List of Aberdeen F.C. seasons

This is a list of seasons played by Aberdeen Football Club from 1903 to the present day. It details the club's achievements in major competitions, and the top league goal scorers for each season. Records of minor competitions such as the Aberdeenshire Cup and Northern League are not included.

The club has won the Scottish Football League championship 4 times, most recently in 1985. In addition, Aberdeen has won 7 Scottish Cup titles, the Scottish League Cup six times and the European Cup Winners' Cup once.

History

The club was formed in 1903 after an amalgamation of three Aberdeen-based football clubs, Orion, Aberdeen and Victoria United. An application to join the Scottish Football League in 1903 was defeated in a vote of member clubs, so the club spent its first season in the Northern League. In 1904, Aberdeen was elected to the Second Division. Despite finishing 7th, they were elected to the First Division in time for the 1905-06 season, where they have remained since, having never been relegated.^[1]

Aberdeen have finished bottom of the league on two occasions, 1916–17 and 1999-2000. They were spared relegation in 1917 after having to withdraw from the league because of World War I. In 2000, they avoided a play-off against the second and third place teams in the First Division because Falkirk's ground did not comply with SPL regulations.^[2]

In 1983, Aberdeen became the second Scottish club to win the European Cup Winners' Cup, defeating Real Madrid in the final. Later that year, they became the first and only Scottish club to win the UEFA Super Cup.

