# 1988–89 Aberdeen F.C. season

Aberdeen F.C. competed in the Scottish Premier Division, Scottish League Cup, Scottish Cup and UEFA Cup in season 1988–89.

## Overview

Aberdeen began the season under new management. Alex Smith and Jocky Scott were appointed as co-managers after the resignation of Ian Porterfield during the summer. New signings included Paul Mason and Theo Snelders from FC Groningen and FC Twente respectively.
Aberdeen finished second in the League behind Rangers, and reached the final of the League Cup, which they lost to Rangers after extra time. In the Scottish Cup, they lost in the fourth round to Dundee United, and in Europe, they lost to East German club Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the UEFA Cup.

## Results
### Scottish Premier Division

| Match Day | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| 1 | 13 August | Dundee | A | 1–1 | Dodds | 12,222 |
| 2 | 20 August | St Mirren | H | 1–1 | Connor | 12,046 |
| 3 | 27 August | Dundee United | A | 2–2 | Bett, Hewitt | 14,735 |
| 4 | 3 September | Hibernian | H | 0–0 | | 14,000 |
| 5 | 17 September | Celtic | A | 3–1 | Grant, Bett, Dodds | 37,769 |
| 6 | 24 September | Heart of Midlothian | H | 1–0 | Nicholas | 14,000 |
| 7 | 27 September | Hamilton Academical | A | 1–0 | Connor | 3,634 |
| 8 | 1 October | Motherwell | A | 1–1 | Miller | 4,225 |
| 9 | 8 October | Rangers | H | 2–1 | Nicholas, Bett | 22,370 |
| 10 | 12 October | St Mirren | A | 1–1 | Dodds | 4,287 |
| 11 | 29 October | Heart of Midlothian | A | 1–1 | Whittaker (own goal) | 12,644 |
| 12 | 2 November | Celtic | H | 2–2 | Nicholas, Dodds | 22,000 |
| 13 | 5 November | Hibernian | A | 2–1 | Nicholas (2) | 11,500 |
| 14 | 12 November | Dundee United | H | 1–1 | Mason | 15,184 |
| 15 | 16 November | Dundee | H | 1–0 | Wright | 11,181 |
| 16 | 19 November | Motherwell | H | 2–1 | Nicholas, Hewitt | 10,028 |
| 17 | 26 November | Rangers | A | 0–1 | | 42,239 |
| 18 | 3 December | Hamilton Academical | H | 1–1 | Nicholas | 8,324 |
| 19 | 10 December | Celtic | A | 0–0 | | 42,437 |
| 20 | 17 December | St Mirren | H | 3–1 | Irvine, C. Robertson, Hewitt | 8,500 |
| 21 | 31 December | Dundee | A | 0–2 | | 9,828 |
| 22 | 3 January | Dundee United | A | 1–1 | Nicholas | 17,952 |
| 23 | 7 January | Hibernian | H | 2–0 | Nicholas (2) | 13,500 |
| 24 | 14 January | Rangers | H | 1–2 | Nicholas | 22,000 |
| 25 | 21 January | Motherwell | A | 2–0 | Connor, van der Ark | 5,906 |
| 26 | 14 February | Hamilton Academical | A | 2–0 | Wright, Nicholas | 2,016 |
| 27 | 25 February | Heart of Midlothian | H | 3–0 | Wright (2), Irvine | 15,000 |
| 28 | 11 March | Dundee | H | 2–0 | Nicholas, Wright | 11,800 |
| 29 | 25 March | St Mirren | A | 3–1 | Nicholas, Wright, Mason | 7,541 |
| 30 | 1 April | Dundee United | H | 1–0 | Nicholas | 16,700 |
| 31 | 8 April | Hibernian | A | 2–1 | Bett, Mason | 11,000 |
| 32 | 15 April | Hamilton Academical | H | 3–0 | Nicholas (2), Mason | 9,712 |
| 33 | 22 April | Heart of Midlothian | A | 0–1 | | 13,367 |
| 34 | 29 April | Celtic | H | 0–0 | | 21,500 |
| 35 | 6 May | Motherwell | H | 0–0 | | 6,500 |
| 36 | 13 May | Rangers | A | 3–0 | van der Ark, Wright, Bett | 42,480 |

#### Final standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Rangers (C) | 36 | 26 | 4 | 6 | 62 | 26 | +36 | 56 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Aberdeen | 36 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 51 | 25 | +26 | 50 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Celtic | 36 | 21 | 4 | 11 | 66 | 44 | +22 | 46 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 4 | Dundee United | 36 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 44 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Hibernian | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 35 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |

### Scottish League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| R2 | 17 August | Arbroath | H | 4–0 | Miller (2), Bett, Hewitt | 9,139 |
| R3 | 23 August | Morton | A | 2–1 | Bett (2) | 3,131 |
| QF | 31 August | Hibernian | A | 2–1 | Nicholas, Grant | 13,500 |
| SF | 20 September | Dundee United | N | 2–0 | Dodds, Hewitt | 18,491 |
| F | 23 October | Rangers | N | 2–3 | Dodds (2) | 72,122 |

### Scottish Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| R3 | 28 January | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 0–0 | | 16,656 |
| R3 R | 1 February | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 3–1 | Wright (2), Nicholas | 21,500 |
| R4 | 18 February | Dundee United | H | 1–1 | Connor | 23,000 |
| R4 R | 22 February | Dundee United | A | 1–1 | Grant | 18,756 |
| R4 R2 | 27 February | Dundee United | A | 0–1 | | 21,095 |

### UEFA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| R1 L1 | 7 September | Dynamo Dresden | H | 0–0 | | 14,500 |
| R1 L2 | 5 October | Dynamo Dresden | A | 0–2 | | 36,000 |

## Squad
### Appearances & Goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier Division | Premier Division | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europe | Europe |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | MF | SCO | Jim Bett | 43 | 8 | 31 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Bobby Connor | 48 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Davie Dodds | 34 | 7 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Brian Grant | 33 | 3 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Stevie Gray | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | John Hewitt | 35 | 5 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Brian Irvine | 35 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Eoin Jess | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Andy MacLeod | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Paul Mason | 33 | 4 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Stewart McKimmie | 47 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Alex McLeish | 46 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Willie Miller (c) | 29 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Charlie Nicholas | 37 | 18 | 28 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Craig Robertson | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | David Robertson | 30 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Ian Robertson | 12 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Neil Simpson | 28 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | GK | NED | Theo Snelders | 48 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | NED | Willem van der Ark | 9 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Gregg Watson | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Paul Wright | 28 | 8 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |