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Randall and rose both scoring in this game
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dufc5 wrote:
Lachlan Rose signing a pre-contract. Second top scorer in the A-league.
Along with the top scorer who’s also signed a pre-contract.
Weirdly, a couple days ago, I was bored in work, looking at what Australians were saying on a Reddit thread about the best players in their league, to get an idea of who we might be after, given we seem to be looking at that market a lot these days. This boy’s name came up a lot.
Even if it means Goodwin’s likely staying on, I can’t pretend I’m not a bit excited about this. Signing two of the best players from a league that’s probably similar in standard to ours is a good thing. Bear in mind, Sapsford wasn’t even a regular starter in his side when we signed him, and despite a dip in form, I’d say most people would agree he’s been one of our better signings.
Also, with regards to the whole “league of nations” argument, which I do agree with, I’d say I’m less sceptical of the difficulty of integrating a few Australians and Kiwis into an English speaking dressing room than I am of a load of players from Eastern Europe, so I think the argument is lessened a wee bit.
Last edited by JerryDungle (12/3/2026 10:23 am)
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Might help sapsford if the rumours of being homesick too
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JerryDungle wrote:
dufc5 wrote:
Lachlan Rose signing a pre-contract. Second top scorer in the A-league.
Along with the top scorer who’s also signed a pre-contract.
Weirdly, a couple days ago, I was bored in work, looking at what Australians were saying on a Reddit thread about the best players in their league, to get an idea of who we might be after, given we seem to be looking at that market a lot these days. This boy’s name came up a lot.
Even if it means Goodwin’s likely staying on, I can’t pretend I’m not a bit excited about this. Signing two of the best players from a league that’s probably similar in standard to ours is a good thing. Bear in mind, Sapsford wasn’t even a regular starter in his side when we signed him, and despite a dip in form, I’d say most people would agree he’s been one of our better signings.
Also, with regards to the whole “league of nations” argument, which I do agree with, I’d say I’m less sceptical of the difficulty of integrating a few Australians and Kiwis into an English speaking dressing room than I am of a load of players from Eastern Europe, so I think the argument is lessened a wee bit.
Integrating them into a cold December night in Scotland on a shitey pitch with hardly any grass might be slightly more tricky though. These boys are all used to playing in bright sunshine and heading to the beach for a spot of surfing, Scotland is quite an adjustment.
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Arabdownsouth wrote:
JerryDungle wrote:
dufc5 wrote:
Lachlan Rose signing a pre-contract. Second top scorer in the A-league.
Along with the top scorer who’s also signed a pre-contract.
Weirdly, a couple days ago, I was bored in work, looking at what Australians were saying on a Reddit thread about the best players in their league, to get an idea of who we might be after, given we seem to be looking at that market a lot these days. This boy’s name came up a lot.
Even if it means Goodwin’s likely staying on, I can’t pretend I’m not a bit excited about this. Signing two of the best players from a league that’s probably similar in standard to ours is a good thing. Bear in mind, Sapsford wasn’t even a regular starter in his side when we signed him, and despite a dip in form, I’d say most people would agree he’s been one of our better signings.
Also, with regards to the whole “league of nations” argument, which I do agree with, I’d say I’m less sceptical of the difficulty of integrating a few Australians and Kiwis into an English speaking dressing room than I am of a load of players from Eastern Europe, so I think the argument is lessened a wee bit.
Integrating them into a cold December night in Scotland on a shitey pitch with hardly any grass might be slightly more tricky though. These boys are all used to playing in bright sunshine and heading to the beach for a spot of surfing, Scotland is quite an adjustment.
Definitely, but language is always the biggest barrier when moving abroad.
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JerryDungle wrote:
Arabdownsouth wrote:
JerryDungle wrote:
Along with the top scorer who’s also signed a pre-contract.
Weirdly, a couple days ago, I was bored in work, looking at what Australians were saying on a Reddit thread about the best players in their league, to get an idea of who we might be after, given we seem to be looking at that market a lot these days. This boy’s name came up a lot.
Even if it means Goodwin’s likely staying on, I can’t pretend I’m not a bit excited about this. Signing two of the best players from a league that’s probably similar in standard to ours is a good thing. Bear in mind, Sapsford wasn’t even a regular starter in his side when we signed him, and despite a dip in form, I’d say most people would agree he’s been one of our better signings.
Also, with regards to the whole “league of nations” argument, which I do agree with, I’d say I’m less sceptical of the difficulty of integrating a few Australians and Kiwis into an English speaking dressing room than I am of a load of players from Eastern Europe, so I think the argument is lessened a wee bit.
Integrating them into a cold December night in Scotland on a shitey pitch with hardly any grass might be slightly more tricky though. These boys are all used to playing in bright sunshine and heading to the beach for a spot of surfing, Scotland is quite an adjustment.
