Aberdeen F.C.

This article is about Aberdeen Football Club. For other uses of Aberdeen F.C., see Aberdeen F.C. (disambiguation). For other uses of Aberdeen, see Aberdeen (disambiguation).

Aberdeen
Full name Aberdeen Football Club
Nickname(s) The Dons, The Reds, The Dandies, The Sheep
Founded 14 April 1903 (1903-04-14)
Ground Pittodrie Stadium
Ground Capacity 20,961[1]
Chairman Stewart Milne
Manager Derek McInnes
League Scottish Premiership
2014–15 Scottish Premiership, 2nd
Website Club home page

Aberdeen Football Club (also known as The Dons or The Reds) are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have won four league titles and seven Scottish Cups, including a record three in a row during the 1980s (the only time a team other than Rangers has done this since 1882). They are also the only Scottish team to have won two European trophies, both in the same year, and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system.

Formed in 1903 as a result of the amalgamation of three clubs from Aberdeen, they rarely challenged for honours until the post war decade, when they won each of the major Scottish trophies under manager Dave Halliday. This level of success was surpassed in the 1980s, when, under the management of Alex Ferguson, they won three league titles, four Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup, alongside the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup, both in 1983. Aberdeen were the last club outside of the Old Firm to win a league title, in 1984–85, and also the last Scottish team to win a European trophy. The team has enjoyed less success since this golden era, but a 19-year wait for a major trophy was ended by winning the 2013–14 Scottish League Cup.

Aberdeen have played at Pittodrie Stadium since their inception. The ground currently has a capacity of 20,961[1] and was the first all-seated and all-covered stadium in the United Kingdom. Pittodrie was also the first football stadium to feature a dugout, an invention of player and coach Donald Colman. The club's colours have been primarily red and white since 1939; before this, they played in black and gold vertical stripes. Aberdeen attract support from the city and surrounding areas, as they are the only senior team within a wide area. Aberdeen have no geographically close rivals; their nearest neighbours at the same level are in the city of Dundee.

History

Formation and early years (1903–1939)

Chart of yearly table positions
League history of Aberdeen from their first league appearance in 1904

The current Aberdeen F.C. was formed following the merger of three city clubs, Aberdeen, Victoria United and Orion, in 1903.[2] The new club played its first match on 15 August 1903, a 1–1 draw with Stenhousemuir.[3] That first season produced a win in the Aberdeenshire Cup, but only a third-place finish in the Northern League. The club applied for membership of the Scottish League for the following season, and were elected to the Second Division, rather than the First.[3]

In 1904, the club were managed by Jimmy Philip. At the end of that first season, despite having finished seventh out of twelve teams, Aberdeen were elected to the new, expanded First Division, and have been in the top tier of Scottish football ever since, a record shared with only Celtic.[4] From 1906, the club made steady progress, with a Scottish Cup semi-final appearance in 1908 and another in 1911.[3] In that season of 1910–11, Aberdeen recorded their first victories over the Old Firm, and led the league for a time, but finished the season in second place.[3]

Wartime affected the club as much as any other. Despite spending cuts and other economies, by 1917 the situation became untenable. Aberdeen dropped out of competitive football, along with Dundee and Raith Rovers. Senior football returned on 16 August 1919, and Aberdeen resumed with a fixture against Albion Rovers. Philip was still in charge, and continued to oversee a team capable of isolated good results, but never quite able to sustain a challenge long enough to win a trophy. In 1923, Aberdeen were drawn against Peterhead in the Scottish Cup, and posted their record score—a 13–0 victory.[5] Philip retired a year later, and was replaced as manager by Paddy Travers.[6] He presided over the team's first Scottish Cup final in 1937.[3]

Travers' trainer (first team coach in modern parlance) was former player Donald Colman. Colman was regarded as a brilliant and innovative thinker about football, and conceived the dug-out, a covered area set slightly below the level of the playing surface to better aid his observations. Everton visited Pittodrie soon after its introduction, and exported the idea to the English leagues, from where it spread throughout the football-playing world.[7] Travers left to become manager of Clyde in 1939.

