Squad strategy
In the 4 completed seasons from 2022–23 to 2025–26, between 27% and 60% of Aberdeen's league minutes went to players who had played for the club the year before.
The low was 2022–23 (27.4%), the high 2023–24 (60.2%). 2026–27 stands at 38.9% after 9 of 38 league matches; over the same first 9 matches the earlier seasons were 33% (2022–23), 62% (2023–24), 60% (2024–25), 72% (2025–26). A high share is not automatically good, and a low one not automatically bad: it says how much of the team was new, not whether it was better.
Who played the minutes
Manager in charge, by league match. Hover a segment for dates. Short interim spells are unlabelled but listed in the table below.
Results beside continuity
league matches · dashed = part-played seasonPoints per game is out of 3 (bar to 2.5). The xG difference is FotMob xG for minus against per match; left of the line (red) is a negative difference, scale ±1.0. Five full seasons and one part-played season cannot show that continuity causes better results: they also differ in which players stayed, the opposition and luck. This is the context for the question, not an answer to it.
By manager spell
| Season | Manager from | Matches | Points / game | Goal diff / game | xG diff / game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Stephen Glass · 1 Aug 2021 | 26 | 1.15 | -0.08 | +0.25 |
| Jim Goodwin · 19 Feb 2022 | 12 | 0.92 | -0.25 | -0.11 | |
| 2022–23 | Jim Goodwin · 31 Jul 2022 | 23 | 1.26 | -0.35 | -0.36 |
| Barry Robson · 1 Feb 2023 | 15 | 1.87 | +0.27 | -0.47 | |
| 2023–24 | Barry Robson · 5 Aug 2023 | 21 | 1.14 | -0.43 | -0.21 |
| Peter Leven · 3 Feb 2024 | 1* | 1.00 | 0.00 | -0.82 | |
| Neil Warnock · 6 Feb 2024 | 6* | 0.33 | -1.00 | -0.54 | |
| Peter Leven · 13 Mar 2024 | 10 | 2.10 | +1.10 | +0.32 | |
| 2024–25 | Jimmy Thelin · 5 Aug 2024 | 38 | 1.39 | -0.34 | -0.42 |
| 2025–26 | Jimmy Thelin · 4 Aug 2025 | 20 | 1.25 | -0.20 | -0.19 |
| Peter Leven · 6 Jan 2026 | 9* | 0.44 | -0.89 | -1.14 | |
| Stephen Robinson · 14 Mar 2026 | 9* | 1.22 | -0.33 | -0.01 | |
| 2026–27 | Stephen Robinson · 1 Aug 2026 | 9* | 1.22 | 0.00 | -0.27 |
* Fewer than ten league matches: a caretaker or short spell. A manager's results also reflect the squad he inherited and the fixtures he faced.
2026–27 against 2025–26
2025–26 core: who started at least 19 of 38 league matches
| Player | Starts 2025–26 | In a 2026–27 squad | Starts 2026–27 | Minutes 2026–27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimitar Mitov | 32 | Yes | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Milne | 32 | Yes | 2 | 248 |
| Mats Knoester | 26 | Yes | 5 | 483 |
| Kevin Nisbet | 26 | Yes | 9 | 719 |
| Nicky Devlin | 24 | Yes | 0 | 0 |
| Stuart Armstrong | 24 | Yes | 3 | 458 |
| Alexander Jensen | 21 | Gone | – | – |
| Graeme Shinnie | 19 | Gone | – | – |
Retention here means the player, not what he did: a core player can be retained and no longer play, or leave and have his role covered by others.
What the 2025–26 goals and assists looked like by who is still around
Goals include penalties and exclude opposition own goals. This shows where the production sat, not whether it was replaced: a collective replacement is invisible here. Defensive production is not shown because no audited measure exists yet.