Definitely, but language is always the biggest barrier when moving abroad.
True, but I'm just wondering how much the change in climate may have affected Sapsford's enthusiasm. Just a thought really.
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JerryDungle wrote:
Also, with regards to the whole “league of nations” argument, which I do agree with, I’d say I’m less sceptical of the difficulty of integrating a few Australians and Kiwis into an English speaking dressing room than I am of a load of players from Eastern Europe, so I think the argument is lessened a wee bit.
Agree with that JD.
Not to be pessimistic regarding signing Kiwis and Aussies, but the only other downside i see is if they get called up for International duty then the travel is brutal and we are getting returning players who are extremely jet-lagged.
So, in that respect i like signings who are closer to home. But we'll see how they go.
Sapsford currently not getting capped anytime soon.
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Zachary, to Lachlan, onto Jesse.
And that's cracking move by the Dundee United tag-chess team.
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Auckland v Newcastle Jets, Randall v Rose on TNT this Saturday morning (6am!!)
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JerryDungle wrote:
Shakey Isles Arab wrote:
Wonder if we could get lucky and got Pappoe again for another stint ?
Why on earth would that be lucky? The boy’s knee basically exploded. He’s not going to be the same player after an injury like that.
Yeah you could be right.
Imagine it would cost us next to nothing for a six month deal.
Hence why I put a question mark.
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Tek wrote:
JerryDungle wrote:
Also, with regards to the whole “league of nations” argument, which I do agree with, I’d say I’m less sceptical of the difficulty of integrating a few Australians and Kiwis into an English speaking dressing room than I am of a load of players from Eastern Europe, so I think the argument is lessened a wee bit.
Agree with that JD.
Not to be pessimistic regarding signing Kiwis and Aussies, but the only other downside i see is if they get called up for International duty then the travel is brutal and we are returning getting players who are extremely jet-lagged.
So, in that respect i like signings who are closer to home. But we'll see how they go.
Sapsford currently not getting capped anytime soon.
Correct on all counts.
Aussies are dirty bastards in all sports and anything justifys a win, take it from an Arab in NZ.
Exactly what you want.
Other thing to add - defences tend to be utter shit.
Last edited by Shakey Isles Arab (12/3/2026 11:35 pm)
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Shakey Isles Arab wrote:
Other thing to add - defences tend to be utter shit.
I guess we will see how they all fare.
But if that's four players we have from that part of the World (Sapsford, Randall, Rawlins and Rose) then that is four players potentially off to the other side of the planet on International duty every few months.
Not ideal to have that many players returning done in with fatigue and jet lag just 2 days before a match.
Signing anymore from that part of the World would be potentially harmful, should they be called-up.
Would really like some more UK based players next season.
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Remember when Thompson tried to buy Newcastle Jets? Now we're just buying them bit by bit instead 🤣
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Tek wrote:
Shakey Isles Arab wrote:
Other thing to add - defences tend to be utter shit.
I guess we will see how they all fare.
But if that's four players we have from that part of the World (Sapsford, Randall, Rawlins and Rose) then that is four players potentially off to the other side of the planet on International duty every few months.
Not ideal to have that many players returning done in with fatigue and jet lag just 2 days before a match.
Signing anymore from that part of the World would be potentially harmful, should they be called-up.
Would really like some more UK based players next season.
Don't forget Ashley Maynard Brewer.
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Arabdownsouth wrote:
Slotbadger wrote:
Heard Pat Boner on the radio on Sunday moaning about all the over paid English and foreign players on extremely high wages at the old firm, mainly Celtic, he thought were extremely poor. Everyone agreeing with him about being able to find better players in the Scottish leagues for a fraction of the price. He mentioned a boy at Falkirk specifically.
That is the way United have gone too. Almost feels like any nation but Scottish. I am all for finding the odd foreign gem to compliment a core of mainly Scottish players. Can’t think of many really good foreign players Jim has signed. Keep thinking that we miss Middleton (who I always thought was average). He was way more effective and reliable than what replaced him.
Middleton was absolutely nowhere near the level of Amar Fatah who pretty much plays the same position.
I dont disagree about the need for more homegrown players though,on the whole the experiment has not worked.
For me the problem is there’s not enough experienced heads at the back. They’re all pretty young yet.
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SuperMario wrote:
Might help sapsford if the rumours of being homesick too
Likewise the same for any girlfriend or wives. Good to have this for support.
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kdyteejay wrote:
SuperMario wrote:
Might help sapsford if the rumours of being homesick too
Likewise the same for any girlfriend or wives. Good to have this for support.
I would imagine any new Antipodean signing would have made contact with Sapsford to see what he thinks about playing for United and living in the area.
