Well, the SFA have gone and made Craig Levein the new Scotland coach.

Like I said, I am not convinced about Levien’s experience. I can see the Burley no qualification scenario being repeated at the end of the Euro 2012 qualifiers. That said, I hope he proves me wrong. Best of luck to the new Scotland coach.

Craig Levein, Scotland Coach

Craig Levein, who was manager of Leicester City from November 2004 to January 2006, has today been appointed Scotland coach.

Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson wasn’t happy with the way the SFA approached his manager: “We have been treated shabbily but Craig has done a great job for us and leaves the team, and the club as a whole, in a much better position than it was when he arrived here.”
Sadly, that couldn’t be said of his time at Leicester…
City were just below a play-off place in the Championship when Micky Adams handed in his shock resignation, but were threatened with relegation when Levein was sacked.
The former Hearts and Scotland defender was a popular appointment and got off to a promising start at City, Coventry were beaten 3-0 in his first home game. But he appeared to misjudge the widening gap between Scottish and English football and the signings he brought south like: Alan Maybury, Mark de Vries, Stephen Hughes , Momo Sylla and Patrick Kisnorbo failed to perform with any kind of consistency.
City finished 15th in 2004-05,  but were sinking into the relegation mire when he was replaced by his assistant Rob Kelly in January 2006.
He is now charged with the mountainous task of reversing the slide of Scottish football and getting them to Euro 2012. 
We wish him luck… he’ll need it.

Craig Levein?

Many would say that the SFA has gone for the heir apparent to the Scotland job. However his appointment will likely cost them £500,000 in compensation to Dundee United.

There are always plenty of good managers/coaches out of work and if there weren’t any the SFA fancied they could have got Craigie Broon or someone like that in as a temporary appointment until one became available.

Football managers, no matter how good they are, sooner or later will get the sack or will resign under duress.

That’s why I think the SFA have just wasted half a million quid.

What you missed while scientists were finding dark matter in a Minnesota mine…

• Leo Messi won an award I’d already thought he’d won: the FIFA World Player of the Year.
• Spain and Real Madrid both have their sights on Aston Villa centerback Carlos Cuellar.
• Rafa Benitez will have to sell players before he can buy in January; this should shock absolutely nobody.
• Roberto Mancini has revealed that he was contacted about the Manchester City management position two weeks ago.
• Roque Santa Cruz is angry that Mark Hughes was sacked.
• Landon Donovan and Hope Solo won the USSF Player of the Year award for their respective genders; this is Donovan’s third win (because, really, who else would you give that to?).
• Gary Neville says that the Premier League title isn’t a two horse race…especially since Ruud van Nistelrooy could be coming back to England in January.
• Sometimes, when Cristiano Ronaldo is swimming in his giant pool of money, he misses Manchester United a little bit.
• Mexico will play New Zealand in Pasadena to warm up for the World Cup.
• Marcello Lippi won’t be returning to Juventus after the World Cup.
• American midfielder Maurice Edu played in a reserve match for Rangers; this was his first appearance since May.
• Dundee United manager Craig Levein is the new manager of the Scottish National Team.

I just read that Craig Levein is going to be offered the job Scotland Manager. I certainly hope not.

Levien has shown some interest in the position. He said he wants to coach Scotland at some point in his career, but isn’ sure when. He is keen to find out about the role and will be meeting the SFA in the next few days to discuss things further.

Levien would probably be a step up from Burley. He had some fine games as player for Scotland and has decent reputation as a coach. However I remain to be convinced. Having not exactly masses of success with big teams I am not sure he can bring success Scotland’s way. Also, he just doesn’t inspire me. So, would he inspre the team??

My ideal choice would be Walter Smith, but that seems a bit unlikely. Smith aside, Graeme Sounness or Nevio Scala would be great picks: both live and breath football and have an excellent history behind them. Either one would be an excellent choice.

BY ROSS DOYLE

After the recent dismissal of unsuccessful manager George Burley, rumours have continued to spread on who will be next to take over the reigns at what appears to be one of the most difficult posts in international football. With fairly high expectations, a history of underachievement and a very low wage in comparison to some of the nations we are considered to be superior to in footballing terms, the Scotland job has fairly low appeal to the more talented and experienced, or most importantly expensive candidates.

Scotland has long produced some of the best managers in British football, more notably Jock Stein, Sir Alex Ferguson, Matt Busby and Bill Shankly. Even at present top flight football in Scotland and England has an impressive number of talented managers. The main problem at the moment is convincing these potential candidates turn their backs on money spinning contracts in the Premiership, and even the Championship.

David Moyes, Alex Ferguson, Owen Coyle, Alex Mcleish, Gordon Strachan and Billy Davis can basically be ruled out of the running.

The SPL also provides some interesting potential applicants including the current favourite, Craig Levein. His fantastic spell thus far at Dundee United, and his important position on the club’s board would possibly be enough though to discourage him from turning his back on a position which has been highly rewarding to him.

Walter Smith has previously successfully managed the national team and offers by far the most experience out of the realistic Scottish born targets, and his contract at Rangers terminates at the end of January. Even though he has agreed to continue on a month to month basis, Ranger’s current financial mess may be enough to tempt him into a return to the Scotland post.

The other main candidates from the SPL would be the experienced, but possibly unexciting candidate Jim Jeffries. Similarly to Craig Levein, he has enjoyed consistent success in the top division in Scotland, but the step up to English football was ultimately a failure, although again similarly to Levein, not entirely his fault.

Out with the currently employed managers, Graeme Souness, Craig Brown, Gary McAllister could all be possibilities, although may all be unlikely to inspire the supporters, or offer the ability to dramatically change the performances and results, especially with the draw for the Euro 2012 qualifiers in February.

Kenny Dalglish stands out as the most impressive candidate, with universal respect within the footballing world, a successful career is both a player and a manager, he is also Scotland’s highest scorer at international level with 30 goals in 102 caps. He has been away from management since his highly disappointing spell in charge at Celtic from 1999/00 with John Barnes. He is currently employed by Liverpool’s academy, but I’m sure he would find it an honour to enter international football once again.

