The 2004–05 season was the 96th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005. United finished in ninth place which meant the previous season's top-six finish was the only one in the five seasons since the split was introduced.
United finished the 2004–05 SPL season in 9th place with 36 points, in which an eventful final day could have relegated themselves, Livingston or Dunfermline, before eventually consigning Dundee to the drop. United managed only eight wins, with twelve draws and eighteen defeats. Between March and early-April, United lost five consecutive games, although most were to teams who would finish in the top half of the league.
The cup campaigns brought contrasting fortunes. a 7–1 defeat to Rangers in the League Cup semi-final was remedied by a fighting display against Celtic in the Scottish Cup final, where United lost 1–0. Despite having fewer chances, United had more possession and it took a deflected free-kick to give Celtic the win. Defender Alan Archibald struck the bar in the final minute as United pushed for an equaliser.
A strong league finish secured United's top-flight status, with four wins from the final seven games, including victories against Rangers, Hearts and rivals Dundee.
Season review United began pre-season with James Grady as the only pre-season signing, the striker arriving on a Bosman transfer from relegated Partick Thistle. First-team regulars Paul Gallacher and Charlie Miller left by the same method during the summer, with Scotland keeper Gallacher heading for Norwich City and Miller joining Norwegian side SK Brann. Veteran Owen Coyle also cut short his second Tannadice stay to return to Airdrie Utd. During August, Paul Ritchie and goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld arrived on six-month deals following releases from Walsall and Tottenham respectively. Surprisingly, Grant Brebner was also allowed to sign for free from fellow SPL side Hibernian.
A home defeat to derby rivals Dundee just two games in was not the ideal way to start the season and United managed only one win in August, with a 2–1 home victory over Inverness CT. During August, youngsters Aaron Conway and Karim Kerkar arrived from Clyde in early-September but the month brought little to cheer about, with a CIS Insurance Cup win over Clyde providing the only win.
Into October and the winless streak continued, although a last-minute draw at Rangers brought some optimism. Another derby defeat in early November was tempered firstly by a CIS Cup quarter-final win over Hibs, then a home league success over Livingston but more defeats followed and only one more win arrived before Christmas, courtesy of a 3–0 triumph at home to Kilmarnock.
United entered New Year with no away wins but finally won on the road, thanks to a 4–3 thriller at Gretna in the Scottish Cup. The third derby match was drawn 2–2 with Steve Lovell's late leveller denying United three points, in a game where Nick Colgan – signed 24 hours previously – was given a debut. February started in dismal fashion, with Colgan's second (and final) match resulting in a 7–1 defeat against Rangers in the CIS Cup semi-final. In a match screened live on BBC Scotland, United rallied from 2–0 down with Jason Scotland scoring, and had Jim McIntyre's long-range strike not hit both posts and ran along the line at 2–1 down, the game might have been different. United did recover by winning three of the remaining four matches that month, albeit two in the Scottish Cup. Queen of the South were beaten first, followed by a first away league win at Livingston and then a 4–1 home rout of Aberdeen in the quarter-final. With the match shown live on Sky Sports, it was a chance for United to gain television revenge for the Hampden horror show just three weeks previously.
Aberdeen were back at Tannadice three days later for a league match and won 2–1, starting a run of four straight defeats in March. After Kilmarnock's 3–0 victory, United lay bottom and Ian McCall was sacked, with Assistant Gordon Chisholm handed temporary control. Chisholm's first match was a live television affair at home to Celtic and only a Craig Bellamy hat-trick denied United a point, who equalised twice only to lose 3–2.
United went into April with a league/cup double-header against Hibs and lost the league match 3–2 at Easter Road to another late goal. The cup semi-final brought cheer, as Jason Scotland's winner ensured a final appearance in May, along with European football. The buzz from the win carried on, with successive impressive league victories at Rangers and at home to Hearts. A home draw to Livingston brought a blip but a 2–1 derby win at Dens Park closed the month in style, with caretaker-manager Gordon Chisholm winning the Manager of the Month award in his first full month in charge.
Into May and a lack of wins scared United fans, with only a home draw against Kilmarnock and a last-minute defeat to Dunfermline. This left United going into final game at Inverness as one of four clubs who could be relegated, along with Livingston, Dunfermline and Dundee. Dundee's early goal against Livingston moved them out of bottom spot, only for ex-United player Craig Easton to equalise. With no further goals and Barry Robson's penalty winner in Inverness, United survived, finishing in 9th place.
The Cup Final was a tense occasion, with Martin O'Neill's last match in charge bringing an edge to the 50,635 crowd. Alan Thompson's 9th-minute deflected free-kick ultimately won it for Celtic, with Chris Sutton missing a late penalty before Alan Archibald's injury-time drive nearly securing extra-time.
Match results Dundee United played a total of 47 competitive matches during the 2004–05 season, as well as six pre-season friendlies, making a total of over fifty games played. The team finished ninth in the Scottish Premier League.
