2021–22 Aberdeen F.C. season explained

Club:	Aberdeen
Season:	2021–22
Manager:	Stephen Glass (until 13 February) Barry Robson (interim) (from 13 to 19 February) Jim Goodwin (from 19 February)
Mgrtitle:	Manager
Chairman:	Dave Cormack
Chrtitle:	Chairman
Stdtitle:	Ground
Stadium:	Pittodrie Stadium Aberdeen, Scotland (Capacity: 20,866)
League:	Scottish Premiership
League Result:	10th
Cup2:	League Cup
Cup2 Result:	Second round
Cup1:	Scottish Cup
Cup1 Result:	Fifth round
Cup3:	UEFA Europa Conference League
Cup3 Result:	Play-off round
League Topscorer:	Lewis Ferguson (11)
Season Topscorer:	Lewis Ferguson (16)
Highest Attendance:	League: 18,719 vs Dundee United 18 January 2022 Cup: 15,533 vs FK Qarabağ Conference League 12 August 2021
Lowest Attendance:	League: 500 vs Dundee 26 December 2021
Prevseason:	2020–21
Nextseason:	2022–23
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The 2021–22 Aberdeen F.C. season is Aberdeen's 109th season in the top flight of Scottish football and the ninth in the Scottish Premiership.^[1] Aberdeen competed in the Scottish Cup, the League Cup and in qualifying for the inaugural season of 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.

Summary

May

Player-coach Scott Brown arrived from Celtic in July. Scotland International defender Declan Gallagher signed a pre-contract from Motherwell. Striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas signed from Livingston. Goalkeeper Gary Woods permanently joined from Oldham Athletic after his loan spell last season.

June

Young winger Teddy Jenks joined from Brighton and Hove Albion on a loan deal, Jack Gurr joined from manager Glass' former club Atlanta United on a free, and American International Christian Ramirez signed from Houston Dynamo for an undisclosed fee.

July

The club announced all pre-season fixtures were to be played behind closed doors^[2] but two matches were cancelled due to COVID-19.^{[3] [4]} Scott Brown was announced as Team Captain with goalkeeper Joe Lewis becoming the Club Captain.^[5]

August

Aberdeen were knocked out of the League Cup by Championship side Raith Rovers. This followed with being knocked out of Europe by Azerbaijan side FK Qarabağ in the Play-off round.

September

Lewis Ferguson was called up and made his debut for the Scotland national team. The club however suffered a miserable September, losing all three matches in the Premiership. Niall McGinn and Lewis Ferguson were both called up for their respective countries for the October internationals.

October

Having lost five league games in a row, Glass was under pressure but was eased with wins against both Edinburgh clubs and were unlucky not to win at Ibrox.

November

On 20 November, the Dons lost to Dundee United, however off the pitch player Funso Ojo was assaulted by a United fan and was sent off for a second bookable offence. The fan was later charged and banned from football.^[6] Ojo himself also assaulted a separate United fan after the match. He was later charged for the incident^[7]

December

After three wins, the Dons lost at Easter Road to a Ryan Porteous goal, but during the match he was involved in an incident with Dons forward Ramirez for which he was later given a three match ban.^[8] Young full back Jack MacKenzie signed a new contract.^[9] The year ended prematurely due to the Covid variant Omicron and the club were forced to play in front of 500 fans against Dundee on Boxing Day as the Dens Park side struggled to field a team.^{[10] [11]}

January

Midfielder Matty Longstaff returned to his parent club after a disappointing spell with the club.^[12] Austin Samuels also returned to his parent club. Promising young American College player Dante Polvara signed a contract for the club.^[13] The club signed Dutch forward Vicente Besuijen on a four-and-a-half-year contract.^[14]

February

After a poor run of results including a fifth-round defeat in the Scottish Cup to Motherwell, Stephen Glass left the club on 13 February. He was replaced by Barry Robson as interim manager.^[15] The club appointed Jim Goodwin as manager on 19 February^[16] Before the match with Dundee United, a statue was unveiled of their most successful manager to date, Alex Ferguson.^[17]

March

It was announced that Team Captain and player-coach Scott Brown had left to pursue his coaching career elsewhere.^[18] For the second time during the season The Dons went 10 matches without a League win.^[19] Jim Goodwin's first win as manager came in a 3–1 home win against Hibernian on 19 March. The club descended to 10th place in the league.^[20]

April

It was revealed that long-serving defender and former Club Captain Andrew Considine would leave at the end of the season after rejecting the offer of a new deal on reduced terms.^[21] Michael Devlin and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas had their contracts terminated and left the club.^{[22] [23]} A home defeat to Ross County consigned Aberdeen to a place in the bottom 6 of the league, failing to qualify for European competition for the first time since 2012-13.^[24] The team's first clean sheet in the league since December 2021 came in a 1–0 win against bottom placed Dundee.

