29 Years

My love affair with Aberdeen FC started listening to stories from my namesake and Grandad - Bill Whyte. My first match was the only one I ever went too with him hooked me for life.

Unfortunately he died when I was just 13 and my uncle Billy Whyte became my partner on my countless journeys to Pittodrie Stadium to see the Dandy Dons. The next few years coincided with the golden years of the Dons history. A promising start under first Ally McLeod and Billy McNeil preceded the arrival of the man himself - Alex Ferguson.

That lead to a night in Gothenburg exactly 29 years ago today, that I missed because the powers at be would not release me from my studies at Bible College. In fact they didn't even want me to miss a service to watch it on TV. But that was never in question.

So I tuned in to watch my hero's play the giants of European football - Real Madrid off the rain sodden pitch and win 2-1 after agonising extra time. Which resulted in one of the players asking for God's help when facing a last minute free kick. I may well have joined him for the only time in my life of troubling the almighty with something as small as a footy game.

So the roll call etched in my memory.

Leighton

Rougvie

McMaster

McLeish

Miller

Strachan

Simpson

Cooper

Weir

Black

McGee

and Super sub: Hewitt

And no matter what Sir Alex has achieved with Manchester Utd for me his greatest achievement is taking a unfancied team full of home grown players and not just breaking the old Firm monopoly in Scotland but he lead the to beat the most famous team in Europe to win the Cup Winner Cup.