hislopsoffsideagain

I was lucky enough to be involved with the media team pre-covid when we did the audio commentary for games; during Covid Andy, who ran the operation, did a test run of broadcasting a game against Dundee on a live stream which was successful (I was doing commentary for the test and I even got to look at replays on a monitor to my left!). But of course Scot Gardiner knew better and insisted on Pixellot and his own commentator. I haven't spoken to Andy for a long while but I think he took a step away from things some time back? If the club got him back involved and just let him do his thing he'd put together a package as good as any other club at this level is putting out.

Before we get on to anything else, I'd like to point out that I got huge stick last season for predicting Dundee would come tenth. Just saying, like. What do you mean, even a stopped clock is right twice a day? Anyway... In recent years, my Premiership season preview has tended to follow a pattern: first we have The Cheeks Of The Glasgow a***, then we look at the three clubs whose budgets should -but often don't - put them comfortably clear of the rest, and then the other seven who could all potentially charge into the top six, and who could also potentially slump into a relegation battle. So starting at the top, the question is whether the fact that RANGERS now appear to have some sort of plan going forward might actually lead to a title challenge. I'm the sort of football hipster who likes what Russell Martin wants to do with his team and the passing out from the back should help to break down the low blocks they'll face most weeks. I'm also impressed by their use of the loan market, getting in good short-term defensive fixes in Nasser Djiga and Max Aarons as well as exciting young Spurs winger Mikey Moore. But they're going forward with the same, er, forwards as last season (though Hamza Igamane looks offski) and I think they need to find a real gem in that area if they are to overhaul their rivals. The gap to CELTIC should be smaller this season though, even if Brendan Rodgers does finally get to spend some of the hundred trillion dollars or so that the club are choosing to hide away for a rainy day that never comes. The main concern is out wide where Nicolas Kuhn has been sold and Jota is out long term. If new boy Benjamin Nygren is to play in midfield that actually seems to leave them a bit overloaded in that area - one of Nygren, Reo Hatate and Arne Engels would have to be on the bench every week - but they look so much stronger defensively than Rangers and if Kieran Tierney stays fit then they have upgraded from Greg Taylor at left-back. I do expect a title race this year, but I also still expect Celtic will win it. There is of course no way that anyone else will be in the top two - whatever Tony Bloom claims about his investment at Tynecastle - but the next three places should be ABERDEEN, HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN and HIBERNIAN in some order. Of course in reality at least one of the trio will probably have a shocker - last year it was the Jambos, though Aberdeen's lousy form in the second half of the season (the Cup win excepting) and the added pressures of European football make them the most likely to have a mare this time around. New signings Nicolas Milanovic and Adil Aouchiche should boost the midfield and getting Alfie Dorrington back for another loan looks like a smart move; however they look weak up front with Pape Habib Gueye. Kevin Nisbet and Oday Dabbagh gone, and none of them were actually that brilliant in the first place. One feels they really need a splash move in that area. In contrast, Hibs were tremendous in the first half of 2025 and have spunked a million quid on Togo forward Thibault Klidje as they look to keep the momentum going. There are high hopes that this could be a breakout season for striker Kieron Bowie, while Jamie McGrath and Josh Mulligan will fit in well to a midfield that already has plenty of good options. This squad looks well built for exactly what manager David Gray wants to do - no mean feat given he's only been in the job a year - and they should absolutely fancy their chances of another third place finish. Expectations are also high on the other side of Edinburgh, what with Bloom's involvement and the arrival in the dugout of Derek McInnes. This should give Hearts a higher floor, and signings like Stuart Findlay and Claudio Braga, along with the retention of Lawrence Shankland, should certainly make them candidates for the final podium place. However it is simply not realistic to think they can do any more than that without a much bigger splurge in the transfer market - and at the moment the priority is to trim a squad that looks a bit bloated. As for the other seven, you could maybe pick a name out of a hat for who will grab a top six spot. DUNDEE UNITED would seem to be the obvious choice following their fourth place finish but Jim Goodwin has moved on a lot of the squad that won promotion in 2023/24 and brought in eleven new players, none of whom are Scottish or have experience of Scottish football. There's certainly a chance they will take time to gel, and it's not entirely impossible it will all go badly wrong. A decent chunk of their recent success was down to loan striker Sam Dalby, and new attackers Zac Sapsford and Max Watters have a big hole to fill there. ST. MIRREN also look like a good bet simply because they managed it last time out. Stephen Robinson has lost some important players in Zach Hemming, Ryan Alebiosu, Richard Taylor, Caolan Boyd-Munce and Toyosi Olusanya but has been very busy with nine new signings plus permanent deals for Killian Phillips and Roland Idowu. Jamaican duo Richard King and Jalmaro Calvin look like low-risk, high-reward acquisitions and there are high hopes for Dutch winger Malik Dijksteel. The worry is that Jonah Ayunga and Mikael Mandron don't offer enough goals up top. MOTHERWELL feel like an unknown quantity under new boss Jens Berthel Askou, and he inherited a squad that had so many loan players last season that a high turnover was inevitable. They have spent a decent fee (by their standards) on winger Ibrahim Said and also brought in New Zealand international wideman Elijah Just. Well seem happy that front two Tawanda Maswanise and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos will push on, but it will be interesting to see what they do with the substantial funds incoming from the imminent sale of Lennon Miller. In contrast, it feels like we know exactly what we'll get from KILMARNOCK now that Stuart Kettlewell is in charge, and that's not necessarily a good thing. Killie were due a refresh and only ten players from last season's first team squad remain (with two of those, Robby McCrorie and Marley Watkins, potentially heading for the exit door). There are ten new signings but is there a lot of quality there? They need new strikers Marcus Dackers and Djenairo Daniels to hit the ground running and Scott Tiffoney to adequately replace Dan Armstrong. They also look short at the back after Corrie Ndaba and Joe Wright left. This could be a tough campaign and Kettlewell had better hope the home support are kinder than the fans at Fir Park were... Meanwhile, goodness knows what is happening at DUNDEE. Their shambolic defending last season nearly got them a relegation playoff and punting Tony Docherty at the end of it wasn't a crazy move...but replacing him with Steven Pressley was. A rubbish League Cup campaign has left him with very little credit in the bank and a rough start to the league season will put him under huge pressure very quickly. Given that multiple starters have left during the summer this was always going to be a hard ask, and I'm not convinced Simon Murray will score twenty goals in a season again. Newly promoted sides can often carry momentum into the next campaign, but I don't expect FALKIRK to do as well as Dundee United did last season. They've mostly stuck with the squad that got them promoted, and I'm not convinced that a lot of these players - who have either played in the lower leagues for years or who have failed to establish themselves in the top flight in the past - will make the step up successfully. There will be a heavy dependence on veterans Scott Arfield and Brian Graham to provide creativity and goals. In fact, I could see LIVINGSTON fairing better, even though - as I stated above with Dundee United - making a lot of signings comes with risk. Aside from captain Jamie Brandon (who joined Killie) I don't think anyone who left would have impressed in the Premiership, and whilst I'm not sure that Graham Carey and Stevie May have much to offer I think Mo Sylla and Macaulay Tait are particularly great additions. Importantly, it feels like Robbie Muirhead has finally matured into a quality striker and his contribution will be crucial. And at the other end Jerome Prior may well prove to be one of the best keepers in the country. So here's my (inevitably inaccurate) predicted table: 1. CELTIC 2. RANGERS3. HIBERNIAN4. HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN5. ABERDEEN6. ST. MIRREN 7. DUNDEE UNITED8. MOTHERWELL9. LIVINGSTON10. KILMARNOCK 11. FALKIRK 12. DUNDEE Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.View the full article

