QoS99 Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 25 minutes ago, baillieinleeds said: Cove to finish bottom, yea right. They have shit tons of cash to spend. They’ll be mid table or could finish fourth. They haven’t signed anyone of note (I think) and are remaining part time. I think any of the bottom three I have could be shifted around to finish bottom. But still expect them to struggle a lot more than Queens Park 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baillieinleeds Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 1 hour ago, QoS99 said: They haven’t signed anyone of note (I think) and are remaining part time. I think any of the bottom three I have could be shifted around to finish bottom. But still expect them to struggle a lot more than Queens Park Sorry man, I thought they were full time. Still have some quality players though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightmare Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 7 hours ago, johnnydun said: Why are so many not having Dundee in top spot? Hatred of the club? Delusional? Or just simply because it's Dundee ffs. Probably because they don’t expect Dundee to win the league. That’s generally how this sort of thing works. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnydun Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 1 hour ago, Nightmare said: Probably because they don’t expect Dundee to win the league. That’s generally how this sort of thing works. Delusional it is then. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Accies1 Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 Can't wait for us to prove everyone...absolutely right. We're the new Falkirk, in fact we'll probably be replaced by them at the end of the season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTillEhDeh Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 They haven’t signed anyone of note (I think) and are remaining part time. I think any of the bottom three I have could be shifted around to finish bottom. But still expect them to struggle a lot more than Queens ParkThey've also got Jim McIntyre as manager 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuctifano Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 (edited) I didn't know whether Cove were going to come up and Gretna it but the feeling I get is that they're a bit ahead of schedule and are trying to put the brakes on but also stay up. Most of their "name" players are very much on the wrong side of 30 and Megginson for all his goals in the last few years is unproven at this level and also turns 30 by the end of the month. They could of course be fine and 3 or 4 signings could change my mind but I'd have QP ahead of them on what I expect both to do at this stage. Edited July 6, 2022 by Fuctifano 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 (edited) Aye, as a general rule teams who win League One find themselves nowhere near relegation trouble the following season, and when they win it at such a canter as Cove have they tend to make the promotion playoffs. The last time the League One winners didn't finish in the top half was Cowdenbeath in 2012/13. Cove though haven't really strengthened at all and have the upheaval of a managerial change to deal with. As the squads stand they definitely aren't in the weakest two, but if you're going to see a runaway League One winner in a relegation battle this is the perfect storm of circumstances for it. Edited July 7, 2022 by Dunning1874 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QoS99 Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 9 hours ago, DeeTillEhDeh said: 16 hours ago, QoS99 said: They haven’t signed anyone of note (I think) and are remaining part time. I think any of the bottom three I have could be shifted around to finish bottom. But still expect them to struggle a lot more than Queens Park They've also got Jim McIntyre as manager He done well for us tbf 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madton Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 (edited) Thistle Dundee ICT Queens Park Raith Arbroath Ayr Morton Cove Hamilton Edited July 30, 2022 by madton 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 6 minutes ago, madton said: Thistle Dundee Morton ICT Ayr Raith Arbroath Queens Park Cove Hamilton A very apt username there. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micaley68 Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 15 hours ago, Accies1 said: Can't wait for us to prove everyone...absolutely right. We're the new Falkirk, in fact we'll probably be replaced by them at the end of the season. Don't you fucking dare! They can stay exactly where they are for the time being thank you very much. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acon Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 Dundee Thistle ICT Morton Arbroath Raith QP Cove Hamilton Ayr 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 Dundee Thistle Arbroath Inverness Morton Raith Rovers Cove Rangers Ayr United Queens Park Hamilton Academical 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snodton Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 DundeeICTPartickMortonRaithQueens ParkArbroathAyr UtdHamiltonCove Rangers 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 Right then. It's entirely expected for clubs to need a lot of signings this early in July, but this is going to be extremely hard to guess with the number of starters clubs are still needing to add. Very few are in a position where they just need to add a bit of depth, half the division have got glaring holes in the starting XI where starting the season with what they currently have would make them relegation fodder, but a couple of good signings could have them 4th. I'm going to do this on the basis that everyone who still needs bodies makes signings that are fine, even when their current squads reek of relegation and some will inevitably end up signing shite. Unlike the last couple of times they were relegated to this division, when they began those seasons with John Brown and James McPake as manager respectively, Dundee have actually gone and appointed a real football manager for once. What a concept. It's unclear how good a manager Bowyer really is and whether he might fall into the trap of underestimating Scottish football, but just through the players he's inheriting providing the core of a good Championship squad and not being a McPake level clownshoe, they sort of default into being favourites despite the question marks. Arbroath still have their quality defence