Aberdeen’s season lurched into familiar territory on Sunday as they were beaten at home by St Johnstone without scoring, a result that drew a withering assessment from club legend Willie Miller. “Depressing” was Miller’s one-word summary of the afternoon, delivered on the final whistle as the supporters who stayed to the end jeered a beleaguered team.
The bare possession figures suggest a side in control. Aberdeen had 65% of the ball and attempted a season-high number of shots and passes. Yet the quality of both was poor. Toby Steward in the St Johnstone goal had only two impressive saves to make, and although substitutes Lewis Smith, Tony Yogane and Hicham Mahou — making his Aberdeen debut — did get involved, far too many crosses either sailed over red heads or failed to beat the first man.
Miller was scathing about the lack of invention. “Very little was done when Aberdeen had the ball, and St Johnstone didn’t have to think too much about defending. It got so predictable,” he said, pointing to centre-backs playing long balls and three wide players who could not “punch holes in a St Johnstone side who are not noted for their defence”. His conclusion was blunt: “Aberdeen got what they deserved.”
The broader picture is just as troubling. Robinson’s side have scored only seven goals in their first eight league games of the new season, four of them coming in a single 4-0 rout of Motherwell, and Sunday’s blank was their fifth. The attacking stats confirm the creative worries rather than contradicting them: Aberdeen’s expected goals figure stands at just 8.3, the lowest in the league, so they are not spurning a pile of chances either. Their average of 2.9 shots on target per match is the worst record in the division, while the 12 big chances they have created across eight games is another joint-low.
Against St Johnstone they did carve out two big chances, and one fell to the man they would most want to see take it. Kevin Nisbet was put one-on-one by a brilliant through ball but appeared to panic and had his shot easily saved. Nisbet has still netted 43% of the team’s league goals — three of the seven — from just five shots on target. “Outwith Kevin Nisbet, we’re not scoring enough goals,” Robinson admitted afterwards. “We need people to step up.”
Robinson accepts there is an issue but is adamant his players can find the answer. “What I see in training is that we have that quality,” he said. “We’ve not been able to convert that. It’s the hardest bit of the game. You see teams like Rangers and Celtic struggling to break down teams that sit deep. We’re no different. There’s no hiding place. Our last pass, last decision, wasn’t what I know it can be today.” His resolve was clear: “Do I believe they can? Yeah, but we have to be brave to do that.”
History offers some encouragement. Supporters may point to St Mirren’s lack of goals under Robinson last season, when the Buddies scored 30 across the campaign — the worst record in the league by 10 goals — although Robinson departed in March to take over at Pittodrie. The season before, when he guided the Paisley side to a third consecutive top-six finish, St Mirren scored more goals than Aberdeen and Dundee United, who also finished in the top half, and those returns were often achieved without a proven, consistent goalscorer in the ranks. It is not a problem that has plagued him before, so perhaps he can find the answer — or perhaps his side is simply missing a bit of “good fortune”, as Miller suggested.
The mood among the support, however, is dark. “Zero goals at home again, against a newly promoted club, following a goalless draw with bottom club Kilmarnock,” wrote one fan, Darren. “There’s absolutely no joy in watching Aberdeen anymore, we’ve forgotten how to play football and score goals. There’s a brand new team every year. Something is broken, and loyal fans deserve so much more than what Robinson is serving up.” Neil questioned the setup: “Three centre halves at home to St Johnstone, with no wingers and no pace. Was always going to be a struggle. Don’t create chances and the few we do, we are not clinical enough. Very poor.”
Alan took issue with the manager’s emphasis on training-ground form: “Robinson keeps harping on about what he sees in training but what he doesn’t appreciate is, it’s mediocrity versus dross. Any modestly-equipped player will look good. Bottom line, we are mediocre at best having signed no quality.” Robert dismissed Robinson’s comparison with the Old Firm, arguing that the difference is Rangers and Celtic do break down deep defences to take three points, adding that on this form “a top six finish is beyond us”. Graham called for shared responsibility, saying there is “no quality in front of goal” and that the side clearly still needs a number nine, while John described the display as “absolutely awful” and voiced a familiar complaint: “Afraid our cash is being spent on quantity and not quality. A lot of problems from the top down.”