DUNDEE F.C.

'Dundee Football Club', founded in 1893, are a football team based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed ''The Dee'' or ''The Dark Blues'' and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their home shirt colour is dark blue.
Dundee FC currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from the Scottish Premier League in 2005. The team is currently managed by Alex Rae, who is also a player for the club. Rae was appointed on 24 May 2006, following the sacking of Alan Kernaghan. For the past two seasons they have failed to gain promotion back to the top tier as they finished 7th in 2005-2006 and 3rd in 2006-2007. In the 2005-2006 Dundee managed to reach the Scottish Cup semi-final but were beaten 3-0 by Gretna, then a Scottish Second Division side.
Unusually for a city of its size, Dundee supports two senior professional football teams, Dundee FC and Dundee United. The two teams are fierce rivals, and their grounds are within a few hundred yards of each other.

Contents

History

Scottish Cup Run 02/03

Financial Trouble

Current first team squad

Technical staff

Noted players

Managers

Records

Competitions

References

External links

History

Formed in 1893, Dundee Football Club was formed by an amalgamation of two city teams, Our Boys and East End. The club played their first Scottish league match on 12 August 1893 drawing 3-3 with Rangers. Dundee moved to their current stadium, Dens Park, in 1899.
The club were relatively unsuccessful in their early days until the Scottish Cup win of 1910. The 1st decade after the war saw Dundee come close to a league title in 1949, win two League Cups, reach a Scottish Cup final in 1952, and they also paid a Scottish record fee of £15,000 for Billy Steel. At this time Dundee's home attendances averaged more than 20,000.
In 1959 Dundee had a shock 1-0 defeat to Highland League side Fraserburgh in the Scottish Cup. This is widely regarded as one of the biggest shocks in Scottish Cup history.
Dundee won the league title of Scotland's top division, then called the First Division, in the 1961/62 season. Under the guidance of manager Bob Shankly, brother of Bill Shankly, and with players such as Alan Gilzean, Gordon Smith and Alex Hamilton they won the league championship in 1962 with a win against St Johnstone, which inturn relegated St Johnstone to the then Scottish Second Division. The following season the club reached the semi-final of the European Cup beating 1. FC Köln,Sporting Clube de Portugal and R.S.C. Anderlecht, before losing to AC Milan. Dundee also reached the Fairs Cup semi final in 1968, losing to Leeds United.
Success since their golden era in the early 1960s has been scarce with a League Cup win in 1973-1974. Dundee, under the guidance of Jocky Scott, clinched the Scottish First Division title in 1998 with a 1-1 draw against Raith Rovers, ending a four year spell in the Scottish First Division by gaining promotion to the Premier Division. In 2000 the club made perhaps their biggest ever signing when they brought in Argentine international Claudio Caniggia, who later signed for Rangers. Caniggia was only one of many foreign signings in the Dundee side in the early 2000s, which also included former Newcastle player Temuri Ketsbaia. These signings ensured Dundee FC had no money left and in turn lost their players for little in return.

Scottish Cup Run 02/03

Before Dundee went into financial trouble they enjoyed a great run in the Scottish Cup. In the Third Round Dundee knocked out Glasgow side Partick Thistle 2-0 away from home. The Fourth round saw Dundee knock out Aberdeen 2-0 at Dens Park. Dundee continued their march towards Hampden Park with a 1-1 draw away but a 4-1 thrilling AET victory over Falkirk at Dens booked their place in the Semi-Finals playing Highland Side Inverness CT at Hampden Park. The only goal of the game was by Giorgi Nemsadze. This secured a 1-0 victory and a place in the final against Glasgow Rangers. Both sides battled for a win with chances from both teams being scarce. Former Dee Barry Smith hit the post although it would be Lorenzo Amoruso who scored to bring Dundee's cup run to an end.

Financial Trouble

In 2003, due to gross financial mis-management under owners Peter & James Marr, resulting in a £23 m debt, they were forced to go into administration with many players such as Fabian Caballero and Georgian captain Giorgi Nemsadze leaving the club In 2005. Despite this huge debt, Dundee FC survived. The club's finances now look much better with the club now focusing on its youth policy. In the summer of 2006, it was announced that financial restructuring would see the club become debt-free. Supporters had to endure a frustrating wait, with the club's uncertain future, players leaving and being relegated to the Scottish First Division. However with the club now debt free, fans can look forward to a promising future.
In early 2007 owners Peter & James Marr severed all ties with Dundee, stepping down as Chairman, when their company P&J Taverns was forced into administration. With Bob Brannan and Dave MacKinnon now in the Marrs place they are now aiming to take the club forward.

Current first team squad

:''For recent transfers, see List of Scottish football transfers 2007-08.''

Technical staff

★ Alex Rae — Player/Manager

★ David Farrell - Assistant Manager

★ Gordon Wallace — Youth Coach

★ Dave Bowman — Youth Coach

Noted players

:''For a list of Dundee players with articles, see . For a list of players to have played for both Dundee and Dundee United, see .''

