On Sunday, Aberdeen suffered another frustrating loss to Paisley side, St Mirren. Former striker, Curtis Main piled on the agony, a feeling that has become all too familiar for Dons fans in recent weeks. The Saints loss added on another match to the winless run making it eight consecutive games without the taste of victory. So what has happened to the side that started the season so promisingly?
Formations
Aberdeen haven't had a set formation since the beginning of the season. Glass has tried out the 4-4-2, 4-2-31, 4-1-4-1, 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 all within the months of August and September and has been left unimpressed with each and every one. For me, the 4-2-3-1 is what they should stick with as it allows one midfielder to get forward and be creative with the double pivot behind them. This is also the formation they used most recently in their loss to St Mirren which is a game they probably would've taken points from if it wasn't for a red card. The 4-4-2 and 4-1-4-1 I felt hindered the midfield with Brown or McGeouch lacking the mobility to track late runs into the box- a problem which the 4-2-3-1 if used effectively would fix.
Form
This winless run has featured two draws and a concerning six losses against teams including Raith Rovers, Motherwell and Qarabag twice. Over the last four, the Dons have conceded 7. Having watched every single one of those goals I can put all of them down to either a goalkeeping mistake, lack of tracking runners and closing down or poor marking. So what does that tell us? Poor marking suggests that the defence is disorganised, I've noticed the centre-backs often get beaten by a striker who can make clever runs into the middle. The midfield isn't blameless either with a lack of defensive awareness leading to players running into the box unmarked. Overall, the sheer disorganisation makes the team look like they've never played together week in, week out.
Fixing the issues
I think Glass has to stick with the 4-2-3-1 which would address the problem of midfielders running free into the Aberdeen box or you'd hope two defensive midfielders would be able to stop that anyway. Against Motherwell, both goals came from crosses and more specifically the fullbacks being beaten at the back post. In the 4-2-3-1 Scott Brown would be allowed to solely focus on the defensive duties meaning the centre-backs can deal with those balls coming into the box. It would also mean long shots such as Stevie May's goal would be less likely to happen with CDMs to block them. Next to Scott Brown, I'd have Longstaff. The youthful loanee would help with that lack of mobility I mentioned earlier.
It's important to note that the attack needs fixing as well. I think Ferguson should be freed of his defensive duties and play in that attacking midfield role. We all know the quality Ferguson has however he has an underrated ability of winning the ball back which could become deadly for the opposition when pressing high up the pitch. Jenks played there against St Mirren and showed his inexperience when committing a blatantly stupid foul to lead to his second yellow.
The issue that cannot be fixed tactically however is that Glass doesn't at all look like a great coach. The team looks demotivated and disorganised seven games in which to me is a big warning sign. In fairness to the former Atlanta man his recruitment has looked good he just needs to get those quality players playing as a unit, something which I'm not sure he is capable of.
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