Name: Dundee United Football Club Nickname(s): The Terros (club) The Arabs (fans) Founded: 1909 as Dundee Hibernian, 1923 renamed Dundee United Ground: Tannadice Park, Dundee (14,223) Fierce Rivals: Dundee - Dundee Derby Other Rivals: Aberdeen - New Firm Derby, St Johnstone - Tayside Derby Chairman: Mark Ogren League: Scottish Championship Media Prediction: 1st
Scottish Premier League: 1 Scottish Second Division: 2 Scottish Cup: 2 Scottish League Cup: 2
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nicknamed The Terrors or The Tangerines and the supporters are known as The Arabs.
The club has played in tangerine kits since the 1960s and have played at the present ground, Tannadice Park, since their foundation in 1909. United were founder members of the Scottish Premier League in 1998 and were ever present until 2015/16 where it was their cross city rivals that they lost to in the Play-off Final. This was caused by a poor transfer window at the start of the season where they sold a number of key players such as Ryan Gauld, John Souttar, Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay Stevens, Nadir Ciftci and Andrew Robertson.
Domestically, the club has won the Scottish Premier Division on one occasion, the Scottish Cup twice and the Scottish League Cup twice. United appeared in European competition for the first time in the 1966–67 season, going on to appear in Europe in 14 successive seasons from 1976. They reached the European Cup semi-finals in 1984 and the UEFA Cup final in 1987, but lost on both occasions. Uniquely, the club has a 100% record against Barcelona in competitive European ties with 4 wins from 4.
We have a very strong squad for this league with plenty of young prospects in it which we can hopefully develop.
We have only brought in one person and thats because I just felt it was too good to turn down when I saw him on the Loan List and he was interested.
We bring in Brendan Galloway on loan for the season to cover the LB and CB position and he should be a great signing for this season.
Friendlies
We have a bit of a mixed preseason as we start really poorly drawing with our reserves and Spartans before a win against Forfar. The Rangers game was always going to be a right off as was the Zenit game. But what a surprise as we ran out 3-1 winners which is an amazing performance considering the level we play at.
Expectations
The expectations are pretty standard and we should be able to meet them all. The main aim for the season though will be to go up as champions to ensure we can start the long term aims from next season.
So what are the long term aims for the save? Well first it will to be topple the old firm and become the champions of Scotland. Next with Dundee United being the only British club with an unbeaten run against Barcelona. Can we topple them in Europe and win the cup that the club deserves.
So the season starts with the Betfred Cup group matches. To qualify for the next round you need to either win the group or be one of the top 4 second placed teams.
Betfred Cup Group A
Montrose v
Dundee United
With two goals in the opening 3 minutes I new this was going to be a walkover and it really was. It was disappointing to concede two goals but it gets us off to a great start.
Dundee United v Alloa
A much tougher game here than was expected against our league rivals. We looked comfortable at 3-1 but it was a nervy last couple of minutes as we managed to hold on for the 3 points.
Brechin v Dundee United
We went out with a very tired team here as the Zenit friendly was only 2 days before this but even though the game went to 1-1 we manage to run out comfortable winners as it never looked in doubt against weaker opposition.
Dundee United v Hearts
We looked at this game with not going out and getting embarrassed too much and I feel we did that with only losing by 2 goals as it could of been a lot more with the gulf in class between the teams.
Thanks to winning all of our games before we played Hearts 9 points was enough to see us get through as one of the top 4 placed second teams.
This really was a game of two halves as the first half was boring and dull and the second half was the complete opposite with 6 goals being scored in the final 15 minutes. Its a great way to start our league campaign off though especially with the fact that we had 6 different goal scorers.
Queen of the South v Dundee United
A nervous 5 minutes before we get the third goal but it turns out to be a comfortable win with two of out goals coming from defence.
Irn-Bru Cup 1st Round
East Fife v Dundee United
Again we struggle through the first half with getting minimum chances but with 12 minutes to go we step it up a gear with Safranko coming off the bench to get the first two goals of the game.
