A New Era
January 2013 spelled the end for silver kissing Dundee United manager, Peter Houston, and his successful time with the Tannadice club. Following a 1-1 draw with Ross County, the club in which he lifted his only major trophy as a manger against in 2010, his time with the Terrors was over. Then Partick Thistle manager, Jackie McNamara, left his role in the Firhill dugout to take the reigns at Dundee United, and what followed was the most exciting 2 and ½ years the United faithful have seen since the Jim Mclean years.
Nowadays, a home Scottish Cup clash with Rangers wouldn’t be top of any managers list for the first match in their new dugout, but back in February 2013, Jackie McNamara wouldn’t have dreamed for a better first test. Still revelling from their liquidation the previous year, 3rd Division Rangers were a far cry from their former selves. A relatively strong United side were expected to brush aside the Ibrox club and it only took 13 seconds for the Terrors to go ahead through Johnny Russell. A subsequent 3-0 win and an exhilarating attacking performance gave McNamara the perfect start.
The following 3 months saw United fail to maintain any sort of momentum and struggled to put a run of wins together. However, in what is arguably the most underrated moment in McNamara’s tenure, United managed to secure top 6 in the final minutes of matchday 33 against Aberdeen. An unlikely hero emerged from the Tayside shadows that day in Rory Boulding, and for anyone that was there, they will remember it feeling like an eternity before he got the ball out of his feet to slot it past Jamie Langfield. It was to be the first of 3 top 6 finishes for McNamara. A thrilling 4-3 defeat against Neil Lennons Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final meant top 6 is all it would be for United in 2013.
Out with the old, in with the young
The Dundee United side of 2013/14 is sometimes remembered as a group of baby-faced teenagers whose IDs would always require a second look from bouncers at Fat Sams. To be honest, this isn’t a million miles from the truth. Out with Sean Dillon, Marc Wilson, and John Rankin, there wasn’t a whole lot of Scottish topflight experience at Tannadice. Experienced players in Jon Daly, Johnny Russell, Barry Douglas, and Willo Flood all departed the club, with McNamara putting his faith in younger talents. Barry Douglas was perhaps the hardest of the lot to replace but I think his replacement done alright for himself.
United huffed and puffed in the early part of the season, with a 4-0 win over St Johnstone being the highlight. However, there were some positive signs. Following a narrow defeat at Pittodrie, United’s spark that had been threatening to catch fire, finally exploded into life. United won 6 of the next 7 league fixtures, scoring 4 goals on 5 separate occasions. Defences had absolutely no answer to the fearless, free flowing Dundee United attack. It looked as though this electric, mystifying cocktail of youthful tangerine footballers were about the score at will every week.
United then failed to win their next 7 SPL fixtures. However, a run of 8 wins in 9 followed, including a 5-0 away win against Inverness in the Scottish Cup quarter final. Jackie McNamara, who himself was a rookie in managerial terms, struggled to get any sort of consistency out of his young group of players. Despite scoring the 2nd most amount of league goals in the 2013/14 season, United’s leaky defence was a recuring issue. The obvious talents of John Souttar and Andy Robertson was clear for all to see but it was too easy for teams to pernitrate the tangerine defence. McNamara’s men did not keep a single clean sheet in the league from Boxing Day until the end of the season.
Despite the leaky defence and inconsistent league results, the fans fell in love with this team. It was a concoction of exhilarating attacking football and a fearlessness that only the youth possess. It meant that, even when United lost, which happened plenty during 2013/14, the fans were still entertained. They couldn’t wait and come back next week to watch the show.
You can’t win anything with kids
Dundee United’s inconsistency in the league was quickly forgotten about in April 2013 as they found themselves in a Scottish Cup semi-final at a neutral Ibrox, against home side Rangers. 30,000 Rangers fans found themselves on the end of a tangerine takeover both on and off the park at their own turf. Despite a lacklustre performance against League 1 Rangers, McNamara’s side were just too much for Rangers to handle, winning 3-1. The match is most famously remembered for Nadir Ciftci’s early celebration before he had even put the ball in the back of the net. United were in the final; their first since 2010.
It’s impossible to talk about Dundee United’s 2013/14 season without mentioning St Johnstone. The Saints beat United 3 times in the league, keeping a clean sheet in all of those victories. This was an impressive stat against this United attack. So, when Stevie May scored the late winner against Aberdeen the day after United progressed to the final, not many at Tannadice were too overjoyed about the prospect of facing them again. A New Firm derby is what most Arabs wanted; it would’ve been a spectacle; a 50/50 final. But final against a dogged Tommy Wright team? No thanks.
As a 13-year-old boy at Parkhead surrounded by 27,000 fellow Arabs, the atmosphere at the 2014 Scottish Cup final could not have been more sombre. It was as though the defeat was inevitable. There was no way the Scottish Cup was coming back to Tannadice that day. It was impossible. Every football fan knows that feeling. It’s an unexplainable feeling of an imminent defeat and there’s no chance the football gods are letting you win today. A 2-0 Saints win was less than surprising at Celtic Park, but it still stings to this day.
