Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Departed Dees mixed fortunes
PLAYERS come and go every transfer window but the summer of 2020 was a close season like no other for Dundee.
With a global pandemic raging and Scottish football in crisis mode, there was no knowing what might emerge from the chaos.
Budgeting for life with no fans in the stands, Dark Blues managing director John Nelms had difficult decisions to make.
Staff and players agreed wage cuts in June, with some choosing to leave as a result and others saying goodbye for different reasons.
Here’s what the departed Dees have been up to since.
l – Club captain Meekings decided to end his injuryhit time at Dens Park rather than take up an extension with a pay cut and headed south to be nearer family.
When leaving, he said: “I just decided my family should come first. If I know I have given everything and I always will, then I can hold my head up high.”
After training with London side Leyton Orient, the Scottish Cup winner signed with National League strugglers Wealdstone on January 15. He has since made two starts, making the second of those in a 0-0 draw with Eastleigh on Tuesday.
In his short time at the club, Wealdstone have also parted company with manager Dean Brennan after “tensions behind the scenes” as they sit 19th out of 23 in England’s fifth tier.
Josh Meekings Dundee appearances: 53
Tom Field
l – Former Brentford left-back Field arrived late on in the January transfer window as cover for an injury to first-choice Jordan Marshall.
The 23-year-old only managed 15 minutes of action in dark blue, coming on as a sub in a 0-0 draw at Ayr United in March.
He left at the end of his shortterm deal and has since joined Canadian side Cavalry FC, based in Calgary. Field will have to wait for his debut, however, with the Canadian Premier League not scheduled to start again until May.
1 l – In the same division as Meekings is former team-mate Andrew Nelson.
The striker, however, has suffered from a troublesome knee injury and is yet to play for leaders Torquay United this season.
He picked it up in his first friendly for the club back in August and has required surgery to sort the problem.
Dundee appearances:
Andrew Nelson
Former Bristol City boss Gary Johnson is the man in charge at Plainmoor and said on January 13: “Andrew Nelson (knee) is still longterm – he has had his operation and that was something that he needed for the rest of his career.”
Without Nelson, though, Torquay have built up a seven-point lead at the top of the table.
Dundee appearances: goals)
Kane Hemmings
39 (8
l – The one that got away – again. Hemmings had scored 10 goals in the Championship the previous season as he returned to Dens Park.
And it looked like he would be leading the line in 2020-21 again after initially agreeing to the wage cut. However, that changed a few days later and, once more, Hemmings left Dundee, this time for hometown team Burton Albion.