Well? Do you think there's a relatively good chance of promotion this season? What is the starting XI looking like?

A helluva lot of work required before that will happen...

Plus...the addition of a striker with a bit of physical presence might also help a lot.

I agree with Johnboy , I cant see us going up as our new signings are very inexperienced and lightweight .

Cannot see us bringing in any more players, indeed talk now is of loaning a couple out.

Butcher already has a striker with a bit of physical presence he's reinvented Foran in that roll.

We have to believe. We have as good a chance as any and more than most. The games against Scumdee will be crucial but more than likely the games against the smaller sides will be the ones that let us down. Until it is mathematically impossible for us to win the league I shall keep the faith and believe we shall do it.

We gotta great chance. It will be all about form. If we get of to the regular slow start that we usually endure then we can forget about the league but if we get off to a good start and keep key players fit then we can do it.

Foran is a decent physical striker so i wouldn't be to worried about that. I agree with Hearach it will be against the wee teams because we always seem to take our foot of the gas when it comes to playing slightly lesser oppostion so we need to make sure that dosen't happen.

Still worried about that central midfield. A choice of the old heads of Duncan and McBain (probably as def mid) and Cox or some other young gun. Aside from that, looking good!

Is Foran not due a scan on his knee, with the possibility of him being out for a few weeks dependant on what the scan shows? :dunno:

Is Foran not due a scan on his knee, with the possibility of him being out for a few weeks dependant on what the scan shows? <_<

He's suspend for a few game :( !

I think the team will miss him!

He's suspend for a few game <_< !

Is he?

No, no, no. Would be delighted to have this thrust back in my face next May, but no.

How can you write us off like that, before a ball is kicked?

Personally, I think it's between us and Dundee..

I actually think we have a stronger squad than last year.

As do i.

I love the effort we have put in with trialists and so forth.

I think alot will be down to how we do in our first 5 or 6 games....if we are in the top 3, then i reckon the race is on.

I said I BELIEVE that we wouldnt get beat by Falirk, but ill say I BELIEVE that we will win the 1st Division and have more belief in it.

He's suspend for a few game <_< !

Is he?

yea :(

I thinks Its only a game though :)

honestly believe this season will be better viewing for the majority of supporters,not at a lot between all clubs in the division, every game will be there to be won unlike the spl where most of the time we were playing not to lose the game instead of actually going out to win.i think with our manager now having is own players on board and the chance that he might be able to give the young players at our club a chance to play in this division which would have never have happened in the spl can only be good for the club as a whole.we will be up there for promotion at the end of the season along with a few others, but to get back to the top division we all need to all stick together and support the manager and the players

How can you write us off like that, before a ball is kicked?

Personally, I think it's between us and Dundee..

I actually think we have a stronger squad than last year.

Hi K. I know how negative I sound, but it's based on a few factors.

First: of all the sides likely to be challenging this season, we know less about our opponents than any of the others. True, they don't know us well either, but I don't think we necessarily have the quality to surprise them.

Second: although I was impressed by Cox in particular against Utd, I think the midfield will miss Ian Black badly, and I think the sale of Iain Vigurs was also a mistake. This means we will either be relying on a midfield that is almost enitirely new forming an understanding quickly, or else we will be relying on two of our less effective players from last season - Duncan and McBain.

Third: the defence is still a concern. Bulivitis looked strong against Utd, but Lionel is questionable defensively and Grant Munro has not performed as well as he is capable of since Darren Dods left the club. It will, understandably, take him time to form a partnership with Bulivitis, and I don't believe TB is right in thinking that Tokely is an adequate replacement in central defence.

Fourth: how quickly will we find the best partner for Foran up front? From what I saw last season, Odihambo is the most skilful striker we have; yet Rooney was our highest scorer last season; and yet, Barrowman has the best overall record as a striker in Scottish football among our players. If we start the season badly, to what extent does TB keep faith with his original choice and to what extent does he mix and match?

Fifth and finally: it might sound like superstition, but the fact is that no team has come straight back up after relegation since Hibs almost 10 years ago. Why should we be any different? History suggests that the players in any team need at least a season to reacclimatise to the new environment when they are relegated to Div 1 and I don't think we have the quality to buck that trend.

Anyway K, having written all that, I think you might be absolutely right about us having a stronger squad than last year - I just feel that it may take more than one season in the SFL for the squad to realise its potential. And purely selfishly, as a supporter that goes primarily to away games, I'll happily take a couple of seasons in the first to break up the monotony of going back to the SPL grounds.

Cannot see us bringing in any more players, indeed talk now is of loaning a couple out.

Butcher already has a striker with a bit of physical presence he's reinvented Foran in that roll.

shame he never runs for anything <_<

Yes we will go straight back. The new boys will do the business.