Ah, the mad, bad Scottish Championship, a place where teams who think they're too good for this level quickly learn to show respect after they've been scudded at Gayfield. There's a reason why clubs looking to get promoted fill their squad with players who are known to be good at this level, rather than ones who they think can do a job in the top flight. Thus ROSS COUNTY followed their relegation by quickly moving for Declan Gallagher and Ross Docherty, who formed the backbone of the Dundee United side that won the division in 2023/24, and Arran Lyall who was a decent winger for Morton last year. The two clear issues for County are up front - they will be a completely different proposition if/when talented striker Ronan Hale goes - and in the dugout, as Don Cowie is somewhat fortunate to still be in a job after the collapse at the end of last season. There's a clear move away from a back three to a team with wingers, and that midfield with Docherty and new signings Dean Cornelius, Jamie Lindsay and Adam Emslie looks suave, but an ageing Nicky Clark will not replace Hale's goals and Cowie better have learned some lessons. ST. JOHNSTONE's 'Championship experience signings' were more for depth - Morton centre-backs Jack Baird and Morgan Boyes, Accies full-back Reghan Tumilty, Raith forward Jamie Gullan - but it's their subsequent moves for Exeter defender Cheick Diabate and midfielders Reece McAlear from Livi and Stevie Mallan (who has been out of football with injury for 18 months) that catch the eye. Even if Uche Ikpeazu chooses to leave they will still be dangerous up top with Makenzie Kirk and Adama Sidibeh. Simo Valakari's tactics should, in theory, work better now they're expected to be on the front foot. As the best of the rest last time out, AYR UNITED will have designs on another promotion battle. Their most crucial signing may be Kevin Holt, who adds some nous and experience to the defence. Dom Thomas looks like a super acquistion too, and it'll be interesting to see how young Celtic loan duo Jude Bonnar and Kyle Ure do. They still have their choice of George Oakley, Curtis Main and (when fit again) Anton Dowds up top, but you feel like the team as a whole are still a level below the duo that have been relegated into this division. PARTICK THISTLE also made the playoffs last term but they've had a tumultuous off-season with budget cuts and a bit of a mess regarding appointing a new manager; Captain and talisman Brian Graham turned down the job and then left for Falkirk after they gave it to Mark Wilson. Wilson's managerial CV doesn't fill one with optimism and whilst Thistle still have Logan Chalmers and Robbie Crawford to provide creativity and a solid defence marshalled by Lee Ashcroft and Daniel O'Reilly, they have only one senior striker in veteran Tony Watt. Young midfielder Ts'oanelo Lets'osa might be a wildcard though after returning to Scotland from Belgium. RAITH ROVERS came fifth in 2024/25 after a late charge following Barry Robson's appointment as manager. Rebuffing a six-figure bid from rivals Dunfermline for star man Dylan Easton keeps the supporters sweet but only wing-back Jai Rowe and winger Paul McMullan (who doesn't really fit into their three-at-the-back system) look like reinforcements. Lewis Vaughan's fitness will always be key to their success, though Jack Hamilton is a solid alternative. Their season may depend on whether Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson can keep defying Father Time, and whether a proposed co-op agreement with Rangers works out for them. Eventually, Dougie Imrie's tactics will go stale, or for some other reason GREENOCK MORTON will slide away from mid-table. That's not to say it'll be this season though. It's not exactly ideal that they lost Baird, Boyes, Lyall or quality keeper Ryan Mullen, but they've picked up a new keeper in Jmaes Storer and defenders Kris Moore and Sonny Hart from down south. Crucially, they've kept Tomi Adeloye who will be good for goals as long as he doesn't get injured. All in all, Morton should be able to scrap sufficiently to avoid relegation again, but that seems to be their ceiling. DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC have far higher aspirations now that Neil Lennon is in charge. Having failed with their wild attempt to sign Easton, they have instead boosted their midfield with Charlie Gilmour from Inverness and the exciting Alfons Amade, who is a Mozambique international who previously played for Germany's under-20s. Rory MacLeod, who is still a teenager, feels like a high risk, high reward capture from Dundee United to compete with the oft-injured Chris Kane up top, and the emergence of brothers John and Andrew Tod (sons of Pars legend Andy) is fun to see. Remember the name Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen though; this is a central defender who should already be playing at a higher level. QUEEN'S PARK stank the place out in the last few months of last season and would surely have been relegated via the playoffs had Hamilton Accies not had their points deduction. They've had a nightmare offseason with massive cuts to their budget and a move to the woefully inadequate Lesser Hampden ground, so good luck to rookie manager Sean Crichton. If there is hope it is in the shape of Josh Fowler, their new forward who has joined from Dubai City (!) and was banging them in during the League Cup games. Most of their more talented and more experienced players have exited though and a squad mix of a few veterans, a lot of raw youths and some former Dumbarton players is likely to struggle...especially if the stuff off the park gets worse, as it may well do. If the Spiders were lucky to stay up, AIRDRIEONIANS were even luckier; the problems at Hamilton gave them a reprieve via the relegation playoffs and they need to try and build on that despite the loss of captain Adam Frizzell and striker Ben Wilson. However many of the new faces have a feel of being good League One players rather than Championship-quality, with ex-Accies trio Jamie Barjonas, Euan Henderson and Sean McGinty being particular examples. Up front they currently depend on converted midfielder Chris Mochrie to lead the line, and could really do with a decent striker as an alternative. And finally there's ARBROATH, the sole part-time team who, despite their recent history at this level, have to be tipped to be closer to the bottom than the top. They look pretty solid though, with Aaron Muirhead joining permanently after a loan spell to partner Tam O'Brien at the back and Harry Cochrane and Ross Callachan added to the midfield. They still look light up top though, as whichever of Gavin Reilly, Calum Gallagher and Nikolay Todorov starts up front is not likely to score many. It's worth noting that their best players of the second half of their promotion campaign were loanees Fraser Taylor and Sam Stanton, and they are of course gone. So here's my (inevitably wrong) predicted table: 1. ST. JOHNSTONE 2. ROSS COUNTY 3. DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC 4. AYR UNITED 5. RAITH ROVERS 6. GREENOCK MORTON 7. PARTICK THISTLE 8. AIRDRIEONIANS 9. ARBROATH 10. QUEEN'S PARK Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

For my annual League One reviews, I've tended to assume that full-time sides (the ones that are not financial basket-cases) are likely to beat out part-time ones over the course of a whole season. Of course Arbroath put that particular theory to shame last season, but I'm not going to let a small thing like that stop me. Of this season's four full-time League One teams, INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE are the bookies' favourites but start with a five point deduction courtesy of last season's administration adventure. Five points isn't a huge amount, but it's the equivalent of nearly two wins and may make this tougher than many think. Caley Thistle have also lost loanee striker Alfie Bavidge plus excellent keeper Musa Dibaga and midfielder Charlie Gilmour, though they've replaced the latter two adequately with Ross Munro and Joe Chalmers respectively. They also did well to retain Paul Allan and get Alfie Stewart back on loan. They unquestionably have the best midfield in the division and wingers Luis Longstaff and Liam Sole could have big years; however at the moment their starting attackers are Billy McKay (36) and David Wotherspoon (35). A new striker (or a Bavidge return) is required if they really are going to be the team to beat. QUEEN OF THE SOUTH finished last season strongly and so boss Peter Murphy has largely chosen to run it back, signing three loan players permanently. Jordan Allan and new striker Kurtis Guthrie (who played for Livingston in the top flight a few years back) should be a threatening pair and mitigate the exit of Adam Brooks. They've also used the loan market well to get St. Mirren defender Callum Penman and exciting Killie midfielder Cole Burke, while Kai Kennedy is hugely talented if he can stay fit. This looks like the best squad the Doonhamers have had in the last few seasons and could take them far. In contrast, COVE RANGERS went down a rebuild route; Paul Hartley has lost a number of players, including goalie Nick Suman and club legend Connor Scully, and is operating a very streamlined squad at the time of writing. There is plenty of quality in striker Mitch Megginson and midfielders Fraser Fyvie and Declan Glass but new keeper Robbie Mutch will be a downgrade from the terrific Suman (who joined Aberdeen) and the lack of depth - and, surprisingly, the lack of loan signings so far - will be a concern unless Hartley is very busy in the market in the next month. And then we come to the aforementioned basket-case. HAMILTON ACADEMICAL were relegated after a points deduction and now, having had to move to Cumbernauld for the season, they have been hit with a transfer embargo until next summer as well. Whilst they held on to a pretty solid core - including forwards Oli Shaw and Scott Robinson and midfielders Barry Maguire and Steven Bradley - they seem to only have around 13 senior players; just to