Gone Too Soon

[Cobra]

Which players did you wish at the time the club kept?

I'm thinking about guys we might have reasonably expected DFC to hang onto.

Before my time but there surely must have been an alternative way to find £50k for the bank to prevent us giving Gordon Strachan to Aberdeen for peanuts.

Chic Charnley was a joy to watch. Shame we only had for a season.

I rated Chris Coyne but the club seemed quite happy to let him go.

Mickael Antoine-Curier might have been a difficult character but he knew where the goal was. I thought we were daft to send him on loan to Accies.

More recently I thought Hartley was foolish to let Jim Mac and Kevin Holt leave. Both were doing a good job for us and I don't think we managed to replace either of them effectively.

Any names stand out for you?

[harry94]

I think a lot of these names will come down to stuff that happened behind the scenes but I do genuinely think we missed a big opportunity with Danny Johnson.

Johnson at the time had a very good goalscoring record coming up through the leagues and showed flashes at Motherwell. At 26 in the Championship, I think it was the perfect time for him at the club and making him the main man would have paid divedends.

We then brought in Hemmings who it was very obvious in advance wasn't compatible with Johnson and would have been demanding pretty big money. I can't actually fault Hemmings for his impact but it didn't work out at all for us with Hemmings away pretty quick after Johnson had already been disillusioned and exited.

Felt like one of these signings where we chased a headline and through money at a big name and stunted guys at the club and not got quality in the positions we actually needed. Feel we've maybe done the same thing this season with Griffiths and we'll see Cummings depart early in January after he looked fairly promising playing his role in August.

Would add Konrad going to then chase around free agents late in the window and sign Kevin Gomis last minute was very poor.

[Ricky Spanish]

Chic Charnley was unbelievably talented, could easily have gone right to the top, loved him at Dens. Is it just me or does it feel like he was here for more than one season? Maybe the many memorable moments and multiple red cards make it feel longer haha

[Huggs66]

I remember watching Charnley at Dens in a midweek game baring his arch to the Dundee faithful and about a week later wearing the dark blue, was a great signing however his ill discipline cost him. The Johnson / Hemings saga was a heart rules the head decision and a poor one at that Johnson’s work rate and willingness to dig as a loan striker was what the side needed and missed after he left.

Do we have to fear the potential of Charlie leaving for the Govan Mob, he would not command a big fee however it was open up the wage bill for a couple of players.

[DFC1974]

57 minutes ago, Ricky Spanish said:

Chic Charnley was unbelievably talented, could easily have gone right to the top, loved him at Dens. Is it just me or does it feel like he was here for more than one season? Maybe the many memorable moments and multiple red cards make it feel longer haha

I think Charnley was on the verge of signing for Celtic and only a change of manager (Lou Macari?) at a crucial stage of the negotiations saw the deal collapse. Chico was definitely an orchestrater for us in midfield and could create something out of nothing in same way as Nemsadze, Harkins and Adam. Also a real crowd pleaser/entertainer. Left far too early but at least we got a fee from Hibs for him. 

[Billy Campbell's Ghost]

One we should have sold quickly was Caulker for £1.5m if story was true!

[Billy Campbell's Ghost]

Martin Boyle and  Paul MCGinn.

Boyle just needed coaching and McGinn was consistent and has improved.

[Cobra]

23 minutes ago, Billy Campbell's Ghost said:

Martin Boyle and  Paul MCGinn.

Boyle just needed coaching and McGinn was consistent and has improved.

I was thinking about those two.

If I'm not mistaken we offered both a deal but they'd already made up their mind to leave.

[Cobra]

26 minutes ago, Billy Campbell's Ghost said:

One we should have sold quickly was Caulker for £1.5m if story was true!

He was suicidal not long before coming to Dens. I don't think we could justify sending him to Norway unless he wanted to go.

[Ferry Dee]

A few players come to mind: Iain Phillip, Rab Shannon, Dave McKay, Lee Power, Stephen Boyack, Patrizio Billio (if he had been separated from De Marchi), Paco Luna, Chic Charnley, Scott Robertson, Paul Dixon, Gary Harkins (any of the times he left), Glenn Kamara. 

[Frank Grimes]

On 18/11/2021 at 13:48, Billy Campbell's Ghost said:

Martin Boyle 

Poor mans Alex Harris.