Only young central midfielder Connor Barron escaped Aberdeen fans’ ire on a weekend where they missed out on the Premiership’s top six.
The 1-0 home loss to Ross County condemned the Reds to the bottom half for the final five games of the campaign, with plenty of supporters concerned the relegation play-off is not yet off the table this term, should performances not improve.
However, for all the raging tweets and Facebook posts we’ve read over the last few days, one constant has been the view teenager Barron has not only earned ‘pass marks’ during Jim Goodwin’s seven games in charge so far, but has thoroughly impressed – showing, at 19, he has a big future at Pittodrie and in the game generally.
The consensus view of Barron has been that, for a ‘wee guy’ – he stands only 5ft 7in – he is industrious, likes to get ‘stuck in’ and can play as well.
And the stats from Opta back this up:
‘He gets stuck in for a wee guy’
Over the last seven matches, Barron has been the leading tackle-maker in the Dons ranks – with 14 challenges. It’s a stat which has put him 16th in the Premiership standings for those games.
Meanwhile, with nine interceptions, he’s been third in the Aberdeen squad and 19th in the league for that metric:
It is clear Barron has plenty of ability when it comes to winning the ball back for the team – something which of course is key for any central midfield player.
It’s probably worth noting one of those challenges on Saturday, which saw him take down league top-scorer Regan Charles-Cook in the process, should have been a penalty to the visitors.
But the point stands: Barron is nuisance to the opposition in the middle of the park – something his new manager (given he was the same as a player) will be delighted with.
Barron can play a bit, too
On the other side of the coin, Barron has also proven himself a more than capable part of Aberdeen’s attack in the last seven games – a struggle as it has been at times.
Playing as part of a midfield three with Ross McCrorie and Lewis Ferguson, his long passing and chance creation have stood out, stats-wise.
He has ranked second in the Dons ranks for successful long passes (with 37) – which is the 11th-best count in the division over the last seven rounds of matches.
At 19 years old, only 10 Premiership players are making more long passes than Barron, which is pretty exciting, despite all the concerning things for the Red Army at the moment.
Barron’s overall passing stats are lower than Ferguson, and centre-backs David Bates and Declan Gallagher, but – for someone so new to the team – the Scotland Under-21 international is already having a big influence on it:
The graphic above shows Barron has been everywhere with his passing, linking defence to midfield, and midfield to attack, and, for the most part, keeping it tidy while doing so.
In terms of chances created for his team-mates, Barron has been more influential still, ranking first in the Dons ranks for chances created from set plays (with three) – showing the quality of his free-kick deliveries – and second for total chances created (with seven).
The graphic below shows the high-quality balls he has sent into the opposition area:
Build the team around Barron?
There are big questions facing new Aberdeen boss Goodwin, even if a couple of quick post-split wins will banish thoughts of the nightmare relegation play-off scenario.
He has already made decisions on Andy Considine, Michael Devlin and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who are all gone or going as part of his fledgling rebuild, with many more players expected to be moved on.
Although Goodwin would undoubtedly be chuffed if he could hold on to Scotland international Ferguson – the first name on the team-sheet for the club over the last few years – there is every chance the summer transfer window could finally be the one where the Dons receive an offer for Ferguson they can’t refuse.
As a result, many Reds fans are already discussing who the recently-appointed gaffer should be building his team around as the Dons attempt to make big improvements next season.
Although McCrorie is the more likely candidate to be the keystone to Goodwin’s new-look Dons, Barron has made a promising start and is one of the names who supporters have mentioned.
From his stats over the last seven games, he certainly looks like he might have all of the necessary attributes to be Aberdeen’s main man at some point in the future.