Rollercoaster Dundee United

[JamesMcClean]

The tallest rollercoaster in the world until recently was Kingda Ka at Six flags New Jersey. Until it was recently demolished. That record has now been re-taken by the previous holder, Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Park, Ohio. if events were to overtake that, then I would suggest the next candidate - Dundee United Football Club.

To paraphrase Sir Alex, 'Football, eh, Bloody Hell'. If there was one statement that sums us up then that probably is it. Can there be any other Club going that has gone from qualifying for Europe, beating AZ, to relegation, to losing at home to Morton and Airdrie, to then getting promoted, to 'qualifying' for Europe, to almost phucking it up and then actually properly qualifying for Europe. I haven't actually gone back and formally checked it but off the top of my head, I think it's unprecedented in general terms in the UK

And there's the word - unprecedented. Goodwin has his detractors (and admittedly I'm one of them at times) but any sane supporter has to recognise the frankly magnificent job he has done turning round an absolute schitshow of a squad from two years ago to one that has qualified for Europe. Indeed had we not lost Holt when we did, I reckon we'd have got third. I really do.

How has it happened? Ruthlessness. And Goodwin has it in abundance. One thing you cannot accuse him of is having his 'favourites'. Put simply, if you're not performing then you're dropped. If you're not good enough or you're not fit enough, then you're not getting another contract. Look at Babunski and Trapanovski - signature signings but failed to deliver- dropped. Witness the shock of McMann not getting a new contract last season now followed by the release of Gallagher, Moult and Docherty (already). Contrast with two years ago with Mulgrew getting another year and the horror show that subsequently followed. Freshening the squad while keeping standards high is the watchword.

Where has this come from? I suspect Goodwin has leant many, MANY, lessons from his time at Sheepsville. Probably one of them was keep your friends close and your enemies closer (Not looking at you Barry Robson/Graeme Shinnie) which means I reckon he's doing a lot of stuff off his own back in terms of recruitment and selection. And there is no bad thing in that, after all another Jim in our long and famous history did no bad with that philosphy.

Anyways, it feels like we've gone through yet another full circle. Five years ago we went from promotion, to stabilisation, to Europe, to relegation. Picking this one up, we've gone from relegation to promotion to Europe so essentially we're right back where we started from just a short three years ago missing a step inbetween. The difference is that this time it feels like we have a more pragmatic, sensible and co-ordinated team moving us forward, And not just one big fat ex copper let loose with the owner's business credit card with a humongous credit limit.

Overall, we are back where we should never be away from quite frankly. No one expects European Football every season. No one expects winning a trophy every season. But top 6? Absolutely. Cup runs deep in to tournaments? Absolutely. This season should only be seen as a platfrom from which we build. Levein, then Houston and then even JMac over a 10 year period did just that. So in contrast to three years ago please let this be a beginning of yet another great era and not the end of a false dawn.

P2BAA.

FTD.

[Teckle83]

Absolutely great post 👌...also **** the sheep..and wullie miller 🤎🖤

[TerryTheTerror]

Phuckin' hell, who knew we had eloquent writers here?

[GUNBOAT]

Phuckin' hell, who knew we had eloquent writers here?

What's even more impressive is it was posted whilst pyshed.

[TerryTheTerror]

what's even more impressive is it was posted whilst pyshed.