Dundee United (Scotland)

Dundee United FC is a professional football club from the same city on the banks of the River Tay which was formed in 1909 by the local Irish immigrant community as Dundee Hibernian; originally playing in a green and white strip.

The club immediately took up residence at Clepington Park, in the north of the city, renaming it as Tanadice Park. A year later the club was accepted into the Scottish League Second Division; after a season in the Northern League.

The new club was very much in the shadows of well established near neighbours Dundee FC. After World War One, the club won the Eastern League in 1919-20 before re-joining the Scottish League.

The team was demoted from the extended Second Division in 1921-22; leading to a season in the Scottish Alliance League before being voted back into the Scottish League for the 1923-24 season. At its conclusion the club changed their title to Dundee United and choose black and white as new colours.

Former international goalkeeper Jimmy Brownlie took over as the player-manager; leading his side to promotion as champions to the First Division for the first time in 1924-25. The spell in the top flight last just two years.

Another Second Division title in 1928-29 saw United go back up; their spell this time just one season, before another promotion arrived in 1930-31 a Brownlie surprisingly departed. Again the step up proved too much with United returning to the second tier within twelve months.

During the deep recession of the 1930’s many Scottish clubs went to the wall. United were saved by local businessmen William McIntosh and George Greig towards the end of the 1933-34 season as Brownlie took charge of the team once more.

Greig was required a couple of years later to save the club from financial ruin. He dispensed with Brownlie to take charge of the team himself before departing at the conclusion of 1937-38.

A new board was appointed and brought Brownlie back for a third spell. The club continued in regional competition during the War years before retaining their place in Division Two in 1945 under manager Willie MacFadyen.

The team showed promise as the club began to promote youth from within before slipping back for a couple of years. Reggie Smith took charge of the team for a couple of years before departing in 1957 to be replaced by Jerry Kerr.

The club organised fundraising schemes to look to assist the club and improve facilities at Tannadice. Kerr took the team to promotion to the First Division in 1959-60 with a team including young star Ron Yeats.

Kerr continued to develop the side; mixing local and Scandinavian players and taking the side to fifth place in 1965-66. The following season United defeated FC Barcelona in the Inter City Fairs Cup. Around the same period the club gained the nickname of ‘The Arabs’ because of excessive sand on the Tannadice pitch.

In the summer of 1969 the club embarked on a trip to the USA to take part in an International League; returning home having adopted the same tangerine and black colours as Dallas Tornado.

Jim McLean replaced Kerr in December 1971. The United fans hadn’t seen anything yet! McLean signed some experienced players to bring through the developed home grown talent. The team reached the Scottish Cup final of 1973-74; going down 3-0 to Celtic.

A fourth place finish followed before the formation of the Premier Division; in which United narrowly averted relegation in the debut season of 1975-76. Fourth and then third place finishes in 1977-78 and 1978-79 restored order.

United reached the League Cup final for the first time in 1979-80; defeating Aberdeen 3-0 at Dens Park following a goalless draw at Hampden Park. The team included the likes of Hamish McAlpine, Paul Hegarty, David Narey, Eamonn Bannon and Paul Sturrock.

All those players would become part of United folklore. Another, Willie Pettigrew netted two goals in the final triumph. The trophy was retained in 1980-81 with  a 3-0 win against Dundee at Dens Park with a couple of goals from Sturrock and one from Davie Dodds.

The team also reached the Scottish Cup final for a second time; losing to Rangers after a replay. United were denied a hat-trick of League Cup wins in 1981-82 when they went down 2-1 to the Ibrox club at Hampden despite a Ralph Milne goal.

Along with Aberdeen, Dundee United were dubbed as “The New Firm” as both clubs overtook Celtic and Rangers for a time. The pinnacle came in 1982-93 as United were crowned as Scottish champions following a 2-1 win away to Dundee.

United played in the 1983-84 European Cup; defeating Hamrun Spartans, Standard Liège and Rapid Wien before being paired with AS Roma in the semi-finals. United won the home leg 2-0 before losing out in controversial circumstances.

The final was to be played in Roma’s Stadio Olimpico and they were determined to play in it. They won the second leg 3-0 against United with referee Michel Vautrot later to have found out to have taken a bribe from the Italian club.

The 1984-85 campaign saw further disappointment as United were beaten finalists in both domestic competitions; 1-0 to Rangers in the League Cup and 2-1 to Celtic in the Scottish Cup. In 1985-86 a third place finish would set up a UEFA Cup campaign for the 1986-87 season.

Wins against RC Lens, Universitatea Craiova, Hajduk Split, FC Barcelona and  Borussia Mönchengladbach set up a two legged final with IFK Göteborg. The Swedish side eventually won 2-1 on aggregate.