Halliday to McNeill (1939–1978)

Travers was replaced by Dave Halliday.[8] Halliday went to his ex club Queen of the South to sign inside forward George Hamilton. This would be as shrewd a signing as Halliday would ever make.[8][9] However Halliday had barely begun his work when the Second World War halted competitive football in the United Kingdom.[8][10]

Halliday's place in the Aberdeen Hall of Fame was secured after the war when he became the first manager to bring national trophies to Pittodrie. Aberdeen, now playing in red, won the Southern League Cup in the 1945–46 season defeating Rangers 3–2 at Hampden. They then reached the 1947 Scottish Cup final, defeating Hibernian 2–1 with the inspirational Hamilton scoring to gain the club's first major trophy.[8][11] From this early success, Halliday's side reached two more Scottish Cup finals, in 1953 and 1954, although both were lost.[8] Halliday's team were not to be denied, however, and the following season, 1954–55, Aberdeen won their first Scottish League title.[8][11] Though league winners, the club did not participate in the first European Cup competition—Scotland's place was awarded to Hibernian, who took part by special invitation.[12]

Halliday and Hamilton left at the end of that championship-winning season,[8] Halliday replaced by Davie Shaw. Aberdeen won the League Cup under his guidance, beating St Mirren in 1955–56, and reached another Scottish Cup final in 1959.[11] However, Shaw stepped aside for another former favourite player, Tommy Pearson in 1959. Pearson's time in charge coincided with a high turnover of players, and yielded no trophies. He retired in 1965, making way for Eddie Turnbull.[6] Turnbull led Aberdeen to two Scottish Cup finals against Celtic, losing in 1967, but gaining revenge three years later.[11]

Aberdeen first played in Europe in the 1967–68 Cup Winner's Cup, qualifying as runners-up to Celtic in the Scottish Cup final. Their first tie was a 14–1 aggregate victory over KR Reykjavik, although they lost the second round tie with Standard Liège 3–2 on aggregate. As Scottish Cup holders in 1970–71, Aberdeen once again qualified for the same competition, but were eliminated in the first round following a 4–4 aggregate tie with Honvéd. This tie, level after extra time and also level on away goals, was decided by the first penalty shootout in UEFA competition history, Honvéd winning the shootout 5–4 in Budapest.[13]

Photograph
Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager of Aberdeen, pictured at his later club Manchester United

The Aberdeen side of the 1970s regularly challenged for domestic honours. However, they rarely won trophies, with the exception of the Drybrough Cup in 1971 under Jimmy Bonthrone and the League Cup in 1976, under Ally MacLeod. During this decade, Aberdeen had five managers, Eddie Turnbull, Jimmy Bonthrone, Ally MacLeod, Billy McNeill and Alex Ferguson.[6] They reached two more national cup finals—the Scottish Cup in 1978 under Billy McNeill and the League Cup in the following season under the new manager Alex Ferguson.[11]

Alex Ferguson era (1978–1986)

Under Ferguson's guidance, the club won three league championships, four Scottish Cups, the European Cup Winner's Cup, the European Super Cup, a League Cup, and a Drybrough Cup – all in the space of seven years.

Under Ferguson's guidance, players such as Jim Leighton, Willie Miller, Alex McLeish and Gordon Strachan became the backbone of the team. Aberdeen's second League title was won in 1979–80, and this initial success was built on, with Scottish Cup wins in three successive seasons from 1982 to 1984,[11] and two more league titles in 1983–84 and 1984–85.

