SPL 11 - United Away

Emotional Flacidity

On the way to the ground we encountered two inebriated gentlemen. One was our very own celebrity jakey, Nathan Bartlett, the other was a Dundonian who clearly went for seconds when wit and humour were being handed out. He demonstrated a remarkable level of intelligence by repeatedly slurring “what’s it like to win f*ck all?” I assume from his question that he hasn’t followed Dundee United for long; otherwise he’d know the answer to his own question.

The game came amidst a backdrop of managerial upheaval. We were fortunate enough to get a serious amount of cash for Messrs McInnes and Docherty, so went into the game with Jody in charge of the team, backed up by Alec Cleland on the touchline. The Arabs have still not been able to replace Houston with Michael O’Neill and one wonders whether their crippling finances will eventually kill off the move for O’Neill. I certainly hope so, the longer Houston erodes Dundee United the happier I will be.

Much has been written about the lack of morals in Dundee. A place of inappropriate sexual encounters, alleged drug use, incorrect financial dealings and attempted sexual assault – and that’s just Tannadice!

The ground itself is like a Dundee girl. Looks quite nice from the outside and from a distance, but once you’re inside it’s a rabbit run. A dark and crumbling structure, much like the clubs business model. Much like Peter Houston’s reputation, also.

The Saints took the field using a familiar 4-4-2 and with 10 of the 11 players being correct choices. How Frazer Wright continues to fool our coaches and fans is quite beyond me. He is Kevin Rutkiewicz without the burds and the guitar. He was excellent at Parkhead but he’s been poor almost everywhere else. On Saturday, his points should be given to Ando. I’ve never seen two centre halves play so differently. Wright spent the whole game losing headers, giving away cheap fouls and causing bedlam in both penalty boxes.

Anderson, simply strolled through the game. Unshackled by the constant, childish and stinging criticism of Derek; he’s never had a better game for Saints. In the first half, Jon Daly did nothing. He won two headers against Ando and one of them he could only steer out for a Saints throw. The big skipper trudged off a broken man at half time.

In the second half, Houston swapped Valhalla and Daly and it caused chaos in our backline. Actually it didn’t, Frazer Wright’s presence caused chaos in the back line. He doesn’t get his positioning right, he doesn’t know when to foul and when to release, he didn’t win headers and he often doesn’t seem to know who he’s marking. The frustrating thing is he was awesome at Parkhead.

My opinion is in the minority, even his team mates defend him, but I can only write what I see. I will stick up for him in one aspect. He got pelters for his near own-goal, but it wasn’t the easiest of clearances. What was far worse was the resulting corner when he appeared to pick up the wrong player. Cleland and wee Tommy C had to scour the notes to see who should have picked up at the corner and that smacks of poor planning. Jody should have had it all in hand. Maybe that’s why he turned down the job....on the same day we approached Sligo Rovers!

Garts and Cracks have clearly demonstrated a much higher level of skill than Mr Wright. They should be in the team ahead of him. Jamie Adams also needs to be in the match day squad but he’s still being punished for Del’s failure against St Mirren. Hopefully the new appointment will remove such injustices.

I love our official website, it really reflects the way the club is run which in turn reflects the folk that run the club. The end of the match report simply says, “Finally, a nod of acknowledgement to Steven Anderson who was outstanding in central defence today.” A perfect summation of a heroic performance, if he was a Dundee United player he’d have been capped several times already.

Behind these two, Peter Enckleman had very little work to do. A couple of sprints from the line to intercept through balls, a stop on the angle from Valhalla and a few cross balls. United’s best chances came from a Kenneth freekick which beat the keeper but not the cross bar, and a Willy Flood panic shot. His kicking was first class and he got every cross ball decision right. It seems hard to offer praise based on such a small contribution, but it’s not his fault that Anderson was in such imperious form.

Completing the defence were regular full backs, Cup Tie and Callum Davidson. Mackay was over-committed for parts of the first half and very often he spoiled our attacks as he wasn’t in the right place to allow us to start again when an attack ran out of room. In the second half he was much more disciplined and made another good few blocks.

Callum Davidson put in his standard shift. Occasionally caught on the wrong foot he made very few errors and rarely wastes a ball. His off the ball positioning is top notch and his discipline and emotional control are second to none. You had to either laugh or cry at the end of the match when Alec was telling Callum to see the game out and keep possession, Wullie Gibson decided to take a quick free kick and over hit it by about ten feet! Callum is one of the men that could drive Saints to the top half of the SPL and I fervently hope he gets the job. I’m not gonna speculate further as I understand a decision was made on Friday with ball starting to roll on Monday.

In midfield, our acting manager started very brightly but faded very quickly. His first ten minutes were something truly special and when he lost control in the tunnel corner, his backheel was insouciance of the highest order. He still seems unable to link with Moon, which surprises me given their playing styles, but the pair looked much better than in previous games this season. He’s been whoring himself around every media outlet known to man, but I think he blotted his copybook on Saturday. We started the game with a tempo and shape which should have won the game fairly comfortably, he let the players drop their work rate and lose their shape. Perhaps he could have seen more from the dugout but he’s clearly not ready to stop playing; he’s only 32 after all. Funnily enough, that was written before his Twitter update!

Partner in crime, Kevin Moon, was simply excellent. It’s such a joy to have someone with his vision, touch, control and passing ability. Rumours constantly link him with a move away but I don’t believe we’ve lost him yet. On the evidence of Saturday’s showing, you can see why other clubs are after our wee star. I think he only lost possession on three occasions and probably received the ball more than any other player in our team. He was let down by poor movement from both his midfield colleagues and the front pair; but he still dazzled and sparkled. Mr Houston’s loss, was undoubtedly our gain.

On the right side, Midgie had an odd game. He linked well with Dave Mackay but not with anyone else! I slated his link-up with Haber last week, with the caveat that Marcus is very lazy. On Saturday he again seemed off the boil. I think he’s gonna have a season like Liam had last year; by that I mean he’ll get stuck in a rut of playing okay, but not to his best. A few moves have broken down at his feet recently and that’s not like him. The good thing about him (and Liam last year) is that he’ll works his nuts off to ensure he gives his all. They are great boys and we’re lucky to have them.

Liam, himself, had a tough game against Watson. He seemed to lose confidence as the game wore on and it wasn’t a big surprise to see Wullie Gibson enter the fray. It wouldn’t have been the subbie I’d have made, but I can understand it. Thing is, he’s always in the box when scrappy balls break loose and you simply can’t bet against him scoring. I’d have left him on and brought Caddis on for Midgie.

The top two played very well and criticism of them is unwarranted. Read my comments on him following his debut and you’ll see that he’s been lazy since the day he arrived. He’s actually far too much of a poser and not enough of a worker. That needs to be beaten out of him or he’ll end up like Collin Samuel. He’s good enough for higher leagues in England but without effort he won’t score enough SPL goals.

Sandaza’s cheating apparently only commenced on Saturday.... we’ll according to WeArePerth. I’ve written much about his attitude to cheating and I’m not surprised to read him defend his actions. He’s a cracking player and made some great runs on Saturday, but his cheating is a spoiler for me. I actually think that Tannadice is the first time he’s only dived once. The referee was right on the spot, right to book him and right to only give Watson a yellow. All in all, it was a refreshingly good performance from an SPL referee. I’ve lost all hope in them as a group, but he was proof that some good ones are floating around.

Overall, I’d have taken a point before the game. It was a poor match in terms of neither keeper being stretched. The plus points were another clean sheet and a much improved Saints support – proving that gate price has no direct link to attendance figures. Bring on the Midden....