Broken Dreams and Broken Bones
Lee Miller becomes the latest in a long line this season to fall victim to a broken bone or long term injury, something that seems to have befallen United on a regular basis in the last few months. Much has been said as to the state of the Tannadice pitch in recent months and at some point speculation as to how much of a say it has had in the injuries received will no doubt be cast.
Since the arrival of Craig Brewster, we have seen the Gaffer himself injured in his first competitive home match. Next up we had Jim McIntyre poor discs taking a pounding that meant he was out for the rest of the season. Since then we have saw Charlie Mulgrew, Derek Stillie and now Miller all suffer relatively long term injuries. In a season that has no doubt been very disappointing, it is perhaps not all that surprising that we have performed so poorly. What was a small first team squad to start with has at various times of the season been decimated by the loss of key individuals. Of the players mentioned above we have lost most if not all at important phases. Brewster's absence almost immediately after the boost of having him in the team is self explanatory but Mulgrew still looks like a player coming back from injury as opposed to the player on top of his game when he was injured against Falkirk. McIntyre's enforced absence came after an arguable season's best performance against Celtic at Park head and Miller has recently been showing glimpses of the form that made him such a success at Hearts.
No doubt for me the biggest loss has been Brewster the player but in another bizarre twist, I remain hopeful that his enforced absence from playing will have given him greater focus on the managerial aspect of his job. It is my hope that this will mean a better prepared first team squad come next pre season. Whether aided by a terrible surface or simply cruel twists of fate lets hope that the lesson of this season is that injuries will always occur and it is vital to have adequate cover in your first team squad. Perhaps then, the perennial feeling of broken dreams each April/ May might become a thing of the past.