Anyone have any predictions as to who will be joining the SPL next season? My money (literally) is on St Johnstone (who i support). We have a mini revolution going on under Owen Coyle. However i think our main challengers will be St Midden, they have a good side. I don't think Dundee will feature heavily, they will be losing a lot of their first team because they are imposing massive wage cuts.
There isn't that much between quite a few teams in the First Division. I'll need to wait until the transfer window closes before making any predictions.
The Midden seem to be getting a good team together but I fully expect them to fall flat on their face(hopefully...)! Hamilton, St. Johnstone, Nazi Utd, Dundee and probably the skunks are all in with a shout IMO. Although I thought Partick were in with a shout last season so I suppose anything could happen!
Aye, those zero competitive games he's presided over certainly have me convinced that there's a renaissance at McDiarmid.
You need to provide your brain with a little more education before you make posts. He presided over us in the last few games of the season. Plus i didn't say renaissance, i said revolution. A revolution essentially means a radical alteration, eg Lenin etc, nothing has to be set in stone but wholescale changes are occuring.
Competitive might have been a bad choice of words. He was playing for nothing, is what I meant; it was clear as day that Partick were going down. But, I suppose that's what I should have typed Most of the high-earning dross that started the season at McDiarmid are still there - true or false?
Not as black and white as that so true and false. We have offloaded a lot of players and are still going to be offloading more. Some "dross" is still there but like i say a lot of it has gone. The midfield is our biggest problem and is where most of the "dross" remains. However we have signed the following: Steven Milne - Ex Portsmouth and Dundee, has had success in the SPL Stephen Dobbie - ex Hibee, goalscorer Neil Janczyk - Young midfielder, highly recommended but surplus to requirements at hearts Kevin James - Lanky defender who we used to despise, came from Falkirk Mark Campbell - Another defender, also came from the bairns Simon Mensing - Versatile player, is quality from what i've seen of him at Clyde We still need to offload a few more and sign a keeper (hopefully McGregor from Rangers) and a midfielder (rumours are circulating about Mostovoi , i know what you're thinking!). Hoping for a good season though!!
We used to have Kevin James, we played him up front for a while lol. Janczyk was pish when I saw him play for Alloa, he was a bit younger then though. Milne should be a decent signing, Dobbie has alot to prove. Mensing is a good player, Campbell is not that great from what i've heard, we were going to sign him if McLaughlin got the managers job, he had watched him a few times.
I would fully expect Dundee and St Mirren to be in with a very good shout, also with St Johnstone and Ross County making a good challenge.
It looks like they might well do so. I think if they get one more striker - or manage (against all the odds) to keep Mixu fit for longer than three months - they're in with a real shot. I do agree that St. Johnstone are looking a better prospect now than they were last season - although I did (successfully) predict that Connolly would fail there because he was working alone, without his backroom QOS staff who were so influential in his success. Coyle, while an unknown quantity in management, knows the lower leagues so well (borne out by signing guys like Mensing, rather than Moore, who was never going to fit in at McDiarmid) and might have the inspirational touch that the distant and cold Connolly lacked. Ross County, now that they've finally got that monkey Smith off their back, can't be written off either. Nobody will run away with it like Falkirk did, is my prediction. As for who actually wins out of the four or five teams who have a realistic shot at the title, ask me six games in and I'll make a prediction
Good post Dobbie might be OK and Mensing is a proven Division 1 performer, but a lot of those other signings don't really set the heather alight. I heard St. J were linked with McLaren, who would solve a lot of woes in the wing, but hands off, he's ours (hopefully)
Remember that Coyle led Falkirk to the title as joint manager with Yogi at Falkirk, so he has had some experience, all be it a year.
Fair enough, but look who took over afterwards on a permanent basis: Yogi. He's still there, Owen isn't I do think Coyle is an improvement on Connolly solo, but if St. J could have brought the whole QoS backroom staff to St. J I really think they'd be top-three material last season and probably champs this year.