I BELIEVE

Yes we've a better chance than most B)

Perhaps is the word that springs to minds here. But when it all comes down to it, the team that takes their chances, finds a balance of what suits that and has a bit of luck will succeed in the end. There's no doubt ICT probably have one of the best squads in theleague but I feel a deep factor could how they fare in the last few minutes of every game, espcially with a close scoreline. Time and again ICT have suffered from late goals that have cost them dearly and I reckon that could once again be the difference between promotion and non promotion next season.

Dundee being the favourites for the league means all of the pressure is on them which wlll, I believe, work in our favour. I hope we can do it - we NEED to get off to a great start on Saturday. The pars at home will be a very challenging game though. Over the course of the season we need to win at home and at least draw away - as st j did last season. No mean feat though as our home record is poor. I just hope that teams coming up will be affected with the long journeys. I can't imagine many clubs in the first having the resources to stay in the night before in Inverness (unless Dundee can afford to).

Edited August 3, 200916 yr by Top Six Next Year

He's suspend for a few game :P !

Is he?

yea :P

I thinks Its only a game though ;)

How can you write us off like that, before a ball is kicked?

Personally, I think it's between us and Dundee..

I actually think we have a stronger squad than last year.

Could not agree more. We are looking stronger than last year. Just looking at our team and the other teams in our league we look far superior. We have better players, a vital mix of young and experianced players. Also, lastly, we have players that are both new to Scottish football and could intoduce some flair to our game but also players who have got both SPL and SFL experiance such as Duncan, Tokely, Lionel, Munro, McBain.

Just looking at our team and the other teams in our league we look far superior.

That's the kind of arrogance you'd expect from an OF fan.

We have better players, a vital mix of young and experianced players. Also, lastly, we have players that are both new to Scottish football and could intoduce some flair to our game but also players who have got both SPL and SFL experiance

This paragraph could be applied to Dunfermline, Dundee, QotS, Ross County and so on so I fail to see why we are radically different. The "Having better players" is highly debateable.

I think a lot of our fans are going to be in for a real shock this season.

Just looking at our team and the other teams in our league we look far superior.

That's the kind of arrogance you'd expect from an OF fan.

We have better players, a vital mix of young and experianced players. Also, lastly, we have players that are both new to Scottish football and could intoduce some flair to our game but also players who have got both SPL and SFL experiance

This paragraph could be applied to Dunfermline, Dundee, QotS, Ross County and so on so I fail to see why we are radically different. The "Having better players" is highly debateable.

I think a lot of our fans are going to be in for a real shock this season.

In fairness it really couldnt. County and QotS havnt played in the SPL and all the players they have that did are not up to the standerds of ours. Dunfermline have a good team but looking at the two i tink we have better and obviously Dundee will be our biggest challange but they do not have the same SPL experiance in their team as we do.

In fairness it really couldnt. County and QotS havnt played in the SPL and all the players they have that did are not up to the standerds of ours. Dunfermline have a good team but looking at the two i tink we have better and obviously Dundee will be our biggest challange but they do not have the same SPL experiance in their team as we do.

Your points were as follows:

• We have better players
  

Highly questionable if we do in fact have better players, especially compared to Dundees squad. Their forward line for example is the kind you assemble in a game of Football Manager (except it's for SFL1). Whilst I am not writing our lads off I am realistic to know that "we have better players" is simply not true.

• a vital mix of young and experianced players
  

I think you'll find pretty much every team has this in SFL1. How exactly this sets us apart from the other sides and makes us better I don't really know. Would be interested in finding out though.

• we have players that are both new to Scottish football and could intoduce some flair to our game
  

That's good. I'm sure supporters of SFL clubs will tell you all about the number of "flair players" this division and how well they do :( There are also plenty of players who are new to Scottish football who are going to be facing us next season for other clubs so this point can be applied to others also no?

• also players who have got both SPL and SFL experiance
  

As with the majority of your points this can be applied to plenty of other teams in our league. What makes our ones so special? What players in our squad have significantly more SPL experience than other teams players? Munro? Tokely? Rooney? Barrowman? SPL experience can be a positive thing to have within the squad, depending how you look at it. Dundee have just as much SPL experience as we do.

I can see your insular bubble bursting in big style over the course of the forthcoming season. My main point is that everything you say that supposedly sets us aside from other teams in our quest to win the title can in fact be applied to just about any other SFL1 club and can certainly be applied to those expected to challenge for the title this year.

I think we will be up there, I think we will challenge and give it a good go but over the course of the season I still think Dundee have too much in their locker and they can improve their team again if they need to due to their cash reserves if things aren't going quite the way they want. That said, maybe the tag of favourties will be a hinderance to them. Let's hope so.