The state of Scottish football going into 2023

 At one end of the scale, Scottish football finances are in rude health. Celtic and Rangers both reached the promised land of the Champions League group stages this season, which means megabucks. Whilst Rangers have had some interesting spending habits over much of the last decade, this along with the sale of Calvin Bassey will surely leave them no longer dependent on the riches of Douglas Park.

But 2023 could be a very difficult year for a number of Scottish football clubs. The main reason for this is the rising cost of, well, everything. Day-to-day running of a club has never been more expensive. Ditto travelling. And whilst attendances have been remarkably robust up till now the cost of living crisis is taking its toll on millions and tickets to the fitba will prove an unnecessary luxury for plenty.

The main focus of concern is the Scottish Championship. There are no particular warning sirens going off at any top flight clubs right now - and after the Setanta debacle, the Rangers liquidation and the end of Romanov at Hearts we all have a pretty good idea of when the midden is heading for the windmill. At Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs and Dundee United - in terms of support, the next four biggest clubs in the country - it helps to have decent financial backing. All but the Jambos have a rich owner; Hearts have a seven figure sum of 'donations' coming into the club every year related to fan ownership, as well as wealthy individuals.

Hearts will be a particularly interesting case to watch going forward. Their participation in the European Conference League - which is guaranteed for the Cup winner/third placed team in the league (if the cup is won by either of the top two) - earned them millions. Their two wins in the group stage alone made them nearly half the prize money that they got for coming third in the Premiership last season. Whilst it is still breadcrumbs compared to the vast riches the Old Firm bring in, it gives them a significant financial boost in comparison with the rest of the domestic opposition. If Robbie Neilson's side can pull off another 'best of the rest' this season - as looks quite likely at the time of writing, then it is conceivable they could find themselves much stronger than the rest of the pack, though still a million billion miles behind the Old Firm.

As for the rest, one assumes they will be just fine...as long as they stay in the Premiership, or at least get out of the second tier at the first attempt. Kilmarnock spent a lot of money to escape, and I suspect there would have been a huge austerity drive at Rugby Park had they not managed promotion.

One area where there has been impressive progress has been in recruitment strategy. Scottish clubs are exempt from the same stringent work permit criteria that restricts English clubs from bringing in non-UK players, and many have taken significant advantage. Ange Postecoglu's knowledge of Japan has allowed him to bring such rough diamonds as Reo Hatate, Daizan Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi to Celtic on the cheap, with more on the way in this transfer window. Other clubs have done well out of Australian players, with Hearts, Dundee United and St. Mirren all boasting players that went to the World Cup with the Socceroos. In general these signings have proven to be unmitigated successes, and almost certainly will have been far cheaper than British equivalents. They also tend to be young and so have potential resale value, as Hearts and St. Mirren will likely find with Kye Rowles and Keanu Baccus respectively.

I can't help suspecting that eventually some chairmen in the English Football League will cry foul and pressure the Home Office to close this particular loophole, but until then Scottish clubs are going to make hay.

As I stated earlier, it's clubs further down the ladder that I'm more worried about.

Part-time teams, less so. Whilst they will also be hit by the same increase in costs as everyone else, they should find it easier to manage because their playing budgets are lower and can be lowered further if necessary (albeit with an effect on the quality on the pitch). Full-time clubs have a wage floor; there is a level of income that a full-time player must receive in order for it to be viable for them to stay full-time. With the cost of living crisis that floor is going to get higher and it is going to become very difficult for some clubs to deal with that without becoming part-time.

Deloitte's recent description of four unnamed Championship clubs as "showing signs of financial distress" is pretty vague to say the least. However I would note that Dundee, Queen's Park and Ayr United have wealthy owners and are safe unless they pull the plug. Cove Rangers also have plenty of funding whilst fellow part-timers Arbroath are in rude health after last season's successes. As for the other five...well, I would worry about them. Hamilton and Raith Rovers have admitted they can't continue running the way they are, Morton already have the tiniest squad you can get away with (though fan ownership seems to be going pretty smoothly) and there are plenty of rumours in the Highlands that all is not rosy at Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Goodness knows where Partick Thistle are at after all the ownership shenanigans there, though I'd like to think they are less likely to be heading for a Help Ma Boab situation. If there is going to be a catastrophe somewhere in 2023 it will be in this division.

Hopefully (fingers crossed) there won't be.

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. 

2022-23 Premiership preview

To be honest, these days the Premiership preview is a slog to write. That's partly because my own team aren't in it, partly because I don't have the time to do pieces on individual clubs anymore and partly because for my entire football life it has been either a one horse or two horse race. And a race like that isn't interesting unless you're backing one of the two horses, So I'm happy to accept that this is a bit thin and fully expect to be quickly proved wrong on most of it before the clocks go back.

The prediction I'm most confident of? That the gap between second and third - which was 28 points last season - will not come down to below 20 points. With Celtic rolling in the Champions League money and Rangers with a chance to do the same, that chasm is not closing.

I suppose I'd better make a title prediction. Celtic have pretty much kept the band together, while Rangers lost Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo. Whilst Giovanni Van Bronckhorst has signed some intriguing players, I'm going to go with the tried and tested and fancy another Championship for Ange Postecoglu. But neither team will drop points often.

It is far more fun to discuss the clubs who are in crisis. The obvious place to start is at St. Johnstone, who were 45 minutes away from the drop before finding their mojo against Inverness, but they have now lost Zander Clark, Jamie McCart, Shaun Rooney and Callum Hendry and replaced them with guys who aren't that far away from Masters football. There is a fine line between 'experienced' and 'washed-up'. The biggest concern is that you wouldn't bet on any of their forwards getting near double figures for goals.

Motherwell might have qualified for Europe but they stank the place out in the second half of last season and have a squad (and tactics, perhaps?) that desperately lack flair. Paul McGinn has been added to a backline that looks okay on paper but has been allergic to a clean sheet in 2022, and aside from the able but erratic Kevin Van Veen it's hard to see much attacking threat. The defeat to Sligo Rovers has justifiably enduced panic in the support and Graham Alexander is feeling under pressure. He certainly needs some new bodies through the door to save his bacon.

I'm also not feeling great about St. Mirren where Stephen Robinson struggled to make a positive impact after arriving in February. League Cup defeats to both Arbroath and Airdrie don't bode well either. The Buddies will also miss Connor Ronan badly after he returned to Wolves, and he has far bigger suitors for the coming campaign. That said, they have signed seven new players, including Robinson's former Motherwell stalwarts Mark O'Hara and Declan Gallagher who previously played their best under his management. If Australians Ryan Strain and Keanu Baccus are hits then that would be an enormous boost, and Jonah Ayunga has hinted he might have the eye for goal that the club's other forwards lack. It could go either way though.

As a newly promoted side Kilmarnock are probably obliged to be in this conversation but I'd expect Derek McInnes to make them tough to beat and to grind out enough results to be comfortably safe. Keeping goalie Zach Hemming for another year will help, but sooner or later time will catch up with talisman Kyle Lafferty. If it is sooner, Killie really need Oli Shaw to step up.

The best of the diddy teams? It's easy enough to make an argument for Hearts again as Lawrence Shankland's signing cancels out the end of Ellis Simms' loan but they will miss John Souttar and I don't know that they have the depth to balance their domestic action with the guaranteed European games. 

