When the news came through, it was hardly a surprise; after one year and a day, Barry Robson’s reign as Aberdeen manager was over.
The decision, which was the correct one, came as a merciful relief.
For weeks it had been clear it simply was not working, Barry appearing less and less convincing in the role. His after-match interviews had become painful to watch, the online comments even more painful to read.
He was, sadly, limping towards what seemed the inevitable conclusion.
The statistics for the league season make grim reading, the Dons languishing in eighth place with just six wins out of 21 matches. They are behind Hibernian, who would have been seen as rivals for third place, and they trail Hearts, who now look odds-on favourites to claim that coveted position, by an astonishing 18 points.
The games in hand, which Barry pointed regularly to, have been eroded; the results in them just as poor as most of campaign which preceded them.
Right now, the Dons are closer to the relegation playoffs than potential qualification for European football next season.
For all those reasons, Barry had to go.
Appointing him on a permanent basis was the right call, he deserved the chance given what he pulled off in the second half of last season, but this campaign has been a different story. There have been some highlights, and some decent performances in patches, but overall, it has not been of the standard expected given the resources he was afforded.
So, for the fourth time in the little over four years since he became chairman, Dave Cormack wielded the axe.
That is quite a record, one of which he will not be proud, and something he is going to have to rectify if his time at the helm of the club is to be remembered in a positive way.
Dave simply has to get this appointment right!
He had little choice in installing Barry, while Stephen Glass, and to a lesser extent, Jim Goodwin, were risks that failed to pay-off, all of which takes us back to Derek McInnes.
Had Dave kept Derek in place, would the club be in a better place than they are now?
The answer to that question almost certainly has to be yes, but that was never likely to be a long-term relationship, and there was a clear feeling among sections of the support that Derek’s time was up.
The style of football on show was held up as a reason for change then, and that remains a major concern. This season has, for the most part, been pretty turgid at best.
The chairman’s task now is to find a manager who has all the attributes Derek McInnes brought to the job, and is someone he can work with, someone who can work under him.
That man will not be easy to identify, and I am horrified by some of the names being bandied about; I sincerely hope they are as a result of uninformed speculation rather than steers from within.
This is not a time for risk-taking or ‘projects’; the club needs experience at the top, a genuine football man who can turn things round, and quickly.
An alarming amount of missed penalties this season
There was a time when the award of a penalty felt like a guaranteed goal, but it seems that is no longer the case in the Scottish Premiership!
Of the 50 awards in the top-flight this campaign, 18 have been missed. Twelve have resulted in saves, two have gone wide and four have hit the post.
For comparison, in the last two full seasons the figures have been 15 out of 64 and 14 out of 87 missed.
This time round, James Tavernier, Luis Palma and Mark O’Hara have all failed twice, as has Andrew Shinnie, although one was in the Scottish Cup, while Lawrence Shankland has had three spot-kick malfunctions.
Not a single team has a 100% success rate, Ross County being the only side yet to be awarded a league penalty.
It may simply be a statistical anomaly, but it is one clubs will be keen to remedy given the potential points being lost.