In the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983 Aberdeen beat FC Sion, Dinamo Tirana and Lech Poznań to face the German Cup winners Bayern Munich. This game was won 3–2 at Pittodrie after a goalless draw in Germany, John Hewitt with the winning goal. They then faced now defunct Belgian club Waterschei in the semi-final. Aberdeen beat them 5–1 at home, and lost for the first time in the tournament, 1–0 away, resulting in an aggregate victory which sent Aberdeen to the final. On 11 May 1983, Aberdeen beat Real Madrid 2–1 (after extra time) to win the Cup and become only the third Scottish side to win a European trophy.[3][14][15] The club released a song, "European Song", to coincide with the appearance in the final.[16] This was followed up with the capture of the European Super Cup in December, when Hamburger SV were beaten over two legs.[3]

Aberdeen reached the semi-finals of the 1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup, before losing to Porto 2–0 on aggregate. In the first round of the 1984–85 European Champion Club's Cup Aberdeen lost to East Berlin side BFC Dynamo in a dramatic penalty shoot-out 4–5, following a 3–3 on aggregate in regular times. Today, both clubs enjoy friendly relations.[17]

Post-Ferguson (1987–1999)

After Ferguson moved south of the border to manage Manchester United in November 1986, Aberdeen struggled to compete with Celtic and a resurgent Rangers.[18]

Aberdeen signed new co-managers in 1989, pairing Alex Smith and Jocky Scott.[6] A number of foreign players were signed, including Dutch internationals Theo Snelders and Hans Gillhaus. In the 1989–90 the club won both the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup. In the 1990–91 they lost the last game of the season, and the league title, to Rangers.[11] Willie Miller took over in 1992 and presided over two seasons where Aberdeen came close to winning the title. However, he was sacked in 1995 after a bad season, and the club had to rely on a play-off victory over Dunfermline Athletic to retain their Premier League status.[19] Aberdeen replaced him with Roy Aitken. Despite a Scottish League Cup success beating Dundee in 1995, the club continued to struggle.[11] Alex Miller and Paul Hegarty had spells in charge in the late 1990s,[6] but with the financial burden of a new stand putting the club into debt for the first time in its history, the directors turned to Stewart Milne, a local businessman whose firm had built the stand, to bring business acumen to the running of the club.[20][21]

Late 90s/2000s (1999–2013)

Photograph people dressed in red and white in a stadium stand
A display by Aberdeen fans in the Richard Donald Stand

Aberdeen's first (and only to date) non-Scottish manager, Ebbe Skovdahl, was appointed in 1999[3] and his time in charge coincided with some of the heaviest defeats in the club's history.[22] The low point of the club's history came in the 1999–2000 season, when they finished last in the Premier division. As the SPL was being expanded to 12 teams, there was then a three team play-off. However, as Falkirk's stadium did not meet SPL requirements, Aberdeen retained their status in the top flight.[3] Subsequent to this, and with the club in debt for the first time following the construction of a new stand at one end of the ground,[23] a policy of trying to live within their means has meant that the club has not approached the heights of the 1980s.

Steve Paterson was appointed to replace Skovdahl but lasted only two seasons. Paterson's tenure with Aberdeen was marred by his abuse of alcohol. In March 2003 he failed to attend a home game against Dundee F.C. due to being too hungover after a night of binge drinking prior to the match.[24]

Jimmy Calderwood took over in 2004 and Aberdeen posted more consistent results than in previous seasons. In the 2006–2007 season, the club finished in third place in the league and entered the final qualifying round for the 2007–08 UEFA Cup.[25] Aberdeen defeated Dnipro on the away goals rule to progress (the first time Aberdeen had won on away goals in European football for 40 years).[26] They went on to beat FC København 4–0, which was the biggest margin of victory and one of Pittodrie's biggest crowds since the 1980s.[27] This set up a meeting with German giants Bayern Munich,[28] which they lost 7–3 on aggregate[29] after a 2–2 draw which saw Aberdeen lead twice in the first leg. Calderwood was sacked by Aberdeen on 24 May 2009, hours after he took the club to a fourth-place finish and back into Europe. Poor domestic cup performances were thought to be the reason for Calderwood's dismissal.[30]