May

Aberdeen secured their place in the Premiership with a draw at Hibernian.^[25] Gaining just 2 points from a possible 9 in the last month of the season, the club finished the league in 10th place. Andy Considine made his final appearance for The Dons at home to St Mirren in the season finale.^[26] Dylan McGeouch, Funso Ojo and Michael Ruth left the club on conclusion of their contracts, whilst Adam Montgomery and Teddy Jenks returned to their parent clubs at the end of their loan. ^[27]

Results & fixtures

Scottish Premiership

See main article: 2021-22 Scottish Premiership.

Scottish League Cup

See main article: 2021–22 Scottish League Cup.

• Aberdeen enter the Second Round of the League Cup where they will play Raith Rovers. Stephen Glass made seven changes for the match and subsequently were knocked out.

Scottish Cup

See main article: 2021–22 Scottish Cup.

UEFA Europa Conference League

See main article: 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League. Aberdeen qualified by finishing in fourth place in the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership and entered in the second qualifying Round. They knocked out BK Hacken 5–3 on aggregate to enter the third qualifying Round against Breiðablik. They also knocked them out 5–3 on aggregate but lost the play-off round 4–1 on aggregate to Qarabağ.

Play-off round

Squad statistics

Appearances

|-|colspan="17"|Players who left the club during the season|- |}

Goalscorers

As of 7 May 2022

width=60	Ranking	width=60	Nation	width=60	Number	width=150	Name	width=80	Scottish Premiership	width=80	Conference League	width=80	League Cup	width=80	Scottish Cup	width=80	Total
1		19	Lewis Ferguson	11	4	0	1	16
2		9	Christian Ramirez	10	3	0	2	15
3		11	Ryan Hedges	2	2	0	1	5
4		7	Marley Watkins	3	0	0	0	3
5		8	Scott Brown	2	0	0	0	2
		27	David Bates	2	0	0	0	2
		20	Teddy Jenks	2	0	0	0	2
		17	Jonny Hayes	2	0	0	0	2
		10	Vicente Besuijen	2	0	0	0	2
6		4	Andrew Considine	0	1	0	0	1
		18	Connor McLennan	0	1	0	0	1
		2	Ross McCrorie	1	0	0	0	1
		3	Jack MacKenzie	1	0	0	0	1
		22	Calvin Ramsay	1	0	0	0	1
		14	Jay Emmanuel-Thomas	0	0	1	0	1
		16	Funso Ojo	1	0	0	0	1
	TOTALS			40	11	1	4	56

Team statistics

Results by round

Transfers

See main article: List of Scottish football transfers summer 2021 and List of Scottish football transfers winter 2021–22.

Players in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Fee
21 June 2021	DF	Jack Gurr	Atlanta United	Free^[28]
28 June 2021	FW	Christian Ramirez	Houston Dynamo	£180,000^[29]
1 July 2021	MF	Scott Brown	Celtic	Free^[30]
1 July 2021	FW	Jay Emmanuel-Thomas	Livingston	Free^[31]
1 July 2021	DF	Declan Gallagher	Motherwell	Free^[32]
1 July 2021	GK	Gary Woods	Oldham Athletic	Free
26 August 2021	FW	Marley Watkins	Cardiff City	Free^[33]
29 August 2021	DF	David Bates	Hamburg	Undisclosed^[34]
8 January 2022	MF	Dante Polvara	Georgetown Hoyas	Free^[35]
24 January 2022	FW	Vicente Besuijen	ADO Den Haag	Undisclosed^[36]
12 February 2022	GK	Craig Samson	Hibernian	Free^[37]

Players out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Fee
17 May 2021	DF	Ash Taylor	Walsall	Free^[38] ^[39]
17 May 2021	DF	Tommie Hoban	Crewe Alexandra	Free^[40]
17 May 2021	DF	Greg Leigh	Morecambe	Free^[41]
1 July 2021	FW	Bruce Anderson	Livingston	Free
27 July 2021	DF	Shay Logan	Cove Rangers	Free^[42]
5 August 2021	MF	Miko Virtanen	Hamilton Academical	Free^[43]
19 November 2021	MF	Ethan Ross	Raith Rovers	Free^[44] ^[45]
19 January 2022	DF	Jack Gurr	Sacramento Republic	Free^[46]
24 January 2022	FW	Niall McGinn	Dundee	Free^[47]
30 January 2022	MF	Ryan Hedges	Blackburn Rovers	Undisclosed^[48]
8 April 2022	DF	Michael Devlin		Released
12 April 2022	FW	Jay Emmanuel-Thomas	Jamshedpur	Free^[49]

