Dundee United chairman slagging us off

[dan_ict]

I am fortunate enough to just about make every away game (SPL & First division) and not ONCE have i seen as little as 17-20 fans in the away end

[BA]

As my mate is an Arab it's one of the away days that I make. However it's no wonder away turnouts at Tannadice are poor, maybe if they sorted out their stewarding then attendances might improve.

[TopSix]

As my mate is an Arab it's one of the away days that I make. However it's no wonder away turnouts at Tannadice are poor, maybe if they sorted out their stewarding then attendances might improve.

Couldn't agree more.

[davie]

I was at Hampden in an orange shirt, so I'm really quite sad at his comments. As a big time arab said to me, he might be a Thompson, but he's no got half the class of his faither. Says it all really.

[mikejones]

He seems intent on bringing the league in to disrepute. He's made comments about us, Rangers and a few others.

Loves seeing himself in the paper, I'd assume. Where would he be if his dad wasn't a millionaire? Shelf stacker?

[Cinejag]

To be fair, I can see his point. ICT being promoted instead of his city neighbours is likely to cost his club ?60,000 next season.

That's not our problem though

He doesn't like the journey up here? Awww diddums we have to travel south every 2nd week so I am sure he can do the journey 2 times max a season in the league

Exactly. It's a pretty shocking statement to make bleeting on about the lack of visiting fans not helping out his club. Maybe he should concentrating his annoyance at the 20, 000 extra fans they took to the cup final who were probably not at any spl games last season. Tannadice was NEVER sold out last season

[12th Man]

Dundee not reaching SPL is a disaster for Dundee United, says Tannadice chief Stephen Thompson

May 30 2010 Gordon Waddell, Sunday Mail

DUNDEE UNITED chairman Stephen Thompson has admitted he's gutted rivals Dundee blew promotion to the SPL - because it will cost his club a fortune.

The tough-talking Tannadice owner reckons league construction could yet throw the city rivals a derby lifeline as early as the season after next.

But in the meantime he's worried that poorly-supported clubs like Hamilton and First Division champs Inverness will be a crippling factor on gates for another year.

Thompson said: "Dundee not coming up was a big loss to the SPL and to us as a club.

"They're a big club with a good support. I don't like having a go at Hamilton and Inverness but they don't have any travelling fans.

"We had 29 paying Hamilton fans who came here on a midweek in February.

"Inverness, if they are doing well early on, will bring a few hundred down. If they're not doing well at the end of the season there will be 17 to 20 folk. That brings nothing to the game.

"Great credit to them though - I know I had a go at their fans but to bounce back within a year is fantastic.

"Nobody has managed to do that since Hibs and when you think about the gap now between the SPL and the First Division financially, it's a great achievement.

"But I think there will be change in the near future - not for next season but soon.

"It could be the start of the season after but we need the agreement of everyone and the Old Firm need to buy into it because of the current voting structure.

"The current chairman of the SPL, Ralph Topping, shouldn't be underestimated though. He is chief exec of a big company in William Hill and is very much one for bringing people together.

"There have been discussions held, smaller meetings involving Ralph and Neil Doncaster, trying to get the chairmen and owners involved because they are the ones who ultimately make the decisions."

Thompson, however, isn't a fan of the rebuild being proposed for the SPL because he doesn't think it goes far enough.

He wants a complete overhaul of the senior game that sees regional leagues feeding into the top two divisions.

He said: "I've made it clear we wouldn't support a change in league numbers - that would just be playing around with it.

"It needs to be a look at the whole structure. I would certainly like to have a northern and a southern league which would filter into a top two divisions.

"Then there's the criteria to get into the league. Something that's sensible.

"Nobody has an ideal number. Some are talking about the top two divisions being 10 and 10, 10 and 12, 12 and 12.

"Everyone just seems to think 12 is not the number. I'm not strongly of any opinion on the number. Somebody jokingly said why not have 20!"

The financial wellbeing of all the clubs is at stake in the wake of one of the toughest seasons on record for the SPL.

Thompson told MailSport three months ago that he had already ploughed ?500,000 more of his family's money into the Arabs to see them break even, although their subsequent run to third in the SPL and the cup final will have put a rosier glow on the accounts.