The disappointed was exacerbated as United went down between the games to St Mirren in the Scottish Cup final. However, the team including Billy Thomson, Maurice Malpas, Kevin Gallagher, Jim McInally, John Clark and Billy Kirkwood had done the club proud.

United lost out in the final of the 1987-88 Scottish Cup final to Celtic but the decade was a huge success overall as many players received international honours and the team competed in several finals as well as winning the Premier League.

The 1990-91 Scottish Cup final ended with United losing 4-3 to Motherwell after extra time, with goals coming from David Bowman, Darren Jackson and John O’Neil. Tannadice Park received huge redevelopment over the next few years.

McLean departed in 1993 with former Southampton full back Ivan Golac taking over. He took the side to Scottish Cup victory in 1993-94 as a Craig Brewster goal was enough to defeat Rangers. However, the team was relegated twelve months later.

Golac had been replaced by former favourite Billy Kirkwood before the end of the campaign; winning back Premier League status at the first attempt in 1995-96 following a play-off victory over Partick Thistle.

Tommy McLean took over from Kirkwood as the team struggled the following season before the ship was steadied and the campaign ended with a third place finish. Another League Cup final was reached in 1997-98; ending in defeat to Celtic.

Returning hero Sturrock took over from McLean shortly into 1998-99 before leaving in August 2000; as the team failed to recover from the sale of star forward Billy Dodds. Alex Smith became the new boss; taking the team to seventh place in 2001-02.

Eddie Thompson became the new owner of the club the following season; replacing Smith with Paul Hegarty and then Ian McCall in January 2003. The new manager helped the side avoid relegation before signing eleven new players and taking the team to fifth.

Gordon Chisholm was appointed as manager for 2004-05 following  a spell as caretaker, taking United to the Scottish Cup final where they went down to a solitary goal against Celtic. An early UEFA Cup exit saw Chisholm replaced by player-manager Brewster in January 2006.

He lasted until the following October when Craig Levein was unveiled as the new manager. United lost the 2007-08 League Cup final to Rangers after penalties; following goals from Noel Hunt and Mark de Vries.

Owner Thompson passed away in October 2008 shortly after the East Stand had been named in his honour with Stephen Thompson being named as the new chairman. Levein departed to take the Scotland managers job in 2009.

Peter Houston transformed the side and was given the manager’s job on a permanent basis after leading the side to win the 2009-10 Scottish Cup; with a 3-0 win against Ross County through two goals from Craig Conway along with a David Goodwillie effort.

United finished in fourth place in 2010-11, after third the previous campaign. Houston was replaced by Jackie McNamara midway through the 2012-13 season as Johnny Russell became the latest hero of the Tannadice faithful before his departure.

The club went back to looking for youth to provide the core of the team in 2013-14; including Andy Robertson, Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven. United reached the final of the Scottish Cup before going down 2-0 to St Johnstone at Celtic Park.

Players were sold on for big fees but the team still reached the 2014-15 League Cup final; where Celtic proved too strong. Forward Nadir Ciftci was sold to the victors in the close season; with McNamara being replaced by former United forward Mixu Paatelainen.

United were relegated for the first time since 1995, as Ray McKinnon was appointed as Arabs manager for 2016-17 with a vastly reduced squad. St Mirren were defeated as the Scottish Challenge Cup was won before the team reached the play-offs.

Wins against Greenock Morton and Falkirk set up a final against Hamilton Academical. The Lanarkshire side proved too strong and retained their Premiership status. McKinnon was relieved of his duties in November 2017 to be replaced by Csaba László.

Again United reached the play-offs in 2017-18; losing out in  the semi-final to Livingston. László was sacked in September 2018 with Robbie Neilson arriving in his place with American businessman Mark Ogren taking over the club.

The team ended the 2018-19 as league runners-up but failed to gain promotion from the Championship after losing out to St Mirren in the play-off final after seeing off Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

The team re-grouped to lead the Championship table when the 2019-20 season ended early owing to the Coronavirus outbreak. United were crowned as champions and promoted to the Premiership before manager Neilson took up the Heart of Midlothian job to be replaced by Micky Mellon.

Dundee United FC will play in the Scottish Premiership in the 2020-21 season.


My visit

Dundee United 2 Hibernian 2 (Sunday 19^th January 2020) Scottish Cup Round Four (att: 9,400)

It was the final stretch of my long Scottish Cup weekend and although I’d had a belting time, the football had been a bit of a disappointment. Rangers v Stranraer and Dundee against Motherwell had been too one sided and a goal was never going to come in the Arbroath and Falkirk match.

