The football managerial merry-go-round in Dundee is a constant whirl.
Dundee have just appointed a new boss while United might be about to lose theirs.
In my time in broadcasting, I’ve seen over forty managers come and go through the revolving doors at Dens and Tannadice.
Some have been shoddily treated, others overstayed their welcome.
Gary Bowyer’s appointment has been well received by Dundee fans, happy to see the uncertainty end and planning begin for next season.
With over 350 games in his locker as manager at Blackburn, Blackpool, Bradford and Salford, and good contacts in England -a market which he’ll surely return to shop in – Bowyer appears to have a deep reservoir of experience to draw on.
He’ll also be getting a new head of recruitment to help identify players who fit the type of profile the club say they want.
Promotion is the immediate aim, along with rebooting the youth set-up to get young talent in the first team ranks for a decent length of time before eventually providing transfer income.
His opposite number down Tannadice Street, Tam Courts, has been very successful in progressing young prodigies at United, and there should be no reason why that can’t be replicated at Dens.
Between Gordon Strachan as Director of Football and the experienced Bowyer, Dundee should be able to steal some of the thunder from their neighbours in developing youth.
Meantime, if Courts does leave Tannadice – and it looks like the first stages of the farewell waltz have begun, with Croatia and England both mentioned as possible destinations – he’ll bequeath an impressive legacy for his replacement after just a season in charge.
That said, I would expect a resurgent Aberdeen and Hibs to make it tough for any new manager to equal Courts’ achievements.
Elsewhere at Tannadice, if it transpires that defender Lewis Neilson has left for Tynecastle with no compensation due to United, as Hearts claim, that’ll be a black mark against whoever failed to ensure that almost ten years of development work on the player has brought no financial reward.
Owner Mark Ogren’s desire to make the club self-financing won’t come to pass if top talent can leave for free after years of resources have been invested, only to see them walk out the door without any payback.
Life at McDiarmid Park in Perth has often seemed like an oasis of calm compared to the maelstrom of managerial madness twenty miles up the A90 and so it proves again as Callum Davidson prepares for a major rebuild after Saints’ relegation close call.
St Johnstone could’ve panicked as the basement battle threatened to topple them into the Championship, but cool heads prevailed, and their double cup-winning manager now has another season under his belt.
In that time, he’ll have learned plenty about himself and the type of folk he wants around about him as he seeks to ensure that new players of steely character and resolve are signed, to ensure their flirtation with relegation was a one-off.
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