The record · from 16 December 2019
A record of Aberdeen's strategy as well as its results: managers and backroom changes, recruitment, style, selection and silverware, with the measured record separated from the reading.
The thesis
Recruit players whose current output or potential is priced below their likely future value, give them minutes, and realise value when the offer and the sporting cost balance.
Evidence: transfers · minutes_by_age · inferred_net_range · sell_on_clauses
A development-and-sale model needs a pathway: academy graduates and young signings have to get first-team minutes, not just squad numbers.
Evidence: u21_minutes_share · academy_debuts · players_used
Recruitment and selection should serve a recognisable way of playing. The record shows the observed shapes and match-stat proxies, and labels the tactical reading separately.
Evidence: formation_mix · style_proxies · tactical_notes
Look for under-appreciated players in poorer teams, undervalued Scottish players, and markets the domestic game overlooks. The record shows the source market, age, known fee and minutes; it does not yet score "undervalued" itself.
Evidence: source_market_mix · age_at_arrival · known_fees
Source market unknown for 43 of 103 arrivals (42%); the pillar is bounded by that unknown share.
A trading model accepts squad turnover and young-player variance in exchange for commercial and developmental upside. Cup runs are real achievements and a source of variance, not proof that the league model is working.
Evidence: players_used · manager_splits · league_finishes · honours
The period from Dave Cormack's chairmanship to the present, read through the public record of recruitment, managers, style, selection and silverware.
Europe: 2023-24 Conference League group stage (third of Group G); 2025-26 Conference League league phase (35th of 36). The season pages carry the cup-run detail.
The record
| Season | Manager(s) | League | Pos | Pts | Honours | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Derek McInnes | Scottish Premiership | 4 | 45 | — | Completed |
| 2020-21 | Derek McInnes, Paul Sheerin, Stephen Glass | Scottish Premiership | 4 | 56 | — | Completed |
| 2021-22 | Stephen Glass, Barry Robson, Jim Goodwin | Scottish Premiership | 10 | 41 | — | Completed |
| 2022-23 | Jim Goodwin, Barry Robson | Scottish Premiership | 3 | 57 | — | Completed |
| 2023-24 | Barry Robson, Peter Leven, Neil Warnock | Scottish Premiership | 7 | 48 | — | Completed |
| 2024-25 | Jimmy Thelin | Scottish Premiership | 5 | 53 | Scottish Cup | Completed |
| 2025-26 | Jimmy Thelin, Peter Leven, Stephen Robinson | Scottish Premiership | 9 | 40 | — | Completed |
| 2026-27 | Stephen Robinson | Scottish Premiership | 9 | 11 | — | In progress |
The league row is the measured record. Manager names and honours are curated; the season page holds the within-season detail.
Look up the record
Filter the published season records by season, manager, honour or competition. The lookup navigates the existing record; it does not rank seasons, add a superlative or change a value.
No filter is active; every published season is listed.
| Season | Status | Competition | Manager(s) | Honours | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Completed | Scottish Premiership | Derek McInnes | — | A top-four finish in a season that began before Cormack and ended in a curtailed league. |
| 2020-21 | Completed | Scottish Premiership | Derek McInnes, Paul Sheerin, Stephen Glass | — | A fourth-place finish, a managerial change in March, and the start of the Glass experiment. |
| 2021-22 | Completed | Scottish Premiership | Stephen Glass, Barry Robson, Jim Goodwin | — | A tenth-place finish, a February managerial change and the cost of a failed rebuild. |
| 2022-23 | Completed | Scottish Premiership | Jim Goodwin, Barry Robson | — | A third-place finish after a January managerial change, against the backdrop of a record sale and a cup shock. |
| 2023-24 | Completed | Scottish Premiership | Barry Robson, Peter Leven, Neil Warnock | — | A European group stage and a League Cup final, but a seventh-place league season and three managers. |
| 2024-25 | Completed | Scottish Premiership | Jimmy Thelin | 2024-25 Scottish Cup | A strong start, a long collapse and the Scottish Cup — the most extreme swing in the record. |
| 2025-26 | Completed | Scottish Premiership | Jimmy Thelin, Peter Leven, Stephen Robinson | — | A European league phase and a cup defence, followed by a relegation worry and a managerial reset. |
| 2026-27 | In progress | Scottish Premiership | Stephen Robinson | — | A substantial rebuild under Stephen Robinson, with the league shape still unsettled. |
The people
Key named football-operations and board roles only. Dates keep the precision of the public source. Expand the timeline for every appointment and departure, including interim spells.
Before the era
6 seasons · average finish 2.5 · best 2 · average points 71.7. This is the six seasons immediately before the era: a chosen comparison window, not a neutral norm.
| Season | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 3 | 68 |
| 2014-15 | 2 | 75 |
| 2015-16 | 2 | 71 |
| 2016-17 | 2 | 76 |
| 2017-18 | 2 | 73 |
| 2018-19 | 4 | 67 |
League-only context. No cup or Europe detail.
