Yes, there have been huge changes to the squad, but there were massive changes at Falkirk as well and John McGlynn has led them to third, on a fraction of Robinson’s budget. After Aberdeen shipped four at home, Falkirk put five past Hearts at Tynecastle.
The man who started the Hibs rout at Pittodrie was Jamie McGrath, who was allowed to leave Aberdeen on a free transfer in 2025, with the Dons unwilling to match the length of contract Hibs were offering.
McGrath’s goal was an absolute stunner, arrowing into the top corner from distance. It was also symbolic of the mismanagement at his former club.
The problems at Aberdeen are deep-rooted and can mainly be traced back to chairman Dave Cormack’s decision to replace the consistent Derek McInnes with Atlanta United’s B team manager Stephen Glass in 2021.
McInnes’ time was coming to an end anyway, but the club was in a decent place at the time and that appointment left people scratching their heads. Glass was gone less than a year later.
On 3 March, Cormack gave an in-house interview and spoke of sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel’s “global” search for Jimmy Thelin’s replacement
“For me, it’s embarrassing that we’re having to go through my sixth permanent appointment,” he said. “We will take our time to get the right manager in place.”
On 12 March, Robinson was appointed in the wake of a sobering capitulation at Dunfermline as their Scottish Cup defence came to an end. The parallels are obvious as Cormack hunts for yet another manager after yet another collapse.
The club has done brilliant work in the community and home attendances have never been so regularly high. There is undoubted potential at Pittodrie, but they have to get it right on the pitch.
In that same March interview, Cormack was bullish as he looked ahead.
“Make no mistake, we will be competitive next year,” he said.
The club were eighth then. Less than eight months later, they sit 11th, two points off the bottom and six behind Dundee United in sixth.
It will not have escaped the attention of the club’s fanbase that United manager Jim Goodwin – sacked by Cormack in 2023 after his own Hibs humiliation – is orchestrating some of the most attractive football in the top flight.
Aberdeen supporters do not have unrealistic expectations – despite what you may read elsewhere – but they do expect to not lose at home to Falkirk and St Johnstone or be hammered 4-0 at home by anyone. They would also expect to win more than one away league game in almost a year.
The money spent appointing managers, backing them and then sacking them has become eye-watering.
As Cormack, Pfannenstiel and new chief executive Adrian Bevington begin their search for yet another new manager, you can understand the supporters wondering how long the next incumbent will last, especially given how the squad assembled by Robinson disintegrated against Hibs.
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