JerryDungle wrote:

Arabdownsouth wrote:

Morphman wrote:

Released list on the official:

Sibbald
Strain
Russell
Maynard Brewer
Trapanovski
Fatah
Stephenson
Keresztes
Dolcek
Watters
Pappoe
O'Donnell

Academy released:

Haldane
Welsh
Beattie

 
Richards not being on that list is a worry, unless the rumour that he's going to the sheep is correct of course. In which case its time to get the fucking bubbly out!

 
Believe he’s chosen Aberdeen over us.

What a shame….

 
🍾🍾🍾

Dolcek insta story tells a story cropped Goodwin out of pic, massively under used in second half of season

No real surprises on the released list.

Pissed off about Johnny Russell. Why waste his time and energy bringing him over and then just never play him? Goodwin knew he wasn't keeping Watters, but still denied him game time in the final 5 games and a chance to prove if there was anything left in the tank that could aid us, despite him (Russell) obviously wanting an extension. A fucking awful way to treat a guy who loves United and who is beloved by our support. 

My theory is that the Russell signing was made above Goodwin's head to appease the supporters after the sale of Moller and our lack of available Strikers. For him to then subsequently not utilise him though, just smacks of stubborness, arrogance and tbh a bit of utter selfishness.

I honestly feel Goodwin doesn't understand Dundee United btw. He doesn't get the club, to this day and what having guys like Johnny about would mean, even as a squad man and future striker coach

Also a bit 'sad' for want of a better word that Dolcek and Keresztes leave. I honestly think there is talent
in both. Dolcek, never the same player after Goodwin subbed him off 3 times in a row last Autumn for 'not tracking back'.

Keresztes, yes made bad mistakes in defence, but i truly will die on the Hill that if you played him at CDM there was an excellent player there who could have played very well beside a terrier like Agyei. But one who could have started attacks due to his passing (that was miles superior to every other United player).

We'll never know now, because our esteemed Manager never tried anything different.

Same regret we'll feel when Julius Eskesen doubtless departs.

signed all the released players bar Sibbald

GTF you absolute cretin

Tek wrote:

No real surprises on the released list.

Pissed off about Johnny Russell. Why waste his time and energy bringing him over and then just never play him? Goodwin knew he wasn't keeping Watters, but still denied him game time in the final 5 games and a chance to prove if there was anything left in the tank that could aid us, despite him (Russell) obviously wanting an extension. A fucking awful way to treat a guy who loves United and who is beloved by our support. 

My theory is that the Russell signing was made above Goodwin's head to appease the supporters after the sale of Moller and our lack of available Strikers. For him to then subsequently not utilise him though, just smacks of stubborness, arrogance and tbh a bit of utter selfishness.

I honestly feel Goodwin doesn't understand Dundee United btw. He doesn't get the club, to this day and what having guys like Johnny about would mean, even as a squad man and future striker coach

Also a bit 'sad' for want of a better word that Dolcek and Keresztes leave. I honestly think there is talent
in both. Dolcek, never the same player after Goodwin subbed him off 3 times in a row last Autumn for 'not tracking back'.

Keresztes, yes made bad mistakes in defence, but i truly will die on the Hill that if you played him at CDM there was an excellent player there who could have played very well beside a terrier like Agyei. But one who could have started attacks due to his passing (that was miles superior to every other United player).

We'll never know now, because our esteemed Manager never tried anything different.

Same regret we'll feel when Julius Eskesen doubtless departs.

Am I the only one thinking that we might not have seen the last of Dolcek and KK?  Their loans have come to an end, but maybe there is still some negotiation going on.  Whilst Dolcek may not end up coming back I thought that KK would.  That said, I just don't see the player that Tek sees in KK.  His biggest issue for me is going on a run with the ball, running out of ideas and then freezing.  Thus losing the ball and being out of position.  Never a CDM for me, but as a left sided CH he'd get decent game time for every other team in this league outside the top 3.

Goodwin clearly sees that the team is short of a Babunski or an Eskesen, hires one and then doesn't play them.  Good that he sees the issue, bad that he can't put out a team to take advantage of their skills.  For me Eskesen will go on to have a decent career.  Maybe not at the top end, but for me he always looked decent.

I can't get excited about the other departures.  None of them (including Russell) have done enough to justify retention.  You may argue that some haven't been given a chance, but similarly those players have  not done enough in their limited chances to force the manager's hand.

As for getting excited about who signed the players, get used to it.  Every team in the league will have wholesale changes in the modern game.  Our issue is more that the guys that aren't moving are probably not a strong enough group compared to others.  Arguably Stephenson and Fatah have been our best players this season and I suspect next season's best player may also be a loanee.  It's just the way it is.

Last edited by Finn Seemann (21/5/2026 12:24 pm)

Tek wrote:

No real surprises on the released list.

Pissed off about Johnny Russell. Why waste his time and energy bringing him over and then just never play him? Goodwin knew he wasn't keeping Watters, but still denied him game time in the final 5 games and a chance to prove if there was anything left in the tank that could aid us, despite him (Russell) obviously wanting an extension. A fucking awful way to treat a guy who loves United and who is beloved by our support. 

My theory is that the Russell signing was made above Goodwin's head to appease the supporters after the sale of Moller and our lack of available Strikers. For him to then subsequently not utilise him though, just smacks of stubborness, arrogance and tbh a bit of utter selfishness.