Betfred Cup 2nd Round
Hibernian v Dundee United
I honestly thought at half time the match was over and we were going to get hammered but after a few choice words and a couple of changes we came out a totally different team as we get it back to 2-2. Again after Hibs went back in the lead at 3-2 with a quick go it was nervy but Gomis hits a screamer from 25 yards to get us back on level terms. Right at the death in the final minute our young winner has a great run from the left wing to get us a massive win and send us through to the Quarter Finals.
Dundee United v Partick Thistle
A much better first half as we manage to go in at the break at half time. Ian Harkes had a great game and is going to be key to us in the middle of the park this season.
With the transfer window closing this month we ended up selling Jamie Robson to Hearts for £10,000 as even though he looked like he had potential we needed the cash to sign a new player.
That new player is Lawrence Shankland from Ayr United for £120,000
Shankland will be a key player for us this season and hopefully he can form a strong partnership up front with Sow to fire us to promotion and the title.
Shankland comes into the starting XI to make his debut after his transfer day signing and he delivers straight away with bagging two goals.
Irn-Bru Cup 2nd Round
Dundee United v Stenhousemuir
We rotate a lot of the squad here to give them a rest and it shows that we will struggle to rely on them as they scrape past a team we should of beat comfortably
Dundee United v Morton
Shankland gets another brace as our favoured starting XI comes back out and puts in a much better performance to beat a good team but 3 goals in 6 minutes just undid them.
Falkirk v Dundee United
A much tougher game as Falkirk pull it back twice but there will be an enquiry by Falkirk after the goal that sealed their fate as it was scored by Paul Dixon who had 7 season's at Dundee United under his belt.
Betfred Cup Quarter Final
Dundee United v Dunfermline
All in this was actually a really poor performance but Galloway manages to rise highest from a corner to score his first goal of the club and see us into the semi final.
Dundee United v Ross County
A disappointing game again as we drop our first points of the season thanks to a very late goal.
We get our only goal through Sow who gets on the end of a long ball and slots home from 12 yards away. After that the game fizzled out and not many chances were created by either team.
Partick Thistle v Dundee United
What a start with two goals in quick succession as we manage to squeeze through to half time with a commanding lead. Things got a bit nervy as Partick got a goal back after 49 minutes but thankfully it didn't last long as we struck again 5 minutes later followed by another quick goal to give us a commanding victory against a team with a lot of potential.
Irn-Bru Cup 3rd Round
Dundee United v Sligo Rovers
We rotate the majority of the starting XI here as it comes 3 days after the Partick game and again the back ups manage to squeeze through thanks to Sam Stanton.
Dundee United v Inverness CT
Everybody comes back into the fold and Shankland has an amazing game as he gets his first hat-trick for the club to beat the team directly below us in the league.
Betfred Cup Semi Final
Rangers v Dundee United
What a result for the club as we manage to beat one of the old firm. To go in at half time drawing 1-1 was victory enough for me. I was certain they would hammer us in the second half but our defence dug in and wouldn't let them past. With Extra time I threw on the 3 subs that I hadn't used and Safranko with his fresh legs got the all important goal with 4 minutes remaining. We will now play Celtic in the final.
A strong start to the month as both our strikers manage to find the back of the net which doesn't happen often.
Ross County v Dundee United
A poor start to the game and we just couldn't recover at all as we lose our first game of the season.
Dundee United v Alloa
Its great to bounce back with a win but it still wasn't a great performance as we struggle to beat the only part time team in the league.
Irn-Bru Cup Quarter Final
Alloa v Dundee United
An early goal gets us off to a great start and Sow doubles his tally 15 minutes from the end to see us through to the semi final.
Dunfermline v Dundee United
We rotate here after the two Alloa games and Stanton comes to the rescue here again as we manage to get the 3 points.
Dundee United v Ayr United
Shankland comes back to haunt his old club as he gets the only goal of the game with 4 minutes to go. We got lucky as a 0-0 draw would of probably been a fair result here.
