The record · Completed season
2020-21
A fourth-place finish, a managerial change in March, and the start of the Glass experiment.
Expectations
The baseline going in
Another top-four baseline after the curtailed 2019-20 season, with a cup run and an attempt to move beyond the Europa League third qualifying round.
Top four and European qualification. This is an analyst-set baseline, not a published club target.
The season was played largely without crowds because of COVID-19. Derek McInnes left after eight years on 8 March 2021; Paul Sheerin took one match as interim and Stephen Glass was appointed on 23 March.
Measured
The league record
Manager records are league-only. Cup and European results are curated exit rounds, not match-level manager records.
The season
Managers and the within-season split
| Manager | Dates | Pld | W-D-L | GF | GA | Pts | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derek McInnes | 2020-08-01 – 2021-03-06 | 32 | 13-10-9 | 32 | 30 | 49 | 1.53 |
| Paul SheerinInterim | 2021-03-20 – 2021-03-20 | 1 | 0-0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Stephen Glass | 2021-04-10 – 2021-05-15 | 5 | 2-1-2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 1.40 |
Interim spells are separate records. A match in a gap is not assigned to the nearest manager.
Cups
Domestic runs
- Scottish Cup · Quarter-final eliminated Lost 3-0 to Dundee United in April 2021.
- League Cup · Second round eliminated Lost to St Mirren in November 2020 after a late goalkeeping error.
Europe
Continental runs
- Europa League · Third qualifying round eliminated Lost to Sporting CP; the exact aggregate is not stated in the season page.
Recruitment
What came in and went out
Estimated net is a range from public/reported fee anchors and a transparent age, position and market model. It is not an audited balance; free transfers count as zero fee and loan fees are excluded.
Source market
- scotland · 3 arrivals 30%
- england · 0 arrivals 0%
- europe · 0 arrivals 0%
- other · 0 arrivals 0%
- unknown · 7 arrivals 70%
7 arrivals have no resolved source market.
Age at arrival
Median 25 · average 25.2 · coverage 90%.
Disclosed fees only. Undisclosed is never zero and is excluded from the totals. Age is shown only where a birth date is known.
Key business
Historical transfer rows are curated partial before 2024-25. Key moves include Scott McKenna's club-record sale to Nottingham Forest in September 2020. The full set is in the transfer register. Full transfer register →
Style
How the season looked
Opponent-unadjusted team proxies from league match rows. Not xG and not a tactical model. Possession is provider-reported only.
The Glass appointment was intended to change the way the team played. The measured proxies show whether the change is visible; the reading is kept separate.
Possession is not shown unless the provider team-statistics backfill is available; it is never inferred.
Selection
Who played, and how old they were
Formation mix
- 3-4-1-2 · 10 fixtures (22%)
- 3-4-2-1 · 9 fixtures (20%)
- 4-4-1-1 · 6 fixtures (13%)
- 3-5-2 · 6 fixtures (13%)
- 3-4-3 · 5 fixtures (11%)
- 3-5-1-1 · 2 fixtures (4%)
Top by starts
| Player | Starts | Mins |
|---|---|---|
| A. Considine | 43 | 3866 |
| L. Ferguson | 41 | 3651 |
| J. Lewis | 41 | 3636 |
| T. Hoban | 41 | 3600 |
| J. Hayes | 41 | 3511 |
| R. McCrorie | 33 | 2912 |
| A. Taylor | 31 | 2571 |
| R. Hedges | 28 | 2397 |
| M. Kennedy | 26 | 2486 |
| D. Campbell | 16 | 1604 |
| N. McGinn | 16 | 1341 |
Formation is the kick-off shape. Ages use the season roster or a known birth date; missing ages are excluded, not filled. Top-by-starts is not a claim that those players started together.
The lineup backfill is available or partial; selection metrics are measured where coverage allows and the fraction is shown.
Academy
Youth pathway
Curated debuts
- Ryan Duncan · 2020-11 Made his debut aged 16 against Rangers in November 2020; exact day not stated in the season page.
- Miko Virtanen · 2021-01 Made his first-team debut against Motherwell in January 2021; exact day not stated in the season page.
Measured new players
- J. Hayes · 1 Aug 2020
- R. Edmondson · 1 Aug 2020
- R. Duncan · 22 Nov 2020
- K. Ngwenya · 12 Dec 2020
- M. Virtanen · 23 Jan 2021
- F. Kamberi · 17 Feb 2021
- F. Hornby · 17 Feb 2021
- C. Hendry · 17 Feb 2021
- M. Ruth · 6 Mar 2021
- J. MacKenzie · 20 Mar 2021
- C. Ramsay · 20 Mar 2021
- G. Woods · 21 Apr 2021
Curated debuts are explicit club/academy records. Measured new players are first appearances in the covered history, not career debuts.
Off the pitch
Staff changes
- 8 Mar 2021 Derek McInnes · Manager Out resigned
- 8 Mar 2021 Paul Sheerin · Interim manager InInterim
- 8 Mar 2021 Tony Docherty · Assistant head coach Out moved_club
- 23 Mar 2021 Paul Sheerin · Interim manager OutInterim interim_end
- 23 Mar 2021 Stephen Glass · Manager In
The read · fitba assessment
An assessment, not a measurement
What worked. The league position held at fourth and the club reached the Scottish Cup quarter-final. The managerial transition was orderly: one interim match, then a permanent appointment.
What did not. The League Cup exit came in the second round and the Scottish Cup run ended with a 3-0 defeat at Dundee United. The European campaign again stopped at the third qualifying round.
The trade-off. Changing manager while holding a top-four finish protected the league floor but delayed the rebuild until the following season. The new manager inherited a squad shaped by the previous regime.
This is the hinge season. The results still look like the McInnes era, but the appointment of Stephen Glass changed the intended direction. Judging the new direction from the final league position alone would miss the point; the next season is where the cost of the transition becomes visible.
Look ahead. Glass would be dismissed in February 2022 after a bottom-six season, and the club would move through Robson and Goodwin before the next stable spell.
Coverage
What is measured, curated and missing
- League record: available
- Manager records: league only
- Transfers: curated_partial
- Lineups: available · 45/45 fixtures
- Unattributed league matches: 0
League-only manager records. Cup/Europe runs are curated exit rounds. Selection is measured where historical lineups exist.
← 2019-20 · 2021-22 → · The record · Results and fixtures
Provenance
How this page is sourced
Dataset 2026-10-27T12:06:31+00:00-c598315. Sources and coverage are listed below; the page keeps its own source and uncertainty labels.
- Cormack-era historical record · mixed · active
- League results, historical · football_data_uk · active
- Published transfer register · curated · active
- Medium and long-term themes · derived · active
Definitions: history.baseline · history.coverage · history.defeats · history.scorecard · history.season · history.season-document · history.staff
Corrections and changes are recorded on Corrections and contact.
Cite this page
Cormack era. Dataset 2026-10-27T12:06:31+00:00-c598315, as of 2026-10-27T12:06:31+00:00. Sources: mixed; football-data.co.uk; curated; derived. Definitions: history.baseline; history.coverage; history.defeats; history.scorecard; history.season; history.season-document; history.staff.