Arrived (17)
In a 2026–27 matchday squad, not in 2025–26's.
| Player | Min | Starts |
|---|---|---|
| Marius Müller | 810 | 9 |
| Chris Cadden | 792 | 9 |
| Nesta Guinness-Walker | 765 | 9 |
| Lewis Mayo | 560 | 7 |
| Connor Ronan | 446 | 6 |
| Dan Happe | 382 | 4 |
| Lewis Smith | 327 | 2 |
| Tony Yogane | 284 | 4 |
| Findlay Marshall | 265 | 3 |
| Ayoub Mouloua | 255 | 2 |
Plus 7 more with fewer minutes.
Left (26)
In a 2025–26 matchday squad, not in 2026–27's so far.
| Player | Min last yr | G + A |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander Jensen | 1,862 | 0 + 0 |
| Graeme Shinnie | 1,800 | 0 + 2 |
| Topi Keskinen | 1,543 | 3 + 3 |
| Jesper Karlsson | 1,290 | 5 + 0 |
| Adil Aouchiche | 1,280 | 3 + 0 |
| Liam Morrison | 1,102 | 1 + 0 |
| Marko Lazetic | 1,054 | 4 + 1 |
| Dante Polvara | 1,045 | 1 + 0 |
| Dennis Geiger | 912 | 1 + 1 |
| Lyall Cameron | 877 | 0 + 1 |
Plus 16 more with fewer minutes.
Season by season
| Season | Matches | Returning min | First 9 | Returned / used | Core kept | Goals from leavers | Managers (league matches) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | 38 | 56.6% * | 59.9% | 16 / 31 | – | – | Glass 26 · Goodwin 12 |
| 2022–23 | 38 | 27.4% | 33.2% | 10 / 30 | 4 / 10 | 53% | Goodwin 23 · Robson 15 |
| 2023–24 | 38 | 60.2% | 61.8% | 13 / 25 | 6 / 10 | 16% | Robson 21 · Leven 1 · Warnock 6 · Leven 10 |
| 2024–25 | 38 | 52.6% | 59.5% | 18 / 32 | 7 / 10 | 15% | Thelin 38 |
| 2025–26 | 38 | 59.3% | 72.4% | 18 / 38 | 9 / 12 | 31% | Thelin 20 · Leven 9 · Robinson 9 |
| 2026–27 | 9 of 38 | 38.9% | 38.9% | 8 / 23 | 6 / 8 | 59% | Robinson 9 |
* Indicative: the prior season (2020–21) is Sofascore season totals, not match-level data. “First 9” is the same share over only each season's first nine league matches. “Goals from leavers” is the share of the previous season's goals scored by players who are not in this season's matchday squads.
How it is calculated
- Aberdeen Scottish Premiership matches only. Cups and European ties are not in the store.
- League minutes from Sofascore (complete for all 199 matches). Unused substitutes have zero minutes.
- League minutes played this season by players who also played at least one Aberdeen league minute the previous season, divided by all league minutes this season. Loans, January arrivals and brief appearances are treated the same way: any minute counts, nobody is weighted.
- The previous season's established core: players who started at least half (19 of 38) of its league matches. 'In squad' means he appeared in at least one matchday squad (starter or unused substitute) the next season.
- Of the previous season's established core (started at least half its league matches), how many are again in the first team: started at least half of this season's league matches so far.
- Arrival = in a matchday squad this season but not the previous one. Departure = the reverse. A player who never made a matchday squad is invisible to this measure.
- Goals and assists (Sofascore). Defensive production is not shown: no single audited measure exists yet.
- Points per game, goal difference per game and xG difference per game (FotMob xG for and against, per match covered) for the league matches of each season and each manager spell. Part-played seasons and short spells show their match count. These sit beside continuity; they do not show that continuity caused them, and a few seasons cannot separate squad continuity from the quality of the players kept, the opposition or luck.
- The same comparison over only the first 9 league matches of each season, so a part-played season is read against equal-length slices of earlier ones.