Seasons

Season	League									Scottish Cup	League Cup[3]	Europe[4]		Top league goalscorer
	Division	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos					Name	Goals
1904–05	Sco Div 2	22	7	7	8	36	26	21	7th	R3				Tom Ruddiman	7
1905–06	Sco Div 1[5]	30	8	8	14	36	48	24	12th	R2				George McNicol	9
1906–07	Sco Div 1	34	10	10	14	48	55	30	11th	R1				Willie Lennie	9
1907–08	Sco Div 1	34	10	10	14	48	55	30	11th	SF				Tom Murray	14
1908–09	Sco Div 1	34	15	6	13	51	43	36	7th	R2				Willie Lennie	12
1909–10	Sco Div 1	34	16	8	10	44	29	40	4th	R3				Bobby Simpson	10
1910–11	Sco Div 1	34	19	10	5	53	28	40	2nd	SF				Angus McIntosh	16
1911–12	Sco Div 1	34	14	7	13	44	44	35	9th	R3				Dave Main	12
1912–13	Sco Div 1	34	14	9	11	47	40	37	8th	R2				Dave Main	10
1913–14	Sco Div 1	38	10	10	18	38	55	30	14th	R3				Dave Main	9
1914–15	Sco Div 1	38	11	11	16	39	52	33	14th	R3				Sam Cail	9
1915–16	Sco Div 1	38	11	12	15	51	64	34	11th	[6]				Dave Main	15
1916–17	Sco Div 1	38	7	7	24	36	68	21	20th					Harry Ambler	9
1917–19	Aberdeen dropped out of competitive football due to World War I[7]
1919–20	Sco Div 1	42	11	13	18	46	64	35	17th	QF				Jacky Connon	14
1920–21	Sco Div 1	42	14	14	14	53	54	42	11th	R3				Peter Fisher	14
1921–22	Sco Div 1	42	13	9	20	48	54	35	15th	SF				Johnny Miller	23
1922–23	Sco Div 1	42	15	12	11	46	34	42	5th	QF[8]				Andy Rankine	14
1923–24	Sco Div 1	38	13	10	15	37	34	41	13th	SF				Johnny Miller	14
1924–25	Sco Div 1	38	11	10	17	46	56	32	15th	QF				Walter Jackson	13
1925–26	Sco Div 1	38	13	10	15	49	54	36	11th	SF				Alec Reid	10
1926–27	Sco Div 1	38	13	14	11	73	72	40	8th	R2				Bobbie Bruce	20
1927–28	Sco Div 1	38	19	5	14	71	61	43	7th	R1				Benny Yorston	17
1928–29	Sco Div 1	38	16	8	14	81	68	40	7th	QF				Benny Yorston	23
1929–30	Sco Div 1	38	23	7	8	85	61	53	2nd	R3				Benny Yorston	38
1930–31	Sco Div 1	38	17	7	14	79	63	41	6th	QF				Benny Yorston	16
1931–32	Sco Div 1	38	16	9	13	57	49	41	7th	R1				Andy Love	12
1932–33	Sco Div 1	38	18	6	14	85	58	42	6th	R2				Paddy Moore	27
1933–34	Sco Div 1	38	18	8	12	90	57	44	5th	QF				Willie Mills	28
1934–35	Sco Div 1	38	17	10	11	68	54	44	6th	SF				Matt Armstrong	31
1935–36	Sco Div 1	38	26	9	3	96	50	61	3rd	QF				Matt Armstrong	30
1936–37	Sco Div 1	38	23	8	7	89	44	54	2nd	Final[9]				Matt Armstrong Billy Strauss	24
1937–38	Sco Div 1	38	15	9	14	74	59	39	6th	R3				Matt Armstrong	19
1938–39	Sco Div 1	38	20	6	12	91[10]	61	46	3rd	SF				George Hamilton	17
1939–45	Competitive football cancelled due to World War II
1946–47	Sco Div A[11]	30	16	7	7	58	41	39	3rd	Winners[12]	Final[13]			George Hamilton	17
1947–48	Sco Div A	30	10	7	13	45	45	27	10th	R3	SF			Archie Kelly	10
1948–49	Sco Div A	30	7	11	12	39	48	25	13th	R1	Group			George Hamilton	10
1949–50	Sco Div A	30	11	4	15	48	56	26	8th	QF	Group			Harry Yorston	10
1950–51	Sco Div A	30	15	5	10	61	50	35	5th	QF	QF			Harry Yorston	18
1951–52	Sco Div A	30	10	7	13	65	58	27	11th	QF	Group			Harry Yorston	19
1952–53	Sco Div A	30	11	5	14	64	68	27	11th	Final	Group			George Hamilton Jackie Hather	14
1953–54	Sco Div A	30	15	3	12	66	51	33	9th	Final	Group			Paddy Buckley	17
1954–55[14]	Sco Div A	30	24	1	5	73	26	49	1st[15]	SF	Group			Paddy Buckley	17
1955–56	Sco Div A	34	18	10	6	87	50	46	2nd	R5[16]	Winners			Graham Leggat	19
1956–57	Sco Div 1[17]	34	18	2	14	79	59	38	6th	R6	Group			Graham Leggat	12
1957–58	Sco Div 1	34	14	2	18	65	76	30	13th	QF[18]	QF			Norman Davidson	17
1958–59	Sco Div 1	34	12	5	17	63	66	29	13th	Final	Group			Billy Little	13
1959–60	Sco Div 1	34	11	6	17	54	72	28	15th	R2	Group			Norman Davidson	11
1960–61	Sco Div 1	34	14	8	12	72	72	36	6th	R3	Group			Ken Brownlee	18
1961–62	Sco Div 1	34	10	9	15	72	72	29	12th	R3	Group			Billy Little	17
1962–63	Sco Div 1	34	17	7	10	70	47	41	6th	QF	Group			Bobby Cummings	18
1963–64	Sco Div 1	34	12	8	14	53	53	32	9th	R3	Group			Ernie Winchester	16
