For one pre-contract agreement to fall through is strange enough – but for Ricki Lamie to have two scrapped with Dundee is bizarre.
In fact, it might be a football first.
But whatever the reasons for the collapse of the latest agreement between the Dark Blues and Lamie, it feels to me like the best thing for both.
Whether Lamie or the club – or both – decided they wanted to go back on the deal doesn’t really matter.
If it had been stuck to, with one party unhappy, that could have been a recipe for a toxic atmosphere to develop.
This way, both get to do their own thing.
Lamie has already signed for one of Dundee’s Premiership rivals, Ross County.
Meanwhile, Tony Docherty’s defensive group looks in good shape, with the summer signing of Clark Robertson boosting numbers in a healthy way.
In addition to Robertson, the Dark Blues have rear guard options in the form of Antonio Portales, Ryan Astley, Jordan McGhee and highly-rated youngster Luke Graham.
Captain Joe Shaughnessy is also expected to recover from his cruciate ligament injury somewhere around the New Year.
Lamie is an experienced Premiership defender who, for obvious reasons wants to be playing football on a regular basis.
It seems likely that Dee boss Tony Docherty couldn’t guarantee him the starting spot he wanted.
Under the circumstances, Lamie’s departure seems the sensible way forward.
But I can understand why people might raise an eyebrow, given what happened in 2022, when player, having signed a pre-contract with Dundee, ended up staying with Motherwell.
Maybe it was never meant to be between the two.
Polish pre-season camp
Dundee are off to Poland for a week’s pre-season training.
I’ve been on a few similar trips myself over the years and I can guarantee the players are in for a battering, in terms of work.
There’s a big benefit to be had from it when the season starts.
But being able to spend time together, allowing new players to gel with the group and get to know each other, is just as valuable.
I’d expect Dundee to return fitter and more together as a group – and that would 100% justify the cost of the trip.
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