Craig Levein

Dundee Utd manager Craig Levein

The bookies favourite and my personal number one choice. Levein has proved successful throughout his managerial career, building a strong team at Heart then Leicester and now on a limited budget, he has produced a Dundee United team that look capable of upsetting the Old Firm for the title. He would bring a fresh new look to the squad and starting XI where players are selected on merit, rather than the usual reputation based picks, which usually means an Rangers or Celtic player. We have for too long now deployed the dull 4-5-1 system and Dundee United have filled their team with young Scots and a reject, ageing Everton reject and are somehow playing stylish 4-4-2 football. Beats me how he’s done it, but let’s hope he can do it with Scotland.

David Moyes

 Yes, I know he is Everton manager, and I know that means he’s unlikely to take it, but this is my outside shout. Everton have enjoyed very little about their start to the season and after midweek defeat to lowly Hull City, they now sit 14^th in the table. 8 years in the job, has Moyes done all he can with the Merseyside club. Now that Liverpool have given them a doing, lets hope Moyes gets the boot and fancies a go at the Scotland job. Unlikely, but you never know.

                                                                                                                                                                      Graeme Souness

Please, no. Just no. Scotland will become a Rangers B side if he takes over. Thought by many to be one of the players of his generation but now a managerial duffer. When trying to spot a player he couldn’t tell an arse from an elbow as he expertly proved at Newcastle. Been out of a job now for almost 4 years and hasn’t budged from his seat in the sky sports studio. Doubt he’s watched anything but a Rangers game in this time and probably couldn’t name you all 12 SPL clubs. If my tone here seems short, it because I’m getting pissed off even thinking about the possibility. I’ve never prayed before, but I will now. If there is anyone up there, God…Buddha…whoever, please don’t let it be Souness.

Jim Jeffries

 The longest serving manager in the SPL currently with Kilmarnock but would be another daft appointment. Has achieved bugger all with them in his 8 years apart from mid-table mediocrity, fair enough on a budget of £50 or so, and has a board who sell at the first sniff from Rangers, but even still I think he’d struggle. We often talk about players being bigger than a club, but with the inflamed ego’s some of our national team seem to be sporting, they seem to think they are bigger than the country and as much as I’d love to see some of them get dropped, we need them, and I don’t know if Jeffries would be up to the task of managing them.

Jimmy Calderwood

Another no-no. Out of a job currently which will be appealing to cash stricken SFA but they must look beyond this. Part of the laughing stock of Scottish football on Only an Excuse, he’s more famous for his ‘Bernie Winters’ lookalike skills than any of his managerial achievements. Lacking in experience of dealing with real pressure would be  another major negative and he doesn’t appear to be a strong enough character not to fold under the pressure from the SFA to edge towards the Old Firm players. I really hope he doesn’t get it, but it wouldn’t at all surprise me if he did.

Walter Smith

January is fast approaching and Rangers appear to be showing no signs of offering him a new contract. He has already ruled himself out, but with a little persuasion and a decent wage, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him change his mind. I think even if the Ibrox club do offer him a new deal, he will probably decline it and pass over the reins to his apprentice in waiting, Ally McCoist. This leaves him with two options really – either get this job back, a job he had relative success with before quitting, or retire. Whatever he chooses to do, I won’t really be bothered, unless Souness gets picked ahead of him.

Gordon Strachan

If Burley had been sacked a game earlier, the job would have probably been his. But he’s Middlesborough manager now. So it won’t be him. End of.

John Collins

Another man not in a job so he’ll not cost very much but another lacking in managerial experience. He was in the squad the last time we qualified so he knows what it takes but brief spells with Hibs and Charleroi isn’t exactly the CV you would expect a Scotland national manager to have.

Other candidates have come forward such as Dan Petrescu and Csaba Laszlo and are thought to be amongst the 20 managers the SFA revealed have applied for the job. They are however unlikely to choose a foreign manager after the Berti Vogts saga.

That’s the list. If they aren’t on the list then they aren’t in with a shout. If there is someone I’ve forgotten about and the SFA come out with a surprise choice, I’ll apologise if it’s a good one, and I’ll slate them.

Jimmy Calderwood - Future Scotland Coach?

Two potential candidates have already expressed interest in the Scotland manager job just vacated by George Burley.

As reported by the BBC, John Collins and Jimmy Calderwood are both keen to be considered. Former Aberdeen and Dunfermline coach, Calderwood said on Radio Scotland “Any Scottish manager would see it as a wonderful challenge”. Similarly, ex-Scotland midfielder, Collins declared his intentions saying “I would be interested in managing the national team”.

Other names suggested include Joe Jordan, Gary McAllister and favourite Craig Levein.

Of those suggested, I would prefer Calderwood or Jordan. Scotland need someone who can spur them on and fire them up for victory. As much as Levien is favoured by many, I don’t see him as being sufficiently passionate or ‘ball-breaking’ for this task. Jordan and Claderwood, however, strike me a strong coaches who will inspire the team while not taking any nonsense  from anyone.

We know we are guilty of mourning Filbert Street’s passing on here, so let’s have Ten Great Moments since the move from Filbert Street to Filbert Way…

1.  10/8/02 - Opening Day – the first 30,000 plus crowd in many years, the excitement of being in our new home, and a great 2-0 win over Watford thanks to two goals from Brian Deane.

2. 14/12/02 – Despite Stevie Claridge’s first minute goal, City thrash Dennis Wise’s Millwall 4-1. 31,904 City fans fill the ground, but away fans are banned.

3.  27/4/03 - Micky Adams and his side celebrate promotion to the Premiership after a 1-1 draw against Norwich City.

4. 15/9/03 - City stuff Leeds 4-0 and Lilian Nalis scores a magnificent opener, all in front of the Sky cameras.

5. 8/11/04 - Craig Levein’s first home game in charge brings a 3-0 win over neighbours Coventry with goals from Nalis, Tiatto and Heath.

6. 26/11/2005 - An otherwise drab season is lit up by a fine 4-2 win over Sheffield United, Hume (2), Smith and Hammond finding the net.

7. 4/3/06 - City win a thriller against Hull 3-2, with Joey Gudjonsson scoring from the half way line.