add to the chaos, at least two veterans who had been kept on to join the coaching staff apparently can't be re-registered as players due to the embargo. They feel like the obvious answer to the question "Which Scottish club is most likely to end up in administration this season?". Which of the part-time clubs could emulate Arbroath's success? I'm not sure any jump out for me. PETERHEAD could well carry momentum from their League Two title triumph; guys like Craig McGuffie, Peter Pawlett and Cammy Smith have been round the block and Oliver Colloty really impressed up front after joining mid-season. Jack Newman should be a good signing in goal, though I'm not sure veteran forward Niall McGinn has much left to offer. It'll be strange seeing them without Rory McAllister up front though. The other promoted side, EAST FIFE, have only made one new signing at the time of writing - Lewis Latona on loan from Livingston - and it'll be a huge ask for 39 year old forward Alan Trouten to repeat last season's ridiculous goal tally. He and Nathan Austin should give them enough firepower but neither the defence nor midfield look of League One standard (as it stands, their only goalkeeper is youth product Matty Rollo, who made his debut in the League Cup groups). They need reinforcements if they are to show they belong here. STENHOUSEMUIR did remarkably well to make the promotion playoffs last season but admitted afterward that their finances had sailed rather too close to the wind for comfort. The exit of Blair Alston is probably a sign they are cutting their cloth. Striker Matty Yates has also gone (though his expected move to Accies fell through and he's still a free agent) and most of their signings are short-term ones to deal with an injury crisis. Finlay Gray looks like a great addition from Dumbarton and boosts a midfield area that is probably still a strength, and Gregor Buchanan and Ross Meechan provide experience at the back. However they look very unlikely to challenge for top four again. ALLOA ATHLETIC just missed out on that fourth spot and there was perhaps a feeling that Andy Graham's side underachieved a little last season. With the exception of loan keeper Liam McFarlane most of their newcomers feel like depth pieces though medical student midfielder Andy Clarke looks worth taking a punt on. They'll need McFarlane to prove an adequate replacement for PJ Morrison between the sticks, but otherwise the backbone of last season's team is still here and still looks strong. I don't think League Cup form holds much weight but the Wasps were very, very good in the group stage. Last season was quite a turbulent one for KELTY HEARTS, who lost manager Michael Tidser to Dunfermline and then endured a nightmare period under Charlie Mulgrew. Tam O'Ware took the reins after Mulgrew's exit and kept them out of a relegation playoff; he was rewarded with the gig permanently and has only retained nine players. If he can gel the newbies quickly, he could be rewarded; midfielders Innes Murray and Alex Ferguson look like particularly smart acquisitions. But top scorer Ross Cunningham is away and they're looking to former Stirling forward James Graham for goals. And finally MONTROSE are heading for their eighth consecutive season at this level, which is some job. It does seem to be getting gradually tougher for Stewart Petrie's side though. Keeping Kieran Freeman and Craig Wighton permanently after loan spells will help, and Ewan Loudon scored a lot of goals in the Highland League last season. And the defence, marshalled by 42 year old Sean Dillon, isn't short of experience. But they're another team who could do with bringing in a few loans if they are to avoid a relegation scrap. So here's my (inevitably wrong) predicted table: 1. QUEEN OF THE SOUTH 2. INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 3. COVE RANGERS 4. PETERHEAD 5. ALLOA ATHLETIC 6. KELTY HEARTS 7. STENHOUSEMUIR 8. MONTROSE 9. EAST FIFE 10. HAMILTON ACADEMICAL Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Lessons I've learned from the League Two previews I've done in the past (many of which have been extremely, spectacularly wrong): - Do not pay much attention to the League Cup group results. They tend not to be a good indicator of what's coming. - If there is a team that is pretty well bankrolled, put them near the top as they will either romp it or, if they don't, they will sack their manager and/or bring in loads of players in January and then romp it. - The weakest team right now is not actually all that likely to come bottom, as they will also sack their manager and/or bring in loads of players in January and then turn it around. The team that finishes bottom will probably be the seventh or eighth best right now, but will be overtaken by a few sides that panic sufficiently early to get out of danger. There is a little extra spanner in the works this year: DUMBARTON start with a five point penalty following their administration in League One last season. That doesn't sound like much, but a six point deduction was the difference between Bonnyrigg Rose staying up and going down last time out. It's a new beginning for the Sons, on the pitch as well as off; pretty much none of their best performers from last year remain and manager Stevie Farrell has had to mostly build a new team. While centre-backs Mark Durnan and Morgyn Neill give them a solid backbone, they will be heavily dependent on veterans Leighton McIntosh and Ally Roy for goals and probably need some of their many loan players to shine if they are going to avoid a fight at the bottom. I also fear for the other side relegated from League One, ANNAN ATHLETIC. Star striker Tommy Goss is set to leave after an alleged fallout with player-boss Wullie Gibson, while potential replacement Joel Mumbongo picked up a serious knee injury on his debut. Aidan Smith is probably good for double-figures and that will be crucial, while Paul McGowan and Paul Smith add a bit of midfield nous. I can see them starting badly, punting Gibson and then hauling themselves out of trouble but I'm not sure they have the budget to make wholesale changes if they are in danger. Having only avoided the relegation playoff via goal difference, FORFAR ATHLETIC need to improve, and while Lewis Martin and Jake Dolzanski should strengthen the defence their problem in recent years has very much been at the other end of the park. New boys Martin Rennie and Scott Shepherd will be relied on heavily for goals, and their ability to deliver will be the difference between them climbing the table and not. STRANRAER were always near the bottom last season and it could well be the same again for them. Manager Chris Aitken has turned over the squad (thirteen signings so far) but he's relying on a lot of lower league players to make the step up. He's done well to get winger James Dolan back after a year away studying in Spain, and signing defender Lewis Reid permanently from Queen's Park is actually a bit of a coup. Moving to the business end of the table, EAST KILBRIDE are the newly promoted side but are also the ones who could be described as 'bankrolled' so I'd make them favourites. They've considerably reinforced the team that won the Lowland League with Rhys Breen and Magnus MacKenzie added to the backline and Ouzy See joining the attack. John Robertson is a solid bet to be League Two's top scorer this season. Curiously EK signed two players and then punted them in a matter of days; one is striker Josh O'Connor (son of Scotland international Garry) who looks like quite the star signing for ELGIN CITY. Elgin made the promotion playoffs last season and have added keeper Tom Ritchie, defender Connall Ewan and midfielder Miko Virtanen as well which is not too shabby. They have lost the flair of Dujon Golding though. City's target will be to remain in that top four. EK also let Mouhamed Niang go and he should add a bit of steel to the CLYDE midfield. After a couple of seasons that go into the "bad start, sack manager, sign lots of players, turn it around" category they will look to continue their steady improvement under Darren Young. Guys like full-back Tommy Robson and striker Scott Williamson are probably better than this level and the Niang-Andy Murdoch pairing in the centre of the park is very strong. However captain Lee Hamilton left and they are banking on Sam Campbell, signed from East Stirling, making the step up to replace him in central defence. EDINBURGH CITY were probably 2024-25's surprise package with Michael McIndoe impressing as manager. Their weakness still seems to be their small squad and the resultant lack of depth. If they can avoid injuries they will be dangerous. Aside from keeping Malik Zaid permanently after a successful loan, McIndoe has had to dip into the lower leagues again to augment the squad (though that worked pretty well for them last year). They did struggle to replace Connor Young's goals after his January exit and have lost Ouzy See too, so they'll need Innes Lawson and James Stokes to continue to contribute heavily from midfield. As ever, THE SPARTANS resisted making wholesale changes as they go into their fourteenth season under Dougie Samuel. They've convinced Sean Welsh to drop down to League Two and kept defender Bailey Dall on a permanent deal. Crucially Blair Henderson and Cammy Russell are as reliable as any front pairing at this level and so they will have aspirations of finishing higher than last year's fifth spot. And finally STIRLING ALBION seemed to spend the entirety of last season in mid-table. They'll be hoping new attackers Ross Cunningham and Russell McLean can move them up, while they did well to attract defender Lee Hamilton from Clyde. However the bulk of the squad have been around for the last few seasons and it's possible that they have reached their ceiling under Alan Maybury. So my (inevitably wrong) predicted table: 1. EAST KILBRIDE 2. THE SPARTANS3. ELGIN CITY4. EDINBURGH CITY 5. CLYDE6. STIRLING ALBION7. FORFAR ATHLETIC8. STRANRAER9. DUMBARTON 10. ANNAN ATHLETIC Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.View the full article

