For all the FITBA fans on here!
From the Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/02/scottish-premiership-preview-2013-2014
And here's the Team by Team
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/aug/02/scottish-premiership-preview-celtic
From the Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/02/scottish-premiership-preview-2013-2014
The recent European victory for St Johnstone over Rosenborg offered a reminder of Scottish football's importance and a stark snapshot of how far it has tumbled. The Perth team's aggregate win, highly impressive though it was, arrived in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. Scotland has slipped so low down the European radar that its clubs now play qualifiers as routine against clubs they could once treat with disdain.
The level of national exuberance that met St Johnstone's win highlighted other things; namely how desperate this nation has become for any kind of success and that a generation of supporters have no knowledge of a time when teams had a significant standing in Europe. Celtic's Champions League exploits last season were wonderful and Rangers' run to the Uefa Cup final of 2008 shouldn't be forgotten but elsewhere failure has become an unhappy commonplace.
Perhaps the most endearing and notable aspect of St Johnstone's home leg was the attendance of 7,850. By the end of last season's Scottish Premier League, St Johnstone had an average home crowd of just 3,640.
For all the game's glaring failings, Scotland remains a football-obsessed country. This weekend marks the official start of the Scottish Professional Football League, a body again encompassing all four divisions, and the latest opportunity for those in charge to capitalise on that interest – just as St Johnstone, and other clubs, have done sporadically – by re-engaging with those who have become suitably dissatisfied to vote with their feet.
Scottish football, in simple terms, is wildly overpriced and blatantly lacking in imagination either on or off the pitch.
Players no longer ooze class, with those who do display even a hint of such ability quickly whisked south of the border. At international level, Gordon Strachan cannot call on a clutch of reliable centre-backs or centre-forwards.
It may seem churlish to open a "new era" with negatives but it would also be folly to ignore the obvious. The SPL has been renamed and rebranded, but it lacks a title sponsor and will be run by the same people who have presided over years of stagnation. For too long, self-interest has dominated at the expense of paying customers; a matter rightly pointed out by the refreshing voice of Ross County's chairman, and a successful businessman,Roy MacGregor. Other administrators have insisted time and again that it is no longer legitimate to compare Scottish football with the English game because of an ever-growing financial gulf. It was almost beyond parody, therefore, as the SPFL unveiled the names of their divisions as Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two.
Newly introduced play-offs between the first and second tiers have been hailed as the most impressively radical development for the new season. It was the closed-shop, exclusion mentality of the SPL that pushed so many clubs towards financial oblivion. Some have never fully recovered.
Celtic will win the Premiership, their third in a row, and once again at a canter. Current intrigue in Glasgow's east end surrounds whether the club's board of directors are content to retain a squad that is guaranteed to return that domestic success or will spend meaningful cash in order to boost hopes of a return to the Champions League's group phase.
Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper have left and top players will not choose Scotland as their ideal place of work but Celtic revelled in their European run last season and, clearly, want more of the same. Neil Lennon insists that winning the title remains his managerial priority but there is a mundane element associated with doing precisely that that is offset by Champions League occasions.
Spending money would not guarantee a return to Europe's top table, and Celtic's business model is unquestionably strong, but supporters want to see ambition in return for their costly season tickets. Celtic still need a centre-forward, a centre-back and a ball-playing midfielder.
At the bottom of the table, things are not quite as clearcut, but it would still require a minor miracle for Hearts to overcome the 15-point penalty they suffered for entering administration. That deduction would be harmful enough in isolation but they also have a signing embargo and a playing squad that is preciously low on experience, scoring threats and physicality. Their best hope, which cannot be discounted, may be that another club suffers an insolvency during the coming months.
Hearts' city neighbours, Hibernian, suffered the humiliation of a 7-0 home Europa League defeat by Malmo since which, inexplicably, Pat Fenlon has remained as the manager. Fenlon's tenure is surely doomed – the malaise lies somewhere else at Easter Road – but he has made useful additions in the form of Owain Tudur Jones and Rowan Vine. The £200,000 Hibs paid Swindon Town for James Collins represented an almost unheard of case of a team not called Celtic spending a six-figure transfer fee.
Aberdeen's perennial hope for better things has been boosted by the arrival of a manager with hunger in the form of Derek McInnes. The former Rangers midfielder endured a troubled time in charge of Bristol City and has therefore returned to Scotland seeking to relight what had earlier seemed a promising coaching career. McInnes's first task will be to improve on Aberdeen's harmful habit of producing scoreless draws at Pittodrie.
Motherwell have lost their key striker, Michael Higdon, but Stuart McCall can be content with a batch of useful signings that include Stephen McManus, John Sutton, Iain Vigurs and James McFadden. With that in mind, they seem the most legitimate bet for second place in a race that will be keenly fought.
Partick Thistle and Dundee United will kick off the supposedly bright new dawn on Friday evening in the west end of Glasgow. Hard as they may try to brand it otherwise, the nine months thereafter will almost inevitably produce more of the same.