That might open the door for Aberdeen who have been refreshingly aggressive at spending the cash generated by the sales of Calvin Ramsey and Lewis Ferguson. Jim Goodwin certainly has a plan, but it seems pretty high risk, high reward as it depends on a lot of new faces settling quickly and gelling quickly.

Dundee United's manager's job appears to be afflicted by the same curse as the Defence Against The Dark Arts, but they've found another decent incumbent in Jack Ross and are another club showing some imagination in their recruitment, bringing in Australians Mark Birighitti and Aziz Behich. The former should adequately replace Benjamin Siegrist in goal. Steven Fletcher returns to Scotland 13 years after leaving Hibs and should still have plenty to give even at 35. Most remarkably they convinced Dylan Levitt to sign permanently from Manchester United after a superb loan spell. Whoever is in the dugout, United seem to have a plan.

That's rather more than can be said for Hibernian, who are surely too good for a relegation fight (though this is Hibs we're talking about, so anything can happen) but new boss Lee Johnson hasn't endeared himself to the fans or anyone else with a dreadful League Cup campaign and then his incredible claims that they were set up to fail by the authorities. Poor Rocky Bushiri, a player that the club supposedly didn't want to sign permanently but had to after playing him in too many meaningless games at the end of last season, and who then was played against Morton when he was suspended. On the plus side David Marshall is a definite upgrade in goal and they got a big fee for Josh Doig but it's hard to see what the club's strategy is right now. The man in charge of recruitment is the owner's son though so it's bound to be fine in the end.

And that leaves us with clubs that look too strong and too well organized to go down whilst also not quite having the resources to push for third. Livingston continue to punch above their weight thanks to the skills of David Martindale and their creative recruitment that this summer has rustled up ex-Hearts and St. Mirren forward Esmael Goncalves among others. Martindale finally ran out of patience with accident-prone keeper Max Stryjek and has forked out a decent fee - the most they have spent in about twenty years - on goalie Shamal George. Crucially they have in Bruce Anderson a striker who scores more frequently than most in this league. One or two good loan signings would turn them into bona fide top six contenders.

And lastly Ross County got better and better as 2021/22 progressed, suggesting that whatever your thoughts on him as a person there is no question that Malky Mackay is a top coach. Last year they were dependent on a lot of loan signings who have moved on, along with the superb Regan Charles-Cook. But their relationship with Southampton has allowed them to bring in the exciting young winger Kazeem Olaigbe, while striker Jordy Hiwula has settled in quickly. They've also gone to Canada to get midfielder Victor Loturi and William Akio and improved the defence with the experienced duo of Callum Johnson and Ben Purrington and goalkeeper Jake Eastwood. They should justifiably believe they can make the top half again.

So here's my predicted table. Should I allow for my suspicion that Hibs, St. Mirren, Motherwell and St. Johnstone will all change managers before Christmas? I suppose it might not change my predictions much...

1. CELTIC

2. RANGERS

3. HEARTS

4. ABERDEEN

5. DUNDEE UNITED

6. ROSS COUNTY

7. LIVINGSTON

8. HIBERNIAN

9. KILMARNOCK

10. ST. MIRREN

11. MOTHERWELL

12. ST. JOHNSTONE

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. 

2022-23 Championship preview

Here we go then. The Scottish Championship is my bread and butter, by which I mean that I make the same blunders as in all the other previews but with much more confidence. Allegations that I predicted Arbroath to finish bottom last season and Dunfermline to make the playoffs (no,not those playoffs) are absolutely outrageous and completely true.

In recent times this division has tended to be dominated by a single club who clearly have more cash to throw at the squad. Out of the last eight champions, only St. Mirren didn't have cash to burn (or to throw at Charlie Adam and Jason Cummings, which is essentially the same thing).

Whilst Dundee are the wealthiest team in the division this time around, thanks to their generous yet hapless American owners, the lack of reinforcement so far this summer suggests that there will be no poundshop galacticos coming to Dens Park - sorry, Leigh - which may not be a bad thing. The squad that was relegated is probably strong enough to win the title anyway, especially if striker Alex Jakubiak can finally stay fit for more than five minutes. A little more depth would be helpful and there are question marks over all three goalkeepers but most crucially they have brought in a manager, Gary Bowyer, whose CV screams 'competent'. And that in itself is enough to make them clear favourites.

I am always wary of cursing Inverness Caledonian Thistle with any positivity that might encourage the universe to crush me or them in revenge. But ICT were 45 Perth minutes away from promotion in May - now let's never speak of that second half again, please - and whilst they lost Kirk Broadfoot (who was heading for the knacker's yard anyway) and quality loan players Reece McAlear and Logan Chalmers they have kept the rest of the squad together. George Oakley should be a competent striker at this level and I'm excited by Daniel Mackay's return on loan. They should be there or thereabouts, particularly if Oakley, Billy Mckay or Austin Samuels proves a consistent source of goals.

Should Arbroath be in the conversation too? After all, only two of their best XI at the end of last season - Chris Hamilton and Jack Hamilton - are away. And their League Cup performances suggest there's no hangover from last season. That said it is always asking a lot of a part-time side to sustain such a high level for so long, and some sort of drop-off seems inevitable. But should Dick Campbell procure some super-talented loan signings, as he often has done in the past, they could cause havoc once again. Last season proved we should never be fooled into underestimating them; they have several players - Tam O'Brien, Ricky Little and Nicky Low are the ones that stand out to me - who could play for a full-time team if they wished but instead choose to supplant their day jobs with a generous part-time football income.

The last of the promotion playoff sides from last year, Partick Thistle have fairly overhauled their squad with ten new signings and many departures. Ian McCall is determined to relieve the goalscoring burden on veteran Brian Graham, bringing in forwards Danny Mullen, Anton Dowds and Tony Weston. They'll need Weston and midfielder Cole McKinnon to contribute far more than last season's Rangers loanee Juan Alegria did. Bringing back Steven Lawless looks smart too. If there's a question mark it's over the defence; Jack McMillan is a good signing but if Harry Milne can't make the step up from Cove then there's not a lot of alternatives, especially as Kevin Holt's future seems to be at centre-back. I suspect McCall isn't finished wheeling and dealing yet.

Aside from winning the Challenge Cup, Raith Rovers had a pretty dreadful first half of 2022 and the time was probably right to part ways with John McGlynn. Ian Murray is the new boss but his few signings so far have been from League One (Scott Brown, Dylan Easton) or Scunthorpe (Ross Millen). Options are a bit limited just now; Tom Lang, Ross Matthews, Brad Spencer and Lewis Vaughan all miss the start of the season with injury, whilst He Who Must Not Be Named is still technically on the books but will never play for the club. Starting the season with Christophe Berra as the only fit senior centre-back no senior centre-backs after Christophe Berra suddenly retired this week, and with Jamie Gullan as the only fit senior striker, is not a good situation. Can Murray hold out until the treatment room clears or does he have to hit the market? It feels like a transitional year for them.

Rovers aren't the only club short of numbers; Dougie Imrie's first team lines for the League Cup had all of one sub due to injuries and suspensions and he made it clear that he wasn't expecting to get any more funds for his Greenock Morton squad. Morton improved dramatically under Imrie in the second half of last season but were unable to convince keeper Jack Hamilton or forwards Gary Oliver and Gozie Ugwu to sign new deals. Lewis Strapp did decide to stay on and Darragh O'Connor and Jack Baird will replace departed loanees Oisin McEntee and Jason Brandon but there is going to be a huge emphasis on youth and on temporary transfers - if goalie Brian Schwake (who was excellent for FC Edinburgh last season in League Two) and striker Jaze Kabia struggle then so will they.

