SGMilne

Morton away. Don't think it's been announced when it'll be played, but I could be wrong.

Fair play to Raith. In what was a fairly even game, they had that one moment of magic that we didn't. Frankly, we looked one-dimensional and poor, and specifically need to address the lack of creativity in the transfer window. Lous Moult has been out of form for weeks now too.

Because he doesn't have a squad number, the assumption will have been that he isn't at the club and he'll have been listed as unattached.

He unfortunately doesn't have a wage set, which is an oversight on our part, and as a result, the game refers back to his previous salary, which presumable was $15,000AUS and therefore decides that he's on £15k. But he's not been set as that, if that makes sense. So it's an unfortunate one and will be sorted as soon as we can.

When he first broke into the team, Freeman was fearless, attack minded and though he wasn't the best at defending, he still did his bit. The fact he was deployed at left back and still did a fantastic job against AZ at home was a testament to him. Now though, he's a shell of the player he was. Second half yesterday every cross seemed to hit the first man, he didn't make a tackle as far as I could remember and his teammates appeared to have no confidence to pass to him. Cudjoe coming on had no impact because he had no obvious route to collect the ball. In a losing team, I can understand the lack of confidence, but this season has gone really well, and he still plays like he's a trauma victim. How does a player come back from this, other than to move clubs?

To stay away from the usual choices like Spearhead from Space, Genesis of the Daleks etc and instead go with some of the stories that really captured me as a child in the late 80s/early 90s 1st Doctor - The Keys of Marinus 2nd Doctor - Tomb of the Cybermen 3rd Doctor - The Sea Devils 4th Doctor - The Horror of Fang Rock 5th Doctor - Resurrection of the Daleks There are better stories, but you don't want to give it all away at the start.

Tbh I hadn't been aware of this squad size issue. I can report that. It's been a fast turnaround this year so while it'll never be perfect, we hope we've done a good job. Feedback is always welcome. How we rate players is - within reasonable guidelines - subjective, so it might be that there might be disagreement on stuff, but any actual errors, let me know. We're aware of a few small ones, such as... Adam Le Fondre not having a wage set so the game is giving him £15k p/w Dundee not at the Gardyne Campus for training A few smaller transfers of young players out of Hibs and St. Johnstone.

While today wasn't exactly the most exciting performance - after the fan incident that led to the long pause in play I thought we lost our groove - I thought the reactions from the crowd today were way over the top. I've tweeted and put on this forum that I think Freeman is a player who plays like he's got PTSD (and to the conversation above, I think it's ok to criticise players performances online unless you're being personal or worse, tagging them) and I really don't think the way large sections of the crowd reacted to him making the slightest mistake was on. Similarly when United decided to shore up and let Airdrie play across their back four, the boos seemed a bit much.# For me, we never looked remotely threatened, we kept a clean sheet and we're top of the league. We aren't going to win every game at a canter, and there is room to express disappointment or feel a player is underperforming without resorting to booing. Maybe I'm just getting old Anyway, I hope the person who had a health issue is ok.

Although it's never a bad thing when Kieran Freeman goes off, moving Grimshaw to defence and bringing on Archie Meekison ruined our momentum. Looked like it was going to be one of those days, but Cudjoe deserved th goal and the draw seemed like a fair result. Considering the amount of timewasting going on, I find it hard to believe that any Pars fan could complain about the amount of added on time.

Based on Goodwin's post match, I suspect we're in for a season of reasonably tight football, where it's the dreaded "pass it sideways until there's a space" philosophy. Not great, but if it wins games, so be it. Today was fine. Moult and Watt still aren't fit, but everyone did their job ok except probably Middleton, who was again underwhelming for one of our most senior players. I thought Graham was fine even though some around me seemed to loudly disagree. He makes the odd mistake but he also tries to bring it forward. Very one footed though. All the subs did fine when they came on too. Based on what Goodwin had said during the week, maybe Niskanen isn't away, and tbh, I wouldn't be unhappy if he stayed. He might be chronically lacking in composure, but he brings things forward. Logan Chalmers though, I suspect might be on his way out. That's two games in a row where he hasn't come on, and after his selfish performance vs Spartans I'm not too shocked by that. I'd love him to succeed but it looks like he learned nothing. You could say Middleton, Watt, Cudjoe, Fotheringham and Niskanen are all ahead of him in the pecking order, and if Behic eventually comes back - and considering he has a squad number, he might still - then that would be him as 7th choice out wide.

