| Club: | Aberdeen F.C. |
| Season: | 1970–71 |
| Chairman: | Dick Donald |
| Chrtitle: | Chairman |
| Manager: | Eddie Turnbull |
| Mgrtitle: | Manager |
| League: | Scottish League Division One |
| League Result: | 2nd |
| Cup1: | Scottish Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Quarter final |
| Cup2: | Scottish League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Group stage |
| Cup3: | European Cup Winners Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | First round |
| League Topscorer: | Joe Harper (19) |
| Season Topscorer: | Joe Harper (27) |
| Highest Attendance: | 36,000 vs. Rangers, 20 February 1971 36,000 vs. Celtic, 17 April 1971 |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,200 vs. Airdrieonians, 22 August 1970 |
| Average Attendance: | 17,029 |
| Pattern La1: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern B1: | _whitecollar |
| Pattern Ra1: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern Sh1: | _adidaswhite |
| Pattern So1: | _whitetop |
| Leftarm1: | ff0000 |
| Body1: | ff0000 |
| Rightarm1: | ff0000 |
| Shorts1: | ff0000 |
| Socks1: | ff0000 |
| Prevseason: | 1969–70 |
| Nextseason: | 1971–72 |
The 1970–71 season was Aberdeen's 58th season in the top flight of Scottish football and their 60th season of Club. Aberdeen competed in the Scottish League Division One, Scottish League Cup, Scottish Cup, and European Cup Winners' Cup.
Aberdeen finished second in the league behind Celtic and became the first club to be knocked out of European competition in a penalty shoot-out when they lost to Hungarian club Honvéd.[1] Goalkeeper Bobby Clark achieved a record by going 1,155 minutes without conceding a goal in the league, which was surpassed in 2009 by Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar.[2] On 6 February, a fire destroyed part of the Main Stand at Pittodrie. The Scottish Cup trophy was saved by firemen, but many historical club artifacts and items of memorabilia were destroyed.[3]
|}
Own goals in italics
See main article: 1970–71 Scottish Division One.
| Match Day | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 August | Airdrieonians | H | 1–1 | Harper | 9,000 |
| 2 | 5 September | Dundee | A | 2–1 | Harper, Hamilton | 8,000 |
| 3 | 12 September | St Johnstone | H | 0–0 | 10,000 | |
| 4 | 19 September | Kilmarnock | A | 4–0 | Arthur, Boel, Hamilton, Harper | 6,000 |
| 5 | 26 September | Hibernian | H | 3–0 | Robb, Forrest, Harper | 13,000 |
| 6 | 3 October | Greenock Morton | A | 0–2 | 7,000 | |
| 7 | 10 October | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 3–2 | M. Buchan, Graham (2) | 10,000 |
| 8 | 17 October | Rangers | A | 2–0 | Jackson, Harper | 39,763 |
| 9 | 24 October | St Mirren | A | 3–1 | S. Murray, Forrest, Robb | 3,000 |
| 10 | 31 October | Dundee United | H | 4–0 | S. Murray, Robb, Harper (2) | 10,000 |
| 11 | 7 November | Clyde | H | 3–0 | Harper (2), Hermiston | 13,000 |
| 12 | 14 November | Ayr United | A | 1–0 | Harper | 11,000 |
| 13 | 21 November | Heart of Midlothian | H | 1–0 | Harper | 13,500 |
| 14 | 28 November | Motherwell | A | 2–0 | Boel, Taylor | 10,000 |
| 15 | 5 December | Cowdenbeath | H | 7–0 | Harper (3), Kinnel (2), S. Murray, Graham | 14,000 |
| 16 | 12 December | Celtic | A | 1–0 | Harper | 63,000 |
| 17 | 19 December | Falkirk | H | 1–0 | Harper | 19,000 |
| 18 | 26 December | Airdrieonians | A | 4–0 | Harper (2), S. Murray, Taylor | 8,000 |
| 19 | 1 January | Dundee | H | 3–0 | S. Murray, McMillan, Graham | 24,000 |
| 20 | 2 January | St Johnstone | A | 1–0 | Forrest | 21,500 |
| 21 | 9 January | Kilmarnock | H | 3–0 | Willoughby, Robb, Forrest | 18,000 |
| 22 | 16 January | Hibernian | A | 1–2 | Robb | 23,400 |
| 23 | 30 January | Greenock Morton | H | 3–1 | Taylor (2), Harper | 18,000 |
| 24 | 6 February | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 0–1 | 9,000 | |
| 25 | 20 February | Rangers | H | 0–0 | 36,000 | |
| 26 | 27 February | St Mirren | H | 1–1 | Forrest | 15,000 |
| 27 | 10 March | Dundee United | A | 2–0 | M. Buchan, Forrest | 7,000 |
| 28 | 13 March | Clyde | A | 2–1 | S. Murray, Forrest | 4,500 |
| 29 | 24 March | Ayr United | H | 4–1 | S. Murray, Forrest, Robb, Graham | 18,000 |
| 30 | 27 March | Heart of Midlothian | A | 3–1 | Robb (3) | 13,500 |
| 31 | 3 April | Motherwell | H | 0–0 | 13,000 | |
| 32 | 10 April | Cowdenbeath | A | 2–1 | Bostock, G. Buchan | 4,000 |
| 33 | 17 April | Celtic | H | 1–1 | Willoughby | 36,000 |
| 34 | 24 April | Falkirk | A | 0–1 | 8,000 | |
See main article: 1970–71 Scottish League Cup.
Aberdeen failed to qualify from section 4 of the League Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 August | Airdrieonians | A | 1–1 | S. Murray | 3,500 |
| 2 | 12 August | St Johnstone | H | 2–1 | Robb, Harper | 13,500 |
| 3 | 15 August | Hibernian | H | 1–1 | Robb | 16,000 |
| 4 | 19 August | St Johnstone | A | 1–0 | Forrest | 3,300 |
| 5 | 22 August | Airdrieonians | H | 7–3 | Boel, Robb, Harper (4), Jonquin | 12,000 |
| 6 | 26 August | Hibernian | A | 0–4 | 24,900 | |
See main article: 1970–71 Scottish Cup.
Aberdeen, the defending champions of the Scottish Cup, were knocked out by Rangers in the quarter-final.
| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R3 | 25 January | Elgin City | H | 5–0 | Taylor, Forrest (2), Harper (2) | 24,136 |
| R4 | 13 February | Dundee United | A | 1–1 | Forrest | 24,000 |
| R4 R | 17 February | Dundee United | H | 2–0 | Boel, Robb | 29,000 |
| QF | 6 March | Rangers | A | 0–1 | 65,000 | |
See main article: 1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup.
Aberdeen made history by becoming the first club to be knocked out of European competition on penalty kicks.
| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 L1 | 16 September |  Honvéd | H | 3–1 | S. Murray, Harper, Graham | 21,500 |
| R1 L2 | 30 September | Honvéd | A | 1–3 | S. Murray | 18,500 |