8. 25/8/07 - It all clicks together for Martin Allen’s side as they beat Watford 4-1, with goals from Hume, Campbell, Sheehan and De Vries. 

9. 13/4/09 - Steve Howard’s late header against Leeds brings a 1-0 win and huge step towards the League One title.

10. 24/4/09 - Nigel Pearson’s side are presented with the League One trophy after a 2-2 draw with Scunthorpe, bouncing back from Division Three at the first attempt…

Photo courtesy ShedRuleYaBass (via Wikimedia Commons)

The 2009-10 Clydesdale Bank Premier League campaign may only be in the latter stages of its infancy, but if all goes according to plan for Dundee United in Saturday’s home match against Motherwell, the Terrors will not only do themselves a big favor in their quest to finish in the top three this season – They may even go top of the table.

A United win on this weekend plus admittedly unlikely losses for Rangers (away to Kilmarnock) and Celtic (home to Hearts) would see manager Craig Levein’s side leap-frog the Old Firm into first place in the SPL, and you’d be hard-pressed to find somebody outside of Glasgow who thinks the Terrors didn’t deserve it.

Levein’s men are undefeated so far this season and have eight points from their first four games, including a hard-fought point earned during last week’s trip to Parkhead to square off with then-league-leading Celtic.  In that game, David Goodwillie put the visitors ahead on six minutes, and only Scott McDonald could find the back of the net for Celtic in a scrappy game that saw United go down to ten men late on after midfielder Scott Robertson’s red card for a reckless tackle on Celtic’s Georgios Samaras.

That result ought to keep the Terrors’ confidence up coming back home to Tannadice for Saturday’s big match, but they’ll have their hands full once more this time around.  Motherwell, sitting just below United in fourth place and above fifth-place Hibernian on goal difference, has been playing with a lot of energy so far this season, and Jim Gannon’s men have been rewarded with a home win over Kilmarnock and having taken points away from St. Johnstone and Aberdeen away and then Rangers at home last weekend.

The Steelmen will need to start racking up a lot more wins if they want to stay competitive in the SPL this season, though, and winning at Tannadice on Saturday would give them a big lift.  It won’t be easy, however, as Goodwillie and David Cadamarteri – August’s player of the month in the league – have proven what they can do in the final third of the park, and Motherwell will also have to find their way past a Terrors defense that has only conceded two goals so far in all competitions.

For more information on this weekend’s fixtures in the SPL, follow on after the jump.As mentioned before, league-leading Rangers travels to Kilmarnock for Saturday’s lunchtime fixture, and Jim Jefferies’s Killie will have need to play a blinder if it wants to shake out of its recent funk.  Kilmarnock won on opening day against Hamilton Academical at Rugby Park, but it hasn’t won since in the league, losing to Motherwell away, St. Mirren at home and finally 1-0 away to fellow struggler Hearts on Tuesday.  Those results don’t make for great reading for Killie fans ahead of Saturday’s visit from Rangers, a team that’s taken 10 points from a possible 12 so far this season and boasts a +7 goal difference.

Further north, Aberdeen welcomes St. Mirren to Pittodrie for one of four afternoon games on Saturday, and Mark McGhee’s Dons will need to look at the Buddies’ visit as an opportunity to get back on track after what can only be described as a disappointing start to the campaign.  The Dons failed to impress in last Monday’s 0-0 stalemate away to Falkirk, and it’s a small wonder that they’re even mid-table at the moment.  Aberdeen skipper Mark Kerr acknowledges that his team has work to do, though, telling BBC Sport, “Personally, I have got to do better and everybody has to keep asking questions of themselves.”

Meanwhile, New Douglas Park will host a relegation six-pointer between the host Accies and Falkirk.  The Bairns will be pleased to have gotten their first point of the season in their 0-0 draw with Aberdeen, but this time they face a Hamilton side that pulled a rabbit out of the hat with last week’s home win over Hibs, and that confidence could potentially equate to an extension of the gap between them and Falkirk at the bottom of the league table.  Billy Reid’s men will have to worry about keeping their shape at the back, though, as a Falkirk win would put Hamilton in the relegation place looking up at everyone else in the league.

Back to Hibs now, where John Hughes has spent all week trying to wash the taste of defeat to Hamilton out of his mouth, and he’ll have his team ready to go for Saturday’s visit of St. Johnstone to Easter Road.  The Cabbage had produced a solid start to the season before last week’s slip-up, but the home crowd plus a fired-up squad ought to mean a win for the hosts over a Saints side that created its fair share of chances in last week’s 1-1 draw away to St. Mirren but is really only as high as 10th this season because of Hamilton and Falkirk’s relatively poor starts to the season.

Finally this week, Celtic welcomes Hearts to Parkhead on Sunday in a game that, frankly, would’ve been more appealing around this time last season.  Fatigue will probably still be a small factor after Celtic’s loss at Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, but Sunday sees them face a Hearts team that has struggled mightily in manager Csaba Laszlo’s sophomore campaign at the club.  The Jambos did finally notch their first win of the season on Tuesday at home to Kilmarnock, but Celtic away will prove to be a considerably tougher task.

Matthew Semisch

Lukasz Zaluska’s goalkeepers jersey is still warm after his departure to Celtic and he has tried to stir things up with United gaffer Craig Levein.

Rumours of Levein’s supposed departure from United were finally quashed by Chairman Stephen Thompson yesterday and no sooner has the dust stettled than Zaluska felt the need to say his piece.

Zaluska answered the question of whether he would like to have Levein join him at Celtic Park by saying he would be please if he was to join up with his old manager again.

Hmmmm not much in that really, not like the media to kick up a big storm out of nothing….

It was also slightly amusing to see Zaluska now fears for his place in the team before he has even officially join the Glasgow team.  Like it needed Strachan to leave to put that though in his head.

No wonder he wants Levein at Celtic Park, he might make the bench that way…

The Banks deal is confirmed

So after all the guff in the papers over the last few days about where our manager will be moving to it a welcome change to actually get some good news.

As we posted the other week Craig Levein was looking to finalise a deal to get Hearts goalkeeper and coach Steve Banks singed up in a similar role for United.

