2004–05 Dundee United F.C. season

Dundee United
2004–05 season
Chairman Eddie Thompson
Manager Ian McCall (until 14 Mar)
Gordon Chisholm (interim caretaker)
Gordon Chisholm (from 24 May)
Bank of Scotland Premierleague 9th
W:8 D:12 L:18 F:41 A:59 P:36
Tennent's Scottish Cup Runners-up
CIS Insurance Cup Semi-final
Top goalscorer League: Jim McIntyre (10)
All: Jim McIntyre (15)
Highest home attendance 12,703 (vs Dundee, 29 Jan)
Lowest home attendance 5,097 (vs Kilmarnock, 11 Dec)
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours

The 2004–05 season was the 96th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 2004-07-01 to 2005-06-30. United finished in ninth place which meant the previous season's top-six finish was the only one in the five seasons since the split was introduced.

United finished the 2004–05 SPL season in 9th place with 36 points, in which an eventful final day could have relegated themselves, Livingston or Dunfermline, before eventually consigning Dundee to the drop. United managed only eight wins, with twelve draws and eighteen defeats. Between March and early-April, United lost five consecutive games, although most were to teams who would finish in the top half of the league.

The cup campaigns brought contrasting fortunes. a 7–1 defeat to Rangers in the League Cup semi-final was remedied by a fighting display against Celtic in the Scottish Cup final, where United lost 1–0. Despite having fewer chances, United had more possession and it took a deflected free-kick to give Celtic the win. Defender Alan Archibald struck the bar in the final minute as United pushed for an equaliser.

A strong league finish secured United's top-flight status, with four wins from the final seven games, including victories against Rangers, Hearts and rivals Dundee.

Contents

Season review

United began pre-season with James Grady as the only pre-season signing, the striker arriving on a Bosman transfer from relegated Partick Thistle. First-team regulars Paul Gallacher and Charlie Miller left by the same method during the summer, with Scotland keeper Gallacher heading for Norwich City and Miller joining Norwegian side SK Brann. Veteran Owen Coyle also cut short his second Tannadice stay to return to Airdrie Utd. During August, Paul Ritchie and goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld arrived on six-month deals following releases from Walsall and Tottenham respectively. Surprisingly, Grant Brebner was also allowed to sign for free from fellow SPL side Hibernian.

A home defeat to derby rivals Dundee just two games in was not the ideal way to start the season and United managed only one win in August, with a 2–1 home victory over Inverness CT. During August, youngsters Aaron Conway and Karim Kerkar arrived from Clyde in early-September but the month brought little to cheer about, with a CIS Insurance Cup win over Clyde providing the only win.

Into October and the winless streak continued, although a last-minute draw at Rangers brought some optimism. Another derby defeat in early November was tempered firstly by a CIS Cup quarter-final win over Hibs, then a home league success over Livingston but more defeats followed and only one more win arrived before Christmas, courtesy of a 3–0 triumph at home to Kilmarnock.

United entered New Year with no away wins but finally won on the road, thanks to a 4–3 thriller at Gretna in the Scottish Cup. The third derby match was drawn 2–2 with Steve Lovell's late leveller denying United three points, in a game where Nick Colgan - signed 24 hours previously - was given a debut. February started in dismal fashion, with Colgan's second (and final) match resulting in a 7–1 defeat against Rangers in the CIS Cup semi-final. In a match screened live on BBC Scotland, United rallied from 2–0 down with Jason Scotland scoring, and had Jim McIntyre's long-range strike not hit both posts and ran along the line at 2–1 down, the game might have been different. United did recover by winning three of the remaining four matches that month, albeit two in the Scottish Cup. Queen of the South were beaten first, followed by a first away league win at Livingston and then a 4–1 home rout of Aberdeen in the quarter-final. With the match shown live on Sky Sports, it was a chance for United to gain television revenge for the Hampden horror show just three weeks previously.

Aberdeen were back at Tannadice three days later for a league match and won 2–1, starting a run of four straight defeats in March. After Kilmarnock's 3–0 victory, United lay bottom and Ian McCall was sacked, with Assistant Gordon Chisholm handed temporary control. Chisholm's first match was a live television affair at home to Celtic and only a Craig Bellamy hat-trick denied United a point, who equalised twice only to lose 3–2.

