A RED Point of View GRAEME SHINNIE NEW CAPTAIN NEW SEASON... ISSUE 01 JULY 2017 Welcome... cONTRIBUTORS: It is with great pleasure that I welcome Ryan Crombie: you to “A Red Point of View” the unof- @ryan_crombie ficial online Dons magazine. We are an entirely new publication, dedicated to Ally Begg: bringing you content based upon the @ally_begg club we love. As a regular blogger and writer, I have written many pieces on the Scott Baxter: club I have supported from birth, this perhaps less through choice but family @scottscb tradition. I thank my dad for this. As a re- Matthew Findlay: sult of engaging and sharing my personal @matt_findlay19 writing across social media for several years now, I have grown to discover the monumental online Dons support that Tom Mackinnon: exists across all platforms. The aim of @tom_mackinnon this magazine is to provide a focal point for Aberdeen fans online, to access some Martin Stone: of the best writing that the support have @stonefish100 to offer, whilst giving the writers a plat- form to voice anything and everything Finlay Hall: Dons related. In this first issue we have @FinHall a plethora of content ranging from the pre-season thoughts from one of the Red Army’s finest, Ally Begg, to an ex- Mark Gordon: @Mark_SGordon clusive interview with Darren Mackie, who opens up about his lengthy time at Pittodrie. Guest writer Scott Baxter, Lewis Michie: the club photographer at Aberdeen tells @lewismichie0 what it’s like to photograph the Dons. Finlay Hall analyses the necessity of Ewan Beattie: fanzines and we get some views from @Ewan_Beattie the terraces as fans send in their pieces. Elsewhere we hear the views of Blogger Martin Stone, the “Burst Baw Podcast’s” Matt Findlay and the Evening telegraph’s A Special Thanks: Tom Mackinnon tackles the issue of colt To Scott Baxter club photographer at Aberdeen teams. I am delighted to have yourself Football Club. Without his kindness in allowing us on board for the first issue of the mag- to use his sublime photos the magazine would be azine and I hope it won’t be the last. a worse, less colourful place without them. Scott’s Stand Free and enjoy! Ryan Crombie. name and website are on all images. Do not hesi- Cover art by Callum Melvin tate to head to his site “scottcameronbaxter.com”. New Captain, New Season. WORDS / Ryan Crombie IMAGE / Scott Baxter - @scottscb scottcameronbaxter.com new season beckons. With it comes the usual of the punters biting their nails at the back of the South unwavering eagerness of supporters, the re- Stand; leaping for every header, kicking every ball, stretch- juvenated bouts of optimism and the restless ing every sinew as he dives into challenges. He experiences anticipation of finally being able to chalk in the the emotions on the pitch that the supporters are under- Afitba for Saturday afternoon on the calendar. The usual going off of it. As a direct result the Dons fans want to rally close season process is underway; new faces are walk- behind Shinnie, they want to call him their captain. ing the corridors of Pittodrie, season tickets are heading towards a record number of sales while as always the Shinnie, the hallmark of stability has ironically been sur- club shop remains stowed out for the first few games rounded by uncertainty over the course of the summer. As of the season. Football is back and frankly there is no is the transient nature of football, all things, good or bad, better feeling. We are back for a new season and with it must come to an end and there has been vast changes we have a new captain. made to the playing squad since that last game in May. A host of players have moved on but additions to the squad McInnes has decided to put his faith in his stalwart such as Stewart, Mackay-Steven, Maynard and Arnason are midfielder Graeme Shinnie to skipper the team for the unequivocally going a long way to filling the gaping holes 2017/18 season. It may not seem like the most impact- left by Hayes and McGinn. The return of Christie from Celt- ful of changes at the club given the fact Shinnie led the ic could prove to be pivotal over the course of the season, side for lengthy periods during the injury of our dearly with exquisite touches and flashy finishing proving to be departed former number 22 but now it is finally placing the norm for young Ryan, he certainly looks like he has the the sole onus on Shinnie as captain of potential to scoop the player of the Aberdeen Football Club. A man that year award when it comes around epitomises what a leader should be, “The Dons next year. Most crucially