Well today that deal was confirmed and the manager couldn’t be happier and rightfully so.  I’m with Levein on this one in thinking this is a major coup for the club.

You just need to look at the fact he turned down a similar role with Rangers this time last year to see how highly thought of Banks is.  It is also thought that the Englishman took a wage cut to come to the club, which to me is a big deal as he obviously feels that it was the right move.

Whilst talking about his latest signing, Levein has also confirmed that Banks is not just here to play second fiddle on the playing side of things.  With a deal for another ‘keeper expected to be done in the next couple of week, Levein commented that it will be the man between the sticks on the first day of the season will be the one who impresses most during pre season.

That could only be a good thing as it would appear that we will be in a stronger position next season in the goalkeeping department next year as opposed to last season.

I believe this is a good move for United in getting Banks signed as he may prove to be a very important player for us next season.

Hopefully the fact that Levein is making moves to bring players in should also help to put the dampeners on any rumours that he is set to leave us for pastures new.

But enough of that just now, today we should be happy we have made what could potentially be a very shrewd capture.

What do you think of the Banks deal?  Will he prove to be a steal?  Will he play a big part next year?

Let us know, leave a comment.

Silly season has officially begun folks and there are some wicked tales of all sorts flying around, so be careful.

As well all know we have had the rumours that Craig Levein was off to Celtic.  That was seen to be nothing more than a pile of good ol’ lies and has now died down.

So what next?

Let us have a look and give the verdict.

On The Playing Front

Ok so we have been linked to a couple of new faces coming in and the budget Craig Levein has would seem ample for four, possibly five, players.  These numbers include Steve Banks and Danny Cadamarteri, who are as good as signed.

The general consensus would also appear to suggest that James Wesolowski will be returning on a permanant deal.

So that would be 3 suggesting the fourth will be a keeper, most likely Alberto Marrama from what I have been hearing.  Knowing nothing about the guy, I would be hard pushed to comment.

Sources on the following like vary in reliability so take with a pinch of salt.

Maurice Ross – His name has been bandied about the Internet and it has been suggested to me that we are looking at him.  I don’t see it as being likely, we don’t need another right back and if fitness isn’t an issue, I would much prefer to see Keith Watson get game time rather than sign someone else in that position.

Filipe Morais – Again his name is being mentioned a lot although in my view it’s mostly down to him wanting to leave Inverness Caly Thistle more than United having any real interest.  That said, might not be a bad option for the wide positions.  Still, I can’t see it and with the players attitude being somewhat questionable (supposedly) there is little chance of this move happening.

Dougie Imrie – Again this one seems to have come about after the player decided he wants to leave Caly and there would appear to be nothing solid in the rumour, other than people wanting us to go for this sort of players.  As it is, Caly seem to want around £50k for his services and with our budget what it is, I would say any move would be unlikely.  It’s abit of a pity as I would like to see a guy like this at Tannadice, his direct style and they way he runs at defenders would certainly give us more of an edge.  I just don’t see it happening however.

And finally, one from “pigs might fly section” of rumours…

Andy Dorman – Heard a couple of people talking about this one, where it has come from I have no idea.  This guy is good and in all honesty, he is going to end up at a far bigger club than any in the SPL (outside the Old Firm).  He will end up down in the English Championship and if he stays in Scotland past this summer, it will be with St. Mirren.  For us, this is never going to happen, the transfer fee involved in any move for Dorman puts the stoppers on it straight away.

If this happens I will invest £1,000,000 into United…. I don’t have £1,000,000…. see what I’m getting at?  Rumours about Dorman, so not happening.

Behind the scenes

Rumours are flying around that Craig Levein is packing it in and is about to move to the footballing Meccah that is Aberdeen.  That’s not happening but your footballing message boards, which are a hot bed of gospel truth, were rife with it last night.  It seems to have originated from Aberdeen Mad and is a possible wind-up.

I have it on fairly good authority that Walter Smith is more likely to end up at Celtic than this deal going through but then eveybody seems to know someone in the know when it comes to what they have heard.

All I will say is, I am fairly confident Levein is not for Aberdeen.

That said, apparently life is not all roses at Tannadice so there may be worring times ahead, if rumours are to be believed.

There has been an alleged fallout between Levein and Chairman Stephen Thompson about the budget Levein has to work with for next season.  Rumour has it Levein was offered far less than he though acceptable to bring in new players and was far from happy.  Thompson refused to budge on the offer and it was left to John Bennett to input some cash to raise the kitty up to an acceptable level.

Whether this has left Levein content or there will still be issues remain to be seen, assuming this is true.

Like I said, it’s silly season and all sorts of guff appears although a rumoured fall out worries me and may not be far off the mark.

Lets just hope than once the dust settles on another summer, we are looking forward to a new season with a few new players and Levein still at the helm.

Time will tell…

Heard any rumours involving United?  Has someone in the know let slip about any potential targets?

Let us know, leave a comment.

Paul Dixon

He is a waste of space and Eddie Malone is a much better player.  Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing Paul Dixon.

That is not my opinion of course, that was along the lines of what some Dundee fans chose to utter when they found out he had signed for us.

So last summer Dixon decided to call it a day with his former employees and sign for his boyhood hero’s.

His contract had run down at Dundee and Craig Levein offered him terms and that was that, £25k went to Dundee and we signed a player who, after his first year in Tangerine, went on to become our young player of the year.

It was a sad end to the youngsters Dundee career the way he ended up leaving.  After playing his very early years at Monifieth Athletic, Aberdonian Dixon was picked up by the scouts at Dundee and was promptly signed for the club at the tender age of 12.

After coming through the ranks at the Dens Park club, left back Dixon finally made his debut for the club back in 2005 under manager Jim Duffy.

Dixon became a first team regular and managed to pitch in with two goals  for his team.  After his first season, he was awarded a contract extension that was to take him up to the summer of 2008.

The players talents did not go unnoticed and in the summer of 2007 Dixon was subject of a bid from Norwich City for his services.  Norwich, who had Dixon’s former manager Duffy as the assistant manager, were turned down in their bid to lure Dixon down south.

