When it comes to their academy Dundee United are going about things properly.
They took a gamble to invest in the programme the way they have done. These players coming through to the squad have been there a while.
You have to take your hat off to people like Brian Grant, who was there previously, and Andy Goldie.
There are so many clubs in Scotland that are just trying to tick boxes with their academy, that’s one thing you can’t say about United right now.
Ross Graham
One of those standouts, going by recent performances is Ross Graham.
I coached Dundee United U-16s a few years ago and he was just a little bit older than that age group, but I had been around him.
He’s a guy who has got a great attitude for a young player.
He goes about his business really maturely. Even when he was 16/17, he played like that.
A special moment for Ross Graham, bagging his first goal for the Terrors! 🍊#cinchPrem | @dundeeunitedfc pic.twitter.com/ARr69vv4ZW
— SPFL (@spfl) February 21, 2022
He was really steady, consistent and you knew exactly what you were going to get from him.
He’s got the perfect head to go into that kind of environment. For him to get a goal was brilliant – it’s his birthday this week.
I remember on my 21st birthday I scored a derby own goal against United. So, he’ll be having a better birthday than I had.
From a fans’ point of view, you want to see players come through the academy who support the club. You can’t get much better than that.
It’s what every fan wants to see and it will have been a dream for him.
Tam Courts building strong unit
On the Rangers game, United got lucky a bit with the penalty incidents.
But they dug in deep and worked really hard for each other, putting their bodies on the line.
You can see, at the very least, Tam Courts has got them together as a unit.
They have clearly been working on themselves defensively, they were really solid.
They did have to ride their luck a bit with balls zipping across the goal but you could see they have a good shape about them.
Saturday against Aberdeen will be another really tough one. They may have to look at it similarly the way they did with Rangers.
I don’t think The Dons will have as much of the ball as Rangers but they will be looking for a reaction. Their players will be looking to impress Jim Goodwin.
One thing Courts was getting stick for was not creating a lot of chances. I think that can be a lot more difficult than the defending side of the game.
He’s at least making them secure at the back, but there’s still work to be done and hopefully they can go and create a bit more against Aberdeen.
The league is so tight just now. It would be good for United to string a few results together to get them clear of that cluster in the middle.