I wanted a good game to round things off as I awoke in good mood after an early night watching the other cup ties of the day on TV at my Travelodge room on Strathmore Avenue. I’d already visited Junior clubs Dundee Violet and then Downfield before boarding a bus towards town.

It was still before midday but my experience told me that there would be TV crews setting up at Tannadice Park for the live coverage and I might get a sneak look inside to take photos of the stand I’d be in, which wouldn’t be possible later.

It also gave me chance of some good shots of Dens Park in the daylight and to show the proximity between the two stadiums. Alighting on Arklay Street I walked along Sandeman Street for those shots of the two venues.

My intuition was spot on. A gate was open on Tannadice Street into the gap between the Jim McLean Fair Play Enclosure and Jerry Kerr Stand. To the left was The Shed, a converted former terrace. Two impressive two tiered stands filled the rest of the ground. The George Fox Stand was opposite with the Eddie Thompson Stand behind the east goal.

I continued back to Arklay Street for a ride down to the station to pick up my bus rail replacement tickets to save time after the game before taking a bus back up the hill to visit the nearby home of Dundee North End.

I’d returned to the hotel to collect my bag and headed to Frews Bar. I’d been in for a pint after the match the previous evening and was impressed. The Ossian golden ale from the Inveralmond Brewery was again in good form.

The pub was crowded, but the efficient staff meant that there was little wait for service. Time flew as I took in the atmosphere and watched the TV football all meaning there was twenty minutes to kick-off when I headed along to the ground.

My ticket for the George Fox Upper cost £22 which was printed at home. The programme was a further £3. I headed straight to the refreshment counter where I filled my hungry frame with a Scotch pie, Steak Bridie and Bovril for £7.

Former star John Clark was introduced to the crowd before kick-off. It was hard to take in that many of Europe’s elite had visited Tannadice and left with nothing but a skip of dirty kit back in the day; especially when considering the state of the modern day and United’s position.

I’d watched an excellent BBC Alba documentary charting the period of European near misses called “Tannadice '87”. I’d wanted to visit the club regardless, but the programme wetted my enthusiasm further; especially now the town centre development and V&A project was completed.

Premiership Hibs sold all their fans allocation taking up both stands down the opposite side. United were top of the Championship and flying towards the title. Both sets of fans gave it everything getting behind their sides.

The visitors took the lead after a frenetic opening on eight minutes when Christian Doidge side footed home from the edge of the box after been teed up by Martin Boyle. The away fans celebrated while the locals offered some candid advice to them and the officials.

Paul Watson fired high and wide for the Arabs before Hibees’ Melker Hallberg saw his effort saved by home custodian Benjamin Siegrist. United had a spell of pressure just after the half hour mark as they sought an equaliser.

It came in first half stoppage time when top scorer Lawrence Shankland beautifully collected a pass from Ian Harkes and then taking his time to draw keeper Ofir Marciano and finish with aplomb. The place went wild.

It was somewhat of a disappointment when Hibernian came out and scored two minutes after the restart as Martin Boyle finished a break well from a Scott Allan pass. Doidge and then Florian Kamberi went close for Hibs as they looked to seal the tie.

United levelled for a second time when sub Louis Appere cut inside and scored with a wonderful curling shot eleven minutes after his introduction. With just over fifteen minutes remaining it was anyone’s game to win.

Both teams tried to find a winner, but a draw was the fair result. It had been a cracker of a cup tie in front of a fervent atmosphere which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was undoubtedly the best of the four cup ties experienced over the weekend on and off the pitch.

I made an exit just before full time to ensure I didn’t miss the ride to Aberdeen. It was bad enough that buses were replacing the rail service because of engineering works. I didn’t want to be stranded overnight. I grabbed a cab back down to the station just in case.

It was bitterly cold waiting for our carriage to arrive down by the edge of the River Tay. Fortunately, the bus was warm with an amiable driver. I woke just as we arrived near to Aberdeen station. I had time for one last foray.

The Grill had been on my list of places to visit if I was ever in the city again, and wow it did not disappoint with its uniformed staff and fine selection of ales and whisky. Both my pints were in perfect order.

Two whisky buffs/posers shelled out for a seventeen year old malt at £9.50 a pop. I went for the malt of the month for £2.75 and was highly contented! It’s all relative, I guess. A walk down the grand Union Street took me to the Adelphi stop.

The 727 bus service dropped me at the airport in good time for the 8.55pm EasyJet flight to Luton. Another shut eye was inevitable. There was a wait for my train, but I was eventually in bed knackered but highly contented after a really good weekend at just gone midnight.

Scotland is so underrated. Indeed, it was so good, I went on to do Edinburgh and Fife later that week from Thursday to Saturday.