JohnMc
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Posts
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Everything posted by JohnMc
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I'm not losing sight of anything, Dundee United making fanciful claims that are accepted unquestioningly by a supplicant media has nothing to do with our club.
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It's not 'nitpicking', United made a strong statement to the media regarding the fee they've to pay for Telfer as somehow hindering player development. They backed that statement up by naming a number of players they've 'developed' since 2006. Had they named Andy Gray, Richard Gough, Kevin Gallagher and Duncan Ferguson you might have a point, but they didn't. That United under Jim McLean produced some exceptional players and sides is beyond debate, but since the turn of the century their player development record is no better than most sides and poorer than some. Thomson and United are trying to claim some kind of football moral high ground that simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny. They should be called on that. Whether Telfer made the correct decision for his career is moot, time will tell. Young players leave clubs because they think it's best for them. Sometimes they are proved correct, sometimes they aren't.
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It's not about comparison, it's about challenging this narrative that Dundee Utd are some sort of run away success story. They aren't, I'd contend that Hearts, Hibs, Kilmarnock and even Hamilton have better records on rearing and nurturing young players. Of the players they mentioned in their press release only Robertson is playing at the highest level and both Celtic and Queens Park can claim some credit for that too. Most people accept our youth development leaves a lot to be desired however even our list of players is comparable to Utds.
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At some point someone is going to have to ask how Dundee Utd are managing to portray themselves as Ajax-like when it comes to youth development. In the 70s and early 80s perhaps but not more recently. They're including both Goodwillie and Conway in their list of 'home-reared' stars both of who made their first team debut's in 2006. In that time Rangers have had Allan Mcgregor, Charlie Adam, Danny Wilson, Alan Hutton, Steven Smith, Rhys McCabe, John Fleck, Ross McCormack, Andy Little, Fraser Aird and Lewis MacLoed all play for our first team. That's before you bring in players we've brought in from other clubs and improved and developed before selling on. We're not very good at developing young players either, something universally agreed.
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Craig Conway was at Ayr Utd for a good while before Dundee Utd and Andy Robertson only spent one season on Tayside. It's like us claiming credit for Naismith and Jelavic.
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It's a strange statement from Utd. You can take from it that they wouldn't have signed Telfer had they known he'd cost so much, that in turn suggests they don't value him that highly. Young players are always a gamble, I noticed the much lamented Dylan McGeough once of this parish is now ploughing his furrow at Easter Road on loan, Telfer could go on to become a great player or also might find himself losing direction in a few seasons time. But for Utd to complain so bitterly is ridiculous, I wonder if they'll get brought up on a disrepute charge.
