Tomorrow it all starts , so far we have had a few cup games to wet our appetite but the official SFL season starts , the 1st 2nd and 3rd tiers of Scottish football get underway with some excellent games , its the start of a long journey that for some will be successful but for others DESPAIR.
So now the hard part , picking who will win the leagues and who will go down , also i will try and pick out who i think will win the ALBA Challenge Cup.
EASY eh???
Starting with the 1st division , i think there are up to 5 teams that have a chance of landing the league crown and getting promoted to the SPL , Dundee , Dunfermline , Ross County , Falkirk and Partick Thistle. Now who has the best squad?? id say probably Falkirk but they have an untested manager in Steven Pressley , this leads us to Dundee who have a smaller squad than last year but have kept goalscorer Leigh Griffiths , Dunfermline will be relying on Andy Kirk but are generally inconsistent , same can be said about Partick Thistle , its a massive season for Ian Mccall so he will be hoping the good start with 2 cup wins continues , that leaves us with Ross County who i think have a good young manager in Derek Adams , County have been a good cup team but can they win the big one???
my pick - Dundee , they blew it last year but i just think that the rest just don't have the consistency that Dundee showed last season , Dundee 1st and Ross County 2nd.
Relegation - I fear for Stirling Albion , its between them and Cowdenbeath who have lost a good few players to St Mirren , what the difference might be is the manager Jimmy Nicholl who has a lot more experience than rookie John O'neil. Albion to go down.
Now the 2nd division , i really think its Livingston's year as i only see a challenge from Alloa , my tip for surprise go at the title is Peterhead , Livi still have a full time squad and boast the experienced Robbie Winters in attack , Alloa went close last year and manager Allan Maitland will be hoping that the wasps can go one better this season , if anyone is to challenge Livi then its Alloa. Peterhead i think will have a good season , it would need to be exceptional to win the league but they have started well in the cups , new signing Dennis Wyness is playing well so that certainly gives them hope.
Prediction - Livingston , they have the best Squad , Alloa will run them close but i just cant see by Livi going up again the 1st division
Relegation - i was going to make this a 3 horse race and add Forfar into this but i can see Old times Dick Campbell leading "bridie bunch" to a mid table position , so the 2 teams who i think will struggle is Dumbarton and Stenhousemuir , Dumbarton have a better team that Stenhousemuir that was proved last season but my worry is the 2nd season syndrome , Stenny just escaped from the play-off last year so they will be looking for better this time around. Who will go down....Stenhousemuir.
Last SFL league to be predicted is the 3rd division , my favorites to go up are Clyde , East Stirling and Berwick Rangers. Starting with Clyde , have they finally found a division where they can win in?? , what about the former whipping boys in East Stirling who have made the play-offs the last 2 seasons , what about Berwick Rangers , my outside tip , manager Jimmy Crease has added to his front line so they will be a danger.
Prediction - its going to be 3rd time lucky for East Stirling , Berwick to get 2nd and Clyde 3rd.
Finish Bottom of the SFL - it is really between Montrose and Elgin , the Highlanders have much more fire power and have already beat Ayr in the Cup , Montrose already have been hammered twice 5-0 and 3-0. Montrose to finish bottom.
ALBA Challenge Cup Winners - Ross County , i just think its their year.
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