The replies must have been positive maybe suggesting Sapsford is just struggling for form as most young players in a different country go through
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Arabdownsouth wrote:
JerryDungle wrote:
Arabdownsouth wrote:
Integrating them into a cold December night in Scotland on a shitey pitch with hardly any grass might be slightly more tricky though. These boys are all used to playing in bright sunshine and heading to the beach for a spot of surfing, Scotland is quite an adjustment.
Definitely, but language is always the biggest barrier when moving abroad.True, but I'm just wondering how much the change in climate may have affected Sapsford's enthusiasm. Just a thought really.
I think there is a lot more to it, than language. I saw an interview with Sapsford in December, where he was speaking about the “terrorist” attack on the beach near where he came from. He reminisced not only about the beach but also about the cosmopolitan neighbourhood he lived in. He sounded pretty scunnered at that point.
Living in Scotland we overlook the fact that most of us probably suffer SAD due to us not having a proper winter or summer. In Skandanavia they have two distinct seasons. Most people put on a few pounds during winter, then spend May to September outside.
For those of you old enough, why do people say “no worries” and “mate”? It’s because “Neighbours” started in 1985 and everyone was so envious of the lifestyle (Pools, BBQs, nobody seemed to work), that we started speaking bloody Australian. btw you said “no bother” before.
Ultimately I think Goodwin is at fault. He never contemplated that many of our new recruits might need to be supported in Dundee. I mean, having a BBQ at Broughty is exactly the same!
Inevitably we end up doing what all Scottish clubs do: Abandon the “experiment” and go back to recruiting a Scottish squad with a Scottish manager. It’s pretty depressing.
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Macbonzo wrote:
Arabdownsouth wrote:
JerryDungle wrote:
Definitely, but language is always the biggest barrier when moving abroad.True, but I'm just wondering how much the change in climate may have affected Sapsford's enthusiasm. Just a thought really.
I think there is a lot more to it, than language. I saw an interview with Sapsford in December, where he was speaking about the “terrorist” attack on the beach near where he came from. He reminisced not only about the beach but also about the cosmopolitan neighbourhood he lived in. He sounded pretty scunnered at that point.
Living in Scotland we overlook the fact that most of us probably suffer SAD due to us not having a proper winter or summer. In Skandanavia they have two distinct seasons. Most people put on a few pounds during winter, then spend May to September outside.
For those of you old enough, why do people say “no worries” and “mate”? It’s because “Neighbours” started in 1985 and everyone was so envious of the lifestyle (Pools, BBQs, nobody seemed to work), that we started speaking bloody Australian. btw you said “no bother” before.
Ultimately I think Goodwin is at fault. He never contemplated that many of our new recruits might need to be supported in Dundee. I mean, having a BBQ at Broughty is exactly the same!
Inevitably we end up doing what all Scottish clubs do: Abandon the “experiment” and go back to recruiting a Scottish squad with a Scottish manager. It’s pretty depressing.
Back in 1985 I probably spent more time telling people to fuck off than saying no worries 🤣
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Another thing comes to mind, going back to the advantages of the winter break hoary old chesnut.
- Month off, give Oz/NZ players ime at home, get some sun recharge the batteries etc.
- Dream on, won't happen in Scotland.
-Still, suppose they're big boys now, it's up to them to suss out what they're getting into.
Last edited by Shakey Isles Arab (Yesterday 9:24 pm)
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Shakey Isles Arab wrote:
Another thing comes to mind, going back to the advantages of the winter break hoary old chesnut.
- Month off, give Oz/NZ players ime at home, get some sun recharge the batteries etc.
- Dream on, won't happen in Scotland.
-Still, suppose they're big boys now, it's up to them to suss out what they're getting into.
There should be a winter break from December 22nd to January 9th just like Bundesliga. If it’s good enough for one of the best leagues in the world, it’s good enough for Scotland.
I would scrap the midweek game during the festive break. There’s no need to play December 30th. You can easily fit that game into a midweek in August when the pitches are in excellent condition.
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RogerTheAlien wrote:
Shakey Isles Arab wrote:
Another thing comes to mind, going back to the advantages of the winter break hoary old chesnut.
- Month off, give Oz/NZ players ime at home, get some sun recharge the batteries etc.
- Dream on, won't happen in Scotland.
-Still, suppose they're big boys now, it's up to them to suss out what they're getting into.
There should be a winter break from December 22nd to January 9th just like Bundesliga. If it’s good enough for one of the best leagues in the world, it’s good enough for Scotland.
I would scrap the midweek game during the festive break. There’s no need to play December 30th. You can easily fit that game into a midweek in August when the pitches are in excellent condition.
I could be wrong, and if so hopefully someone will correct me but three (3?) weeks with International breaks completely messed up the first half of the season.