2007–08 Dundee United F.C. season

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Dundee United
2007–08 season
ChairmanEddie Thompson
ManagerCraig Levein
Clydesdale Bank Premier League5th
Scottish CupFifth round
CIS Insurance CupRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague: Noel Hunt (13)
All: Noel Hunt (18)
Highest home attendance13,613 (vs Celtic, 22 May)
Lowest home attendance5,845 (vs Inverness CT, 1 December)

Dundee United finished the Scottish Premier League 2007–08 season in 5th place with 52 points. Noel Hunt was the top scorer with 18 goals.

Review and events[edit]

The pre-season period began with two new permanent signings at the club, Polish goalkeeper Łukasz Załuska and Darren Dods having signed deals in June. Irishman Willo Flood also arrived from Cardiff City on a season-long loan deal. In July, former Ajax youngster Prince Buaben signed after a successful trial and was joined by a second Polish keeper, Grzegorz Szamotulski, in time for the league season. Englishman Jordan Robertson became the second long-term loan signing when he arrived from Sheffield United in late August.

A number of players who were out of contract left the club following the end of the 2006–07 season. Lee Mair signed a pre-contract deal with Aberdeen and Derek Stillie moved to England to pursue a law career. David McCracken and Collin Samuel were both released. Also leaving the club were a number of younger players who had failed to earn extensions to their contracts. These were Gregg Burnett, Barry Callaghan and Ross Gardiner. All had played at least once for the first team.

The first game of the season was home to Aberdeen in the SPL, and ended in a 1–0 victory.[1] As the season progressed, United maintained their high league table position, ending 2007 in 4th place.

The club lost to Rangers in the CIS Insurance Cup final in March, losing on penalties. The Scottish Cup campaign was ended by St Mirren in the fifth round.

Chronological list of events[edit]

This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2007–08 season, presented in chronological order. This list does not include transfers, which are listed in the transfers section below, or match results, which are in the results section.

Match results[edit]

Dundee United played a total of 46 competitive matches during the 2007–08 season,[20] as well as four first team pre-season friendlies. The team finished fifth in the Scottish Premier League.

In the cup competitions, United were runners up in the final of the CIS Insurance Cup, losing on penalties to Rangers. United lost to St Mirren in the Scottish Cup fifth round, after a replay.

Scottish Premier League[edit]

