Dundee United

We asked for your thoughts on striker Nikolaj Moller being sold to Norwegians Sandefjord after just six months at Dundee United.

Here's what some of you said:

Bruce: Quick turnaround for a player who hasn't offered anything different for the team. The speculated six-figure fee we get for a player who cost nothing coming to Tannadice is very puzzling.

Lee: At the end of the day he just wasn't good enough. I get the feeling we didn't even see the guy play in person. But the same could be said for a few of our other signings last summer. Too many players signed on stats alone.

Jim: As this now seems to be United's business plan it's great money for a player who hasn't exactly been prolific with one goal. We still have Zac Sapsford, Max Watters and Owen Stirton along with a few midfielders with an eye for a goal. However, if Jim Goodwin doesn't finally get his formation right we're right into the relegation battle.

Peter: Tidy bit of business for a player who signed for free and had not made an impact in the first team. As a club, this is what we have to do. Don't expect his loss to be felt.

Calum: The reported £700k for Moller represents great business for a player signed for free who has only ever been on the fringes of the starting XI. The only worry is that it leaves us light up top outside the transfer window. Any injuries to the remaining three forwards could be a problem.

David: Perhaps if he was managed better he would have been a good player. He has made the right decision to move on and get the support he needs.

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• Falkirk have dropped a league-low two points from winning positions in the Scottish Premiership this season, while conversely Dundee United have recovered a league-high 10 points from losing positions.

• Dundee United have lost their past four league games, last losing five in a row in the top flight in May 2023.

• Falkirk have won their past two league games and could win three in a row in the top flight for the first time since January 2008 (four).

• After their 3-1 win over Livingston in December, Dundee United could win back-to-back Scottish Premiership matches against newly-promoted opponents for the first time since May 2015.

• Falkirk have won none of their past four top-flight home games against Dundee United (D2 L2), after having won four in a row before this run.

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Former Aberdeen, Hibs and Dundee United midfielder Fraser Fyvie has announced his retirement at the age of 32.

Fyvie, a Scottish Cup winner with Hibs and FA Cup winner with Wigan Athletic, has been at Cove Rangers since 2019 and has League 2 and League 1 title medals in his time at the club.

However, he has decided to draw a line under his professional career after long spells in the treatment room.

Cove said "the cumulative impact of these injuries has made recovery after matches increasingly challenging".

Fyvie told the club's YouTube channel: "I've been mulling it over for the last six months due to getting injured again and doing my right knee.

"It's not something that's come as a quick decision, I've taken some time to think about it.

"I want to be able to walk off the pitch with my head held high and say I've given everything to this game - rather than being stretchered off and forced to stop."

The ex-Scotland Under-21 cap began his career at Aberdeen before making the move to Wigan in 2012, helping the Latics to FA Cup success in his debut season.

He returned north to join Hibs in 2015 and played in the 2016 Scottish Cup final triumph over Rangers, winning the Championship with the Easter Road side a year later.

He then spent two years as a Dundee United player before joining Cove.

Dundee United banked a six-figure sum when they sold striker Nikolaj Moller to Norwegian top-flight club Sandefjord on Thursday after just six months at Tannadice. (The Courier), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Just six months after his arrival at Tannadice, Dundee United have sold striker Nikolaj Moller to Norwegian club Sandefjord.

The 23-year-old started just seven games for United and scored one goal in those outings.

United fans, what do you make of Moller's departure? Were the club right to sell him? Do United have enough attacking options to get them through the rest of the season?

Have your say on Moller's departure.

Dundee United have agreed a fee of around £700,000 to sell 23-year-old forward Nikolaj Moller to Sandefjord, with the Scottish Premiership club making an instant profit on a player they signed for nothing from Swiss club St Gallen in the summer. (Daily Record), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Tayside and the north east of Scotland have been absolutely battered by the weather for what seems like an eternity.

I am well placed to comment living in Aberdeen - a city that has been on the wrong end of the elements for several months now.

So it has come as no surprise to me that tonight's Dundee United v Aberdeen game has been postponed.

