Aberdeen Save 2022

[Mr_Grieves]

November

Fixtures

We win our two games an especially important win at Ibrox. Celtic thrashed us in the League Cup Semi so we will have to let someone else borrow that trophy for the year.


SPL

No changes after Celtic wrestled 2 wins from draws or defeats.


Champions League

Juventus were 2-0 up at halftime and with the game looking lost i gave them another 10 minutes to get back in the game and they did go on to level it up. Neither side looked like winning but a great result against a top side. We got an even better result when PSV came to town to make the table finally look optimistic

We're now up to 8 points, 2 off my target for qualifying with 3 games to go.

 

[Mr_Grieves]

December


Fixtures

Rangers were totally turned over and only one clumsy game against Hearts cost us a perfect month.


SPL

Sadly Celtic did have a perfect month. They look simply unstoppable and we make at least 1 mistake aka have 1 bad result a month that has us further away from a title challenge.


Champions League

One game and possibly our worst result so far. We weren't worth more than 1 point.

 

[Mr_Grieves]

January


Fixtures

Wins everywhere. Defense shaping up well too

SPL

Celtic drop points and gets more bad news before the month is out


Champions League

We beat Lazio despite our old European friend the 1st half red card. We went into the last day with a very slim chance of cracking the top 8 but lost away to Chelsea. Should have played a younger team but we still comfortably make it to the playoff round.

Playoff Draw

Aberdeen and Celtic both get winnable draws



Transfer Window

Aberdeen

In

Two youngsters are bought and then loaned back to their current clubs.


Out
With the season going so well i tried to limit the sales but with our overflow of Left backs, i sell Greg Taylor to Hearts for £3.8m. He made over 130 appearances and is probably still the best left-back we have but not by much and the three that are close in skill are all under 21 and need the game time to prove who will be the best starter for next season.


SPL

All the headlines are with Celtic who sold their star player Gimenez for £62m to Chelsea. Now we have a good idea that Bavidge will need a bid of over £100m haha​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

February


Fixtures

Back to back games with Hibs were both slogs. Didn't feel awful about dropping 2 points considering how close the games were. Dundee Utd was brushed aside in the cup. Then came the big 6 pointer against Celtic. We took an early lead and led on XG for the full 90 minutes but Celtic twice sucker-punched us and we had no reply. Still feels like we are a few steps away from being better than them. Livingston and Queens Park were thrashed in revenge.


SPL

Celtic have a sudden obsession with drawing games which has us right back in the hunt.


Champions League KO

1st Leg
Sparta Prague 0-0 Aberdeen

The Czechs held on despite being down to 10 men for the last 20 minutes

2nd Leg
Aberdeen 2-1 Sparta Prague

We dominated the home leg but Sparta gave us a nervous final 20 minutes.


Last 16 Draw

As an unseeded team, there was no chance of getting a 2nd rate team at this point. Still, they don't come harder than Real Madrid


Not one to look a month ahead in FM seasons but the next 2 weeks. Talk about defining a season!

 

[Mr_Grieves]

March


Fixture

We had two must-win games against the Old Firm teams and we lost them both. The Celtic game followed the usual pattern of us taking the lead early on then Celtic muscling back into the game and holding on to win. The Rangers game was just a final letdown for an awful month. The win against Partick was pointless before the much-needed international break.

SPL

Celtic keep drawing to keep us and just about Rangers in the hunt. This is crazy considering we have lost to them every time and they are still unbeaten


Champions League Last 16

1st Leg
Aberdeen 1-2 Real Madrid

We took the lead and for a magic 5 minutes, the feeling of the cup winner cup final in 1983 was getting revisited. Sadly Rodrigo turned the game before halftime. We had a few chances to get back at Madrid but didn't take them.