Very, very pleasing news.

I'm getting later at doing this every year, so sorry about that. Still, traditions are traditions. And it's always a fun excuse to look back at the teams from the olden days. I can barely remember when Stephen Hughes was actually a thing... 2007/08: Allan McGregor (Rangers), Alan Hutton (Rangers), Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Lee Wilkie (Dundee United), Lee Naylor (Celtic), Barry Robson (Celtic), Stephen Hughes (Motherwell), Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Aiden McGeady (Celtic), Scott McDonald (Celtic), Steven Fletcher (Hibernian) 2008/09: Lukasz Zaluska (Dundee United), Andreas Hinkel (Celtic), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Lee Wilkie (Dundee United), Sasa Papac (Rangers), Scott Brown (Celtic), Bruno Aguiar (Hearts), Pedro Mendes (Rangers), Andrew Driver (Hearts), Scott McDonald (Celtic), Kris Boyd (Rangers) 2009/10: John Ruddy (Motherwell), Steven Whittaker (Rangers), David Weir (Rangers), Andy Webster (Dundee United), Sasa Papac (Rangers), Steven Davis (Rangers), Morgaro Gomis (Dundee United), James McArthur (Hamilton), Anthony Stokes (Hibernian), Kris Boyd (Rangers), David Goodwillie (Dundee United) 2010/11: Marian Kello (Hearts), Steven Whittaker (Rangers), Daniel Majstorovic (Celtic), Michael Duberry (St. Johnstone), Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic), Steven Naismith (Rangers), Beram Kayal (Celtic), Alexei Eremenko (Kilmarnock), David Templeton (Hearts), Nikica Jelavic (Rangers), David Goodwillie (Dundee United) 2011/12: Cammy Bell (Kilmarnock), Adam Matthews (Celtic), Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic), Paul Dixon (Dundee United), James Forrest (Celtic), Victor Wanyama (Celtic), Ian Black (Hearts), Dean Shiels (Kilmarnock), Jon Daly (Dundee United), Gary Hooper (Celtic) 2012/13: Fraser Forster (Celtic), Mihael Kovacevic (Ross County), Gary Warren (Inverness CT), Mark Reynolds (Aberdeen), Stevie Hammell (Motherwell), Victor Wanyama (Celtic), Nicky Law (Motherwell), Murray Davidson (St. Johnstone), Leigh Griffiths (Hibernian), Michael Higdon (Motherwell), Billy Mckay (Inverness CT) 2013/14: Jamie MacDonald (Hearts), Dave Mackay (St. Johnstone), Virgil Van Dijk (Celtic), Mark Reynolds (Aberdeen), Andrew Robertson (Dundee United), Scott Brown (Celtic), Stuart Armstrong (Dundee United), Peter Pawlett (Aberdeen), Kris Commons (Celtic), Kris Boyd (Kilmarnock), Stevie May (St. Johnstone) 2014/15: Craig Gordon (Celtic), Shay Logan (Aberdeen), Virgil Van Dijk (Celtic), Jason Denayer (Celtic), Graeme Shinnie (Inverness CT), Ryan Jack (Aberdeen), Greg Tansey (Inverness CT), Greg Stewart (Dundee), Stefan Johansen (Celtic), Gary Mackay-Steven (Dundee United/Celtic), Adam Rooney (Aberdeen) 2015/16: Jamie MacDonald (Kilmarnock), Callum Paterson (Hearts), Igor Rossi (Hearts), Andrew Davies (Ross County), Graeme Shinnie (Aberdeen), Nir Bitton (Celtic), Jackson Irvine (Ross County), Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen), Kenny McLean (Aberdeen), Marvin Johnson (Motherwell), Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) 2016/17: Joe Lewis (Aberdeen), Callum Paterson (Hearts), Jozo Simunovic (Celtic), Joe Shaughnessy (St. Johnstone), Kieran Tierney (Celtic), Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen), Stuart Armstrong (Celtic), Adam Barton (Partick Thistle), Scott Sinclair (Celtic), Moussa Dembele (Celtic), Liam Boyce (Ross County) 2017/18: Jon McLaughlin (Hearts), James Tavernier (Rangers), Scott McKenna (Aberdeen), Christophe Berra (Hearts), Kieran Tierney (Celtic), Scott Brown (Celtic), Dylan McGeouch (Hibernian), John McGinn (Hibernian), James Forrest (Celtic), Daniel Candeias (Rangers), Kris Boyd (Kilmarnock) 2018/19: Allan McGregor (Rangers), James Tavernier (Rangers), Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic), Craig Halkett (Livingston), Kieran Tierney (Celtic), Callum McGregor (Celtic), David Turnbull (Motherwell), James Forrest (Celtic), Ryan Christie (Celtic), Ryan Kent (Rangers), Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) 2019/20: Mark Gillespie (Motherwell), James Tavernier (Rangers), Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic), Jon Guthrie (Livingston), Borna Barisic (Rangers), James Forrest (Celtic), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Ali McCann (St. Johnstone), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Odsonne Edouard (Celtic), Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) 2020/21: Benjamin Siegrist (Dundee United), James Tavernier (Rangers), Conor Goldson (Rangers), Jason Kerr (St. Johnstone), Borna Barisic (Rangers), Steven Davis (Rangers), Ali McCann (St. Johnstone), Ryan Kent (Rangers), David Turnbull (Celtic), Martin Boyle (Hibernian), Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) 2021/22: Craig Gordon (Hearts), James Tavernier (Rangers), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Ryan Edwards (Dundee United), Stephen Kingsley (Hearts), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Joe Aribo (Rangers), Regan Charles-Cook (Ross County), Barrie McKay (Hearts), Jota (Celtic), Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) 2022/23: Trevor Carson (St. Mirren), James Tavernier (Rangers), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Conor Goldson (Rangers), Greg Taylor (Celtic), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Reo Hatate (Celtic), Jota (Celtic), Malik Tillman (Rangers), Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic), Kevin Van Veen (Motherwell) 2023/24: Dimitar Mitov (St. Johnstone), James Tavernier (Rangers), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Frankie Kent (Hearts), Owen Beck (Dundee), Matt O'Riley (Celtic), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Dan Armstrong (Kilmarnock), Abdallah Sima (Rangers), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts), Bojan Miovski (Aberdeen) And here's this season's list: GOALKEEPER: DIMITAR MITOV (ABERDEEN) Honourable mentions: Jordan Smith (Hibernian), Kasper Schmeichel (Celtic) This isn't just recency bias following his cup final heroics; Mitov was impressive all season for the Dons and was badly missed during a couple of injury layoffs. Smith only got his chance for Hibs because Jozef Bursik was so consistently terrible, but he grabbed it (and often the ball) with both hands. In contrast to Mitov, Schmeichel had a nightmare at Hampden last month but had actually been reliable enough the rest of the season. I'd have put Zach Hemming ahead of him but the St. Mirren stopper didn't play enough games to qualify. RIGHT-BACK: ALISTAIR JOHNSTON (CELTIC) Honourable mentions: James Tavernier (Rangers), Nicky Devlin (Aberdeen) Tav's seven year run as my pick at right-back comes to an end; he only really makes the top three here because there was a dearth of options (you could say the same about Aberdeen's Devlin). Johnston is the clear first choice though after another excellent all-round season which has led to him being linked with big money moves elsewhere. LEFT-BACK: JAMES PENRICE (HEARTS) Honourable mentions: Nicky Cadden (Hibernian), Greg Taylor (Celtic) Penrice had shown at Livingston that he has a wand of a left foot, and he displayed it to good effect during his first campaign at Tynecastle. Cadden was more of a wing-back - or a winger playing wing-back - than a full-back, but I've put him in here. His crossing from deep was a big part of Hibs' attacking play. Celtic will miss Taylor if/when he goes this summer, when prodigal son Kieran Tierney inevitably gets injured again and again and again. CENTRE-BACK: CAMERON CARTER-VICKERS (CELTIC), JOHN SOUTTAR (RANGERS) Honourable mentions: Jack Iredale (Hibernian), Rocky Bushiri (Hibernian), Liam Scales (Celtic), Dan Casey (Motherwell) CCV is a mainstay of this list now - four times he's made it. Celtic are lucky that he shows no particular urge to test himself at a higher level. Souttar was miles ahead of everyone Rangers partnered him. As for the others, Iredale's insertion into the Hibs lineup coincided with an improvement in those around him, including the hereto haphazard Bushiri. Scales was quietly very good for Celtic and often kept the far more expensive Trusty and Nawrocki out of the team. Motherwell may find it difficult to retain Casey this summer, as he has improved year on year. CENTRAL MIDFIELD: CALLUM MCGREGOR (CELTIC), NICOLAS RASKIN (RANGERS), REO HATATE (CELTIC) Honourable mentions: Nectarios Triantis (Hibernian), Beni Baningime (Hearts), Vicko Sevelj (Dundee United), Mohamed Diomande (Rangers), Lennon Miller (Motherwell), Killian Phillips (St. Mirren) Just the fifth time McGregor has been named to this team, and a second for Hatate; the Celtic duo were both outstanding again. Raskin raised his game dramatically in the second half of the season, forcing his way into Belgium's national team and onto the radar of several bigger clubs after his fine perfomances as midfield anchor. Russell Martin would love to hold on to him and Diomande, who is a lot more skilful on the ball than he often gets credit for. Triantis, Baningime and Sevelj were all impressive no. 6's for their clubs this season. Miller will clearly go on to much greater things, while Phillips was St. Mirren's Player of the Year and got himself an Ireland call-up. WINGERS: DAIZEN MAEDA (CELTIC), NICOLAS KUHN (CELTIC) Honourable mentions: Vaclav Cerny (Rangers), Luca Stephenson (Dundee United), Martin Boyle (Hibernian), Jamie McGrath (Aberdeen) Maeda was the best player in the country this season and could have been picked as a striker, but for the purposes of this I've stuck him wide. 'Kuhn or Cerny' was the hardest pick in this list; whilst the latter showed more consistency, Kuhn had a few months this season where he was unplayable every week and gets the nod for that. Stephenson did well on loan from Liverpool and United really want him back. Boyle is more of a striker than a winger these days but regardless he is as important to Hibs as ever and shows no signs of slowing down. McGrath was a big factor in Aberdeen's fast start but injuries affected much of his season. STRIKER: CYRIEL DESSERS (RANGERS) Honourable mentions: Simon Murray (Dundee), Simon Dalby (Dundee United) 18 league goals is nothing to be sneezed at; however when one watched Dessers, one could believe his xG was probably double that. I think the Premiership's top scorer probably gets in this team by default, though. Lord knows what would have happened to Dundee without Simon Murray, and lord knows why Murray wasted a chunk of his career playing in the lower leagues with Queen's Park given he's playing so well at age 33. Dalby's goals dried up a bit as the season went on but he's been too good for United to be able to sign permanently. And that's another year sorted. Maybe when I reach twenty, that'll be enough? Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

According to the P&J today, Davidson, Nicolson and Corner, who all have long-term injuries, have been offered deals to January 2026 So the current squad status is as follows (contract expiry in brackets; players who haven't played for the first team not included): GOALKEEPERS Szymon Rebilas (summer 2026) DEFENDERS Daniel Devine (summer 2027) Sam Nixon (summer 2026) Matthew Strachan (summer 2026) Jack Walker (summer 2026) MIDFIELDERS Ben Gardiner (summer 2026) Shae Keogh (summer 2026) Luis Longstaff (summer 2027) Adam MacKinnon (summer 2026) Calum MacLeod (summer 2027) Robbie Thompson (summer 2026) FORWARDS Billy Mckay (summer 2026) OFFERED CONTRACTS: Musa Dibaga, Jake Davidson, Lewis Nicolson, Remi Savage, Paul Allan, Charlie Gilmour, Ben Corner LEFT CLUB: Ethan Cairns (released) LOANS ENDED: Alfie Bavidge, Ben Brannan, Keith Bray, Connall Ewan, Marcus Gill, James Nolan, Alfie Stewart

I actually found this a stark reminder of where we're starting from for next season. Of the guys who have signed so far, I'd only have Devine, MacKinnon and Longstaff down as League One starting XI quality (maybe I'm being harsh on Strachan?). Everyone else aside from Mckay, who is of course also assistant manager, is still very much developing. Think we may have to really push the boat out if we want to keep any of the Big Four there. All have done enough to attract offers at a higher level than this. We will have a lot of work to do in the summer, which is why we need to nail down that CVA pronto and make sure we don't fall behind in the free agent market. And we need to be as good at using the loan market as last year too!

