mychurch

For the next few weeks penalty’s are going to have to be incorporated into the training as I can easily see all the play off games ending in draws - we don’t loose the teams around us, but we don’t win many either. I think Dunfermline will be the more difficult of the 2 to play against - Raith have had a great season and even though I think they’ll best Hearts next week, I think they’ll crumble under the pressure of the bigger games.

We don’t see the players in training, so we cant really say how the younger players are performing there. It’s fine saying we have 2 talents on the bench that should have been playing, but if Moore has been the standout all week, then I can see why McPake picked him - players don’t have a right to be picked, they have to earn it. Saying that though - 3 kids in the 1 game is asking a lot. I presume McMullen was not completely match fit.

Dangerfield is still playing and did well last night considering he had a taped up middle finger. He is the Geelong captain. Geelong missed a lot of scoring opportunities last night and Were only 1 goal ahead at half time. Thought the misses would come back to haunt them, but they dominated the rest of the game and won by 40 points. Grand final next week against Richmond - the best passing team in the league. I know there are a lot of substitutions allowed in the game and players come off for a short rest, but the fitness levels seem to be incredible - they are playing on a full sized cricket pitch.

Only seen the goals and the first 2 are bad, but the rest are explainable. Hamilton maybe should have done better for the first, but it’s the defenders who should take the blame. The striker is very close to the goal when he gets the shot away and that chance should be scored at least 8 out 10 times. 2nd is from distance, but there are a lot of players in the way and it did come through a Hearts players leg - looks to me much worse than it was. Great finishes for 4 and 5. You Our first will be the goal of the season. Wow. As the EPL has shown, results in empty stadiums can be very different to what you expect with a crowd. Hopefully we benefit from this in subsequent games. A team is always a work in motion and given the realities of Covid and the effect on income, I don’t think it’s realistic for us to have gotten rid of all the players that have been suggested here. The mistake may have been in handing out longer term deals, but once they are in place, we have to at least honour some of them. I’d be for giving the manger until Cmas at least and even then, if our youth players are starting to make an impact, that might be more important long term than the placing this year - Hearts are going to win the league and getting into the playoff is what our real goal should be. 2nd AFL semi is about to begin. It’s not football, but the 2nd best ball sport to watch. Hopefully somebody is showing it in the UK. I look out Geelong, who are playing. Similar size town to Dundee, but a different in every way.

I liked Declan when he was with us. Yes, he did some bad things and paid the consequences later, but he played well for us. Amazing that he is now ‘International’ standard, but I think that says more about the dearth of quality centre backs. Anyway, I glad he put in a performance tonight and it’s good to see another ex-Dee getting capped.

This has happened to us before. The season the TV deal collapsed The United Chairman was on the fixture committee and we ended up playing at home on the worst dates and also have less A fixtures. This time though, I’m not sure how much I’d a handicap it will be - Covid will come back and there is a good chance that there will be no crowds.

There are going to be lots of out of work footballers this coming season and we should not rush into signing a new forward. My guess is that there will be some very good players let go, particularly in England, and we should wait before getting someone in to play up front. The nice little run we were on before the lockdown was helped by the defence tightning up. If we can get a replacement for Berra and we can keep 16 or 17 clean sheets, then we have a chance. If Hearst’s were smart they would offer him back to us on a loan deal (if that’s allowed in the same division) as it would weaken us for the games against them. Either way a tight ship, and a few 1-0 results would be the most realistic way to wine the league. Sure, I’d prefer a 4-2-4 formation and 5 goals per game, but that’s not going to get us out of the league in 1 go.

