young boys if we were out in town!
Did the club prepare you for life in the spotlight?
Not really but Fergie made sure you didn’t get carried away! There was little professional support in those days for advice as it was very much the traditional methods to keep you in check. Preparation was key to success so you learnt through good professionals how to treat your body and prepare for games.
Also in this weeks redmatchday: Richard Gordon, Derek McInnes, Chris Crighton, Andrew Considine, Russell Anderson. plus have all the usual features and indepth historical content. redmatchday magazine is on sale from in and around the ground on Tuesday night and is also available from the Pittodrie Club shop still priced at £3. If you cannot get to the game you can buy a copy online by clicking here
Also in this weeks redmatchday: Richard Gordon, Derek McInnes, Chris Crighton, Andrew Considine, Russell Anderson. plus have all the usual features and indepth historical content. redmatchday magazine is on sale from in and around the ground on Tuesday night and is also available from the Pittodrie Club shop still priced at £3. If you cannot get to the game you can buy a copy online by clicking here
