# 2007–08 Aberdeen F.C. season

Aberdeen competed in the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and UEFA Cup in the 2007–08 season. It was the club's first season in European competition since 2002–03.
Qualification for the group stages of the UEFA Cup was secured with an away-goals qualifying victory over Dnipro. Aberdeen were drawn in Group B along with Panathinaikos, Lokomotiv Moscow, Atlético Madrid and Copenhagen. Aberdeen qualified for the round of 32 following a 4–0 victory over F.C. Copenhagen. They were drawn against Bayern Munich and lost 7–3 on aggregate, but did manage a 2–2 home draw with the German club.

## Transfers
### Summer transfers

Aberdeen had already announced that the contracts of Jamie Winter and David Donald were not to be renewed. Gary Dempsey rejected a new two-year deal to sign for Yeovil Town, and Dyron Daal left to join St Johnstone.
Aberdeen had secured the signatures of defenders Lee Mair from Dundee United, and youngster Jonathan Kurrant, who would join after he had finished his A-Levels. Both agreed pre-contracts. Wolverhampton Wanderers' experienced defender Jackie McNamara and De Graafschap winger Jeffrey de Visscher both signed on free transfers. Former player Derek Young returned to the club on a free transfer after spells at Dunfermline and Partick Thistle. Sone Aluko was signed on loan from Birmingham City.
On 8 June, it was reported that Aberdeen's first-choice goalkeeper Jamie Langfield had been demoted after falling out with manager Jimmy Calderwood. The fall-out was believed to have been related to Calderwood's decision to reject a £70,000 offer from Rangers. The club later confirmed that they had made Langfield available for transfer, with an asking price of £100,000. Langfield was recalled to the starting line-up for the UEFA Cup game against Dnipro at Pittodrie on 20 September. The day after Aberdeen's UEFA Cup victory over Copenhagen on 20 December, Langfield signed a new three-year contract with Aberdeen.
On 27 June, club captain Russell Anderson moved to Premier League side Sunderland, signing a 3-year contract with the club. He donated his signing-on fee to the youth development scheme at Pittodrie.

### Winter transfers

Chris Clark was the first player to leave Aberdeen in the January window, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal with Plymouth Argyle. The clubs agreed a fee of £200,000 for the midfielder who had played at Aberdeen for seven years. Michael Paton extended his loan deal with Brechin City until the end of the season. Striker Stuart Smith and defender Neil McVitie both went on loan to Peterhead until the end of the season.
Stuart Duff was Aberdeen's first signing of the January transfer window. They signed the midfielder from Dundee United on a free transfer. Sone Aluko agreed to extend his loan from Birmingham City until the end of the season. Defender Dave Bus was signed from De Graafschap until the end of the season. Aberdeen signed Middlesbrough midfielder and England under-18 captain Josh Walker on a loan deal until the end of the season. The Republic of Ireland international Alan Maybury was signed from Leicester City on a loan deal until the end of the season.
After Michael Hart rejected a new deal with Aberdeen, a fee thought to be in the region of £200,000 was agreed between Aberdeen and Preston North End for his transfer. However, Preston reduced their offer after carrying out medical tests on an injury due to keep him out for weeks. Aberdeen refused to release the player unless Preston paid the agreed fee. He eventually moved to Preston for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £100,000.

### Summer clearout

It was announced on 15 April that seven contracted players would be leaving at the end of the season. Barry Nicholson decided to leave, rejecting a new deal. The other six players – goalkeepers Derek Soutar (who had replaced Jamie Langfield for a large part of the season) and Greg Kelly, defenders Richie Byrne and Dave Bus and strikers Jonathan Smith and Steve Lovell – were not offered new deals. Loan signings Sone Aluko and Josh Walker returned to their clubs at the end of their loan periods.
On 21 April, Jackie McNamara was released from his contract by the club.

## Results
### Pre-season friendlies

| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorers |
| 12 July | Cove Rangers | A | 5–1 | Maguire (19), Miller (43, 65), De Visscher (52), Lovell (90) |
| 15 July | Buckie Thistle | A | 3–0 | Brewster (31, 52), Mackie (88) |
| 18 July | Al Mokawloon | A | 0–2 | |
| 21 July | Al Aluminium | A | 2–0 | Brewster (47), Foster (66) |
| 23 July | Al Ittihad | A | 2–1 | de Visscher (44), Lovell (74) |
| 25 July | Telecom Egypt | A | 5–1 | Smith (20), Clark (21), Miller (40, 43, 60) |
| 31 July | Inverurie Loco Works | A | 6–0 | Maguire (14, 31), Kurrant (25), Brewster (52, 66), Paton (73) |

