As Alex Smith headed in a permanent downward spiral his media quotes became more and more cliche ridden and predictable. So what are your favourite quotes from the great man (as the grim reaper Sturrock awaits!)?

For instance, after putting an unfit Lee Wilkie on the bench for the visit of Celtic to add presence to his team he witnessed 26 out of 28 games where he did not get a win. His team, bereft of talent because only Craig Brewster can play football even at 40, sunk to the bottom.

After his reserves won this week his classic in the Evening Telegraph was '“It shows there is competition for first-team places, which is something we need.”

Well done Craig!

fair play to the guy.  he sounded abslutely gutted in that interview.

Dundee United Chairman Eddie Thompson said, “I felt it was in the best interests of the Club to move swiftly and appoint an experienced Manager without undue delay. I have made extensive enquiries with knowledgeable people in the game and Craig Levein not only comes highly recommended in every category of the criteria set by the Board, but has a proven track record and an excellent reputation for man management. He also has extensive contacts in England and abroad and these will be important as we look to strengthen the squad in the next transfer window. I am delighted to be able to announce his appointment today.”

Craig Levein said, “I am delighted to join Dundee United and to be back in the SPL. ............................... when Mr Thompson spoke with me about this job I felt I had to take the opportunity to come here.

I fully appreciate the scale of the task before me but I am confident that I can help Dundee United to climb the league.

I am under no illusions.........................................................

.......................... that there will be an easy quick fix, but I would not have taken the job if I did not believe I could make a difference nor would I have considered coming to Tannadice if I did not believe that there was a determination to succeed within the Club.

"I have some experience of managing change ..................................................................

............ this is not a club ‘in crisis’. ......., the budget is reasonable, ................the playing squad is better than the league position suggests. ...... I am confident for the future.”

THE END.

I am under no illusions.................................................. ................................. that there will be an easy quick fix...

If thats what Levien sad then why did he take the job?  Every other DU manager has got the bullett whenever Thomson realises they won't be doing a quick fix.

I felt it was in the best interests of the Club to move swiftly and appoint an experienced Manager without undue delay.

That is the key comment from Thom(p)son - why did he appoint such an inexperienced manager in the first place?

It's a shame we don't have the messages for the Sportnetwork forum any more. I think a fair few of us had said that CB wouldn't last a year.

It's a shame we don't have the messages for the Sportnetwork forum any more. I think a fair few of us had said that CB wouldn't last a year.

Yeah i remember saying saying something along the lines of " Not even God can help to sort Dundee United right now"

I do actually feel bad for Brew tho i reckon the majority now realise that it aint his fault and that its the trash that plays on the field

Dundee United Chairman Eddie Thompson said, ............................... He also has extensive contacts in England and abroad and these will be important as we look to strengthen the squad in the next transfer window. .....

I think this is ET's most important quote.  Brew only had his eyes on our players and was slated on the Utd forums for not looking further afield.  By the time he accepted that he wasn't getting our key players he had left it too late to bring in some alternatives.  Hope CL looks far afield to strengthen his squad.

When searching for a quote I read last week on the BBC News I came across a couple of headlines that made me smile:

25 Nov 2005 - "I believe it is important for any manager to show their club some loyalty"

23 Oct 2006 - "Brewster gets chairman's backing"

However the quote I was searching for was when he referred to comments he made about relegation being a distinct possibility at United....

"It wasn't something I didn't say to the players". 

Didn't you mean "It was something I said to the players" Craig?

If Craig had not got cocky he would have covered up his lack of basic intelligence.

It now explains why he could never get the upper hand on Calderwood. He couldn't step back and assess his 'mentor'. Having said that, the Dons have a very good squad out tonight.