2nd Leg
Real Madrid 3-0 Aberdeen

10 players were missing with injury or suspension so i went in with no hopes and only losing 3-0 is probably an acceptable result considering. Celtic beat Chelsea so a good haul of coefficient points coming in​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

April
​

Fixtures

Just a quick update as we only had 2 games. Despite our major strength in attack, we had another goalless draw as did Celtic who won their game in hand too.


SPL

We need to pull off a 7 point swing to end Celtic's incredible run. They have Champions League football to deal with and we play them 1st so should know our fate immediately if we don't win our only challenge is to keep the 6 point gap to Rangers.​

 

[Smee135.]

March


Fixture
View attachment 609773
We had two must-win games against the Old Firm teams and we lost them both. The Celtic game followed the usual pattern of us taking the lead early on then Celtic muscling back into the game and holding on to win. The Rangers game was just a final letdown for an awful month. The win against Partick was pointless before the much-needed international break.

SPL
View attachment 609775
Celtic keep drawing to keep us and just about Rangers in the hunt. This is crazy considering we have lost to them every time and they are still unbeaten


Champions League Last 16

1st Leg
Aberdeen 1-2 Real Madrid
View attachment 609776
We took the lead and for a magic 5 minutes, the feeling of the cup winner cup final in 1983 was getting revisited. Sadly Rodrigo turned the game before halftime. We had a few chances to get back at Madrid but didn't take them.

2nd Leg
Real Madrid 3-0 Aberdeen
View attachment 609778
10 players were missing with injury or suspension so i went in with no hopes and only losing 3-0 is probably an acceptable result considering. Celtic beat Chelsea so a good haul of coefficient points coming in​

What’s the finances looking like? And wage bill compared to Celtic and Rangers? Great save so far

 

[Mr_Grieves]

2026/27 was a breakthrough season. The European exposure last season helped the player's price jump and last season saw a profit on players of £41m. The previous four summers' profit combined was £7m

The Champions League was us bring in an incredible £41m compared to under £20m for getting the Europa League final.

We started the save spending £113k a week in wages and have now bulged to £327k per week.

Any idea how to compare the wage budgets? If so i w​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

May
​

Fixtures

I was saved from getting excited or writing an end of season run in by losing our first game to Celtic 1-0 and that was the league over. Dodgy draws to St Mirren and Hearts put 2nd place in danger till we gathered ourselves to beat Rangers and secure 2nd.


Final Table

 

[Smee135.]

2026/27 was a breakthrough season. The European exposure last season helped the player's price jump and last season saw a profit on players of £41m. The previous four summers' profit combined was £7m
View attachment 610065

The Champions League was us bring in an incredible £41m compared to under £20m for getting the Europa League final.

We started the save spending £113k a week in wages and have now bulged to £327k per week.
View attachment 610066
Any idea how to compare the wage budgets? If so i w​

That’s a healthy budget man. Yeah to compare wages with Celtic and Rangers, go to the premier league table. Click team stats and right at the bottom is a finance tab. Click that.

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Found it thanks. Used to be far easier to spot

1st Week of the 1st Season Today

Everybody is spending a bit more. Celtic, Ross County the two Saints almost doubled. Aberdeen 3 times higher the biggest increase. Rangers, Hearts & Hibs see small increases, a lack of champions league money. Livingston hardly changed
​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Season 5 Review


SPL - 2nd

Celtic further cemented their place as the best team in the league. We just couldn't beat them in any competitions. Can't be too upset since they were rocking the Semi Finals of the Champions League. We had a solid season but still need a few more gears to challenge Celtic. Rangers looked closer to us than it felt. Hearts kept their a perfect record of making the top 6 and are joined by the two Saints. Especially pleased for St Johnstone has been relegated and rebuilt to make it. Hibs were out of the top 6 for the first time and it will be interesting to see if my former reserve coach can turn them around. Ross County didn't match the wonders of last season but had European football so who cares. The bottom 3 were in the same positions for most of the season and are the 3 worst teams in the league.

