Questions the new regime at Dundee United need to answer
IT’S a long story, a little too long to detail here, but my father-inlaw was a member of the backroom staff at Barcelona when Dundee United bounced them out of the UEFA Cup during that glorious run to the final in 1987. He was visiting from Spain this week. Over a few jars to fend off winter’s chill, we got talking about that night of all nights at the Nou Camp.
He recalls with clarity his view from the dugout as the hulking figure of John Clark, a man whose name he mentions with a mix of fear and incredulity almost every time he sets foot in Scotland, thundered home that header off the underside of the bar to put United in the driving seat with five minutes of the second leg left.
He still has one of those iconic tangerine jerseys at home. In the week in which Stephen Thompson stepped down as United chairman with a vow, of sorts, to ship out, it seems odd to think that fraying strip from more than 30 years ago still carries such direct links between past and present.
Printed on the front is the logo of VG. It was United’s first shirt sponsorship deal, set up by Stephen’s father Eddie during his days working for the grocery firm’s parent company, and an initial connection that would lead to the Thompsons taking control of the club when the days of ex-manager, chairman and demigod-cum-dictator Jim McLean were over.
That long-standing family link came as a surprise to the father-inlaw. As confirmation United had sold off their Gussie Park facility to raise funds emerged, though, his recurring question was entirely predictable: How could they have fallen so far?
This is a time for questions at Tannadice, though. Lots of them. Thompson’s replacement Mike Martin, moving up from vice-chair, will stage a round of interviews tomorrow to spell out his vision of the future. Here are just five of the bigger issues that the 57-year-old banking executive has to address…
WHY SHOULD FANS TRUST HIM?
Martin joined the board in 2011 and has been there throughout the chaos of recent years in which the club has burned through managers, thrown away money on inadequate players, suffered relegation and found itself with a team that looks incapable of getting out of the Championship.
Having bought Gussie Park via his pension fund, it emerged only recently that he had also secured the 33-per-cent shareholding of Thompson’s sister Justine Mitchell.
Fans’ groups, out to establish what the price of the club as a whole might be, have been unable to discover how much he paid.
If Martin was part of the board that got the club into the mess it’s in, then how can he be trusted to get it out?
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH GUSSIE PARK?
Martin bought the facility and attached buildings, also known as the GA Arena, at a reported cost of £1million. A statement insisted the club can buy it back ‘at no commercial gain to himself’ in future.
Other than that, details are rather light. Will United lease the facility back and what cost? Will they still be responsible for running costs? Will they lose income?
There are secured loans on Gussie Park. They would eat up a good chunk of that £1m. Have they been repaid and, if so, how much is left? Will the remaining amount simply go towards operational losses?
The big worry, though, is what if club assets are to be hived off because of fears they could go into administration if they don’t win promotion.
WHAT WILL THOMPSON DO WITH HIS SHAREHOLDING?
United claim Thompson will sell ‘the bulk’ of his 54-per-cent shareholding in the coming months. What is ‘the bulk’? Even if he sells 51 per cent of it, he’d still own over 20 per cent of United.
Does he have buyers lined up? Has his search for outside investment brought a result? Does Martin have intentions to become majority shareholder? What exactly prompted Thompson’s midweek resignation? Clarity is required.
WHERE HAS ALL THE MONEY GONE?
Andy Robertson, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Gauld, Nadir Ciftci, David Goodwillie, Gary Mackay-Steven, Johnny Russell, John and Harry Souttar, Ryan McGowan, Scott Allan. Between them, they must have brought in more than £15m in transfer fees since 2011.
How can a club that has banked that amount of money get into this state? Does anyone even know what the precise level of debt is?
WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR INVESTMENT AND WHAT IS UNITED FC GROUP LTD?
Thompson is said to be looking to set up a sister club for United in America. Some parties tell you that he will get the funding from the States when he has done the groundwork. United fans want assurances that it is his money and not their club’s that will be used.
As with many things at Tannadice, details are sketchy. If this club is to be linked to United, what will be the benefits? Will it result in investment from outside?
Thompson and Martin are sole directors in an active company called United FC Group Limited. It changed its name from Thommar Ltd in August. Why involve United in the name? What are their plans?
What will Martin’s business relationship with Thompson be going forward?
Of course, United’s predicament has other fans — particularly those of Rangers and Dundee — waiting for their demise with bated breath. They have their reasons.
Yet, it seems wrong to wish ill on a club that brought some of the finest moments in Scottish football’s history.
United are part of the fabric of our game. A misty-eyed pint with the wife’s old man brought that into sharp focus. It’s how they secure a solid future that is a little more blurred.