In the modern era, finding a player who’ll play 500 games for your club is as simple as trying to boil water in a chocolate kettle. Andy Considine is about complete that feat for Aberdeen this weekend though.
The Dons hero is in line to make the landmark appearance against St Johnstone on Sunday afternoon. He currently sits fifth in Aberdeen’s total appearances chart, with club legends like Willie Miller and Alex McLeish the only ones ahead of him.
Considine will make his 500th Aberdeen appearance this weekend. (Photo by Scott Baxter/Getty Images)
Despite this, Considine isn’t spoken about or praised anywhere near as much as he should be. Following his debut against Dundee in 2004, the 32-year-old has gone on to have a stellar Dons career.
Considine has been through it all at Aberdeen
From the highs of playing Bayern Munich and winning the League Cup, to the lows of a leg break and a 9-0 defeat, Considine has been at the club’s side consistently for 15 years now.
His defensive partners in Scott McKenna and Mikey Devlin have become Scotland regular’s under Steve Clarke, which is confusing given that their Aberdeen teammate has been the club’s best defender this term.
A stalwart. (Photo by Callum Landells/Getty Images)
Over the years Considine has had his rough patches. Position changes to left-back didn’t allow him to play his best stuff whilst other centre-half’s have came-and-went in his place.
In 2019 though, the emergence of Max Lowe and then Greg Leigh has allowed him to hit top form. Sure he’s had to fill in at full-back sporadically, but he’s mainly been deployed at centre-half.
Considine’s been allowed to do what he does best. He can control the backline with experience and defend well with his no-nonsense approach to that side of the game.
Been through it all. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Despite his terrific service and good performances over the years, Considine hasn’t had his praises sung all that often for whatever reason. Perhaps it’s because he’s been quietly performing, or there has been a lack of trophies, perhaps even a lack of recognition with Scotland.
Ahead of this weekend though, everyone should step back and applaud Considine’s achievements. There’s a very real chance he could be the last Aberdeen man to break the 500 game mark and perhaps his achievements will be held in a better light once he’s no longer at the club.