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The Dundee United Thread 22/23


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59 minutes ago, skinny arab said:

Agree with this but the problem is Mellon has stopped playing him in this role and moved him to the right side of a midfield 3 or diamond recently which has seen Fuchs worst run of performances since joining. The squad is incredibly limited but playing players in their most suited position would surely improve us (Fuchs cm, Clark cf, McNulty cf), Mellon persistence with playing players out of position is starting to become very frustrating.

Personally I think Mellon has done well to get us where we are in the league and deserves the chance to build his own squad and bring in players taylor made to suit the formation he wants to play but if he does get that opportunity he needs to improve the quality of football on display as with fans back in grounds next season people won’t be long in voicing their opinion. 
The Forfar game made me think Mellon won’t be here next season as I’ve never seen him so passive, normally very animated barking instructions at players all game but that wasn’t there on Friday. A recent interview also suggested things weren’t 100% behind the scenes along with various rumours about disagreements over the greater use of youth players.

The club had to get it right with Mellons appointment as staying up this season was critical for the future of the club and if Mellon is away then once again the next appointment is going to be crucial.

Yeah I agree. We've had about 7 managers in the last 10 years that have done the square pegs in round holes thing. I dont really have too much of an issue with it at the moment as this squad is shite, all we have are square pegs and Mellon has got them 7th. So I think he knows what he's doing. The test is next season, if he's not been chased out of town by Asghar & Son by then.

1 hour ago, Mark Connolly said:

Steady. We already have Pawlett filling the "decent, but inconsistent and lazy" role.

We'd maybe get 90 mins between the two.

56 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

There is definitely an element of get the best 11 on the pitch in his preferred formation, rather than get the best 11 for that formation on the pitch.

We don't have 11 best players. Id say as close to 7 average players on the pitch as possible with a sprinkling of dog shite through it. 

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Agree with this but the problem is Mellon has stopped playing him in this role and moved him to the right side of a midfield 3 or diamond recently which has seen Fuchs worst run of performances since joining. The squad is incredibly limited but playing players in their most suited position would surely improve us (Fuchs cm, Clark cf, McNulty cf), Mellon persistence with playing players out of position is starting to become very frustrating.
Personally I think Mellon has done well to get us where we are in the league and deserves the chance to build his own squad and bring in players taylor made to suit the formation he wants to play but if he does get that opportunity he needs to improve the quality of football on display as with fans back in grounds next season people won’t be long in voicing their opinion. 
The Forfar game made me think Mellon won’t be here next season as I’ve never seen him so passive, normally very animated barking instructions at players all game but that wasn’t there on Friday. A recent interview also suggested things weren’t 100% behind the scenes along with various rumours about disagreements over the greater use of youth players.
The club had to get it right with Mellons appointment as staying up this season was critical for the future of the club and if Mellon is away then once again the next appointment is going to be crucial.


I definitely noticed his passive demeanour on Friday night.

DC Thomson seem to be pushing the idea that Mellon and the current Youth Development plan don’t seem to marry up very well and that this will ultimately lead to Mellon leaving. Suggestions that United are keen on a number of youth players to be used but that Mellon hasn’t really bought into that. He said when he arrived he would use youth, and in early weeks we did see him do that, but then it all changed and he has been very hesitant to give meaningful time to some of the higher rates youngsters at the club, leading to a few leaving on loan.

I remember the game in Dingwall back at the start of the season where Smith was out and he simply brought in Kieran Freeman, a natural right-back, which had me pleased that a manager (especially after Neilson) would always just move down the line if a certain player was unavailable. Mellon has been guilty of just forgetting that and doing what his predecessors did and shoehorn players into roles that they are maybe not comfortable with.

I would think that there will be pressure on Mellon (or whoever is in charge next season) to use Neilson, Mochrie, Chalmers and some others (Fotheringham, possibly Glass, possibly Graham and Smith) so that we can increase the value of our young players for then selling them on. I’d be happy for a policy like this, as long as we also recruit well, and if a manager doesn’t buy into the club’s philosophy then it normally doesn’t end well for them.
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If you have 7 or 8 quality experienced players playing most weeks then it’s easier  to integrate 2 or 3 youngsters into the starting 11 but currently we don’t have the quality to do that and if Mellon had filled the team with kids just to please the higher uppers then I’m pretty sure our return to the top flight would have been a short one. I would like nothing better than to see several academy players in the starting lineup but it has to be beneficial to the overall game plan and not just a case of look at us we give young players a chance. 
 

Edit to add I think Chalmers would have had more games had he not been injured and putting Neilson out on loan was 100% the right thing to do as he clearly still needs to work on the defensive side of his game. 

Edited by skinny arab
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5 minutes ago, mishtergrolsch said:

I'm sure someone at the club said that about producing champions league standard youths or something recently. 

Aye Andy Goldie. don't see the problem with aiming as high as possible to be honest.

