My View

I don't believe in critising our players publicly in writing, though I do have a habit of giving them verbals at the matches. Anyone that sat next to me last season can testify to that.

Let's just say I wouldn't be the founder of the Lee Maddison fan club.

I believe Steven Tweed has improved immensely this season, but it has become a habit for Dundee fans to pick on him, as they are all waiting for him to make a mistake.

Unfortunately for Steven he does have the tendency to make at least one howler in a game.

The fans forget about all the good things he's done up until this happens. A lot of his timely headers, or tackles are forgotten about, for one mistake. The big difference this season is, his slight lapses in concentration, aren't costing us goals any more.

Come on Dundee fans let's give Steven a break and encourage him, not critise him for the sake of criticisms sake. After all he's a solid part of the Italian revolution at Dens, it's not his fault he ends up being Steven (Amoruso) Tweed.

I'm not a great advocate of the Bobby Glennie, punt the ball as far over the Stands as possible, to clear your lines tactic, especially not with the talented and skillful players we now have in our ranks, but Steven I'm sure the fans would forgive you doing this, if it helped get you out of a sticky situation.

By the way if anyone checks the Opta Rankings. Steven Tweed is quite high up them, for saving tackles made.

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----- Original Message -----
From: Joris.E.
To: BoabL@blueyonder.co.uk
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2001
Subject: Tweed Debate

Hi,

I'm writing from Germany. Steven Tweed is just playing as a test player for MSV Duisburg (my favorite team, Second League in Germany). At the moment they're playing more than worse, so they invited Steven Tweed. We urgently need someone in the defense (four league matches 13 goals against!). He must play in a new system, we have a new coach Pierre Littbarski, he was world champion (1990) as a player and he wants to play a four-on-a-row defense (sorry, I don't know the english translation).

When I read your comments, we shouldn't buy him. What's the problem with him?

Joris E.

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Subject: steven tweed
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001
From: "Ronald Mills"
To: BoabL@blueyonder.co.uk

Ronald's View

Steven Tweed is the weak link in the dundee defence the quicker we can get shot of him the better.
As for him improving this term, he only looks better because he is playing in a much improved side.
Bring back Ireland and Wilkie, and get rid of Tweed before he costs us more points than he has already.

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Boris's View

El Tweed Totally agree. Get off his back. He's come on leaps and bounds this year.

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Dave Webster's View

STEVEN TWEED

I would extend my points to take in Shaun McSkimming as well, another player who often feels the brunt of the Dundee support when things aren't going right.

What a lot of people forget is that football is a team game. In order for a team to perform well it needs players with varying talents and abilities in different positions on the field of play.

For example no team would survive if it put 11 ball players on the park, unless these ball players also had hardness and tackling in their repertoire of skills. Bonetti has tried to balance his side with just the right mixture of talented "skill" players like Nemsadze for example. But Georgi couldn't in a month of Sundays do what the likes of Tweed and McSkimming do at the back for Dundee. Neither could they do what he does. They are there for their commitment and their tackling abilities in a Dundee team based on a passing game, and this requires a large amount of skill. Without the likes of these 2 guys (and Barry Smith) the visionary players in midfield and up front would be unable to do their stuff.

I didn't see Tweed last season as I worked on Saturdays but what I've seen so far this season, he is not letting Dundee down. 3 goals against in 6 league matches proves this point. As Boab said he does daft things, maybe twice in a match, but give the guy a break. The Scots players are adjusting to a style of play they probably haven't been allowed to perform since they were kids.

Scots football has suffered for so long from the attitude that our young players have to learn to clear the stand with a huge punt out of the park when danger threatens.In the 80's and 90's true talent was stifled as teams worried about relegation in a 10 team league.

I have gone on about the Largs Phenomenon on other pages, I won't waste space on it here. But I have ran kids teams and I have seen geniuses turned to workhorses the minute they become professionals when a lot of their true skill is held back at the instructions of Management. Results became more important than entertainment!

Now with so many foreign players coming in the tide is slowly being turned and we have seen at Dens our own Scots players trying, very successfully in my opinion, to play a continental passing game, and this can only be good for the game.

Give Steve Tweed a chance. He must be aware of how he's rated by his own fans and it must be nerve racking for him.

I'm behind Boab on this one. Support the whole team, not just part of it.

If you have a view point please add it to my "Mail Me" link below. In the "Title Box" put Tweed Debate

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