The Dons’ AGM at the start of the week passed by without incident.
Unlike some of its predecessors, there was no storming of the barricades, in fact, given how the season has largely unfolded, there was no need for Dave Cormack and Alan Burrows to order the metaphorical construction of such structures. Their heads were well and truly above the parapet, and rightly so.
The pair have made a strong managerial appointment in Jimmy Thelin; up until the last few weeks the results have been considerably better than anyone could have anticipated; and there is a buoyancy around the club that has been sadly lacking for all too long.
In short, Pittodrie and Cormack Park are happy places right now, there is a feelgood factor in the north-east, and the fans have been turning out in vast numbers.
Given some of the questions he has had to face during his time as chairman, Dave’s flight back across the Atlantic must have been a much more relaxed one this time round.
The two main areas for discussion were the lack of compensation so far paid by Rangers for the services of Connor Barron, which has dragged on for far too long, and the even more lengthy saga of where Aberdeen will be playing in the future.
Barron saga rumbled on for too long
Regarding the player, it is an absolute nonsense that the Ibrox club has been able to use Barron for the past five months without having had to pay a penny. He has now featured 26 times and been one of the shining lights for Phillippe Clement, and yet the Dons are still waiting.
When the clubs failed to agree on a fee, the SPFL should have set up a tribunal immediately, and made a quick ruling. It is clearly unfair that one club should benefit in the way Rangers have without making any kind of payment.
Alan Burrows chose his words carefully during the AGM, but Aberdeen are understandably not happy with the situation, and the governing body need to get that sorted as soon as possible.
While that should have been a straightforward enough process, the new stadium seems as far away as ever more than two decades after it was first seriously proposed.
Loirston came and went after councillors threw out the proposal, then the financial impact of the pandemic put paid to Kingsford amidst protests from the local community.
Almost four years ago news emerged of a potential home for the club as part of the beach redevelopment, but partly due to a change of administration at Aberdeen City Council, the plans stalled, and there has been no movement, publicly at least, for some time.
Dave Cormack says a period of re-evaluation is now needed, but it seems highly unlikely anything will change regarding the beach given the stance taken by the current council leadership.
Alan Burrows flagged up Kingsford as a live option, pointing out that proposal had never been put to bed, so it might yet be that is the best option, albeit one which would not be without its hurdles.
Whichever route they finally take, the chances of a new stadium being constructed this decade appear, at best, to be slim.
Big weekend at the bottom of the Premiership
The Dons have the weekend off, an opportunity to regroup and try to rediscover the drive that served them so well in the first few months of the campaign.
From what I have seen, they are not playing that much differently to how they were during the winning run. The big change is they were able to find a way to secure the points up until the trip to Paisley.
Of the four Premiership matches that are taking place, three could have a major bearing on how the bottom six is likely to unfold, with the Hibernian v Ross County and Kilmarnock v Hearts encounters particularly important.
If the two Edinburgh clubs can prevail, we could have a scenario where just four points separate the teams from seventh to twelfth.
With the busy festive period and a number of head-to-heads to come, that would set up quite a tussle over the coming weeks.
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