Two Out, One In As Jimmy Finally Gets His Man

When the dust settled, Aberdeen have been left with Lee Miller and a 'five figure sum of money', and Steve Crawford and John Stewart-shaped holes in the squad photograph.

First to move was Crawford, who completed his move back to Dunfermline at around lunchtime. No fee seems to have been involved, with the Dons initially wanting Pars captian Greig Shields in exchange.

However this was scuppered when Shields realised he would not be among the top eschelons of earners at Pittodrie.

A deal was struck behind the scenes to allow Crawford, the Dons' top scorer this season but never a friend of sections of the support, to head back home to Fife.

THE SURPRISE move of the day came next, when Falkirk shelled out an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £40,000, for the Dons' pacey striker John 'Budgie' Stewart.

The news of Budgie's flight south came at around 8pm, when it was revealed that he had signed a three-year deal with the Bairns.

Budgie may have realised his potential at Aberdeen, but transfer fees come about so rarely that it is understandable that the club decided to cash in on a player that has had plenty of opportunities with the club but more often than not failed to deliver.

Budgie scored 5 goals in 62 appearances with the Dons; the most memorable being a stunning winning goal in a 3-2 victory at Parkhead over Martin O'Neill's Celtic.

THE FINAL action of the day thankfully saw a striker move in to the club rather than flee it.

The Dons snapped up Dundee United misfit Lee Miller in a remarkably similar fashion to last year's capture of Crawford from the same club.

No fee was involved for the 23-year-old striker, although reports suggest that United were looking for a player in exchange.

First they were looking to take Steve Lovell, and when that fell through they enquired about Darren Mackie. Neither player wished to move, and the Dons would have been severely depleted up front if they had.

Miller started his career with Falkirk and moved to Bristol City in 2004 when Aberdeen failed to match the League One club's £300,000 bid.

Dundee Utd paid City £225,000 for Miller's services last summer after he had impressed on loan at Hearts the previous season, scoring a goal every other game for the Jambos.

As with so many other players, Miller found the move to United didn't pay off and now two years later Aberdeen has its man.