Loans in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Fee
14 June 2021	MF	Teddy Jenks	Brighton & Hove Albion	Loan^[50]
23 August 2021	FW	Austin Samuels	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Loan^[51]
27 August 2021	MF	Matty Longstaff	Newcastle United	Loan^[52]
31 January 2022	DF	Adam Montgomery	Celtic	Loan^[53]

Loans out

Date	Pos	Player	From	Fee
24 June 2021	MF	Mark Gallagher	Forfar Athletic	Loan^[54]
13 July 2021	MF	Jack Milne	Brechin City	Loan^[55]
15 July 2021	MF	Tyler Mykyta	Formartine United	Loan^[56]
22 July 2021	MF	Kevin Hanratty	Formartine United	January Loan^[57]
3 August 2021	MF	Connor Barron	Kelty Hearts	January Loan^[58]
6 September 2021	FW	Michael Ruth	Falkirk	Loan^[59]
16 September 2021	DF	Kieran Ngwenya	Kelty Hearts	Loan^[60]
25 September 2021	GK	Tom Ritchie	Huntly	Loan^[61]
28 September 2021	FW	Ryan Duncan	Peterhead	January Loan^[62]
3 January 2022	DF	Evan Towler	Elgin City	Loan^[63]
7 January 2022	DF	Mason Hancock	Stirling Albion	Loan^[64]
12 January 2022	MF	Kevin Hanratty	Elgin City	Loan^[65]
3 February 2022	MF	Dean Campbell	Kilmarnock	Loan^[66]

