The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
United fans wanted Thompson gone... with the board buying him out the support can now get fully behind the club again.
A chairman United fans loved to hate
Stephen Thompson’s calamitous reign at Dundee Utd is over.
On his watch the club won a Scottish Cup, had forays into Europe, and were relegated to the Championship.
His relationship with the fans was a love hate one. They loved to hate him.
Whereas his father Eddie, who bought the club from Jim McLean, was a man of the people, admired by United fans, the son found himself the object of their scorn and derision.
Where Eddie went out to meet the fans, Stephen remained aloof and incapable of listening to advice.
Where his father as chairman was first to arrive at the ground and last to leave, and always available on his “portable” as he called his mobile phone, the new chairman, was seldom seen at the stadium, preferring to ensconce himself in a Broughty Ferry coffee shop, and failing to meet or address the concerns of supporters.
They hold him responsible for the grim financial position which sees the club facing a financial black hole, without fresh investment, and Tannadice Park held as security, by long time fan Hugh Duncan, who has loaned the club money.
Supporters rightly point the finger at Thompson’s sale of Stuart Armstrong and Gary McKay-Steven to Celtic, weakening United at a time when they were very strong, not to mention a deal which allowed manager Jackie McNamara a cut of transfer fees.
That was an arrangement which, while legal, raised serious ethical questions.
Thompson’s ill-fated trips to Australia to attempt to acquire the struggling Newcastle Jets prompted accusations that he had taken his eye off the ball at Tannadice, and latterly he finally admitted that a long proposed American deal to invest in United would not happen.
Last week local businessman John Gibson agreed to acquire Thompson’s majority shareholding, but pulled out at the last minute when new clauses were suddenly inserted.
These, I’m told, asked for a very large payment for private legal fees, for matters unrelated to club business, plus a three-day timeframe to complete the deal. This could not be achieved, given the legal requirements for the current board to approve the transfer of the shares, a process which would have taken much longer than that.
John Gibson was told, by many folk, that he was mad to even consider buying. Nevertheless, he lodged 450k in a client account, incurring a 10k legal bill, awaiting the signature on the deal he thought was done.
I think that despite him having another wealthy businessman ready to join him, along with potential investment from England, that he has dodged a bullet. He feels that Thompson “played him” and that looks a shrewd assessment.
Now it falls to chairman Mike Martin who has been at Thompson’s side for seven years, to fix the mess. Some fans think he is culpable through association, but if Thompson listened to him as little as he listened to anyone else, that charge is flimsy. United fans wanted Thompson gone. With the board buying him out the support can now get fully behind the club again as it tries to repair the damage which he has done.