1982/83: Dundee United

The Dundee United club statement released after the sad death of Jim McLean on Boxing Day 2020 said it all. "An integral part of our history and rise to the forefront of European football, Jim was simply a titan of Dundee United folklore, cherished by the United family the world over."

The term legend is thrown about freely, but in the case of Jim McLean there is every justification in applying the term to the manager who transformed the fortunes of Dundee United. When McLean took over at Tannadice in December 1971, the club were in the shadow of their city rivals. Within 13 years, he would win two Scottish League Cups, a Premier League title, and get the club within a whisker of making the European Cup final.

Building a squad formed on youth, there were two sides to McLean. Tactically astute, Maurice Malpas recalls how McLean was ahead of his time, deploying dieticians, sports psychologists, and fitness coaches in the early 80s. But McLean's man management skills were far from slick; he would often lambast his players and ruled with an iron fist.

With his players on low wages, win bonuses became a huge incentive, and under McLean the squad picked up enough of these. There was the famous occasion in December 1981 when he refused to reward his players after a 6-1 win over Motherwell - McLean felt after four early goals that the team had not entertained the crowd sufficiently - but McLean's disciplinarian method, although unpopular with his players, obviously paid off.

Before the 1982/83 title success, McLean had worked his magic. Scottish League Cups were won in 1979/80 and 1980/81; the club regularly qualified for Europe, reaching the UEFA Cup quarter finals in 1981/82; three other domestic finals reached. But 1982/83 would be the ultimate.

Dundee United had finished fourth the previous season, behind Celtic, Aberdeen and Rangers, and although McLean's team were rated highly, they were seen as an outside bet to win the Premier League title. However, McLean's squad contained quality throughout and would soon demonstrate their title credentials.

The names roll off the keyboard. Goalkeeper Hamish McAlpine; skipper Paul Hegarty at the heart of the defence (and briefly in goal); David Narey, Maurice Malpas and Richard Gough at the back; the versatile Derek Stark, John Holt and Billy Kirkwood; Eamonn Bannon on the wing; there were also key contributions from John Reilly and Ian Britton.

The Davie Dodds and Paul Sturrock strike partnership would thrive, although the latter missed parts of the season due to injury. But it would often be the trickery and skill of winger Ralph Milne that proved the difference in key matches. 

The league campaign started on September 4 with a crucial win. Goals from Malpas and Dodds saw Aberdeen defeated 2-0 at Tannadice, with Narey and Stark earning rave reviews. "It would have been a tragedy had he been lost to another career," McLean said in regard to Stark, who had returned to the club earlier in the year after a brief switch to the police force. Full back for the day, Stark kept Gordon Strachan quiet, and would play a key part in the title success.

Defensively, the team were rock solid, gaining seven clean sheets and conceding just three goals in their opening nine league matches. Two of those goals came in a dramatic draw against Celtic. With hundreds locked out of Tannadice, Celtic took a two-goal lead; Dodds reduced the deficit in the 76th minute, before Milne levelled four minutes from time, shortly after McAlpine had pulled off a great save to deny George McCluskey. 

 

 

Dodds would score a hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition of Morton, as United's impressive start to the first quarter of the season rolled on. Yet talks of title hopes looked shaky after the first defeat of the campaign. Despite taking the lead through a Gough header, United were hammered 5-1 at Aberdeen. Having defeated Aberdeen in the league and twice in the League Cup quarter finals, the reverse at Pittodrie was a wake-up call.

Four days later, the team were dealt a further blow when they exited the League Cup at the semi-final stage, losing to Celtic. And when the team were trailing 2-1 against Rangers, there was a danger that the early promise of the season would fade away. Undeterred, late goals from Dodds, Gough and Milne (his second in the match) handed McLean's men a vital win.

 

 

The Rangers match had seen the return to league action for Sturrock; missing patches of the season due to various injuries, the importance of Luggy to the team, and his partnership with Dodds, was emphasised by Hegarty: "There were games that either he [Milne] or Paul Sturrock won almost by themselves." 

McLean's squad would demonstrate their toughness during the season; every time they suffered a setback, the players responded. After the Aberdeen defeat and League Cup exit, the Rangers win was followed by six straight league victories with only one goal conceded. 

Kilmarnock were crushed 7-0, Reilly scoring twice, as did Dodds, who McLean had dropped to the bench for the day. Motherwell were on the end of a 5-0 drubbing at Tannadice; and Milne scored twice in the New Year's Day derby win a few hundred yards up the road at Dens Park.

