Jim McLean

RIP Jim. Fondly remembered and deeply respected

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Originally Posted by JamesMcClean

It is no exaggeration to mention him in that same pantheon of working class Scottish managers who performed miracles - Stein, Shankly, Busby. What that man did for all of us as a Football Club should never, ever be forgotten. Dundee United would not be what they are right now without that man and by his own admission he sacrificed everything for the job, including as he freely admitted himself, any semblance of a family life.

He famously said that as he watched us, Ralphie inspired, rip apart Standard Liege in the European Cup in 1983 that he for once had no words or instructions to deliver - it was the perfect team performance that bore the fruits of all that he had done since becoming manager. I wish he could have appreciated what he did all the more at the time as he did say that was one of his regrets.

If there is one thing I could say to him now would be not to worry - we appreciated those performances and those years more than he could know. And it was all down to him, pure and simple.

He wasn’t Wee Jum, he was OOR Jum. One of our own. And there will forever be an empty seat in that dugout that can never, ever be filled or replaced. You’ll love I’m sure the endless tactical discussions you’ll enjoy now with the likes of Stein and Shankly and when you see him, please don’t give Ralphie a hard time!

You cannot and will not be forgotten and you have our eternal thanks. From all Arabs, Rest In Peace Jim, you gave us it all and you had nothing more to give. What a Colossus - we will never see your like again.:heart::blue:

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Well said!

https://i.postimg.cc/2yrFq9x8/IMG-20201226-203136.jpg

R.I.P. wee Jim... yer a legend

R.I.P Jim, in football your likes will never be repeated.

Rip jim McLean. Not many like him. He contributed so much to scottish football.
It was a pleasure watching United in Europe. In those days everyone cheered for each other in Europe and United were for several years the most exciting team in Britain to watch. Especially in 87 when the whole island was watching! McLean was a master. Fiercely loyal, and demanded the same from his plauers. Even as the mighty Rangers moved to get him, he shocked scottish football, showing loyalty to his club. He was very persuasive and often got his way. I often wonder if we had got our first choice, if we could have conquered Europe. Credit to him for making his club known nationwide under the label of “new firm”. It shows what an achievement this is when it still is the case many years after he left United aswell as retaining the position as one of the top 5 or 6 best supported clubs in the country.

Genuinely im in tears. I know he has suffered recently and hope he rests in peace. Cant help but be gutted and sad. Legend RIP x

83! ❤️

I didn't even know he was ill. He had a huge impact on Scottish Football. What a strong character he was - he will be missed.

Thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

From a Rangers fan.

I often think that other Scottish managers who have done great things did so with teams you'd expect to win. Busby won the European Cup with a team that SHOULD be winning European Cups. Stein fulfilled the potential of Celtic, Shankly made a successful club even more successful. Alongside Jim, only Alex Ferguson, to his credit, should stand because he made Aberdeen over-perform.
But not one of them, even Ferguson, took a club the size of Alloa/Albion Rovers/Forfar and took them to the greatest heights like Jim did with United. The club always had potential, there was always a support ready to come along in numbers if a good team was on the park. And the achievements of Taypools must be acknowledged as a very important factor in laying the foundations, as were the talents of Jerry Kerr.
But those were just foundations. A huge structure had to be built upon them. No other manager has ever taken a club from the backwaters of the 29th biggest country in Europe and made them into contenders for the continent's greatest prizes.
Jim isn't appreciated nearly enough for the magnitude of his achievements. Not even by United supporters. As every club's fans do, we came to the point where we expect to be big-hitters, we expect to be challenging for trophies. And that isn't criticism, that is the greatest accolade Jim could be given. He made us a big club.
It wasn't always like that. In the 1950s, United were terrible. Grubbing about at the bottom of the Second Division. If someone said to you today that in 25 years' time, Brechin will be reaching European competition finals, you'd say they were mad. But that's what Jim did.
I think another generation, perhaps more, will have to pass before Jim's worth is fully appreciated.
Today is a sad day, but Jim wouldn't have been sentimental if he'd been looking at the events of this season. He'd be demanding more victories. He'd be out of the dugout pointing fingers at bad performances and re-shuffling the formation to make those victories happened.
The standards he set are what we should remember about him.
He made the club so big that everyone unquestioningly expects it to still be big.