Dundee F.C.

Dundee F.C. was formed in 1893 by the merger of two local clubs, East End and Our Boys, with the intention of gaining election to the Scottish Football League (SFL). Their application was successful and they played their first League game on 12 August 1893 at West Craigie Park, securing a 3–3 draw against Rangers. Dundee struggled during the first 10 years of their existence. Their best league position was fifth which they achieved in seasons 1895–96 and 1896–97. They also reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup in 1894–95 and 1897–98, losing to Renton and Kilmarnock respectively. On 26 October 1895 Dundee lost a league game by a record score of 0–11 to Celtic in Glasgow. On 1 January 1894 Dundee defeated Newton Heath (the future Manchester United) 2–1 at their then Carolina Port ground in Dundee. Carolina Port also hosted the first international football match held in Dundee on 21 March 1896 when Scotland defeated Wales 4–0. Dundee's goalkeeper Frank Barrett, midfielder Sandy Keillor and inside-forward Bill Thomson were all capped for Scotland during this early period of the club's history. Things began to improve for Dundee with the beginning of the new century. In 1899 they moved from Carolina Port to their present ground of Dens Park. In season 1902–03 they finished runners-up in the league championship to Hibernian. (In season 1902–03 Dundee allowed 12 league goals against, which remains the fewest goals conceded by any British club in a full league season.)

Dundee were also league runners-up in 1906–07 and 1908–09 finishing behind Celtic on both occasions, in 1908–09 by just 1 point. In the 10 seasons from 1902 to 1903 Dundee lost just 16 league games at Dens Park out of 154 played and were unbeaten at home during season 1909–10. Although ultimate success eluded Dundee in the league the club achieved success in the Scottish Cup. In season 1909–10 Dundee won their first trophy by defeating Clyde in the Scottish Cup Final. (Dundee took three games to beat Hibernian in the semi-final and then the same number to defeat Clyde.) The winning goal in the second replay was scored by John 'Sailor' Hunter. In season 1910–11 Dundee defeated Rangers 2–1 at Dens Park in the Scottish Cup quarter-final but lost to Hamilton in the semi-final. The beginning of the First World War and the call-up of many players for military duty drastically curtailed football in Britain from 1914 and in 1917 Dundee and Aberdeen were both asked to withdraw from the league due to increasing transport costs for the other league clubs. In 1919 league football recommenced and good home form once again propelled Dundee up the league. They finished 4th in seasons 1919–20, 1920–21 and 1921–22, and were unbeaten at home during season 1921–22. However, they could not make the breakthrough to win the league championship.

Dave Halliday had played on the left wing for his previous clubs, his hometown side Queen of the South and St Mirren. Halliday went to Dundee in 1921 where Scotland internationalist Alec Troup played left wing. Dundee thus converted Halliday to centre forward with prolific results; he finished as Scottish top scorer in the 1923–24 season with 38 goals from his 36 top division appearances. This remains the club record all-time seasonal league goal scoring record. Halliday top scored in England's top division in 1928-29 to become the most recent of only 2 players to be outright top scorer in Scotland and England. With Halliday Dundee reached the 1924–25 Scottish Cup final eliminating the holders en route, the Airdrieonians side of Hughie Gallacher. Dundee led Celtic 1-0 at half time in the final before losing out to a last minute Jimmy McGrory winner. Halliday top scored for Dundee in that cup run. In end of season tours with Dundee, Halliday scored doubles against each of Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid, Valencia CF and FC Barcelona. Halliday scored 103 goals in 147 league and cup appearances for the Dee. He then moved South to set scoring records in England where other teams profited from Dundee's decision to convert Halliday to centre-forward.[2]

Chart of yearly table positions of Dundee in the Scottish League.

The post-Second World War period was a golden era for Dundee Football Club. Having been relegated on the eve of war, the Dark Blues started in 1946 in the first official season in the second tier but within five years they were runners-up in the Scottish League Championship and won their first trophy in forty-one years.

Back to back 'B’ Division titles earned George Anderson's Dundee promotion in 1947 and just two years later they were within a whisker of becoming Champions of Scotland. Silverware was not far away however as after spending a world record transfer fee of £23,500 on Billy Steel, much to the chagrin of modern-day supporters of the club – at least some anyway – who resented the aspect of finance in football and wish instead for 'homegrown' talent, they won the Scottish League Cup in 1951 in one of the most exciting finals Hampden has ever seen.