Mark McGhee of Motherwell was appointed as Calderwood's replacement on 12 June 2009.[31] McGhee controversially dismissed Aberdeen legend and goalkeeping coach Jim Leighton in August 2009 and replaced him with Colin Meldrum.[32] Aberdeen suffered a 9–0 defeat to Celtic on 6 November 2010, their heaviest ever defeat. Mark McGhee and his assistants were eventually sacked on 1 December 2010.[33]

Aberdeen approached Craig Brown, who was working without a contract at Motherwell, to replace Mark McGhee. Brown initially rebuffed an offer made on 8 December 2010; but after further discussions with the club Brown resigned as manager at Motherwell to be announced as the next manager at Aberdeen on 10 December 2010.[34] The first act of the new management team of Craig Brown and Archie Knox was to re-instate Jim Leighton.[35] Aberdeen failed to produce better results under Craig Brown's tenure, although some crucial first-team signings were made such as Niall McGinn, Jonny Hayes and the re-signing of former captain Russell Anderson. Craig Brown announced his retirement in March 2013 to take up a non-executive directors role on the club's board.[36]

Recent years (2013–present)

Derek McInnes was announced as the successor to Craig Brown in March 2013.[37] In McInnes' first season as manager, Aberdeen won the 2013–14 Scottish League Cup after defeating Inverness 4–2 on penalties, their first trophy in 19 years. Aberdeen finished third in the Scottish Premiership, securing a place in the first qualifying round of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League.

Aberdeen started the 2014–15 Scottish Premiership well by coming through the early rounds of the Europa League, winning 8–0 on aggregate against Latvian side Daugava Riga and securing a 2–1 win against FC Groningen in the Netherlands.[38][39] Aberdeen then came up against Spanish side Real Sociedad where they eventually went out of the competition losing 5–2 on aggregate.[40] The club ended the season in second place, their best league position since 1993–94 and were once again eligible to enter the first qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

Aberdeen progressed through the first qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League by defeating FK Shkëndija on the away goals rule.[41] Drawn against HNK Rijeka in the second qualifying round, Aberdeen produced an excellent 3–0 away victory in the first leg.[42] A 2–2 draw in the return game put Aberdeen through to the third round, against Kazakh side FC Kairat.[43]

Colours and crest

The "Wasps" black and gold strip, worn until 1939

For the first season of the club's existence, the team played in a predominantly white strip.[44] This is variously reported as all-white, or as white shirts with blue shorts and socks.[45] This colour scheme was the direct descendant of the colours worn by the precursor Aberdeen club, but lasted only one season before being replaced.[44]

For the 1904–05 season, Aberdeen adopted a black and gold striped shirt, which led to the team being nicknamed "Wasps". This strip, with only minor variations, was worn until just before the start of the Second World War. The blue shorts lasted until 1911, and then were replaced with white ones. Socks were black with gold trim, either as stripes or as a solid bar at the turndown.[44]

A representative post-war Aberdeen strip. These colours were worn for all the trophy-winning seasons of the 1950s.

In March 1939, Aberdeen changed the black and gold colours to red and white, reflecting the silver and red colours of the official City of Aberdeen arms.[3] The first red strips were worn with white shorts, with either red or white socks from 1939 until the 1965–66 season.[44] In 1966, Aberdeen adopted red shorts, making the official kit all-red, similar to that of Liverpool, who made a similar change at around the same time.[46] This arrangement has continued to the present day, with several variations in design, in common with most senior clubs as the replica shirt market has expanded. In the late 1970s an Admiral strip featured five vertical white stripes on the left side of the shirt and shorts, and the early 1980s shirts—as worn at the 1983 European Cup Winners Cup final—featured white vertical pinstripes. Later design changes included significant amounts of blue,[44] and a one season reversion to white shorts, although the all-red scheme returned in 1997.[44] For the 2012–13 season, Aberdeen once again reverted to wearing white shorts. In 2013–14, the all-red kit was reintroduced.

