Dundee’s relegation was not a surprise to many fans of the club.
The Dark Blues had been spiralling towards the Championship for much of the season.
There was hope they could turn things around, but little surprise when the relegation trapdoor opened and Dundee fell through.
Simmering below what was happening on the pitch was serious discontent in the stands.
That came to a boil in the second half of the season, with fan walk-outs after just 18 minutes against Livingston and abuse aimed at managing director John Nelms and new manager Mark McGhee.
A more measured approach from a concerned group of fans came shortly afterwards in the form of an open letter.
More than 1,300 fans signed it and a to-and-fro followed between the group and Nelms. For a little while, anyway.
The letter called for supporter representation at board level, utilising the wide-ranging expertise among the fanbase and an AGM, so shareholders could ask questions of the board. These suggestions were not heeded by the club chief.
There has since been a fresh bid to elicit change at Dens Park but, once again, no reply forthcoming.
‘Genuine alarm’
That was in late March. Now it is mid-May and Dundee are heading down again.
Of course, supporters’ misgivings have not gone away.
And there is still “genuine alarm at the state of the club” among the fanbase.
A prominent member of the group behind the open letter is former Guardian, Independent, Sunday Telegraph and Times football writer Patrick Barclay.
Despite spending 40 years covering English football as one of the country’s most respected football writers, the Dundonian maintains a deep love for his hometown team.
Though he makes clear there is no “anti-John Nelms or anti-Tim Keyes” agenda among the group, he insists things have to change to make Dundee a “family” again.
“Basically we are trying in the first instance to get the basics right,” the former Sky Sports Sunday Supplement regular said.
“We don’t want anything special and I want to be very clear we are absolutely not anti-John Nelms or anti-Tim Keyes or anti-anybody for that matter.
“We are very aware of everything Keyes and Nelms have done, there’s nothing to suggest anything they have done isn’t with the club’s best interests at heart. They are Dundee fans and we accept them as that.
“There is no enmity from our group in that regard but there is genuine alarm at the state of the club.
Dissatisfaction
“I don’t think John Nelms realises how severe the dissatisfaction is among the fans.
“I can’t be at every game because I live in London but the last game I was at was the Rangers cup game.
“That was the worst experience any fan can have. It was humiliating to be outnumbered five or six to one by an away support. It was genuinely a horrible experience.
“But the team’s performances this season are linked to the way the club is run. The atmosphere is horrible among the players and that is directly due to the way things are run.
“People moaned about James McPake but we’re now seeing it wasn’t his fault, people moan about Mark McGhee but he’s managed over 900 games, so he’s no mug.
“The agony of the supporters is directly linked to the way the club operates.”
Family
He added: “All we wanted to do was make suggestions that may be helpful to the club.
“A football club should be like being in a family.
“Clubs like Manchester United grew into worldwide clubs because they were a family. Arsenal did the same way back when Herbert Chapman was there.
“That applies to clubs at every level, you have to be a family to thrive. We are not a family.
“If Dundee in 2021/22 is a family then they aren’t the kind of family you want living next door!
“We are all in this together and we must behave like that.
“But sorting out some of these problems must be done quickly because the Championship will not be easy next season.”
Proper dialogue
The group behind the open letter sent further correspondence to club chiefs in April, though they didn’t make that public at the time.
That was ahead of the crucial St Johnstone clash with relegation on the line. Since their demotion has now been confirmed, the group published the letter online.
The Americans have not responded at time of writing.
Barclay, though, is keen to engage club chief Nelms in some sort of dialogue to bridge the divide that exists between the fans and owners.
“I would like to see John on behalf of the club reply to our most recent letter,” Barclay added.
“Initiate a proper form of dialogue, some kind of brainstorming session if you like, with fans.
“There is nothing special about us but we have 1,300 people with all sorts of different experience willing to help the club.
‘Critical friend’
“The initial reaction from the club was predictably opaque and bland. It was kind and polite but it didn’t accept any points we made or address any of them.
“Take the example where the response said there had already been consultation with fans. If they think one meeting per month with the DSA is fan consultation then they have not seen how it works elsewhere across Britain.
“Huge clubs as well as tiny clubs do it. You look at the top of the game and at Liverpool it is a serious part of their business. I see at the other end of the scale at Kingstonian FC where they have crowds in the 100s but they still manage to have proper fan consultation.
“The sheer number of signatories (to the open letter) was a surprise. But that shows the depth of the discontent.
“Clearly we as fans have a financial power in this situation but we don’t want to use it.
“We want a collegiate approach to work together.
“The message we want to make clear is we are all in this together.
“We are trying to be a critical friend.”