The people
| Manager | Dates | Pld | W-D-L | GF | GA | Pts | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derek McInnes | 2013-04-06 – 2021-03-08 | 290 | 156-56-78 | 431 | 301 | 524 | 1.81 |
| Paul SheerinInterim | 2021-03-08 – 2021-03-23 | 1 | 0-0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Stephen Glass | 2021-03-23 – 2022-02-13 | 30 | 10-6-14 | 34 | 39 | 36 | 1.20 |
| Barry RobsonInterim | 2022-02-13 – 2022-02-19 | 2 | 0-2-0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1.00 |
| Jim Goodwin | 2022-02-19 – 2023-01-28 | 34 | 11-6-17 | 44 | 55 | 39 | 1.15 |
| Barry RobsonInterim | 2023-01-29 – 2023-05-01 | 10 | 8-0-2 | 17 | 9 | 24 | 2.40 |
| Barry Robson | 2023-05-01 – 2024-01-31 | 26 | 7-7-12 | 28 | 41 | 28 | 1.08 |
| Peter LevenInterim | 2024-01-31 – 2024-02-05 | 1 | 0-1-0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 |
| Neil WarnockInterim | 2024-02-05 – 2024-03-09 | 6 | 0-2-4 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 0.33 |
| Peter LevenInterim | 2024-03-09 – 2024-05-31 | 10 | 6-3-1 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 2.10 |
| Jimmy Thelin | 2024-06-03 – 2026-01-04 | 58 | 22-12-24 | 68 | 85 | 78 | 1.34 |
| Peter LevenInterim | 2026-01-04 – 2026-03-12 | 9 | 1-1-7 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 0.44 |
| Stephen Robinson | 2026-03-12 – present | 19 | 6-4-9 | 23 | 27 | 22 | 1.16 |
Full-stint league records, including interim spells. A match in a gap between stints is not assigned to the nearest manager. Cup and European results are curated exit rounds on the season pages.
Silverware
The 2024-25 Scottish Cup is the Cormack-era honour. The 2023-24 League Cup was a runners-up finish and is recorded as a cup run on that season page, not in the cabinet.
The lows, measured
| Date | Season | Competition | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Oct 2025 | 2025-26 | UEFA Europa Conference League | AEK Athens FC | 0–6 |
| 14 May 2025 | 2024-25 | Premiership | Celtic | 1–5 |
| 11 May 2025 | 2024-25 | Premiership | Rangers | 0–4 |
| 25 Feb 2025 | 2024-25 | Premiership | Celtic | 1–5 |
| 26 Dec 2024 | 2024-25 | Premiership | Kilmarnock | 0–4 |
| 2 Nov 2024 | 2024-25 | League Cup | Celtic | 0–6 |
| 12 Nov 2023 | 2023-24 | Premiership | Celtic | 0–6 |
| 27 May 2023 | 2022-23 | Premiership | Celtic | 0–5 |
| 18 Feb 2023 | 2022-23 | Premiership | Celtic | 0–4 |
| 28 Jan 2023 | 2022-23 | Premiership | Hibernian | 0–6 |
| 18 Jan 2023 | 2022-23 | Premiership | Heart Of Midlothian | 0–5 |
| 8 Oct 2022 | 2022-23 | Premiership | Dundee Utd | 0–4 |
| 15 May 2021 | 2020-21 | Premiership | Rangers | 0–4 |
| 22 Nov 2020 | 2020-21 | Premiership | Rangers | 0–4 |
| 27 Oct 2019 | 2019-20 | Premiership | Celtic | 0–4 |
| 28 Sept 2019 | 2019-20 | Premiership | Rangers | 0–5 |
Europe
| Season | Competition | Round reached | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | UEFA Europa League | Third qualifying round | eliminated |
| 2020-21 | UEFA Europa League | Third qualifying round | eliminated |
| 2021-22 | UEFA Conference League | Play-off round | eliminated |
| 2023-24 | UEFA Europa League | Play-off round | eliminated |
| 2023-24 | UEFA Conference League | Group stage | eliminated |
| 2025-26 | UEFA Europa League | Play-off round | eliminated |
| 2025-26 | UEFA Conference League | League phase | eliminated |
The read
The Cormack era is best read as a trade-off, not a verdict. The club has produced a Scottish Cup, a European group-stage campaign and a series of significant player sales, while league form has swung between third and tenth. The record below separates what happened from what it might mean. It does not claim to know the boardroom's intent, the wage structure or the private valuation of any player.
This is fitba's reading of the public record. It is not the club's internal view, and it is not a verdict on any individual.
What is covered
| Season | League | Transfers | Lineups | Match stats | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Measured | Curated partial | available · 43/43 | Measured proxies | Complete |
| 2020-21 | Measured | Curated partial | available · 45/45 | Measured proxies | Complete |
| 2021-22 | Measured | Curated partial | partial · 47/49 | Measured proxies | Complete |
| 2022-23 | Measured | Curated partial | partial · 46/52 | Measured proxies | Complete |
| 2023-24 | Measured | Curated partial | partial · 55/58 | Measured proxies | Complete |
| 2024-25 | Measured | Audited | partial · 50/51 | Measured proxies | Complete |
| 2025-26 | Measured | Audited | available · 52/52 | Measured proxies | Complete |
| 2026-27 | Measured | Audited | partial · 18/20 | Measured proxies | In progress |
Manager records are league-only. Pre-2024-25 transfer windows are curated partial. Selection depends on the historical lineup backfill.
Selection averages for the era cover 0.077 U21 minutes share where the lineup backfill is available. Manager records are league-only.
Provenance
Dataset 2026-10-27T12:06:31+00:00-c598315. Sources and coverage are listed below; the page keeps its own source and uncertainty labels.
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.