Playoff

Ayr won the home leg and that was enough to secure promotion along with Kilmarnock

Managers

Hibs nicked our reserve manager Brexit Mourniho John "Jose" Mousonho. Partick tried putting David Hopkin in charge but they still finished bottom. Motherwell moved on from Craig Levein of "sacked in the morning" fame. And hired Sir Alex Ferguson's Son Darren. With a name like that, how can they lose


Champions League Final
Bayern 1-0 PSG

Serge Gnabry's first half goal won the European cup. Celtic was the best British team having an amazing run to the Semi Finals


Squad Review

Goalkeeper

It's all about Luiz Junior. He played virtually every meaningful game and has become a class keeper. My long term plans have 2 or 3 guys set up to replace him but i can't see why i would be willingly wanting to move on one of the squad's best players.

Defense

I tried my hand at a settled back 4 however my starting CBs were my worst performing starters. Labourda was punted with injuries but has never fully replaced Magallan. Meanwhile i Hause has either gone over the hill or is not good enough to upgrade to the next level. Fabio Luiz is certain to start next season. Will he start with Laborda, Lacruz, or someone else? Joseda came in and had a very solid 1st season at DR. Need a backup to step up from the u19s/Loans. Left wing is in flux with Aznou, Diop, Hatate, and Kraus all good enough to start but getting this down to 2 is proving very very difficult.

Midfield

Rukavina excelled on the right while Pereira was not as good on the left but was injured badly twice. Was hoping to sell him and was stunned he turned down a transfer over £30m and then got injured for most of the second half of the season. Besuijen was a fantastic back up which was a shock but will have to stay due to being a perfect backup. Ross Marshall and Emslie will need a deep dive to see how their careers are going. In the middle, i am drowning in choice. Barron is a locked-in start having developed into Scotlands Frank Lampard. Jorgensen, Doyle & Junco are all more than good enough to start but depending on who we have come through if anyone i will be looking to make a move here.

Attack
Our crown jewels all reside here. Alfie Bavidge & Paulo Pedro have developed into our starting strikers with Suphanat Mueanta having a less spectacular season. Interest from Saudi teams came and went and maybe turned his head.


Players for life
Here at Aberdeen, we love one of our own coming through and thriving. There are quite a few current Dons i hope to keep long-term so let's have a look at how the spine of our squad is doing in more depth after our first season.

Connor Barron - MC
P219 G63 R7.23

His stats are not reflecting what he's doing on the pitch for us. Continued his streak with double-figure goals every season as a box to box monster. Brilliant that we have him as a career player. Amazing how his rating over the 5 seasons is 0.01 different to Bavidge

Alfie Stewart - MC
P59 G9 R6.84

While extending his deal Alfie requested a season out on loan for his development. I was annoyed at the time but what a move it was for both of us. We had an overflowing MC while Alfie got to play a season starting almost every week and got 14 starts in Europe which is multiple times more than he would have got at Aberdeen. He comes back an even better player than he left.

Ross Marshall - ML
P80 G4 R6.89

Marshall could blame his low rating and major lack of goals on making far more sub appearances than starts but he's just not done enough to move on toward his 5* potential

Alfie Bavidge - ATT
P225 G148 R7.24

Alfie moved up to the top level cementing his spot in the Scotland starting 11 long after doing so with Aberdeen. 42 goals including 17 in the Champions League where he will finish 2nd to Mbappe. and will tie with Gimenez of Celtic for the SPL golden boot but will again be 2nd due to playing far more games. Double figure assists as he evolved into a better player.



Rankings

Club Ranking - 26th

Another solid jump. Only 13 places but we're in the top 30!

National League - 8th

Celtics run was massive for the rise up to 8th

Great for Champions League spots too

National Team ranking - 45th

Up 4 but still not enough to get me into the job


Awards

Player of the Year
Paulo Pedro

How did one of the two strikers that didn't win the golden boot or the League win this?

