Darkness before the Don

Nobody can deny these are testing times at Pittodrie but, if history is anything to go by, there should be plenty to look forward to in the future.

Ally MacLeod's men came perilously close to the drop in 75/76, the nearest we've come to being relegated in our illustrious 107 year history. However, three years later and, in typical Aberdeen fashion, we were crowned champions of Scotland.

Suggesting that the Dons could win the League in three years time might be a little farfetched nowadays, even for the RedTV commentary team, but with the best crop of youngsters in the SPL coming through hopefully better times lie just around the corner.

Teetering on the edge of relegation is not something Aberdeen FC is used to dealing with. But this season Dons fans might just have to survive the bitten fingernails and ever widening bald patch which goes hand in hand with a 'relegation dogfight'.

The escape act of 1995, which even Houdini would have been proud of, was one of the more memorable occasions we managed to avoid the drop. RedWeb | a look back at 1995 please click here (Dundee Utd) and click here (Dunfermline)

But this was by no means the first time Aberdeen have had to fight tooth and nail to stay up.

Pride will become a motivating factor in the closing weeks of the season, we are after all the only team outside of the old firm to have never been relegated from Scotland's top flight.

Aberdeen finished bottom of the Scottish League in 1917, their playing squad had been decimated by the war in Europe. We were to soon take our place in the new league set up that resumed after the war in 1919 and automatic promotion and relegation did not come into effect until 1922.

The first occasion Aberdeen diced with the drop was in 1925 when we finished two points above relegated Ayr United. Incredibly that side included 'Wembley Wizard' Alex Jackson in what was his one and only season with the club. The famous 'Black & Gold' era of the 1930's proved that Aberdeen had become a consistent team who were rarely outside of the top positions in the league.

That did not change until 1948/49 when the Dons finished three points ahead of relegated Morton. With two sides demoted from what was then a stream lined top league of 16 teams, Aberdeen only saved themselves in their penultimate game of the season with a 4-1 win over East Fife in Methil.

In 1959/60, Aberdeen made heavy weather of their league campaign and although they finished six points clear of relegated Stirling Albion, it took a 2-0 win at Stirling on 16th April to ensure safety. Even then Aberdeen had to win at already doomed Arbroath a week later to make their top flight status absolutely secure.

The inception of the newly formed Premier League in 1975/76 brought about the Dons' greatest ever escape act. And the similarities between that season and another disastrous campaign in 1995 are hard to believe.

During the course of both seasons the Dons changed their manager, both seasons came down to the final league game, and in the same year the Dons went on to win the League Cup.

Aberdeen beat Falkirk at Brockville in 1995 but had to face a winner takes all clash with Dunfermline, in the first SPL play off.

In 1976 it was a bit more straight forward. On the final day of the season Aberdeen welcomed Hibernian. Their objective was clear - any kind of victory would see them remain in the Premier League.

With St Johnstone already doomed, the second relegation place was a straight east coast battle between Aberdeen, Dundee and Dundee United.

Incredible as it may seem, the new ten-team set up threw up the anomaly of Aberdeen actually being in the top half of the table with one game to go, yet a defeat would cost them their place in the top flight.

Both Hearts and Ayr had games in hand so it was a must win match. Nerves were at breaking point as Dave Robb missed a first half penalty but Drew Jarvie came to the rescue when he opened the scoring on 30 minutes. The Dons closed the game out with a 3-0 win as news came through that Dundee United had also been victorious. Dundee dropped a point at Fir Park and it was the Dark Blues who joined St Johnstone in the First Division.

Aberdeen went on to win the League Cup some months later, keeping manager Ally MacLeod's promise to win a major trophy within a year. RedTV | 1976 please click here