January 1983 may have started well, with the team handily placed just behind Celtic. But back to back to back defeats left United six points behind Billy McNeill's team - in the days of two points for a win - and struggling to stay in touch. A 3-0 home defeat to Aberdeen saw the visitors leap frog United into second place, and a 2-1 loss at Ibrox cast doubts on the title chances of McLean's men.

"All that can be said for the Tannadice side is that they can forget the championship on this kind of form," stated the Glasgow Herald report on the Rangers match. A 0-0 draw at Hibernian followed, before the team got back to winning ways, beating St Mirren 3-2. A week later though, the same team would gain revenge by knocking Dundee United out of the Scottish Cup third round. 

However, talk of the team's demise had been greatly exaggerated; after the Rangers reverse, United would lose just one of 17 league matches. A 1-1 home draw with Celtic in February, including a missed penalty from Bannon, led McLean to the conclusion that his team would need to beat the visitors in at least one of their two remaining head to head clashes at Parkhead. 

McLean was accurate in his assessment. But before the two clubs met again, United were under pressure to keep the leaders, and Aberdeen, within touching distance. A Holt hat-trick helped to thrash Kilmarnock 5-0; Gough scored twice as the team won 4-1 at Motherwell; and the same man repeated the feat in a crazy 5-3 win over Dundee, three goals in the last eight minutes past midfielder Brian Scrimgeour - keeper Bobby Geddes had earlier limped off - gaining a crucial two points.

During McLean's tenure, Dundee United established themselves in European club competitions. The previous season had seen a run to the UEFA Cup quarter final, as did 1982/83. Wins over PSV Eindhoven, Viking and Werder Bremen before Christmas saw United reach the last eight, before a disappointing exit at the hands of Bohemians Prague in March.

The frustrating European experience made the 2-1 win at Aberdeen three days later even more impressive. Milne would highlight both sides of his character, scoring twice before being sent off for a clash with Alex McLeish. United held on, although McLean withheld Milne's bonus. "I ended up with about £140 in wages," Milne writes in What's It All About Ralphie?. "I think I drank it all in one night!"

News that that Celtic had lost to Dundee boosted United further, although after a 3-3 draw at home to Hibernian a week later, the Glasgow Herald again cast doubt on the ability of United to sustain their challenge. But with Sturrock returning from another injury and scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Rangers, the scene was set for a midweek trip to Parkhead that McLean's team could ill afford to lose.

But lose they did. The 2-0 loss left United three points behind with just six matches left. Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen, with a game in hand, now looked the main threat to the reigning champions. Yet after United bounced back with a 2-1 win over St Mirren, the title race would be tipped upside down during three days in April that remarkably left United in the box seat.

It would be another midweek Parkhead date that made the first dent into Celtic's three point advantage. Hegarty and Bannon gave United a 2-1 lead, yet when Gough was sent off before the hour mark and Tommy Burns levelled in the 73rd minute, the ten men were clinging on desperately. And then came another classic Milne intervention.

"With only a few minutes remaining Eamonn Bannon tore down the wing, cut back onto his right and crossed it," Milne explains. "I got in front of their defender Mark Reid, took it on my chest and hit a left foot volley right over keeper Packie Bonner and straight into the net!" The 3-2 win had opened up the title race.

When Aberdeen defeated Celtic three days later, United moved to the top of the table after a 4-0 win over Kilmarnock, all four goals scored before the break, with Sturrock scoring his fourth goal in the five matches since his return. Three wins would see the title going to Tannadice for the first time in the club's history.

The first part of the trilogy would be at Cappielow, against struggling Morton. Eager to give their team the edge, the club subsidised travel costs for 4,100 fans, paying over £6,000 in the process. "Jim McLean's rent-a-crowd," as the Glasgow Herald described them, would witness a comfortable 4-0 win, with Hegarty replacing McAlpine in goal after the keeper needed stitches in a thigh wound.

The scoreline was repeated the following week, as Motherwell were dismissed, Gannon opening the scoring with a stunning free-kick. One match now stood between Dundee United and the Scottish Premier League title; Saturday May 14, Dundee v Dundee United.

