Dundee United 1983 Champions

ENG 25mnts

Dundee.1983.ENG.twb22.mp4

718.21 Mo https://1fichier.com/?n9u0l721jkrc5f7ych0u

McLean went into the 1982-83 season with realistic ambitions for his side. “I didn’t think we had the strength in depth to win the league, although I knew we were good in the cups,” he recalled some years later. But they got off to a good start in 1982-83, beating Aberdeen 2-0 at Tannadice. Pretty soon, United’s consistency and some key wins made people accept that perhaps this could be their year. They were unbeaten in the league until their 10th game, a crushing 1-5 defeat at Aberdeen after Richard Gough had given them the lead. Aberdeen were the team to beat that year and Ferguson’s side inflicted a second defeat upon United on January 3. That was followed by a 1-2 defeat at Rangers and suddenly, questions were asked about their ability to last the pace.

By March, the title race had become very intense and when Dundee United went to Aberdeen on March 19, they could ill-afford to lose. They won 2-1 and with Celtic losing at Dundee, the initiative had started to swing United’s way again. The game with Celtic on April 20 was another landmark event. Gough was sent off early on but three times United took the lead, running out 3-2 winners. Then three successive 4-0 wins, against Kilmarnock, Morton and Motherwell, put them in the driving seat. The win against Kilmarnock was especially vital as Celtic slipped-up at Aberdeen that same day. It was all stage-managed for a grand finale on May 14. United were top with 54 points, Celtic and Aberdeen one behind on 53. United had to go to, of all places, Dundee, while Celtic hosted Rangers and Aberdeen were at home to Hibernian. Over 29,000 packed into Dens Park to see the most important Dundee derby of all time. The ground was full more than 30 minutes before kick-off. United raced into a 2-0 lead, thanks to a superb chip from Ralph Milne and Eamonn Bannon’s close range follow-up after his penalty had been parried. Dundee played well and pulled a goal back, but despite a tense finish, United held on. Celtic had won 4-2 after being 0-2 down and Aberdeen had no trouble in beating Hibs 5-0. It was enough for United to win the title by a single point. McLean, not normally shy of speaking his mind, was speechless. But once he regained his voice, he admitted his team had not handled their nerves too well and the tension had got to them. “I would like to think that Scotland is happy for us and don’t begrudge my players this success. It is incredible,” he claimed.