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