There's also plenty of room for additions to the Cove Rangers dressing room. The squad hasn't been strengthened much following promotion with only teenage Aberdeen defender Evan Towler coming in on loan and English non-league attacker Gerry McDonagh joining permanently. Manager Paul Hartley left for Hartlepool and replacement Jim McIntyre looks like he has work to do to get the team ready for the step up. We'll soon find out if veterans Mark Reynolds, Shay Logan and Iain Vigurs still have the legs for this level and whether Mitch Megginson and Fraser Fyvie can light up the Championship like they did the lower divisions. Expect lots of newcomers in the next few weeks and only then can we properly gauge Cove's prospects.

Queen's Park actually finished three places below Cove in League One last season before coming up through the playoffs, yet it could be argued that the Spiders' trajectory is the one pointing upwards. Bringing in Owen Coyle was a sign of their ambition and they have been ruthless in moving on all but the best players from the promotion-winning squad. The arrivals of Josh McPake (on loan) and Dom Thomas should make them dangerous going forward, though they may need Simon Murray to rewind the clock a few years if they are to score enough goals. If this young squad clicks, their first campaign at this level in 39 years could be an exciting one.

Trying to assess the prospects of Hamilton Academical is even harder. Accies had a tumultuous offseason to say the least, taking several weeks to sort out the binning of boss Stuart Taylor and losing a fair bit of preparation time in the process. The good news: replacement John Rankin gives the impression of being an intelligent coach. The not so good news: the club's own former (as of this week) CEO predicted "the hardest season we've had in the 20 years we've been here". The only new faces are Michael Doyle (let go by Queen's Park) and young midfielder Jonny Ngandu. If Andy Winter continues his development then they might be okay up front but a lack of depth here and a lack of quality elsewhere - aside from the impressive Steve Lawson - is hugely concerning. It's not unusual for Accies to depend on youngsters, but aside from Winter it's not clear there are any other academy products ready for this level.

It's not been a great summer for Ayr United either. Having avoided a relegation playoff by the skin of their teeth, they also lost star striker Tomi Adeloye, with outstanding loan players Kerr McInroy and James Maxwell also away. However there was an expectation that a full preseason under Lee Bullen, coupled with the manager's impressive contacts down south, would result in new signings and an improvement of the current squad. Defensively they should be better after bringing in Frankie Musonda, Alex Kirk and David Bangala.  However their League Cup campaign was a disaster. Forwards Sam Ashford and Dipo Akinyemi haven't clicked yet and aside from Andy Murdoch there are concerns about the midfield. Bullen still has a lot of work to do if he is to keep United away from another relegation battle.

So here's the inevitably wrong predicted table:

1. DUNDEE

2. INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE

3. PARTICK THISTLE

4. ARBROATH

5. QUEEN'S PARK

6. RAITH ROVERS

7. COVE RANGERS

8. GREENOCK MORTON

9. AYR UNITED

10. HAMILTON ACADEMICAL

I'm pretty comfortable with my top four. I have absolutely no idea how to rank the other six. I worry that Accies are dysfunctional, Ayr are just not very good and Morton are broke, so they are my bottom three. But Cove seem unsure whether to spend what is required to take them to the next level, Queen's Park have a 'boom/bust' feel to them and it'll be tough to evaluate where Raith Rovers are at until the window is closed.

And here's what the universe thought when I asked their opinion:

Dundee to win it, ICT partick fighting for second, QP and Arbroath scrapping for 4th, accies down as fuck and the rest to fight it out to not finish 9th

— Jake 🇨🇷 (@JakeTS_) July 26, 2022

I would say whilst it will be very competitive legaue , I still think there are quite a few poor teams

Dundee / ICT / Thistle / Raith to occupy the top 4

Raith going under the radar a little bit

— Greg Browning (@Browning84Greg) July 26, 2022

Hopefully top 4 for Arbroath again 🤞🏻 very much dependant on loan signings. But could say that about every team in the league. Solid start in the LC groups. Would take finishing 8th or above!

— Boyd Adams (@boydadams1985) July 26, 2022

Dundee & Partick Thistle the only ones to go for the title. Morton & Ayr to battle for relegation. Arbroath 3rd. Accies and Cove to have a 4-4 game with 3 red cards. Inverness 4th. Queens park and raith just making up the numbers

— Cammy Hutton (@fatpirlo) July 26, 2022

Usual tight contest, PT teams in the league are very good and will have a big influence on who eventually tops the league. Dundee from a financial perspective should win it however not seen much recruitment from them. Thistle, ICT, Dundee should be in top 4 other place is anyones

— john Vincent Kane (@johnvincentkane) July 26, 2022

Caley Thistle to win the league, Partick, Dundee and Arbroath for the remaining playoff spots. Raith just missing out.

— Andi Jamieson (@andijam82) July 26, 2022

Dundee win league in a competent manner. The two Jags will be clear in playoffs. Final playoff spot who gets best injury free run. Accies to go straight down, Ayr in the playoffs.

— Robbie Weir (@rw2711) July 26, 2022

Caley win the league, Dundee just 4-5 points behind. Partick and cove in a comfortable 3rd and 4th. Morton and Raith in a relagation battle through the final 3 months. Caleys only challenges are Partick, Dundee and cove so as long as we don't get too many injuries we will be fine

— Gingy1745 (@MaccallumEuan) July 26, 2022

Inverness win with Dundee with a close 2nd. Partick 3rd, and Cove a wildcard 4th, rest of the league dgaf, Queens taking a straight plummet down and Morton in the relegation playoffs

— Jack Waddington (@Jack_Wad_V2) July 26, 2022

Dundee Win League :)

— Lewis Banks (@LewisBanks03) July 26, 2022

1. Thistle
2. Dundee
3. ICT
4. Raith
5. Cove
6. Arbroath
7. Queen’s Park
8. Hamilton
9. Morton
10. Ayr

— Robbie MacKenzie (@Robbie_MacK2) July 27, 2022

Thistle and Caley to battle it out for the league. Raith to pip Arbroath to 3rd. Dundee 5th. Cove and Ayr to finish bottom 2, very close.

— Alan Johnson (@AlanJoh35272905) July 27, 2022

Let's see how it pans out...

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.  

2022-23 League One preview

 As someone with a wicked sense of humour and a deep love of schadenfreude, League One will doubtless bring me lots of joy every season as long as my own team aren't stuck in it. It's a beautiful combination of full-time clubs who feel the seaside leagues are beneath them - and whose players too often play as if they feel the same - and part-time sides who range from battle-hardened, dangerous units to a complete omnishambles (sometimes both in the same season) with everything in between.

It seems fair to begin with Falkirk, who seem to have Mr Burns' 'You're Stuck Here Forever' demotivational plaque and are onto their gazillionth manager since they crashed down here just over three years ago. The thing is, this time said supremo is John McGlynn, whose wonderful achievements at Raith Rovers included getting them out of this hellhole. It's hard to believe he can't at least make this motley crew the sum of their parts, which in itself would probably be enough to win the division. It just seems mad that players like Coll Donaldson, Paul Watson, Stephen McGinn, Kai Kennedy, Callumn Morrison, Aidan Nesbitt and Gary Oliver are here instead of in the Championship. The trouble will come if they feel the same way, particularly after a scudding or two.