This year's top ten, as promised. Numbers 11 to 25 can be found here. In all the year's I've done this, I've not really had to think much about ranking players in the context of clubs releasing them because of run-ins with the police. How on earth do you quantify that? And is it possible to still think of this exercise as a bit of pointless fun when you're referring to allegations of assaulting a woman, or domestic violence? Hopefully next year I'll be back to just ranking goalkeepers with chocolate wrists, defenders who can't defend and strikers who can't hit a cow's backside with a banjo again. And on that note... 10. SHAUN ROONEY (ST. MIRREN) Rooney looked like a fine signing by Stephen Robinson and picked up where he left off from his impressive time at St. Johnstone a few years back, offering a physical, attacking presence at right wing-back. Sadly, Rooney couldn't resist being a physical, attacking presence at other times as well, resulting in him being arrested and charged at the end of September with assaulting an 18 year old woman in a Glasgow chippy called The Blue Lagoon, as well as a breach of the peace against an 18 year old man. He was mutually consented a few weeks later. Rooney rejoined former club Fleetwood Town in January. 9. JAIR TAVARES (MOTHERWELL) This signing looked strange at the time. Jair had hardly set the heather alight at Hibernian, but Stuart Kettlewell took a punt on loaning him at the end of August. The left winger wasn't an obvious fit in his system, and when he finally did start a game - in December - it was at right wing-back. That experiment didn't last long and the Portuguese has only just started appearing in squads again after disappearing for three months. At the time of writing he has played just 276 minutes of league football, with no goals and no assists. 8. RICHARD ODADA (DUNDEE UNITED) The Kenyan international said all the right things when he pitched up to Tannadice - "I have good team-mates, good locker room and also a good coach". Unfortunately, flattery will get you nowhere. Odada was mostly stuck on the bench and couldn't crack the starting XI till December...and after three starts he seemed to have been discarded altogether before getting a move to Serbia on loan for the rest of the season. Odada still has another year on his contract, and now it's his manager who is saying all the right things - "We're not drawing a line under him. We firmly believe that he's a very talented player" - but it seems unlikely that there is a future at the club for him. 7. FILIP STUPAREVIC (MOTHERWELL) Five years prior to pitching up at Fir Park, a then-nineteen year old Stuparevic signed for Watford for £2.5m. The Serbian under-21 international never made an appearance for them though; after some loan spells and a nomadic existence over the last few years, he signed for Motherwell on the back of a solid season in Slovenia. "I think everyone will see he can score, assist and work hard" said Stuart Kettlewell, who was so impressed by the striker's performance in the League Cup groups (one late goal against Clyde, and one start which saw him hooked at half-time) that he signed a million and one other forwards after that and punted Stuparevic out on loan to Morton. He actually did pretty well in Greenock, until he wrecked his anterior cruciate ligament in February. That in turn means that Motherwell are likely stuck with him till the end of the second year of his contract, though I think it unlikely that they will take up the year's option after that. 6. SCOTT FRASER (DUNDEE) Fraser's arrival at Dundee in September looked like a decent bit of business, even though he had hardly impressed at Hearts last season. But he picked up a groin injury after just three appearances which required surgery and a lengthy recovery. He has returned to training a few times only to break down and require further convalescence. Whether he contributes anything more to his club's fight against the drop, and before his contract expires at the end of the season, we shall see. 5. JADEN BROWN (ST. MIRREN)Brown signed permanently in the summer after a solid spell on loan from Lincoln City at the end of last season. Unfortunately, he ranks high on this list because in October he pled guilty to three driving offences relating to driving while disqualified. He also pled not guilty to four others, including one where he was stopped by the police he claimed his name was actually "Dennis Adeniran". St. Mirren left him out of the team from the end of September and mutually consented him in November. There is a bit of a theme with St. Mirren this season... 4. ANDRES SALAZAR (HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN)Salazar has played the same number of games for Colombia's national team as he has for Hearts (one), so his signing was seen as a bit of a coup; there was talk of Porto and some lower Serie A clubs being interested. However, the Colombian left-back's only appearance was in a defeat by Motherwell in August, and it quickly became clear that he had no hope of dislodging the impressive James Penrice from the lineup. It was best for everyone that his season-long loan was cut short in January. 3. JOSEF BURSIK (HIBERNIAN)It is not that much of a coincidence that Hibernian's uptick in form followed a change in goalkeeper. Bursik, signed on loan from Club Bruges, was absolutely honking. The nadir was a 3-2 defeat at Tannadice where he practically threw in two injury time goals, while he also had a mare at the other end of the street against Dundee a few weeks later. After that match, Hibs were bottom with eight points from thirteen games; since Jordan Smith went in goal they've managed forty-two points from twenty games and are third. To add insult to injury, David Gray couldn't get in another keeper in January and therefore insisted Bursik see out his loan, sitting on the bench every single week. 2. UCHE IKPEAZU (ST. JOHNSTONE)This is exactly the sort of ranking that could come back to bite me, as Ikpeazu finally made an appearance for St. Johnstone last weekend as a sub at Hampden against Celtic. So now I've put him on the podium in this article he will almost certainly go off on a scoring spree that improbably saves the Saints from the drop. Mind you, he has only scored once in three years. That being said, Ikpeazu looked like a good signing at the time, offering the sort of physicality and link-up play Craig Levein needed up front, but ended up requiring five operations on his knee. Rumour has it he is one of the top earners at the club too. Still, if nothing else he should score plenty in the Championship next season, if he stays fit. 1. KEVIN VAN VEEN (ST. MIRREN)As stated at the start, compiling this list stops being fun when you come to subject matter like this. Van Veen was still dining out on his unbelievable 2022-23 season at Motherwell when he pitched up at St. Mirren, though his dreadful loan at Kilmarnock last season (one start, no goals and eighteenth on last year's list) should really have scared them off. He didn't exactly impress in his five appearances for the Buddies. but the bigger issues were off the field - he was sent back to parent club Groningen at the start of November after appearing in court on charges of domestic abuse. It is absolutely grim stuff. Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Some highlights for you! I actually went to the County home game that day and had Open All Mics on the radio. Our first goal was so quick that County hadn't even kicked off. By the second half whoever was updating the score was in fits - "it's six-nil and some Caley fans have invaded the pitch...it's seven-nil and ALL the Caley fans have invaded the pitch now!"

As Andy Williams once sang, it's the most wonderful time of the year. People wrongly assumed that he was referring to Christmas, but actually he was a big fan of this blog. Honestly. For the thirteenth time, I present my list of the worst signings made by Premiership clubs this season. Here's your reminder of the twelve previous victors : 2012/13: Rory Boulding (Kilmarnock) 2013/14: Stephane Bahoken (St. Mirren) 2014/15: Jim Fenlon (Ross County) 2015/16: Rodney Sneijder (Dundee United) 2016/17: Joey Barton (Rangers) 2017/18: Eduardo Herrera (Rangers) 2018/19: Umar Sadiq (Rangers) 2019/20: Madis Vihmann (St. Johnstone) 2020/21: Shane Duffy (Celtic) 2021/22: Matty Longstaff (Aberdeen) 2022/23: Anthony Stewart (Aberdeen) 2023/24: Sam Lammers (Rangers) Like in previous years, this has been divided into two parts. Today we'll whet your appetite with a countdown from 25 to 11. 25. TOM WILSON-BROWN (KILMARNOCK) As is traditional, let's start with a loan player who has never played, and therefore may not actually exist. Even the above picture can't be counted as conclusive evidence, what with AI and everything these days. Allegedly, Wilson-Brown is Leicester City's development squad captain, and he has been on Kilmarnock's list of substitutes five times since arriving on loan at the end of the January window. But if you sign a player on loan, and he never actually gets on the pitch, does he make a sound? 24. RAFAEL FERNANDES (RANGERS) Fernandes has at least got on the pitch, but his first league start at Pittodrie last week lasted only 20 minutes because of a hamstring injury which may curtail his season. The Lille loanee's only other start was against Queen's Park in that cup match, though in mitigation he was subbed before the winning goal. Nevertheless, it would be fair to say that his spell at Ibrox has been pretty pointless, both for player and club. 23= ARCHIE MAIR, CALUM WARD (MOTHERWELL) Motherwell have just been spamming goalkeepers this season. Mair joined in January on loan from Norwich as Aston Oxborough was injured, but he played only twice before breaking his thumb. He hasn't been seen since, though he's still listed as a player on the club website and so I suspect Norwich refused to end the loan early, leaving Well on the hook for some of his wages. Ward joined shortly after to provide cover until Oxborough was fit again and was an unused substitute four times. Special mentions should go to Krisztian Hegyi, who was loaned from West Ham on the erroneous assumption that he was better than Oxborough, and Ellery Balcombe who was a bombscare for St. Mirren during the first half of the season and has ended up at Fir Park for the second half. 22. JOSH RAE (ST. JOHNSTONE) Sticking with keepers, it was a bit optimistic to expect Rae to make the step up from above-average Championship goalie with Airdrie to filling Dimitar Mitov's shoes at St. Johnstone. But, you know, Craig Levein. Rae struggled from the off, blaming his poor form partly on having missed the end of last season with injury. It also didn't help that he didn't get a permanent goalkeeping coach until Simo Valakari arrived. However, it was no surprise that Valakari brought in a new stopper in January. Rae is rebuilding his confidence on loan at Raith Rovers. 21. TONY WATT (MOTHERWELL) "There's obviously people who may not be too happy to see me back" admitted Watt to Motherwell's website after he joined on loan from Dundee United, two and a half years after he left Fir Park for Tayside rather acrimoniously. "Let me work hard and change their perception". Curiously, Stuart Kettlewell justified the move by saying "he is available to play all the time". Admittedly he is, it's just that Motherwell have done their best not to have to play him, signing a platoon of alternative forwards since then. After just one goal in twenty-six games, it's safe to say perceptions haven't changed yet. Watt is a veteran of this list, having ranked much higher in 2016/17 after a lousy spell at Hearts. 20. CALVIN RAMSAY (KILMARNOCK) It is still less than three years since Liverpool paid £4.5m for Ramsay, and two and a half since he got a Scotland cap. After injury problems and a bunch of uninspiring loans down south, you'd think a January move back to Scotland could be the jump-start he needed. And you'd be wrong. Kilmarnock can't defend for toffee, yet Ramsay hasn't started a match since he was subbed at half-time on his debut. "Hopefully, we can find that boy that we know is in there" said Derek McInnes on signing him. Clearly he hasn't. Ramsay will go back to Liverpool in the summer, but goodness knows where his once-promising career is going. 19. JACK VALE (MOTHERWELL) The Blackburn striker had his moments on loan at Motherwell last season, so bringing him back for another year looked like a solid move. Unfortunately Vale missed three months with a calf injury and then got injured again at the end of January and hasn't been seen since. He has more red cards (one) than goals (zero) for Well this season. 18. ROBBY MCCRORIE (KILMARNOCK) The former Scotland squad keeper and perennial Rangers backup has been a disappointment since joining Killie, starting from the moment he conceded a shocker in a League Cup derby against Ayr on his debut. He keeps being dropped for Kieran O'Hara, until O'Hara plays enough to remind Derek McInnes why he shouldn't be playing either. I certainly couldn't leave McCrorie off this list after the epic tweet below: 17. NEDIM BAJRAMI (RANGERS) I'm a firm believer that the size of the fee paid should be very much taken into account when judging the success of a signing - I was very tempted to put Adam Idah (£8.5m!) on this list for that very reason, but to be honest I was worried about getting lynched by irate Celtic fans. No such fears with Bajrami, who cost 'just' £3.4m. For that money I think we were entitled to expect rather more than five goals and five assists (two and one, respectively, in the league). Rangers have been crying out for quality in the number ten position, but the Albanian just hasn't cut it. 16. PETER AMBROSE (ABERDEEN)And on the subject of transfer fees, Aberdeen really can't be splurging £200,000 on a striker who only scores one league goal. Admittedly, it was the winner against Dundee United, but Ambrose has also only been trusted to start two matches. The Dons might hope for a big second year leap, a la Pape Habib Gueye, but they might also hope they can find a way out of a contract that has two years left to run. 15. DENNIS ADENIRAN (ST. MIRREN) Dennis Emmanuel Abiodun Bamidele Chijioke Adeniran has as many league appearances this season as he has names. His last game for St. Mirren was in December. According to Div at Pie & Bovril, his primary contribution this season has been "three yellow cards". The club have a year's option; don't expect them to take it up. 14. ROSS CALLACHAN (MOTHERWELL) One hopes and assumes Callachan was signed on low wages, given he hadn't played for more than a year after doing his ACL in April 2023. He managed 17 minutes as a sub for Motherwell - against his former club Ross County - in August and then did his hamstring so badly in training the following week that he hasn't played since. 13. RICKI LAMIE (ROSS COUNTY) Should I have Lamie on here as a Dundee player or a Ross County player? The defender spent the second half of last season at Dens Park on loan from Motherwell and signed a pre-contract in February 2024 to join permanently...only for the Dark Blues to announce at the end of June that he wouldn't be signing after all. Lamie arrived in Dingwall three days later, saying that they provided him with "security". I hope that isn't a euphemism for 'better wages' as he didn't play in a single league game and joined Hamilton Accies on loan in January. He does still have another year on his County deal though. Incidentally, this is the second time a pre-contract move to Dens Park had fallen through - Lamie had pulled out of one in 2022 after Dundee were relegated. I don't think they'll come asking a third time. 12. JORT VAN DER SANDE (DUNDEE UNITED) Everton fans used to sing about how they would riot if goal-shy right-back Tony Hibbert ever scored. Dundee United supporters are not far away for doing the same regarding Van Der Sande...except the Dutchman is actually a striker. He works hard when he's on the pitch, but thirty-two appearances without hitting the net is pretty grim. One United fan on Twitter claimed McBookie wouldn't give him odds on Van Der Sande failing to score this season. 11. KYLE CAMERON (ST. JOHNSTONE) Just a couple of seasons back, Aberdeen made new signing Anthony Stewart the club captain and it became an unmitigated disaster. So of course Craig Levein decided to go one better by giving the armband to a loan player. Cameron certainly didn't lead by example with his persistently poor performances and it was a mercy for everyone that he went back to Notts County as soon as the January transfer window opened. The top ten will be up next week...ish...maybe... Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Who we can and can't keep will depend firstly on being out of admin and secondly on which division we are in. As stated, MacKinnon is the only player under contract. Bavidge, Brannan, Bray, Ewan, Nolan and Stewart will finish their loans; I'm not sure any of them will be rushing back for another season in League One (let alone League Two) Assuming Kellacher continues as manager, it seems possible - likely? - that Billy Mckay could continue as his assistant, which would seem like a good moment to hang up his boots. He'll be 37 in October. I expect other clubs to be sniffing around Dibaga, Allan and Gilmour; holding on to some or all of them would be a pleasant surprise.