Shirt sponsorship began in 1987, and the initial shirt sponsor was JVC.[44] Since then, with the club making fewer appearances on the international stage, shirt sponsors have tended to be more local—they have included one of the local commercial radio stations, Northsound.[47] With the local economy being dominated by oil companies the Club have tended to be sponsored by oil service companies. For the next 2 years Team Recruitment will be the Club's sponsor. Change, or "away", strips have tended to be either white, often with black shorts, or a combination of yellow and black, referring back to the black and gold strips of the pre-war era, although for a time in the 1970s, Aberdeen sported an all-blue change strip with white socks.[47] For the 2007–08 season, the change strip was all-white, with a third kit of yellow and black halves available if needed for European games, or in the event of a clash involving both red and white.[44]

The club did not have an official crest before 1972, but several variations on the letters AFC had from time to time featured on the shirt, usually in some kind of cursive font. In November 1972,[48] the club unveiled an official crest or logo, designed by Aberdonian graphic designer Donald Addison.[49] The design represented a capital letter A as the side view of a football goal, with a ball forming the crossbar of the letter. This ball was crosshatched in such a way as to depict it as being inside the net, signifying the scoring of a goal. The logo was completed by the letters FC in smaller type at a level with the ball element.[48] This badge was used on the shirts from around 1978, with no significant alterations until the mid-1980s when the words "Aberdeen Football Club" were added in a circular border, and the date of the club's founding, 1903, was added under the goal element.[48] The current version of the crest, which retains these elements in a unified design, was introduced at the start of the 1997–98 season.[48] Two stars signifying the winning of the two European trophies in 1983 were introduced over the badge in the 2005–06 season.[50]

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor[51]
1976–1977 Bukta none
1978–1979 Admiral
1979–1987 Adidas
1987–1990 Umbro JVC
1990–1993 Abtrust
1993–1994 A-Fab
1994–1996 Northsound Radio
1996–1997 Living Design
1997–1998 Puma
1998–2001 Atlantic Telecom
2001–2004 Le Coq Sportif A-Fab
2004–2006 Nike ADT
2006–2008 Apex Tubulars
2008–2011 Team Recruitment
2011–2014 Adidas
2014–2017 Saltire Energy

Stadium

Photograph of one story facade with red doors
Pittodrie Stadium's granite facade viewed from outside the Merkland Road stand

Aberdeen have played throughout their existence at Pittodrie Stadium, the name of which comes from the Pictish for "place of manure".[52] The ground was first used by the original Aberdeen F.C. in 1899, in a 7–1 win over Dumbarton;[53] when they merged with two other teams in 1903, the new club took over the old Aberdeen ground. On 15 August 1903, 8,000 spectators turned up to watch the new Aberdeen draw 1–1 against Stenhousemuir, the first game played at Pittodrie by its amalgamated tenants.[3] The club initially rented the ground, but subsequently bought it in 1920.[3] The stadium contains 20,961 seats.[1] The record attendance occurred on 13 March 1954, when 45,061 spectators turned up for a Scottish Cup match between Aberdeen and Hearts.[53]

The stadium consists of four stands. The Main Stand, which houses the club offices and players facilities. The Merkland Road Stand is primarily for families. The South Stand is opposite the main stand and holds the largest amount of spectators. A quarter of this section is used to accommodate travelling supporters. The newest element is the Richard Donald stand at the East, or Beach End, of the ground, and is named after former chairman Dick Donald.[54] This is a modern, two–tier design, completed in 1993, containing hospitality suites which is significantly taller than the other structures at the ground.[54] In 1978, Pittodrie became the first all covered, all-seater stadium in Britain.[4][55]

Wide angle photograph of field from stand seating
Pittodrie Stadium from the away section of the South Stand.