Dunfermline Athletic are the other big fish in this particular rockpool after a catastrophic relegation. They too have a new manager in James McPake, who I didn't rate at all at Dundee. He has so far mostly stuck with the bunch that went down, either believing he can bring them back to form or because they're all on contracts the club can't get shot of. Again, there are lots of names that on past history belong in the second tier; Aaron Comrie, Graham Dorrans, Chris Hamilton, Kevin O'Hara, Craig Wighton, Nikolay Todorov. You'd think they'll be challengers, but the last time they were relegated to League One we thought the same, and they were stuck for three years until they got the right man in the dugout. Time will tell if they've managed that already.

Also coming down from the Championship are Queen of the South who didn't really improve much after Wullie Gibson took over from Allan Johnston. Perhaps Gibson deserves a Mulligan now that the veteran player-boss has a chance to mould his own squad. Improving the defence with Stuart Morrison, Ciaran McKenna and David McKay is a good start; bringing back Iain Wilson, Gavin Reilly and Connor Murray was also impressive; but the icing on the cake is the retention of striker Lee Connelly. They are giving this a good go, not least because it's hard to see them being able to remain full-time if they're stuck down here for multiple seasons.

The last of the full-time (-ish in this case, as they have a bit of a hybrid scheme going on) clubs, Airdrie have had a tumultuous summer with manager Ian Murray leaving for Kirkcaldy and taking star attacker Dylan Easton with him. At the time of writing the club have a tiny squad which includes player-boss Rhys McCabe (only 31 years old!) and his assistant, centre-back Calum Fordyce (age 30!). It's hard to see them repeating last year's second place finish unless McCabe is the next Alex Neil and he gets to sign a platoon of new players by the end of August.

Of the part-timers, Montrose have been the most consistently impressive in the division in recent years with a string of promotion playoff appearances on the back of a remarkably settled squad and a miracle-worker coach (Stewart Petrie) who doesn't want to give up a lucrative day job to manage at a full-time side. That said, the Gable Endies have brought in minimal reinforcements whilst also losing both Cammy Ballantynes (yes, there were two). There's still plenty of quality though which should stop them slipping too far back.

They might be usurped by the upstarts from Kelty Hearts though. Kelty breezed through League Two at the first attempt and have aspirations to emulate Cove Rangers. They should be competitive at this level from the word go with a decent sized budget that has allowed them to field the likes of Jamie Barjonas, Michael Tidser, Joe Cardle and Nathan Austin among others. Kevin Thomson's decision to leave in the summer wasn't ideal but they have high hopes for replacement boss John Potter. Can they immediately challenge at the right end?

Alloa Athletic also fancy they can get in the promotion playoffs, having improved immeasurably after replacing Barry Ferguson with Brian Rice in the dugout. They'll be relying more on Rice's acumen and improving the squad they've got than on making lots of signings but an attack with Ross MacIver and Connor Sammon should score plenty and immortal defender Andy Graham is still there along with other longstanding players such as Scott Taggart, Kevin Cawley and Jon Robertson. It'll be weird without Alan Trouten though.

As for those perhaps more worried about the drop, FC Edinburgh are obvious candidates given they came fourth in League Two last season before fighting their way through the playoffs. They were much more impressive after Alan Maybury took charge in the spring and have strengthened with the signings of veteran Liam Fontaine and full-back Kieran MacDonald (a regular with Raith and Hamilton the last few seasons) as well as signing Innes Murray permanently. Whether that'll be sufficient to enable them to make the step up is another matter. And the less said about the godawful name change the better...

There's not a lot of optimism to be found at Clyde who of course no longer have He Who Must Not Be Named scoring shedloads and masking their deficiencies, and who are now playing at New Douglas Park after getting ejected from Cumbernauld. There's been a clearout - including a number of players who declined new deals - and Danny Lennon somehow has to mould a new team without being able to take them to an island for five years first. Holding onto keeper Neil Parry, midfielder Barry Cuddihy and forward Ross Cunningham helps but it could be a tough first campaign as Hamilton's tenants.

But the most dire situation is in the Blue Toon; Peterhead were so short of numbers for the League Cup games that they drafted in players from the local non-leagues (I'd never even heard of Banchory St. Ternan or Rattray XI) to make up numbers. Geography is a big issue, and they cannot compete with Cove Rangers for the best local part-time players. If there is hope, it is in the return of Ryan Dow to the club and the permanent signing of impressive loanee Danny Strachan. But Jim McInally may not have faced a bigger challenge in his decade at Balmoor than keeping them up this season.

So here's the inevitably wrong predicted table...

1. FALKIRK

2. DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC

3. QUEEN OF THE SOUTH

4. KELTY HEARTS

5. ALLOA ATHLETIC

6. MONTROSE

7. AIRDRIEONIANS

8. FC EDINBURGH

9. CLYDE

10. PETERHEAD

And the Twitter takes on the season ahead:

Montrose to win it Dunfermline and QOTS to fight relegation.

— Robert (@Robert85733781) July 24, 2022

Dunfermline to win the league and straight out scrap for bottom between FC Edinburgh and Peterhead

— BlueBrazilianToffee (@BrazilianblueT) July 24, 2022

Wide open at the top Dunfermline, Airdrie & QOS for the top spot.

— David Hamilton (@dwham22) July 24, 2022

League of 3 parts, Falkirk, QoS, Dunfermline, Airdrie going for gold.

Alloa, Kelty, Montrose for the best of the rest.

FC Edinburgh, Peterhead, Clyde in the dog fight.

— Retep (@pjah80) July 24, 2022

I think airdrie are weaker than last season and will probably be more in the middle group of teams, apart from that hard to argue at this stage.

— Alastair Cameron (@Bully_Wee_Al) July 24, 2022

1. Anyone of 7.
2 Clyde. Peterhead/Edinburgh fight for 8th.

— Coatbridge Chancellor (@CCNo8GA) July 24, 2022

Falkirk my favs to go up
Airdrie and Dunfermline likely challengers
Was at QOS when Annan beat them and would have had them favs for relegation on that performance however seem to have picked up a bit
Montrose too good to go down so I worry for FC Edinburgh

— Stephen (@Stephen88888889) July 24, 2022

Falkirk & Dunfermline will be top too. John McGlynn is the best of business Falkirk have done in years. Fancy them to pip the Pars to 1st. Clyde to finish 10th. Edinburgh have giving a good account of themselves against Arbroath & St Mirren. Fancy us to stay up. Peterhead for 9th

— Lewis Mitchell (@LewisGMitchell) July 24, 2022

QoS up heed doon

— Dan (@Dan0li0) July 24, 2022

I think Peterhead are in massive trouble unless the can bring in some quality in the coming weeks.
FC Edinburgh could be in trouble too.
Fancy Dunfermline for the league though.

— Arron Myles (@ArronnMyless) July 24, 2022

Falkirk to finally get their act together, FC Edinburgh back to whence they came

— Alex Marr (@alexmarr98) July 24, 2022

Falkirk are going to have to pull their thumbs out their arses at some point. Kelty still flush with cash. Dunfermline, who knows. QOTS I’ve no idea… and Airdrie will hang about like a bad smell.