One thing is for certain: there is no stopping him; Alan Savage will soon own ICT. And I, for one, welcome our new Orion overlords. I'd like to remind them as a trusted football blogger, I can be helpful in rounding up other fans to toil in their underground recruitment caves.

Managing to get all those folk around the same table without any blood being spilled is an achievement in itself.

The optimist in me thinks this might be an attempt to put public pressure on those who are holding out over the surrounding land and having loans repaid to back down. The (much bigger) pessimist in me is now far more worried that we are Donald Ducked.

Clubs around our level can't afford anything much in terms of transfer fees - a few grand at most. We're more likely to lose players for nothing if clubs are willing to take on their wages, but if that weakens the squad and makes us more likely to be relegated - making us less valuable to a buyer - then the administrators may well decide we're better off holding on to those players.

The administrators will want a cheap option - ideally someone who is already employed by the club who can take on the extra role with minimal extra remuneration. Charlie Christie would have been an obvious choice but he's now got CEO responsibilities. Sounds like Bollan and Garden are gone too (Ferguson said "my two coaches have left") so that would leave Kellacher as an option. There's also the possibility of asking senior players whether they would take over management duties - Billy Mckay has already been involved in coaching the youth teams...

A friend and I were reminiscing about the good old days the other evening and discussing how old we were when we first got into football. For me, it was the 1990/91 season, as Scotland embarked on their successful Euro 92 qualifying campaign and Aberdeen failed to get the point they needed at Ibrox on the final day to win the title (to this day, an Aberdeen-supporting mate practically spits on the ground at the mention of Michael Watt). That was more than 33 years ago and in that time no-one else has come as close to breaking the duopoly. And it's as hard ever to see when someone will. CELTIC and RANGERS will come first and second again this season, and the question is in which order. The answer, of course, is that Celtic will be ahead. They were far from infallible last season but were still far stronger both in quality on the pitch and in mentality than their rivals. They've managed to replace retiring keeper Joe Hart with a useful stopgap in Kasper Schmeichel and otherwise have kept the band together. They should be domestic champions again, and they will be woefully out of their depth in the Champions League groups again. Winning twelve of the last thirteen titles sounds good; winning only two Champions League group games in a decade rather less so. But that nice balance between domestic dominance and not bothering about bettering oneself is what keeps Celtic in fat profit and their shareholders in decent dividends, and that's all that matters. Around the turn of the year Rangers fans delighted in how, under Philippe Clement, the team looked so much better coached than under Michael Beale or even Gio Van Bronckhorst and Steven Gerrard. There's not nearly as much optimism now after they won only four of their last ten league games and the Scottish Cup final to boot. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of money to spend (maybe you shouldn't have blown £15m on three strikers last summer, lads?) and with Borna Barisic, Connor Goldson and John Lundstram all leaving and James Tavernier 33 in a few months this feels like a team in transition. Having Danilo back up front will help, but it's hard to see how they will replace Abdallah Sima who returned to Brighton. The next three teams in the table should be, in no particular order, ABERDEEN, HEARTS and HIBERNIAN simply because their financial strength is miles ahead of the rest (and light years adrift of the big two, mind). But of course Aberdeen and Hibs have been an absolute shambles for most of the last few years - in Aberdeen's case despite some big money player sales which really should have been reinvested better in the squad. The prospect of life after Bojan Miovski for the Dons is a sobering one, with a lot of money having already been spent on Ester Sokler, Pape Habib Gueye and now Peter Ambrose to step into the North Macedonian's shoes when he finally gets his big money move in the next few weeks. A lot is riding on the pedigree of new manager Jimmy Thelin, who comes with a strong reputation from Sweden and some high expectations too of high tempo, high pressing football. Those expectations will be hard to satisfy early doors, you feel. I like the signing of keeper Dimitar Mitov. I like less the £300,000 spunked on a 33 year old Norwegian midfielder who used to play for Thelin a few years back. Hibs' latest cunning plan is to give David Gray the reins, in the hope that because he's a decent bloke who knows the club (and who is probably cheap too) he'll somehow be better than what came before. It worked with Steven Naismith at Hearts, but less so with Barry Robson at Aberdeen. So far they've sensibly focused on strengthening the defence with a new keeper in Josef Bursik and central defenders Warren O'Hora and Marvin Ekpiteta. If they stick with the midfield and attack they've got, that means a lot of pressure on Dylan Vente to score goals now he's finally being played as an out-and-out striker, and on Martin Boyle to show that last year was a blip rather than a sign he's beginning to slow down. In contrast, Hearts have been a model club for the last little while, recruiting sensibly and getting the results on the pitch. Losing Alex Cochrane (albeit for a big fee) was a blow and means James Penrice has to hit the ground running at left wing-back but otherwise they look good both in terms of starting XI quality and depth. It'll help if Lawrence Shankland scores another 25 goals, and it'll help even more if someone like new signing Musa Drammeh can also be a goal threat. They should be able to better weather early season fixture congestion from their European games and are clear favourites to be best of the rest...though significantly closing that seventeen point gap to the big two still seems unlikely. And then you have the other seven, who could potentially finish as high as third if the trio mentioned earlier underachieve again, or who could end up in a relegation scrap, or somewhere in between. Promoted DUNDEE UNITED have given Jim Goodwin enough resources to build a team that shouldn't go back down; they've held on to loan keeper Jack Walton, managed to attract wing-back Ryan Strain from St. Mirren and gone to the Balkans and Eastern Europe for signings too. I'm a little nervous about KILMARNOCK and ST. MIRREN simply because playing in Europe in July and August seems to often coincide with a slow start domestically. Killie shouldn't be any weaker than last year as they've signed Robby McCrorie to play in goal and kept Stuart Findlay and Corrie Ndaba but it's not a huge squad and they need Dan Armstrong and Matty Kennedy to be as good as last year if they are to remain a top six side. St. Mirren lost some good players - Zech Hemming, Kwon, Keanu Baccus, Ryan Strain - but are always creative in the transfer market. They've done well to get Shaun Rooney, while Roland Idowu has started really well in midfield. You'd expect them to still be hard to beat. DUNDEE were the other top six finishers but the downside of having so many good loan players is that you have to replace all of them (except keeper Jon McCracken) the next season. In general their strategy of spending on the squad instead of the pitch has worked well for them and they were able to find the funds to bring Simon Murray back to Tayside to lead the attack. Once Joe Shaughnessy is fit again they should be okay at the back, even though it'll be hard for Ziyad Larkeche to replace the departed Owen Beck. Will there be more loans incoming? MOTHERWELL have been busier than anyone, with twelve new signings so far. They've spent some of the Theo Bair windfall on Australian striker Apostolos Stametelopoulos, but he or ex-Dundee loanee Zach Robinson will have to score a lot of goals to make up for losing the Canadian. Liam Kelly left too, so West Ham's Krisztian Hegyi joins on loan to play in goal, while Kofi Balmer and Liam Gordon boost the defence. Plenty of eyes will be on the development of talented teenager Lennon Miller in midfield. ROSS COUNTY would have had a much less stressful season had they not dallied with Derek Adams for a couple of nightmare months. Don Cowie seems a far more sensible and stable appointment and gets his chance to put his stamp on the team. He has an entire backbone to replace with Jack Baldwin, Yan Dhanda and Simon Murray having left, with Akil Wright, Noah Chilvers and Ronan Hale (who has looked impressive so far) their respective replacements. After two consecutive relegation playoff appearances they will be hoping to move up in the world. ST. JOHNSTONE only finished above County on goal difference in the end and the jury remains out on whether Craig Levein is anything more than a dinosaur whose tactics make any fan's eyes bleed. Captain Liam Gordon, star goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov and Daniel Phillips, their best midfielder, have all gone. Loan centre-backs Kyle Cameron and Lewis Neilson should be good signings but it's a big step up for new goalie Josh Rae and new striker Uche Ikpeazu will miss the start of the season with injury. This looks like another slog of a campaign. So here's my predicted table: 1. CELTIC 2. RANGERS 3. HEARTS 4. ABERDEEN 5. HIBERNIAN 6. ST. MIRREN 7. MOTHERWELL 8. KILMARNOCK 9. DUNDEE UNITED 10. DUNDEE 11. ROSS COUNTY 12. ST. JOHNSTONE tl;dr - Celtic ahead of Rangers, if Hearts/Hibs/Aberdeen aren't in the top five it's a disgrace, pick the other seven in whatever order you want except for maybe St Johnstone. Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