See also

• List of Aberdeen F.C. seasons

Notes and References

1. Web site: Start dates for 2021/22. SPFL. 25 March 2021. 18 May 2021.
2. https://www.afc.co.uk/2021/07/06/dons-confirm-closed-door-pre-season-schedule/ Aberdeen Fc | Dons Confirm Closed Door Pre Season Schedule
3. Web site: Covid issues forces Cove Rangers to cancel two friendlies.
4. https://www.afc.co.uk/2021/07/15/pre-season-2021-match-against-reading-fc-off/ Aberdeen FC | Pre-Season 2021 | Match against Reading FC off
5. Web site: Scott Brown to lead the Dons as Team Captain. Aberdeen FC. 17 July 2021. 17 July 2021 .
6. News: Funso Ojo: Fan admits assaulting Aberdeen player in Dundee Utd game. BBC News. 21 December 2021.
7. Web site: Funso Ojo: Police probe Aberdeen star over alleged assault after post-match incident involving Dundee United fan.
8. News: Porteous banned over Ramirez clash. BBC Sport.
9. News: MacKenzie extends Aberdeen contract. BBC Sport.
10. News: Aberdeen overcome depleted Dundee. en-GB. BBC Sport. 2021-12-26.
11. Web site: Mair. Steven. 2021-12-26. Dundee bench consists of assistant manager, two goalkeepers and a teenager. 2021-12-26. Daily Record. en.
12. Web site: Matty Longstaff returns from loan spell.
13. Web site: Elite American College Player Commits Future to the Dons. afc.co.uk. 8 January 2022.
14. Web site: Highly Rated Dutch Youth International Commits Future To The Dons . afc.co.uk. 24 January 2022.
15. Web site: Stephen Glass departs Aberdeen Football Club . afc.co.uk. 13 February 2022.
16. Web site: Jim Goodwin appointed Aberdeen FC manager. afc.co.uk. 19 February 2022.
17. News: 2022-02-25. Sir Alex Ferguson statue unveiled at Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium. en-GB. BBC News. 2022-03-07.
18. Web site: Scott Brown leaves Aberdeen to pursue coaching career after nine months at Pittodrie.
19. Web site: David Bates makes Rangers 'big calls' claim as Aberdeen flirt with relegation battle.
20. News: Match Report Aberdeen v Hibs. BBC Sport .
21. Web site: Andy Considine rejected Aberdeen PAY CUT as Dons statement misses crucial detail. 6 April 2022 .
22. Web site: Michael Devlin to depart The Dons. 8 April 2022 .
23. News: Jay Emmanuel-Thomas released early by Aberdeen. BBC Sport .
24. News: Match Report Aberdeen 0 Ross County 1 . BBC Sport .
25. News: Aberdeen safe from drop despite Hibs draw. BBC Sport .
26. News: Considine signs off in Aberdeen draw with St Mirren. BBC Sport.
27. Web site: Aberdeen Football Club Confirms Player Departures. 17 May 2022.
28. Web site: Defender Jack Gurr joins the Dons . Aberdeen FC . 21 June 2021 . 1 July 2021 .
29. Web site: US International Striker joins the Dons . Aberdeen FC . 28 June 2021 . 1 July 2021 .
30. News: Scott Brown to leave Celtic this summer for Aberdeen player-coach role . The Guardian . 25 March 2021 . 9 May 2021.
31. Web site: Jay Emmanuel-Thomas moves to Aberdeen from Livingston . BBC Sport . 18 May 2021 . 18 May 2021.
32. Web site: Declan Gallagher: Aberdeen sign Motherwell defender on pre-contract . BBC Sport . 7 May 2021 . 7 May 2021.
33. Web site: Marley Returns . Aberdeen FC . 26 August 2021 . 26 August 2021.
34. Web site: Aberdeen: David Bates signs three-year contract after transfer fee agreed with Hamburg . BBC Sport . 29 August 2021 . 29 August 2021.
35. Web site: Elite American College Player Commits Future to the Dons . afc.co.uk . 9 January 2022 . 8 January 2022.
36. Web site: Highly rated Dutch youth international commits future to the Dons. Aberdeen FC. 24 January 2022. 7 March 2022.
37. Web site: Craig Samson joins Aberdeen four years after retirement. glasgowtimes.co.uk. 12 February 2022. 7 March 2022.
38. Web site: PLAYER DEPARTURES . Aberdeen FC . 17 May 2021 . 17 May 2021.
39. Web site: Ash Taylor: Walsall sign defender following his departure from Aberdeen . BBC Sport . 7 July 2021 . 9 July 2021.
40. Web site: Tommie Hoban Becomes Fourth Summer Signing . Crewe Alexandra FC . 1 July 2021 . 1 July 2021.
41. Web site: Greg Leigh: Morecambe sign ex-Aberdeen defender on a one-year deal . BBC Sport . 9 July 2021 . 9 July 2021.
42. https://coverangersfc.com/2021/07/27/logan-anderson-join-cove/ Logan & Anderson Join Cove | Cove Rangers FC
43. Web site: Miko Virtanen signs for Accies. August 5, 2021.
44. News: Ethan Ross decides not to return to Aberdeen. Paul. Third. 22 June 2021. 1 July 2021. Press & Journal.
45. Web site: Ethan Ross. Raith Rovers FC. 14 October 2021. 19 November 2021.
46. Web site: Republic FC Adds Jack Gurr to Defensive Corps. 19 January 2022. 7 March 2022.
47. Web site: Niall is a Dee. 2022-01-24. 2022-03-07. Dundee FC - Official Website. en-US.
48. News: RYAN HEDGES DEPARTS THE DONS. AFC. Media Team. 30 January 2022. 30 January 2022. Aberdeen FC.
49. News: Striker departs the Dons. AFC. Media Team. 12 April 2022. 26 April 2022. Aberdeen FC.
50. Web site: Jenks joins Aberdeen on loan . BBC Sport . 14 June 2021 . 1 July 2021.
51. News: Aberdeen sign Wolves' Samuels on loan. BBC Sport. 24 August 2021 . 3 September 2021.
52. Web site: Matty Longstaff joins the Dons . Aberdeen FC . 27 August 2021 . 27 August 2021.
53. Web site: Adam Montgomery Joins The Dons On Loan. www.afc.co.uk. 31 January 2022. 7 March 2022.
54. Web site: 'Dons' midfielder head to Station Park . Forfar Athletic FC . 24 June 2021 . 9 July 2021.
55. Web site: Jack Milne heads out on loan. 13 July 2021.
56. Web site: Tyler Mykyta joins Formartine United on season-long loan from Aberdeen.
57. Web site: SIGNING NEWS – KEVIN HANRATTY SIGNS FOR FORMARTINE UNITED | Formartine United Football Club – Pitmedden, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
58. Web site: Connor Barron heads out on loan. 3 August 2021.
59. Web site: Aberdeen youngster Michael Ruth loaned out to League One Falkirk.
60. Web site: KIERAN NGWENYA JOINS KELTY HEARTS ON LOAN . www.afc.co.uk. Aberdeen FC. 16 September 2021.
61. Web site: Tom Ritchie joins Huntly on loan. 25 September 2021.
62. Web site: Ryan Duncan Joins Peterhead on Loan. 28 September 2021.
63. Web site: Aberdeen teenager Evan Towler impresses Elgin City manager on loan debut. 3 January 2022.
64. Web site: Mason Hancock extends stay and heads out on loan. 7 January 2022.
65. Web site: Elgin City sign Aberdeen youngster Kevin Hanratty on loan for rest of season.
66. News: Aberdeen midfielder Dean Campbell has a point to prove after making a loan move to Kilmarnock. Paul. Third. Press & Journal. 3 February 2022. 7 March 2022.