scotzine Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Thought you guys would be interested in an interview we did with St.Johnstone's new signing David McCracken last night. http://www.scotzine.com/2011/06/exclusive-saints-bag-a-mccracken-signing/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1962 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Thought you guys would be interested in an interview we did with St.Johnstone's new signing David McCracken last night. http://www.scotzine.com/2011/06/exclusive-saints-bag-a-mccracken-signing/ Cheers for that. I enjoyed it as I dont really remember him in any detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Nice interview cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smarmy Arab Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 'David earned many plaudits in his time with the Tannadice club with his solid performances in his time with the club. It was perhaps a shock to many that David was told that he could leave the club at the end of the 2006-07 season.' :laugh::laugh: Who wrote this drivel? He was out on his ear as soon as Craig Levein found his feet, Can't think of a single Arab who was shocked the he out. The season he (and others) were at Tannadice we had the softest underbelly of any team in the league. Honestly the entire stadium would shyte it if we ever went 2 up, cos we knew our defence could (and did) concede 3 in 10 minutes. I hope for your sakes there were other factors in this but my memory of him is of a defender who er....could not defend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O'Rourke Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Then you preferred Darren Dods, a defender who could score, only not with any sense of direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lang toon saintie Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 (edited) McCracken made his competitive SPL debut in the match against Celtic on 2 May 2000. In the 2000–01 season, he made nine appearances mostly at full back, in a gradual programme of exposure to first team action. He also netted his first goal that term, in the opening day defeat to Celtic at Tannadice. After a string of impressive early season performances, McCracken made his debut for Scotland's under-21s in a 1–0 win over Latvia. By the end of another season of excellent progress, he had played 22 times for the first team during 2001–02. 2002–03 was the season McCracken made a real breakthrough into the first team with 30 appearances and in 2003–04 he was part of the first team for all but seven games to bring his total appearances to 99, during which he has scored three times. As part of a solid back three, McCracken was a crucial element of the side that reached fifth in the league to give Dundee United their best finish since 1996–97. McCracken had missed only two matches during the 2004–05 season, helping the side reach the semi-finals of the CIS League Cup, when injury struck in the Scottish Cup tie against Queen of the South. He only managed another two games before the end of the season, but was rewarded for some steady performances with a new two-year contract in July 2005.[1] McCracken missed just five matches in the whole of the 2005-06 season, taking his total of appearances for United to 165, as United finished in 9th place in the SPL for the second consecutive season. McCracken was told he was free to leave the club at the end of the 2006-07 season[2] and helped the club to a clean sheet in the final day 0-0 draw at home to Motherwell. This figure was for league games only.He played some amount of games for you before you realised thathe was no good and whats this"The season"bit all about???? Edited June 25, 2011 by lang toon saintie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smarmy Arab Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 McCracken made his competitive SPL debut in the match against Celtic on 2 May 2000. In the 2000–01 season, he made nine appearances mostly at full back, in a gradual programme of exposure to first team action. He also netted his first goal that term, in the opening day defeat to Celtic at Tannadice. After a string of impressive early season performances, McCracken made his debut for Scotland's under-21s in a 1–0 win over Latvia. By the end of another season of excellent progress, he had played 22 times for the first team during 2001–02. 2002–03 was the season McCracken made a real breakthrough into the first team with 30 appearances and in 2003–04 he was part of the first team for all but seven games to bring his total appearances to 99, during which he has scored three times. As part of a solid back three, McCracken was a crucial element of the side that reached fifth in the league to give Dundee United their best finish since 1996–97. McCracken had missed only two matches during the 2004–05 season, helping the side reach the semi-finals of the CIS League Cup, when injury struck in the Scottish Cup tie against Queen of the South. He only managed another two games before the end of the season, but was rewarded for some steady performances with a new two-year contract in July 2005.[1] McCracken missed just five matches in the whole of the 2005-06 season, taking his total of appearances for United to 165, as United finished in 9th place in the SPL for the second consecutive season. McCracken was told he was free to leave the club at the end of the 2006-07 season[2] and helped the club to a clean sheet in the final day 0-0 draw at home to Motherwell. This figure was for league games only.He played some amount of games for you before you realised thathe was no good and whats this"The season"bit all about???? I meant 'seasons', but as I re-read the post, this is not the only error! The seasons he was first choice are among the worst I can remember following Dundee Utd. Now, he is not the only one to blame, and McCall rated him....McCall had some major blind spots and was effectively bullied by senior players. Most of our debts were accrued during this period. JM & ET threw money at the squad and players during these seasons. (99-2006) and only achieved a single top six finish and NEVER A + GOAL DIFFERENCE. The hammerings that defence took from the OF are to numerous and painful to list here, but take it from me the defence was brittle at best and just suicidal at worst. The stats you quote put an orwellian spin on those years (eg help Utd to a league cup semi v Rangers, - we lost 7-1). Under Chisholm the team performed slightly better (even McInnes looked like the marquee signing we were promised for about a month!) due mainly to the arrival of Paul Richie, but cup exits to Aberdeen and Mypa 47, after losing 2 goal leads late in the game, were unforgivable. When Levein arrived in October 2006 everyone was promised the opportunity to prove themselves, Crackers was out by the summer transfer window to a collective sigh of relief from the Arabs. He is of course unfortunate to have been at Tannadice during those dreadful years, but as you note, he played a lot of games and therefore he is not without culpability. Totally different circumstances now but trust me he is no Duberry and he will not be able to fill those boots, unless his years in the lower leagues in England have furnished him with the ability to defend, concentrate, work harder, take responsibility, win a header, get goal side, listen to the keeper, make a decision....etc, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smarmy Arab Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Then you preferred Darren Dods, a defender who could score, only not with any sense of direction. Any day of the week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Perth Saint Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Then you preferred Darren Dods, a defender who could score, only not with any sense of direction. I'm surprised he even made it to the games on Saturdays. He could've ended up in the Antipidies!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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