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Aberdeen F.C.

Aberdeen Football Club (also known as The Dons, The Reds and The Dandies) is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen. They compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the most successful teams in their country, having won four league titles and seven Scottish Cups. They are also the only Scottish team to have won two European trophies, both in the same year.

Aberdeen F.C.
Merkland Road Facade.JPG
Full nameAberdeen Football Club
Nickname(s)The Dons, The Reds, The Dandies.
Founded1903
GroundPittodrie Stadium,
Aberdeen, Scotland
(capacity: 22,199)
ChairmanScotland Dave Cormack
ManagerScotland Derek McInnes
LeagueScottish Premiership
2018/19Scottish Premiership, 4th
Home colours
Away colours

Formed in 1903 as a result of the amalgamation of three clubs from Aberdeen, they rarely challenged for honours until the 1950s, 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 honours. Aberdeen were the last club outside of the Old Firm to win a league title, in 1984–85.

Aberdeen have played at Pittodrie Stadium since their inception. The ground currently has a capacity of 22,199 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, with Dundee United having been their principal rivals in the New Firm in the 1980s. Rangers supplanted Dundee United as rivals in the late 1980s, but the rivalry, while fierce, does not approach that of the Old Firm.

Colours and crest

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.[1]

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.[2] The first red strips were worn with white shorts, these were worn with either red or white socks from 1939 until the 1965–66 season.[1] 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.[3] 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,[1] and a one season reversion to white shorts, although the all-red scheme returned in 1997.[1]

Shirt sponsorship began in 1987, and the initial shirt sponsor was JVC.[1] 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.[4] Aberdeen last season had announced their intention to move away from local sponsorship. Sponsored by Apex Tubulars at the time, that deal ended at the end of the 2007/08 season. In a turnaround though, Aberdeen FC Managing Director, Duncan Fraser, announced the side would bare the name of local company Team Recruitment on their shirts for the next two seasons. It is believed no international sponsor showed interest.

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.[4] For the 2007–08 season, the change strip is 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.[1]

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,[5] the club unveiled an official crest or logo, designed by Aberdonian graphic designer Donald Addison.[6] 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.[5] 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.[5] The current version of the crest, which retains these elements in a unified design, was introduced at the start of the 1997–98 season.[5] Two stars signifying the winning of the two European cups in 1983 were introduced over the badge in the 2005–06 season.[7]

Stadium

 
Pittodrie Stadium's granite facade viewed from outside the Merkland Road stand

Aberdeen have played at Pittodrie Stadium, the name of which comes from the Pictish for "place of manure",[8] throughout their existence. The ground was first used by the original Aberdeen F.C. in 1899, in a 7–1 win over Dumbarton;[9] when they merged with two other teams in 1903, the new club took over the old Aberdeen ground. On August 15 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.[2] The club initially rented the ground, but subsequently bought it in 1920.[2] The stadium contains 21,600 seats,[9] but due to the directors' boxes, some sources place this figure at 22,000.[10] The record attendance occurred on March 13 1954, when 45,061 spectators turned up for a Scottish Cup match between Aberdeen and Hearts.[9]

The stadium consists of four stands. The Main Stand, which houses the club offices and players facilities, holds the majority of the supporters. The Merkland Road Stand is primarily for families. The South Stand is opposite the main stand and a quarter of this section is used to accommodate travelling supporters, except for Old Firm games, where half of this stand is given to the visiting fans. 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.[11] This is a modern, two–tier design, completed in 1993, containing hospitality suites which is significantly taller than the other structures at the ground.[11] In 1978, Pittodrie became the first all covered, all-seater stadium in Britain.[12][13]

The club are examining a move to a new stadium in Aberdeen.

Players

Current squad

As of 16 October 2018
No. Position Player
1   GK Joe Lewis
2   DF Shay Logan
3   MF Greame Shinnie (captain)
4   DF Andrew Considine
5   DF Scott McKenna
6   DF Mark Reynolds
7   MF Chris Forrester
8   MF Stephen Gleeson
9   FW James Wilson
10   FW Niall McGinn
11   MF Gary Mackay-Steven
14   MF Greg Tansey
15   MF Scott Wright
16   FW Sam Cosgrove
17   FW Stevie May
No. Position Player


18   DF Mikey Devlin
19   MF Lewis Ferguson
20   GK Tomáš Černy
21   DF Dominic Ball
28   DF Tommy Hoban
29   DF Max Lowe

AFC Hall of Fame

Aberdeen inaugurated the Hall of Fame following the club's centenary celebrations in 2003. At the launch, it was claimed that over a five-year period, around 50 players and staff would be inducted. However, as of November 2007, the following initial inductees are still the only ones listed on the official website as members:[14]

  •   Chris Anderson
  •   Jim Bett
  •   Henning Boel
  •   Martin Buchan
  •   Dick Donald
  •   Arthur Graham
  •   Joe Harper
  •   Jim Hermiston
  •   John Hewitt
  •   Drew Jarvie
  •   Jim Leighton
  •   Fred Martin
  •   Willie Miller
  •   Teddy Scott
  •   Ally Shewan
  •   Neil Simpson
  •   Eddie Turnbull
  •   Alec Young

Managers

 
Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager of Aberdeen.