Twelve months later Dundee were back at Hampden to become the first side to retain the League Cup and in between these two victories appeared in the 1952 Scottish Cup Final. The Dark Blue side of the era included players such as Bill Brown, Tommy Gallacher, Doug Cowie, Alfie Boyd, Bobby Flavell and Billy Steel.

In the 1958–59 Scottish Cup Dundee suffered a shock 1–0 defeat to Highland League side Fraserburgh. This is widely regarded as Dundee's most embarrassing defeat in their history.

Bob Shankly (brother of Bill Shankly) was appointed manager in 1959. Dundee won the league title of Scotland's top division, then called the Division One, in the 1961–62 season. With players such as Bobby Cox, Bobby Wishart, Pat Liney (Goalkeeper), Alan Cousin, Andy Penman, Hugh Robertson, Alan Gilzean, Alex Hamilton, Bobby Seith, Gordon Smith and Ian Ure they clinched the title with a win against St Johnstone, which in turn relegated St Johnstone to the then Second Division. Gordon Smith earned the distinction of being the only player to win the Scottish football championship with three clubs (Hibs, Hearts and Dundee), none of them either half of the traditionally dominant Old Firm.[3]

The following season, 1962–63, Dundee reached the semi-finals of the European Cup beating 1. FC Köln, Sporting Clube de Portugal and R.S.C. Anderlecht. Dundee lost to A.C. Milan on aggregate in the semi-finals; though Dundee won (and kept a clean sheet) against Milan in the home leg at Dens Park.

The Dee reached the Scottish Cup final again in the 1963–64 competition. Shankly left Dundee in February 1965.[3]

The next manager after Shankly was former player Bobby Ancell from the 1947 B Division Championship side. Ancell took Dundee to a 1967–68 League Cup final against the previous season's European Cup winners, Celtic. Ancell's team scored three times at Hampden Park in Celtic's native Glasgow but still lost 5–3.

In the predecessor to the UEFA Cup/Europa League, Dundee reached the semi-finals of the 1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Dundee eliminated opposition from the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland to meet Leeds United in the semi-final. After a 1–1 draw at Dens, a 1–0 second leg win took Leeds through.[3]

In 1973 under the management of David White and captaincy of Tommy Gemmell, the League Cup returned to Dens following a 1–0 win against Celtic.

In 2000 the club hit the headlines when they signed Argentine international Claudio Caniggia,[4] who later signed for Rangers.[5] Caniggia was only one of many foreign signings in the Dundee side in the early 2000s, which also included former Newcastle United player Temuri Ketsbaia.[6] The signing of such high-profile players along with many others led Dundee to a Scottish Cup final and two top-six finishes. This was achieved under the managership of Ivano Bonetti, who also made a short but notable contribution on the park linking up well with Caniggia. Attendances were still short of the hoped for numbers and with spending significantly outweighing income, Dundee were soon forced into administration.

Before Dundee went into financial trouble they knocked out Glasgow side Partick Thistle 2–0 away from home in the third round of the Scottish Cup. 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 and a 4–1 extra time victory over Falkirk at Dens booked their place in the semi-finals playing Inverness CT at Hampden Park. A goal by Georgi Nemsadze secured a 1–0 victory and a place in the Final against Rangers. In the final Barry Smith hit the post for Dundee but Lorenzo Amoruso scored to bring Dundee's cup run to an end.

In 2003, due to the club's failure to sell on players as anticipated insufficient income was raised to fund the large wage bill under owners Peter and James Marr, resulting in a £23m debt which meant they were forced to go into administration with many players such as Fabian Caballero, Craig Burley and Georgian captain Giorgi Nemsadze leaving in 2005. Despite this huge debt, Dundee survived by selling their stadium in 2003. But the club was then relegated to the second tier of the Scottish leagues, where they remained until July 2012. In mid-2006, it was announced that financial restructuring would see the club become debt-free.

In 2007, James and Peter Marr severed some of their ties with Dundee, stepping down as chairman and Chief Executive respectively, when their company P&J Taverns was forced into administration. Bob Brannan and Dave MacKinnon took the Marrs' place.