— KRD (@KGOD1995) July 24, 2022

Straight fight between Falkirk and Dunfermline but I think McGlynn’s experience will get Falkirk through it. Queens and Alloa to make up the play offs. Montrose, airdrie and Kelty middle 3 a good bit ahead of us(Clyde), Peterhead and Edinburgh. Peterhead to be bottom

— Alex Murray (@Alex_Murray92) July 24, 2022

My completely uninformed opinion:

Promotion between Kelty, Falkirk, Alloa, Dunfermline.
Kelty champions.

Relegation contenders: Edinburgh FC, Clyde, Airdrie.

Borderline pin the tail on the donkey.

— Tom Pearson (@tom7p) July 24, 2022

Peterhead look a certain to go down unless they get in a bunch of players. Could see it coming right down to the wire with Dunfermline and Falkirk but will go with Dunfermline to just get it. Kelty could be in trouble though. Definitly not been impressed with them in league cup.

— Cammy Hutton (@fatpirlo) July 24, 2022

Champions from Bairns, Pars and QoS. Then Montrose, Kelty and Airdrie - and Alloa if we can find a goalscorer - battling for 4th. Edinburgh, Clyde and Blue Toon in relegation scrap.

— Donald Pollock (@DonaldPollock3) July 24, 2022

as a dunfermline supporter as it stands today we have no chance of winning the league, I'd say between 4-6. Falkirk or Queens to win it just based on decent size squads.

— Colin (@Colin83334245) July 24, 2022

Falkirk, Dunfermline, Airdrie , Queen of the South, Alloa for top 4.
Edinburgh and Peterhead for the drop.

— Douglas Reid (@douglasreid28) July 24, 2022

Wide open. Any 1 from 7. Bairns, dafc, qos, airdrie, Alloa, mo & kelty.

— jay (@jay87174138) July 24, 2022

Falkirk
Dunfermline
QOTS
Kelty
Montrose
Airdrie
Alloa
Clyde
Peterhead
Edinburgh

— Lubo___ (@LouisOC94532880) July 24, 2022

The consensus around the group seems to be one of Dunfermline or Falkirk to win the title, then a very mixed bag in behind with the only constant being Clyde, Edinburgh and Peterhead to struggle.

— That's Never 10 Yards (@TN10Y) July 24, 2022

Falkirk finally have a manager who knows how to get out of league 1. Between them and dunfermline for the league but both could go up as bottom of the championship isnt great

— Chris Rex (@RexieCJ) July 24, 2022

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.  

2022-23 League Two preview

Those of you who have read my previews before (all three of you) will know that I put a large onus on budget as a factor in how well clubs will do.

And with good reason. After all, last season League Two had Kelty Hearts; the season before that there was Queen's Park, who won the title by 16 points in a campaign only 22 games long; in 2019-20 Cove Rangers were 13 points clear when the final quarter was written off. 

And for 2022-23 we have, well, nobody who really stands out. Which should mean a wide-open title race.

There are maybe three teams I'm confident will not be in with a shout (famous last words...). The first is newly promoted Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic who simply do not have the resources that the likes of Kelty and Cove boasted when they came up and who so far have made only modest additions to the squad that got them up in the first place. Sweet stories like that of striker Kieran McGachie, who played for the club when they were still in the Junior ranks, only take you so far. But they'll be hoping the nous of veteran striker Kevin Smith (signed from East Fife) will help establish them in the SPFL. And let's face it, the champions of tier 5 are generally at least mid-table League Two standard.

The next to be written off are Albion Rovers, partly because it's no secret that their wage bill is essentially buttons. Manager Brian Reid has moaned that everyone dismisses them as relegation candidates out of ignorance, but really it's because Rovers have finished in the bottom half of League Two four years in a row. Reid has attracted Ayrton Sonkur from Stranraer and Kyle Fleming from Annan, and most crucially he convinced midfielder Charlie Reilly to stay another season. But three players decamped to Dumbarton, including skipper Aron Lynas, and the loss of Kyle Doherty and Declan Byrne leaves them pretty lightweight up top.

And then there's Elgin City whose recruitment seems more limited by geography than ever. Their most southern signing of the summer came from Jeanfield Swifts and the exits of Euan Spark and Conor O'Keefe leave them rather short of depth. Expect a number of loan signings before the end of August, and expect further dependence on striker Kane Hester to fire them out of trouble. Elgin chose to stand by boss Gavin Price by bringing in Jim Weir as his assistant in a relationship that has a very Evans-Houllier feel, and one suspects a similar endgame.

What about the top end? Obviously the clubs relegated from League One come to mind. Dumbarton stood by boss Steve Farrell despite a second consecutive relegation from that division (he took Stranraer down the year before) and gave him licence to bring in ten new players, with an onus on experience in League One or Two. Keeper Brett Long, defender Aron Lynas, midfielder Ally Love and forward Ryan Wallace should add nicely to the backbone provided by Gregor Buchanan and Ryan McGeever at the back and Joe McKee and Stuart Carswell in the middle of the park.

East Fife also took the chance to rip it up and start again; Stevie Crawford has signed a mixture of experience (goalkeeper Allan Fleming and forward Alan Trouten) and youth (defenders Sam Denham and Lucas Williamson and forward Ryan Schiavone) but has also lost most of the better players he inherited midway through last season. The midfield looks particularly underwhelming and the Methil side are likely to be very active in the market in weeks to come.

Annan Athletic are the apparent exception to my beloved budget rule. They were narrowly denied promotion in the playoff final by Edinburgh City and enter their fifteenth season as a league side...and as a fourth tier side. Manager Peter Murphy is very much this division's "why on earth is he not managing at a higher level?" candidate as he seems to lose his best players every summer and yet still manage to cobble together a competitive team despite one of the smallest budgets. Owen Moxon, who has got his big move to Carlisle United, will be their biggest loss by some way this time around while former Leeds youth Josh Galloway is probably the most intriguing of a typically unexciting bunch of new faces who will probably go on to do perfectly well, just like their predecessors. Their outstanding League Cup campaign suggest they should be thereabouts again.

One place above Annan in the table last season, Forfar Athletic lost in the playoff semis to the borderers but will fancy they can build on that. Forfar used the loan system well last year and expect them to do the same in weeks to come; in the meantime Roberto Nditi, Tomas Brindley and James Keatings (if he stays fit) look like great additions. The midfield quartet of Kyle Hutton, Craig Slater, Craig Thomson and Callum Moore might be the strongest in the league. They will surely be in the mix again.

Stenhousemuir have also been super-busy wheeling and dealing. Stephen Swift brought in an entire squad last year and has ditched the players that didn't work out to make space for another ten signings. They got better as the season went on and will look to carry that momentum. 35 year old Craig Bryson is League Two's marquee signing this window but keeper Conor Brennan and defender Daniel Higgins should also strengthen them. There are high hopes that ex-Stranraer frontman Matt Yates and lower league goal machine Will Sewell can provide plenty of firepower.

As for Stranraer, they underwhelmed under Jamie Hamill last time out and to be honest they haven't done much to suggest they're on the up. Bringing Scott MacLean back north might provide a creative spark but a number of key players including the aforementioned Sonkur and Yates plus Sean Burns have moved on. They also have very little up top other than 38 year old Darryl Duffy.

And finally there's Stirling Albion, who probably underachieved under Kevin Rutkiewicz even if he suggested otherwise on his departure. Darren Young knows this level well and went back to former club East Fife for a trio of players including winger Danny Denholm. Robert Thomson is a good solid striker and loanee Harrison Clark should be better than this level. Stirling certainly have ambitions to finish above mid-table.

