I wrote recently about the elevation of Andrew Considine into the club’s top ten all-time appearances list, and while looking at the legends on there, decided to dig deeper into the stats surrounding some of them.
Each of the players is rightly considered to be a Dons great; all gave incredible service to Aberdeen FC, some with little tangible reward along the way.
Russell Anderson finally got his hands on silverware when lifting the League Cup three years ago and it would have been criminal if his 407 matches had borne nothing in terms of trophies. Willie Cooper (393) stands just behind him on the list and ended his two decades at the club with nothing to show for it, albeit a special medal was struck for him after he cruelly missed the 1947 Scottish Cup Final because of injury.
Everyone else in the top ten picked up league or cup winner’s medals, some more regularly than others, and it’s no surprise that the two most decorated Dons in the history of the club fill the top two places.
Alex McLeish won twelve major honours during his lengthy stay at Pittodrie, a figure matched by his battle-hardened defensive soul-mate, Willie Miller, who of course leads the way with 797, that figure including his one and only substitute appearance in his very first game, coming on to replace Arthur Graham in a 2-1 win at Morton way back on April 28th 1973. From that point on, the thought of Willie being benched for a game clearly never entered the minds of his managers, and any such suggestion certainly wouldn’t have gone down well with him!
From the start of the 73-74 season until midway through 89-90 Willie Miller only ever missed a game through injury or the occasional suspension, and that didn’t happen too often!
The facts and figures surrounding his career are quite simply remarkable.
One that stands out, and which I hadn’t been aware of until I did a bit of digging, is that between March 30th 1974, when he was absent in a 2-0 win over East Fife at Pittodrie, and December 23rd 1978, when he missed a 0-0 draw at Tynecastle, Willie played in every league match, a staggering run of 167 consecutive appearances. That saw him chalk up ever-present figures four seasons in a row. He then missed ten league games over the next three campaigns before adding two more 100% seasons.
Given the position in which he played, given the quality of opposition he was often up against, that shows unbelievable levels of consistency and performance.
Had he not been injured playing for Scotland against Norway, his final tally of games would have been well into the 800s, perhaps the 900s, but the wear and tear of his long, tough career might have meant that that would be a step too far even for him.
His final total was impressive enough mind you, and unlikely ever to be surpassed. In actual fact, I hope it isn’t. Given what he achieved with this club, given everything he offered over all those years and the success he played a major part in bringing, that’s one honour I hope he keeps in perpetuity.
His final total was impressive enough mind you, and unlikely ever to be surpassed. In actual fact, I hope it isn’t. Given what he achieved with this club, given everything he offered over all those years and the success he played a major part in bringing, that’s one honour I hope he keeps in perpetuity.
