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Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Scottish Cup success and European riches can propel Jimmy Thelin's Aberdeen to the next level
YOU may not be able to put a price on a winning feeling, but the financial benefit of success in football has never been easier to discern. As Aberdeen's open top bus weaved its way through an estimated 100,000 people in the Granite City on Sunday, no one associated with the club was minded doing anything other than drink in the moment. After a 35-year wait to see the Scottish Cup paraded along Union Street, and 11 years on from winning the League Cup, this was all about the sheer glory. Once the dust settles - and that may take some time - chairman Dave Cormack and chief executive Alan Burrows will plot the next chapter having already run some impressive numbers in their minds. Saturday's victory for the Dons wasn't just a blow for Celtic supporters who turned up anticipating seeing the third leg of a sixth treble in nine years knocked off. The unexpected outcome also adversely affected Hibs and Dundee United. David Gray's side were bumped down from the Europa League play-off to the second qualifying round. Despite finishing one place above the Dons in the Premiership in fourth spot, United are now bound for the second qualifying round of the Conference League rather than the Europa. Not only will the European campaigns at Easter Road and Tannadice now start in late July, both teams have several hurdles to clear to be assured of group stage football until Christmas. Aberdeen no longer have to concern themselves with that. Now set to enter the Europa League at the play-off round, Jimmy Thelin's side are in enviable win/win territory. While their likely non-seeding will be a disadvantage, a kind draw against, say, the likes of Belgian side Genk, would give them a decent opportunity of going through. That gets you £3.6m without kicking a ball on top of the £252,000 for participating in the play-off. You're then guaranteed eight matches in the mono-group with the four home games almost certain to be sell-outs. At last check, the prize money for a win was £379,201 with £126,400 for a draw. Although it's evidently performance related, the Pittodrie coffers would be swollen by anything north of £6m. Were Thelin's men to lose the play-off and drop into the Conference League, the financial rewards would be less yet still considerable. There's an automatic £2.6m cheque in the post just for turning up in the group stage on top of the play-off cash. Then it's £337,067 a win and £112,075 a draw. The fact there are only six matches in the lesser competition means there's less scope for accruing prize money through ticket sales and hospitality. Nonetheless, with three home games, Aberdeen would still expect to be at least £5m better off for their trouble. In Scottish football's restricted financial environment, that's a lot of guaranteed income. The feel-good factor emanating from Saturday's historic win will also translate into more pounds and pence. After securing Thelin last summer, the Dons broke through the 10,000-mark for season ticket sales for the first time in their history. Before they'd even set foot in Hampden, the number for next season was already above 11,000. The sold-out signs were a regular feature of home matches as the Swede took the Premiership by storm last August. That would seem certain to continue on the back of the incredible scenes witnessed across the weekend. The club's marketing department also have an open goal to cash-in on the storied triumph. The till in the club shop should me merrily ringing as commemorative tee-shirts, flags, scarves and mugs are snapped up until hostilities resume. Spending all this welcome money is not the concern. It's spending it wisely. Although Aberdeen have backed Thelin in successive transfer windows, the squad needs strengthening. Jack MacKenzie is out of contract and is set to sign for League One Plymouth. Jamie McGrath is off to Hibs. Back-up keeper Ross Doohan is rejoining Celtic. Jeppe Okkels, top-scorer Kevin Nisbet and Alfie Dorrington and are due to return to Preston, Millwall and Tottenham, respectively, now their loan deals have expired. Each would command prohibitive transfer fees meaning a further loan deal is the most likely means of each player returning. Oday Dabbagh is set to go back to Charleroi although Aberdeen have secured an option to buy. Thelin will have Gavin Molloy, Sivert Heltne Nilsen and Ester Sokler back from injury at the start of pre-season. He'll also have to make a call on whether Slobodan Rubezic has any future at the club after his loan spell at Novi Pazar. Although Saturday's victory means the club has more time to weigh up such matters, it's hard to overstate the importance of the squad being properly equipped for what lies ahead. Two years ago, having stormed up the Premiership table to finish third, Barry Robson found European football to be as much a curse as a blessing. The Dons had eight European matches that season. They won just one of the bread-and-butter league games which came immediately after them, drawing only twice. With the club unable to make the top six, Robson paid with his job. It was the same story at Tynecastle in the season just gone. Hearts also had eight European matches. Their record in league games immediately following them? Won one, drew two, lost five. Both Steven Naismith and Neil Critchley will tell you what happened next. While Hibs and United might have similar concerns to deal with, St Mirren and Hearts, to name but two likely top six contenders, will not. Notwithstanding his side's arduous schedule, Thelin will be expected to challenge for third place. To do so, he'll need a larger squad filled with players who can cope with the mental challenge of playing Thursday-Sunday. Nicolas Milanovic, who's joining from Western Sydney Wanderers, needs to be just the first piece in the jigsaw. Although assembling it will be a challenge for all concerned, these are the kind of problems everyone in the game wants to have on their plates. It helps Thelin no end, of course, that he now has a major honour to fall back on. It was the steady improvement he oversaw at Elfsborg across six years that first caught Aberdeen's eye and ensured the backing of the fanbase never really wavered when he endured a 12-game winless run. Having come painfully close to winning the title in his homeland, he finally got on the winner's podium in his adopted home on Saturday. As the red half of Hampden will forever testify, there are some feelings which money cannot buy.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'A scene of jubilation and celebration as Dons parade the Scottish Cup'
