Paul Sturrock Joins Dundee United

[Dave]

Paul Sturrock has joined the Dundee United coaching staff on a temporary basis.

Sturrock won the Scottish title as a player with United in 1983 and was twice part of the side that won the Scottish League Cup (1980 and 1981).

He also featured in their UEFA Cup final defeat to Gothenburg (over two legs) in 1987 during a 15-year playing career with the club.

[ScoRoss]

Dundee United are a bit of a shambles at the moment. (At the moment is more like the past four years...) You can actually pinpoint the beginning of their complete downfall to February 2014.

On January 31st 2014, they win a League Cup Semi Final against Aberdeen. They are sitting 3rd in the league, have a very healthy bank balance (following the sales of Ryan Gauld and Andy Robertson the previous summer for a combined £6million) and have players such as John Souttar, Nadir Çiftçi, Gary Mackay Steven and Stuart Armstrong in their squad.

With Celtic their opposition in the League Cup Final to come, they then sell Armstrong and Mackay Steven to Celtic. Later it emerges that their manager Jackie McNamara financially benefits from selling their players due to a clause in his contract. In their remaining 15 league games, they win three, draw two and lose ten times. Then comes the summer and it's Çiftçi that then leaves for Celtic.

They open the next season with three wins, four draws sixteen defeats. A year of league football and they win six times. They never recovered from the almost giving in to financial gain before the opportunity to win a trophy. They took in almost four million from those three transfers, but if they (and it is almost certain they will) have another season in the Championship that money will be soon dwarfed by the amount they have lost by not being in the Premiership. 

Not to mention the once in a generation youth system they had under, the now maligned, Ian Cathro. From all the young players that came through under his tutelage, they never won anything for the club and almost have no legacy. If they could go back in time and do it all over, they must regret selling Armstrong and Mackay Steven. 

Sturrock is not the answer, but neither is Csaba László. Sturrock is merely a figurehead now that it's time for season ticket renewals. A club legend, but the man hasn't managed in years and almost certainly can't be expected to do anything to help now. László was appointed four days after Dundee United beat St Mirren to move to the top of the league, and now they are 18 points behind St Mirren and are clinging onto a playoff spot. And now to rub it in, a member of Jackie McNamara's coaching staff is criticising the club in the media... As if he had nothing to do with it.