'Huge concern' for Aberdeen as league toil continues

On 24 May, any person associated with Aberdeen was in football heaven as the club lifted the Scottish Cup.

Fast forward three months and the feeling is quite different.

Three league games, three defeats and no goals scored means they are bottom of the Scottish Premiership.

It is ludicrous to judge any side, particularly at the start of a new campaign, on three league games.

But the problem for Aberdeen and manager Jimmy Thelin is people are not judging poor league displays on just three league games.

Defeat at home by newly promoted Falkirk was a seventh straight league loss stretching back to last season.

Nicky Devlin's controversial red card before half time did not help, but they have now won just five Premiership games in their last 30 since defeating Dundee 4-1 at Pittodrie on 9 November.

And the recurring themes mean grumbles, which were loud around Pittodrie before May's triumph over Celtic, are stirring once more.

Much of the recent ire has been focused on the unfortunate Australian striker, Kusini Yengi, who has struggled since joining in the summer.

The former Portsmouth 26-year-old scored in the League Cup against Greenock Morton but has looked off the pace in his early outings and was replaced at half-time against Falkirk.

He has yet to make it through 90 minutes in the Premiership. The Australian's shortcomings so far - and the lack of other options up top - mean fans are desperate to see a striker come in before the transfer deadline on Monday.

Thelin told BBC Scotland he expects a "busy" final day of the window.

"We have a clear plan what we want to do," the Aberdeen boss said.

"We have identified things we want to improve and we're working really hard, so we'll see what happens."

Unfortunately for Aberdeen, the lack of goals is not a new theme, even when Scotland striker Kevin Nisbet was in the team last year.

From the start of last season, only now relegated sides Ross County and St Johnstone have scored fewer goals than Aberdeen, discounting Falkirk and Livingston, who have played three top-flight games in that time.

Unsurprisingly then, they also rank very low for conversion rate and the number of big chances they score.

Former Aberdeen captain Willie Miller suggested on BBC Scotland's Sportsound: "They don't have a predator, a striker that looks like they're going to score goals.

"The two wide men and deeper lying players are not looking as though they are going to score goals either. It's a huge concern, that area of the team."

Not having a striker to convert chances is one thing, but you have to actually create the opportunities for forward players.

That is another area Aberdeen are lacking.

If you look at expected goals from the start of last season, a measure of the quality of chances a side is creating, only Dundee, St Johnstone and Ross County, the bottom three from the last camapign, have a smaller tally than Aberdeen's 48.

Just looking at the number of chances created outright, Aberdeen are sixth and marginally worse at seventh for total crosses played into the opposition's box.

Jamie McGrath is the club's top creator in the last 13 months but has left for Hibernian, while Shayden Morris and Nisbet contributed 10 assists between them. Nisbet returned to Millwall and Morris appears on his way to Luton Town.

When Thelin started with 13 straight wins last season, fans were enthralled with the intense, attacking football.

However, it has not materialised consistently since and, while Thelin switched to three at the back for the gutsy Scottish Cup final win, it appears a stellar one-off rather than turning point.

"The level we're performing right now in our calmness of play and decision making as a team is not good enough and that's my responsibility," Thelin said.

"We need to sit down now and find a way to win games."

Aberdeen's model under chairman Dave Cormack has been to invest money in young players in undervalued markets who can then be re-sold.

It is the strategy lots of clubs now employ and, with a trophy to show for it and more money in player sales than any club outside Celtic and Rangers since 2018, Aberdeen could easily say it is working.

However, the challenge is, with every departure, there needs to be adequate replacements, while young players always come with a risk.

This season, Aberdeen have fielded squads with an average age of 25, among the youngest in the country.

New recruits like Nicolas Milanovic, Adil Aouchiche and Yengi are still finding their feet and some of those recruited last season are still yet to catch fire.

Time should be afforded to fresh recruits, particularly those from abroad as they settle in a new country.

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

Sapsford, who has three United goals this season and has been a standout, came from the same Western Sydney Wanderers side as Aberdeen's Milanovic.

With Aberdeen spending, relatively speaking, a lot of money along with Hearts and Hibs, there is greater expectation on a lot of these players.

"Jimmy Thelin's got a lot to think about," Miller added. "He's brought a lot of project players in and, as yet, we've still got to see the fruits.

"There are so many new players coming in and it's a very young squad as well. There are a lot of them 23 and under. They don't have a great deal of experience.

"This game [against Falkirk] was one I felt Jimmy Thelin had to win to settle things down after a rocky start in the league. But he's going to be tested, the squad are going to be tested.

"All these players need to convince that they are good enough for the club."

It all means Thelin and Aberdeen face a big few weeks.

First, fans will expect action on deadline day, while games against Livingston and Motherwell after the international break feel significant already.

Even for a Scottish Cup-winning manager.