When Aberdeen last won the Scottish Cup in 1990, I was on a bus embarking on a school trip to Germany, listening to it all unfold on my pocket being at the celebrations really hammered home how long – too long – it has been since the club last won this trophy, and what it means to the Dons fans lined the streets in their thousands - well into the tens of thousands, in fact - as the open-topped bus weaved its way through the city were in fine voice too, with 'Shinnie, he is one of our own' and the now trademark 'Shady Mo' song being among the choruses belted out as the bus crawled through the throng which filled the granite to the final, there was a mood of trepidation, and very little expectation among the Red a difference a day can make – this was a scene of jubilation and was a fitting reception for the Aberdeen players and staff, who now have their names etched in to the club's history they took it in turns to hold the trophy aloft from the balcony at the Town House at the Castlegate end of Union Street, each lift was greeted with delirious course, the challenge will be to build on this this was about savouring the moment, one which saw a city and its football team united as one.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Thelin feels warmth of Aberdeen fans again after cold winter
Winters in Aberdeen can be bleak. Winterfell has nothing on a dark, bitter night on Union Street. Especially if it's 25 January and all you have to warm you is a red and white scarf around your neck. The city's football team, magnificently unbeaten in their first 16 games across all competitions this season - including 15 wins, were in crisis. A cataclysmic collapse in form had delivered 10 defeats in 13 winless games, the most recent a grim 3-0 chasing at home by St Mirren. Fanciful dreams of title challenges had been switched for blind panic of relegation form. "Time to either adapt or die. Jimmy Thelin has a month at most to sort it out," said one angry fan before his side went on to lose 2-0 to Hibernian in their next game. Publicly, there was no panic, just a relentless message from Thelin, the club's calm and cool new manager, that the tide would turn again. It was hard to see it from outside, but inside the club, the Swede remained steadfast. Almost four months on to the day, Thelin's calm and cool was unceremoniously abandoned as he levitated above his Hampden technical area, punching the air as his side made history to lift the Scottish Cup for the first time in 35 years. Aberdeen end 35-year Scottish Cup wait after stunning Celtic in shootout 'Aberdeen savour the most perfect game ever played' Shinnie 'could retire today and be a happy man' It was a fairytale bookend to the most polarising football campaign that has possibly ever been but one that was rescued by one thing - belief. Not many outside of Thelin's inner circle held much of it for his team in Glasgow's south side against treble-chasing Celtic. Roundly beaten in their previous four meetings and fresh from a spluttering fifth-place finish. It was clear something needed to change for Saturday's final. Even as the contest unfolded, it was hard to see Thelin's masterplan. Sixteen per cent possession at half-time. No shots, no encouragement. Yet the former Elfsborg head coach's late substitutes and game plan hauled Aberdeen level and paved the way for a dramatic penalty shootout shock up there in the pantheon of historic wins in this famous old competition. "He's the best manager I've ever worked with," Dimitar Mitov, Aberdeen's heroic shootout goalkeeper, said. "It's his day-to-day basics of how he manages the team, how we train, the little details he puts into the team. "But the most important part - and I've never seen this before - is when we made it to the final, he always said 'when we win the final'. There were no ifs. And that mentality went to the boys. "Everybody starts saying when, not if. I think that was the turning point." Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack proclaimed "with Jimmy we feel we absolutely got the right guy" as he spoke mid lap of honour around the Hampden pitch. Thelin showed a tactical awareness coming into the final. He gave his players two days off for him to come up with a game plan to topple Celtic - and it worked. A change in personnel, a change in system, a change of approach anchored in pragmatism. No wonder given how Brendan Rodgers' team had dismantled Thelin's men at will on occasion this season. The Swede also demonstrated bravery in doing so. To recognise something isn't working is one thing. To do it and roll the dice as you stand on the brink of history, it's quite something. It's a gamble that has paid off to the tune of immortality and £6m, the latter coming with the guarantee of European football until December in either the Europa or Conference League. How much of it Thelin gets to invest remains to be seen - not least given he was backed heavily in January - but he's earned the right to go again with this Aberdeen team with a sense of optimism behind him. Cormack was persistent in his pursuit of Thelin and his man has presided over a maiden season that began with a blistering run and closed with a trophy in the cabinet. One that's not resided there for a generation. The frostiness of a winter of dismay will thaw out in the glow of a Union Street bus parade on Sunday. Post mortems about being dismembered by St Mirren will be marked as an irrelevance amid the glory, all lost in a sea of red and white flags and scarves. There will be a new set of challenges ahead for Thelin and his team - and a new set of expectations. But that's for another day. After this season and the most draining of days, the Pittodrie manager deserves to live in the here and now. Even just for a moment. "You see how much it means to everyone," he told BBC Scotland. "That's why football is so amazing. To be strong in the difficult times, keep believing and keep trying everything you channel every day. "We have a lot to look forward to."