With a one point advantage over Celtic and two over Aberdeen, the equation was simple. Win, and the title was United's; a draw could see Celtic pip United on goal difference (there was even the possibility of the two clubs finishing with identical records, and a play-off at Hampden Park was planned); realistically, Aberdeen, who had dropped a vital point at Hibernian two matches before, needed Dundee United to lose and Celtic to drop points.

If there were nerves then it would take a moment of Milne genius to calm them. 29,106 crammed into Dens Park, the tangerine end of the ground watching on anxiously to see if their team could finish the job. In the 6th minute, Milne picked up the ball from a Sturrock lay-off, and set about cementing his status as a hero of the Tannadice faithful.

"Everything just flashed through my mind," Milne explains. "In a split second I looked up and saw Kelly off his line and thought, 'I've got him here if I can just pull this off.' From about twenty-five yards out I chipped it with my left and watched as the ball sailed inch-perfect over his stretching hand and into the net. The tangerine and black legions erupted." 

 

 

"Oh, what a great goal," commentator Archie McPherson announced, as Milne was swamped by his teammates. "That is the dream start United prayed for." A day after his birthday, Milne's moment would forever be remembered in song:

On the 14th of May, 1983,
Six minutes into the half,
The ball soared over Kelly's head,
And it was Happy Birthday, Ralph.

Bannon slotted home a second in the 10th minute after his original penalty had been saved, and when news filtered through on radios that Rangers were beating Celtic 2-0, chants of "Champions, Champions" were heard from the away end. But football is never that easy.

Dundee would get one back in the 28th minute through Iain Ferguson, and with Celtic staging a comeback, the tension grew. There were a few scary moments - Albert Kidd missing a chance to poop this particular title party - but as the clock edged towards 4.40, United managed to hold on and take the title.

Typically, McLean had ordered that no celebration party should be arranged beforehand. The players walked to the boardroom at Tannadice for a few drinks before attending a United Supporters Association Player of the Year awards night at Coupar Angus. Former United legend Frank Kopel then hosted a party at his house that went on until the early hours. 

Incredibly, the players had to get to Tannadice for 10.30am the following morning, in preparation for a midday testimonial at Forfar. The players, heavily hungover and stinking of alcohol, sent the injured Sturrock off to buy some pies and bridies. A very Sunday League feel to a team that had just been crowned champions.

Returning to Dundee for an open top bus ride and civic reception, thousands lined the streets in the thunder and lightning to mark the occasion. "I honestly did not believe we could win the title at the start of the season," McLean admitted. "If you look at the appearances, we did it with just 12 players."

This last comment upset a few of the squad. McLean was not far off the mark - only 12 players played more than 20 league matches - but Milne, and others, felt it was disrespectful. "Guys like Iain Phillip, Ian Britton and even Graeme Payne among others had done their bit. Boney (John Reilly) had weighed in with seven goals and had every right to be pissed off."

Regardless of this slip of the tongue, McLean's achievement was remarkable. Just four league defeats in the season; 90 goals scored; a squad put together for £192,500 (Bannon £165,000 and Hegarty £27,500); along with Ferguson, McLean was building a New Firm to be reckoned with. 

"It was football of a standard which would grace next season's European Cup," the Guardian's Patrick Barclay wrote after the Dundee match. He would be right. A year later, Dundee United were agonisingly close to playing in a European Cup final against Liverpool in Rome. Just let that sentence settle in your head for a bit.

It was hard to live up to the heights of 1982/83 during the rest of the decade. But McLean and his players still managed to provide memories for Dundee United fans to cling on to as the years have gone by. Yes, there were final defeats and heartbreak in the European Cup; but there were so many happy days too.

It probably couldn't happen in the modern era. The chances of a New Firm forming are miniscule. That is why fans of the original New Firm must look back on this era with so much joy. As disappointed as they were to miss out on the league title in 1982/83, Aberdeen had a fantastic consolation in beating Real Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup final. Another sentence that leaves you rubbing your eyes.

As each year passes, the exceptional nature of McLean's achievements grow in stature. His European exploits and domestic successes make him a true managerial great. When news broke of his death, one famous photo popped into my mind. That iconic image of Wee Jim on the shoulders of his players at Dens Park, celebrating their title success with a rare smile.

Many of his players may not have seen eye to eye with him. But he turned them into giants. Wee Jim on the shoulder of giants; a fitting way to end this piece. But I'll let Maurice Malpas have the last word on McLean. "He took the club by the scruff of the neck and dragged them through bad times and then the good times came. He is second to none for me."