And therefore my predicted table is:

1. FORFAR ATHLETIC

2. ANNAN ATHLETIC

3. DUMBARTON

4. STENHOUSEMUIR

5. STIRLING ALBION

6. BONNYRIGG ROSE ATHLETIC

7. EAST FIFE

8. STRANRAER

9. ELGIN CITY

10. ALBION ROVERS

Fans of the bottom trio might want to screenshot this so they can use it against me in nine months time...

Here, for interest, are what the Twitterati think...

Forfar to win the league and Elgin to finish bottom

— BlueBrazilianToffee (@BrazilianblueT) July 22, 2022

Annan or Stenhousemuir for the title. Elgin to finish bottom. Bonnyrigg to take a respectable 8th place in their maiden season.

I’ve based this on absolutely nothing.

— oneteaminglasgow (@oneteaminglasg1) July 22, 2022

Annan to win the league on goal difference. Elgin to go up in the playoffs. Stirling Albion to go down

— lewis (@lemitchebsk) July 22, 2022

I expect Stenhousemuir and Annan to do well and I think Albion Rovers will finish bottom with Elgin in 9th place.

— Andy D (@AndyD1867) July 22, 2022

Annan to win it. Bonnyrigg up via playoff. East Fife doom

— Fitbawbag (@GilesGraeme) July 22, 2022

Forfar look settled. They'll be up there with Stenny and maybe Annan. Rovers will be in the dogfight but hopefully stay up, Bonnyrigg might struggle and Stirling or East Fife could get dragged in.

— Coatbridge Chancellor (@CCNo8GA) July 22, 2022

Annan to win it and Stranraer to finish bottom

— Alex Murray (@Alex_Murray92) July 22, 2022

Annan & Stenny look like they'll be up there. Bonnyrigg have started well think it will between them. Elgin might be relying on Kane Hester goals, Albion lost a few good players. Would imagine a lot will change over the next few weeks when loan players become available

— Lewis Mitchell (@LewisGMitchell) July 22, 2022

If Annan keep it up, they’ll win. Certainly overdue a promotion. I expect Stenny to be up there and the past two years form show Bonnyrigg will have a decent chance. Stranraer seem to be the long-standing league club whose time is up.

— Richard Wilson (@HYFPRW) July 22, 2022

I wish I could say Forfar will win the league but we just won’t, don’t look anywhere near good enough, think it could be Annan or Stirling this season to win the league.
Think this could be time for Albion Rovers to face the trap door.

— Arron Myles (@ArronnMyless) July 22, 2022

Agree Annan have started off so well...time will tell...East Fife have strengthened. Stenhousemuir keep key players..and of course forfar..always there..new boys Bonnyrigg will cause some upsets but maybe next year for them..

— Scott James McMartin (@ScottyL177) July 22, 2022

Annan look good and may well win the division. The business Stenny have done is good too. Could be a tough season for Albion Rovers tho. I think it will be a great division this year. First time in 4 seasons there hasn't been a team way ahead of the rest and nailed on to win it.

— Chris Rex (@RexieCJ) July 23, 2022

Let's see who's right, me or the folk who clearly know this division a whole lot better!

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. 

The fifteenth annual Narey's Toepoker Team Of The Year (part 2)

 The keeper and back four can be found here.

We're going 4-2-3-1 this year, as for some reason none of the strikers in this league could hit Adam Rooney levels of goalscoring, let along Michael Higdon levels. On the other hand, the midfield could get a bit over-run and there may be more wingers than there are wings. Still, it's my site and my rules, so there.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: CALLUM MCGREGOR (CELTIC), JOE ARIBO (RANGERS)

Honourable mentions: Lewis Ferguson (Aberdeen), David Turnbull (Celtic), Tom Rogic (Celtic), Jason Holt (Livingston)

McGregor fits into Ange's system like a glove and is back to the high levels he hit in Brendan Rodgers' time. Is Aribo too attacking for this position in my XI? Maybe, but there's no question he should be in it. I wouldn't be surprised if Premier League clubs come calling this summer.

Maybe Ferguson only stood out for Aberdeen because his competence was out of keeping with the shambles unfolding around him this season. Turnbull was great until an injury mid-season and is the player best placed to take advantage of the imminent exit of Rogic; the Australian leaves Scottish football having had possibly the best and certainly the most consistent campaign of his career. Holt was super-efficient in Livi's midfield.

ATTACKING MIDFIELD: REGAN CHARLES-COOK (ROSS COUNTY), BARRIE MCKAY (HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN), JOTA (CELTIC)

Honourable mentions: Connor Ronan (St. Mirren), Martin Boyle (Hibernian), Alan Forrest (Livingston), Liel Abada (Celtic), Ryan Kent (Rangers), Greg Kiltie (St. Mirren)

As I said, too many wingers. But Charles-Cook (who some idiot who shall remain nameless put in his top ten worst signings of last season) was the top scorer in the Premiership this season, McKay would have been an assist machine had anyone finished off the gazillion chances he created, and Jota will be a bargain if Celtic make his loan move permanent for about £6m.

Ronan stood out for St. Mirren because he scored so many Goal Of The Season contenders, but his all-round play was excellent too. Boyle was clearly Hibernian's MVP given how they fell off a cliff following his January departure. Forrest came to life after the winter break and is heading for a decent move when his contract expires. Abada isn't even 21 yet but still hit double figures. Kent wasn't as impressive as last season but even when he's putting in half-assed performances he's still better than most. I have a big soft spot for Kiltie and he delivered when he finally got a run in the team.

CENTRE FORWARD: ALFREDO MORELOS (RANGERS)

Honourable mentions: Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic), Tony Watt (Motherwell/Dundee United)

No, Morelos wasn't as good as he has been in the past. But he was still effective and was showing signs of his best before injury ended his campaign. Kyogo's extraordinary start to his Celtic career was abruptly halted by injuries as well; imagine the damage he could do if available for more than half the games. Watt gets on this list for his performances for Motherwell before January where he scored nine goals, rather than a meh-second half of the season at Dundee United.

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.

The fifteenth annual Narey's Toepoker Team Of The Year (part 1)

So when I first did one of these, Gordon Brown was Prime Minister, I had a hairline that was still within communicating distance of my forehead and Allan McGregor was playing for Rangers. What? Oh. 

Anyway, this is the fifteenth annual Team Of The Year. Here's the previous fourteen. I regret nothing. Except Daniel Majstorovic, but that goes without saying.

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)

As is traditional, we start with the goalkeeper and the back four. It's always been a back four. Maybe one day we'll try three at the back, but not today...

GOALKEEPER: CRAIG GORDON (HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN)

Honourable mentions: Jak Alnwick (St. Mirren), Joe Hart (Celtic)

An easy pick to start off with. Gordon is approaching his fortieth birthday, yet may be playing the greatest football of his career. Were he ten years younger he'd command the same transfer fee that Hearts received from Sunderland for him many moons ago. Just like last season in the Championship he was personally responsible for a decent number of the points Hearts picked up.

Alnwick looks likely to leave St. Mirren this summer after two seasons where he has very much enhanced his reputation. Hart, to the disappointment of many of us who were hoping for entertaining bloopers, has been extremely reliable and is enjoying something of an Indian Summer in Scotland.