When was the last time the Scottish Championship felt as open as this? Usually the side(s) that come down have a clear financial advantage that ultimately works in their favour over the course of an entire season, but that isn't the case this time around. And at the other end we can normally pinpoint a part-time side as relegation favourites, but not in 2024/25. Genuinely, there are reasons why fans of every club can dream of a successful season...and perhaps fear a dreadful one. Let's do this preview in alphabetical order. AIRDRIEONIANS (give them their Sunday name, please) did brilliantly to make the promotion playoffs last season and have one of the most talented young coaches in the country at the helm. Rhys McCabe has lost a lot of useful players this summer, including player-assistant manager Callum Fordyce, full-back Cammy Ballantyne, midfielder Charlie Telfer and keeper Josh Rae. And yet the Diamonds look no weaker. New striker Ben Wilson, signed from Cliftonville, has been a goal machine in the League Cup, while ex-Dundee United player Chris Mochrie and Rhys Armstrong, signed from The Spartans in League Two, add creativity. If new defender Aidan Wilson can fill the Fordyce-shaped hole then they will be good to go. Scott Brown has his first big chance to create AYR UNITED in his image after taking over in January and he's been busy. Of those who have left, only maybe keeper Charlie Albinson and defender Sean McGinty will be missed. But he's managed to bring in Scott McMann - the Championship's best left-back last season at Dundee United - and Mikey Devlin to the defence, while up front he's brought back Anton Dowds on a permanent deal and stuck George Oakley alongside him. Jay Henderson and Jake Hastie are expected to provide the ammunition from the flanks. They will have higher aspirations than staying out of a relegation battle this time. DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC managed to stay just ahead of that battle last season but their form in the second half of the season wasn't great. They've finally signed David Wotherspoon, a year after they originally pursued him, but the Canadian international is now 34. The other marquee signing, Chris Kane, is capable but terribly injury-prone. Meanwhile they've lost left-back Josh Edwards and a lot of loan players haven't been replaced either. I imagine there could be several new signings by the end of the window but they look a bit thin just now. FALKIRK will hope to carry momentum from their invincible League One season and they could do some real damage. A number of players, such as Coll Donaldson, Sean Mackie, Liam Henderson and especially Calumn Morrison, were far too good for that division. So far John McGlynn has largely kept the band together, signing Ethan Ross and Dylan Tait permanently after loan spells last season, and they do have a decent amount of depth. How far they can go will depend on whether Ross MacIver can prove to be a regular goalscorer in the Championship. Only eight senior players (including Kirk Broadfoot, 40 next week) remain at GREENOCK MORTON from last season and Dougie Imrie was probably right to refresh the squad. He could have done without losing strike duo Robbie Muirhead and George Oakley, with plenty of question marks about their replacements, Jordan Davies (signed from the Welsh league), Lamar Reynolds (from English non-league) and veteran Jay Emmanuel-Thomas. They should automatically be relegated if they let the latter put 'JET' on the back of his shirt. Otherwise maybe the flair of newbies Nathan Shaw, Owen Moffat and Arron Lyall may keep them out of trouble. HAMILTON ACADEMICAL are back after a year away and looked in decidedly better shape than when they were relegated in May 2023...until the news yesterday about missed wage payments which sounds very dicey indeed. "A global banking issue", my a***. They will miss Lewis Smith who left for Livi, but Steven Bradley (who has gone in the other direction) and Daire O'Connor should make up for that. Surely Oli Shaw should do well at this level, and with him, Kevin O'Hara, Euan Henderson and Nikolay Todorov they are not short of firepower. Barry Maguire adds another option in midfield alongside Jamie Barjonas, Ben Williamson and Scott Martin and Sean McGinty is another experienced centre-back to pair with Dylan McGowan or Lee Kilday. LIVINGSTON may have been relegated from the top flight but that doesn't automatically make them the team to beat. They've stuck by David Martindale but he certainly hasn't stuck by the squad that went down, bringing in twelve players so far. As ever, most of them are unfamiliar but Reece McAlear and Ryan McGowan are known quantities who should get by fine. Midfielder Stephen Kelly should surely thrive at this level. As it stands there will be a heavy dependency on Tete Yengi or new signing Robbie Muirhead for goals. If Martindale hasn't managed to restore player confidence after a bruising campaign then they could have a rough start. PARTICK THISTLE will always be in the mix as long as Brian Graham is still living and breathing and therefore banging in twenty goals every year. Kris Doolan has boosted the support for him by bringing in Logan Chalmers, Robbie Crawford and Daniel Mackay, as well as bringing back Kyle Turner. The defence has lost Jack McMillan and Lewis Neilson, though Lee Ashcroft might replace the latter. Thistle should keep scoring more than they concede though and will fancy they can at least make the playoffs for a third straight year. QUEEN'S PARK only avoided the relegation playoff on the final day last season, amid suspicions that they weren't actually that much better (but were much more dour) under Callum Davidson. A glut of League Cup goals has changed that viewpoint somewhat. Whilst they did sell on star striker Ruari Paton to Port Vale (he and young defender Alex Bannon both brought in decent fees), and lost veteran centre-back Danny Wilson as well, they did well to grab Cammy Kerr from Dundee and ex-ICT midfielder Roddy MacGregor, injured for most of the last two seasons, could be an absolute diamond in midfield. Zak Rudden has lost his way a bit in recent years but the young forward should benefit from being at a club where he is wanted and from being undisputed first choice striker. And lastly RAITH ROVERS will try to go one step further after suffering defeat in the promotion playoff final in May. They've been especially busy in trying to improve the defence, bringing in Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon from Hibs as well as Callum Fordyce and Kieran Freeman; they should be much more solid at the back than last season and less reliant on the heroics of keeper Kevin Dabrowski. If Lewis Vaughan can stay fit - which is always a big if - this could be another good season for them. So my predicted table - which you could probably turn upside down if you wanted, looks like this: 1. PARTICK THISTLE 2. RAITH ROVERS 3. FALKIRK 4. AYR UNITED 5. AIRDRIEONIANS 6. LIVINGSTON 7. QUEEN'S PARK 8. DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC 9. GREENOCK MORTON 10. HAMILTON ACADEMICAL Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Traditionally, my League One season previews follow a standard pattern: the full-time teams near the top, the well-run part-time teams in the middle and part-time teams that seem one step up from a pub side at the bottom. Except this time around the part-time teams seem to be the professional outfits, whereas the full-time sides...well, let's segue neatly onto the subject of INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE, who are back in the seaside leagues for the first time this century, and my God it has been quite the journey. Making predictions about League One this season is somewhat complicated by not knowing what's going to happen next with the biggest mob the Highlands has seen since the Jacobites assembled at Culloden. The squad consists of some veterans who are under contract and they can't get rid of, a bunch of kids who'll be in mid-table Highland League lineups within two years, and the manager's son, who wasn't good enough to get a game for Forfar last year. And the prospective takeover has more red flags than a Soviet Union military parade. Fan-bloody-tastic. Maybe the new money will bring in lots of reinforcements. More likely, there is no new money and a points deduction in the coming months...if the club still manages to exist. Now let's avert our eyes from this car crash and remember there are nine other clubs in this division. Two others are full-time but operating such restricted budgets that this hardly seems to give them the advantage one might expect. It certainly feels like COVE RANGERS have scaled back the ambition that took them to the Championship two seasons ago and saw them go full-time last year. The loss of top scorer Rumarn Burrell will hit them hard and it will be asking a lot of Grady McGrath to step up from the Highland League and fill the gap. Otherwise Declan Glass (back for a third spell, and permanently this time) joins Fraser Fyvie and Connor Scully in a strong midfield while defender Ryan Harrington joins from the Welsh League. At the time of writing Cove have won only five league matches in 2024 - two against the hapless Edinburgh City - and whilst I don't like reading much into the League Cup that 5-0 gubbing at home to Spartans set off a hell of a lot of alarm bells. Paul Hartley is surely on a shoogly peg already. There's more optimism in Dumfries. QUEEN OF THE SOUTH actually flirted with a relegation playoff spot at times last year but have replaced Marvin Bartley with Peter Murphy, a manager who has quietly down really well on limited resources for years and has earned the chance to take over a full-time squad. They seem to have given him a wee bit to work with too, given the arrival of twelve new players including ex-Rangers starlet Kai Kennedy, veteran keeper Ross Stewart and utility man Brennan Dickerson from Oldham. They could do with another forward otherwise they'll be dependent on Leighton McIntosh for goals, but they should certainly be stronger than last year. Murphy's old club ANNAN ATHLETIC did a phenomenal job to stay up last season, but they've lost their talismanic manager and replaced him with Wullie Gibson, who himself previously flopped as boss in Dumfries. Forty next month, Gibson will still do a job himself at right-back and he's managed to bring in Paul McGowan and Josh Todd as extra experience in midfield as well but Matty Douglas, Dom Docherty and Benjamin Luissint were all poached by their old coach. If Aidan Smith and Tommy Goss both manage to get into double figures again then they could yet survive, but the odds are longer this time around. In theory, DUMBARTON are likely to be at the wrong end of the table if only because they came up via the playoffs. Manager Stevie Farrell has generally been seen as an underachiever, with his three seasons at the club having comprised a relegation and then two promotion playoff appearances with a squad that was probably stronger than the results they were getting. Still, they've kept their core together and signing Matthew Shiels (back after leaving in January) and Mohamed Niang from Cove will do them good. Expect a few loan signings before the end of August to give the team a boost though. The other newly promoted side are STENHOUSEMUIR, who were unstoppable mid-season before somewhat limping over the line. Gary Naysmith has mostly stuck with the squad that won League Two, which means plenty of experience in the form of keeper Darren Jamieson, centre-back Gregor Buchanan and midfield duo Kyle Jacobs and Nat Wedderburn. One suspects they will also reinforce in the coming weeks. ALLOA ATHLETIC were the strongest of the part-time sides last season and really seemed to kick on after Andy Graham took charge. The Wasps' main issue will be the loss of brilliant loan players Ethan Sutherland, Taylor Steven and Bobby Wales, which so far is only offset by the arrival of full-back Calum Waters from Morton. It may be hard for them to repeat last year's third place finish but they might also not get a better opportunity than this to get back into the Championship. Ditto MONTROSE who also fell short in the promotion playoffs but who continue to punch well above their weight under Stewart Petrie; it feels like Petrie still has the nucleus of the squad that he won League Two in 2018, but he does a great job of renewing small parts of it every summer. Sean Dillon (41) and Michael Gardyne (38) are still seemingly going strong and the front two of Kane Hester and Blair Lyons both got into double-figures last season. Every time I write a League One preview I suggest the Gable Endies are due to regress a bit and up to now I've always been wrong... Their local derbies with ARBROATH are back this year after the Red Lichties' stay in the Championship finally finished on the back of an horrendous run of form. Their win at Bonnyrigg in their last League Cup game was only their second since mid-December in all competitions. Despite that, and despite supporters' concerns, Jim McIntyre remains in charge. He's done well to convince Callum Gallagher to lead his attack and Keith Watson to marshal the defence. This should be more the level of guys like Innes Murray and Craig Slater as well. But the knives will be out if they have a slow start. Bonus points to KELTY HEARTS for signing two new keepers this summer called Adams and Adamson. Michael Tidser has quietly done a lot with a little there, even though every offseason seems to require him to rebuild most of his squad; on this occasion first choice goalie Kyle Gourlay left because of his day job, Jason Thomson has retired and midfielder Reece Lyon moved to QOS. Ex-Hearts (the big ones) youth defender Callum Flatman has stood out in their League Cup games, while they did well to get Brody Paterson back permanently to boost their backline as well. Does Scott Allan have anything left in the tank? With top scorer Alfie Bavidge back at Aberdeen they'll need another loan forward, Queen's Park's Scott Williamson, to hit the ground running. So my predicted table - based on the assumption that Caley Thistle are heading inexorably for catastrophe... 1. QUEEN OF THE SOUTH 2. ALLOA ATHLETIC 3. ARBROATH 4. MONTROSE 5. KELTY HEARTS 6. COVE RANGERS 7. STENHOUSEMUIR 8. DUMBARTON 9. ANNAN ATHLETIC 10. INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE View the full article