During the 07/08 season Dixon fell out of favour with then manager Alex Rae and it became clear that he would leave the club at the end of the season.  It was in the Janaury of 2008 that Kilmarnock decided to tempt Dixon away from Dens but that move also failed to materialise.

Rumours were not long in circulating about where the youngsters future would lie and Dundee United became surprise favourites to capture Dixon’s signature.

Neither club nor the player would comment on the rumours but it was thought that Dixon had signed a pre contract with his clubs rivals.

As the season came to an end at Dundee, the final game at Hamilton was to see Dixon explode at manager Alex Rae and make their feud public. Dixon was substituted shortly after half time, in a move that he felt was set to make him look like a fool by his manager and had to be escorted down the tunnel by opposing manager Billy Reid.

On June 23 2008 Dixon was added to the squad by Craig Levein in a move that seen United pay just £25k due to the players age.

It was not long before the player made his 1st team début, in a League Cup match with Airdrie and his league début followed the following weekend against Hearts.

Dixon was somewhat of a lucky charm that seen United concede only one goal in the first 6 games he played.

Since breaking into the team, Dixon became an almost ever present forming a fantastic partnership with Craig Conway down the left, a partnership that caused opposing defences many problems and racked Dixon up a number of assists.

In his first season at the club, the left back has managed 32 appearances scoring 1 goal, a free kick at Celtic Park.

His good form seen Dixon on the verge of an International call up for the Scotland B game versus Northern Ireland, only for his hopes to be dashed as United were to play Aberdeen in a crunch post split tie, scheduled for the day after the International tie.

The season was not without honours for Paul Dixon though, as he was awarded the Dundee United Young Player of the Year award.

So for a player who was such a waste of space he has certainly managed to shine for us and has managed the step up to SPL football admirably. Lets hope he can keep up the good work and continue to improve next season.

Craig Levein

Calm down, breathe and relax.  Our best manager since Jim McLean is not set to leave us in the lurch.  Well, not yet anyway.

The odds for Craig Levein to walk away from Tannadice into the managers job at Celtic were slashed to 5/2 this morning by Victor Chandler bookmakers.  Cue wild speculation that he was as good as gone.

That moved onto he was to be interviewed today and then to he basically secured the job and Gomis, Robertson and Sandaza were packing their bags and set to follow him.

The rumour mongers were swiftly left a bit red faced though, when it was all but confirmed that ex Tangerine Owen Coyle was set to walk away from all his good work at newly promoted Burnley into the Celtic hot seat.

So that put the stoppers on that one then.  The fun was far from over though as people started to put two and two together and came out with 3456323 and decided Burnley are now after Levein.

To be honest, I reckon they will be looking for someone with a bit more of a track record that Levein can currently offer.

So that’s that then?  Well not quite.  Someone decided Levein is on the hitlist of Aberdeen.  I can state right now, with a stupid amount of confidence, that it will just not happen.

In fact, if it does I will eat the computer I use to produce this site.  I will also give up on this site.  I don’t want to do either.

Why would he go there to work under Willie Miller as a director of football when he has that role himself here and why would he give up on the work he has done at Tannadice for a job that, lets be honest, would not be a step forward.

Don’t get me wrong, Levein is a good manager and he will leave us a some point, it just won’t be right now.

Football, it a game of opinion in that everyone has one on every aspect of the game.  As fans, we sit in the stands everyweek or watch from the arm chair and we pick holes in our team managers decisions.

We sit there thinking the formation is wrong.  We wouldn’t have started with striker A up front.  Defender B should never be in the squad.  We all do it, it’s part and parcel of the game.

The thing about that is, it is all to easy to criticise.  When things are going good the manager gets the adulation of the fans.  When things start to go down the pan a bit, we sit there thinking along the lines of “for f*ck sake you idiot, even I could have done a better job”.

So, with out the criticism I am about to go for my attempt at being a football manager, well not the whole hog, and I am having my view on what positions Craig Levein should be looking to fill over the summer.

As we all know, Danny Cadamarteri  is in, it’s a done deal.  The former Everton player can fill in on the flanks or upfront.  The versatility is a good thing, I think he really needs to prove himself first.

We all know we need two ‘keepers and we look to have at least a back up in in the form of Steve Banks.  We need another one but that is on the cards so no point in going there.

So what else do we need?  Well transfer budget allowing, I would like to see us try for the following.  I’m not going to list players because I’m sure Levein will come up with some gems we have never heard of so, there is little point in listing the obvious.  I will just look at positions.

We need a centre half.  The problem we have is that we have 3 very decent centre halves in Wilkie, Dods and Kenneth but they are too similar.  In them we have 3 big guys who are good when the ball is coming over the top.  One of the short falls in this area is that we lack pace.

It is all to easy for teams to get the ball down and run at them and if the midfield don’t cover up, we can be worryingly exposed.

If we could inject a bit of pace in there, I think we would be much more comfortable.

The fact that none of our three centre halves are particularly comfortable on the ball is also a bit hindering.  All to often one of them tries to play football and for me, the heart jumps to the mouth in the fear they will give gift posession to the opposition.

If we could get a pacey centre half who is relativley comfortable on the ball, that would be a major improvement in that area.

We need a central midfielder. And one with some dig.  There is likely to be a deal set up to bring James Wesolowski on a permanent basis so that could be what we need.  He was looking good before his injury and never shirked a tackle.

We have too many players in midfield who are good on the ball and can play a good passing game but we lack some dig.  If we can get a bit of a mean streak in there, it maybe help to stop teams breaking through us too easily.

We need a winger. One who plays on the right please.  It’s possible that this could be where Levein say Cadamarteri spending most of his time, if so, we have it covered.  If not, we need someone in, again, rumour has it that there is someone on the radar.

I hope so because too many times this season we focussed our attacking play down the left.  Don’t get more wrong, when Conway and Dixon were on form it has worked well and caused defences problems.  The problem it causes us though is that once teams get wise to it, they shut it down and we struggle to find a way forward.

Bringing in a player capable of playing to that effect down the right would make us more balanced and give us more options.

So there you have it, if I was in charge, that is what I would be looking to bring in.

Do you agree?  Do you think we need players in other positions before those listed above?

Let us know, leave a comment.