In 2008, after a poor run in the league, manager Alex Rae was sacked, with former manager Jocky Scott taking over for his third stint with the club.[7]

Logo used from 1987 to 2008[8]

In the 2009–10 season Dundee director Calum Melville was in trouble for claiming he was going to offer rivals Dundee United £500,000 for ex-Dundee midfielder Scott Robertson.[9] Dundee won the Challenge Cup Final when they beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–2.[10]

In March 2010, Scott was sacked as manager after a 3–0 defeat by Airdrie United.[11] He was replaced by Gordon Chisholm, with Billy Dodds as his assistant.

In September 2010, Dundee were again on the brink of going into administration due to a £365,000 unpaid tax bill. During negotiations with HM Revenue & Customs, the club's offer to pay £100,000 immediately was rejected.[12] On 14 September it was announced that the club would be going into administration.[13] As punishment for entering administration the Scottish Football League docked Dundee 25 points on 1 November 2010. At the time the punishment was imposed, this left Dundee bottom of the First Division table with −11 points, 20 points behind the second-bottom team. On 10 December 2010 the Dark Blues Business Trust was set up by former Dundee owner Peter Marr and former director Steve Martin to help the club recover from their financial situation. On 17 December 2010 Dundee's appeal against the points deduction was rejected. Dundee went on a 23 match undefeated streak in the first division beating the previous record set by the team.

On 12 May 2011, Dundee FC exited administration. The club's supporters' trust, Dundee FC Supporters' Society Ltd., became the majority shareholder, and Steve Martin of the DFC Business Trust joined the board of directors along with 5 of the Society Fans board.[14]

On 6 November 2011, it was announced Harry MacLean had resigned from his position as Chief Executive and would work a month's notice.[15] MacLean, who had played a key role in saving the club during administration,[15] accepted an invitation to re-join the club in a non-executive role before departing his position as Chief Executive.[16] His resignation was followed just eleven days later by Stuart Murphy's decision to step down as club chairman and Director of the Club which was effective immediately.[17] On 27 December 2011, Harry MacLean resigned from his non-executive role[18] causing questions to arise about the stability of the boardroom. Shortly after the gap left by MacLean was filled by present chief executive officer Scot Gardiner.[19]

On 16 July 2012, Dundee were invited to join the Scottish Premier League to replace Rangers after their liquidation and subsequent admittance to the fourth tier of Scottish football.[20]

Since the second period of administration, Dundee, along with their Supporters' Society, implemented regular KPI targets. These targets were set to ensure, in some part, that the failures that led to administration and indeed, several decades of financial turmoil, could not be repeated. Dundee were left after the second administration with only footballing debt and no borrowing capability. Since exiting administration, the club has focussed on honouring the footballing debt, whilst keeping lower football wages and stadium bills, according to the income generated. The debt post-admin was unexpectedly still over £200,000 which had to be quickly worked into the board's already stretched budgets.

After an unsuccessful season in the Premier League, when they were asked to replace Rangers, Dundee were again relegated after finishing bottom, despite vastly improved form after John Brown replaced Barry Smith as manager toward the end of the season. The following season (2013–14) Dundee would take part in the Scottish Championship (formerly the First Division) after reforms were made to the Scottish League system.

Throughout the summer leading up to the start of the 2013–14 season talks were held regarding a possible Texan based takeover with investments to be made of up to £650,000. The takeover was completed and former Director Bill Colvin was appointed as chairman to oversee this new board of which main investor Tim Keyes of Keyes Capital, Austin, Texas, appointed John Nelms to look after his interests. The 2013–14 season proved to be one to remember with Dundee clinching the title and promotion to the top tier on the last day of the season with a 2–1 win over Dumbarton. After a heavy defeat to Falkirk and a draw against Alloa, manager John Brown was replaced by Paul Hartley. A 3–0 win at Alloa for The Dark Blues and a 4–1 loss to Dumbarton for Hamilton Academical meant that Dundee were in the driving seat when it came to the finale. Dens Park was sold out for the game against Dumbarton when Christian Nade headed in the opening goal. Soon after, Peter MacDonald scored the second goal. The away side pulled a goal back in the second half and Hamilton Academical managed to close the goal difference with a 10–2 victory over Greenock Morton. But Dundee got the three points, and clinched promotion to the Scottish Premiership.

