The Changing Cultural Landscape

At the end of last week Edinburgh publisher Mainstream announced that they would close at the end of the year. They were founded 35 years ago and have been a successful publisher of non-fiction. Their back catalogue includes several books about football, such as this one about the two Dundee teams published back in 1984, which is also appropriate as there was another Scottish Cup derby between the teams yesterday. It was played at Dens Park, home of Dundee but scene of three of United's greatest triumphs - two League Cup wins and best of all the last game of the successful 1982-83 league championship winning season (which scarily is now THIRTY YEARS AGO). Anyway, United came out on top again yesterday - winning 2-1, the same scoreline as that game in 1983 when they effectively won the league by one goal. If Dundee had equalised United would have had the same points, same goals for and same goals against as second-placed Celtic. (And the same points but a two-goal better goal difference than third-placed Aberdeen.) But United held on and won their only league title to date. Back then it was still only two points for a win - IF it had been three points for a win all three teams would have been on the same points, although that one goal better goal difference would still have been enough to make it United's title.
Here the book sits on a page of an old photo album with pictures from the first game of the following league season when the United team paraded in front of the fans and showed off the league championship flag. Such optimism back then, as I'm sure many in the ground thought that team would win more league titles. They came close in 1985-86 (When the club seemed to lose belief after losing heavily at home to rivals Hearts even although there were still sufficient points left to play for to clinch the title. Two wins instead of a draw away to relegated Clydebank and a home defeat by St Mirren and it would have been United not Celtic that won the league that Hearts famously lost on the last day of the season, also at Dens Park.) But nothing since then, and nothing to make me think they'll ever do it again. Like my grandfather, a supporter of Huddersfield Town who won the old First Division three times in a row in the mid 1920s and finished runners-up in the next two seasons but never won it again in his lifetime.