League
So the month also see's me sign a new contract that will keep me at the club until the end of next season. Its not the longest deal but its something to build on over the next season.
A much closer game than I was expecting even after Rogic got the only goal of the game. The defence really dug in and did their jobs today and thats all I can ask from them.
Morton v Dundee United
After the Celtic game I was expecting a lot more in the first half but after some choice words at half time they go out and show what they are really capable of and do well to turn the game around to get the victory.
Inverness CT v Dundee United
Again we have another poor performance in the first half and then get very lucky with the own goal before falling behind again. Nesbitt gets the equaliser as he is showing that he is a key member of the team.
Dundee United v Falkirk
Finally a much better performance as we keep a clean sheet. Its a shame that it took until the 73rd minute to get the breakthrough. We just can't breakthrough in the first half at the moment.
Alloa v Dundee United
We finally get two goals in the first half but its a shame that Alloa didn't make it easy. the best part of the game was Shankland getting his second hat-trick of the season.
League
We make a very important signing this month as well as we bring in a new Head of Youth Development who is tasked with bringing through the next generation. With this we welcome former Arsenal Head of Youth Development Andries Jonker until 2022.
These are all deals that we wanted to do to try and ship people out to raise funds and reduce the wage budget so we had more money to play with. The Stanton deal was too good to turn down even though he was starting to break into the first team. We also cancelled a couple of loans that were there before I took over to enable me to bring some of my own loans in.
Transfers In
First in we looked to bolster our defence with a young player who has bags of potential and could become a future national team player in Ryan Porteous from Hibernian for £180,000
Next in we had to sign a new striker to try and cover for injuries to the first choice strikers and we needed somebody who could still to do his job. His contract was expiring at the end of the season so we could get him cheap and he has a long history with the club. We sign David Goodwillie from Cyde for £15,250
Next in is an exceptional talent well known in the game but when he was transfer listed for £130,000 and was interested in joining I would of sold my mother to get him if I needed to. We sign Pelayo Morilla from Spoting Gijon for £160,000 thanks to us throwing in a bit extra due to having to pay some of the transfer in instalments.
Finally we bring in another exciting player all be it on loan this time. He will be with us for the next season and a half. We sign Christian Fruchtl on loan from Bayern Munich with them paying his wages.
Dundee United v Partick Thistle
We leave it very late here as we score with the final kick of the ball to secure the 3 points.
Dundee United v Dunfermline
What a game as we pull it back 3 times here and then score for the second game in a row to win it right at the death. Probably didn't deserve the win here and a draw would of been a fair result.
Scottish Cup 4th Round Dundee United v Dunfermline
Dunfermline make it very difficult for us again here and for the most of the game I thought we could be going home as we seem to like chasing games just now.
Ayr United v Dundee United
A much better match here as we get off to an early start here and never looked back after that. all of our new signings make their debuts and Goodwillie rolls back the years to score on his second debut for the club.
A nice comfortable way to break the month in even if we do score the 2 goals in the last 16 minutes. Goodwillie showing what he can do on his return to the club with his second goal in 2 games.
Scottish Cup 5th Round
Dundee United v Motherwell
A trickier match here due to injuries but we still manage to get a strong team out and manage to claim another scalp as we march on to the Quarter Finals.
Queen of the South v Dundee United
We rotate a few players here after the Scottish Cup match to give them a bit of a rest and we get very lucky with a goal just on the brink of half time which is enough to get the 3 points.
Falkirk v Dundee United
Again we win by the one goal but we get our 5th clean sheet in a row since Fruchtl came in so he's showing how important he's going to be in his time at the club.
Irn-Bru Cup Semi Final
Dundee United v Crusaders
A nice comfortable win here with yet another clean sheet to see us through to the final of the diddy cup. Even though this cup is pointless to finish the season with a cup win would be great.
Scottish Cup Quarter Final
Dundee United v Inverness CT
An easy win here to keep yet another cup run on the go as we march onto the semi finals as we put in an all round performance.