★ Dariusz Adamczuk ★ Ivano Bonetti ★ John Brown ★ Craig Burley ★ Fabián Caballero ★ Claudio Caniggia ★ Luis Alberto ''Beto'' Carranza ★ Bobby Cox ★ Doug Cowie ★ Jim Duffy ★ Hughie Ferguson ★ Cammy Fraser ★ Tommy Gemmell ★ Alan Gilzean ★ Bobby Glennie ★ Ville Lehtinen ★ Jonay Hernández Santos ★ Temuri Ketsbaia ★ Zurab Khizanishvili

★ Albert Kidd ★ Neil McCann ★ George Mclean ★ Giorgi Nemsadze ★ Nacho Novo ★ Davie Parks ★ Andy Penman ★ Fabrizio Ravanelli ★ Brent Sancho ★ Juan Sara ★ Bobby Seith ★ Eric Sinclair ★ Barry Smith ★ Gordon Smith ★ Billy Steel ★ Steven Tweed ★ Ian Ure ★ Fan Zhiyi

Managers

''This is a partial list of managers, from 1928 only.''

★ Jimmy Bisset (1928 - 1933) ★ Billy McCandless (1933 - 1937) ★ Andy Cunningham (1937 - 1940) ★ George Anderson (1944 - 1954) ★ Willie Thornton (1954 - 1959) ★ Bob Shankly (1959 - 1965) ★ Sammy Kean (caretaker) (1965 - 1965) ★ Bobby Ancell (1965 - 1968) ★ John Prentice (1968 - 1972) ★ David White (1972 - 1977) ★ Tommy Gemmell (1977 - 1980) ★ Don Mackay (1980 - 1984) ★ Archie Knox (1984 - 1986)

★ Jocky Scott (1986 - 1988) ★ Dave Smith (1988 - 1989) ★ Gordon Wallace (1989 - 1991) ★ John Blackley (caretaker) (1989 - 1991 (dates unconfirmed)) ★ Iain Munro (1991 - 1992) ★ Simon Stainrod (1992 - 1993) ★ Jim Duffy (1993 - 1996) ★ John McCormack (1997 - 1998) ★ Jocky Scott (1998 - 2000) ★ Ivano Bonetti (2000 - 2002) ★ Jim Duffy (2002 - 2005) ★ Alan Kernaghan (2005 - 2006) ★ Alex Rae (2006 - present)

Records

★ 'Highest attendance:' 136,495 fans attended the 1952 Scottish Cup final between Dundee and Motherwell. This is also a record for a club match in Scotland not featuring either of the Old Firm. The Roar of the Crowd: Following Scottish football down the years, , David, Ross, Argyll publishing, 2005, ISBN 9-8781902-831831

★ 'Highest home attendance:' 43,024 vs Rangers, February 7, 1953, Scottish Cup 2nd Round^[1]

★ 'Highest average home attendance:' 24,532, 1948-49 (15 games)^[2]

★ 'Biggest league win:' 10-2 vs. Queen of the South F.C. 1962. vs. Alloa Athletic F.C. 1947 vs. Dunfermline Athletic F.C. 1947

★ 'Biggest league loss:' 11-0 vs. Celtic F.C. 1895

★ 'Most capped player:' Alex Hamilton, 24 Scotland

★ 'Most league appearances:' Bill Marsh, 386, 1924-1937 & Barry Smith, 400, 1995-2006

★ 'Most league goals:' Alan Gilzean, 113

★ 'Most goals in a season:' Alan Gilzean, 52, 1963-64

★ 'Highest transfer fee paid:' £600,000, Fabián Caballero from Club Sol de América

★ 'Highest transfer fee received:' £1.2 m, Robert Douglas to Celtic

Competitions

★ 'European Cup:'
:
★ 'Semi-finalists (1):' 1962-63

★ 'Scottish Football League:'
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★ 'Winners (1):' 1961-62
:
★ 'Runners-up (4):' 1902-03, 1906-07, 1908-09, 1948-49

★ 'Scottish League First Division:'
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★ 'Winners (3):' 1978-79, 1991-92, 1997-98
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★ 'Runners-up (1): 1980-81

★ 'Scottish League Second Division:'
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★ 'Winners (1): 1946-47

★ 'Scottish Cup:'
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★ 'Winners (1)': 1909-10
:
★ 'Runners-up (4):' 1924-25, 1951-52, 1963-64, 2002-03

★ 'Scottish League Cup:'
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★ 'Winners (3):' 1951-52, 1952-53, 1973-74
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★ 'Runners-up (3):' 1967-68, 1980-81, 1995-96

★ 'Scottish Challenge Cup:'
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★ 'Winners (1):' 1990-91
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★ 'Runners-up (1): 1994-95

★ 'Evening Telegraph Challenge Cup:'
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★ 'Winners (1):' 2006

References

1. Ross, ''The Roar of the Crowd'', 181
2. Ross, ''The Roar of the Crowd'', 94

External links

★ Official Site

★ Online Store

★ Dee4Life Trust

★ Satellite Photo of Dens Park and Tannadice

★ Vital Dundee

★ Dundee Fans site