Yes, we can talk about drainage measures, but is the harsh reality not simply the fact pitches can only withstand so much before they simply can't cope?

Both teams are now facing pretty hectic schedules as they play catch-up in terms of fixtures.

United's Scottish Cup tie at Tannadice with Spartans last Saturday was called off and has been rearranged for next week.

Having also seen a league visit of St Mirren fall foul of the weather recently, they now have two league games to fit in over the coming weeks.

From a purely football point of view, the United squad will be tested as the games – eventually – come thick and fast.

Consistency has been a problem for Jim Goodwin's squad this term. But perhaps the enforced break could actually be a good thing in that United should certainly be fresh as they bid to finally put a string of positive results together.

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Rarely, in a 3-0 defeat, is your goalkeeper also your best player. Yet in Dundee United's recent loss to Hearts, that may well have been the case.

Factor in that Ashley Maynard-Brewer was making his debut, and hadn't played a game since August, and the story becomes more surprising.

"When I spoke to the manager and the goalie coach [Paul Mathers], the intention was to come here and play – it was a show of faith from the manager for me to come straight into that Hearts game," Maynard-Brewer said.

"It's definitely been an eventful few weeks, but I think it's helped just coming straight into games and being part of the team.

"I wanted my debut to be a positive result and a positive performance, but we found ourselves two goals down with 10 men quite early on and that was pretty tough."

The Australian, who previously featured in the Premiership while on loan at Ross County, arrived in January from Charlton on a six-month deal.

The 26-year-old was promoted to the Championship with the Addicks last year but found playing time almost impossible to come by in the first half of the campaign.

"But personally, after not playing for a while, it was just about controlling what I could control and looking at my performance," the keeper said. "Then the Hibs game was, I thought as a team, we performed really well.

"There were definitely some positives to take from that performance, it was just frustrating to concede two set-piece goals late on.

"The training standards have been really high and the performance at Hibs, I thought we definitely deserved something. A positive result against Aberdeen would just get us back on track."

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Dundee United are without the suspended Amar Fatah and Pan Camara but midfielder Emmanuel Agyei is in contention for a debut.

Vicko Sevelj (groin) remains out with long-term absentee Isaac Pappoe (knee).

Aberdeen defender Jack Milne is suspended but Gavin Molloy should be in the squad after recovering from a knee problem.

Afeez Aremu, Dennis Geiger and Tom McIntyre are still waiting to make their debuts. Mats Knoester (concussion), Kristers Tobers (knee) and Nick Suman (ankle) remain out.

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• Only Rangers have made more starting XI changes (77) and used more players (33) than Aberdeen (74 changes, 32 players) in the Scottish Premiership this season. Despite this, only two sides (Motherwell nine, Dundee United 10) have had fewer different scorers (excluding own goals) than the Dons (11).

• Dundee United are unbeaten in five Scottish Premiership meetings with Aberdeen (W3 D2), last going longer without a league defeat to them in November 1999 (seven).

• Aberdeen have lost six of their past seven league visits to Tannadice, including the latest three in a row, since a 3-1 win in March 2023. The Dons last lost four league games away to Dundee United in a row in November 2008.

• Dundee United have lost their past four league games, the longest ongoing run in this season's Premiership. They last lost five in a row in the top flight in May 2023.

• Aberdeen have won just one and lost six of their past eight league matches (D1), losing their latest five in a row away from home.

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For fans of Aberdeen, Dundee United, Falkirk, Motherwell, and St Mirren, the Scottish Cup draw went about as well as it could have done.

They all avoided the Old Firm at the quarter-final stage and, while games against Falkirk and Motherwell have been no easy feat this season, there is a real sense it could be anyone's year.

For fans of Rangers or Celtic, who face each other at Ibrox in the next round, a route to glory is also clear. Beat your biggest rivals in a one-off game, and you become favourites for the Cup.

"What I'm so excited about is the fact any Premiership team can win it," said Craig Telfer, podcast host and Stenhousemuir fan.

