Football fans like a moan – I should know, I am one.
And if I can claim to do something with aplomb, it’s have a right good gripe about what’s wrong with the game.
Even I, though, have been taken aback by the grumbling of a few Dundee United fans over the past week or so.
Let me stress here and now, it has been only a very few and they are nothing like at the stage of taking to the streets with placards held high in protest.
What they’re a little unhappy about is the lack of activity at Tannadice over the past few weeks.
And I have to say it’s left me scratching my head.
The few I’ve spoken to or who have been in touch seem to want more signings.
With my business head on and from a purely selfish point of view, so do I.
Signings sell papers, so for us at the Tully it will always be a case of the more the merrier on Tannadice Street.
And at United over the past couple of summers, not to mention during the January transfer window, there have been plenty.
While that’s been good for me and kept the punters’ interest, what it’s not been is good news for United.
Having to rebuild almost the entire squad every 12 months, or even less time, tells you one thing – the previous squad failed. The fact United are about to enter a fourth consecutive year in the Championship tells you that.
As stated, the latest rebuild at Tannadice came in January when Robbie Neilson signed 11 players.
Most of them are still on the books, meaning he doesn’t have to make too many additions to his squad right now.
That might have made for a quiet time over the past few weeks but it was a case of no news being good news.
Because what it means is United will be going into next season with probably the most settled squad in the second tier, not to mention on paper. In theory, therefore, it means while other rebuilt teams are working on getting to know each other, their settled side can hit the ground running.
It’s one of the reasons why, for me, United are stronger favourites than ever to finally get the job done and win automatic promotion back to the Premiership in the 2019/20 campaign.
So while things are picking up with the resumption of pre-season training and the manager will be making two or three additions to the squad in the coming weeks, supporters should be encouraged by the recent quiet spell over at Tannadice.
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