This is Willie Miller’s third book and he has again teamed up with sports writer Rob Robertson who is the co-author on his autobiography ‘The Don’, published in 2007. Not surprisingly the cover features the famous photograph of a beaming Willie Miller holding the Cup-Winners Cup. The same photograph also appears on the cover of the ‘The Don’ and his earlier autobiography ‘A Millers Tale’, published way back in 1989 (is this his only photograph with the cup?).I had half expected this book to follow the same format as Aberdeen Greats by Alistair Guthrie where each chosen player is given a chapter where his virtues are praised, but it does not. Willie goes through each position from goalkeeper, full backs, midfield and forwards, giving a brief history through stats and anecdotes for each player that he considered for his dream team, before making his final choice. A history of Aberdeen FC is also told along the way. No surprises for guessing that his dream team is wholly comprised of players present at Pittodrie during his playing career. The nearest any player who had left Pittodrie before he signed as a schoolboy in 1969 gets to his dream team is a place on the bench, and lets face it there are not too many great players to grace the Pittodrie turf since he hung up his boots in 1990.Managers and backroom staff are not forgotten and he even picks his ‘dream’ referee. Which given his reputation many would argue he would be a contender himself!I found the style of writing somewhat irritating at times and there are a number of typos. A number of stories are told such as the ‘great mystery’, and are expanded upon in a later chapter and then told again later on. A distinct feeling of Déjà vu is experienced throughout the book. One schoolboy error is that we are informed that Aberdeen’s first competitive match abroad was the 10-0 defeat of KR Reykjavik. This was of course the home score, the away score being 4-1 for Aberdeen On the telling of Matt Armstrong’s scoring record Willie tells us that ‘his mediocre statistics continued in the 1933/34 campaign when he played just 13 times and scored 14 goals which was at least a bit of an improvement’ A quick check in Jim Rickaby’s excellent book ‘Aberdeen: A Complete Record’, confirms he did score 14 goals but shows he actually played 12 games, scoring in nine of these, including five goals in an 8-0 drubbing of Ayr Utd. Perhaps mediocre had a different meaning back in the Thirties.The book concludes with various luminary Dons fans such as Buff Hardie, Paul Lawrie and Richard Gordon who name their own dream team. Willie comments on their choices and it apparent that he has no liking for Zoltan Varga who appears in three of these dream teams. Willie discusses Zoltan Varga in an earlier chapter of the book and all but calls him a mercenary. He is happy to tell us again,three times, why he does not agree with his guest’s choice. Personally speaking if anyone picks their dream team it their dream team and who’s to say who deserves to be in or out?Perhaps I am being too critical of the book and it’s always good to read of great Aberdeen players of the past, of which Willie Miller is the greatest. So with the festive season upon us get the book as a stocking filler and see if you agree with Willie Miller’s Aberdeen Dream Team.
Willie Miller's Aberdeen Dream Team by Willie Miller with Rob Robertson Published by Black and White Publishing, hard back version. £10.99
Source: FOOTYMAD
