Courier Talking Football

On this week's Courier Talking Football, Eric Nicolson, Jim Spence and Sean Hamilton discuss a potentially season-defining week ahead for relegation rivals Dundee and St Johnstone. Will Callum Davidson's faith in his preferred system be vindicated by new arrivals? Should Mark McGhee have to win fans over at Dundee? Meanwhile, at Tannadice, the race is well and truly on for a European spot as Tam Courts targets a stunning first season in top flight management.

On this week's Courier Talking Football, Eric Nicolson is joined by Jim Spence, Alan Temple and Sean Hamilton to discuss the sacking of James McPake and the appointment of Mark McGhee by Dundee. Was the timing right? Was McPake hard done by? What was Gordon Strachan's role? And will it save the Dark Blues' season? Also up for discussion: St Johnstone under pressure, Dundee United's upturn and Raith Rovers' post-Goodwillie manoeuvres.

On this week's Courier Talking Football, Jim Spence, Alan Temple and Sean Hamilton discuss the motives, misjudgements and monumental fallout from Raith Rovers' signing of David Goodwillie. What were the Stark's Park club thinking, will heads roll and can the damage done be healed, both on and off the park? The lads also round up the transfer deadline day action at Dundee United, Dundee and St Johnstone and preview the weekend's fixtures.  

It’s a month when transfer ins and outs make the headlines. But at Dundee United it was a man who has been a Tannadice for a few years grabbing the glory in midweek. In this week’s Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson discuss a player who, like Stephen Dobbie, is maturing into an all-round forward with several good years left in him. Also on the agenda are the baby steps St Johnstone and Dundee are taking towards potential Premiership safety, their new recruits and the next Dundee derby.

This week, Eric Nicolson, Jim Spence and Sean Hamilton discuss the nine consecutive defeats that have sent St Johnstone to the bottom of the Premiership, the six-in-a-row that have Dundee hovering just above them - and the six losses on the spin that have seen United fall out of the top six. Callum Davidson, James McPake and Tam Courts are feeling the pressure - but what can they do to ease it?

With Jim Spence busy studying for his motorbike driving test, Eric Nicolson and Sean Hamilton are joined by special guests - and arguably the best Dundee United double act since Narey and Hegarty - Sean Dillon and Ally Heather. The guys discuss United's 'ballsy' approach to the January transfer window, St Johnstone's capture of ex-Dillon Tannadice teammate Nadir Ciftci and the ongoing Leigh Griffiths saga at Dundee.  

St Johnstone have hit the ground running in the January transfer window, as have Dundee United. In this week's Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson discuss the business both clubs have concluded and the possible transformative effect strikers Nadir Ciftci and Tony Watt may have. Possible high profile departures, Leigh Griffiths and Jason Cummings, dominate the Dundee agenda. Have Kilmarnock effectively ended the Championship title race with the appointment of Derek McInnes? And who is Dick Campbell trying to kid?

Jeando Fuchs is one of Dundee United’s key men but is there a danger of the midfielder “switching off” as speculation about his departure from Tannadice builds? In this week’s Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Alan Temple and Eric Nicolson discuss his situation and the problem Calum Butcher has caused manager Tam Courts. Dundee righting the wrong of their disastrous last game against Ross County, the merits of St Johnstone signing Jamie Walker and Raith Rovers’ title credentials are among the other topics on the agenda.

The mood in the Dundee and St Johnstone camps couldn’t be more different after Wednesday night’s triumph for the Dark Blues and depressing defeat for the Perth men. In this week’s Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson discuss whether the home side should be raising their sights and if the visitors can get to the January transfer window without serious damage being done. Also on the agenda is Dundee United’s squad depth, or rather, the lack of it, and Tony Asghar’s statement.

There has been the appointment of a new captain and a bit of off-field politics at Dundee United this week. On the pitch, the Tangerines are now faced with a trip to play Ross County and manager Tam Courts is expecting a “frosty reception” in Dingwall. Jim Spence and Eric Nicolson cover all the Tannadice talking points and assess a crossroads week for the other two Tayside Premiership clubs, St Johnstone and Dundee. Also on the agenda are Arbroath’s promotion credentials and a feel good factor returning to Dunfermline just in time.

St Johnstone are seeking to make it three cup finals in a row when they face Celtic at Hampden Park. In this week’s Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson assess the Perth side’s chances, Callum Davidson’s team selection and the opposition weaknesses they can seek to exploit. For Dundee United, there’s a new signing from Ghana, a game against Aberdeen and the success of former players at Scotland level to discuss. John Hughes taking over at Dunfermline is also on the agenda.

