Can the New Firm get back good old days?
Plenty of United fans will trace the downfall to the sales of GMS and Armstrong
THE first Aberdeen and Dundee United meeting in almost two years will see tales recalled of their halcyon days.
Scottish Cup week provides the opportunity for a bit of nostalgia and a trip down memory lane with these two clubs is a reminder of some great times for Scottish football in the early 1980s.
Dubbed the New Firm as they challenged the Old Firm for domestic honours under Alex Ferguson at Pittodrie and Jim McLean at Tannadice, they were also taking on and beating some of the biggest names in European football.
Fans of both clubs might only be able to dream of reaching such levels again but as they prepare to meet in the last 16 on Sunday only one is even remotely close to repeating the success of yesteryear.
Aberdeen have just been given the green light for a new £50million stadium on the outskirts of the city and they could be playing there at the start of the 2020/21 season.
Derek McInnes’s side have also moved to within eight points of Premiership leaders Celtic and welcome the Hoops to Pittodrie in a couple of weeks.
In contrast, the outlook remains bleak for the Tangerines. Stuck in the Championship for the last two seasons, they currently trail St Mirren by 14 points and face the daunting prospect of trying to win promotion through the play-offs again where they failed last season.
On top of that, deeply unpopular chairman Stephen Thompson has decided to stand down with reports that he is also considering selling the club.
Csaba Laszlo might only be taking his squad 65 miles north for the live TV meeting but right now the clubs are in different worlds.
Yet United fans don’t need to go as far back as the 1980s for a time when they were challenging Aberdeen and their decline in more recent years is what they find harder to accept.
Ironically, it was a victory over the Dons in a League Cup semi-final at Hampden just three years ago that pointed to a bright future.
Jackie McNamara was regarded as one of the brightest young bosses in the game at that time and United boasted some great talent.
They came from behind to defeat the then-holders of the trophy thanks to goals from Callum Morris and Nadir Ciftci and it’s hard to believe – no, not that Ciftci scored – how far they have fallen since.
It was the last real joyous day for Arabs and at that time they were only three points behind Aberdeen in the Premiership and just six off leaders Celtic.
The tables have turned and while McInnes is still in charge at Pittodrie, United are now on their third boss with Mixu Paatelainen and Ray McKinnon both axed after McNamara.
Plenty of United fans will trace the start of their downfall back to the sales of Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong to Celtic, who they would play in the final after that semi-final win over Aberdeen.
They were the latest in a production line that saw David Goodwillie, Johnny Russell, Ryan Gauld and Andrew Robertson all move for considerable fees.
It was good business for the club but fans will naturally crave tangible success and the Arabs must look at the position of their north-east rivals with envy as the Reds challenge for honours.