While his beloved Stenny side were beaten by their local rivals on Sunday night, he admitted: "Falkirk could actually see themselves winning. Aberdeen or Motherwell, whoever comes out that, can see themselves winning it.

"You've got a Celtic team that aren't particularly good, and while Rangers are getting better, they can be got at. This is wide open for any Premiership team to go and win it."

Dundee United have beaten Celtic this season, as have Motherwell, while St Mirren famously triumphed against them at Hampden in the League Cup final.

St Mirren and Motherwell have also taken points off Rangers, as have Falkirk and Dundee United.

It is only Aberdeen who have been beaten by the Old Firm at every opportunity, but memories of last year's Cup triumph over Celtic will spur them on.

"[As a non-Old Firm fan] you always want to see Rangers and Celtic drawing with each other as early as possible in the competition to knock them out," Telfer added.

"Once they're out, or it's just one of the Old Firm teams in there, every other team should be looking to win it."

Of course, Aberdeen and Motherwell are yet to meet after their fifth round tie was postponed, while Dundee United still have to avoid an upset against The Spartans.

And don't rule out Neil Lennon, who has won this competition eight times throughout his playing and managerial career, and his Dunfermline side.

• Craig Telfer was speaking on the Scottish Football Podcast, available here.

• St Mirren v Partick Thistle

• Falkirk v Dundee United or Spartans

• Rangers v Celtic

• Dunfermline Athletic v Aberdeen or Motherwell

All four last-eight ties are scheduled to be played on weekend of 7 March.

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin says "the Scottish Cup is massive now" as his side's chances of finishing in the Premiership top six are fading fast.

Eighth-place United's already-slim hopes took a further hit in midweek when they surrendered a late lead to lose 3-2 at Hibs.

That leaves Goodwin's side 11 points behind Falkirk in sixth with nine games until the split, although the Bairns have one match fewer left.

United host League 2 Spartans in the fifth round of the cup on Saturday and Goodwin said: "Had we won and Falkirk not, then we were right back in the hunt for the top six.

"Of course, mathematically it's still possible, but it's become extremely difficult now. We'll not stop trying. We'll keep fighting right to the end, but we need to win a considerable amount of the last nine games before the split.

"We are relying on other teams having horrendous runs, which doesn't look like it's going to happen.

"The Scottish Cup is massive now. We owe it to our supporters on Saturday to put on a performance, to keep a clean sheet, to score lots of goals and to make sure we get ourselves into the quarter-finals."

Spartans are top of League 2 and beat third-tier Inverness CT on penalties in the last round.

"We've got to pick ourselves up pretty quickly now because we've got a huge game coming up on Saturday," Goodwin added.

"That's no gimme. That's against a team that's flying high in their own league. They've got nothing to lose coming to Tannadice.

"My boys need to show a real bit of character, a bit of grit and a bit of determination to make sure we get the result we need to go and put our name in the hat for the quarter-final."

Set-pieces again proved Dundee United's "Achilles heel" as they succumbed to a late defeat at Hibs for a fourth straight league loss.

Leading 2-1 at Easter Road after 88 minutes, a Ross Graham own goal and Ante Suto header - both from Nicky Cadden free-kicks - left United crestfallen.

Former Tannadice midfielder Scott Allan said on Sportscene there was a "lot to like" about United's performance before their set-piece vulnerabilities again surfaced.

Little wonder Jim Goodwin described his side's defending in the late collapse as "pathetic".

To rub salt in the wounds, United have lost 18 points from winning positions this season - the most of any Premiership team - and their 15 goals conceded from set-pieces is lower than only bottom club Livingston's 21.

Also, United have scored a league-high four own goals - 10% of their total strikes conceded.

We asked for your thoughts after Dundee United conceded a stoppage time goal to lose 3-2 at Hibernian.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Ross: Defeat from the jaws of victory... again. A performance that deserved something yet gained nothing. Great to see the amazing effort the players put in, particularly in the second half but ultimately it got them nothing. The inability to defend a set-piece has cost United dear this season and cannot continue. The gaffer said as much in his post-match interview, but this may cost him the ultimate sacrifice. Fan fury awaits.

