Dundee United’s missing mojo

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Dundee United battered Dundee at Dens on Sunday, the 0-2 lead they took into the 94th minute did not flatter them.  Stats at that point back this up, United had 10 shots on target, while they home side were yet to record their first.

With only 5 minutes of additional time indicated, you would have thought the game would close without note.  But a poorly defended corner with 90 seconds left gave Dundee a ‘consolation’.  That would have been that, were it not for an ill-conceived lunge by United captain Ross Graham, before the same player headed the resultant free kick into the postage stamp corner of his own net.  It was a peach.

That result leaves United 9 points behind Falkirk in the race for a top six finish, with 9 points to play for, ending any faint prospect of our opponents on Sunday making the top half of the table this season.

You will rightly read lots of chat about how competitive the Scottish Premiership is this season.  For United, their edge disappeared on Sunday.  This week, they have come through a period of disappointment and the kind of recrimination reserved only for a situation when a captain single-handedly robs them of a home win at their rivals’ ground.

Dundee and Dundee United are the first two sides with nothing much to play for this season, apart from local bragging rights (the latter have a two point advantage).   Aberdeen are six points above the playoff place but have a new manager to impress, St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Livingston are battling relegation, while teams in the top six all have European places or the title to compete for.

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Dundee United have earned four more points at Dens this season than Celtic, so we can take nothing for granted, but this is a club which just lost its mojo.  Celtic have to step up and get a result.

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  1. The Battered Bunnet on

    Three points this weekend and a fortnight off for rest and recovery sounds exactly what the doctor might order.

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  3. Morning ALMORE

     

     

    45 years.

     

     

    ——————–

     

     

    BRRB

     

     

    Best behaviour today please!

  4. bournesouprecipe on

    To the Arabs of Dundee it is – another MON mini miracle on the cards – where Wilfried last practiced his snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory.

     

     

    LochGelly CSC

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  6. lets all do the huddle on

    losing your mojos was one of the worst things that could happen to you in primary school.

  7. Local A-league news reports that Dundee Utd have signed a 5th player from the A-League – a 25yr old forward called Lachlan Rose. A bustling, headless chook of an attacker by my reckoning. Puzzler.

     

    Celtic scouts should be checking out Rogic-esque Eli Adams at Newcastle Jets though.

     

     

    Meanwhile, our petrol prices are up from $1.90 before Operation Epstein Fury to a current $2.60 today – that’s about a 25%+ increase in 2 weeks all to back an illegal and pathological premise.

     

     

    War, good God y’all, what is it good for ….?

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztZI2aLQ9Sw

     

     

    EdwinStarr CSC

  8. Remember Utd’s two goals against us should have been disallowed by VAR for handballs.

     

     

    But, it seems VAR only really looks at any chance to disallow Celtic goals.

     

     

    That’s 3 points we were robbed of.

     

     

    Beware.

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  10. bournesouprecipe on

    🎶 VAR on the one road maybe the wrong road but we’re together now who cares……💨🎶🇮🇪

     

     

    Aff Oot CSC

  11. Scotslaw on 19th March 2026 12:18 pm

     

    “Remember Utd’s two goals against us should have been disallowed by VAR for handballs.”

     

     

    Was one not also from a corner that should have been a GK?

     

     

    SFA are sending two of the most loyal MIBs to Tannadice and on VAR so expect nothing from them.

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  13. GlassTwoThirdsFull on

    “Dundee and Dundee United are the first two sides with nothing much to play for this season, apart from local bragging rights ”

     

    ————————

     

    Really sad when local bragging rights is the limits of a club…….

  14. “Remember Utd’s two goals against us should have been disallowed by VAR for handballs.”

     

     

     

    Was one not also from a corner that should have been a GK?

     

    ————————————————————-

     

    One was from a correctly awarded corner, as we put the ball out of play.

     

     

    However, there was a high suspicion of offside in the build up play. Linesman kept flag down, presumably thinking he’ll let VAR decide, should a goal result from open play.

     

     

    As it went for a corner, VAR can’t intervene. Goal came from resultant corner.

     

     

    Lazy work from linesman, relying on VAR instead of doing there own job. To be fair, they are advised to let the game flow if unsure of offside decision, and let VAR step in – in the event of a goal. However, with no goal and a corner awarded instead, the game highlighted an obvious flaw on taking this approach.

     

     

    HH

  15. glendalystonsils on

    The second half v Motherwell we looked like we had just connected with out long lost Mojo , but Mojo’s can be fickle things . We need to make sure ours are securely taped on at Tannadice .

