Football Season Guide

Reality caught up with Aberdeen last season as Rangers and Kilmarnock lept above them to drag them down to a fourth-placed finish, after a year of real inconsistency. Over the course of the summer, it looks as though the Dons have been weakened further with some major losses to their squad. Long-term captain Graeme Shinnie has departed for Derby County, whilst left-wing maestro Gary Mackay-Steven left for the MLS. Fortunately for Aberdeen, they managed to lure experienced Championship midfielder Craig Bryson to Pittodrie to fill in Shinnie's role. Bryson has proven a real success in England, and his experience and ball-winning skills should see him replace Shinnie successfully enough. It also looks as though McInnes has reacted to Mackay-Steven's departure with success too. Jon Gallagher has been brought in from Atlanta to play down the left, whilst Ryan Hedges will challenge Niall McGinn down the right flank. Both men look energetic to say the least, but big question marks still persist over their consistency levels. A return to the club for Ash Taylor to replace the outgoing Mark Reynolds looks shrewd on paper, but his injury in Europe is a blow. Once again, expect Mikey Devlin and Scott McKenna to dominate that centre-back area, with Shay Logan and either Andrew Considine or Greg Leigh down either flank, Aberdeen still look there to be got at in the centre of midfield, however. Too often last season they failed to boss games enough from the engine room and, judging by their early European displays, that continues to be the case heading into the new season.