Bounce back ability
The earth-shattering defeat in the Scottish Cup final and the subsequent sales of Ryan Guald and Andy Roberston in the summer 2014, left many at Tannadice feeling deflated. An opening day fixture at Pittodrie probably wasn’t top of the list of fixtures that Jackie McNamara would’ve fancied, but it was what exactly what the doctor ordered. Any lingering emotions linked to the Summer were quickly overcome following an emphatic 3-0 win against Aberdeen. It was the perfect start to the 2014/15 season.
Stuart Armstrong bundling the ball past Craig Gordon in a 2-1 win against Celtic at Tannadice (Image credit Daily Mail)
United went on to win 7 of the first 10 league games and defeated previously relegated, Hibs, and Dundee to progress to the League Cup semi-final. McNamara’s men looked a level above the previous season (we will ignore the 6-1 defeat to Celtic) and looked a class apart from nearly every other team in the division. United were hot on Celtic’s heels heading into their Christmas showdown showdown at Tannadice.
Ronnie Delia’s Celtic were vulnerable. Brendan Rodgers subsequently turned them into a formidable outfit domestically, but his predecessor’s side were not quite as convincing. Everyone at the club knew this United side could go toe to toe against the green side of Glasgow. When United ran out 2-1 winners, despite a constant peppering of Radoslaw Cierzniak’s goal, there was a real sense that this season was going to be the most special in 25 years. United were within touching distance of the Hoops in the league, in a League Cup semi-final, and had a bubble that felt impossible to burst; or at least that’s the way I remember it.
A standard defeat to St Johnstone, did little to damper the mood heading into the New Year Dundee derby. The boys in tangerine were hot favourites and expected to dispatch of the city rivals with relative ease. Relative ease would be slight under exaggeration of what unfolded. A barrage of goals was missed in a blink of an eye and before you knew it, Charlie Telfer was slotting the ball home for number 6. Six Two (6-2) against the Dark Blues on New Year’s Day 2015. Perfect.
The Terrors were making waves in the Scottish game. 5 games unbeaten heading into the League Cup semi-final, there was no fear within the United camp. It was not going to be easy against Derek McInnes and his high-flying Dons, but McNamara knew his side could win. A late Nadir Ciftci goal saw the Arabs progress to their second consecutive final after a 2-1 win. The fans were in dreamland. A victory over Celtic, a total annihilation of Dundee, and a semi-final victory over Aberdeen. All fingers were pointing towards black and tangerine ribbons. What could possibly go wrong?
Beginning of the end
On January 31st, 2015, every Dundee United fan was in a state of ecstasy. Come February 2nd, it had become a completely different club. Before United fans even had the chance to look forward to their 2nd cup final in 9 months, the unthinkable happened. Gary Mackay-Steven, and Stuart Armstrong were sold to Celtic on deadline day. It was the ultimate betrayal for most Arabs and perhaps the club’s problems in subsequent years can be pinpointed to this exact moment. It was an overnight transformation. It was unthinkable just 24 hours prior. The relationship with supporters and club had changed.
United were doomed from that moment on. Replacing 2 of the best attacking talents the club in the country with 18-year-old, Robbie Muirhead, with only 4 professional goals to his name, was never going to end well. It came as no surprise to anyone when what at once looked like a truly special season, collapsed completely. Celtic went on to win the League cup final 2-0 and knocked Jackie McNamara’s men out of the Scottish Cup. A run of 3 league wins in 15 games meant United finished in a measly 5th place, 1 place above Dundee. A season that promised so much, delivered so little.
A club in freefall
Following the disastrous end to the 2014/15 season, the writing was on the wall for Jackie McNamara. He faced the impossible task of replacing the quality of player he had inherited, with little to no budget. Not only that, however, the supporters had lost faith in the club; they had become disillusioned. There was no way back. His sacking only 2 months into the 2015/16 season was inevitable. He failed to galvanise the club. The club went into subsequently went into freefall and were relegated in 2016, spending 4 seasons in the Championship.
A lot can be said about Jackie McNamara and his 2 and a half years at Dundee United. It’s probably a period in which I look back on it with rose-tinted glasses with it being my first full seasons supporting the club. Would a different manager have won something? Perhaps. But I do know how that team made me, and thousands of other Arabs feel. It was special. McNamara has received a lot of criticism from United supporters over the years, and probably rightly so, but I find it difficult to criticise the type of football I witnessed. Was he lucky to inherit such an incredibly talented group of players? Absolutely, but it I think they were lucky to have him too. Ultimately, it’s another case of what might’ve been at Tannadice.
One Response
Beautiful storytelling and immaculately written. One for the ages.