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Saturday 30th  March 2024:  kick-off 3pm

Scottish Premiership - Aberdeen v Ross County

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2018/2019 season preview


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From the telegraph.  If I was shinnie, i'd be raging with that description:

 

SPFL preview: Steven Gerrard's new-look Rangers, resurgent Aberdeen and ambitious Hibs - is it Celtic's to lose?

 

Scottish Premiership

The Scottish Premiership kicks off on Saturday - who are the teams competing this season?

 

Far away from the riches and glamour of the English Premier League is a world of rivalry, plastic pitches, dead squirrels being dropped from the sky by seagulls and - honestly - some genuinely entertaining football.

 

The Scottish Premiership is gaining something of a cult following up in its native land and with the Hollywood addition of Steven Gerrard as Rangers manager, has grabbed some attention from far reaching corners. Even... England.

 

Brendan Rodgers' Celtic should dominate all before them but the league isn't as predictable as all that. There are three (and maybe four) teams competing for second place with everybody else capable of finishing as high as third or as low as relegated. This league is consistently unpredictable - but always fun.

 

So, can anyone really battle Celtic to the end? Will Stevie G work some magic at Ibrox? Will Aberdeen continue their tradition of failing to turn up in the big games? It's the SPFL! What a place.

 

Aberdeen

Ex-West Brom captain Derek McInnes has turned down jobs at Sunderland and Rangers to stay at Pittodrie, where he has transformed Aberdeen from serial mid-tablers (and worse) to the second best team in the country. For now.

 

Aberdeen lack the financial resources of their title rivals - as the Adam Rooney saga suggests - but have finished second four seasons in a row and should be there or thereabouts by the end of the season, though the looming prospect of a money-backed Steven Gerrard might see an end to that.

 

Scott McKenna and Graeme Shinnie are the star players, the latter a Scottish, more hurried version of N'Golo Kante (without the composure, technique or ability) and the former a big centre-back who several big clubs - your Hulls, your Swanseas) have been monitoring for a while. McKenna's rise to prominence is a tale of chances taken:  in 2016/17 he was appearing intermittently for Ayr United in the Championship and in the summer of 2018, aged 21, he captained Scotland. Not a bad career progression.

 

Tactically flexible, Aberdeen play in a 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, 4-3-3, 4-4-2 - all the numbers - and love a counter-attack. They lined up against Burnley in a 4-1-4-1, securing a 1-1 draw in their Europa League qualifier first leg thanks to a penalty won by Sam Cosgrove - a £20,000 buy from Carlisle reserves.

 

For all the good work of McInnes, Celtic will probably be out of reach once more and a resurgent (and big spending) Rangers are the main challengers for second as they were last season. Hibs could also quite easily dislodge Aberdeen from under Celtic's shadow.

 

Where they finished

 

Second.

 

Where they’ll finish

 

Second. Possibly third. Or fourth.

 

Celtic

 

Brendan Rodgers is starting to show signs of frustration with what he can achieve at Celtic, with his team way out in front of domestic rivals but a relative minnow in the European game.

 

The sheer amount of money they have in reserve and earn every season in comparison to other SPFL teams means Celtic should comfortably win every single domestic competition they enter - but they aren't invincible. Well, they were, going 69 games unbeaten until losing to Hearts in December 2017.

 

Tierney has attracted the attentions of some of Europe's elite clubs CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

Keiran Tierney is an enormously determined and talented left-back said to be wanted by Juventus, Man Utd and Everton, Moussa Dembele has been a transfer target for Premier League clubs and Marseille in particular in several recent windows and £9million new signing Odsonne Edouard could do some real damage, having left PSG to pursue game time and trophies in Glasgow.

 

Usually a 4-3-3, sometimes a 4-2-3-1 and occasionally a 3-4-3, Rodgers has his team playing attractive passing football in a similar style to his old Swansea and Liverpool sides.

 

Celtic scored 73 league goals last season, losing four times on their way to another treble and although Aberdeen have pushed them close(ish) for a couple of seasons, the gulf in standard of player reflects the gigantic bridge in wages paid.

 

Rodgers has proved he is an outstanding coach and with a highly professional approach, Celtic are surely a dead-cert for another league title. They have won two trebles in a row, and no matter the league or financial disparity, that is an astonishing achievement.

 

Where they finished

 

First.

 

Where they’ll finish

 

They've already started inscribing the name on the trophy.

 

Dundee

 

Managed by ex-Hearts and ex-Rangers winger (and current Sky Sports pundit) Neil McCann, Dundee shouldn’t rattle too many cages and did well to avoid being sucked into a relegation battle last season.

