It's 20 years since Aberdeen last finished bottom of the top flight.
Luckily for the Dons it’s also 20 years since the last reconstruction of the league expanded the SPL to the current 12 teams and saved the Dons from the drop.
Would Dave Cormack have been so dismissive of adding an extra two sides to the league if he’d been in the position of power at Pittodrie then?
You can bet your last dollar he wouldn’t.
So many question marks hang over the meeting hosted by Dandy Dave a week ago.
The decision to finish the top flight in line with the three lower divisions and hand Celtic the title will be taken in the coming days.
At least that one now is so straightforward given time is well and truly against us that even Rangers have given it the thumbs up.
Less clear was deciding reconstruction talks were off before a plan had even been properly devised.
Not so much off the table but swept under the carpet quicker than you can say 14-10-10-10.
Move along was the subtext to Cormack’s statement on behalf of a band of Premiership clubs, stating there was simply no appetite for a revamp in the top flight.
No wonder when so many clubs are bagged up with self-interest. Another two clubs in to share the already tiny financial pie? Nope.
But what about the rest? Supporters are furious as a poll showed 84 per cent want a say in reconstruction talks.
Players were unanimous too – 76 per cent of 692 told the PFA Scotland poll they were in favour of a revamp.
Then there’s the other clubs who have been slapped down and told to be quiet. Partick Thistle – potentially the biggest victims of the season-ending resolution – are ready to go down the legal route to save themselves from a crippling relegation.
Ditto Hearts. Stranraer might not have the financial power for litigation but they’ve been clear in their contempt towards the way revamp talks were stopped in their tracks.
Cormack claimed now is not the time to focus on reconstruction.
Surely there’s never a more urgent time given the perilous position some of our clubs particularly lower down the food chain face?
This is an emergency situation that requires something drastic.
And if that requires extra time working on a plan so be it. Time is one thing Scottish football has on its hands right now as it’s months before any form of football can possibly take place.
Bringing Kelty and Brora in at the bottom respects the ethos of the pyramid and negates any undue relegation on a season far from complete.
For a nation that rightly rails against the elitism and closed-shop nature of European competitions we’re in danger of being ruled by greed ourselves in what looks worryingly like a closed shop.
Cormack’s statement alluded to the fact the talks could resume some time in the future.
I’d suggest that time is right now.