But he's desperate to see even a fraction of the 28,000 fans who filled Hampden two weeks ago attend Tannadice next season.

He said: "It's a tough world right now and, like all clubs, our attendances were down last year. I'm hoping season tickets will be up next term - if you can't turn some of the 28,000 into season tickets then we do have serious problems with Scottish football.

"Even if we can get an extra 500 it would help. I know when we got to the cup final in 2005 and went into Europe that was our highest-ever season-ticket sale at 5800.

"We're just short of 5000 at the moment so that 500 does make a difference - it would pay for Peter Houston's salary!

"Another 500 is only a fraction of the crowd that supported us at the cup final but without season tickets you don't have a club."

One bugbear of Thompson's in such a desperate economic climate is the fact thWe Old Firm are still finding the cash to plunder their youth set-up.

He said: "The Old Firm, and Rangers in particular, are going down this road.

"Rangers have got no money in the first team but at youth level they have a lot of cash to spend.

"They are putting in offers for 16-18 kids under 16 and the compensation levels are 40-50k a go.

"That's the route they've decided to go down so they are trying to pick up a crop of everyone else's development programmes.

"And they wonder why other teams in Scotland don't like them - and I'm talking at chairman and board level.

"You spend five or six years developing these players. We're not interested in the money - we want to produce players to perform in our team."

Just thought I would add the whole article for people to read before commenting, its being blown out of proportion, we all know that we would have at least 28 to 32 fans at an away match.

[TheKnowledge]

He is quite clearly getting at the economics. Dundee add more to the SPL than us or Hamilton because they give him more money. Just because he says what every person related to Scottish football says after they've slagged someone, doesn't mean he's not belittling us. All credit to you though.

[TopSix]

I'm surprised he hasn't walked away from United yet.

[cairngorm]

i will get bums on seats .Slag off the Caley following and they will go out their way to prove me wrong , bring a big crowd , more money for me, boycot the game and come out in force for the home game against them . More money for Caley and less for our rivals

[KingBeastie]

On the contrary, just like his father, he is in my opinion, one of the better club chairmen in Scottish football.

I can't agree with this.

I have a good friend who is a massive arab. He knew Eddie Thomson fairly well and has a few nice stories and fond memories of him. He has not got any time for his son whatsoever and has told me some stories to explain his reasons.

I've not read the article but as far as I am concerned Steven Thomson is a class A phallus.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

Not once does he mention not liking coming to Inverness .

[caleyrule]

Not once does he mention not liking coming to Inverness .

I don't like having a go at Hamilton and Inverness

?????

[12th Man]

Not once does he mention not liking coming to Inverness .

I don't like having a go at Hamilton and Inverness

?????

that t changes the comment totally "I don't like having a go a Hamilton and Inverness, mun"

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

Not once does he mention not liking coming to Inverness .

I don't like having a go at Hamilton and Inverness

?????

He didn't say " having to go " , he says " having a go " . Two entirely different things !

[Sorted]

On the contrary, just like his father, he is in my opinion, one of the better club chairmen in Scottish football.

I can't agree with this.

I have a good friend who is a massive arab. He knew Eddie Thomson fairly well and has a few nice stories and fond memories of him. He has not got any time for his son whatsoever and has told me some stories to explain his reasons.

I've not read the article but as far as I am concerned Steven Thomson is a class A phallus.

I'm 100% with KB in this. ST is an attention seeking **** who has sponged of his father for years and unlike his very successful sister, has never managed to do anything of any consequence on his own in business.

The story, confirmed to me by a good few Arabs, goes that when his father gave him a wad of cash on the sale of the MNN chain in the middle of the property boom, ST announced that there was no way he was putting his money into this "risky market" but instead he was going to invest in prestige cars!!!!!!! Like they don't drop in value???????

Only a matter of time before he blows it all and his greeting face disappears from the tabloids. Meantime, suggest he gets his own house in order and concentrates on generating income form his own city by encouraging a few more of the faces that went to Hampden to go to Tanadump more regularly.

[JeffVader]

What isn't mentioned in the article about the Hamilton game is there were a lot of home fans giving complimentry tickets to the Accies fans. Also accorting to some Accies fans they hadn't won in 7 games and hadn't scored any goals, so with that and the game being on midweek really lends itself to a small away support.