and while Hamilton out, Jacobs in in midfield is a downgrade to the starting XI it's still a good midfield overall. The issue is up front, where they're one of the most obvious examples of the signings still to come defining their season. A team with Dale Hilson and/or Luke Donnelly starting regularly in the Championship is going to be lucky to average a goal a game, and that's going to send you into a relegation battle no matter how good you are defensively. Campbell has done superbly with loan signings over the last couple of seasons, but what happens if he doesn't manage it this summer? Find a Nouble level revelation and there's no reason they can't challenge again, end up with Donnelly getting a regular start and they'll be doing well to make 8th. Inverness are Inverness and so will inevitably finish in the top half again no matter what. No great upheaval to their squad and on their way to making the playoffs again they'll probably turn Boyd into a competent Championship footballer then get a ridiculous six figure fee out of Ross County for him. Partick have a couple of definite upgrades on what they've punted in Milne and Dowds, but along with some signings that just bring forth a shrug like Muirhead and McCall once again chasing his Rangers loanee obsession, it seems like much of a muchness with last season. If they put together some consistency a title challenge isn't out of the question, but then you look at the way they ended the season and it wouldn't be a surprise if they went backwards. Raith's midfield signings have been excellent, and they're a club that clearly needed a reset considering everything last season so McGlynn going is a good thing, both with their relegation form in the second half of the season and the unpleasantness. However they also need to add some depth in defence and another credible centre forward as Gullan is all they have up front and they can barely cobble a defence together. Hamilton haven't had a proper pre-season with weeks wasted trying to sack Taylor when everyone else was building a squad, have slashed their budget with no prospect of replacing the players who've departed with similar quality, and just seem to be in total turmoil off the park. They are going down. From Imrie taking over to the end of last season, Morton were the third best team in the league. That should be a cause for optimism, but as it stands the squad is weaker all over the park, most glaringly in attack. A team that only scored 7 goals in the last 11 games of the season getting even weaker creatively isn't going to survive, so this is another case of the season being dependent on the signings still to come. A central midfield playmaker and centre forward are going to be added, if those are solid Championship players with a centre forward who can hit double figures, that becomes a team that can credibly challenge for the top four. If they're no better than what's already there, on top of the loss of Ugwu and Reilly from an already low scoring side, that's relegation material. The addition of Musonda by itself makes Ayr's defence better than last season, while Murdoch and Dempsey is a solid foundation for the midfield. There are still question marks there though with the number of unknown quantities coming in. With the evident struggle for clubs at this level to find players having knowledge of another market is certainly a good thing, but what if rather than having found another Adeloye the new centre forward is a dud who can't handle the step up? What if bringing in a loanee from Arsenal isn't a massive coup on Bullen's part but signing the next Ruben Sammut? What if McGinty plays every week? They could easily be in the shite again, all it takes is their unknowns from England being more Paul Hartley's Falkirk than Terry Butcher's Inverness. As already covered in the thread, teams who win League One tend to comfortably stroll into the top half of the Championship the following season. Even more so when they win it by the canter Cove did, but with basically no strengthening so far and a managerial change you have to have doubts about that. McIntyre has never failed to finish in the top four given a full season in the Championship, but he's also never managed part-time before. Megginson and McAllister as a Championship strikeforce? I have my doubts. With the sheer amount of money Queen's Park have they should really be going straight into the top four, and they were ruthless in culling mediocrities from the squad that saw them draw their way to fourth in League One. No one who's come in is really someone you'd look at as particularly unexpected for a mid table Championship side though, and how good a manager Coyle actually is in 2022 remains to be seen. It would take an absolute catastrophe to end up relegated with that budget but I'm not sure there's enough there to make the playoffs as it stands. tl;dr - This league is looking ridiculously mediocre and I have no idea what's going to happen other than Hamilton finishing bottom. 1. Dundee 2. Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3. Partick 4. Raith 5. Queen's Park 6. Arbroath 7. Cove 8. Morton 9. Ayr 10. Hamilton 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantene proV Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 Excellent summation, Dunning, on the state of play so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTillEhDeh Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 Too early for me to put in a full prediction but I'll have this as my banker after today.10 Hamilton 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossBFaeDundee Posted July 9, 2022 Author Share Posted July 9, 2022 Just moving @Raith_Raver's prediction from the Championship Odds thread to this one so I don't forget to include it. 7 hours ago, Raith_Raver said: Back to the fitbaw.. Dundeh Queen's Park Roath Ravers ICT Plastic Whistle Cove Rangers Morten Ayr Aberbrothick Accies I reckon Queen's Park will run Dundee close. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smc4761 Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Accies are such a shambles of a club at moment both on and off the field. But budget slashed again, an ever shrinking fan base, less than 300 season tickets sold. It is of course difficult to predict most of the league positions at this stage of season except who will finish bottom and it is Accies. 1. Dundee. 2. Partick Thistle 3. ICT 4. Arbroath 5. Raith 6. Ayr 7. Cove 8. Queen's Park 9. Morten 10. Hamilton 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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