Dundee United v Ross County
I thought we were looking at a draw here after fighting back from 1-0 down before grabbing a late winner to take the 3 points. It was disappointing to finally lose our 6 match clean sheet run though.
Partick Thistle v Dundee United
Another routine to see us increase our gap at the top of the table.
Dundee United v Inverness CT
Inverness get their revenge for us knocking them out of the cup as we get our first defeat in the league since November.
Dunfermline v Dundee United
We fight back from conceding an early goal to get back to winning ways with Shankland getting back to scoring with an excellent brace
Dundee United v Alloa
Shankland and Goodwillie are paired together for the first time from the start of the match and they show they can forma lethal partnership as they were both involved in all 3 goals scored.
Irn-Bru Cup Final
Dundee United v Ayr
What a game as it see's us lift our first trophy under my reign. It could of been a different story though as Ayr missed a penalty in the first half.
During this match Inverness were playing in the league and lost which means not only do we lift the Cup but we also secure the league.
Budget
So with the budget we will be looking to snap up a number of players on free transfers.
Youth Intake
We have one player who stands out this youth intake in Dean Martin
A steady start to the month as Goodwillie and Shankland show how well they are playing together with both getting on the scoresheet.
Ross County v Dundee United
An impressive game here that was never in doubt after we went ahead in the first minute thanks to a stunning strike from Pawlett.
Dundee United v Ayr
Ayr have always made it difficult for us this season and they do it yet again as they force us to come from behind twice to seal the 3 points.
Scottish Cup Semi Final
Celtic v Dundee united
We fight them right until the end and it could of been a totally different game as both teams missed penalties during the regulation 90 minutes. It was disappointing to go out on penalties after getting to that stage.
Inverness CT v Dundee United
Morrila was a one man team in this match as he runs riot which sets him up well for next season.
Dundee United v Falkirk
Morilla gets us off to another great start before Goodwillie doubles the lead. Its was then nervy after that as we just couldn't find our way through their defence after that.
Morton v Dundee United
An excellent way to finish the season to make sure we go out on a high which will hopefully give us a boost for the start of next season.
What a season as we smash our expectations thanks to our cup runs which shows how good this team can become with the correct signings. It will hopefully help with getting the fans through the door next season though as we only had a 41% average attendance.
The signing of the season is a bit of surprise even if Goodwillie is a club Icon. In my opinion it should of been Shankland considering he had scored 20 goals last season and even earned two Scotland caps from the Championship.
We get five players into the team of the season and they were all well deserved and was a wee bit surprised not to have more people in it.
We haven't had a massive boost commercially with our first season comng back up but hopefully that will come with time as we attract new players to the club and establish ourselves back in the Premiership.
Onto next season now where we will be looking to try and push our way into the top half of the table
We only play a few preseason matches as I decided to use the Betfred cup group stage as friendlies as well as we should of been progressing from that with the team we came up with.
We have a really strong start with beating both Bolton and Leeds who in my eyes should be stronger teams than us so they were big wins. The loss to Oxford was a bit disappointing though but it gave the players a kick up the backside to perform better with the group stages of the Betfred cup coming up.
The group stages were pretty straight forward as we run riot with keeping 4 clean sheets and scoring 18 goals in our 4 matches to comfortably top the group/
Transfers
We have been extremely busy with offloading as much of the dead wood as we could and also players who we brought in better alternatives for. The biggest loss for us though was Bouhenna leaving for Sheffield United but I wasn't going to knock back the offer as it is a massive amount of money for the club.
Players coming in we hit the released player quickly to try and get our main targets, which we only got about half of as we also missed out on a lot of players due to not being able to offer competitive wages. I am extremely happy though about the loan signing of Kasey Palmer who should hopefully be able to run riot in this league.
With a month left of the transfer window we are still on the look out for more players as well as trying to sell a few more.
Expectations
Finishing in the top 6 might be a big ask in our first season back but we will give it our best shot with the players we've brought in.
