Until Saturday, it has been rarely dull watching Aberdeen under Jim Goodwin. The often outspoken boss has had the north-east club gaining plaudits for their attractive football aided by some shrewd summer recruitment in the form of Bojan Miovski and Luis 'Duk' Lopes. Even in defeat, there has been a heavyweight boxer element about them, albeit one with a big punch and glass chin.
Before Saturday's meeting with Scottish Premiership leaders and champions Celtic, the Dons had scored 22 goals at Pittodrie in an impressive run that had brought six wins from seven home fixtures. But it was the polar opposite on show from the thrills and entertainment people have come to expect during games up in the Granite City as the Parkhead club extended their unbeaten record that goes back to February 2016 with a 1-0 win.
Aberdeen barely laid a glove on Celtic and somehow hung on at all square until the final minutes when Hoops skipper Callum McGregor drilled a low effort into the back of the net to win the game and ensure his side remain nine points clear of Rangers at the league's summit. Goodwin claimed after the match that "it was all about containment" and had they got a point then the tactics would have been perfectly executed. However that verdict hasn't gone down well with a disgruntled Red Army who were rightly asking questions at how their side were set up, especially having had over a month of preparations ahead of the clash due to the World Cup break. The 41-year-old's MO has always been bold - so where was the bite on Saturday?
Record Sport looks at the two extremes Goodwin has shown this season as supporters look for to find the right formula when Rangers come to town on Tuesday.
Anti-football tag
It was damming as club legend Willie Miller called for punters to express their displeasure at the negative tactics used when facing Celtic. He slammed a "disgraceful" performance and asked if chairman Dave Cormack would accept such mentality. Miller told BBC Sportsound: "I think that the fans need to show their displeasure in any manager who is showing those kind of tactics at Pittodrie; this is a home game. This is a place where these fans have been entertained."
Some may agree with Goodwin's point that Aberdeen's approach almost secured them a point until McGregor popped up with a bit of magic. Goodwin has been vocal about the defence being his side's Achilles heel and up until the 87th minute, they defended fairly well as a unit to stifle any threat from the visitors. But the reality is the Dons boss showed the Hoops a lot of respect, perhaps not with his team selection because on paper it seemed forward thinking with two in-form strikers, wing backs and creative midfielders all on from the off. Nevertheless those players who have previously been impactful in games this season were largely anonymous with Miovski feeding off scraps from long aimless balls up the pitch before making way on the 73rd minute and on the rare occasion Duk did get the chance to run in the Celtic half, there were was no one with him. Look at the image below, the dreaded 11 men behind the ball came to life in the second half as the Dons camped in with no out ball. It's galling for punters in the Granite City.
And they trudged off at full-time with rather grim stats to reflect their showing and the reality that if it wasn't for some top class saves from Kelle Roos, the game could've been sewn up well before it was. Aberdeen controlled a mere 19 per cent of possession and failed to muster a shot on target at Joe Hart's goal. They allowed Celtic time and space on the ball throughout so it's hardly surprising that Ange Postecoglou's men registered a whopping 33 efforts during the game. Aberdeen also completed just 117 accurate passes in comparison to 754 for the champions. It was the lowest recorded over the past five seasons. Postecoglou's side notched up records in most passes, passes completed, shots, time of possession and time spent in the opposition half. And this is a team who trounced Dundee United 9-0 only three months ago.
Goodwin chucked on the lesser-spotted Shayden Morris for the final minute of injury time which struck desperation and seemed to sum up the former St Mirren manager's naivety, with five substitutes permitted and only two used up until then. Many vexed punters headed to social media to express their bemusement at the fact Christian Ramirez remained a bystander. But was the cautious approach forged after a chastening experience in Govan.
Ibrox miscue
When Aberdeen travelled to face Gio van Bronckhorst's struggling Rangers side on October 29, expectation was high. Goodwin had shown fighting talk in his pre-match press conference, stating that other teams travelled to the Glasgow giants with a "defeatist" mentality, while the Light Blues were off the back of a gruelling Champions League mauling to Napoli just three days before.
However despite Connor Barron firing the Reds into a 21st minute lead, Rangers cruised to a 4-1 victory with Aberdeen's defence getting carved open at every attack - 36 shots the hosts had that afternoon - on a day the home crowd were living on their nerves. Rangers had been on the ropes and vulnerable from their European campaign and Goodwin clearly thought a high press and lots of runners would work but instead it was a baptism of fire leaving them exposed at the other end.
They had 30 per cent possession, more than against Celtic, and generated an xG of 0.42 which is a contrast to 0.06 when set up to soak up the pressure. Goodwin's assertion pats in the back were issued for their attacking endeavours were quickly shot down by punters with score line lucky not to be a lot more painful.
The Rangers recovery chance
It's clear that Goodwin has built a stronger and competitive squad during his near 10 months in the hot seat. There's been things to like, however, the tactical confusion when facing the Glasgow giants has been there for everyone to see and scrutiny will naturally follow.
Aberdeen fans are praying for a positive response against Rangers as the pressure increases on Goodwin to find that perfect balance between going all out and leaving themselves exposed defensively, and sitting back and letting the opposition control the tempo of the game. They still sit third in the league table with a Viaplay Cup semi-final against Tuesday's foes to come in January but if Goodwin wants to be serious about breaking trends and being competitive against the big two, he will need to think hard about his game plan, and most importantly have his squad backing up the soundbites he has given out in the press since taking over from Stephen Glass in February.
He won't be the only manager facing the conundrum of Press or sit? Stick or twist? But the reality is an expectant fanbase won't accept anything but 100 per cent effort and belief from the off against Rangers, even more so having witnessed how vulnerable they appeared defensively against Hibs in Michael Beale's maiden game in charge on Thursday.
Livingston, St Johnstone and St Mirren twice have all caused upsets by taking points off the Glasgow pair this season using a variety of strategies which can be seen a blueprint for Aberdeen, with a far superior budget to do the same.
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