Dundee United 2019/2020

[stumigoo]

Seriously?

No

[Granny Danger]

I would have loved to have been standing beside my two sons when we secured the points that won us the title, but that desire probably pales into insignificance given the gravity of what’s happening at the moment.  

Nonetheless I look forward to being able to celebrate with them at an appropriate time.

Meanwhile a huge thank you to this young man.  I have no doubt he will go on to bigger and better things, though I hope we get another six months from him at least.

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by Granny Danger

[Pull My Strings]

I suspect we'll be looking at a team mostly comprised of regens by the time the leagues kick off again.

[Tap in 94]

2 hours ago, Loemba90 said:

Hopefully go back in for Nisbet from Dunfermline and will need at least 3 more who can go straight into the first team.

Heard United have high hopes for young defender Lewis Neilson but can’t see him getting many games next season at centre half given his age.  Maybe loan out to a championship team for experience.  

Feel sorry for the likes of Neilson who is an excellent prospect and Mochrie who would have got plenty of game time after the league was won 

[PartyFears2]

The centre half from Arbroath, O’Brien 

[mishtergrolsch]

Next season is going to be a weird one obviously. It's hard to say how strong the lower end Premiership teams will be after this outbreak but I still think we should be happy enough finishing above the playoffs and would be delighted to finish somewhere around 7th or 8th.

For next season imo we need a centre half, two full backs, a creative midfielder, two wingers and a striker.

Reynolds will be backup next season, getting on a bit but will be decent cover, Connoly gives me the fear but will be the main man as Watson will probably be away. 

Both of our full backs are poor defensively and we have no cover for either (I'm not counting Sporle as he hardly even gets a game in the championship and has been player as a winger mostly) so it's a big weak point.

Butcher will be fine but it's hard to see Harkes / Powers being creative enough partners. Harkes goes missing too much and Powers didnt really hit the ground running let's say. And Adam King...well...fingers crossed he keeps socially distancing from Tannadice.

Mcmullan is poor, Sporle hardly gets a game already and Pawlett has been pish. Aperre I really like but wont always be on his game and will need rested so a couple of wingers / wide men for the 3 behind to keep it fresh. I'm assuming Clark will be played off Shankland but we'll need some cover unless Harkes or Glass can step up and play there. And a replacement / backup option if/when Shankland is sold.

That's just for starters really.

Edited April 17, 2020 by mishtergrolsch

[stewartyftd1]

Next season is going to be a weird one obviously. It's hard to say how strong the lower end Premiership teams will be after this outbreak but I still think we should be happy enough finishing above the playoffs and would be delighted to finish somewhere around 7th or 8th.
For next season imo we need a centre half, two full backs, a creative midfielder, two wingers and a striker.
Reynolds will be backup next season, getting on a bit but will be decent cover, Connoly gives me the fear but will be the main man as Watson will probably be away. 
Both of our full backs are poor defensively and we have no cover for either (I'm not counting Sporle as he hardly even gets a game in the championship and has been player as a winger mostly) so it's a big weak point.
Butcher will be fine but it's hard to see Harkes / Powers being creative enough partners. Harkes goes missing too much and Powers didnt really hit the ground running let's say. And Adam King...well...fingers crossed he keeps socially distancing from Tannadice.
Mcmullan is poor, Sporle hardly gets a game already and Pawlett has been pish. Aperre I really like but wont always be on his game and will need rested so a couple of wingers / wide men for the 3 behind to keep it fresh. I'm assuming Clark will be played off Shankland but we'll need some cover unless Harkes or Glass can step up and play there. And a replacement / backup option if/when Shankland is sold.
That's just for starters really.

Pretty much whole new team then..

[mishtergrolsch]

32 minutes ago, stewartyftd1 said:

Pretty much whole new team then..

Near enough.

[ArabFC]

9 hours ago, mishtergrolsch said:

Reynolds will be backup next season, getting on a bit but will be decent cover, Connoly gives me the fear but will be the main man as Watson will probably be away.

A terrifying prospect!

Centre-back is our priority position in this transfer window, and really we need two of them.

My fear is that Neilson will sign a whole new team, most of whom will turn out to be pretty crap.

Instead we should use the Shankland doctrine, and concentrate our resources on just a few players we KNOW will improve the team rather than spreading the cash.

ie Stu Findlay at CB, Kev Nisbet up top etc.

[mishtergrolsch]

6 hours ago, ArabFC said:

A terrifying prospect!

Centre-back is our priority position in this transfer window, and really we need two of them.

My fear is that Neilson will sign a whole new team, most of whom will turn out to be pretty crap.

Instead we should use the Shankland doctrine, and concentrate our resources on just a few players we KNOW will improve the team rather than spreading the cash.

ie Stu Findlay at CB, Kev Nisbet up top etc.