### Scottish Premier League

| Match Day | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance | Report |
| 1 | 4 August | Dundee United | A | 0–1 | | 12,496 | BBC Sport |
| 2 | 12 August | Heart of Midlothian | H | 1–1 | Nicholson (45) | 13,134 | BBC Sport |
| 3 | 19 August | Celtic | H | 1–3 | Brewster (24) | 16,232 | BBC Sport |
| 4 | 25 August | Hibernian | A | 3–3 | Brewster (18, 37), Jamie Smith (57) | 15,280 | BBC Sport |
| 5 | 1 September | Kilmarnock | A | 1–0 | Miller (54) | 5,814 | BBC Sport |
| 6 | 15 September | Motherwell | H | 1–2 | Jamie Smith (65) | 10,154 | BBC Sport |
| 7 | 23 September | Rangers | A | 0–3 | | 49,046 | BBC Sport |
| 8 | 29 September | Gretna | H | 2–0 | Diamond (16), Jamie Smith (18) | 10,279 | BBC Sport |
| 9 | 7 October | St Mirren | H | 4–0 | Severin (43, 71) Miller (63, 88) | 12,841 | BBC Sport |
| 10 | 21 October | Inverness CT | A | 2–1 | Young (8), Tokely (62 o.g.) | 6,023 | BBC Sport |
| 11 | 28 October | Falkirk | H | 1–1 | Severin (45) | 10,399 | BBC Sport |
| 12 | 3 November | Dundee United | H | 2–0 | Aluko (45), Miller (90) | 11,964 | BBC Sport |
| 13 | 11 November | Heart of Midlothian | A | 1–4 | de Visscher (38) | 17,122 | BBC Sport |
| 14 | 24 November | Celtic | A | 0–3 | | 58,000 | BBC Sport |
| 15 | 2 December | Hibernian | H | 3–1 | Miller (33), Clark (47), Young (86) | 10,110 | BBC Sport |
| 16 | 8 December | Kilmarnock | H | 2–1 | Nicholson (63), Miller (75) | 10,207 | BBC Sport |
| 17 | 15 December | Motherwell | A | 0–3 | | 5,326 | BBC Sport |
| 18 | 23 December | Rangers | H | 1–1 | Miller (45) | 17,798 | BBC Sport |
| 19 | 26 December | Gretna | A | 1–1 | Lovell (85) | 1,730 | BBC Sport |
| 20 | 29 December | St Mirren | A | 1–0 | Lovell (85) | 5,025 | BBC Sport |
| 21 | 2 January | Inverness CT | H | 1–0 | Nicholson (83 pen.) | 18,372 | BBC Sport |
| 22 | 12 January | Falkirk | A | 0–0 | | 5,457 | BBC Sport |
| 23 | 19 January | Dundee United | A | 0–3 | | 8,579 | BBC Sport |
| 24 | 26 January | Heart of Midlothian | H | 0–1 | | 14,000 | BBC Sport |
| 25 | 10 February | Celtic | H | 1–5 | Miller (62) | 14,651 | BBC Sport |
| 26 | 16 February | Hibernian | A | 1–3 | Diamond (18) | 13,825 | BBC Sport |
| 27 | 24 February | Kilmarnock | A | 1–3 | Alan Combe (86 o.g.) | 6,113 | BBC Sport |
| 28 | 27 February | Motherwell | H | 1–1 | Diamond (28) | 8,240 | BBC Sport |
| 29 | 1 March | Rangers | A | 1–3 | Lovell (28) | 50,066 | BBC Sport |
| 30 | 15 March | Gretna | H | 3–0 | Maguire (40), Miller (71 pen.), Nicholson (73) | 9,025 | BBC Sport |
| 31 | 22 March | St Mirren | H | 1–1 | Mair (29) | 9,779 | BBC Sport |
| 32 | 29 March | Inverness CT | A | 4–3 | Aluko (7), Nicholson (45), Miller (53), Maguire (90) | 5,655 | BBC Sport |
| 33 | 7 April | Falkirk | H | 2–1 | Maguire (22, 82) | 11,484 | BBC Sport |
| 34 | 19 April | Celtic | A | 0–1 | | 55,766 | BBC Sport |
| 35 | 26 April | Hibernian | H | 2–1 | Mackie (64), Miller (70 pen.) | 8,387 | BBC Sport |
| 36 | 3 May | Dundee United | H | 2–1 | Foster (30), Touzani (48) | 10,312 | BBC Sport |
| 37 | 10 May | Motherwell | A | 1–2 | Aluko (67) | 8,574 | BBC Sport |
| 38 | 22 May | Rangers | H | 2–0 | Miller (63), Mackie (77) | 17,509 | BBC Sport |