United went into April with a league/cup double-header against Hibs and lost the league match 3–2 at Easter Road to another late goal. The cup semi-final brough cheer, as Jason Scotland's winner ensured a final appearance in May, along with European football. The buzz from the win carried on, with successive impressive league victories at Rangers and at home to Hearts. A home draw to Livingston brought a blip but a 2–1 derby win at Dens Park closed the month in style, with caretaker-manager Gordon Chisholm winning the Manager of the Month award in his first full month in charge.

Into May and a lack of wins scared United fans, with only a home draw against Kilmarnock and a last-minute defeat to Dunfermline. This left United going into final game at Inverness as one of four clubs who could be relegated, along with Livingston, Dunfermline and Dundee. Dundee's early goal against Livingston moved them out of bottom spot, only for ex-United player Craig Easton to equalise. With no further goals and Barry Robson's penalty winner in Inverness, United survived, finishing in 9th place.

The Cup Final was a tense occasion, with Martin O'Neill's last match in charge bringing an edge to the 50,635 crowd. Alan Thompson's 9th-minute deflected free-kick ultimately won it for Celtic, with Chris Sutton missing a late penalty before Alan Archibald's injury-time drive nearly securing extra-time.

Match results

Dundee United played a total of 47 competitive matches during the 2004–05 season,[1] as well as six pre-season friendlies, making a total of over fifty games played. The team finished ninth in the Scottish Premier League.

In the cup competitions, United were runners-up in the Tennent's Scottish Cup, losing 1-0 to Celtic, qualifying for the UEFA Cup in the process. The club lost heavily in the CIS Insurance Cup semi-finals, losing 7-1 to Rangers as Nick Colgan - playing only his second match in his loan spell - played his last game for the club.

Legend

Win Draw Loss

All results are written with Dundee United's score first.

Bank of Scotland Premierleague

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
7 August Dunfermline A 1-1 6,512 McIntyre
15 August Dundee H 1-2 11,118 Archibald
21 August Livingston A 1-1 3,659 Dodds
28 August Inverness CT H 2-1 6,017 Innes, McIntyre
11 September Aberdeen H 1-1 10,995 Wilson
18 September Motherwell A 2-4 5,091 Grady, McIntyre
25 September Kilmarnock A 2-5 4,711 Archibald, Dodds
3 October Celtic H 0-3 10,329
10 October Hibernian A 0-2 9,927
24 October Rangers A 1-1 46,796 Robson
27 October Hearts H 1-1 5,723 Wilson
30 October Dunfermline H 1-2 6,297 Wilson
6 November Dundee H 0-1 9,845
13 November Livingston H 1-0 5,507 McCracken
23 November Inverness CT A 1-1 1,125 McIntyre
27 November Aberdeen A 0-1 12,038
4 December Motherwell H 0-1 5,252
11 December Kilmarnock H 3-0 5,097 Brebner, Robson, McIntyre
18 December Celtic A 0-1 56,318
27 December Hibernian H 1-4 10,152 Scotland
1 January Rangers H 1-1 10,461 McCracken
15 January Hearts A 2-3 10,305 Robson, Archibald
22 January Dunfermline A 1-1 6,589 Crawford
29 January Dundee H 2-2 12,703 Duff, McIntyre
12 February Livingston A 2-0 5,158 Crawford, Grady
19 February Inverness CT H 1-1 6,110 Own goal
2 March Aberdeen H 1-2 6,688 Scotland
5 March Motherwell A 0-2 5,110
12 March Kilmarnock A 0-3 4,353
19 March Celtic H 2-3 10,828 McIntyre, Robson
2 April Hibernian A 2-3 11,058 McIntyre, Scotland
12 April Rangers A 1-0 49,302 Duff
16 April Hearts H 2-1 7,704 Robson, Brebner
23 April Livingston H 1-1 7,687 Crawford
30 April Dundee A 2-1 11,263 Wilson, McIntyre
7 May Kilmarnock H 1-1 6,576 McIntyre
15 May Dunfermline H 0-1 10,763
21 May Inverness CT A 1-0 5,479 Robson

