Pittodrie’s biggest crowd of the season turned up for Aberdeen’s match against Motherwell hoping to see their team continue their mini Premiership resurgence.
What they didn’t expect to see was a Motherwell team, assembled for a lot less money than the Dons squad, dominate the ball for large spells. The visitors were ahead in every barometer in the match stats.
It leaves Aberdeen with just one home win in nine outings at Pittodrie this season and Jimmy Thelin knows that’s not good enough given the money that has been pumped into this squad. He has been backed like no other Dons manager in that respect.
A lengthy trip back from Cyprus and a draining 90 minutes against AEK Larnaca can be cited of course, but this was a lethargic performance with a lack of pace and prowess.
The Dons don’t score many goals either. They are the joint lowest scorers in the league, have only scored more than one goal in a game once in the league this season, and are averaging just over three shots on target per Premiership match.
Defensively they have been a lot better recently, but the goal they conceded at the weekend, not long after taking the lead, was as cheap they get.
The question Thelin will have to answer is how to make this Aberdeen team more of a threat if they are to even make the top six this season.
On paper, it shouldn’t be a problem when you see the attacking players the Swede has at his disposal, but whether it’s the set-up or confidence or lack of pace, they are one of the most toothless sides in the Premiership.
Next up, after the international break, is a visit from league leaders Hearts, who haven’t won at Pittodrie since 2016.
This time last year, the Dons were 22 points clear of the Edinburgh side in the Premiership with two games in hand. Twelve months on there has been an astonishing 41-point swing between the two of them.
The Aberdeen fans will turn up in big numbers again, will the team?
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