### UEFA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance | Report |
| FR | 20 September | Dnipro | H | 0–0 | | 15,431 | BBC Sport |
| FR | 4 October | Dnipro | A | 1–1 | Mackie (28) | 26,275 | BBC Sport |
| GS | 25 October | Panathinaikos | A | 0–3 | | 8,154 | BBC Sport |
| GS | 8 November | Lokomotiv Moscow | H | 1–1 | Diamond (27) | 18,843 | BBC Sport |
| GS | 29 November | Atlético Madrid | A | 0–2 | | 30,000 | BBC Sport |
| GS | 20 December | Copenhagen | H | 4–0 | Smith (47, 55), Antonsson (71 o.g.), Foster (83) | 20,446 | BBC Sport |
| Ro32 | 14 February | Bayern Munich | H | 2–2 | Walker (23), Aluko (40) | 20,047 | BBC Sport |
| Ro32 | 21 February | Bayern Munich | A | 1–5 | Lovell (83) | 66,000 | BBC Sport |

### Scottish League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance | Report |
| R3 | 26 September | Partick Thistle | A | 2–0 | Young (42), Considine (64) | 3,337 | BBC Sport |
| QF | 31 October | Inverness CT | H | 4–1 | Nicholson (10 pen. 21 pen. 78), Miller (45) | 7,270 | BBC Sport |
| SF | 5 February | Dundee United | N | 1–4 | Considine (18) | 12,046 | BBC Sport |

### Scottish Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance | Report |
| R4 | 12 January | Falkirk | A | 2–2 | Smith (4), Lovell (10) | 5,798 | BBC Sport |
| R4 (R) | 22 January | Falkirk | H | 3–1 | Smith (19, 55), de Visscher (43) | 8,547 | BBC Sport |
| R5 | 2 February | Hamilton Academical | H | 1–0 | Diamond (62) | 6,441 | BBC Sport |
| QF | 9 March | Celtic | H | 1–1 | de Visscher (78) | 10,909 | BBC Sport |
| QF (R) | 18 March | Celtic | A | 1–0 | Mackie (69) | 33,506 | BBC Sport |
| SF | 12 April | Queen of the South | N | 3–4 | Considine (36, 59), Nicholson (53) | 24,008 | BBC Sport |

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | SCO | Jamie Langfield |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Richie Byrne |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Zander Diamond |
| 6 | MF | SCO | Scott Severin (captain) |
| 7 | MF | SCO | Jamie Smith |
| 8 | MF | SCO | Barry Nicholson |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Steve Lovell |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Darren Mackie |
| 11 | MF | SCO | Stuart Duff |
| 14 | MF | SCO | Richard Foster |
| 15 | DF | NED | Karim Touzani |
| 16 | FW | SCO | Lee Miller |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Dan Smith |
| 18 | DF | SCO | Lee Mair |
| 19 | MF | SCO | Derek Young |
| 20 | GK | SCO | Derek Soutar |
| 21 | DF | SCO | Andrew Considine |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | FW | SCO | Chris Maguire |
| 23 | DF | NED | Dave Bus (on loan from De Graafschap) |
| 24 | MF | NED | Jeffrey de Visscher |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Jonathan Smith |
| 26 | FW | ENG | Sone Aluko (on loan from Birmingham City) |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Josh Walker (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| 28 | DF | IRL | Alan Maybury (on loan from Leicester City) |
| 30 | GK | SCO | Greg Kelly |
| 34 | MF | SCO | Greig Lamberty |
| 35 | DF | SCO | Ryan Strachan |
| 36 | DF | SCO | Jonathan Crawford |
| 38 | FW | SCO | Gary Carroll |
| 39 | MF | SCO | Peter Pawlett |
| 40 | GK | ENG | Jonathan Bateman |
| 42 | DF | SCO | Scott Ross |
| 44 | MF | SCO | Ryan Jack |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Michael Hart (Preston North End) |
| 4 | DF | SCO | Jackie McNamara (released) |
| 11 | MF | SCO | Chris Clark (to Plymouth Argyle) |
| 23 | FW | SCO | Craig Brewster (to Inverness Caledonian Thistle) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 29 | DF | SCO | Neil McVitie (on loan to Peterhead) |
| 31 | MF | SCO | Michael Paton (on loan to Brechin City) |
| 33 | MF | SCO | Stuart Smith (on loan to Peterhead) |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Jonathan Kurrant (released) |

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Scottish Premier League | — | 4 | 4 August 2007 | 22 May 2008 |
| UEFA Cup | First round | Round of 32 | 20 September 2007 | 22 February 2008 |
| Scottish League Cup | Third round | Semi-finals | 26 September 2007 | 5 February 2008 |
| Scottish Cup | Fourth round | Semi-finals | 12 January 2008 | 12 April 2008 |
Source: Competitions

### SPL
#### Classification

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 2 | Rangers | 38 | 27 | 5 | 6 | 84 | 33 | +51 | 86 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Motherwell | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Aberdeen | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 53 | |
| 5 | Dundee United | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 53 | 47 | +6 | 52 | |
| 6 | Hibernian | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 52 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup second round |
* ↑ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
* ↑ Hibernian qualified for the Intertoto Cup as the highest ranked club to apply for a place in the competition.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: BBC Sport

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | L | D | L | D | W | L | L | W | W | W | D | W | L | L | W | W | L | D | D | W | W | D | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | L | W |