Over the weekend, John McGinn patiently explaining to a bemused Ollie Watkins the outlook many Scotland supporters have towards the England football team racked up views and sparked debate about the nature of the Scotland-England footballing rivalry. To what extent can a rivalry exist if one side cares more deeply than the other – or, in fact, has its own, alternative rivalries to focus on? Is there a point at which it can almost be willed into existence against the wishes of (in this case) Ollie Watkins, given the level of antipathy shown?
These questions dog rivalries up and down the land. Partick Thistle fans no doubt care far more about their results against Rangers and Celtic than supporters of the Glasgow giants do, and the Motherwell-Hamilton-Airdrie nexus is a fascinating case study of how relative league performance can shift derby priorities across generations. In Dundee’s case, the slightly tiresome aggressor demanding to be taken seriously as a rival is St Johnstone Football Club.
There’s no doubt who has had the better last decade or two. St Johnstone have qualified repeatedly for Europe, picking up two Scottish Cups and a League Cup in the process along with countless top-six finishes. Until the last couple of years, relegation has been an afterthought for the Perth side since Gordon Brown was Prime Minister. When compared to our yo-yoing between the top two tiers, financial difficulties and cup woes, it’s clear which support has surely been the happier campers this century.
Dundee United’s long-term impersonation of a bin fire has perhaps convinced some St Johnstone fans that we are in the market for a new derby, and nothing is more certain than the ostentatious use of the phrase “Tayside derby” in the lead-up to a clash between the pair. This has become what the kids call a “bit” on social media, with many on both sides participating in an endless, dreary debate over why it either is or isn’t a derby. The mere engagement of Dundee fans on this topic has – correctly – been paraded as a win by our light blue correspondents 25 miles west, not least because insisting that you are absolutely not bothered by something almost always suggests the contrary.
Ironically, this persistence from the Fair City has paid off, and most Dundee fans are now very keen to see a victory on Saturday for more than the three points on offer. In some ways, of course, this is revisiting old history. Many older fans of both Dundee and United speak of attending Dens one week and Tannadice the next, such was the gulf between the two at the time, rendering the derby between the two Dundee clubs to be only occasional. On the other hand, St Johnstone were, like Dundee, usually in the top tier, most notably in 1962 when Dundee simultaneously secured the league and relegated the Perth outfit on the final day of the season at Muirton Park. Given some Dundee derby results in the modern era, perhaps we’re barking up the wrong tree…