The next Dunfermline manager will be going straight into a high-pressure job of keeping the Pars in the Championship. In this week’s Talking Football podcast Jim Spence, Alan Temple and Eric Nicolson assess the potential candidates and whether the club’s German owners will be pragmatic, take a risk, or find a middle road. We also discuss the seriousness of their predicament, as well as the promotion credentials of Raith Rovers and Arbroath. Also on the agenda are Dundee United’s latest off-field appointments, St Johnstone’s ability to grind out results and need for goals, and Dundee’s soon-to-be season-defining spell of fixtures.

Tam Courts has added a new string to his managerial bow – showing he can learn from a mistake and sort it out quickly. In this week’s Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson discuss what the Dundee United boss got wrong against St Johnstone and why he should be commended for the way he responded. And predictions are made for the game of the weekend at Tynecastle – Hearts v United. Also on the agenda are St Johnstone’s second half issues, Dundee’s fixture list misfortune, the Dunfermline managerial dilemma and the return of Maurice Ross.

For this special edition published on all three of DC Thomson Media’s football podcasts, Michael McEwan and author Steve Finan take a nostalgic trip over the turnstiles, up and down the terraces, and deep into the history of those most holy places: the nation’s football stadiums. Steve’s new books show 700 never-before-seen photos of everything from the giant stadiums of Glasgow, right down to the smaller but no less revered shrines of football around the country – especially on our home patches in Tayside and across the north of Scotland. Michael leads a conversation that touches on why Ibrox once had a paddling pool, and fears of forky-tailies at Tannadice, by way of Firhill vegetable patches and tips on how to find Scotland’s incredible (but secret) store of football knowledge. You can get £5 off the Lifted Over The Turnstiles 2 & 3 books using the code PODCAST5 at checkout at https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/ until November 22, 2021. For more sport podcasts from DC Thomson Media, tap the links belo

Dundee manager James McPake is facing up to the fall-out from the horror show against Ross County. Fans are calling for him to be sacked, one of his star players was substituted before the first half was over and he has a big central midfield problem. In this week's Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson reflect on a traumatic night for Dundee supporters at Dens Park and assess whether it is a retrievable situation for the under-fire boss. There is also build-up to Saturday's clash between Dundee United and St Johnstone, as well as a tribute to Scottish football legend Walter Smith.

Dundee are in desperate need of star quality against Aberdeen on Saturday, with comeback men Charlie Adam and Leigh Griffiths their two players with the highest profile. Only one of them has looked capable of providing the spark James McPake requires for such a crucial match between struggling sides - and it hasn't been the on-loan Celtic striker. In this week's Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson get stuck into the talking points ahead of the weekend Premiership clash at Dens Park. Also up for discussion are the prospect of Dundee United leapfrogging Hibs and St Johnstone picking up where they left off against Livingston.

The Dundee players aren't happy that their bonus payments haven't been settled and the Dundee fans aren't happy with what they saw at McDiarmid Park on Saturday. In this week's Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson assess the implications of the two Dens Park news-lines. Also on the agenda - have Dundee United found the missing piece of the jigsaw, are St Johnstone about to put the foot down and what on earth is happening at East End Park?

Tam Courts is putting a Dundee United team on the pitch that the fans are enjoying watching. And he's also showed the confidence to distance himself from the manager whose team he inherited at Tannadice. In this week's Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson discuss the United boss's growing stature and the exciting team he and Tony Asghar have assembled. Also on the agenda are Dundee's continuing striker crisis and the opportunity that has presented itself against a new-look St Johnstone central defence this weekend.

This isn’t a normal episode of The Courier Talking Football. Football’s been away for so long, and getting fans back into the grounds for the derby last weekend felt like an important moment to celebrate. We wanted to capture the magic of getting football back, and so we clipped a mic to a fan as he headed into the ground for this most special of city club clashes. He happens to be a United fan, and we all now know what the result was by the time the final whistle blew – but this little quarter-hour experiment is not about United, or Dundee for that matter. It’s about all of us as football fans, and about what the game means to us, to our families, our friends and to our city. Put on some headphones. Have a listen. Share with your pals. Let us know what you think. Normal service will be resumed shortly.

Can Dundee’s team of maverick attacking talents get a rare Tannadice victory? Is James McPake winning the pre-match mind games? And will Tam Courts try to take the emotion out of the occasion and turn it into a tactical battle that suits his strengths? All these Dundee city derby issues and more are on the agenda in this week’s podcast with Jim Spence, Alan Temple, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson. We also delve into the calamitous start to the season for Dunfermline and whether Peter Grant should already have been sacked. And are St Johnstone getting Aberdeen at the right time?