Desperate need to stump up for a Wee Jum statue
THERE’S a lot to like about Dundee these days. The place has been tarted up beyond all recognition but it still has that enduring underbelly of mischief.
It’s all change of course but there’s still something missing. It can’t be right there’s a bronze Desperate Dan in the High Street yet no sign of a tribute to the man who put the city on the sporting map.
No offence to Dan but it’s incredible folk are still having to campaign to get a statue of Jim McLean outside Tannadice.
It’s more overdue than a Scotrail replacement service but at least the idea has now left the station.
Dundee United fan groups tends to involve more infighting than a Dundee wedding. But thankfully this is a subject they all agree on.
A group of guys representing each of the 176 or so separate organisations have managed to get along long enough to work on raising the dosh to get cracking on a permanent tribute to Wee Jum. The idea was mooted a year ago but the drive is about to gather pace now.
No one can say he doesn’t deserve it. Sure, McLean managed to ruffle plenty of feathers and terrorised his own players as much as the opposition.
But no one did more to put the city on the sporting map. His list of achievements looks even more remarkable when looking through the lens of time. He made Dundee United one of the most feared sides in Scotland and Europe.
Those of us who grew up on the west coast during the 80s took notice as well. At a time when Celtic and Rangers attracted fewer crowds than a wedding scramble, kids in Glasgow schools used to kick balls around the playground pretending to be United or Aberdeen players.
McLean’s place in Scottish football history should never be underestimated. He is up there with Jock Stein and Sir Alex Ferguson as an all-time great.
United winning the league and reaching the European Cup semis was epic. The run to the UEFA Cup Final in 1987 – beating Barcelona home and in the Nou Camp on the way – is one of the great tales of our national game.
It’s about time he was celebrated properly and permanently.
Too often these things are left until it’s too late, rather than rolled out when the person involved and his family
He made United one of the most feared sides in Scotland and Europe OUR TOP WRITERS GIVE THEIR FEARLESS VERDICTS EVERY DAY IN RECORD SPORT
get the chance to fully appreciate it.
A stand name is nice but walking into the ground under the gaze of the club’s greatest sons would be something special.
But it shouldn’t be just left to the punters. United have wasted more dosh than most on players in recent years and most of them had less mobility than any bronze statue.
Dundee Council have spent fortunes on fancy art installations that have helped dragged the city into the future. But they shouldn’t be forgetting the past.
If Dundee can find room for Desperate Dan, the club and the council have to stump up for Wee Jum the genius.