A steady start to our league campaign as Kurt gets his 4th goal in 4 games off the left wing.
Dundee United v Celtic
What a result as we get a massive point against the league holders. Celtic played us off the park but we scored with the two shots on target we had in the whole game.
Betfred Cup 2nd round Livingston v Dundee United
A bit of a tougher run out here against Livingston but our midfielders run riot and see us through to the quarter finals.
Rangers v Dundee United
I was actually impressed that we didn't lose by more as they ran us right off the park.
Aberdeen v Dundee United
A fair result here in our first New Firm Derby as we get a great point away from home.
Tansfers
Cammy Smith and Peter Pawlett have both decided to leave the club and join Sunderland in January for £1,000,000 and £1,100,000 respectively.
Coming into the club though we signed Nils Meert from Cambridge for £400,000. Hopefully we can get him to break into the first team over the course of the season
Secondly we bring in Renat Dadasov who will hopefully partner Shankland this season.
We get very lucky as Morilla is brought onto the pitch after 80 minutes in the place of Palmer to score the only goal of the game 4 minutes later.
Dundee United v St. Johnstone
A much better performance here as we get two first half goals and a clean sheet along with the 3 points.
Betfred Cup Quarter Final
Inverness CT v Dundee United
Fraser Fyvie coming to the resuce. We should of won this game a lot more comfortably though than waiting 13 minutes from the end. We march onto the semi finals though.
St. Mirren v Dundee United
Paul McMullan was a one man team here and it was needed as we have gone 4 games with only 1 goal from the 4 matches which is a bit worrying.
Finally a striker gets on the score sheet as Dadasov gets his first goal of the club. Thank god for Palmer getting a goal straight after Hibs as it made the final 20 minutes a lot more relxaing
Dundee United v Dundee
The Dundee Derby is the only game that really matters in this league and it was excellent to come through with the 3 points. It was just disappointing we couldn't turn the screw after they went down to 10 men.
Betfred Cup Semi Final
Rangers v Dundee United
What a win!! For a second year in a row we put Rangers out of the Betfred Cup in the Semi Final as we went all defensive and hit them twice on a counter attack from our own box.
Hearts v Dundee United
A bit of rotation here after the Rangers game as Zelalem comes in and has a blinder of a game as he gets 2 goals in 2 minutes to send us in at half time in front and then we never looked back after that.
An early goal from our right back is enough to see us past Motherwell as our strikers struggle yet again.
Dundee United v Livingston
A better match here as our two main strikers both manage to find the back of the net to get us the 3 points.
Dundee United v Rangers
What a game for the fans. thought our tea was out when we were 2-0 down after 9 minutes. But to end up leading 4-3 after Kurt bagged an amazing hat-trick was spectacular. Got to say we feel robbed though after Connolly scored and own goal with the last kick of the ball though.
League
This month has also seen me tie myself to the club until 2022.
And we lift our first piece of silverware as we lift the Betfred Cup. It was great to come back into the game through the own goal just after half time and then for Dadasov to write his name in the history books with a last minute winner was amazing.
Kilmarnock v Dundee United
Back to earth with a bump as we concede a 90th minute equaliser
Dundee United v Aberdeen
Two quick goals give us another win over Aberdeen but the standout minute was seeing 17 year old Dean Martin come on at half time to score the winner.
St. Johnstone v Dundee United
Martin certainly trying to show what he can do with getting a goal in the 3rd minute to see us well on our way to 3 points.
Dundee United v St Mirren
Jack Rodwell rolling back the years to get a very rare goal in an underwhelming game
Hibernian v Dundee United
Sadly Dean Martin wasn't able to rescue us today as we were on the wrong end of a pumping.Dundee United v Hearts
A great match for the neutrals here as there are 4 goals in the final 15 minutes of the first half. Its our young Striker in Dean Martin though that scores an excellent second goal to get us the win.
Celtic v Dundee United
A point here was excellent again but Dean Martin just can't stop scoring just now and it was great to see him score in a big match.
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