Steve Banks

As funny as it would be to report we enticed Gordon Banks out of retirement to be our new goalkeeping coach and back up ‘keeper I’m afraid that, as much as I want to, I cannot bring you that story.  It would just be pure lies.

What I can say though, is that Hearts coach and back up ‘keeper Steve Banks (I dunno if he is a relation, should have checked up on that.  Answers on a postcard, if you can be bothered) is, barring any last minute hitches, set to join our ranks.

Banks has been on the books of Hearts now for a while and has played in the odd game for them.  I for one have always thought, when he played against us anyway, that he looked like a good ‘keeper.

I seem to remember on a couple of occassions that it looked as if we could play for a whole bloody season and never score against this guy.

So in he comes (well as I said, not yet) to be our goalkeeping coach and back up ‘keeper, or potentially number one.  The guy might be 37 years of age but I’m sure he could still do a job for us.  The men between the sticks are in a position of being able to play on for a few more years than outfield players (unless that outfield player happens to be Cafu who I think made it to 367 before he quit…) purely down to that part of the game being slightly less demanding.

I reckon that this is quite a big coup for us.  As far as I remember Banks was very highly thought of at Hearts as a coach and a player.  He may have been shafted a bit by them at some point (but then who hasn’t) and to manage to get him on board can only be good.

If the lad can make a push for the first team place with whoever else Levein brings in then that can only be a good thing as well.

And if Banks is to be seen as more of a back up, it will be good to have the confidence that if need be, he can step up and put in a good shift for us.

So, assuming there are no hitches and  Banks does complete the move then I reckon that’s a big well done to Levein.

What do you think of the signing of Steve Banks?  Will it be a good move?  Can he be our No.1?

Let us know, leave a comment.

So it was far from the way we wanted the season to end and the birthday party ended like much the way I reckon it would if you found your father was actually the wierd man standing in the corner and not the man you thought it was.

It ended with everything going wrong and people sloping off quietly and not making a scene.

It was a disappointing end to what had the potential to be a very good season for us, and losing the last two games in the manner we did was frustrating and hurtful as a fan.

At the moment we as fans need to calm down, sit back and reflect on what was still a season of progress.

I have read too many fans getting themselves in a bit of a twist about the way we ended the season, and that’s fully understandable considering the emotions are still raw, but for people to be saying Levein is not the man to take us forward, we have a squad full of bottle merchants and our players are not good enough, well I’m sorry but it’s time to wake up and realise what we are as a club.

You just need to look at where we were when Craig Levein took over.  We were bottom of the League.  We were in a relegation dog fight nearly year after year.

What you also need to remember is the size of budget that Levein has to work with.  It’s is likely to be pennies compared to what the Old Firm, Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen can afford and that comes purely down to the fan base.

If you look at the players we have signed on such a small budget, we have a really good squad with fantastic potential and if we can keep them together we can go far.

The squad we have assembled is a young one and there is no doubt we need a bit of experience in certain areas.  With a squad of such a young age come inconsistency and there were always likely to be games where we lacked the experience to finish teams off or be that wee bit more clever to stop silly goals happening.

At the end of the day, the exposure that a lot of players in the team have got will stand them in good stead for the future.  The experience that the likes of Gomis, Bauben, D Robertson, amongst others, gained should make them better players.

I think what we have are a group of fans who want to see us do the best we can, I know I do, but at the same time, these feelings get overtaken by silly notions that we can split the Old Firm and other such ludicrous ideas.  Yes we are a decent team and yes we have potentially good players but improvement will be gradual.  We cannot expect to go from a relegation dog fight to splitting the Old Firm two years later.

This season is now seen by some as a disappointment.  I am disappointed that we did not make Europe but it was so close to being another good year.  We were unlucky in the Semi Final of the League Cup, failing only after a marathon penalty shoot out and we were only a point away from a Euro place.  Had we got to the final of the cup, had we went on to win it, and had we gained that extra point somewhere along the way, fans would have been falling over themselves to proclaim how great we were.

We were the wrong side of a fine line this season so it’s not all doom and gloom.

The league table now shows us as finish 5th and that is all that matters when all is said and done.  As the old saying goes the league table does not lie and I firmly believe that.  We did not deserve a place in Europe this year and if we had got that spot, it would have been extremely lucky.

Our failure to clinch that spot does not come down to the 3-0 defeats away to Hearts and at home to Rangers in the last two games, it come from our inability to beat Motherwell at home when they put four past us with no reply.  It comes from our lack of experience when it came to breaking down a Hamilton team which shut up shop.  There are countless games where we should have done better than we did and they have cost us.

To be the “best of the rest” in this division you have to make sure you win these games and we did not.  I believe that a lack of experience has a lot to do with this and given time, we will learn to cope with these situations.

We all want United to improve and we shouldn’t be happy with only getting 5th spot and being nearly rans in the Cup competitions but we cannot expect to go from bottom of the league struggler’s to European certainties over night.

As long as we keep the core of this squad together and can keep hold of our manager, we will get better.  Some fans just need a reality check.

Yeah, it’s the first Tannadice Times player of the Year awards.  It works by us picking the player,  young player and most improved player we think have shone through out the season.  For the players, well unfortunately they don’t win anything but the do get the honour and respect that goes with the titles on offer.

In short, everyone is happy.

It’s been another decent season for us, better than last year in the way of point total and I think we have been more consistent.  Fair enough we looked rotten at the start of the year but we look to be finishing strong which is good as a rather poor run in cost us Europe last year.

A lot of this is down to so fantastic effort from the players.  Even when we have had our off days, and there has been a few, they have still put in the effort.  Even if at the end of it all we don’t make Europe, I think we should still be proud that such a young team has done so well.

We are still in the hunt with 3 games to go and we were on the brink of a second consecutive League Cup final.  Fair enough the trophy cabinet is bare again but if we can keep a hold of most of the squad, we will continue to improve and I have no doubt that silverware will come.

And so onto the players.

Tannadice Times Player of the Year

Lukasz Zaluska

Lukasz has been superb for us this season and it really will be a shame when he goes.  Whatever his motive is for leaving I think it says a lot when, even though he knew he was going, he still put in 100% effort in each and every match.