1964–65[19]	Sco Div 1	34	12	8	14	59	75	32	12th	R1	Group			Don Kerrigan	14
1965–66	Sco Div 1	34	15	6	13	61	54	36	8th	SF	Group			Ernie Winchester	16
1966–67	Sco Div 1	34	17	8	9	72	38	42	4th	Final	SF			Jimmy Wilson	13
1967–68	Sco Div 1	34	16	5	13	63	48	37	5th	R2	Group	Cup Winners' Cup	R2[20]	Dave Johnston	14
1968–69	Sco Div 1	34	9	8	17	50	59	26	15th	SF	Group	ICFC	R2	Jim Forrest	16
1969–70	Sco Div 1	34	14	7	13	55	45	35	8th	Winners	QF			Davie Robb	16
1970–71	Sco Div 1	34	24	6	4	68	18	54	2nd	QF[21]	Group	Cup Winners' Cup	R1[22]	Joe Harper	19
1971–72	Sco Div 1	34	21	8	5	80	26	50	2nd	QF	Group	UEFA Cup	R2	Joe Harper	33
1972–73	Sco Div 1	34	16	11	7	61	34	43	4th	QF	SF	UEFA Cup	R1	Drew Jarvie	15
1973–74	Sco Div 1	34	13	16	5	46	26	42	4th	R3	QF	UEFA Cup	R2	Drew Jarvie	13
1974–75	Sco Div 1	34	16	9	9	66	43	41	5th	QF	Group	UEFA Cup	R1	Arthur Graham	11
1975–76	Prem[23]	36	11	10	15	49	50	32	7th	R4	Group			Jocky Scott	14
1976–77	Prem	36	16	11	9	56	42	43	3rd	R4	Winners[24]			Joe Harper	18
1977–78	Prem	36	22	9	5	68	29	53	2nd	Final	R3			Joe Harper	17
1978–79	Prem	36	13	14	9	59	36	40	4th	SF	Final	Cup Winners' Cup	R2	Joe Harper	19
1979–80	Prem	36	19	10	7	68	36	48	1st	SF	Final	UEFA Cup	R1	Steve Archibald Drew Jarvie	12
1980–81	Prem	36	19	11	6	61	29	49	2nd	R4	QF	European Cup	R2	Mark McGhee	13
1981–82	Prem	36	23	7	6	71	29	53	2nd	Winners	SF	UEFA Cup	R3	John Hewitt	11
1982–83	Prem	36	25	5	6	76	24	55	3rd	Winners	QF	Cup Winners' Cup	Winners[25]	Mark McGhee	16
1983–84	Prem	36	25	7	4	78	21	57	1st	Winners	SF	Cup Winners' Cup	SF
												Super Cup	Winners[26]	Mark McGhee Gordon Strachan	13
1984–85	Prem	36	27	5	4	89	26	59	1st	SF	R2	European Cup	R1	Frank McDougall	22
1985–86	Prem	36	16	12	8	62	31	44	4th	Winners	Winners	European Cup	QF	Frank McDougall	14
1986–87	Prem	44	21	16	7	63	29	58	4th	R3	QF	Cup Winners' Cup	R1	Billy Stark	12
1987–88	Prem	44	21	17	6	56	15	59	4th	SF	Final	UEFA Cup	R2	Jim Bett	10
1988–89	Prem	36	18	14	4	51	25	50	2nd	R4	Final	UEFA Cup	R1	Charlie Nicholas	16
1989–90	Prem	36	17	10	9	56	33	44	2nd	Winners	Winners	UEFA Cup	R1	Charlie Nicholas	11
1990–91	Prem	36	22	9	5	62	27	53	2nd	R3	SF	Cup Winners' Cup	R2	Hans Gillhaus	14
1991–92	Prem	44	17	14	13	55	42	48	6th	R3	R3	UEFA Cup	R1	Eoin Jess	12
1992–93	Prem	44	27	10	7	87	36	64	2nd	Final	Final			Duncan Shearer	22
1993–94	Prem	44	17	21	6	58	36	55	2nd	SF	QF	Cup Winners' Cup	R2	Duncan Shearer	17
1994–95	Prem	36	10	11	15	43	46	41	9th	R4	SF	UEFA Cup	R2	Billy Dodds	16
1995–96	Prem	36	16	7	13	52	45	55	3rd	SF	Winners			Scott Booth Joe Miller	9
1996–97	Prem	36	10	14	12	45	54	44	6th	R3	QF			Billy Dodds	17
1997–98	Prem	36	9	12	15	39	53	39	6th	R3	SF			Billy Dodds	10
1998–99	SPL[27]	36	10	7	19	43	71	37	8th	R3	R3			Eoin Jess	14
1999–2000	SPL	36	9	6	21	44	83	33	10th	Final	Final			Arild Stavrum	9
2000–01	SPL	38	11	12	15	45	52	45	7th	R4	R3	UEFA Cup	PR2	Arild Stavrum	17
2001–02	SPL	38	16	7	15	51	49	55	4th	QF	R3			Robbie Winters	13
2002–03	SPL	38	13	10	15	41	54	49	8th	R4	R3	UEFA Cup	R1	Paul Sheerin	8
2003–04	SPL	38	9	7	22	39	63	34	11th	QF	QF			Scott Booth	8
2004–05	SPL	38	18	7	13	44	39	61	4th	QF	R3			Darren Mackie	11
2005–06	SPL	38	13	15	10	46	40	54	6th	R4	QF			Jamie Smith Steve Lovell	8
2006–07	SPL	38	19	8	11	55	38	65	3rd	R3	R2			Darren Mackie	13
2007–08	SPL	38	15	8	15	50	58	53	4th	SF	SF	UEFA Cup	Last 32	Lee Miller	12
2008–09	SPL	38	14	11	13	41	40	53	4th	QF	R2			Lee Miller	10
2009–10	SPL	38	10	11	17	36	52	41	9th	R5	R3	Europa League	QR3	Steve MacLean	5
2010–11	SPL	38	11	5	22	39	59	38	9th	SF	SF			Scott Vernon	9
2011–12	SPL	38	9	14	15	36	44	41	9th	SF	R3			Scott Vernon	11
2012–13	SPL	38	11	15	12	41	43	48	8th	R5	R4			Niall McGinn	20
2013–14	Prem[28]	38	20	8	10	53	38	68	3rd	SF	Winners			Niall McGinn	14
2014–15	Prem	38	23	6	9	57	33	75	2nd	R4	SF	Europa League	QR3	Adam Rooney	17

