We are delighted to welcome broadcaster and author Richard Gordon to the SPFL website as a monthly columnist.
In his first blog Richard, the regular host of Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland, looks at how the Premiership season is shaping up and how it might unfold in the coming months.
The 2014-15 Scottish Premiership season has already got off to an intriguing start, and the signs are it promises – apart from the obvious outcome of Celtic lifting the title – to be as unpredictable as the last campaign was.
Aberdeen kicked off as most people’s favourites to claim second place, and were promptly thrashed 3-0 in their opener by Dundee United at Pittodrie. Then, just as many were tipping United as the most likely challenger to the Hoops, less than a week later Jackie McNamara’s side were blown away at Celtic Park.
Caley Thistle have made the best start of all, a four-match unbeaten run without the concession of a goal, topped off by a memorable win last weekend over the champions.
Hamilton Accies have shown great resilience following their day one defeat by Inverness to bounce back with three straight victories against St Mirren, St Johnstone and Partick Thistle, their dramatic comeback at Firhill handing the Jags their first defeat of the campaign. While Motherwell, having won their opener, have subsequently slumped to three losses on the spin.
All of which renders prediction-making something of a futile exercise.
One thing which is clear, even at this early stage, is that the pressure is already mounting on St Mirren and Ross County, neither club having collected a single point from their opening fixtures. Both will have to arrest their slide quickly if they’re to avoid their campaigns turning into a long, desperate slog.
With Celtic nailed-on to clinch the title, attention turns to the other league placings, with the main interest generated by the battles for Europe, the top six and to avoid relegation and the play-off place.
Last season Motherwell, Aberdeen, Dundee United, Caley Thistle and St Johnstone filled the remaining top-half places, and it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see that replicated this time round. I would expect the Dons to land second, with United probably their nearest rivals. There has to come a time when Stuart McCall cannot keep pulling off miracles, and I fear this may be it, although the Fir Park side should still be comfortable top-six finishers, despite their less than impressive start to the season.
Of the rest, I would anticipate new-look Dundee making a decent return to the top flight, and they might just have enough to sneak into contention to be above that split line, while Thistle, benefiting from one year’s Premiership experience, could also be candidates, particularly if they continue to play the attractive football Alan Archibald likes to encourage.
The relegation issue is perhaps the toughest to forecast, and my thoughts will, like most other people, change over the course of the next few months.
I did have my fears for Ross County before the campaign began, largely based on the continuing dramatic turnover each transfer window seems to bring, and their start has done nothing to sway me. Derek Adams has, though, proved himself to be an astute and successful manager in Dingwall, and it should shock no-one if he guides them to safety.
The other clubs looked to be pretty evenly balanced and I reckon it’s a toss-up for those 11th and 12th place finishes.
It certainly would not be a surprise if we find ourselves enjoying (or enduring, if you support one of the sides) a similar conclusion to last year, with perhaps even up to half a dozen still in the danger zone going into the final few weeks.
The set-up belatedly introduced for 2013-14 proved to be an overwhelming success; it seems set to repeat that 12 months on.
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