I honestly feel Goodwin doesn't understand Dundee United btw. He doesn't get the club, to this day and what having guys like Johnny about would mean, even as a squad man and future striker coach

Also a bit 'sad' for want of a better word that Dolcek and Keresztes leave. I honestly think there is talent
in both. Dolcek, never the same player after Goodwin subbed him off 3 times in a row last Autumn for 'not tracking back'.

Keresztes, yes made bad mistakes in defence, but i truly will die on the Hill that if you played him at CDM there was an excellent player there who could have played very well beside a terrier like Agyei. But one who could have started attacks due to his passing (that was miles superior to every other United player).

We'll never know now, because our esteemed Manager never tried anything different.

Same regret we'll feel when Julius Eskesen doubtless departs.

 
Agreed about JR, I don’t know for sure what the situation is with him. I’d heard a couple weeks ago from someone that spoke to him on the United golf day that his wife still needed another year out in America to get her residency, so it was only ever gonna be till the end of the season. But then the past couple weeks, there’s been a lot of rumours going about that he’s looking to stay while he does his badges, so who knows?

If it does turn out he’s wanting to stay, then it’s a fucking sin we haven’t offered him anything, and if the decision was purely made by that manager, then it just adds fuel to fire for me regarding him. Johnny Russell will always mean a hell of a lot more to this club than Jim Goodwin ever will, and on the face of it, I don’t like the way he was treated by Goodwin since he came back, it’s as if he was signed above Goodwin’s head, and he resents that and the connection JR has with the fans here.

I couldn’t disagree with you more on Keresztes though. I think he’d be a fucking disaster in midfield. He’s not mobile enough, and his constant lapses in concentration in there would cause chaos. You need to be switched on for 90 minutes in midfield, and he just can’t ever do that. And I’m sorry, but I really don’t see what you mean about his passing. He’s an atrocious passer of the ball, I’d lose count of the amount of times in a game that he’d just hoof it in the direction he was facing, out of the park or to an opponent, and his stats back that up. Dundee’s second goal in the last Derby at Dens is a prime example. We would’ve seen out the game if he’d just had a bit of composure and hadn’t just aimlessly punted the ball to their fullback. If he was young, I’d excuse some of it, and say he could still be moulded into something half decent, but he’s 26. I personally think we’re well shot of him.

I also don't really get the love in with Russell.  Yip he was a good player and he seemed to understand the club, but football is not about sentiment.  I do think the narrative on the Goodwin view is dangerous.  It's pretty clear that signing him was a sop to the fans after Moller left us very short up front (and we do seem to be fairly gullible on that front).  Maybe that was above Goodwin's head.  Maybe he didn't want him.  Maybe he wanted someone else.  From what I saw of Russell he didn't really offer that much and he clearly was less fit than even Watters.  My son, who never saw Johnny first time around (i.e. no sentiment tinted glasses) thought he was a waste of a shirt.

I certainly don't want Johnny hanging about if his wage means we can't get in a younger fitter striker.  Similarly if the narrative is true, unless you want to make Johnny manager, he really does have to go...
 

Last edited by Finn Seemann (21/5/2026 1:23 pm)

I didn't see Johnny Russell the first time around either, so I was fairly unmoved by what he did on the pitch in his short stint back - though what time did he really have to show us anything. What I did see was how much the players really took to him, especially the likes of Ferry. It looked like he was providing some senority and leadership in a squad that currently really lacks it. Perhaps naively, I thought we were moving towards some sort of player/coach role for him. 

Even at the end of that last day - and I know this has eff all to do with the actual football being played, which is the main bit - I saw JR pointing out kids in the crowd for players to gift their shirts to and making sure that Sibbald got his moment in the sun to say goodbye. Our captain sure as hell wasn't doing any of that. 

Graham gets the deal based on a number of factors

1. We hope we can pair him with a minder Webster/Kenneth - Petric/Welsh
2. We don't have to pay a fee.
3. Optics - Academy player, Captain, one of a few 'senior' Scots in the pool, the club will be aware of the pushback last season in the media, so this was an easy one.
4. He was likely to accept with little fuss.

If we pay a fee for Keresztes and he doesn't improve, that fee and presumably high-ish wages are to the detriment of the squad. I'm not convinced at his age all that is worth the gamble.

Alan Temple did a piece on him (Keresztes) in the paper the other day and it showed exactly why watching a guy play, rather than look at a spreadsheet and Youtube is a far better option.

Ebbe Skovdahl "Statistics are like mini-skirts. They give you good ideas but hide the most important things."

I get the debate about KK but concentration is quite a hard thing to teach.
Convincing a player he's not Franco Baresi can be difficult. 
But the ability to turn with the ball at your feet when facing your own goal is something a defender needs to be able to do from age 12

redford_must_score wrote:

I get the debate about KK but concentration is quite a hard thing to teach.
Convincing a player he's not Franco Baresi can be difficult. 
But the ability to turn with the ball at your feet when facing your own goal is something a defender needs to be able to do from age 12

 
What age would you say a player needs to stop rolling around on the floor like a big fanny? 🤣

Arabdownsouth wrote:

redford_must_score wrote:

I get the debate about KK but concentration is quite a hard thing to teach.
Convincing a player he's not Franco Baresi can be difficult. 
But the ability to turn with the ball at your feet when facing your own goal is something a defender needs to be able to do from age 12

 
What age would you say a player needs to stop rolling around on the floor like a big fanny? 🤣

 
😄3🤣