The club are examining a move to a new Aberdeen Stadium, which if given the go ahead, will be placed on the Loirston Loch and will seat around 22,000 but could be increased to 30,000–35,000 should a major event require a stadium of that size in Scotland. Plans for a new stadium began when the club indicated that further development of Pittodrie Stadium was not possible due to the age of the ground and the restrictions from surrounding land.[56][57]

The full council approved the project in May 2009, subject to planning permission.[58] In August 2010, a planning application for the new stadium was submitted to the Council,[59] which was approved in February 2011.[60] It was announced in August 2011 that Barr Construction Ltd will be the contractor for the construction of the stadium, which was scheduled to begin in 2012.[61] However, in May 2012, it was announced that the move had been delayed by a year due to problems with land ownership.[62] The project suffered a serious setback in August 2012, when Aberdeen City Council rejected a joint application by Aberdeen FC and Cove Rangers FC to build a community sports centre at the nearby Calder Park.[63] Aberdeen FC chairman Stewart Milne said in November 2013 that further negotiations had taken place between the club and the City Council.[64]

In August 2014, Stewart Milne announced that because of the plans being rejected by the Labour-led Aberdeen City Council, the training facilities and new stadium would be built on two separate sites. Milne confirm that the training facilities would be announced in the coming weeks and that negotiations were on going with the local authorities over the stadium.[65] In November 2014 it was announced that Aberdeen would build its long awaited training facilities at Balgownie, on land owned by Aberdeen University.[66] After further complications the Balgownie project was scrapped.

Supporters and nicknames

Supporters

Aberdeen's supporters, known as the Red Army, are listed in the team squad list as wearing the number 12 shirt.[67] In 1999, a group of supporters founded the Red Ultras group with the express aim of improving the atmosphere at Pittodrie.[68] However, it was decided that this particular group was to disband at the beginning of 2010.[69] Organised chants and choreography still take place in 'centre block' of the top tier of the Richard Donald Stand and Aberdeen fans still do choreographies at home and away games.

Aberdeen are the only senior team in the third largest city in Scotland,[70] a city which is relatively remote, geographically, from other large population centres, and as a result have a large catchment area of potential supporters. The average attendance in the 2015–16 Scottish Premiership is currently 13,530.[71]

In the 1980s, a minority of the club's supporters had a reputation as one of Britain's most prominent casuals groups, the Aberdeen Soccer Casuals.[72] The rise of the Aberdeen Casuals coincided with the most successful period in the club's history, and has been chronicled in more than one published account.[73][74] Whilst numbers have steadily declined with the introduction of Football Banning Orders preventing hooligans from travelling to games, the Aberdeen Casuals still appear at big fixtures often away from home and in the UEFA Europa League.[75] There were clashes at both fixtures against FC Groningen[76] in 2014, as well as 13 arrests after violent clashes with Dundee United fans at a game in December.[77][78] Around 65 casuals are believed to still be active.[79] The youth wing of the Aberdeen Casuals are known as the Under Fives[80] and are more prominent at games.[81] The ASC have long standing links with casuals from Dynamo Berlin and Tottenham Hotspur and minor links with other clubs such as Partick Thistle but like the general fanbase have no political affiliation.

Rivalries

Aberdeen have rarely played in the same division as their geographically closest rivals: Peterhead, Brechin City, Montrose, Arbroath, Elgin City and Forfar Athletic, so rivalries have tended to come from further afield. Currently, Aberdeen have a minor rivalry with Inverness Caley Thistle, due to the fact both Aberdeen and Inverness are the two largest settlements in the north of Scotland. This is known as the North derby and has arisen since Inverness were first promoted to the SPL in 2004.

In the early 1980s, owing to the success both domestically and in Europe of Aberdeen and Dundee United, the pair were known as the New Firm; however, Dundee United have their city neighbours Dundee as close rivals,[82] and the antagonism was not always reciprocated to the same degree. The same situation applies to Aberdeen's rivalry with Rangers, in that Rangers have their own much older and well-known Old Firm rivalry with Celtic. Aberdeen's rivalry with Rangers arose after a number of incidents in matches between the two clubs in the 1980s, namely Willie Johnston's stamp on John McMaster's neck in the 1979–80 Scottish League Cup and Neil Simpson's tackle on Ian Durrant in 1988, as well as Aberdeen's dominance in Scottish football throughout the decade. There are still often violent clashes between both sets of supporters within and outwith the stadium to this day, with major disturbances outside Ibrox at the most recent game between the two clubs.[83][84][85]

Since Aberdeen's re-emergence as one of the top teams in Scotland, Aberdeen's rivalry with Celtic has increased both competitively and between supporters. There have been minor incidents at games,[86] mainly relating to political disturbances by Celtic supporters at games between the clubs, including the disruption of minute's silences and the display of banners showing support for the 1981 Irish hunger strike.[87] Aberdeen fans have long held a strong opposition to Rangers and Celtic fans' songs and banners relating to The Troubles in Northern Ireland, although often taunt either side about their affiliations.