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52 minutes ago, Accent-Unknown said:

Aye Andy Goldie. don't see the problem with aiming as high as possible to be honest.

No problem with aiming high, was just a joke comment tbh.

On a serious note, is there any chance now of us actually producing a player that good that wouldn't be scooped away by age 16 or 17 by some massive club in England for buttons. Seeing as we'll no doubt be near 7 million on debt again by the end of Covid i forsee us dropping our knickers to Burnley et al for 300k and a pair of trackies for the next half a dozen Gaulds we hopefully produce.

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40 minutes ago, mishtergrolsch said:

No problem with aiming high, was just a joke comment tbh.

On a serious note, is there any chance now of us actually producing a player that good that wouldn't be scooped away by age 16 or 17 by some massive club in England for buttons. Seeing as we'll no doubt be near 7 million on debt again by the end of Covid i forsee us dropping our knickers to Burnley et al for 300k and a pair of trackies for the next half a dozen Gaulds we hopefully produce.

We make most of our money punting average managers. That should be the new business plan 

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2 hours ago, mishtergrolsch said:

No problem with aiming high, was just a joke comment tbh.

On a serious note, is there any chance now of us actually producing a player that good that wouldn't be scooped away by age 16 or 17 by some massive club in England for buttons. Seeing as we'll no doubt be near 7 million on debt again by the end of Covid i forsee us dropping our knickers to Burnley et al for 300k and a pair of trackies for the next half a dozen Gaulds we hopefully produce.

Aye I do wonder what the club has learned from the Scott Banks situation. Hopefully the club stands firm but yeah I do see players leaving for a cut price for a while.

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2 hours ago, invergowrie arab said:

We make most of our money punting average managers. That should be the new business plan 

Punting some bog standard plodders sounds easier and cheaper tbh. Im in!

50 minutes ago, Accent-Unknown said:

Aye I do wonder what the club has learned from the Scott Banks situation. Hopefully the club stands firm but yeah I do see players leaving for a cut price for a while.

Its more the whole "sell everything as fast as possible, replace with utter dross and get relegated" situation that gives me the fear. Even more so when there's not a daft fan in charge who can't just cut his ties and run because he needs his cash back.

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1 minute ago, mishtergrolsch said:

Its more the whole "sell everything as fast as possible, replace with utter dross and get relegated" situation that gives me the fear. Even more so when there's not a daft fan in charge who can't just cut his ties and run because he needs his cash back.

I mean we had a United fan in charge before this. He just valued money more than the club so did everything you talk about. I have (maybe irrational) faith in Ogren to be a bit more loyal to United than Thompson was at least.

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8 minutes ago, Accent-Unknown said:

I mean we had a United fan in charge before this. He just valued money more than the club so did everything you talk about. I have (maybe irrational) faith in Ogren to be a bit more loyal to United than Thompson was at least.

Aye, thats what I meant. Thompson got us in the shite but he didn't dump us in the sea like Ogren may well do. Hes not got any ties here so can still cut and run as hes far wealthier than Thompson ever was.

I have absolutely no trust or faith in anyone involved in running a football club, in terms of loyalty or competence anyway, after the last 5 years. My soul has been disintegrated. 

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1 minute ago, mishtergrolsch said:

Aye, thats what I meant. Thompson got us in the shite but he didn't dump us in the sea like Ogren may well do. Hes not got any ties here so can still cut and run as hes far wealthier than Thompson ever was.

I have absolutely no trust or faith in anyone involved in running a football club, in terms of loyalty or competence anyway, after the last 5 years. My soul has been disintegrated. 

Aye that's fair. 

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25 minutes ago, Accent-Unknown said:

Aye that's fair. 

Don't get me wrong, id happily be publicly ridiculed for said mistrust in 10 years time after watching our youths, who after coming through the ranks together from age 10, all being born withing a mile of the Hulltoon Clock and supporting United, turning down various multi million pound moves to stay at the club, win the treble at a canter and lavish all the praise on Grandfather Ogren. Then toodle off for bazillions securing the clubs existence for the next half century.

But I think the owner cutting his losses after Asghar and son are found out is probably more likely.

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1 hour ago, mishtergrolsch said:

Don't get me wrong, id happily be publicly ridiculed for said mistrust in 10 years time after watching our youths, who after coming through the ranks together from age 10, all being born withing a mile of the Hulltoon Clock and supporting United, turning down various multi million pound moves to stay at the club, win the treble at a canter and lavish all the praise on Grandfather Ogren. Then toodle off for bazillions securing the clubs existence for the next half century.

But I think the owner cutting his losses after Asghar and son are found out is probably more likely.

I understand the cynicism, it's really the only position that makes sense considering what United has been through this last decade.

Maybe I'm delusional to even be somewhat optimistic.

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11 minutes ago, Accent-Unknown said:

I understand the cynicism, it's really the only position that makes sense considering what United has been through this last decade.

Maybe I'm delusional to even be somewhat optimistic.

Delusions aren't always a bad thing!

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