RIGHT-BACK: JAMES TAVERNIER (RANGERS)

Honourable mentions: Josip Juranovic (Celtic), Calvin Ramsey (Aberdeen)

Tavernier is the first player ever to be in my Team Of The Year five times, thanks to another season with lots of goals, lots of assists and defending that is better than he is given credit for. And that's without factoring in his Europa League heroics.

Juranovic has proven a fine addition for Celtic, slotting into the inverted full-back system that Ange Postecoglu has introduced and proving an excellent deputy on the left flank too. Add me to the list of people who has drunk the Ramsey kool-aid; the youngster looks set for a huge move to Liverpool this summer and is an extraordinary talent.

LEFT-BACK: STEPHEN KINGSLEY (HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN)

Honourable mentions: Scott Tanser (St. Mirren), Greg Taylor (Celtic)

Last year I wondered why on earth Kingsley was slumming it in the Championship, and this season I'm wondering why on earth he's slumming it in the Premiership. He defends like a centre-back, attacks like a midfielder and has a mean free-kick in his arsenal.

Other than the Hearts man, there was a bit of a dearth of options here. Tanser was quietly effective for St. Mirren, with his excellent delivery providing a decent creative threat for them. Taylor always seems on paper to be one of the least talented in the Celtic lineup yet keeps churning out solid performances.

CENTRE-BACKS: CAMERON CARTER-VICKERS (CELTIC), RYAN EDWARDS (DUNDEE UNITED)

Honourable mentions: Carl Starfelt (Celtic), Craig Halkett (Heart of Midlothian), John Souttar (Heart of Midlothian), Connor Goldson (Rangers)

Carter-Vickers can head a ball further than I can kick it; in that respect he reminds me of the wonderful Michael Duberry who used to play for St. Johnstone. But CCV's pace and calm in possession make him a real standout at this level and he was the best CB in this league by far. I've plumped for another behemoth beside him in Edwards, who was solid defensively for United and offers a goal threat on set-pieces too.

Starfelt (who came on leaps and bounds after a rough start in Scotland), and the Hearts duo of Halkett and Souttar would have been worthy of making the final cut too. It's a joy to see the latter fit again and long may his achilles tendons hold up. Goldson was the brunt of some unfair criticism this season at times; whilst he wasn't quite as outstanding as last season he was still very very good.

The midfield and the attack will be up later this week...if I can be bothered...

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.

Worst Signings of the 2021/22 Premiership season (part 2)

The players ranked 25 to 11 can be found here.

Before we move on, there has to be an honourable mention for Caleb Chukwuemeka, whose exploits for Livingston had escaped me before I published the first part of this double-bill. Chukwuemeka, on loan from Aston Villa, suffered the ignominy of being subbed just seven minutes after coming off the bench against Aberdeen with David Martindale criticising his work-rate. That was less than a month after arriving; the forward has made a couple of appearances off the bench since but has disappeared in recent weeks, suggesting Martindale's opinion of him hasn't improved. So he probably should have been in the top 25 somewhere...

Anyway, on to the top ten!

10 ALEX SAMUEL (ROSS COUNTY)

Striker Samuel claimed on arrival in Dingwall that he hoped to use his move to Ross County to force his way into the Wales squad. Given he hasn't started a league game since October and has played more minutes in the cup (sixty) than in the league (fourteen) since then, I'd say he's probably not on Robert Page's radar right now. Samuel may well have had injury problems but County do tend to be Pyongyang-esque in their levels of secrecy (the joke about Dingwall is far too obvious and has therefore been removed - Ed.) so it's not clear whether that is the case, or that he is just out of the picture.

9 BEN WOODBURN (HEARTS)

Woodburn isn't on this list because he's been a waste of space; he's on it because he was playing in the Premier League at age 17 and has eleven caps for Wales, so expectations were appropriately very high. But he's been in and out of the team - mostly out since Ellis Simms arrived in January - and has managed just three goals and a single assist. Whoscored.com rates him about the same as James Brown and Eamonn Brophy for this season, which is not a good look.

8 JACK GURR (ABERDEEN)

What can you say about Gurr, other than to feign horror and shock that a guy who was a fringe player for Atlanta United's reserves would turn out to be out of his depth in the Scottish Premiership? Thankfully Stephen Glass realised this quickly so that he didn't take precious minutes away from the talented youngster Calvin Ramsay. He returned to the USA in January, and Dons fans will never speak of him again.

7 JAMES MCCARTHY (CELTIC)

Following on from Shane Duffy, it now appears to be enshrined in law that every season Celtic must acquire a Premier League player who was a boyhood fan of the club. I'm pretty sure Ange had nothing to do with this signing, given his attempts to strengthen the midfield area in January. McCarthy is an okay option off the bench for Celtic and he's largely managed to stay fit for the first time in a number of years...probably because he's only started six games all season. The trouble is that he's on decent money that's out of proportion with the gametime he's getting, and that a player with such an injury history was given a four year contract at the age of 30. Still, he's better than Ismaila Soro.

6 JAY EMMANUEL-THOMAS (ABERDEEN)

To be honest I was already prejudiced against Emmanuel-Thomas after he put 'JET' on his jersey at Livingston last season. The Dons thought they were getting a jet, but instead they got a Sopwith Camel (it was pointed out to me on Twitter that Sopwith Camels were relatively successful in WW1, but I thought it was a more polite comparison than calling him a Fokker). Emmanuel-Thomas managed one goal for Aberdeen; Bruce Anderson, who went to Livingston from Pittodrie last summer, scored nine. Most damningly, Jim Goodwin publicly called him out on his fitness, which improved so much that the player had his two year contract terminated before it was halfway through.

5 EETU VERTAINEN (ST. JOHNSTONE)

How Callum Davidson complained about the work permit delays that left Vertainen waiting several weeks before being able to play for St. Johnstone. How Davidson bigged up the Finnish striker as having bags of potential and loads of ability. How Davidson insisted for the next two months that Vertainen wasn't ready for more than the occasional cameo off the bench for a team struggling for goals. And how quickly Davidson turned on him, subbing him at half-time in his first start, and again a few weeks later as the scapegoat for a goal by Rangers scored after Vertainen gave away possession cheaply. At the time of writing that's his last appearance for the Perth Saints, as he is currently on loan at Linfield where he scored four in one game last month, but hasn't scored any other goals before or since.

4 LEIGH GRIFFITHS (DUNDEE)

Oh, Leigh. His return to Dundee on loan was clearly high-risk, high-reward; in the end it was all risk and no reward. He managed just a single goal from open play - though a free-kick goal at Pittodrie was insanely good - and was quickly restricted to the subs bench; to be honest he was lucky to be available at all after he was arrested for kicking a firework into the crowd during a cup game, but the SFA held off banning him until the end of the police investigation (and we're still waiting). Celtic activated an option in his contract to release him in January and Griffiths went on to become the marquee signing who would definitely fire Falkirk to promotion from League One...or not...

3 JAMES SCOTT (HIBERNIAN)

It feels like a long time since Hull City paid Motherwell £1.5m for Scott, but it's actually been just over two years. It looks like injuries have wrecked the 22 year old either physically or mentally, but he's been a shadow of the young starlet he was. Jack Ross dropped him due to his poor fitness and publicly called him "selfish" and "lazy". Shaun Maloney showed more faith in him, but the lack of impact during his sub appearances was such that Scott was actually booed when introduced late in a win over Ross County. And then in recent weeks, with the forward line decimated by injuries, Scott has finally got a run in the starting lineup. Number of goals scored? Zero. Number of Hibs fans who want him to make his loan move a permanent one? Probably about the same.