4 August 2007 Dundee United 1–0 Aberdeen Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 D Robertson 90' Report Attendance: 12,496
Referee: M Timulty
13 August 2007 Kilmarnock 2–1 Dundee United Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
15.00 Gibson 79'
Nish 87'
Report Hunt 50' Attendance: 5,557
Referee: B Winter
18 August 2007 Dundee United 0–0 Hibernian Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Report Attendance: 8,405
Referee: M McCurry
25 August 2007 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0–3 Dundee United Rugby Park, Inverness
15.00 Report Dillon 47'
Robson 58' (p), 81' (p)
Attendance: 4,178
Referee: J Underhill
1 September 2007 Dundee United 2–0 Falkirk Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Hunt 58'
Robson 84'
Report Attendance: 6,864
Referee: I Brines
16 September 2007 Dundee United 2–0 St Mirren Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Hunt 38'
J Robertson 68'
Report Attendance: 6,128
Referee: S Dougal
22 September 2007 Gretna 3–2 Dundee United Fir Park, Motherwell
15.00 Cowan 14', 36'
Jenkins 86'
Report Buaben 9'
Wilkie 65'
Attendance: 1,624
Referee: C Richmond
29 September 2007 Celtic 3–0 Dundee United Celtic Park, Glasgow
15.00 McDonald 7', 67', 72' Report Attendance: 57,006
Referee: D McDonald
6 October 2007 Dundee United 1–0 Motherwell Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Dods 78' Report Attendance: 6,286
Referee: S Finnie
20 October 2007 Heart of Midlothian 1–3 Dundee United Tynecastle, Edinburgh
15.00 Kingston 90' Report J Robertson 14', 25'
Robson 89' (p)
Attendance: 16,661
Referee: C Thomson
28 October 2007 Dundee United 2–1 Rangers Tannadice, Dundee
14.00 Wilkie 28'
Robson 54' (p)
Report Cousin 51' (p) Attendance: 12,129
Referee: D McDonald
3 November 2007 Aberdeen 2–0 Dundee United Pittodrie, Aberdeen
15.00 Aluko 45'
Miller 90'
Report Attendance: 16,661
Referee: C Thomson
10 November 2007 Dundee United 2–0 Kilmarnock Tannadice, Dundee
14.00 Hunt 8'
Buaben 90'
Report Attendance: 6,065
Referee: D Somers
24 November 2007 Hibernian 2–2 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
15.00 Benjelloun 77'
Antoine-Curier 82'
Report D Robertson 66', 74' Attendance: 14,440
Referee: W Collum
1 December 2007 Dundee United 0–1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Report Black 19' Attendance: 5,845
Referee: I Brines
8 December 2007 Falkirk 3–0 Dundee United Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
15.00 Moutinho 5'
Barrett 41'
Higdon 66'
Report Attendance: 4,803
Referee: M McCurry
15 December 2007 St Mirren 0–3 Dundee United St Mirren Park, Paisley
15.00 Report D Robertson 49'
Hunt 77'
Flood 90'
Attendance: 3,490
Referee: C Thomson
22 December 2007 Dundee United 1–2 Gretna Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Hunt 29' Report Deuchar 12'
Deverdics 42'
Attendance: 6,304
Referee: C Richmond
26 December 2007 Dundee United 0–2 Celtic Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Report Vennegoor of Hesselink 68'
McManus 74'
Attendance: 12,357
Referee: E Smith
29 December 2007 Motherwell 5–3 Dundee United Fir Park, Motherwell
15.00 Hughes 11'
Porter 14'
McCormack 17'
Clarkson 55', 56'
Report D Robertson 36'
Hunt 75', 90'
Attendance: 5,227
Referee: C Allan
2 January 2008 Dundee United 4–1 Heart of Midlothian Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Robson 23', 70' (p), 88' (p)
Hunt 84'
Report Berra 37' Attendance: 12,100
Referee: A Freeland
5 January 2008 Rangers 2–0 Dundee United Ibrox, Glasgow
15.00 Naismith 9'
Ferguson 40'
Report Attendance: 48,559
Referee: M McCurry
19 January 2008 Dundee United 3–0 Aberdeen Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Hunt 50'
Robson 77', 84'
Report Attendance: 8,579
Referee: C Thomson
26 January 2008 Kilmarnock 1–2 Dundee United Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
15.00 Wales 82' Report Robson 31'
Conway 66'
Attendance: 4,803
Referee: K Clark
9 February 2008 Dundee United 1–1 Hibernian Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Hunt 13' (p) Report Rankin 46' Attendance: 6,635
Referee: E Smith
23 February 2008 Dundee United 0–0 Falkirk Tannadice, Dundee
15.00 Report Attendance: 6,835
Referee: M Timulty
27 February 2008 Dundee United 1–1 St Mirren Tannadice, Dundee
19.45 Dillon 69' Report Dorman 88' Attendance: 6,037
Referee: I Brines
6 March 2008 Gretna 0–3 Dundee United Fir Park, Motherwell
19.45 Report Kenneth 16'
Gomis 51'
D Robertson 64'
Attendance: 501
Referee: B Winter
12 March 2008 Celtic 0–0 Dundee United Celtic Park, Glasgow
19.45 Report Attendance: 45,000
Referee: M McCurry
22 March 2008 Dundee United 2–0 Motherwell Tannadice, Dundee
12.30 Swanson 76'
De Vries 89'
Report Attendance: 6,779
Referee: D McDonald
29 March 2008 Heart of Midlothian 1–0 Dundee United Tynecastle, Edinburgh
15.00 Kingston 27' Report Attendance: 16,871
Referee: E Smith
6 April 2008 Dundee United 3–3 Rangers Tannadice, Dundee
14.00 Kalvenes 37'
Hunt 51'
Cuéllar 65' (og)
Report Weir 44', Novo 58', Boyd 67' Attendance: 11,214
Referee: C Richmond
20 April 2008 Dundee United 1–1 Hibernian Tannadice, Dundee
14.00 Hunt 60' (p) Report Shiels 57' Attendance: 7,404
Referee: E Smith
26 April 2008 Motherwell 2–2 Dundee United Fir Park, Motherwell
12.30 Porter 17', 50' Report Craigan 45' (o.g.), Wilkie 86' Attendance: 5,027
Referee: K Clark
3 May 2008 Aberdeen 2–1 Dundee United Pittodrie, Aberdeen
15.00 Foster
Touzani 48'
Report Swanson 49' Attendance: 13,312
Referee: B Winter
10 May 2008 Rangers 3–1 Dundee United Ibrox, Glasgow
12.30 Novo 7', 18'
Darchville 90'
Report De Vries 76' Attendance: 30,293
Referee: M McCurry
22 May 2008 Dundee United 0–1 Celtic Tannadice, Dundee
19.45 Report Vennegoor of Hesselink 72' Attendance: 13,613
Referee: S Dougal

Source: BBC Sport website: Scottish Premier Archived 13 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine

Scottish Cup[edit]

16 January 2008 Fourth round Clyde 0–1 Dundee United Broadwood
Robson 57' Attendance: 1,550
Referee: C Richmond
2 February 2008 Fifth round St Mirren 0–0 Dundee United Love Street
Attendance: 3,945
Referee: M McCurry
13 February 2008 Fifth round replay Dundee United 0–1 St Mirren Tannadice
Dorman 48' Attendance: 3,723
Referee: A Freeland

CIS Insurance Cup[edit]

