‘Huge concern’ for Aberdeen as league toil continues

Anyone who knew Aberdeen could play football heaven on May 24 as the club won the Scottish Cup.

Three months later, the feeling is completely different.

They are bottom of the Scottish Premiership after three league games, three defeats, and three goals scored.

At the start of a new campaign, three league games are ridiculously ridiculous.

However, Jimmy Thelin and Aberdeen’s manager have a problem because people don’t evaluate poor league performance in just three games.

A seventh straight league defeat by the newly promoted Falkirk came at home on December 1.

The team has now won just five Premiership games in their last 30 games since beating Dundee 4-1 at Pittodrie on November 9 despite Nicky Devlin’s contentious red card before half-time.

Kusini Yengi, an unlucky Australian striker, has struggled since he joined in the summer, drawing much of the recent controversy.

The 26-year-old former Portsmouth player scored in the League Cup against Greenock Morton, but he underwent a change of heart and was replaced with Falkirk at half-time.

Fans are desperate to see another striker arrive before the transfer deadline on Monday because Yengi has yet to make it through 90 Premiership games and his shortcomings.

Thelin stated to BBC Scotland that the window’s final day is “busy.”

The Aberdeen boss remarked, “We have a clear plan for what we want to do.”

We’ve identified areas where we want to improve and we’re working really hard, so watch what happens.

Unfortunately, Aberdeen’s lack of goals is not a new issue, despite Scotland’s Kevin Nisbet joining the team last year.

Only Ross County and St Johnstone, who are currently relegated, have scored fewer goals than Aberdeen since the start of the season, excluding Falkirk and Livingston, who have now played three top-flight games.

Unsurprisingly, they also have a very low conversion rate and a lot of big chances, which is surprising.

Willie Miller, the former Aberdeen captain, said on BBC Scotland’s Sportsound that “they don’t have a predator, a striker that looks like they’re going to score goals.”

One thing about having no one to convert chances is that you have to actually create opportunities for forward players.

Aberdeen are lacking in another way.

Only Dundee, St Johnstone, and Ross County, the bottom three in the previous campaign, have a lower tally than Aberdeen’s 48 when you look at expected goals from the start of last season.

For total crosses played into the opposition’s box, they rank sixth and slightly worse at seventh, just looking at the total number of chances created outright.

Jamie McGrath has left for Hibernian, while Shayden Morris and Nisbet have each contributed 10 assists. In the last 13 months, Jamie McGrath has been the club’s top creator. Morris appears on his way to Luton Town after Nasbet has left Millwall and travels there.

Fans were captivated by the intense, attacking football when Thelin had won 13 straight games before.

However, it hasn’t consistently materialized since, and despite the Swede switching to three at the back for the gutsy Scottish Cup final win, it appears to be a stellar one-off rather than a turning point.

Thelin remarked, “The level we’re currently performing as a team in terms of our calmness of play and decision-making is not good enough, and that’s my responsibility.”

Under chairman Dave Cormack’s leadership, Aberdeen’s strategy was to invest in young players who could then be re-sold.

With a trophy to show for it and more money in player sales than any other club since 2018, the Dons could confidently say that it is working because many clubs are now using it.

The issue is that with each departure, there must be adequate replacements, and young players always come with a risk.

Aberdeen have fielded squads this year that are among the youngest in the nation, with an average age of 25.

Some of the newcomers signed last season have yet to take off, including Nicolas Milanovic, Adil Aouchiche, and Yengi, whose careers are still ablaze.

As they settle in a new country, freshmen, especially those from abroad, should have plenty of time.

However, Hearts’ players Ivan Dolcek and Zac Sapsford, as well as Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis, have hit the ground running for Dundee United.

Sapsford, who has three United goals this season and been a standout, both played for Milanovic and Western Sydney Wanderers.

There is more expectation for many of these players now that the Dons are spending, figuratively speaking, a lot of money in addition to Hearts and Hibs.

Jimmy Thelin has a lot to think about, Miller said. Many project players have been incorporated by him, but the fruits are still to be seen.

“It’s a very young squad and there are so many new players signing.” Many of them are under the age of 23. They lack a lot of experience.

After a difficult first season in the league, I felt Jimmy Thelin needed to win this game [versus Falkirk]. However, the squad will also be tested, just like he will.

All of these players must be persuaded that their abilities are sufficient to serve the club.

Thelin and Aberdeen will have to wait a long time.

First, action on deadline day is anticipated by fans, and games against Livingston and Motherwell already have a significant impact after the international break.