That’s fine. I think so as well, but splitting into regional leagues was the solution that was applied the last time there was a prolonged interruption to the ability to play football. Obviously a World War is very different to a Helath Epidemic, but the threat to games is similar - its unclear when games can be played and it’s unclear how long the disruption will last. At the moment the previous 160 pages are basically arguments about trying to fit square pegs into round holes. There is no fair solution and there is no solution that can guarantee that the same problems don’t come back in 6 months. I actually wonder if this is what Nelms was talking about in his rather baffling message yesterday. Either way, creativity and a cold head are needed to get to a solution that will keep as many clubs as possible solvent over the next 2 years

As the leagues would be temporary, the teams could be assigned by gate, rather than by league position. This would be a Northern Premier of Ross county, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, United, st Johnstone , Dunfermline, Hibs, Hearts and Raith in the South you’d have Rangers. Celtic, Motherwell, Kilmanock, Livingston, St Mirren, Hamilton, Falkirk, Thistle and Morton. Or something like that. Games would have to be loosely scheduled as there are going to be stops and starts over the next 18 months. Playoff with the top 2 to 4 teams, home and away to give the 4 OF games. Sounds a million miles away from the current setup, but there is no easy way to end the current leagues and any new 36 game season if highly unlikely to finish within the normal timescale.

You wouldn’t. The leagues would start once football is given the all clear to start again. Say 10 teams in the Northern Premier, with an 18 game initial league, followed by playoffs as that are dependent on how many games/weeks are lost to Covid.

I presume it’s already been mentioned, but suspending the leagues as they are now and having smaller League North and League South may be a better way forward. Obviously a War Time solution would be seen as rather extreme, but it would increase the number of local derbies, be short enough to cope with possible 2nd and 3rd waves of the virus and the winners of the North/South could have play offs to settle the European phases. True, the Northern teams would miss the OF, but the tv deal could hopefully focus on both sides and the flexibility would probabley be beneficial. Once a cure has been found for the Virus, the end of the current leagues could be scheduled.

If somebody from the Championship was going to hold the balance of power, it really has to be someone other than Partick or Inverness. Although it looks like Dundee are complicit in this, it’s just as likely that the Dundee received a call after the 3 no votes were received and that we are being used as a pawn to stop the whole thing breaking down. I have been a Dundee fan long enough to know that we don’t do well as favourite, and that having a 14 team SPFL is no reason to believe we would wine the Championship that’s left behind. It might increase our odds, but I can’t really see that that is in our interest.

This is terrible news for everyone. Contracts have to be paid, but income has gone. The 2nd Derby would have been worth a lot to us, never mind the money from the rest of home games and the playoffs. Hopefully we are insured. If not, then I can only imagine redundancy and drastic cost cutting. Time to buy some product from the Dundee shop, online of course.

I remember the New Years day game against Aberdeen, which we actually won. A real rarity - how many times whas that happened since ? Saw him later that night at the Jahangir with Wes and their partners. Smiles all around. At that time, that must have been the poshest restaurant in town - a doorman to greet you and a fishpond inside.

Agree with the comments that Kerr is a not major problem for us. He’s not the best, but there are other parts of the team that may need more tinkering. I do however think we need to get rid of everyone associated with last years debacle. It was smart not to change everything in 1 go, but come the close season Cammy, Gouser and the few other first team members who were here last season have to go. McPake was not part of the first team manage last year, so could be excused from the cull, but if we want to get rid of this cult of failure, then maybe he needs to be moved in as well.

Crankshaw looked very impressive when he came on and finally the team had drive, energy and some stature. I can understand while McPake wanted to start with Cameron, but it really was a boy being replaced by a man. If he keeps up that level of performance, we will be fine. Sore loss, but it was another 2 mistakes that cost us. You could also argue that it was great play by Dunfermline though. Kerr should have stopped the cross getting in, but it was good wing play. We really should have defended the cross better, but again it was good attacking play. 2nd goal was a due to a young lad losing the ball. Thats the danger in playing kids, but still there was a lot to be done to score the goal and you have to give Nisbet credit. Bad times, but anybody claiming that this is the worst team in Dundee history really has not been a fan for any length of time.

