Flurry or drought, hit or miss, boom or bust – Dundee’s season so far has been full of ups and downs.
Consistency has been consistently out of their grasp with no league wins so far this term followed up by a second.
However, Tony Docherty and his young side still find themselves sitting in the top six ahead of the festive fixture pile-up.
In fact the Dark Blues are in a better league position after 16 games this season than they were at the same stage last term.
But does it feel like there has been a big improvement?
Courier Sport explores the differences as we compare this team to last season’s top-six side.
Dundee FC league position
The Dark Blues actually find themselves one place better off after 16 games this term.
That’s despite winning two points fewer.
This season they sit sixth in the table with 19 points – last season it was seventh with 21 points.
Last term’s 16th match was away at Ross County and saw Joe Shaughnessy’s last-gasp goal win a tight game in Dingwall.
Despite the big differences this time around – in personnel and goals at each end – there is not much difference between this season and last, even if it feels a lot different for those watching.
For reference, Dundee exactly doubled that 21 point tally in the remainder of the season to finish in the top six.
That’s a record the current side will back themselves to better in the 22 games to come.
Goals scored
There is a huge difference in the attacking threat on show from the Dark Blues this season.
Incredibly they have scored more than DOUBLE the goals in all competitions as at this stage last term.
It was 20 in the league after 16 games, 25 in all competitions. That has been ramped up to 27 in the Premiership and a mighty 51 in all competitions in the current campaign.
Dundee only managed 54 across the entirety of last term.
They are the third top scorers in the division right now, equal with their next opponents Rangers.
What augers well is there is no individual shining star at Dens Park.
Simon Murray has nine in all competitions but has seen Lyall Cameron draw level in the league with four goals each.
Nine players have notched a league goal this term with each of those nine scoring at least twice.
In all competitions, that number ramps up to 12 goalscorers in this current season.
A year ago, Amadou Bakayoko was top scorer in the league with four goals, Zach Robinson had five in all competitions while Zak Rudden and Joe Shaughnessy had three each.
Goals conceded
If Dundee have significantly ramped up the goal threat at one end but remain in a very similar position then the goals going in at the other must be much worse off, right?
Not quite.
The defensive struggles at Dens Park have been well-documented with individual errors littering the campaign so far.
They have conceded seven more goals this season, which is a sizeable amount in 16 matches.
However, the difference is much more marked when you take out matches against Rangers and Celtic.
In three matches against the Old Firm, the newly-promoted Dee conceded 11 times. This season they’ve only played once against the Glasgow pair, losing 2-0 at Celtic in October.
So without the Old Firm last season, Dundee had conceded just nine goals in 13 games. This season it is 25 in 15.
The reason for that is a far sturdier back line that had racked up clean sheet after clean sheet.
A run of five shut-outs in six games was an impressive part of that and they had seven to their name by this point last term. Nine in all competitions.
This season that number stands at just one in the 2024/25 Premiership, a 1-0 win at Motherwell with Trevor Carson between the sticks.
What does this tell us?
It tells us that Dundee’s evolution into an established top-flight side hasn’t been smooth.
However, it remains on course.
In football, the end result is always far more important than the means of getting there.
The difference between last season and this one is mostly about expectation.
The expectation last season was a relegation battle that was ultimately avoided in an impressive season.
This season the expectation is about improving on the campaign that came before.
The good news is that is very much possible, though it requires a bit of work.
The defence clearly needs to improve.
But watching Dundee means you will see goals this season and that should be commended.
Find a way to tighten the defence and the opportunity of back-to-back top-six finishes for the first time since 1986/87 is very much alive.
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