2005–06_Dundee_United_F.C._season

2005–06 Dundee United F.C. season

2005–06 Dundee United F.C. season

Dundee United 2005–06 football season

The 2005–06 season was the 97th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006. United finished in ninth place for the second consecutive season and meant they had only finished in the top six once in the six seasons since the split was introduced.

Quick Facts season, Chairman ...

United finished the 2005/06 SPL season in 9th place with 33 points, narrowly beating Falkirk (10th) and Dunfermline Athletic (11th) on goal difference. United exited all three cup competitions at the first stage. Between April and early-May, United lost six consecutive games, including losses to the three clubs which finished below them in the league.

The much-anticipated UEFA Cup campaign ended in disappointment with an away-goals defeat to Finnish side MyPa (after United surrendered a two-goal lead), and a Scottish League Cup defeat to Inverness CT followed, although an incredible 5–4 away win over Motherwell brought some early-season cheer. United also exited the Scottish Cup at the first hurdle, bowing out 3–2 to Aberdeen after again throwing away a two-goal lead.

Little league success followed, and the Terrors finished ninth on goal difference, thanks to a late Collin Samuel equaliser against Motherwell on the season's final day. In mid-January, Gordon Chisholm was sacked, with United favourite Craig Brewster leaving Inverness CT to take over. Brewster would go on to win just one league game all season and leave United before 2006 was out.

Season review

Pre-season preparations went well, with United winning the inaugural City of Discovery Cup. The league season started disappointingly, however, with the surprise UEFA Cup exit in August to MyPa a notable downpoint. After drawing the away leg 0–0, United threw away a 2–0 first-half home lead, and went out on away goals. An incredible 5–4 win at Motherwell – in which United were two goals behind on three occasions – was the only high point in a disappointing month. United also lost to Celtic and Hearts in August.

United lost at Hibernian and exited the Scottish League Cup in September, going out to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the second round. Prior to the cup exit, a 2–0 win over Livingston had brought the first home win. Immediately after going out of the cup, United lost at Dunfermline, to close out September in disappointing fashion.

In October, United a three-game unbeaten run, indicating a small improvement. The spell – which included a televised draw against Rangers and a win at Falkirk – was unfortunately followed by three successive defeats, which saw nine goals conceded. United then avoided defeat in four of the next five matches.

Boxing Day saw a last-minute defeat at Kilmarnock and United also lost heavily at Ibrox to Rangers. Incredibly, United exited the third cup tournament immediately, throwing away a two-goal home lead to lose 3–2 to Aberdeen. In the game in which on-loan Charles Mulgrew debuted, David Fernandez scored twice in the first half, only for ex-Tangerine Stevie Crawford to equalise. It proved to be the final straw and manager Gordon Chisholm left, with immediate rumours naming Craig Brewster as Eddie Thompson's man of choice for the hot seat. Brewster was appointed shortly after.

Caretaker-manager Billy Dodds took charge for his only game as United recovered to beat Falkirk 2–1, with newly appointed Brewster watching from the stands. It would also be Mark Wilson's final match, as he moved to Celtic for £500,000 shortly afterwards.

Brewster made his second United debut against Aberdeen but lasted under half an hour due to injury, which ended his playing season. He guided United to three draws in his first three matches but had to wait until his eighth match to secure his first win, at the expense of Livingston. During this time, on-loan Charlie Mulgrew won the Young Player of the Month award for February. United lost six of the final eight games to end a thoroughly disappointing season, which brought just one league win for the new manager.

Match results

Dundee United played a total of 42 competitive matches during the 2005–06 season,[1] as well as four pre-season friendlies, making a total of nearly fifty games played. The team finished ninth in the Scottish Premier League.

In the cup competitions, United were knocked out of the Scottish Cup at the third round stage, losing 3–2 at home to Aberdeen, despite being two goals ahead at half time. The club also exited early in the League Cup, losing 2–0 away to Inverness CT in the second round. United fell to an early exit in the UEFA Cup after losing on away goals to Finnish team MyPa, completing an immediate exit in all three cup competitions.

Legend

Win Draw Loss

All results are written with Dundee United's score first.

Scottish Premier League

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Scottish Cup

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Scottish League Cup

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UEFA Cup

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Player details

During the 2005–06 season, United used 27 different players, with a further seven named as unused substitutes. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[2]

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Team statistics

League table

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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.

Transfers

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Playing kit

Home
colours
Away
colours
European colours

The home strip remained unchanged from the previous season but the away kit was changed to a new white and black outfit, separated diagonally.[15] As mentioned at the end of the previous season, the limited edition third kit would be used for the European campaign.[16] The jerseys were sponsored by Morning, Noon and Night for the third and final season. Originally sponsored for the 2003–04 season,[17] the firm – operating under the banner of Scotmid since August 2004[18] – sponsored the club for a final time. The sponsor logo was again displayed as a simple font across the chest, with white logo for the home and third tops and orange logo on the change strip.

Awards

February 2006

References

  1. [1]
    "2006–07 – First Team Fixtures & Results". Dundee United F.C. Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
  2. [2]
    "Dundee Utd 2005–06 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  3. [3]
    "Dundee United clinch Miller deal". BBC Sport website. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  4. [4]
    "Stillie on move to Dundee United". BBC Sport website. 7 July 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  5. [5]
    "Samson wins a Tannadice contract". BBC Sport website. 29 July 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  6. [6]
    "Fernandez moves on to Tannadice". BBC Sport website. 12 August 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  7. [7]
    "Canero given chance at Tannadice". BBC Sport website. 5 September 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  8. [8]
    "Brewster the right man – Thompson". BBC Sport website. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  9. [9]
    "Dundee Utd land Celtic's Mulgrew". BBC Sport website. 5 January 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  10. [10]
    "Striker Grady signs up for Gretna". BBC Sport website. 4 August 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  11. [11]
    "United's Scotland case dismissed". BBC Sport website. 1 August 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  12. [12]
    "Crawford quits Tannadice for Dons". BBC Sport website. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  13. [13]
    "Graeme Holmes departs Tannadice". Dundee United F.C. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  14. [14]
    "Celtic secure signing of Wilson". BBC Sport website. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  15. [15]
    "New away kit launched". Dundee United F.C. 23 June 2005. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  16. [16]
    "Cup strip officially launched". Dundee United F.C. 5 May 2005. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  17. [17]
    "Triple boost for Dundee United". Dundee United F.C. 19 June 2003. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  18. [18]
    "Dundee firm sold for £30 million". Evening Telegraph. 3 August 2004. Archived from the original on 15 August 2004. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
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