of all, the Shinnie understands what it means to management staff are here to stay. play for Aberdeen. He plays with te- McInnes and Docherty turned down nacity, his celebrations are passionate faithful want Sunderland and have now signed on in victory while he remains magnani- at Pittodrie until 2020. Whether they mous and honest in the face of defeat. to rally behind see out the length of that contract it It is with these qualities that the fans remains to be seen but what it does have taken to Shinnie like an Aberdo- say for now is that both are fully com- nian takes to the famous rowie. Shinnie, they mitted to the club and believe that they can progress Aberdeen to that What there is no debating, is that Ab- want to call next level. erdeen had been missing a strong au- thoritative leader since captain Russell Aberdeen have experienced that Anderson retired in 2015. Jack took on him their period of change that has threatened the role in a diffident fashion with it for several seasons now but with rumoured the captaincy was a negoti- captain.” the calibre of recruitment during the ation within his contract. Nonetheless, close season you could argue the he was never going to become that domineering voice squad looks to be in a stronger position now, than it did on the pitch simply because he had been passed the last year. There is more than enough reason to be optimis- armband. It wasn’t his nature and often when pro- tic about the coming season especially with the talent that ceedings cruelly turned against the Dons, Jack’s body now litters the Aberdeen dressing room. The ambition for language suggested he was carrying the weight of the McInnes and his side will definitely be to get their hands world on his shoulders and at times shirking blame on some silverware this year especially after the agony of from the situation instead of galvanising his colleagues falling at the final hurdle in both cup competitions during looking for a solution. This may seem overly harsh but the last campaign. The players who remain will be hungry his shortcomings are only accentuated by the quality of to get back to the national stadium to right a few wrongs his successor, Graeme Shinnie. while McInnes is on this path to create a legacy at the club. In his short time in the role, Shinnie has shown the fans The feel good factor is here to stay at Aberdeen and with what it means to himself to captain the side. His most the club heading for a record season ticket sales total, the desired quality? He cares. It’s the one trait that support- vibrancy from the support is undeniable. The Red Army are ers of a club anywhere in the world want to see. His de- buying into what McInnes continues to build at Pittodrie, sire and the battling determination that Shinnie shows while they are on board with the new captain. Graeme on a consistent basis is why the Pittodrie faithful have Shinnie, one of our own, will lead us into battle for the fallen for their new captain. He plays as if he was one 2017/18 campaign. Darren Mackie: A career dedicated to Aberdeen IMAGE / Scott Baxter - @scottscb scottcameronbaxter.com arren Mackie was one of the great servants to makes it feel like I’ve been a part of a huge moment Aberdeen football club. Albeit a man who divid- in the recent history of the club. Looking back it was a ed opinion at the best of times, Mackie created massive thing to score and get us through to the group some of the most memorable Dons moments stages. It was an amazing night from start to finish. The Dof the 21st century and none more so than that diving goal going in is just a blur really as it happened so quick- header in the heat of night in Ukraine to secure Aber- ly. There was the throw in out on the left hand side, then deen’s passage to the UEFA Cup group stages. For that, it the quick one-two with Richard Foster and Jamie Smith is what Mackie will be most fondly remembered of and and then Foster ran down the wing and crossed it in and he himself agrees. In this exclusive interview with “A Red I was where I was meant to be, in the six yard box wait- Point of View” Darren Mackie opens up about his career ing for the diving header. The cross couldn’t have been and his fourteen years at the Dons. any more perfect and I just literally had to throw myself at it. I can still remember the ball hitting the back of Mackie’s love affair with the club was one that was in- the net and the noise from the fans, who were quite far stilled in him from an early age as he grew up supporting back behind the goal and then they were going wild.