Paul Hartley was quick in the transfer window for the following season, bringing in no fewer than twelve new players, to rebuild the squad for top-flight football, having already signed Greg Stewart on a pre-contract from Cowdenbeath and Philip Roberts who joined before the end of May. Released Hibernian players James McPake and Kevin Thomson were next to join, along with Alloa goalkeeper Scott Bain. Thomson was made Captain after signing. Simon Ferry, released from Portsmouth then returned to his hometown to play for Dundee. Paul McGowan and Paul McGinn arrived from St Mirren and Dumbarton respectfully, then attacking midfielder Gary Harkins signed for his third spell at the club on the last day of June, after also being released from St Mirren. A number of first team players departed, namely Christian Nade and Ryan Conroy, who both went on to join Raith Rovers, Gavin Rae who retired from playing and player-coach Matt Lockwood.

On the opening day of the 2014–15 season, Dundee recorded a 1–1 draw against Kilmarnock at home, Gary Harkins put Dundee ahead from the spot after Kilmarnock conceded a penalty, with Craig Slater equalising for the visitors from a well struck free-kick on the edge of the Dundee area. Dundee won their first game of the 2014–15 season on 23 August with a 1–0 win over St Mirren away from home, a 79th-minute goal from Peter MacDonald securing the win, making them unbeaten in their first four league games of the season. Dundee also started the League Cup well with two 4–0 wins on the bounce over Peterhead and Raith Rovers.

Dundee managed to gain a top six place by mid-April thus securing their position in the Premiership for 2015–16 campaign. They secured the place for definite after Kilmarnock were defeated 2–1 by Aberdeen on 12 April and a Dundee derby victory on 8 April in a 3–1 Win at home to Dundee United.[21]

At the end of the 2014–15 season, in June, Dundee chairman Bill Colvin stepped down as chairman and sold his share in Dundee to then director, Tim Keyes who became the new chairman of the club.[22]

Dundee finished 8th in the 2015–16 Scottish Premiership, notably relegating rivals Dundee United at Dens Park.

Dundee were relegated to the Scottish Championship at the end of the 2018–19 season. Manager Jim McIntyre and assistant manager Jimmy Boyle were sacked on 12 May.[23] After playing the role of interim manager in Dundee's final home game, former player James McPake was hired as manager on a permanent basis, with Jimmy Nicholl, then current assistant manager of Northern Ireland, brought in as assistant manager.[24]

As of 1 February 2021[31]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SCO Jack Hamilton 2 DF  SCO Cammy Kerr 3 DF  SCO Jordan McGhee (vice-captain) 4 DF  ENG Liam Fontaine 5 DF  SCO Jordon Forster 6 DF  ENG Malachi Fagan-Walcott (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 7 FW  SCO Alex Jakubiak 8 MF  SCO Shaun Byrne 9 FW  SCO Danny Mullen 10 MF  SCO Paul McGowan (vice-captain) 12 GK  ENG Calum Ferrie 13 GK  ENG Adam Legzdins 14 DF  SCO Lee Ashcroft 16 DF  ENG Christie Elliott 17 FW  IRL Jonathan Afolabi (on loan from Celtic) 18 MF  SCO Paul McMullan (on loan from Dundee United) 19 MF  SCO Finlay Robertson

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 DF  SCO Jack Wilkie 21 FW  SWE Osman Sow 22 MF  SCO Callum Moore 23 DF  ENG Jordan Marshall 24 MF  SCO Max Anderson 25 MF  SCO Lyall Cameron 26 MF  SCO Charlie Adam (captain) 27 MF  SCO Luke Strachan 29 DF  SCO Sam Fisher 30 GK  SCO Harrison Sharp 31 FW  SCO Michael Cunningham 35 FW  SCO Jason Cummings 39 FW  JAM Nicholas Hamilton (on loan from York United) 40 MF  SCO Cammy Blacklock 41 DF  SCO Daniel Strachan 42 DF  SCO Ewan Murray

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 11 MF  SCO Declan McDaid (on loan at Partick Thistle) 15 MF  SCO Josh Mulligan (on loan at Peterhead)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  SCO Kyle Fleming (on loan at Annan Athletic)

• Cammy Kerr (2013–14)
• Craig Wighton (2014–15)
• Cammy Kerr (2015–16)
• Cammy Kerr (2016–17)
• Kerr Waddell (2017–18)
• Callum Moore (2018–19)
• Finlay Robertson (2019–20)