We're not going to sack Goodwin even though if you offered it for free, I think most would take it; that's the nature of us all as football fans. He talks a good game and it's very difficult to find fault in anything he says post-match, but it's becoming the same old story, and he's th one who is responsible for changing it. The one thing I did notice tonight was the subtle change of narrative that this is pre-season and it's all about getting people game time, which is a far cry from "This is a competition I take seriously and want to do well in". Arguably by fielding players who were absolutely nowhere near match fitness (Watt, Moult) suggests that getting those players fitness was the priority and the assumption was that we'd beat Spartans and nobody would be any the wiser. As far tonight, my main takeaways were that... 1 - We still absolutely need a creative spark in the centre of midfield 2 - Fotheringham was excellent. Took men on and tried to make stuff happened 3 - Cudjoe wasn't excellent in the least. Took men on but without any plan on trying to make stuff happen. 4 - Denham looks like he might be a liability. Not strong enough or wise enough to cope with physical strikers 5 - Kieran Freeman is absolutely ruined. A year ago he was the one player in the squad you'd think would run through a brick wall if it would help. Now he goes half hearted into challenges, stands off his man, never makes a positive pass, never takes his man on and never shouts for the ball. He's a liability. last season's hostile atmosphere I think has destroyed his confidence It'll be interesting to see the team we field on Saturday, but I'd definitely like to see Cudjoe and Freeman dropped and for us to play two up top.

Oh yeah, so it was. But I guess that emphasises the point I'm trying to make. That result was so bad that it felt like a 0-2 when it was actually 2-2 (result was we went out regardless). Some results will just always hurt, but I've got to say that yesterday's result doesn't even hurt now. It has to be looked upon in context. For some, that context is that it's a continuation of bad results against a side so minuscule that they shouldn't be on our radar, and that we were pummelled by them. For me, we should always look to win these games, but their keeper had a great game, we had a poor game and as much as we would like it not to be the case, it was clearly being treated as a pre-season game, with an eye on the 'real' stuff being the league campaign (which is fair). So yeah, shit result, but I don't think we'll remember it like we will games like Mypa or 0-9. Win the next cup games and we won't even be talking about it in 2 weeks time.

I would say two of them have. Celtic 0-9 is there. 0-2 to Mypa is in the top 5 for me. Arguably losing to Killie at home to all but relegate us without putting up a fight will be there too. Alkmaar could be one of them because it set off the series of events that got us ultimately relegated. Other than that? I don't know, but I don't think a league cup group game that will likely be forgotten about in a month's time if we win the next few games will be.

To be fair he's a young guy playing his first first team fixture in over a year. I thought he started poorly and ultimately cost us the goal but grew into it. Unrelated to the quote above, I suspect I'm the sort of person who'll be labelled as a Happy Clapper, but honestly, I don't think yesterday's result is as bad as people think it is. I get that this is our sixth defeat in a row across two seasons but it's an almost entirely different team, which in turn requires some time to get to know each other, that's yet to sign its main striker (cos let's face it, Watt is best playing off someone). Tuesday will be a better test because I expect that the coaching team will feed back that nobody was talking to each other on the pitch and only Cudjoe was getting stuck in. We won't know until the end of the group stages what our best team/lineup is i would think either.

I've read people say this result is worse than the 0-9. Surely nobody really believes that?

Of course, that's absolutely fair. The season we were promoted; did we not lose to East Fife at Tannadice and everyone thought we were going to be the shits then as well.

So they have to get this striker signing right. Watt today was ok considering he was playing his first minutes in about 4 months. I don't think he should be played up top alone though. Middleton was pish. No anticipation, sluggish and did very little. I don't have too much faith in Freeman or McMann though. Perhaps Sibbald in centre mid and Grimshaw at right back would be better?

Listening to the interviews on the BBC and on United's own platform, I can't really disagree with too much Goodwin said other than he thought Meekison was excellent. Shit result, really slow in the final third, but apart from one mistake from Denham which ultimately cost us a goal, I don't think we were particularly troubled defensively. We desperately need to work on movement in the final third and to sign a target man striker though. And Goodwin desperately need to work on a strategy to break down teams who sit in. But then so did Neilson and all the other managers we had in the Championship. Disappointed, but I'm not panicking any time soon.

I don't know how much should be read into there being no 2, 3, 9 or 10 in the squad numbers. Or indeed that Scott McMann has moved from squad no. 3 to 33? He's flown under the radar as someone who was should be punted but hasn't been so far.

I don't think I am. You don't have to go to the far reaches of the internet to find these sorts of opinions. Twitter and literally every Dundee United forum is full of people suggesting Ogren should "do the right thing" and sell or even just walk away.

It kinda is though. If you overspend and achieve then there's no problem. If you overspend on spectacularly bad recruitment then you have to make it up later. Last season Ogren put a lot of money in and in the case of McGrath especially, pushed the boat out for little return. None of this would be talked about if the players we spent money on did well. Same with managers. They recruited managers poorly. FWIW I don't think we've cut the squad to the core either; we've got plenty of options - a lot of them young tbf - and the one area where we're especially light we're now looking to bolster.

