THE resignations of Aberdeen co-managers Emma Hunter and Gavin Beith on Monday didn’t make much sense. Results have been poor this season, but the announcement came just 24 hours after a 2-1 win over Dundee United.
The club are sticking to the line that the departures were of their own volition, but while neither Hunter nor Beith has been available for comment, people close to them insist this was not the case. The decision was, in fact, taken ahead of the Tannadice match, and the subsequent statement appears to have been an exercise in diplomacy.
Aberdeen go into today’s home game against Spartans second bottom in the league, having taken just seven points from a possible 33 in the first round of fixtures. Last season they finished fifth, with 29 points from 27 games – but results in their first nine matches were only marginally better than this year’s.
A run of six wins in nine games that started on December 12 was largely responsible for the high league position. That positive outcome followed back-to-back promotions, both achieved under Hunter, and inevitably there was an expectation that the team would kick on again this season.
Five of the best young players – Jess Broadrick, Bayley Hutchison, Francesca Ogilvie, Eilidh Shore and Eva Thomson – were put on professional contracts in May. It appeared to be another step in the right direction for a squad that Aberdeen had brought in-house at the end of 2018, and not least because the contracts prevented valuable player assets moving to other clubs.
But was the assumption that results would automatically keep improving a realistic one?
Glasgow City, Rangers and Celtic, the top three going into today’s games, are in a league of their own, both in terms of points and resources.
The two sides Aberdeen can reasonably be benchmarked against are Hibernian and Hearts. All three are big city clubs, but while Hibs have a two-decade history of achievement in the women’s game, Hearts are almost identical to Aberdeen in terms of the time – both about three to four years – they have been investing in women’s football.
Last season Hearts finished three places, and nine points, behind their north-east rivals. This morning they are fourth in the table and have 19 points to Aberdeen’s seven.
The obvious difference is that Hearts recruited heavily in the summer. A strategy of targeting players from the English Championship (as well as two from Rangers) has paid off handsomely. By contrast, Aberdeen have been unable to entice players from central belt SWPL clubs to move north, far less from outwith Scotland.
Their squad is predominantly young and homegrown. Another aspect is that Hearts head coach Eva Olid works full time at the club, whereas Hunter and Beith both had demanding day jobs in addition to their team duties.
Hunter, who took over when the side had slipped to the third tier of Scottish football, has worked on the development of many of the young players since they were in their early teens. That commitment barely fits with the narrative that she and Beith decided to walk away ahead of the 11th game of the season.
What is undeniable, however, is that less resourced teams are sitting above Aberdeen in the table. It will be the task of academy director Gavin Levey and his interim back-room team to improve the team’s position ahead of a new head coach being recruited early in the new year.
Aberdeen formed a strategy development team a few months ago to come up with a plan for the women’s and girls’ programme at the club. It has internal and external personnel, including former captain and central defender Kelly Forrest, whose retirement at the end of last season has impacted the side both on and off the pitch.
One of the tasks is to look at what the priority is going to be for player recruitment. But while Aberdeen are still discussing their options, Hearts have already implemented theirs in a league where standing still will always have consequences.
AND ANOTHER THING
A RECORD SWPL crowd of 8,066 at Easter Road for the Edinburgh derby was the driver for a remarkable total attendance of 12,720 for last weekend’s league games. Congratulations to all concerned, and especially Hibs and Hearts.
However, the add-on of a penalty shoot-out for a secondary competition – the Capital Cup – at the end of the 1-1 draw was highly questionable. Innovation is always to be welcomed, but not when it’s a gimmick that distracts from the outcome of a league match.