Young Player of the Year
Paulo Pedro

His new partner up top denied Bavidge a hattrick of young player awards

Of Course, Bavidge goes one step further

Top Scorer
Santiago Gimenez -23

Santiago retained his crown despite missing half the season after leaving for Chelsea. He ends his Celtic career with 82 goals in 80 games.

Manager of the Year
Kjetil Knutsen

Team of the Year

Ooooh Rangers get a player this year​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Season 6
Aberdeen 2027

Squad
I had great hopes that we would manage to add 3 or 4 major upgrades to the squad but after getting spurned by over a dozen players all i managed to do was bring in prospects.


Goalkeepers

Luiz Junior is still our no1 and Ziga is the backup. Crossed my mind to maybe promote Steven Kingsley to be back up but 1 more year in the reserves or on loan will do him wonders rather than sitting on my bench.

Defense

Tommy St. Jago is the upgrade this defense needed badly. Fabio Luis is the man anointed to be his partner at the back with both last seasons starting CBs now gone. Lacruz was the one beforehand but now 21 his progress to greatness has not kept up the pace. Andray Phillip and Barbiero will contest for playing time too. Aznou, Diop & Oviedo will lead to another season of fighting for the starting LB spot. Oviedo gets the start but lots of rotation as all 3 deserve the playing time. Joseda is the only serious right back with Nikolaou back up at best.

Midfield

No changes to the pecking order here. Reo Hatate and 3 youngsters are sold with no path to the first team. I was hoping that i would get a monster bid for one of the 4 main players but non came. Alfie Stewart is back to play his backup role Hatate held for 1 year. Wingers remain the same too. Still stunned Pereira turned down a £40m move to Leipzig and there has been not a single offer since

Strikers

Again no changes here. Pedro took over as a starter alongside Bavidge last season and that will remain
​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

August


Fixtures

For the first time ever we make a perfect start domestically. Motherwell came closest to giving us problems going 2-1 up just before half time but a late rally saw us keep a rare 100% start in Scotland. We also have not played an old firm team which is usually our early issue.


SPL

The Dons lead the way helped by the old firm, the only 2 other unbeaten teams having drawn with each other. Are Rangers better? Celtic worse?


Champions League Qualifiers

Not as comfortable as last year. I played a backup team against Young Boys and ALMOST got burned. Felt unwell when they went 4-0 up with half an hour to go. Brugge made it easier by getting a 2nd half red card.


Champions League Fixtures

Chelsea again, Real Madrid again. This new format is utter balls UEFA. Can't believe they ruined the Champions League at the same time as Fifa ruined the World cup for 2026. Back to the now, or 2027 as it is here. Celtic join us in the Champions League. Rangers are in the Europa League and Hearts complete the Scottish lineup in the conference.


Transfer Window

Was a really big selling summer for the SPLled by Aberdeen having their first mass clearout of youths that are not going to make it. Rangers summer doesn't inspire me much. A new right winger in Bernard Tekpetey is the lone bright point after selling their best player Bruno Varela. Celtic don't part with much of their Giminez money making another £10m profit this window helped by their Giminez replacement Vitinha of Braga arriving for free, Hibs were the biggest winners of this window with a club-changing sale of Will Swan for a ridiculous £10.75m


Aberdeen

In
Most of these transfers were covered in the last post but here's what you may have missed

Two Youths for the u18s or Loans

Gilnei Tolardo - Att

Now August was awful. I must have been in for at least 10 players and almost all signed new deals at the current club or wouldn't agree on wages. Then on the final day, 3 new names appeared on my shortlist from the worldwide scouting effort looking through most of the world's U19 & 23 teams. This is clear with the price i paid the best prospect I've found so far. I took the insane decision to leave him at Cruzeiro till January and see how our own striker situation played out. One will have to go when he joins. Another reason for going ahead with the most ridiculous of fees was that the other 2 players that were suddenly interested fell through very quickly.


