| Club: | Dundee United |
| Season: | 1998–99 |
| Manager: | Tommy McLean (until 5 September 1998) Paul Sturrock (from 5 September 1998) |
| Chairman: | Jim McLean |
| League: | Scottish Premier League |
| League Result: | 9th W:8 D:10 L:18 F:37 A:48 P:34 |
| Cup1: | Tennent's Scottish Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Semi-finals |
| Cup2 Result: | Third round |
| League Topscorer: | Billy Dodds (16) |
| Season Topscorer: | Billy Dodds (17) |
| Highest Attendance: | 12,788 (vs Rangers, (12 September 1998) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 6,449 (vs Dunfermline, (23 September 1998) |
| Prevseason: | 1997–98 |
| Nextseason: | 1999–00 |
United finished the 1998–99 SPL season in 9th place with 34 points, in the SPL's debut season.
The cup campaigns brought mixed fortunes: a League Cup 3rd round exit to Ross County was bettered by a Scottish Cup semi-final loss to Celtic.
See main article: 1998–99 Scottish Premier League.
See main article: 1998–99 Scottish Cup.
See main article: 1998–99 Scottish League Cup.
During the 1998–99 season, United used 35 different players comprising 11 nationalities, plus two unused substitutes. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[1] |}
United had 17 players score with the team scoring 47 goals in total. The top goalscorer was Billy Dodds, who finished the season with 17 goals.[1]
| Name | League | Cups | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1 | 17 | ||
| 7 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 |
During the 1998–99 season, four United players were sent off and 23 players received at least one caution. In total, the team received four red cards and x yellows.[1]
| Name | Cautions | Dismissals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | ||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 |
Seventeen players were signed during the 1998–99 season, with a total (public) transfer cost of over £1.75m. One loan signing was also made during the season.
The players that joined Dundee United during the 1998–99 season, along with their previous club, are listed below.
| Date | Player | From | Fee (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 June 1998 | Bosman[2] | |||
| 1 July 1998 | Free[3] | |||
| 9 July 1998 | Free | |||
| 10 July 1998 | Bosman[4] | |||
| 15 July 1998 |  | £0,150,000 | ||
| 31 July 1998 |  | Free | ||
| 31 July 1998 |  | Unattached | Free | |
| 6 August 1998 | | Bosman | ||
| 23 September 1998 | Swap | |||
| 12 October 1998 |  | £0,400,000 | ||
| 16 October 1998 | £0,600,000 | |||
| 5 February 1999 | £0,300,000 | |||
| 11 February 1999 | Free | |||
| 26 February 1999 | £0,300,000 | |||
| 11 March 1999 | £0,040,000 | |||
| 29 March 1999 |  | £0,050,000 | ||
| 1 April 1999 | Free |
Fourteen players left the club during and at the end of the 1998–99 season, with one player also going out on loan. The club received £900k in transfer fees, amounting to around half of the transfer expenditure.
Listed below are the players that left during the season, along with the club that they joined. Players did not necessarily join their next club immediately.
| Date | Player | From | Fee (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 1998 | | Released | Free | |
| 23 September 1998 | £0,700,000 | |||
| 10 October 1998 | Bosman | |||
| 16 October 1998 | Free | |||
| 22 October 1998 | | £0,100,000 | ||
| 5 November 1998 | Released | |||
| 1 February 1998 | Released | |||
| 26 February 1999 | Swap | |||
| 25 March 1999 | £0,100,000 | |||
| 2 June 1999 | Released[6] | |||
| 11 June 1999 | Released[7] | |||
| 18 June 1999 |  | Released[8] | ||
| 23 June 1999 | Released[9] | |||
| 30 June 1999 | Released[10] |
The jerseys were sponsored for a third time by Telewest.