And here's the Team by Team
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/aug/02/scottish-premiership-preview-celtic
Aberdeen
Last season: 8th
Prediction: 4th
Better things are expected and should arrive at Pittodrie after the appointment of Derek McInnes. Willo Flood and Barry Robson will offer crucial experience of Scotland's top division, with pressure on Calvin Zola to supply goals.
Ins: Willo Flood (Dundee United), Michael Hector (Reading) loan, Barry Robson (Sheffield Utd), Lawrence Shankland (Queen's Park), Nicky Weaver (Sheffield Wednesday), Gregg Wylde (Bolton), Calvin Zola (Burton)
Outs: Jordon Brown (Peterhead), Rory Fallon (St Johnstone), Mitch Megginson (Dumbarton), Gavin Rae (Dundee), Rob Milsom (Rotherham), Gary Naysmith, Stephen Hughes, Isaac Osbourne, Dan Twardzik
Celtic
Last season: 1st
Prediction: 1st
Neil Lennon's men will again win the league with plenty to spare. More interesting in the early weeks of the campaign will be whether Celtic can earn a money-spinning return to the Champions League's group stage.
Ins: Amido Balde (Vitória Guimarães) £1.2m, Virgil van Dijk (Groningen) £2.6m, Derk Boerrigter Ajax £2m, Steven Mouyokolo (Wolves)
Outs: Victor Wanyama (Southampton) £12.5m, Gary Hooper (Norwich) £4.5m, Rami Gershon (Waasland-Beveren), Miku (Getafe), Daryl Murphy (Ipswich), Thomas Rogne (Wigan), James Keatings, Lassad, Paddy McCourt
Dundee United
Last season: 6th
Prediction: 6th
Jackie McNamara struggled in his early weeks in charge at Tannadice after succeeding Peter Houston. Yet United have recruited well from Scotland's lower leagues and still look a top six side.
Ins: Calum Butcher (Hayes & Yeading Utd), Nadir Çiftç (Breda), Aidan Connolly (Queen's Park), Chris Erskine (Partick Thistle), David Goodwillie (Blackburn Rovers) loan, Brian Graham (Raith Rovers), Kudus Oyenuga (Hayes & Yeading Utd), Paul Paton (Partick Thistle), Andrew Robertson (Queen's Park)
Outs: Johnny Russell (Derby County) undisc fee, Steve Banks (St Johnstone), Jon Daly (Rangers), Barry Douglas (Lech Poznan), Willo Flood (Aberdeen), Brian McLean (Ross County)
Marcus Törnstrand (Ostersund), Richie Ryan, Rory Boulding, Robert Thomson
Hearts
Last season: 10th
Prediction: 12th
A 15-point penalty and signing embargo, owing to administration, renders it a huge task for the young Tynecastle squad to avoid relegation.
Ins: Danny Wilson (Liverpool)
Outs: Arvydas Novikovas (Erzgebirge Aue) £100,000, Darren Barr (Kilmarnock), Danny Grainger (St Mirren), Fraser Mullen (Hibernian), Gordon Smith (Raith Rovers), John Sutton (Motherwell), Denis Prychynenko, Michael Ngoo, Mehdi Taouil, Andy Webster, Marius Zaliukas, Andrew Driver
Hibernian
Last season: 7th
Prediction: 9th
Hibs are still reeling from a 7-0 home defeat to Malmo in the Europa League's second qualifying round. Pat Fenlon has made decent signings but the Hibs defence remains weak and Leigh Griffiths' absence will be keenly felt in attack.
Ins: James Collins (Swindon) £200,000, Ryan McGivern (Manchester City), Fraser Mullen (Hearts), Owain Tudur Jones (Inverness CT), Rowan Vine (St Johnstone)
Outs: Callum Booth (Raith Rovers) loan, Jorge Claros (Motagua), Gary Deegan (Northampton), Matt Done (Rochdale), Eoin Doyle (Chesterfield), Paul Grant (Berwick Rangers) loan, Leigh Griffiths (Wolves), Martin Scott (Livingston), David Wotherspoon (St Johnstone), Pa Kujabi, Shefki Kuqi, Alan Maybury
Inverness CT
Last season: 4th
Prediction: 7th
Terry Butcher has excelled in picking up previously unknown players from England's lower leagues. He has adopted the same policy this summer but Andrew Shinnie and Owain Tudur Jones are significant losses.
Ins: Torbjorn Agdestein (Brighton), Curtis Allen (Coleraine), Dean Brill (Luton) loan, Adam Evans (Burnley), Joe Gorman (Crewe), Ben Greenhalgh (Concord Rangers), Harry Hooman (Cheltenham), Carl Tremarco (Macclesfield), James Vincent (Kidderminster Harriers), Marley Watkins (Hereford Utd), Danny Williams (Kendal Town)
Outs: Jordon Gibbons (QPR), Gavin Morrison (Brora Rangers), Antonio Reguero (Kilmarnock), Philip Roberts (Falkirk), Andrew Shinnie (Birmingham), Shane Sutherland (Elgin City), Charlie Taylor (Leeds Utd), Owain Tudur Jones (Hibernian), Simon King, Chris Hogg
Kilmarnock
Last season: 9th
Prediction: 10th
Allan Johnston has replaced Kenny Shiels at Rugby Park, amid supporter discord towards the chairman, Michael Johnston. Killie must improve on last season's dismal home form this time around and goals from Kris Boyd should have them do that but Johnston still faces a tough job.
