It was Dundee United’s greatest ever campaign.
Champions of Scotland, 127 goals in 55 fixtures across all competitions and 14 different scorers.
However, that iconic squad of 1982/83 did emerge empty-handed in one regard, with the Tangerine title winners snubbed across the board during awards season.
Charlie Nicholas emerged as the most decorated footballer in Scotland, with the Celtic striker claiming Scottish Football Writers’ Player of the Year AND Scottish PFA Player of the Year.
Those gongs came after an admittedly fabulous campaign. Nicholas, who would go on to star for Arsenal, Aberdeen and play 20 times for his country, scored 48 goals in 53 appearances in 82/83.
United were not short of a prolific scorer, with Davie Dodds notching 28 times over the course of the campaign.
However, it could be argued that United’s more even spread of goals counted against them when the individual awards were dished out, with Ralph Milne (21) and Paul Sturrock (16) the closest to matching Dodds’ tally.
United were also overlooked for the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year away despite the youthful, precocious Richard Gough enjoying a sensational season — including scoring nine goals from defence.
Celtic midfielder Paul McStay claimed that prize.
That meant Aberdeen, who finished second in the league and won the Cup Winners’ Cup, also missed out on individual recognition.
The real prize
Reflecting on icons such as Sturrock, Dodds, Milne, Narey and — although too modest to say — himself being overlooked, Paul Hegarty was philosophical.
There was only one prize that mattered to that group.
Hegarty said: “Does it surprise me? Not really. That’s what you were up against.
“But that was the least of our concern. Our main goal was to win the Championship, which we eventually did.
“The plaudits went to Charlie Nicholas, and I’m sure plenty of people thought he deserved it — he was a super footballer and went on to have an excellent career — but it’s not something that upset us.
“I would rather win the league title than have a couple of our players win awards!”
Conversation