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Suppose it's about that time again. What a contrast to this time last year. Worry over the stadium and knowing we were a poor summer of recruitment away from disaster. We couldn't in our wildest dreams have considered ending up in as strong a position as we have. We don't really know what this season is going to look like and there's an outside chance that it might not even happen at all, but it's tough not to get excited at the prospect of a full-time setup and what looks like strong recruitment. It may be the first time I've ever gone into a season thinking 'we should really be looking to win this league.' That's not to suggest I think it'll be any sort of skoosh case for us. This is a tough level of football where attitude is as important as ability. Anyone thinking they're coming down here for a few quid and an easy ride will soon be found out. The team is shaping up very well. Two good keepers, with Grant, Slater and McHugh giving the basis of a very strong looking spine. Add the quality of Galt out wide and it looks even better. His experience at this level will be as important as the hundreds of Premiership and Championship games between the other guys. Would expect Edinburgh City to be strong again and Stirling Albion can't be messing around if they've signed Andy Ryan. Think it's important to couple the expectations with realism. Even a full-time side needs time to gel and my hope is that defeats and draws, which will inevitably happen, won't be met with hysteria. The fact that this is my main worry on the football side can only be a good thing. It beats being worried about the Lowland League in front of one stand at Lesser Hampden. Totally understand the pelters we'll get for our new found position. Everyone likes to see the moneybags sides struggle and we'd be exactly the same if we were watching another club doing the same. We'll be the team that everyone loves to beat, which I quite like tbh. Hopefully adds a wee bit more back and forth in the stands. Speaking of stands, I hope we get a send off at Hampden before moving into our new surroundings. It has its drawbacks as a stadium, but it's obviously intrinsically linked to very fabric of the club and it wouldn't feel right to leave without a proper send off. Very much looking forward to moving to what will hopefully be more atmospheric surroundings, though.

So with 8 games to go Raith will be crowned Champions much to the disgust of the majority on here, and rightly so. Should we actually celebrate? Should we have an open to bus parading the trophy through the streets of the Lang Toun? Should we piss on Falkirk from high above? Would we have bottled it in the run in? Will Frank deal with his anger management issues? Will Taz start making sense? Will King kebab revert to using one exclamation mark? So many questions, so little time. Keep it all in here folks.

British Football League Champions - Alternative History 1889 - 2017 I took a few hours to do this. But I think it was worth it. This is looking at if the Scottish, English, Welsh, and Northern Irish Leagues did not exist, and instead the British League had started in 1889 with Scottish, Welsh, English and Irish (then Northern Irish after Irish independence) sides were allowed to join. I do not support the Scottish, English, Welsh, and Northern Irish Leagues merging. I am an Aberdeen, and Inverness fan. We would do nothing in a modern day British League system nowadays. Plus Scotland would lose a major way of showing it’s identity to the rest of the world. But I have done this list to decide who would have been British champions in an age where the Scottish and English leagues merged. I have also added a bit of couner history with the fact that if Northern Ireland has been part of a British League, the Northern Irish teams would have been bigger. Plus I have added an imaginary team called Dublin Irish Celtic United, to represent Republic of Ireland football before independence. Plus I have taken into account, how much bigger sides from Scotland and Northern Ireland would be with British Premiership TV money. Year Champions - 1889 Preston North End. 1890 Preston North End. 1891 Everton 1892 Sunderland 1893 Sunderland 1894 Aston Villa 1895 Sunderland 1896 Aston Villa 1897 Aston Villa 1898 Glasgow Celtic 1899 Aston Villa 1900 Aston Villa 1901 Liverpool 1902 Sunderland 1903 Hibernian 1904 The Wednesday 1905 Newcastle United 1906 Liverpool 1907 Glasgow Celtic 1908 Manchester United 1909 Newcastle United 1910 Glasgow Celtic 1911 Manchester United 1912 Blackburn Rovers 1913 Sunderland 1914 Dublin Irish United 1915 Dublin Irish United 1916 Glasgow Celtic 1917 Glasgow Celtic 1918 Glasgow Rangers 1919 Glasgow Celtic 1920 Glasgow Rangers 1921 Glasgow Rangers 1922 Liverpool 1923 Glasgow Rangers 1924 Cardiff City 1925 Glasgow Rangers 1926 Huddersfield Town 1927 Newcastle United 1928 Glasgow Rangers 1929 Sheffield Wednesday 1930 Sheffield Wednesday 1931 Arsenal 1932 Motherwell 1933 Glasgow Rangers 1934 Belfast Celtic 1935 Arsenal 1936 Glasgow Celtic 1937 Manchester City 1938 Arsenal 1939 Everton 1940 - 46 WW2 (WW2 was 1939 - 45, but season could no start until 1946.) 1947 Liverpool 1948 Arsenal 1949 Portsmouth 1950 Hibernian 1951 Hibernian 1952 Manchester United 1953 Arsenal 1954 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1955 Aberdeen 1956 Manchester United 1957 Manchester United 1958 Heart of Midlothian 1959 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1960 Burnley 1961 Tottenham Hotspur 1962 Ipswich Town 1963 Everton 1964 Liverpool 1965 Manchester United 1966 Glasgow Celtic 1967 Glasgow Celtic 1968 Manchester City 1969 Leeds United 1970 Glasgow Celtic 1971 Glasgow Celtic 1972 Derby County 1973 Liverpool 1974 Linfield 1975 Derby County 1976 Liverpool 1977 Liverpool 1978 Nottingham Forest 1979 Liverpool 1980 Liverpool 1981 Aston Villa 1982 Liverpool 1983 Dundee United 1984 Aberdeen 1985 Aberdeen 1986 Liverpool 1987 Glasgow Rangers 1988 Liverpool 1989 Glasgow Rangers 1990 Glasgow Rangers 1991 Glasgow Rangers 1992 Glasgow Rangers 1993 Glasgow Rangers 1994 Manchester United 1995 Blackburn Rovers 1996 Manchester United 1997 Manchester United 1998 Linfield 1999 Manchester United 2000 Belfast Celtic 2001 Manchester United 2002 Arsenal 2003 Manchester United 2004 Arsenal 2005 Chelsea 2006 Chelsea 2007 Manchester United 2008 Glasgow Celtic 2009 Manchester United 2010 Chelsea 2011 Glasgow Rangers 2012 Manchester City 2013 Manchester United 2014 Manchester City 2015 Chelsea 2016 Glasgow Celtic 2017 Glasgow Celtic Top teams in League. All time list of record British League title winners. 1. Manchester United have 15 titles. 2. Glasgow Celtic have 14 titles. 2. Glasgow Rangers have 14 titles. 4. Liverpool have 13 titles. 5. Arsenal have 7 titles. 6. Aston Villa have 6 titles. 7. Sunderland have 5 titles 8. Chelsea have 4 titles. 8. Manchester City have 4 titles. 10. Everton have 3 titles. 10. Aberdeen have 3 titles. 10. Sheffield Wednesday have 3 titles. 10. Hibernian have 3 titles.