In a Scottish football season marked by fan unrest at the country's biggest clubs, the end of Jimmy Thelin's reign at Aberdeen arrived not with a bang, but with a whimper of widespread apathy. The 47-year-old Swedish manager was dismissed on Sunday, with a 1-0 defeat away to Falkirk proving the final blow after a dismal run of form.
The Final Straw and Interim Arrangements
The loss at Falkirk was Aberdeen's fourth defeat in five matches across all competitions, leaving the club languishing in eighth place in the Scottish Premiership. Thelin, in his post-match comments, had told his players to 'drop their egos' and cited a lack of fight, but it was too late to save his job.
With back-to-back fixtures against Rangers looming, Peter Leven will take interim charge. He will lead the team at Ibrox on Tuesday night before the return match at Pittodrie on Sunday. The search for a permanent successor will be led by the club's recently-appointed sporting director, Lutz Pfannenstiel.
A Tenure of Highs and Prolonged Lows
Jimmy Thelin arrived at Pittodrie in the summer of 2024 amid considerable excitement, having built a strong reputation in Sweden with Elfsborg. His start was spectacular, with 15 wins from his first 16 games last season fuelling dreams of a title challenge.
The pinnacle of his tenure came at Hampden Park, where Aberdeen beat Celtic on penalties to win the Scottish Cup, ending a 35-year wait for the trophy. However, that triumph has since been exposed as a glorious anomaly in an otherwise declining trajectory.
Since that cup final victory, the Dons' form has collapsed. They have managed just eight wins in 30 matches this season. Despite being backed with what the club called the biggest budget in its history—funded partly by the £6.8 million sale of Bojan Miovski—Thelin could not reverse the slide. Significant signings like Jesper Karlsson, Topi Keskinen, and Kevin Nisbet failed to translate investment into results on the pitch.
A Club Adrift and a Chairman Under Scrutiny
Thelin's departure turns the spotlight squarely onto chairman Dave Cormack and the club's faltering structure. Thelin is the fifth permanent manager to try and fail since Derek McInnes left in 2021, following Stephen Glass, Jim Goodwin, and Barry Robson, with Neil Warnock's bizarre interim stint also in the mix.
This serial failure raises profound questions about the club's direction. While Cormack's financial commitment, including the development of the Cormack Park training facility, is not in doubt, his record in appointing a manager capable of building a lasting philosophy is now under harsh scrutiny.
Once a consistent force under McInnes and a giant of the non-Old Firm scene, Aberdeen now appear bereft of identity and soul. With both Celtic and Rangers perceived as vulnerable this season, the sense of a major opportunity squandered is acute for supporters.
The coming appointment is arguably the most critical of Cormack's tenure. Getting it wrong risks condemning the club to continued mid-table mediocrity, a far cry from its storied past and ambitions for the future.