I think we are actually doing better than I expected. Momentum in football is very hard to break and we were on such a downward slope after last year, that relegation to the division below was always a possibility. With a continued bad run, that’s still not impossible, but it’s equally likely that we go on a good run and take 2nd place. I think this season was doomed regardless of the manager and so taking a chance on McPake was probably a cheap option with not a lot of risk. If we can go on a good run toward the end of the season we will hopefully have some momentum behind us and we can push on next season. I know this will sound very defeatist to some, but as the fans of Dunfermline, st Mirren, Livingston, Falkirk, Patrick and United can testify, it’s very hard to come back from a calamitous couple of seasons.

2nd weekend in a row that the game has been on tv here in Auz. (Via BEIN) and this was a struggle. Glad to see us pull through - after 10 mins it looked like an away win was on the cards. Big debate going forward is where to play Dorrans. He was the stand out for the whole game, but he finished in McGowans forward role, and made the winning goal. I imagine it will depend on injuries, but if all are fit then I think its Gowser on the bench. Only downer from that though is that was how we lined up at the first Derby. Very impressed by McDaid. Given that we seem to be playing the Chelsea 4-2-3-1, he is our own Eden Hazard. I think he will grow and become a better player as the season continues.

Priority here has to be the formation. Our forwards looked sharp in the first half, but we had better balance in the 2nd. Hemmings is a great player at this level, but maybe it would have been a better use of money to get in another midfielder. As for the game, well it was just one of those days. We were the better team for 30 minutes and if the 1st had been given, I;m sure United would have bottled it. Yes, we gave away some bad goals, but 2 massive deflections, a slip for the penalty and a breakaway when we were pushing for a 3rd at the end made it look worse than it was. Pre-season I thought that going up in 1 go would be a push and that the first half of the season would be about getting a team to gell. We also need to give the manager a bit of room. Yes, it was a Derby, but I think we played too open and too offensive. We will get better and their is the makings of a very good team. Onwards and upwards.

That’s my reading as well. If he does want to use us to get a move to one of the top paying SPL sides, then it’s a win win and I’d be for it. If he wants 3 year deal with a high wage and no get out, i’d be very wary.

Not so sure if the logic here. I thought he left because of family issues and if so, have they gotten any better ? If it was just money, fine, but if he comes to us and his family stays down south, then I can’t see him staying long.

Which is 4am Sat morning in Melbourne for me. Not actually checked that it’s on yet - just assuming that the millions of mad sports fans in Auz are wanting to continue watching the Scottish Championship. Million time better than all the MSL, Italian and Spanish stuff

Got up early to watch the match on playback. We really were not in much trouble against a team likely to be in the top 4 this season. Really like the look of central defence and was impressed with our new left back. My only negative comment, is that we defended a bit too deep at times and stood off the ball a bit - a better team would have made more of the space. Going forward, we just need to keep the changes to a minimum and the goals will come. We should have won by 2 or 3 today, but as long as we keep a clean sheet, 1 will be enough. Its too much, and probably bad for his long term development, to ask a 16 year old to run our midfield for 30+ games, but he looks a real prospect. The commentators were all impressed and I can see the scouts queueing up soon. Another early rise on Sat morning to catch the Dunfermline game. Looking forward to it.

Sorry, but after the season we have just endured I can’t emphasis how good it is is to see “Opposition 0”. This is a new team and the first 1/4 to 1/2 of the season will be about getting the team to gell and keeping near enough to be in contention come April. Keeping clean sheets is a must. Too may draws are bad in the long term, especially of the 0-0 variety, but it’s the foundation we need to recover. Onwards and upwards.

Strachan would not have been involved in getting May here and I presume if we are going to splash some money around, then we will be following the advice of our new DoF. Nothing against May - seems a good player for our level - but i think Loan signings from connections of Strachan are going to be the way we fatten our the squad. Yes, I agree that that has not worked out well in the past, but he should hopefully have better contacts and be a better judge than those that have been here in the past.