Early stages of the 3–1 home CIS Cup win against Hamilton on 31 October
29 August 2007 Dundee United 2–1 Ross County Tannadice, Dundee
19.45 Hunt 65' (p)
J Robertson 86'
Report Barrowman 78' Attendance: 3,114
Referee: C Allan
25 September 2007 Falkirk 0–1 Dundee United Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
19.45 Report Wilkie 60' Attendance: 2,804
Referee: C Thomson
31 October 2007 Dundee United 3–1 Hamilton Academical Tannadice, Dundee
19.45 Hunt 10', 77', 85' Report Offiong 79' (p) Attendance: 4,567
Referee: M McCurry
5 February 2008 Aberdeen 1–4 Dundee United Tynecastle, Edinburgh
19.45 Considine 19' Report Dods 23'
Kalvenes 60'
Conway 65'
Gomis 77'
Attendance: 12,046
Referee: I Brines
16 March 2008 Dundee United 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(2–3 p)
Rangers Hampden, Glasgow
15.00 Hunt 34'
De Vries 96'
Report Boyd 85', 113' Attendance: 50,019
Referee: K Clark

Source: BBC Sport website: Scottish Cups

Player stats[edit]

During the 2007–08 season, United used 30 different players on the pitch. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[21]

No. Pos Nat Player Total Clydesdale Bank Premier League Scottish Cup CIS Insurance Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Poland POL Łukasz Załuska 18 0 14 0 2 0 2 0
13 GK Scotland SCO Euan McLean 7 0 6 0 1 0 0 0
21 GK Poland POL Grzegorz Szamotulski 21 0 18 0 0 0 3 0
2 DF Ireland EIR Sean Dillon 39 2 32 2 3 0 4 0
3 DF Norway NOR Christian Kalvenes 23 2 18 1 1 0 4 1
4 DF Scotland SCO Lee Wilkie 37 4 30 3 3 0 4 1
5 DF Scotland SCO Darren Dods 39 2 32 1 3 0 4 1
8 DF England ENG Daniel Grainger 16 0 14 0 2 0 0 0
18 DF Scotland SCO Garry Kenneth 20 1 19 1 0 0 1 0
24 DF Scotland SCO Stuart Duff 9 0 9 0 0 0 0 0
24 DF Switzerland SUI Mihael Kovačević 5 0 4 0 0 0 1 0
6 MF Ireland EIR Willo Flood 43 0 35 0 3 0 5 0
7 MF Scotland SCO Mark Kerr 37 0 29 0 3 0 5 0
11 MF Scotland SCO Barry Robson 24 12 21 11 1 1 2 0
11 MF Scotland SCO Jim O'Brien 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0
12 MF Scotland SCO David Robertson 24 6 19 6 1 0 4 0
14 MF Scotland SCO Steven Robb 13 0 12 0 0 0 1 0
15 MF Scotland SCO Craig Conway 19 2 15 1 2 0 2 1
16 MF France FRA Morgaro Gomis 43 1 35 1 3 0 5 0
17 MF Scotland SCO Greg Cameron 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
20 MF Ghana GHA Prince Buaben 29 2 23 2 1 0 5 0
23 MF Scotland SCO Danny Swanson 13 2 11 2 2 0 0 0
32 MF Scotland SCO Fraser Milligan 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
9 ST Ireland EIR Jon Daly 9 0 9 0 0 0 0 0
10 ST Ireland EIR Noel Hunt 43 18 35 13 3 0 5 5
22 ST England ENG Jordan Robertson 18 4 14 3 1 0 3 1
22 ST Suriname SUR Mark de Vries 17 3 13 2 2 0 2 1
25 ST England ENG Eric Odhiambo 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
26 ST Scotland SCO David Goodwillie 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
30 ST Scotland SCO Johnny Russell 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

Team statistics[edit]

League table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
3 Motherwell 38 18 6 14 50 46 +4 60 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Aberdeen 38 15 8 15 50 58 −8 53
5 Dundee United 38 14 10 14 53 47 +6 52
6 Hibernian 38 14 10 14 49 45 +4 52 Qualification for the Intertoto Cup second round[b]
7 Falkirk 38 13 10 15 45 49 −4 49
Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
  2. ^ Hibernian qualified for the Intertoto Cup as the highest ranked club to apply for a place in the competition.

Transfers[edit]

Playing kit[edit]

Home colours
Away colours

The jerseys were sponsored for a second[47] (and final) season by Anglian Home Improvements (who again sponsored Motherwell). The sponsor logo is displayed as a simple font across the chest, with white logo for the home top and black logo on the change strip.[48] The shorts were again sponsored by Ole International after the Spanish property firm extended the deal for a second year.[49] The shorts logo is displayed on the right hand side, above the club badge.[49] The expiry of both deals at the end of the season means the club will have at least one new sponsorship for 2008–09, as the option of a third year of shirt sponsorship[47] was passed for a new one-year deal with JD Sports' Carbrini Sportswear label for 2008–09.[50][51]

The club has no third strip, with the last third strip used in the 2002–03 season.

Awards[edit]

Craig Levein (October 2007)
Lee Wilkie (October 2007), Barry Robson (January 2008)
Danny Grainger (January 2008), Garry Kenneth (March 2008)
Willo Flood (2007–08)

References[edit]

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External links[edit]