The Province
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Province
Roots and recipes: Jamila Pomeroy's new doc Muzizi brings African flavours to the forefront
The Vancouver-based filmmaker, presenter and writer's new documentary is streaming as part of the docuseries Absolutely Canadian Jamila Pomeroy's doc Muzizi is screening on CBC Gem. Photo: Brian Van Wyk Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Where: Streaming now on Gem This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Jamila Pomeroy is a Vancouver-based filmmaker, presenter and writer. Her work includes Union Street, a 2023 documentary about the history of Hogan's Alley, and a 2022 CBC series called A Happier Planet with Jamila Pomeroy. In her new documentary Muzizi, which is streaming as part of the 24th season of the docuseries Absolutely Canadian, she talks to home cooks, foodie influencers, farmers and business owners as she makes dishes like Samaki wa Kupaka, which is grilled fish in coconut sauce, and banana mandazi, or banana doughnuts. We talked to Pomeroy about the episode. Q: What made you want to make Muzizi? A: Before I was in film, I used to be a journalist, but I also went to culinary school. Food has always been a big interest of mine. Union Street really dives into the history of everything that's happened with Hogan's Alley and the history of the Black community in the city and some of the things that we're dealing with currently. Muzizi is not a continuation of that story, but we do use history as a springboard to highlight some of the different issues within our food system and to highlight some of the city's incredible chefs, foodies, food bloggers and business owners. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A: That's definitely still a ritual for black Canadians in the Lower Mainland. We just don't have the privilege of going to a conventional grocery store and finding our spices. Maybe you find something that's kind of similar in a more South Asian space, but it's not the same. We're talking different types of curry mixes and different combinations of flavours and different varieties of herbs. Q: You interview Toyin Kayo-Ajayi, a Black farmer in Mission who's trying to grow some African vegetables. Is he having some success? A: He's having such great success that I think it's been surprising for him. It's definitely a journey that hasn't been short of struggle, and it's taken a lot of hard work for him to get there. But so many things that grow in Nigeria happen to grow great in B.C.'s climate. We don't have to be importing all of this. The food system can be a little bit more sustainable and not need to travel through multiple bodies of water just to get agriculturally appropriate foods. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A: No plantains. But he's growing amaranth and lots of different Nigerian herbs. He's growing African maize, which is different than the corn that we have. It's bigger and a bit hardier. It's used to make traditional dishes like ugali. Q: Would you like to see more African and Caribbeans ingredients on store shelves, or more Black-owned restaurants and food businesses, or both? A: Seeing more things on shelves would be helpful, not just for the community, but also just that visibility. No matter what your culture or ethnicity or background is, food is something that we all get to participate in, and we all get to share in. I'm not Thai but I love Thai food so much. And I think carving out that space for enjoyment outside of the Black community is something that will really help craft a diverse food scene. It's less about do we need more — we do need more, and seeing a Kenyan restaurant in the heart of Vancouver would be amazing — but it's also about bringing the African diaspora into the culinary conversation. 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Vancouver Sun
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Roots and recipes: Jamila Pomeroy's new doc Muzizi brings African flavours to the forefront
Article content Where: Streaming now on Gem Article content Jamila Pomeroy is a Vancouver-based filmmaker, presenter and writer. Her work includes Union Street, a 2023 documentary about the history of Hogan's Alley, and a 2022 CBC series called A Happier Planet with Jamila Pomeroy. Article content In her new documentary Muzizi, which is streaming as part of the 24th season of the docuseries Absolutely Canadian, she talks to home cooks, foodie influencers, farmers and business owners as she makes dishes like Samaki wa Kupaka, which is grilled fish in coconut sauce, and banana mandazi, or banana doughnuts. Article content Article content A: Before I was in film, I used to be a journalist, but I also went to culinary school. Food has always been a big interest of mine. Union Street really dives into the history of everything that's happened with Hogan's Alley and the history of the Black community in the city and some of the things that we're dealing with currently. Muzizi is not a continuation of that story, but we do use history as a springboard to highlight some of the different issues within our food system and to highlight some of the city's incredible chefs, foodies, food bloggers and business owners. Article content A: That's definitely still a ritual for black Canadians in the Lower Mainland. We just don't have the privilege of going to a conventional grocery store and finding our spices. Maybe you find something that's kind of similar in a more South Asian space, but it's not the same. We're talking different types of curry mixes and different combinations of flavours and different varieties of herbs. Article content Article content Article content A: He's having such great success that I think it's been surprising for him. It's definitely a journey that hasn't been short of struggle, and it's taken a lot of hard work for him to get there. But so many things that grow in Nigeria happen to grow great in B.C.'s climate. We don't have to be importing all of this. The food system can be a little bit more sustainable and not need to travel through multiple bodies of water just to get agriculturally appropriate foods. Article content A: No plantains. But he's growing amaranth and lots of different Nigerian herbs. He's growing African maize, which is different than the corn that we have. It's bigger and a bit hardier. It's used to make traditional dishes like ugali.