In the cup competitions, United were runners-up in the Tennent's Scottish Cup, losing 1–0 to Celtic, qualifying for the UEFA Cup in the process. The club lost heavily in the CIS Insurance Cup semi-finals, losing 7–1 to Rangers as Nick Colgan – playing only his second match in his loan spell – played his last game for the club.
Legend WinDrawLoss
All results are written with Dundee United's score first.
Bank of Scotland Premierleague DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 7 August DunfermlineA1–16,512McIntyre 15 August DundeeH1–211,118Archibald 21 August LivingstonA1–13,659Dodds 28 August Inverness CTH2–16,017Innes, McIntyre 11 September AberdeenH1–110,995Wilson 18 September MotherwellA2–45,091Grady, McIntyre 25 September KilmarnockA2–54,711Archibald, Dodds 3 October CelticH0–310,329 10 October HibernianA0–29,927 24 October RangersA1–146,796Robson 27 October HeartsH1–15,723Wilson 30 October DunfermlineH1–26,297Wilson 6 November DundeeH0–19,845 13 November LivingstonH1–05,507McCracken 23 November Inverness CTA1–11,125McIntyre 27 November AberdeenA0–112,038 4 December MotherwellH0–15,252 11 December KilmarnockH3–05,097Brebner, Robson, McIntyre 18 December CelticA0–156,318 27 December HibernianH1–410,152Scotland 1 January RangersH1–110,461McCracken 15 January HeartsA2–310,305Robson, Archibald 22 January DunfermlineA1–16,589Crawford 29 January DundeeH2–212,703Duff, McIntyre 12 February LivingstonA2–05,158Crawford, Grady 19 February Inverness CTH1–16,110Own goal 2 March AberdeenH1–26,688Scotland 5 March MotherwellA0–25,110 12 March KilmarnockA0–34,353 19 March CelticH2–310,828McIntyre, Robson 2 April HibernianA2–311,058McIntyre, Scotland 12 April RangersA1–049,302Duff 16 April HeartsH2–17,704Robson, Brebner23 April LivingstonH1–17,687Crawford 30 April DundeeA2–111,263Wilson, McIntyre 7 MayKilmarnockH1–16,576McIntyre 15 MayDunfermlineH0–110,763 21 MayInverness CTA1–05,479Robson
Tennent's Scottish Cup DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 17 January GretnaA4–33,000Robson, Kerr, Wilson, Crawford 5 February Queen of the SouthA3–05,532McIntyre, Wilson, Duff 27 February AberdeenH4–18,661Archibald, Grady (2), Crawford 9 April HibernianN2–127,271McIntyre, Scotland 28 MayCelticN0–150,635
CIS Insurance Cup DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 25 August StranraerH3–12,511Kerr, Grady, Innes 21 September ClydeH4–02,336McIntyre, Robson, Brebner, Wilson 9 November HibernianH2–14,865McIntyre (2) 2 February RangersN1–725,622Scotland
Player details During the 2004–05 season, United used 26 different players comprising five nationalities, with a further six named as unused substitutes. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.
Goalscorers United had 13 players score with the team scoring 41 goals in total. The top goalscorer was Jim McIntyre, who finished the season with fifteen goals. NameLeagueCupsTotal105 1562 84 3 73 2 53 2 5 2 3 5 3 1 42 1 32 1 3 2 0 22 0 21 1 20 2 2
Discipline During the 2004–05 season, three United players were sent off, and 17 players received at least one yellow card. In total, the team received three dismissals and 78 cautions. NameCautionsDismissals 10 1 9 1 3 1 12 9 6 6 5 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
Team statistics
League table
Transfers
In The club signed four players during the season, as well as loaning one for the latter part. Only one player – Stevie Crawford – was signed for a fee (£80k). Date Player From Fee (£) 19 August Unattached (ex-Tottenham Hotspur) Free 27 August Hibernian Free 4 January Plymouth Argyle £0,080,000 7 January Celtic Free
Loans in Date Player From Until 28 January Barnsley End of season
Out Seven players were released by the club during the season. Four players were also loaned with Andy McLaren going on loan twice to different clubs. Date Player To Fee 14 July Motherwell Released 21 July Airdrie United Free 20 January Dundee Released 27 January Leicester City Released 28 January Gretna Released 31 January Torquay United Released 31 January Boston United Released
Loans out Date Player To Until 27 August Clyde January 27 August Dumbarton January 2 November Partick Thistle January 1 February Partick Thistle End of season 26 February Morton End of season
Playing kit
The jerseys were sponsored by Morning, Noon and Night for a second season.
Awards Gordon Chisholm Bank of Scotland Premierleague Manager of the Month: 1 April 2005
Trivia Defender Alan Archibald played every minute of the 2004–05 season. United used different goalkeepers for all four CIS Insurance Cup matches: Tony Bullock played in the 3–1 second round win against Stranraer Lars Hirschfeld played in the 4–0 third round win against Clyde Paul Jarvie played in the 2–1 quarter-final win against Hibernian Nick Colgan played in the 7–1 semi-final defeat to Rangers.
References
External links Official site: 2004/05 Results Soccerbase: Results | Squad stats | Transfers