It would have been easy for him to give up on us and play his days out going through the motions but has has remained impressive and no doubt secured us some vital points along the way.

The big Pole had been some what unfortunate at the start of his United career but this season showed why Levein brought him to Tannadice.

Even when he decided to sign a pre contract agreement with Celtic, many fans called for Levein to drop him but the Gaffer kept the faith and Zaluska proved he was right to do so.

It says a lot that the fans still chant his name everytime he takes to the pitch.

So well done Lukasz Zaluska you are the Tannadice Times Player of the Year.

Tannadice Times Young Player of the Year

Paul Dixon

It was hard to justify picking anyone else for this award, there was only one player I can think that truly deserves it and that is Paul Dixon.

He was a shrewd purchase from Craig Levein as we paid out only £25k for his services.

Dundee fans claimed he was rank and Eddie Malone was better.  In that case, Malone must be some player.

Paul has taken the step up a division in his stride and this season struck up an impressive left had side pairing with winger Craig Conway.  His attack minded play he seen him set up a few goals this season and his delivery into the box is fantastic.

That said the boys not a bad defender at the same time.

It’s heartening to so the passion the boy plays with as well, you can tell that it means so much to him to pull on the shirt of his boyhood heroes every week.

It must be remembered that Paul is only a young lad so to give the fantastic level of consistency in his performance  that he has, is impressive.  If he keeps improving as he does, I’m sure this lad will have a big future ahead of him.

Well done Paul Dixon, Tannadice Times Young Player of the Year.

Tannadice Times Most Improved Player

David Goodwillie

This was a tough one to pick and maybe in my choice I have been blinded by recent performance but for the most improved player I have had to go for David Goowillie.

It’s been clear to see from his play this season that he has matured so much as a player in the past year.

He has been on the scene for ages and sometimes it’s hard to believe he is only 20 years old but performances this year have show how much he has improved.

He is always willing to chase a defender down, he has the ability to take a man on, he knows where the net is and he give 100%

He looks to have cut out the silly rash challenges he was sometimes guilty of making and at the same time, his off field antics look to have calmed down.

It’s fair to say that, until not long ago I though it would maybe be best for the lad to move on as he was failing to live up to the promise he once showed but clever management from Levein in putting him out on loan and trying to calm him down off field have obviously worked and I have been proven wrong.

He has showed this year he has what it takes to be a first choice striker for us and I look forward to Davis playing a big part in the rest of our season and beyond.

Well done David Goodwillie, Tannadice Times Most Improved Player.

And there you have it, the awards have been dished out and no doubt the lads will be off to celebrate (or not, most likely they will never come across this).

So what do you think of our choices, have we handed out an award to somebody undeserving of it?  Who would you have chose?

Let us know by leaving a comment.

McGovern is set to leave

There was no shock provided when this news was announce by gaffer Craig Levein.  With his one year deal up and yet to play a first team game for United, former Celtic goalkeeper Michael McGovern is set to leave the club on a free in the summer.

Both the manager and the player see the future away from the club and McGovern feels it is time to move on in the search of first team football.

It must be hard to take for McGovern, having to play understudy to Lukasz Zaluska all year.  Levein insists the Irishman would have been a good player for us if he had played but it was hard to justify dropping Celtic bound Zaluska, who has been in fine form all season.

To me though, it’s no great loss.  He has never played for the first team so there is not a lot to miss really.  I have had the joy of seeing him play a few times as well and to be honest, I would not feel comfortable if the lad was to given a run in the first team.  No doubt there are better options out there and I’m sure Levein intends to find them.

I’m sure McGovern will find another club but it may be at a lower level than the SPL.  I think that would be more suited for him although, I now fully expect to be proved wrong.

Good luck Michael, wherever you end up.

Was it the right decision to let McGovern go?  Could he have been a good player for us?  Let us know, leave a comment.

Our Young Player of the Year

Paul Dixon was clearly delighted to find out he had picked up the Dundee United Young Player of the Year award this season, and plans to repay the faith the fans have shown in him by helping the team into Europe.

Dixon has been immense for us this season, maybe better than some had expected.  He has linked up superbly with Craig Conway at times, causing full backs all over the country problems.

And the former Dundee player, who moved to his boyhood heros last summer to further his career, admits it couldn’t have gone any better for him.

“It was a huge honour to be voted young player of the year,” he Dixon.

“I’ve been a United fan all my life so playing for the club is something I always dreamed of and I’d like to thank the fans for recognising me.

“The last year has been amazing. I made the decision to leave Dundee because I wanted to progress and play at a higher level. Craig Levein showed a lot of faith in me and there’s no doubt I’ve become a better player here.

“If I’m honest, I’ve probably played more than I thought I would have this season.

“I knew that we had another quality left-back in Danny Grainger so I would have to be patient, but I think I took my chance when it came along.

As much as it appeared to be a massive blow for us to lose Christian Kalvenes at the end of last season, Craig Levein made a shrewd move to pick up the out of contract full back, paying only £25k in compensation due to his age.

Dixon has repaid the faith Levein had in him by turning out impressive performances week in week out for us and that has lead to this award.

And I’m sure there will be more to come from Dixon, the lad is only young and is bound to improve his game.

So well done Paul on picking up the award.

And to think, I had countless Dundee fans thell me he was rubbish and that Eddie Malone was a better player…

Do you agree with the United YPOTY award?  Let us know, leave a comment.

Out for the Season

United were today reeling from the news that James Wesolowski will be out for the season with a torn hamstring, sustained in the weekends game against Hibs.

The Australian midfielder, on loan from Leicester, will now not perform again for the Tannadice team as his loan ends at the end of the current season.

Although we have the option to sign Wesolowski, it reamins to be seen if the player and the club are happy to strike up a deal.

The injury to Wesolowski is a bit of a blow for us as we come to the end of the season.  There are four huge games to go and I have no doubt that Craig Levein will have been looking to have as many players available to give us as many options as possible.

The lad has been in good form since getting up to speed with the style of play in the SPL as well.  He is tough tackling and has a decent pass on him.  Maybe he is not the most stand out player in the midfield but has done a decent job and was handy to have around whilst Scott Robertson was out injured.