Tennent's Scottish Cup

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
17 January Gretna A 4-3 3,000 Robson, Kerr, Wilson, Crawford
5 February Queen of the South A 3-0 5,532 McIntyre, Wilson, Duff
27 February Aberdeen H 4-1 8,661 Archibald, Grady (2), Crawford
9 April Hibernian N 2-1 27,271 McIntyre, Scotland
28 May Celtic N 0-1 50,635

CIS Insurance Cup

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
25 August Stranraer H 3-1 2,511 Kerr, Grady, Innes
21 September Clyde H 4-0 2,336 McIntyre, Robson, Brebner, Wilson
9 November Hibernian H 2-1 4,865 McIntyre (2)
2 February Rangers N 1-7 25,622 Scotland

Player details

During the 2004–05 season, United used 26 different players comprising five nationalities, with a further six named as unused substitutes. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[2]

No. Nat Pos Player Total Bank of Scotland Premierleague Tennent's Scottish Cup CIS Insurance Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Tony Bullock 32 0 26 0 5 0 1 0
17 GK Lars Hirschfeld 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0
24 GK Paul Jarvie 11 0 10 0 0 0 1 0
47 GK Nick Colgan 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2 DF Mark Wilson 46 7 37 4 5 2 4 1
3 DF David McCracken 29 2 25 2 0 0 4 0
5 DF Alan Archibald 47 4 38 3 5 1 4 0
15 DF Lee Mair 7 0 4 0 2 0 1 0
23 DF Paul Ritchie 31 0 24 0 5 0 2 0
39 DF Garry Kenneth 14 0 11 0 3 0 0 0
4 MF Derek McInnes 33 0 27 0 3 0 3 0
7 MF Mark Kerr 37 2 30 0 5 1 2 1
8 MF Grant Brebner 40 3 34 2 4 0 2 1
11 MF Barry Robson 45 8 36 6 5 1 4 1
12 MF Stuart Duff 32 3 25 2 4 1 3 0
14 MF Billy Dodds 25 2 21 2 0 0 4 0
18 MF Andy McLaren 8 0 6 0 0 0 2 0
21 MF Karim Kerkar 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0
29 MF Barry Callaghan 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
36 MF Greg Cameron 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0
9 ST Collin Samuel 24 0 18 0 3 0 3 0
10 ST Jim McIntyre 42 15 35 10 3 2 4 3
16 ST James Grady 34 5 29 2 3 2 2 1
19 ST Stevie Crawford 23 5 17 3 5 2 1 0
20 ST Jason Scotland 37 5 29 3 4 1 4 1

Goalscorers

United had 13 players score with the team scoring 41 goals in total. The top goalscorer was Jim McIntyre, who finished the season with fifteen goals.[2]

Name League Cups Total
McIntyre, JimJim McIntyre 10 5 15
Robson, BarryBarry Robson 6 2 08
Wilson, MarkMark Wilson 4 3 07
Crawford, StevieStevie Crawford 3 2 05
Scotland, JasonJason Scotland 3 2 05
Grady, JamesJames Grady 2 3 05
Archibald, AlanAlan Archibald 3 1 04
Brebner, GrantGrant Brebner 2 1 03
Duff, StuartStuart Duff 2 1 03
Dodds, BillyBilly Dodds 2 0 02
McCracken, DavidDavid McCracken 2 0 02
Innes, ChrisChris Innes 1 1 02
Kerr, MarkMark Kerr 0 2 02

Discipline

During the 2004–05 season, three United players were sent off, and 17 players received at least one yellow card. In total, the team received three dismissals and 78 cautions.[2]

Name Cautions Dismissals
Robson, BarryBarry Robson 10 1
Ritchie, PaulPaul Ritchie 09 1
Wilson, MarkMark Wilson 03 1
McInnes, DerekDerek McInnes 12
Kerr, MarkMark Kerr 09
Archibald, AlanAlan Archibald 06
Brebner, GrantGrant Brebner 06
McIntyre, JimJim McIntyre 05
Dodds, BillyBilly Dodds 02
Grady, JamesJames Grady 02
McCracken, DavidDavid McCracken 02
McLaren, AndyAndy McLaren 02
Crawford, StevieStevie Crawford 01
Kenneth, GarryGarry Kenneth 01
Mair, LeeLee Mair 01
Samuel, CollinCollin Samuel 01
Scotland, JasonJason Scotland 01

Transfers

In

The club signed four players during the season, as well as loaning one for the latter part. Only one player - Stevie Crawford - was signed for a fee (£80k).