In the absence of one clear heavily-bankrolled favourite, trying to predict League Two has been a bit of a mug's game in recent years. Luckily, I happen to be a mug. I work from three tenets here; firstly, a good (or terrible) manager makes a hell of a difference; secondly, good recruitment makes a hell of a difference; and thirdly, the League Cup results are a lousy predictor (Forfar Athletic have burned me too often on this point). I'm not in a position to judge whether the maverick Michael McIndoe is a good or bad manager going by the absolute shambles he inherited at EDINBURGH CITY last season, but the fact that he has recruited an entirely new squad that mostly consists of their peers' cast-offs, some kids and a few Lowland League players is not hugely reassuring. Back-to-back relegations do happen - Brechin City are a recent example - and the Citizens are certainly likely to have a rough start. If they do so, the question is whether they can find the resources to strengthen mid-season and save themselves... ...like CLYDE did last year following the appointment of Ian McCall. A combination of a bit more cash and the lure of playing for the former Ayr and Partick Thistle coach have turned Clyde from a club that looked doomed to the Lowland League in January to many folks' title favourites this time around. An attack of Kyle Connell, Lee Connelly (Connell and Connelly - a commentator's nightmare) and Jordan Allan belongs a division higher, as do new full-backs Jordan Houston and Tommy Robson. They're not good enough to stroll this league but they are definitely good enough to win it. Talking of impressive managerial appointments, lower league legend Uncle Fester Dick Campbell rocked up in Methil in the spring and that alone makes EAST FIFE contenders. They seemed to be punching well below their weight last season and Campbell's nous plus defensive reinforcements Andy Munro and Reis Peggie should make them very competitive, particularly with Nathan Austin and veteran Alan Trouten up front. A couple of good loan signings - a trademark of Campbell's time at Arbroath - would put them over the top. THE SPARTANS - don't forget the 'The' - came this close to promotion last time out - pipped in the playoff final by Dumbarton - and so should be in the mix again even after losing talented midfielder Rhys Armstrong to Airdrie. They'll look to ex-Peterhead man Hamish Ritchie to replace his creativity. With Callum Booth and Paul Watson in defence and James Craigen and Danny Denholm in midfield they don't lack experience, but another glut of goals from Blair Henderson would help their chances. PETERHEAD were also in the playoffs and are mostly looking to run it back this year with a similar squad. The departures of Ritchie, Conor O'Keefe and Joe McKee mean a much-changed midfield though, and surely Rory McAllister can't go on forever? At the moment they seem to be treading water a bit. Their fellow ex-Highland Leaguers ELGIN CITY were another team who hit the panic button early enough last season to survive, and so far manager Allan Hale has impressed far more than I expected for someone who was poached from Huntly. Cove loanees Mark Gallagher and Dajon Golding spearheaded their recovery and signing the latter on a permanent deal is a big boost. Ex-ICT midfielder Lewis Hyde will do all right at this level too. They'll certainly be hoping to avoid a relegation battle this time around. So too will BONNYRIGG ROSE, though such optimism is more likely to be misplaced. Calum Elliot's arrival in the dugout led to enough of a short-term bounce that they survived in May but he favours a more possession-based style that might be too much to ask of a League Two side, particularly one that lacks resources compared to some of the others. Elliot knows the Lowland League well, but we'll see whether many of his signings from that tier can make the step up. The only recognisable name is 35 year old Kallum Higginbotham, who has decided to take one last crack at the SPFL. Of course, it was STRANRAER who prevailed in the Pyramid Playoff, and it's mildly surprising that they've stuck by boss Scott Agnew after that close shave. He's certainly refreshed the squad, and the arrivals of defender Adam Cummins and midfielders Tomas Brindley and Mark Russell particularly stand out. You'd think the only way is up, but one would assume Agnew is on a short leash. I expected a lot more of FORFAR ATHLETIC the last couple of seasons because of Ray McKinnon's previous CV but they've been stuck in mid-table and been dull as ditchwater to boot. But McKinnon's still there and will be looking for ex-Alloa youngster Nathan Cannon to solve their problem in front of goal. Winger Ross MacLean might add a little more flair, but they still look a lot stronger at the back than at the front. And lastly we have STIRLING ALBION, not least because I find them the hardest side of all to judge; they slumped to relegation via the League One playoffs last season and sacked Darren Young afterward; his replacement Alan Maybury has already brought in twelve new faces. They shouldn't be short of goals with Ally Roy joining Dale Carrick and Dale Hilson while I'd fancy Derek Gaston might be the best keeper in this division. and it's good to see defender Sam Denham return to the league after a year out with a serious injury. So here's my predicted table: 1. CLYDE 2. STIRLING ALBION3. EAST FIFE4. THE SPARTANS 5. PETERHEAD6. FORFAR ATHLETIC7. ELGIN CITY8. STRANRAER9. BONNYRIGG ROSE 10. EDINBURGH CITY Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Things we know so far: Seventy7 Ventures has a website that is big on fancy, exciting sounding words and pretty small on detail. It's most recent accounts don't show a lot of money and suggest that Mr Makwana, at the time, was their only employee. A man called Jimmy Nguyen, an Vietnamese-American lawyer who owns a company called New Win Global (which, like Seventy7 Ventures, mentions blockchain a lot) and who is on the Seventy7 Ventures' executive board, bought a chunk of Seventy7 Ventures in May. In June the company took out a loan from a private investment firm called Factortech. A third person who is on the website as being on the executive board, Michael Jacobsen, actually resigned as a director in September 2023. He is still a shareholder though. Seventy7 Ventures appear to have been involved with Hayes & Yeading United (in tier 8 of English football) last year. Mr Makwana made posts on LinkedIn in the autumn of 2023 which seemed to suggest he owned the club. In December however he published a tweet that seemed to suggest that the takeover process was still ongoing and there doesn't appear to be anything since to confirm whether he is still involved or not. Things we don't know so far: How will they go about investing? Where's the money actually coming from? What on earth would they want with a dysfunctional Scottish League One club?

After forensically examining the company and the people involved (and definitely not just googling for the last half an hour and seeing what I can find) I share the concerns of others. I'm also not entirely sure how they manage to acquire a majority shareholding, unless either there's an agreement to buy out a dozen or more of the people/groups who own the most shares, or if there is a new share issue that allows them to gain equity for their investment?