Although Robbo was on the bench against Hibs at the weekend, he will be far from match fit.  We do have other options in the midfield department in the form of David Robertson and Danny Swanson and both these players can do a job, and did so on Saturday but neither are the tough tackling sort and prefer to play a more attacking game.

Still, there is always Gomis and Bauben who have looked solid together and never shirk a challenge but the problems may begin should one of these two pick up a knock or get suspended.

It may mean that we see Scott Robertson back sooner than expected which, although it would be good to see him back, may not be the best of idea if it was to mean further time out through aggravating the injury.

Lovell No Go

Craig Levein today denied reports that Falkirk Striker Steve Lovell has undergone a medical at Tannadice and admitted the player is not even on his radar.

Rumours have been rife that the former Dundee man was set to sign for United but Levein says that is simply not the case and he is not a player he has even considered.

And that to me is not such a bad thing.  I just don’t see Lovell is a man who could do a job for us, especially as he seems to be on the sidelines injured more often than not.

Another striking target, former Everton striker Danny Cadamarteri, is still mulling over a move to Tannadice however, and is expected to sign soon after rejecting an extension to his Huddersfield deal.

Now that to me is a bad thing.  I have gave my reasons for this many times before so will no go there again, but lets just hope  Danny sees his future elsewhere.

What A Weekend.

It was the weekend that we all hoped for. We needed 3 points against Hibs and thanks to Warren Feeney and David Goodwillie, we got them.

We all wanted both of the Old Firm sides to win.  Celtic saw off Aberdeen and Rangers dispatched of Hearts.

Thanks to those results, we are now four points ahead of Aberdeen and, more importantly, we now only trail Hearts by two points.

It’s now a possibility that come the time we play Hearts at Tynecastle on the 16th of this month, we could be leading them in the race for 3rd.  But lets not get carried away just yet, there are two huge games to be played before we get to that.

And that is why Thursday is a massive game.  Aberdeen visit Tannadice this coming week and we could effectively put them out of the Euro hunt and have one foot in the Europa League.  This game will be huge.

Should we manage to beat the Dons, we will be seven points clear of them, meaning for them to catch us they would need to win their final 3 games and we would need to drop all but one point.  That however, is not out with the realms of possibility.

At the very least though, we can all rest assured United will go out and attack Aberdeen on Thursday.  As Gaffer Craig Levein said in the build up to the Hibs game, draws will not do now, we need wins and we will go for those wins.

At the same time, Hearts will be taking on Hibs in the final Edinburgh Derby of the season.  As usual in Derby matches, the form book goes out the window and the team who wins is usually the team who wants it more.  Maybe we will get a little bit of a favour from Hibs and they can triumph over their rivals.

Who knows how it will turn out but it’s going to be exciting.

Sandaza cool on transfer talk

Striker Francisco Sandaza has quashed rumours that he is set to return to Spain once the season is over and admitted the only team in his thoughts are United.

Interest in the former Valencia striker is said to be on the up and it has not gone unnoticed that he has managed to score 10 goals in his 1st season in Scotland.

The big striker however, said he prefers not to think about a move and is grateful to United for giving him a chance to keep his football careers going, just as he was about to quit to join the police.

“Clubs in Spain want me but they will have to wait as now I’m only thinking about Dundee United,” said the striker.

“They gave me an opportunity to play and I’m very grateful to Craig Levein for that. He gave me the chance to be a footballer again.”

“I have noticed there is much more interest in me back home now,” said Sandaza.

“A lot of journalists call me up and tell me how well I’m doing in Scotland.

“I don’t want to think too much about my future. It’s bad for concentration.”

It’s good to see Sandaza is not getting to wrapped up in the speculation.  I have no doubt that he will head back to Spain at some point.  The lads a great player and I’m sure he will have the desire to prove some of the doubters in his homeland wrong.

For now though, we need all they players heads in the right place for the run in and he seems to be going the right way about reacting to the talk.

By Alexander Lawrie

ONE of Scotland’s top football bosses has bared all in an online film to raise awareness for a cancer charity.

Dundee Utd manager Craig Levein’s cheeky move came as he appeared in a five-minute charity film for Prostate Scotland.

During the spoof sports-show ad Levein is seen being interviewed by radio personality Grant Stott before turning on his heels and showing off his bare backside.

The hilarious advert is currently the talk of football forums up and down the country.

Hearts legend Levein is joined in light-hearted charity promo by Stott and former Scotland rugby captain Chris Patterson.

The film coincides with the launch of the website for Edinburgh-based charity Prostate Scotland, an organisation which hopes to raise awareness of the disease and to encourage men to discuss their own health.

It is estimated that almost half (43%) of Scottish men will be affected by prostate cancer sometime in their lives, and between 2000-06 a massive 5457 men died in Scotland from the disease.

The charity has recruited Levein, Stott and Patterson to help persuade Scots men that visiting their GP need not be embarrassing.

Former Scottish-internationalist Levein has a personal interest in the cause after close friend and Dundee Utd chairman Eddie Thomson died from the disease last year.

In the five minute clip – available from today on the charity’s website – Levein and Patterson recreate a sports show format and give spoof after-match interviews on the subject of prostate cancer with presenter Stott.

The hilarious clip then ends with Levein walking away from the camera in a hospital gown revealing his bare behind.

Describing the operation Levein says: “The thing was – I just didn’t know what to expect.

“I just had to get in there, do what needed to be done and, hopefully, get a good result.”

Recent research shows a massive 89 per cent did not know the function the prostate, while two thirds (66%) don’t know where the prostate is located.

Survival rates are around 80 per cent, but early detection is key to this statistic.

Robert Wilson, chairman of Prostate Scotland, said: “The research proved there is a lack of awareness, with only 28 per cent of people surveyed being close to aware of the prevalence of prostate disease.

“The website contains some important awareness materials to help reverse this gap in information.”

Presenter Grant Stott admitted he “couldn’t believe the figures of people at risk were so high”.

He said: “I just had to help raise awareness of this common but often unspoken disease and, hopefully, encourage more people to talk openly about a subject which shouldn’t be taboo.”