Nicknames

Aberdeen are known as "The Dons", a name that has been in use since at least 1913. This comes from the word 'Don' meaning 'teacher', given Aberdeen's history as a university town. It may also be a reference to the River Don. Before the popular adoption of "The Dons", the team were variously known as "The Wasps" or "The Black and Golds", both names a reference to the yellow and black striped shirts of the time.[88] As with many teams that play in red, Aberdeen may also be called "The Reds", and are referred to by some supporters as "The Dandy Dons" or "The Dandies".[89] Most rival clubs call Aberdeen "The Sheep" and their supporters "The Sheep Shaggers" due to the high number of sheep in fields on the road to Aberdeen. Opposition fans often sing "you're only sheep shagging bastards" to Aberdeen fans, who embrace the taunts and reply singing "we're only sheep shagging bastards". The term was eventually accepted by the club after Aberdeen fans started singing "the sheep are on fire" at games, in reference to their good fortune on the pitch (although the song "the sheep are on fire" was originally sung by away fans as a jest to an Aberdeen fan who was set on fire by another fan on a train whilst wearing a homemade sheep costume).[90][91][92] This in turn led to merchandise being sold by the club claiming "the sheep are on fire", and led to local bakeries selling themed pies.[93]

Honours

Domestic

European

UEFA Ranking

As of 3 February 2016[94]
Rank Country Team Points
245 Romania FC Botoşani 5.576
246 Azerbaijan Inter Baku PIK 5.475
247 Scotland Aberdeen FC 5.460
248 Cyprus Ermis Aradippou 5.435
249 Slovakia AS Trenčín 5.400

Coaching staff

As of 14 April 2016[95]
Position Name
Manager Derek McInnes
Assistant Manager Tony Docherty
Goalkeeping Coach Gordon Marshall
Under 20s Coach Paul Sheerin
Head of Sports Science and Fitness Graham Kirk

Players

Current squad

As of 3 May 2016

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
2 England DF Shay Logan
3 Scotland DF Graeme Shinnie
4 Scotland DF Andrew Considine
5 Wales DF Ash Taylor
6 Scotland DF Mark Reynolds (vice captain)
7 Scotland MF Kenny McLean
8 Republic of Ireland MF Willo Flood
9 Republic of Ireland FW Adam Rooney
10 Northern Ireland FW Niall McGinn
11 Republic of Ireland MF Jonny Hayes
14 Scotland FW Cammy Smith
15 Scotland MF Barry Robson
16 Scotland MF Peter Pawlett
No. Position Player
18 Wales FW Simon Church (on loan from Milton Keynes Dons)
19 England GK Adam Collin (on loan from Rotherham United)
20 England GK Scott Brown
22 Scotland MF Ryan Jack (captain)
23 Scotland MF Craig Storie
24 Scotland DF Michael Rose
25 Scotland FW Lawrence Shankland
26 Scotland DF Scott McKenna
27 Scotland FW Scott Wright
29 Scotland DF Daniel Harvie
30 Australia GK Aaron Lennox
31 Scotland MF Frank Ross
37 Scotland FW Connor McLennan

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
17 Scotland FW David Goodwillie (at Ross County)
No. Position Player
30 Republic of Ireland GK Danny Rogers (at Falkirk)

Notable players

For more details on this topic, see List of Aberdeen F.C. players.
Hall of Fame

Aberdeen inaugurated a Hall of Fame as part of the club's centenary celebrations in 2003. Six players were inducted following the initial dinner in March 2004,[96] and a further six were included in November 2004.[97] Ex-manager Alex Ferguson was inducted at a re-launch event in November 2015.[98]

Greatest ever team

In November 2015, supporters cast votes to determine the greatest ever Aberdeen team.[99]

Records

Individual

All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.