If we're going that route and splashing cash big time on a few players then yes maybe 3 or 4 excellent players would be enough.

But I really doubt Robbie will be able to pick 3 or 4 players of that quality too.

But then I suppose if we're spreading the cash like I suggested theres even more chance of a bunch of Binghams and Kings....

f**k knows.

[stumigoo]

We don't really know what the next few months will hold, and how football will look next season. Neilson mentioned yesterday that we are in a reasonable position because everyone is under contract over the summer (apart from Bingham and Watson) so we are at least in a fairly settled position. Thankfully we won't be having to do a complete rebuild at a time like this (although ideally we do need 4 or 5 new signings).

[Muggy]

Your current team will compete with bottom end teams, that’s it though. If Neilson wants top six you’ll need almost an entire new team IMO.

[Ray Patterson]

6 minutes ago, Muggy said:

Your current team will compete with bottom end teams, that’s it though. If Neilson wants top six you’ll need almost an entire new team IMO.

I reckon we're probably 3 players short of a Top 6 side. Especially with some of our younger talents Appere, Robson and Smith all progressing.

[Derry Alli]

I'm a bit of a broken record but I can't see either of your full backs developing into a competent Premiership level player. 

[mishtergrolsch]

31 minutes ago, Dele said:

I'm a bit of a broken record but I can't see either of your full backs developing into a competent Premiership level player. 

Neither are nearly good enough defensively and struggled badly at times in the Championship. They can still improve and I'm sure they will but we need a couple of better full backs long term.

To be fair to them they've not really been played next to decent centre halfs and got very little protection from midfield but still struggled to stop crosses on a regular basis. 

[RandomGuy.]

2 hours ago, ArabAuslander said:

I reckon we're probably 3 players short of a Top 6 side. Especially with some of our younger talents Appere, Robson and Smith all progressing.

The fact you all seem to rate Calum Butcher as one of the better players, and assume hes good enough for the top flight, should probably suggest you re-evaluate the opinion of your squad as a whole.

If you're expecting the likes of Mark Reynolds, Mark Connolly, Calum Butcher, Paul McMullan, Peter Pawlett and Nicky Clark to be part of a side competing for the top half, then you're miles out.

Thats a Ross County/St Mirren level of player at best.

[Alert Mongoose]

Olic, Imrie and Shankland front three please.

[mishtergrolsch]

23 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

The fact you all seem to rate Calum Butcher as one of the better players, and assume hes good enough for the top flight, should probably suggest you re-evaluate the opinion of your squad as a whole.

If you're expecting the likes of Mark Reynolds, Mark Connolly, Calum Butcher, Paul McMullan, Peter Pawlett and Nicky Clark to be part of a side competing for the top half, then you're miles out.

Thats a Ross County/St Mirren level of player at best.

None of them are good enough to play in a side looking to finish 9th or above. Butcher would be useful with better players around him like his first time round. His form dipped in the latter part of the season but will be fine for the most part. 

Our defence needs serious improvement before anything else.

[Pull My Strings]

2 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:

The fact you all seem to rate Calum Butcher as one of the better players, and assume hes good enough for the top flight, should probably suggest you re-evaluate the opinion of your squad as a whole.

If you're expecting the likes of Mark Reynolds, Mark Connolly, Calum Butcher, Paul McMullan, Peter Pawlett and Nicky Clark to be part of a side competing for the top half, then you're miles out.

Thats a Ross County/St Mirren level of player at best.

Butcher was good enough for the top flight when he played at that level 6 years ago and he's improved significantly since then. Maybe the top flight has improved to a similar degree since we got relegated but I doubt it. The likes of Shaun Rooney and Brian Graham have managed to get gigs in the Premiership,  ffs, and they are absolutely shite.

[Ludo*1]

Is Butcher a top 6 style hatchet man? Nope. But he'll not be massively out of place in the Prem.

The concern for me (And it's a good concern to have!) is that if he's one of your best players (Aside from the obvious) then there's a massive amount of work to be done. Without Shankland or a suitable replacement (Nisbet) I'd see United coming straight back down. With Shankland or a suitable replacement, United would just about survive.

If top 6 is the aim, then major surgery is required. If consolidating in the top flight is the aim then a minimum of 2-3 players in is required AND a suitable replacement for Shankland if he goes.

That's standard though - I've yet to see a club go up and not strengthen. I'm not gonna get into a slagging match with United fans about how much you spend and how viable that is or whatever, but if the amounts you are willing to throw about are true (Courier saying a £350,000 bid - going up to £500,000 for Kevin Nisbet was made in Jan) then there's absolutely no reason why Robbie Neilson won't have United fighting at the right end of the table whenever next season starts.

If you're fighting a relegation battle then something has went wrong along the way IMO. At a total guess, I'd have United finishing in the 7-9th range if the world was a normal place right now and things were ticking along as one would expect.

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by Speroni*1