In recent seasons Scottish League Two has been dominated by clubs that have been rather flush with cash for this level - Queen's Park last season, and Cove Rangers the year before. At the other end of the table, the addition in 2015 of a relegation playoff has forced smaller sides who have cruised along at this level for aeons to either ship up or ship out; league mainstays East Stirlingshire and Berwick Rangers have languished in the Lowland League after dropping out of the SPFL, while Brechin City - who finished bottom in the shortened 2019-20 season but were reprieved after the playoffs were cancelled - were finally demoted to the Highland League in May after being defeated by Lowland champions Kelty Hearts.
And looking at the squads, it's easy to imagine Kelty emulating Queen's Park and Cove; they are odds on favourites with the bookies. But reputations count for little in a division filled with plenty of wily veteran players and seasoned managers who take joy in shooting down any divas they come across...
ALBION ROVERS (2020/21 - 7th; 2019/20 - 9th; 2018/19 - 9th)
Rovers work to a really tight budget, and Brian Reid was entitled to see seventh place as a successful outcome last season. The next step is to build further on that. Basically signing Stirling Albion's bench (five players!) is probably a sign of the constraints they're working under though and the loss of ten-goal-striker Matty Aitken to Forfar, and young keeper Harry Stone's return to parent club Hearts will not help their cause. This season may be harder, not easier, than last.
ANNAN ATHLETIC (2020/21 - 8th; 2019/20 - 7th; 2018/19 - 4th)
It now seems like every summer Peter Murphy has to build a completely new squad. It maybe wasn't quite so bad this year (just the ten signings!) but they have got just a little weaker each of the last couple of campaigns and will certainly be worrying more about relegation than dreaming of promotion. Getting Tommy Goss from Queen of the South will help up front, but as ever many of the new players have come from teams in the north of England and are something of an unknown to ignorant bloggers like myself.
COWDENBEATH (2020/21 - 9th; 2019/20 - 4th; 2018/19 - 6th)
The Blue Brazil dropped off badly last season and would have been in a fix but for Brechin's travails. Gary Bollan likes a lot of experience and Bobby Barr, Liam Buchanan and Kyle Hutton will provide shedloads of that. 36 year old Buchanan returns to the club that gave him his debut nineteen years ago and is looking to score a league goal for the twentieth consecutive season. Cowden will need him to roll back the years, because they are considered amongst the favourites to come bottom.
EDINBURGH CITY (2020/21 - 2nd; 2019/20 - 2nd; 2018/19 - 3rd)
The Citizens have been the nearly men of the last few seasons, coming up short to opponents who are just slightly better resourced. The appointment of Gary Naysmith towards the end of last season has coincided with a big refresh of the squad that includes the loss of key players such as defenders Liam Henderson (who has joined Arbroath in the Championship) and Conrad Balatoni and striker Blair Henderson. Lewis Toshney will boost the backline if (big if!) he can stay fit. Last season City lacked a consistent goalscorer and they will be reliant on young loan attackers Alex Ferguson and Ryan Shanley to fire them into the top four again.
ELGIN CITY (2020/21 - 3rd; 2019/20 - 3rd; 2018/19 - 8th)
Given that geography makes recruitment a bit trickier, Gavin Price has done well to steer Elgin to two top-three finishes in succession. Aside from losing defensive linchpin Stephen Bronsky this squad remains relatively settled. Kane Hester's goals will always make them a threat (assuming his off-field problems get sorted) and the Dingwall brothers, Tony and Russell, provide an excellent midfield spark. They probably need reinforcements if they have designs on breaking into the top two though.
FORFAR ATHLETIC (2020/21 - 10th in League One; 2019/20 - 9th in League One; 2018/19 - 2nd in League One)
Forfar have really slumped since they reached the League One promotion playoffs just over two years ago, and will look at Brechin's decline with trepidation. The hope is that the permanent appointment as manager of Gary Irvine can turn things around and they've certainly rebuilt the squad. There are high hopes for a strike pairing of PJ Crossan and Matty Aitken, while ex-Killie and Dundee United midfielder Craig Slater should stroll it if he can stay fit. Dundee loanees Sam Fisher and Luke Strachan will also be assets and they are entitled to target a quick return to League One.
KELTY HEARTS (2020/21 - 1st in Lowland League; 2019/20 - 1st in Lowland League; 2018/19 - 3rd in Lowland League)
Kelty do not plan to be in the fourth tier for long - a squad that already contained the quality of midfielders Michael Tidser and Thomas Reilly and forwards Kallum Higginbotham and Nathan Austin has been supplemented with ex-Dundee centre-back Jordon Forster, former Rangers youngster Jamie Barjonas and evergreen winger Joe Cardle. Rookie coach Kevin Thomson will be aiming for back-to-back promotions, which would be some progress for a club that finished fourteenth in the Junior East Super League seven seasons ago.
STENHOUSEMUIR (2020/21 - 6th; 2019/20 - 8th; 2018/19 - 9th in League One)
Stenny have really underwhelmed the last two seasons and punted boss Davie Irons when it became clear they'd finish in the bottom half again. New manager Stephen Swift comes from the Lowland League and has signed a SPFL-high twenty players already, holding onto only three from last year's squad. Undoubtedly there's some quality there - defender Sean Crichton, midfielder Ross Forbes and striker Robert Thomson give them a very high quality backbone. But how long will it take them to gel? A slow start wouldn't be a surprise but would hamper any playoff aspirations.
STIRLING ALBION (2020/21 - 5th; 2019/20 - 6th; 2018/19 - 5th)
Making the playoffs only once in six seasons at this level is a gross underachievement for Stirling, who stuck with boss Kevin Rutkiewicz despite missing the top four yet again. Andy Ryan's return to full-time football is a blow, with Dale Carrick his replacement up top. Midfielders Ray Grant and Rabin Omar weren't good enough for the Championship but should impress at this level, but it would be a stretch to claim they are stronger than in 2020/21.
STRANRAER (2020/21 - 4th; 2019/20 - 10th in League One; 2018/19 - 8th in League One)
It was a turbulent offseason in the South-West with manager Stevie Farrell leaving for Dumbarton and then a massive public fallout amongst the board. Ex-Hearts midfielder and Derek Adams-bodyslammer Jamie Hamill is the new man in the dugout, which means they'll likely miss his influence on the pitch. The loss of exciting young forward Ruari Paton to Queen of the South leaves them still looking for a credible goal threat and this is quite a young squad that may be up against it to repeat last season's playoff finish.
So here's my prediction for how they'll rank:
1. KELTY HEARTS
2. FORFAR ATHLETIC
3. EDINBURGH CITY
4. STENHOUSEMUIR
5. ELGIN CITY
6. STIRLING ALBION
7. STRANRAER
8. ALBION ROVERS
9. ANNAN ATHLETIC
10. COWDENBEATH
As always, I look forward to being proven spectacularly wrong!
Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.
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