Key

Key to league record Pld = Played W = Games won D = Games drawn L = Games lost GF = Goals for GA = Goals against Pts = Points Pos = Final position

Key to rounds Group = Group stage PR2 = Preliminary Round 2 QR3 = Qualifying Round 3 R1 = Round 1 R2 = Round 2 R3 = Round 3 R4 = Round 4 R5 = Round 5 R6 = Round 6 QF = Quarter-finals SF = Semi-finals Final = Runners-up Winners = Winners

Champions Runners-up

Footnotes

1. "Aberdeen Football Club Team Profile & History". Scottish Premier League. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
2. "Falkirk FC History". Talkfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
3. The League Cup competition did not start until the 1946–47 season.
4. European club competitions did not begin until the 1955–56 season.
5. Despite only finishing 7th, Aberdeen were promoted due to a reordering of the league system.
6. The Scottish Cup was not held in 1915 through 1918 because of the first World War.
7. Scottish football was still held through the war, but due to a disastrous financial situation, the team (along with Dundee and Raith Rovers) had no choice but to drop out.
8. In this cup, Aberdeen scored a record 13 goals in one game against Peterhead.
9. This was Aberdeen's first Scottish Cup final. They lost out to league champions Celtic 2-1 away from home.
10. This is the most goals Aberdeen have ever scored in one season.
11. The League was renamed as Division A.
12. Aberdeen won the cup for the first time that season; Hibernian were the runners up losing 2–1 at Hampden.
13. In the first ever Scottish League Cup final, Aberdeen were comfortably beaten 4–0 at Ibrox Stadium by Rangers.
14. This season saw Aberdeen's highest attendance - 45,061 against Hearts in March 1955.
15. This was Aberdeen's first ever league title, ahead of runners-up Celtic by three points. The European competitions began the following season, but Aberdeen were not given Scotland's place in the tournament, which went to Hibernian by special invitation.
16. In 1955, the Scottish Cup was expanded to include amateur football teams as well as professional, expanding the competition to nine rounds.
17. The league was again renamed, this time back to Division One.
18. The Cup system was again reorganised, this time to include only professional teams, and containing six rounds.
19. During this season, Aberdeen recorded a record 8–0 loss to Celtic in January.
20. In Aberdeen's first ever European game, they beat Icelandic club KR Reykjavík 14–1 on aggregate, only to lose to Belgian Standard Liège 3–2, also on aggregate, in the next round.
21. The cup was again expanded, this time to seven rounds.
22. Aberdeen's first fixture of the tournament - against Hungarians Honvéd - resulted in the first ever penalty shootout in the cups history, which Honvéd won 5–4 in Budapest.
23. The league was renamed to the Premier Division and reduced to ten teams. They played each other four times in a season for the first time.
24. The cup format was changed to a straight knock-out competition because of criticism over the length of the original.
25. This was Aberdeen's first European trophy, and the most well known. In the final, they beat Real Madrid 2–1 to take the title.
26. Aberdeen's first UEFA Super Cup final resulted in a 2–0 home win over Hamburg SV after a goalless draw in Germany.
27. The league was renamed the Scottish Premier League
28. The league was renamed the Scottish Premiership

References

• Scottish Cup Archive
• Scottish League Archives
• League Cup Archive