     

     

    Anyhoo , I always squirm a bit when I hear the word mojo as it brings to mind a certain traitorous little c*** .

     

     

    JohnLeeHooker CSC

  16. bashi-bazouks on

    lets all do the huddle on 19th March 2026 12:14 pm

     

    losing your mojos was one of the worst things that could happen to you in primary school.

     

     

    i was more of a Black Jacks fan

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  18. springtime.

     

     

    days get longer, grass starts growing, lets play less football matches.

     

     

    genius.

  19. Saint Stivs on 19th March 2026 1:09 pm

     

    springtime.

     

     

    days get longer, grass starts growing, lets play less football matches.

     

     

    genius.

     

    _____

     

    Another example of Scottish football maximising on the innovation front, as we aim to bridge the gap with wealthier football countries 🤔

  20. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Of the 4 Wilfried Nancy defeats Tannadice was the one that seriously got away, IMHO.

     

     

    We murdered them first half and should have been out of sight.

     

     

    Any kind of win will do me.

     

     

    Four days (Tuesday to Friday) of pleasant weather for the lads to train in.

     

     

    Hope that adds just one more tiny layer of freshness and energy to their performance.

     

     

    Weatherman currently predicting a dry Dundee on Sunday.

  21. Europe’s top leagues have been summoned to a meeting with Uefa in the summer to discuss how video assistant referee (VAR) technology is being used.

     

     

    The summit of referee chiefs from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 will discuss how to reset VAR to its intended interpretation of only intervening in the clearest of errors.

     

     

    Roberto Rosetti – the head of Uefa’s referees – called the meeting after saying last month the game must not “go in this direction of microscopic VAR interventions”.

     

     

    Uefa wants to discuss with leagues how they use VAR, and the thresholds applied.

     

     

    “I believe that we forgot the reason why VAR was introduced,” Rosetti said.

     

     

    “In objective decisions, it is fantastic. For interpretations, subjective evaluation is more difficult.

     

     

    “That’s why we started to speak about clear and obvious mistakes – clear evidence.”

     

     

    VAR is operated very differently across Europe.

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  23. Scotslaw on 19th March 2026 12:50 pm

     

    “I think the 2nd should have been offside but then corner given.”

     

     

    That was it. I’d like to blame the jetlagged brain but I think.its just mince most days now.

     

     

    The proposed new VAR scope might cover this in future though given how slow our VAR checks are we might not adopt it. If we did it would no doubt be selective.

     

     

    Picking up my tickets for Tannadice tonight. Hope for a better result and atmosphere than the last visit, other than the first half which was great, iirc, other than not finishing enough of the chances.

  24. “That’s why we started to speak about clear and obvious mistakes – clear evidence.”

  25. This could be very welcome for us in Scotland if sets a standard and guidance and, of course, if we follow it or keep doing “our own thing”. (I like euphemisms)

     

     

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cly6993wn64o

     

     

    Europe’s top leagues have been summoned to a meeting with Uefa in the summer to discuss how video assistant referee (VAR) technology is being used.

     

     

    The summit of referee chiefs from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 will discuss how to reset VAR to its intended interpretation of only intervening in the clearest of errors.

     

     

    Roberto Rosetti – the head of Uefa’s referees – called the meeting after saying last month the game must not “go in this direction of microscopic VAR interventions”.

     

     

    Uefa wants to discuss with leagues how they use VAR, and the thresholds applied.

     

     

    “I believe that we forgot the reason why VAR was introduced,” Rosetti said.

     

     

    “In objective decisions, it is fantastic. For interpretations, subjective evaluation is more difficult.

     

     

    “That’s why we started to speak about clear and obvious mistakes – clear evidence.”

     

     

    VAR is operated very differently across Europe.

     

     

    The Premier League has the lowest VAR intervention rate this season – 0.275 per game – though that has not meant less controversy over decisions.

     

     

    Figures released last month showed the Bundesliga and La Liga come next at 0.38 interventions per game, with Serie A at 0.44 and Ligue 1 at 0.47.

     

     

    In the Champions League, interventions are at a rate of 0.45 per game.

     

     

    Rosetti also wants all leagues to speak “only one technical language” after controversy over the inconsistent application of laws such as handball.

     

     

    It is hoped the meeting could lead to a more universal approach to the laws and with how VAR is used.

     

     

    Related topics

  26. Tobago Street on

    BRRB

     

     

    🎶 Well, show me the way

     

    To the next whiskey bar

     

    Oh, don’t ask why

     

    Oh, don’t ask why 🎶

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  28. glendalystonsils on

    Tobago Street

     

     

    Yes. Muddy’s song originally . Copied/performed by a few including JLH

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