The 114th Aberdeen Football Club Annual General Meeting took place on Monday 18th December 2017 at Pittodrie.

It lasted exactly half an hour, during which time Chairman Stewart Milne gave an update on what is currently happening at Pittodrie:

On the pitch

“I would first of all like to recognise the progress made by the football department. We reached another two cup finals, coming very close in the Scottish Cup final, and in the league, we finished in second place, our third in a row. Which should have been four!

“Four consecutive years in Europe – it is a long time since we achieved that. After Saturday’s performance, who would bet against five in a row?

“During the year, the manager has given us a couple of scares. Everyone recognises that if we had lost Derek and Tony, it would have been a serious set back for the club. The reality is, there were two opportunities at other clubs for Derek to consider. Fortunately in both cases, I feel he made the right decision and that has delighted everyone associated with the club.

“Derek and Tony have taken us so far in the past four and a half years. Everyone believes that with them at the helm, we can achieve so much more in the coming years. That is a period that I believe will shape this club for the next 20 years and beyond. Their ability, determination and commitment to drive our club forward is something that we have all seen. I think Saturday’s performance gave us a glimpse of what this squad that Derek built in the summer is capable of doing.

“I think we all know that what we achieve on the football front is the driving force for everything else we set out to do with the club.”

The off the field challenges

“To continue to have success on the field, we have two major challenges off the field.

“First, we need to build a bigger and stronger club. A club capable of not only competing at the top end of Scottish football but one that can be a serious player in whatever way European football shapes up in the future.

“Secondly, we simply have to to deliver the Kingsford Development. As the manager reminds us on a regular basis, he and the team have delivered the success to date with effectively one hand tied behind their back. Without doubt we are at the bottom of the league in terms of training facilities. The fans are also having to put up with second rate facilities at Pittodrie.

“In addition, the great work we do through the AFC Community Trust can be taken to a different level with the great facility we plan on building at Kingsford. To better equip ourselves and to meet the challenges ahead, we are practically restructuring the club. We are currently recruiting two experienced individuals to re-enforce the senior executive team alongside Duncan Fraser.

“This will enable us to capitalise and get the best out of the strong and able management and staff this club is very fortunate to have. It is vital that over the next few years, we build a much stronger management capacity, one that is capable of taking the club to the next level and one that is capable of capitalising in a brilliant new facility we aim to deliver at Kingsford.

“The second key challenge is to deliver Kingsford. This is going to be the biggest challenge that this club has ever faced. If we get planning consent, which has been a long hard battle, but one that we are quietly confident we will win, that means we then need to raise the £50 million. And finally, we then need to deliver that project.

“The plan is that if we get permission in January, it will be full steam ahead for phase one – the training and community facilities – the target being to have it ready in the summer of 2019. It will cost around £10 million but we have 60% of the funding in place, or have commitments towards it.

“If we get the consent, we genuinely believe that will provide the momentum to enable us to raise the balance of the phase one funding.

“We would then embark on phase two – the stadium. We would have 40% of that funding lined up. That is what we expect from the sale of Pittodrie, which we already have development consent for.

“Hopefully by then, the economy and housing market is going to be back on an even keel. The aim for the stadium is to have it ready for the start of season 2021/22.

“After a lot of consideration, we came to the conclusion the best way to deliver this project was through a separate company. The plan is that George Yule will head this up on a full-time basis with a small internal team to manage the fund raising and delivery of the project, while getting full support from various departments across the club.

“It is a major change for the club. We have never taken on anything of this scale in the past. We have looked at all the options on how we could deliver the project and we came to the conclusion that was the best option. To have a dedicated team is, we feel, the best way to deliver the project.”

Thank you

“I would like to say a big thank you to all the supporters for their continued backing.

“We need your support.

“We need to keep working together to get more people behind Derek and the team and to grow that support out there for every home game. Hearts and Hibs are enjoying increased support this season. We have to show we can do it as well. That is crucial if we are going to keep the momentum going on the football front.”

Finally, on the football front, the manager has confirmed that he hopes to get an answer on Niall McGinn returning to the Dons within the next seven to ten days.