2 MAX BIAMOU (DUNDEE UNITED)

Biamou made more than thirty appearances in the English Championship for Coventry last season, so he looked like a pretty solid signing for United in October 2021. He made three sub appearances as he built up his fitness... and then in late November he injured his foot. And he hasn't played since. With Tony Watt brought in during January Biamou and United agreed he should leave...but then he injured his thigh just before the window ended, scuppering any move. So the Frenchman will finish his United career having played 55 minutes of first team football and having got pressure sores from spending so much time on the treatment table.

1 MATTY LONGSTAFF (ABERDEEN)

Longstaff spent the second half of the season at Mansfield Town where by most accounts he was the outstanding player in League Two during that period. He spent the first half at Pittodrie, complainingn afterward that Scottish football was "long ball" and "more of a fight, there's probably not as much quality there as there is in the Premier League". That last bit is obviously true, but the rest? Given how honking Longstaff - considered a potential star in the making ever since a Premier League goal against Manchester United in 2019 - was for the Dons I think we can store this away as powerful evidence that the Scottish Premiership is a higher standard than the English fourth tier. Stephen Glass' statement that "Matty would've liked more game time, clearly we would've liked better performances" had a mic drop feel to it. On the bench by October and out of the matchday squad by November, Longstaff left Aberdeen with three starts, five appearances in total and one Worst Signing Of The Season award.

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.

Worst Signings of the 2021/22 Premiership season (part 1)

Ten years I've been doing this. Man, there have been some duffers. Here, for the record, are the nine previous 'winners':

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)

Here we go for year 10, with the countdown from 25 to 11.

24= LIAM SHAW (CELTIC)

24= OSAZE URGHOGHIDE (CELTIC)

The duo joined Celtic from Sheffield Wednesday, both costing compensation of around £300,000. With about forty Championship appearances between them, the young pair clearly have potential but they were signed before Ange Postecoglu pitched up. Both were trusted with a single start for the club - in a Europa League dead rubber - and both were loaned out in January. Shaw can't get into Motherwell's starting XI, but Urhoghide is at least playing regularly in Belgium. Neither have a future at Celtic.

23 MICH'EL PARKER (MOTHERWELL)

This writer had actually heard of Parker before he pitched up at Motherwell, having won the National League South in Football Manager 2020 with him at centre-back. The youngster, who'd remarkably been on the books of Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham at various times, was probably a low-cost, low-risk signing but he made the bench for three League Cup games in July and then was never seen in a matchday squad again. After his contract expired in January he signed for Linfield but can't get a game for them either.

22 COREY PANTER (DUNDEE)

Given Dundee couldn't defend worth a damn, it says something that Panter still couldn't get a game. His only league start was on Boxing Day, though he played - and scored - in both the League Cup and for their Colts side in the Challenge Cup. Luton recalled him in January due to lack of game time. 

21 YOSUKE IDEGUCHI (CELTIC)

Ideguchi looks worse because Ange Postecoglu's other Japanese signings have been so outstanding, but £850,000 is a lot of money for a benchwarmer. He has had some injuries but even when fit he seems to be well down the midfield pecking order - even behind James McCarthy! - and there's no sign of that changing soon. His previous foray into British football at Leeds United was a flop and so far his time in Glasgow hasn't been much better.

20 CURTIS MAIN (ST. MIRREN)

St. Mirren surely knew what they were getting from Main's previous spells at Motherwell and Aberdeen - a strong, willing runner up front who will press centre-backs all day...and who doesn't score many goals. Main seemed to prove the doubters wrong by hitting the net in his first two matches for the Buddies in the League Cup, but has managed one goal in the 29 games since then and finds himself behind New Zealander rookie Alex Greive in the pecking order now.

19 ALEX ROBERTSON (ROSS COUNTY)

Ross County fans were entitled to have reasonably high expectations for this loan signing for Manchester City, who is an England under-18 international; The Guardian even profiled him as one of the most exciting 60 prospects in the world in the 2020 edition of their 'next generation' series! For whatever reason, it didn't work out in Dingwall. One start and five sub appearances later, Robertson returned south.

18 NIALL MCGINN (DUNDEE)

It turns out that 77 is McGinn's squad number, not his age. Unfortunately the once lethal forward is rather past his best, which makes it strange that Dundee would offer him an 18 month deal and expect him to create or score the goals that would keep them up. At the time of writing his last league goal was in March 2020.

17 TIM AKINOLA (DUNDEE UNITED)

The midfielder was signed on loan from Arsenal in January, was subbed at half-time in his only appearance and then picked up an injury that caused his loan to be terminated early. That went well.

16 HARRY PANAYIOTOU (LIVINGSTON)

Livingston do like signing an interesting-sounding striker from the English lower leagues. Panayiotou - a St. Kitts international via his mother, who was born in England and has a Greek Cypriot father, making him (I think) eligible for four national teams - certainly sounds interesting. Unfortunately his 12 goals for Aldershot the previous year seem to have been an outlier. He made five sub appearances for Livi and was let go in January, 6 months into a two-year deal with the option of a third, and returned to his old club, where he claimed that things hadn't worked out in Scotland because the environment at Livingston was 'toxic', which seems harsh; I know those roundabouts get frustrating after a while, but still...

15 THEO BAIR (ST. JOHNSTONE)

Sure, maybe Bair will come good; Callum Davidson has made a big song and dance about how he just needs time to acclimatize, as he did with Guy Melamed (with some justification) and Eetu Vertainen (less so). As of now, he is a Canadian international striker who cost a significant fee for a club of St. Johnstone's size and who has so far failed to start a game or score a goal.

14 JAY CHAPMAN (DUNDEE)

James McPake didn't half big up Chapman, a Canadian international with plenty of MLS experience at Toronto and Inter Miami, as a real coup of a signing in January. The midfielder has so far played 35 minutes of first team action over two substitute appearances and has vanished from the bench in recent weeks. He might be injured, but if he is no-one is saying so.

13 NATHAN WOOD (HIBERNIAN)

Summed up pretty much perfectly by journalist Craig Fowler:

The centre-back Hibs signed who played once and was immediately deemed less reliable than a 36yo Darren McGregor.

I can’t even remember his name. I wanna say Nathan Wood but I might be plucking that from thin air.

— Craig Fowler ✊🏻✊🏽✊🏿 (@craigfowler86) April 1, 2022

Wood went back to parent club Middlesbrough before the end of November.

12 AMAD DIALLO (RANGERS)

Manchester United paid around £20m for Diallo two years ago, so one would expect him to have rather more impact in a diddy league like ours...and when he scored just five minutes into his debut in Dingwall it looked like Rangers had found a gem. So much for that. The Ivorian was hooked at half-time four days later in the 3-0 thumping by Celtic and he hasn't been trusted for anything other than cameos off the bench since. One suspects Diallo, still only 19, will probably still go on to better things than the vast majority of his Ibrox contemporaries but this is has been a waste of a half season for him and probably of a loan fee by Rangers.

11 JAHMAL HECTOR-INGRAM (ST. JOHNSTONE)

St. Johnstone went on a striker binge at the end of the January window, with former Derby forward Hector-Ingram one of the many brought in. And after sitting on the bench a handful of times he seems to have disappeared into thin air.

The top ten will come soon, I promise...

Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.