United’s underwhelming performance against Hibs in the League Cup, and some of our recent SPL performances have rightly been regarded as some of our poorest for many months…
(First published on 29th November 2001, by Barca 87)
…comparable only to some of the dreadful displays of the last season and the ones before that. The message boards have been despondent lately – but should Arabs be full of such gloom?
From an Arab perspective, it does at least show the level of improvement there has been in the team since the start of the year, and also the increased level of expectation we have in them. I think most Arabs thought that we could perhaps sneak third in the league and certainly almost everybody would have thought on the evidence of January to May’s form we would comfortably be in the top half of the table .
Now following the CIS match and the performances against Dunfermline, Motherwell and the Infirm I think most Arabs have re-assessed our expectations, and perhaps a top six finish would be a realistic and good return on this season. I wondered is this “good enough for United”?
On reflection – I think it is. Other than the Infirm and perhaps Livingston, results this season have shown that just about every team can claim to be similar in quality. Most obviously, Hibs win easily last night; we on the other hand enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 win against them with a superb second half performance. That same team has struggled to beat St Johnstone, Dunfermline and the less said about our Infirm games the better.
Hibs, for example, are no better than us (although they like to think so) as the league table and results clearly show, but their team is made up primarily of players who will not be at Easter Road for much longer than three years. The SPL is littered with teams who have adopted the same short-term policy, and we can all think of the best example!
It would be churlish to criticise this. It has yielded Hibs’ best season in years and the Dee have finished above us at least, in the last few seasons, but there are already questions being asked by wiser minds than I if it is sustainable over a long period of time.
Other teams, i.e. us, have elected to build their side round Scottish talent or at least younger talent banking perhaps on a more long-term return on this investment. So, as much as I hate to say it, I think we should look up the road with the Sheep as a possible indicator as to how things may go for us in the future.
Since Skovdhal took charge he has more or less kept the same young squad. Through the 6 goal In Firm humiliations and abject performances home and away during the late 90s to now being undefeated in 7 at home. Ridiculed to start off with, his team have played first team football for nearly three years now. They went long-term and it is starting to work.
United must look at this team in the long-term. Gallacher, McCunnie, McConalogue, Paterson, McCracken and Carson etc are going to become better players. Along with older heads in Griffin, Lilley and Lauchlan this is the nucleus of a very good side, but one that will not be at its best for another 18 months perhaps and prone to a terrible run
It could be considered as making excuses, but if this team could be kept together we could be looking at better times. Over the last 10 years we have seen good United young sides slowly break up and fail to reach their potential with United (McLaren, Winters, O’Neil, Bollan, Lyndsey) , it’s up to Smith, Maurice and Heggie to keep this lot together and provide us with a worthy United side in the next few years.
So on some occasions we will be good and other appalling, but bare in mind it is still a step up from the dreadful fare we have been consistently given since the Coca Cola Cup Final of 1997. This is the way ahead – Hearts and Motherwell have shown, and I have no doubt Dundee will do so in time, that trying to buy instant success does not work in a Scottish context. Nothing has convinced me otherwise
Until that point, we will still see those frustrating matches when we are abysmal, inept and to quote a famous lazy media phrase “a disgrace to their predecessors of 20 years ago”. As far as I can see every team in the SPL does not do justice to their equivalent sides of yester-year!
The future will be bright…trust me.