Out
I have no idea why teams is not bidding for players in my first 11. A strange complaint for an Aberdeen save but the backlog of youth is building up badly and i don't want to list players that will see us miss out on money for the sale. ANYWAY back to who i did sell. First the planned. Mathias Laborda never filled the gap left by
and as much as i don't want to move him to one of our biggest rivals they were the only side bidding. Hatate was a 1 seasons fill in he did well but with the volume of players around the club, i would have needed at least 2 of his fellow starters to move on without listing before Hatate got booted. Vigil, Jones & Lewis didn't show signs of getting near the first team and were now in their 20s. Higher up the list were kids with potential but either were not developing or were too far down the list to consider keeping. Phillip was sold in season. 5th best CB at the club and his potential was lower than our current teenage starter's current level so a no-brainer to accept Arsenal's Brexit tax offer. Miguel Saenz is the biggest loss. Looks well on his way to being a player but was probably even further down the order for MC and with Connor Barron a starter for life the difficulty to break through was worth selling for a decent profit. Lucas Suarez and Ethan Butera are a bit older in their early 20s and were good enough to do a job in the SPL but that was them about their best. Not sure where Molde found £7.5m to spend on the center back though.​

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

I really don't get why they've changed the group stage format for the Champions League, Europa League etc. It almost makes it less rewarding when you do qualify for the group stage, the current format is just so much better than this new planned one!

 

[Mr_Grieves]

I really don't get why they've changed the group stage format for the Champions League, Europa League etc. It almost makes it less rewarding when you do qualify for the group stage, the current format is just so much better than this new planned one!

It feels exactly like the world cup expansion plans. The 4-team system works even better in that competition as the past month showed. The people running these competitions can't get the balance of increasing teams to make more money while keeping the base of a format that has a solid track record of working or god forbid making it even better,

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

yeah both systems don't seem to make sense, all about the money unfortunately!

 

[Mr_Grieves]

September


Fixtures

Perfect month in the old SP of L. Beat Rangers at Ibrox then steamrolled Ayr and St Johnstone and put out a backup team to scrape past Livingston


SPL

Celtic suffer defeat to Ayr Utd! Let's calm down but this is the best start we have had by a mile and Celtic losing to the smallest team in the league!


Champions League

What an amazing start. We almost lost the lot against Galatasaray after having a 3-0 lead. Our greatest hour came in the San Siro now over 100 years old and probably hasn't seen much Scottish success over the years but in stoppage time in the first half, Pedro struck a goal that shook about 1000 seats in the crowd.​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

October


Fixtures

A few slip-ups as our perfect record then our unbeaten record both fall. Kilmarnock was the classic post-European mess. We were 2 goals down at halftime but pulled ourselves together to rescue a point. Less successful was our Pittodrie clash with Celtic. We were losing and then down to 10 men before half time leaving me to wonder what the point in even trying for this match up.


SPL

Champions League

Only one game in October and we won it comfortably to keep up our 100% start. As did Celtic with a brilliant win in Madrid.
​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

November


Fixtures

Not a busy month on the home front. Beating Rangers is huge to keep them from joining the race for the title. A scrappy win by a back up filled team over Ayr was a lucky escape which we seem to have at least once a month. The highlight clearly is the penalty kick win over Celtic a thrilling 3-3 draw in 90 minutes was decided after 9 perfect penalties Celtics last kick was saved to get us over the Celtic hump having lost to them the last 5 times we have played.


SPL

Celtic lost at home to bottom of the table Kilmarnock to let us get a bit further clear ahead of our early December rematch.


Champions Leauge

Our greatest night so far! beating the mighty PSG with both goals from players out of the youth system. We were on the other end of a 88th-minute winner in Germany where Leverkusen gave us our 1st defeat of the season in the group stage. Still in the top 8 but only just.


Scotland

Speaking of youth our 2nd homegrown star Alfie Stewart made some impact on his international debut. How he's getting into the squad ahead of Barron is beyond me. As for the hattrick, Bavidge also scored one as they beat Liechtenstein 12-0 to secure a spot at Euro 28