Top goalscorers
Rank Name Career Apps Goals Average
1 Joe Harper 1969–1973, 1976–1981 300 199
2 Matt Armstrong 1931–1946 231 163
3 George Hamilton 1933–1946 280 152
4 Harry Yorston 1947–1957 277 141
5 Drew Jarvie 1972–1982 386 130
6 Benny Yorston 1927–1932 156 125
7 Willie Mills 1932–1938 211 114
8 Jack Hather 1948–1960 305 104
9 Mark McGhee 1978–1984 250 100
10 Dave Robb 1966–1978 345 99
Most appearances
Rank Name Career Apps Goals
1 Willie Miller 1972–1990 797 32
2 Alex McLeish 1978–1994 693 30
3 Bobby Clark 1965–1982 595 0
4 Stewart McKimmie 1983–1997 561 9
5 Jim Leighton 1977–1988, 1997–2000 535 0
6 Russell Anderson 1996–2006, 2012–2015 407 20
7 Willie Cooper 1928–1948 392 3
8 Drew Jarvie 1972–1982 386 130
9 Brian Irvine 1985–1997 384 40
10 Eoin Jess 1987–1996, 1997–2001 379 94

Managers

List of full-time managers, as of 16 December 2015. Only competitive matches are counted. Caretaker managers are not listed.

From To Name P W D L Win%[100] Ref
1903 1924 Scotland Philip, JimmyJimmy Philip 64422117225134.32%[101]
1924 1937 Scotland Travers, PaddyPaddy Travers 47421410615445.15%[101]
1937 1955 Scotland Halliday, DaveDave Halliday 3711657113544.47%[101]
1955 1959 Scotland Shaw, DavieDavie Shaw 14866206244.59%[101]
1959 1965 Scotland Pearson, TommyTommy Pearson 18066427236.67%[101]
1965 1971 Scotland Turnbull, EddieEddie Turnbull 216101437246.75%[101]
1971 1975 Scotland Bonthrone, JimmyJimmy Bonthrone 14367463046.85%[101]
1975 1977 Scotland MacLeod, AllyAlly MacLeod 6124191839.34%[101]
1977 1978 Scotland McNeil, BillyBilly McNeil 36229561.11%[101]
1978 1986 Scotland Ferguson, AlexAlex Ferguson 288167715057.99%[101]
1986 1986 Scotland Ferguson, AlexAlex Ferguson
Scotland Knox, ArchieArchie Knox		 1575346.67%[101]
1986 1988 Scotland Porterfield, IanIan Porterfield 713527949.30%[101]
1988 1991 Scotland Scott, JockyJocky Scott
Scotland Smith, AlexAlex Smith		 11763351953.85%[101]
1991 1992 Scotland Smith, AlexAlex Smith 2377930.43%[101]
1992 1995 Scotland Miller, WillieWillie Miller 12453452642.47%[101]
1995 1997 Scotland Aitken, RoyRoy Aitken 12450314340.32%[102]
1997 1998 Scotland Miller, AlexAlex Miller 4311131925.58%[103]
1999 2002 Denmark Skovdahl, EbbeEbbe Skovdahl 15954376833.96%[104]
2002 2004 Scotland Paterson, SteveSteve Paterson 6823133233.82%[105]
2004 2009 Scotland Calderwood, JimmyJimmy Calderwood 22794607341.41%[106]
2009 2010 Scotland McGhee, MarkMark McGhee 6217133227.42%[107]
2010 2013 Scotland Brown, CraigCraig Brown 11337334332.74%[108]
2013 Current Scotland McInnes, DerekDerek McInnes 12470252956.45%[109]

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Further reading

External links

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