Dundee United won the Premier League title and two League Cups at Dens Park.
Now they face being relegated at the same stadium.
That it should come to this!
In a plotline worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy, the Tangerines have not only conspired to put themselves on the brink of the drop but also managed to place themselves at the mercy of their city rivals.
Only a win will do for United tonight.
Anything less and they will be playing in the Championship next season.
Even victory would almost certainly just delay the inevitable, considering they now sit 11 points behind second-bottom Kilmarnock with only four matches – including tonight’s one – remaining in their miserable season.
Being brutally honest, they deserve to go down.
We Dundonians are rightly proud of our ability to sit in a different stand to friends and family during a derby then, afterwards, drink in the same pub or share the same home.
This is, without a doubt, the worst United side I have seen and I have been watching them since before Ralph Milne sent that chip over Colin Kelly’s head.
They have underperformed and underwhelmed all season.
They might spring a surprise tonight but anyone who watched the defeat to Hamilton eight days ago won’t be risking a single penny at the bookies on an away win.
The United fans don’t deserve this, however.
Those who do go to Dens this evening deserve a medal instead. They should be seen as heroes rather than masochists.
It is not their fault, after all.
They have merely looked on in disbelief as their beloved club has failed time after time.
Nevertheless, the sad reality is that it will be they, not the players or manager, who will feel the most pain if it is a draw or defeat this evening.
As for Dundee and their fans, they have suffered enough over the years – often at the hands of United as noted above – to be allowed to enjoy tonight should the game finish as most of us expect it to.
There is no need to rake over history to know that the Dark Blues and their supporters have had more than their fair share of dark days.
It’s United’s turn now to suffer and it would be churlish, po-faced and unrealistic to think they should bite their lips and sit on their hands.
Schadenfreude, that useful German word that means deriving pleasure from the misfortune of others, will be wearing a dark blue scarf tonight.
Had the proverbial boot been on the other foot would every United fan be offering understanding and commiseration? I think we all know the answer to that one.
The Dens club is often adept at doing the right thing, though, and it would be to their credit if, for example, the music playlist didn’t rub it in too much.
Also, we should remember it’s just a football match.
For the city’s sake, I would rather the fixture schedule had managed to avoid this scenario but it is what it is and we must deal with it.
Life will go on, even if for United it is at Palmerston rather than Parkhead next season.
Tonight’s game may take some to the heights of joy and others to the depths of despair but let’s remember one thing.
We Dundonians are rightly proud of our ability to sit in a different stand to friends and family during a derby then, afterwards, drink in the same pub or share the same home.
Let’s ensure that source of civic pride survives this game.