Date Player From Fee (£)
19 August Hirschfeld, LarsLars Hirschfeld Unattached (ex-Tottenham Hotspur) Free[3]
27 August Brebner, GrantGrant Brebner Hibernian Free[4]
4 January Crawford, StevieStevie Crawford Plymouth Argyle £0,080,000[5]
7 January Mair, LeeLee Mair Celtic Free[6]

Loans in

Date Player From Until
28 January Colgan, NickNick Colgan Barnsley End of season[7]

Out

Seven players were released by the club during the season. Four players were also loaned with Andy McLaren going on loan twice to different clubs.

Date Player To Fee
14 July Paterson, JimJim Paterson Motherwell Released[8]
21 July Coyle, OwenOwen Coyle Airdrie United Free[9]
20 January Conway, AaronAaron Conway Dundee Released[10]
27 January Hirschfeld, LarsLars Hirschfeld Leicester City Released[11]
28 January Innes, ChrisChris Innes Gretna Released[12]
31 January Jarvie, PaulPaul Jarvie Torquay United Released[13]
31 January O'Donnell, StephenStephen O'Donnell Boston United Released[14]

Loans out

Date Player To Until
27 August Conway, AaronAaron Conway Clyde January[15]
27 August Holmes, GraemeGraeme Holmes Dumbarton January[15]
2 November McLaren, AndyAndy McLaren Partick Thistle January[16]
1 February Paterson, ScottScott Paterson Partick Thistle End of season[17]
26 February McLaren, AndyAndy McLaren Morton End of season[18]

Playing kit

Home
colours
Away
colours
Cup Final colours

The jerseys were sponsored by Morning, Noon and Night for a second season.

Awards

April 2005

Trivia

References

  1. ^ "2004/2005 - First Team Fixtures & Results". Dundee United F.C.. http://www.dundeeunitedfc.co.uk/index.asp?tm=9&date=2004&submit1=List. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
  2. ^ a b c "Dundee Utd 2004/2005 player appearances". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/squad_season.sd?teamid=740&seasonid=134. Retrieved 2007-11-29. 
  3. ^ "United sign Hirschfeld". BBC Sport website. 2004-08-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/dundee_utd/3563710.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  4. ^ "Dundee United sign Brebner". BBC Sport website. 2004-08-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/dundee_utd/3592418.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  5. ^ "Dundee United seal Crawford transfer". BBC Sport website. 2005-01-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/dundee_utd/4093305.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  6. ^ "Defender Mair moves to Tannadice". BBC Sport website. 2005-01-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stockport/4156015.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  7. ^ "Colgan seals move to Dundee Utd". BBC Sport website. 2005-01-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/dundee_utd/4216663.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  8. ^ "Paterson agrees Well deal". BBC Sport website. 2005-07-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/motherwell/3847833.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  9. ^ "Coyle is a Diamond again". BBC Sport website. 2004-07-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/airdrie_united/3912793.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  10. ^ "Striker Conway leaves Tannadice". BBC Sport website. 2005-08-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/dundee_utd/4193199.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  11. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Lars Hirschfeld". Soccerbase. 16 January 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/i/inverness_ct/4617480.stm. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
  12. ^ "Gretna complete a double signing". BBC Sport website. 2006-01-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/g/gretna/4215755.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  13. ^ "Jarvie completes Plainmoor move". BBC Sport website. 2005-02-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/torquay_united/4236387.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  14. ^ "Boston United Football Club News". Boston United FC - The Original Website. 2005-01-31. http://www.bufc.drfox.org.uk/news04.html. 
  15. ^ a b "United youngsters on loan". BBC Sport website. 2005-08-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/3606668.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  16. ^ "McLaren joins Thistle on loan". BBC Sport website. 2004-11-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/3975557.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  17. ^ "Thistle capture Paterson on loan". BBC Sport website. 2005-02-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/partick_thistle/4186065.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  18. ^ "Morton land loan deal for McLaren". BBC Sport website. 2005-02-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/morton/4300785.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 

External links