II'll use your post as the one to quote but I'm replying to most of the responses... I think the moment anyone says anything negative about fan attitude, the suggestion is that I'm tarring everyone with the same brush, and I'm not. As I said, "The one thing I absolutely don't get is the entitlement some have - and I don't think that really applies to anyone who posts here - regarding how money should be spent at the club" This is an absolutely fair reflection of some of the fan sentiment online. Even this morning I've seen multiple tweets suggesting that Ogren is responsible and needs to sell now. There are some fans who believe that its the owner's responsibility to bank roll a club and the moment things go wrong, they turn on him and want someone else, as if there's this conveyor belt. Also, let's be perfectly honest, a significant number of fans won't have run a business and don't really get the concept of cash flow. And that is in no way to be taken as an insult, even though I'm sure it will, so they won't get that the club needs money coming in regularly and that if everyone took this rebate it would have an impact. Tannadeechee is correct; other clubs are better run because they recruit better. That's all it comes down to. United have a long recent history of looking to sign marquee players ahead of the right players. It's happened time and again.

There's a fair amount to digest with the interview. First though, fair play for someone at United going out and talking to the local press rather than the softball in-house media stuff we've seen for the last few years. This isn't just a United problem, loads of clubs now only talk to their own in-house media or a preferred journalist who would never run anything bad so he could always get the transfer gossip first... I've seen fans on social media complain about the in-house media stuff over the last few seasons, so how typical is it that the moment they do an interview with the Courier, some of those same people then complain about that, and demand that they should be able to read it for free. Why? 10 years ago you wouldn't think twice about buying a newspaper. At what point did things stop having any sort of value? I get that some of the information - as it directly concerned season ticket transactions - should have been put on the website first, but apart from that, the content is fair game and DCT have to pay the wages of Alan Temple and everyone else involved in putting it together. As for the content, well people are entitled to have their viewpoint and if they want to take the rebate or not is up to them. Personally, I don't see any problem with the club appealing to people not to take it. They are a business and they have to look at cash flow. If supporters don't take the option then it improves cash flow and will result in more money available to be spent on other things. Less money = less signings, cutbacks, redundancies etc. It is the way of the world. The one thing I absolutely don't get is the entitlement some have - and I don't think that really applies to anyone who posts here - regarding how money should be spent at the club. A whole generation of United fans has been brought up to believe the club should run at a significant loss because there will always be a chairman out there who will make up the shortfall by spending his own money. It has happened since the mid-late 90s, so therefore it should always happen. Yes, United fans are incredibly loyal, we turn out in numbers, we buy merchandise, and we support the club through thick and thin, but to be fair, so do the supporters of almost every other club in the land. What we don't do is invest enough to sustain the amount we spend, because for the last 30 or so years we've had a chairman willing to spunk his cash away. And what that's led to is a massive level of entitlement, where two points are made by a lot of people... Point 1: "Why should we as fans pay for the club to be run as we would like it?" Maybe because we're the customers and are the primary point of cash flow without the TV income and bigger travelling support of the Premiership? Without customers, there is no United (and I fully agree with the idea then that the customers should be listened to and consulted more. It shouldn't be the closed shop under Asghar, but neither should it be the leaky ship helmed by Derek Robertson where anyone would be told anything) so we do need to accept that cash flow is dependent upon us putting our hands in our pockets first and foremost. Point 2: "Ogren is responsible for all of this. He needs to sell up and go". I get it; United has been poorly run over the last 2 or 3 years, specifically because of recruitment. If we'd made two or three different signings last season we'd have stayed up and none of this would be a problem. But surely nobody could fault Ogren for putting his hand in his pocket? He's spent a ridiculous amount of money on a team he'd probably never heard of 6 or 7 years ago and that helped us get promoted and get into Europe. Why can't he say "Enough is enough, the club has to be able to wash its own face". And why now, just because some people don't like him anymore, should he sell up? And if he's going to sell up, are people just expecting him to walk away for nothing or for a huge loss, just because we as fans want someone else to throw away their own personal fortune for our benefit? I know a few wealthy United fans who have made their wealth through being good business people; none of them would be willing to buy the club, because they've told me directly that all they'd get for throwing their hard-earned cash away is abuse the moment anything goes wrong. I don't think that's a United problem, it's a football fan problem. We just think paying the tab is someone else's responsibility and the moment one person stops, then the next sucker on the imaginary Sugar Daddy conveyor belt will replace them.

The thing with Levitt though is he probably wants to go. I would want to go if I were him; it can't really be that good for his international ambitions or his next career move if he's in the Scottish Championship. And that's the thing; if he wants to go then it does no good to keep him prisoner until he ends up leaving for nothing in 10 months time anyway. It doesn't show a lack of ambition from United, it shows some common sense. Unlike all the other players on our books who might want to leave, he is a sellable asset but that sellability has a time limit. So now is the best time to cash in. I'd rather he stayed but it seems inevitable he'll go and I'll bear Utd no ill will on that. And some of these other players will go too. People are worrying that we're going to persevere with Birighitti because he hasn't left yet. Severance packages take a while to sort out, and details of them will remain private until they are completed. I'm fairly confident him, Mulgrew, Behic and Niskanen will be off soon.

Levitt will go, as there is interest. He'll be the only one we get a fee for.