List of full-time managers, as of 3 November 2012. Only competitive matches are counted. Caretaker managers are not listed.

From To Name P W D L Win%[15] Ref
1903 1924   Philip, JimmyJimmy Philip 644 221 172 251 34.32% [16]
1924 1937   Travers, PaddyPaddy Travers 474 214 106 154 45.15% [16]
1937 1955   Halliday, DaveDave Halliday 371 165 71 135 44.47% [16]
1955 1959   Shaw, DavieDavie Shaw 148 66 20 62 44.59% [16]
1959 1965   Pearson, TommyTommy Pearson 180 66 42 72 36.67% [16]
1965 1971   Turnbull, EddieEddie Turnbull 216 101 43 72 46.75% [16]
1971 1975   Bonthrone, JimmyJimmy Bonthrone 143 67 46 30 46.85% [16]
1975 1977   MacLeod, AllyAlly MacLeod 61 24 19 18 39.34% [16]
1977 1978   McNeil, BillyBilly McNeil 36 22 9 5 61.11% [16]
1978 1986   Ferguson, AlexAlex Ferguson 288 167 71 50 57.99% [16]
1986 1986   Ferguson, AlexAlex Ferguson
  Knox, ArchieArchie Knox 		15 7 5 3 46.67% [16]
1986 1988   Porterfield, IanIan Porterfield 71 35 27 9 49.30% [16]
1988 1991   Scott, JockyJocky Scott
  Smith, AlexAlex Smith 		117 63 35 19 53.85% [16]
1991 1992   Smith, AlexAlex Smith 23 7 7 9 30.43% [16]
1992 1995   Miller, WillieWillie Miller 124 53 45 26 42.47% [16]
1995 1997   Aitken, RoyRoy Aitken 124 50 31 43 40.32% [17]
1997 1998   Miller, AlexAlex Miller 43 11 13 19 25.58% [18]
1999 2002   Skovdahl, EbbeEbbe Skovdahl 159 54 37 68 33.96% [19]
2002 2004   Paterson, SteveSteve Paterson 68 23 13 32 33.82% [20]
2004 2009   Calderwood, JimmyJimmy Calderwood 227 94 60 73 41.41% [21]
2009 2010   McGhee, MarkMark McGhee 62 17 13 32 27.42% [22]
2010 2013   Brown, CraigCraig Brown 113 37 33 43 32.74% [23]
2013 Current Derek McInnes 112 62 25 25 54.95%

Further reading

  • Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 years of The Dons: The official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903–2003. Hodder & Stoughton, London. ISBN 978-0-340-82344-6.
  • Smith, Paul (2007). The Legends of Aberdeen. Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-575-3.
  • Ferguson, Alex; McIlvanney, Hugh (2000). Managing My Life. Coronet. ISBN 978-0-340-72856-7.

Aberdeen F.C. Media

  • League history of Aberdeen from their first league appearance in 1904

  • Aberdeen Football Club Commerative Pendant

  • A display by Aberdeen fans in the Richard Donald Stand

  • Aberdeen collecting their first trophy in 19 years in 2014

  • Commemorative plaque on the wall of Pittodrie Stadium on Pittodrie Street.

  • Fans display "1903", the year of the club's establishment, before the 2014 Scottish League Cup Final

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Aberdeen". Historical Football Kits. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Milestones & Records". Aberdeen F.C. Retrieved 2 April 2008.[dead link]
  3. ↑ "Liverpool - Historical Football Kits". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Aberdeen (A) 94/96 (Large)". Football Shirts. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Aberdeen". Football Crests.com. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  6. ↑ "An Leabhar Mor" (in Gàidhlig). Leabh Armor. Retrieved 2008-04-02.[dead link]
  7. ↑ "new home kit available today". Aberdeen F.C. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  8. ↑ Pittodrie built on rotting foundations. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2005/12/02/sfnabe02.xml. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "History of Pittodrie Stadium". Scottish Premier League. Archived from the original on 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  10. ↑ Murdoch, Jamie (2007-12-13). Aberdeen ready to ditch Pittodrie. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/12/13/sfnabe113.xml. Retrieved 2008-04-19. [dead link]
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Projects – Richard Donald Stand, Pittodrie". Stewart Milne Construction. Archived from the original on 2006-11-09. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  12. ↑ "Club Overview – Aberdeen". Scottish Premier League. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  13. ↑ Inglis, Simon (1996). Football Grounds of Britain, third edition. CollinsWillow. p. 424–426. ISBN 978-0-00-218426-7.
  14. ↑ "Hall of Fame". Aberdeen F.C. Retrieved 2008-03-24.[dead link]
  15. ↑ Percentages have been rounded to two decimal places.
  16. ↑ 16.00 16.01 16.02 16.03 16.04 16.05 16.06 16.07 16.08 16.09 16.10 16.11 16.12 16.13 16.14 Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 Years of The Dons: the official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903–2003. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-82344-6.
  17. ↑ "Roy Aitken". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  18. ↑ "Alex Miller". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 13 November 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  19. ↑ "Ebbe Skovdahl". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  20. ↑ "Steve Paterson". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  21. ↑ "Jimmy Calderwood". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  22. ↑ "Mark McGhee". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  23. ↑ "Craig Brown". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 Dec 2012.

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