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2022/23 Scottish Championship Predictor


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Think this will be a brutally competitive league, low on quality, but with no huge gaps at top or bottom. Just about impossible to predict, as many posters have said (maybe easier 1-4 than it is 5-10), but here goes...

1. Dundee. Maybe the least favourite favourites in this league for a number of years, who could make a couple of signings and pull clear... or hit problems due to a manager who doesn't know the league and might just underestimate what is required (in terms of player quality and shit-festing when necessary). Might end up winning it because no one else has quite enough to get over the line, but a title is a title.

2. Partick Thistle. Best bet to challenge if Dundee falter, but I'd be more confident about that if they'd strengthened at the back, where they still look pretty vulnerable (particularly in the middle). Fix that and it might just turn out to be the Year of the Jobby.

3. Queen's Park. Surprised so many posters have them so low down. This is one squad where there's almost certainly more to come - and maybe one or two really strong signings among them - but even as things stand I'd expect them to be comfortable. There just isn't much money around in the league in general, so they're coming in with a pretty significant advantage. If anybody fancies a long-shot, with an eye on future signings, they'd be the obvious choice.

4. Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Pretty much 'more of the same'. Organised, some decent players, can't see them missing out on top four... and can't see them making a serious challenge for the title.

5. Arbroath. This is totally dependent on Campbell repeating the trick of getting a bit of quality in up front on loan. If he can do that, the shape and attitude (and the quality in O'Brien, in particular) should see them repeat some of what they've done to most teams at some point: be murderously difficult to play against then capitalise on your own failings/errors. That only gets you so far without a goalscorer, though, so they could easily get sucked into a relegation scrap. Good news for Arbroath fans is that they'd be well suited to that anyway and you'd back them to come through it.

6. Raith Rovers. Should be absolutely fine, maybe in the mix for top four for part of the season then falling short... but they're the team in the league I get that wee 'wildly unpredictable' feeling about. Some decent players, particularly in the middle, but the defence has a worrying look about it; and going forward they look overloaded with wide players who might chip in a couple of goals, but no obvious cutting edge. Add that to the budgetary issues and they'd be the team I wouldn't be surprised to see hit crisis.

7. Morton. Also wildly unpredictable, but for different reasons than Raith. What Imrie did with a weak squad in his first few games showed what can be done in a league low on quality; but the squad as it stands is only marginally improved, if at all, and there are huge question marks about what kind of quality he can get in up front. From here (and you can say this about most of the teams I've got 5th-10th), two really good signings could make a top-four challenge realistic; a couple of last-minute duds could see us heading for the bottom.

8. Ayr United. Much of what I've said about Morton you could also say about Ayr, although there's a sense that they've taken a few more risks in order to get bodies in earlier. How well the 'unknown quantity' signings do will determine their season, but, whatever we might think about the quality, this is undoubtedly a very hard league to play in and I think one or two might struggle.

9. Cove Rangers. Might seem daft to have Queen's Park so high and the other team with significant financial backing so low, but the reason for that is that Cove look as though they're trying to do something different from QP: staying part-time, maybe looking at Arbroath, and trying above all to consolidate in the Championship. That might see them getting sucked down a wee bit lower than they'd hoped and I can see them in a play-off unless the cards fall the wrong way for one of Arbroath/Raith/Morton/Ayr .

10. Hamilton Academical. Who knows what happens between now and the end of August, but the general rule in this league is that you don't get away with the things that have happened there over the summer (the manager situation, almost no new signings, and persistent suggestions of huge cuts to the budget). Might surprise us all, but have to be favourites for the drop at this point.

Edited by The Ghost of B A R P
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Last season was a dismal joint last place. RossBfaeDundee gave me an honourable mention  in his 21/22 summary..

"@thisal (who proudly proclaimed in the same post "Don't have a clue and to prove it:". And boy did he prove it)"

With the benefit of a season of watching the Championship and not letting the section games bias me I am no wiser. Especially the 2nd have of the season.

Dundee. they are rank but the play off final was not pretty viewing for the Championship and I don't think Dundee were as far behind St Johnstone as ICT were.

Inverness CT

Thistle

Arbroath

Morton

Cove

Raith

Ayr

Hamiton

Queens 

 

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1. Partick Thistle 

2. Dundee

3. Inverness Caledonian Thistle

4. Arbroath

5. Raith Rovers

6. Greenock Morton

7. Queens Park

8. Hamilton Academical

9. Cove Rangers

10. Ayr United

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1. Dundee

2. ICT

3. Queen's Park

4. Arbroath

5. Raith Rovers

6. Partick Thistle

7. Cove Rangers

8. Greenock Morton

9. Accies (relegated by Falkirk)

10. Ayr United 

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I unexpectedly had the most accurate prediction last season, which likely means I’ll be miles off it this time round but here goes.

1- Thistle (I have a feeling we may end up in second but I’m being bias)

2- Dundee 

3- Inverness 

4- Cove 

5- Raith Rovers

6- Arbroath

7- Morton

8- Queens Park (have the potential to be completely wrong with this one)

9- Hamilton

10- Ayr

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Caley

---------

Dundee      playoff final to be pumped by Ross County.

Partick

Raith (if IM gets his finger oot and signs a striker at least and 2 defenders, if not put us in 7th and pump everybody up a place).

---------

Morton

Arbroath

Cove

Hamiton

---------

Ayr 

---------

Queens Park

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13 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Queens Park to finish bottom?  Guid ane.

Not sure why they can’t. Anyone outside of Dundee, Inverness and Partick could finish bottom for me.
 

The team they have at the moment is decent but looks pretty standard for this league. Dunfermline team that got relegated for me was stronger than them on paper right now. They obviously have players to come in but so do most teams. 

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I have a feeling this coming season is going to be even tighter than last. No team stands out as being particularly strong… or weak. Dundee utterly shitfested their way to promotion 2 years ago and I don’t think this team is any better than that one. They will undoubtably be there or thereabouts but I can’t see them running away with it.

We (Arbroath) have kept pretty much the entire squad that pushed Killie all the way last season. The key for us is keeping the back 4 and Nicky Low fit, add in a good 2 or 3 loans and I can see us being top half again.

Aside from that, I have a feeling Partick will do very well and Cove not so well.

A loose prediction is:

Top half (in no particular order) - Dundee, ICT, Raith, Arbroath and Partick.

Bottom half - QP, Ayr, Hamilton, Morton, Cove.

Gun to my head: Champions - Partick, bottom - Accies.

Edited by Tattie36
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