Ins: Darren Barr (Hearts), Conor Brennan (Leicester), Antonio Reguero (Inverness CT), Craig Samson (St Mirren)
Outs: Cammy Bell (Rangers), James Dayton (Oldham), Kyle Letheren (Dundee), Cillian Sheridan (Apoel Nicosia), Ryan O'Leary, Garry Hay, Anssi Jaakola, Momo Sissoko
Motherwell
Last season: 2nd
Prediction: 2nd
Stuart McCall's work at Fir Park has arguably been under-appreciated. Motherwell have lost Michael Higdon but have made arguably the most impressive close season signings in the division and will finish prominently again.
Ins: Henrik Anier (Viking Stavanger) loan, Fraser Kerr (Birmingham), Paul Lawson (Ross County), Stephen McManus (Middlesbrough), Gunnar Nielsen (Silkeborg), John Sutton (Hearts), Iain Vigurs (Ross County)
Outs: Henrik Ojamaa (Legia Warsaw) undisclosed fee, Michael Higdon (Nijmegen), Kallum Higginbotham (Huddersfield), Chris Humphrey (Preston), Nicky Law (Rangers), Darren Randolph (Birmingham), Steven Saunders (Ross County), Omar Daley, Tom Hateley, Steve Hetherington
Partick Thistle
Last season: First Division champions
Prediction: 11th
Hearts' predicament offers Thistle both hope and some time to bed back into the top flight. Alan Archibald's men will be in the league's lower reaches but their solitary aim is survival.
Ins: John Baird (Dundee), Gary Fraser (Bolton) loan, Paul Gallacher (Ross County), Mark Kerr (Dundee), Ross Meechan (Unattached), Henoc Mukendi (Liverpool) loan, Gabriel (Vallecano B), Isaac Osbourne (Aberdeen), Simon Colina (Barcelona)
Outs: Steven Craig (Wycombe), Andy Dowie (Queen of the South), Chris Erskine (Dundee United), Mark McGuigan (Albion Rovers) loan, Paul Paton (Dundee United), Ryan Scully (Dunfermline) loan
Ross County
Last season: 5th
Prediction: 5th
One of few clubs in Scotland who have looked to increase their playing staff. Iain Vigurs and Paul Lawson will be missed by Derek Adams but County excelled in the SPL last season and look well capable of doing so again.
Ins: Graham Carey (St Mirren), Melvin de Leeuw (Cambuur), Ben Gordon (Yeovil), Marc Kloc (Utrecht), Kevin Luckassen (Alkmaar), Darren Maatsen (Excelsior), Brian McLean (Dundee United), Steven Saunders (Motherwell)
Outs: Mark Fotheringham (Notts County), Paul Gallacher (Partick Thistle), André Hainault (Aalen), Paul Lawson (Motherwell), Martin Scott (Livingston), Iain Vigurs (Motherwell), Evangelos Ikonomou, Steffen Wohlfarth, Sam Morrow
St Johnstone
Last season: 3rd
Prediction: 3rd
Have started the season brilliantly by seeing off Rosenborg and winning a first leg in Minsk at the Europa League's qualifying stage. Tommy Wright has provided a seamless managerial transition after Steve Lomas left to take over at Millwall.
Ins: Steve Banks (Dundee United), Scott Brown (Bradford City) loan, Brian Easton (Dundee), Dylan Easton (Berwick Rangers), Gwion Edwards (Swansea) loan, Rory Fallon (Aberdeen), Gary McDonald (Morecambe), David Wotherspoon (Hibernian)
Outs: Mehdi Abeid (Newcastle), Liam Craig (Hibernian), Michael Doughty (QPR), Gregory Tade (CFR Cluj), Jonny Tuffey (Linfield), Rowan Vine (Hibernian), David McCracken
St Mirren
Last season: 11th
Prediction: 8th
The League Cup holders briefly flirted with relegation last season but can be wonderful to watch when on their game. This time around, they look strong enough to secure safety with a bit to spare.
Ins: David Cornell (Swansea) loan, Kealan Dillon (Hull City), Christopher Dilo (Blackburn), Danny Grainger (Hearts), Gary Harkins (Dundee),
Outs: Grant Adam (Cowdenbeath), Graham Carey (Ross County), Paul Dummett (Newcastle), Esmaël Gonçalves (Apoel Nicosia), Lewis Guy (Carlisle), Dougie Imrie (Greenock Morton), Conor Newton (Newcastle ), Sam Parkin (Exeter City), Sander Puri (York City), Craig Samson (Kilmarnock), Chris Smith (Stenhousemuir)
* no fee unless specified