Richard: Relegation battle incoming, and something needs to change. Time for manager to go!

Robert: Surely the powers that be have to be really concerned about United's demise, and it's down to the manager. Unless something is done now we will be scrapping for survival as I can't see where our next league win will be. We're playing at a very poor standard and it's down to Jim Goodwin. Time's up.

Ian: We find new ways of losing games. Zero fight in this team. Opponents were there for beating and we manage to not even get a point. Destination relegation play-off.

George: Another three gifts to the opposition. We can't continue to give away goals like this, it's been the story of the season. Whether down to system or players can be argued but something has to change and fast. Maybe it's time for Jim to step up and admit the back three isn't working and at least try something different. Persist and the opposition know they can get at us and await our mistakes to get their goals.

Dave: Early on I felt Hibs would only score from a United mistake. Step forward Krisztian Keresztes right on cue! Going into the last five minutes you have to question the players' mentality to give away several free-kicks around our penalty area. Instead of having a dominant personality like Declan (don't mess with me) Gallagher in the middle of the defence we have Ross (I'll comb my hair differently) Graham as our captain no less. He is not up to the job and does not inspire any bite or aggression.

Watch all the highlights as Hibs scored a late winner to beat Dundee United 3-2 in the Scottish Premiership. (Available to UK users only)

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "It's a cruel game at times - but we get what we deserve in the end because we don't defend our box properly. It's been the story of the season pretty much.

"Tonight is the seventh or eighth time we've been in leading positions and thrown away points. It's five or six times we've conceded three goals. We can't have a defensive record like that and be succesful.

"You can't go into games needing to score two or three to win. The bizarre thing about tonight is it's the best we've played for six or seven weeks.

"But nobody wants to hear me talking about how well we performed given the way we capitulated at the end. I'm trying hard at the moment to bite my tongue.

"I don't want to be one of those managers that throws players under the bus but it's very, very hard for me to accept what went on there.

"You have to stand up and be counted and take pride in defending your goal. The second one, how can it drop a yard from our line without any of my defenders making an attempt to go and get a head on it?

"It's just such a sore, sore defeat for us."

The United boss adds he is "embarassed" and "angry" at the "pathetic" nature of the goals they conceded.

Hibernian debutant Ante Suto scored a brilliant header in stoppage time to complete a dramatic comeback win against Dundee United, whose Scottish Premiership top-six hopes were dealt a severe blow.

Have your say.

We asked for your thoughts on Dundee United's business in the January transfer window.

Here's what some of you said:

Kieran: First and foremost the club addressed the elephant in the room - goalkeeping. On first sight against Hearts, Ashley Maynard-Brewer looks like the commanding and competent goalie we have been screaming for. If he keeps it up we would be foolish not to pursue a longer term contract in the summer. The other two signings we will see what may come. On paper they sound decent but actions speak louder than words.

George: Let's hope these signings last longer than some previous ones. Players bought or loaned in haven't lasted for more than months before being moved on or released. Signing based on stats in the current league doesn't mean they are good enough for Scottish football. I'll keep my fingers crossed but feel promoting our young players, rather than selling them, would have been a better option based on the last two seasons.

Malcolm: January never a good window for buying, folk are shouting for a striker but richer clubs than us have struggled for that.

Paul: No disrespect to any of the new signings but it's difficult to be optimistic when the manager continues to play a system that he does not have the players for. The signings could be good players however it is unrealistic to imagine they will turn United around as long as the system remains in place. Simply put, either the system or the manager has to go. Unfortunately Jim Goodwin won't change and Mark Ogren won't act as he has little interest. United will continue on a downward spiral.

Stuart: Really poor window. We are in a relegation scrap and teams like Kilmarnock have strengthened. Goodwin is too negative with his tactics and the football is terrible to watch. Very little creativity and very predictable, the total opposite from the first few games of the season.

Marc: I don't think the business done during the transfer window is the biggest concern, it's the mismanagement of players, constantly chopping and changing line ups and not looking anywhere near fit enough.