 

Dundee lack any real star player. Steven Caulker - ex of Liverpool and QPR - is doing OK and former Arsenal youth player Glen Kamara another decent performer, but it is never clear which Dundee will show up. It's usually not a particularly good one but McCann has been busy in the summer, making five first-team signings, none of whom anyone has ever heard of.

 

Dundee tend to play a defensive 4-2-3-1. Sometimes it works, at others it doesn't.

 

Where they finished

 

Ninth.

 

Where they’ll finish

 

Probably bottom half. Ninth?

 

Hamilton

 

The club that Alex Neil took to the big time before leaving for his own big time down in Norwich. Hamilton have a plastic (or 'synthetic' depending how you feel about it) pitch which many visitors - both player and supporter - absolutely hate. In fact, in a study conducted by PFA Scotland, Sports Labs and the SFA, it was voted the worst of all 42 senior clubs.

 

Manager Martin Canning is defensive of it:

 

"Some of the surfaces are poor, you don't know what you are getting," he said last season. "You don't know how the ball is going to bounce, whether it's going to stick or not. I think our pitch is in good condition. It plays the same way every week."

 

That makes sense and ahead of the new season, it's all change! A £750,000 refurb of the 3g playing surface will make Hamilton a far more enjoyable away game. They hope.

 

Hamilton could do with putting some of that pitch money into the players who actually have to use said pitch. The likes of Michael Devlin, Ali Crawford and Greg Docherty have all jumped ship in recent times leaving Doug Imrie as the key player and even with those - Devlin is at Aberdeen (though was injured and moved in January), Crawford at Doncaster and Docherty at Rangers - they've struggled.

 

Striker Antonio Rojano is probably the most talented remaining on the books but he managed three goals in 26 appearances last season. Not great. But that pitch does weird things to good players - the problem is Hamilton's struggle too - five home wins, three draws and 11 defeats didn't help last season. Their away record was four wins, three draws and 12 defeats.

 

Where they finished

 

10th

 

Where they'll probably finish

 

Somewhere between 12th and 10th probably.

 

Hearts

 

Having scoured the world far and wide following the failed Ian Cathro experiment (good name for a band), Director of Football Craig Levein eventually realised the only man for the job at Tynecastle, out of the entire universe of football, was Director of Football Craig Levein.

 

Hearts conceded 39 goals last season - the third lowest of any team - suggesting that Levein hasn’t altered any of his tediously cautious ways and the approach at most games - and every away one - was a deep, defensive 4-5-1. This 'tough to beat' style secured a top six finish but Hearts only scored 39 goals and drew 13 games - fans of actual entertainment won't be terribly excited for 2018/19.

 

That said, the former Scotland boss has turned around a Hearts side which lacked identity and they do look to be on the up. Signing three goalkeepers in one summer might seem a little odd (because it is) and another huge turnaround of playing staff (12 signings so far...) could either turn them into top four, or secure even more delicious 1-1 draws.

 

Where they finished

 

Sixth

 

Where they'll probably finish

 

Anywhere between fifth and eighth.

 

Hibernian

 

Neil Lennon has won admirers with his fantastic work to not only bring Hibs back into the SPFL but establish them as one of the best teams in the league. Hibs pushed for second place in their first season back in the big league but just fell a little short at the end, eventually finishing fourth and earning European qualification.

 

Losing midfielder Dylan McGeough to the mighty Sunderland (...) is a big loss and if John McGinn does sign for Celtic, as seems likely, to be a sort of Scott Brown replacement, Lennon's plans will take a huge hit.

 

Stevie Mallan is a great signing and adds some class and guile to the centre of the pitch so they might be OK should McGinn leave in this window. Hibs have players all over the team who can score goals and in Lennon, a wily, shrewd manager who doesn't take well to losing.

 

Hibs switch between a 3-5-2 and a 4-4-2 depending on the opponent but the loss of McGeouch and return of Scott Allen to Celtic limits Lennon's tactical flexibility. He seems to have addressed a tendency to 'Hibs' things up, drilling positional discipline into his players to make them tough to score against.

 

Where they finished

 

Fourth

 

Where they'll probably finish

 

Fourth-ish. Third maybe.

 

Kilmarnock

 

Steve Clarke really seems to know what he’s doing and since leaving the rollercoaster world of English football, has begun turning Kilmarnock into a team capable of drawing with anyone. Sometimes they win, too!

 

Killie are insanely difficult to break down and conceded 47 goals with a squad of players who - on paper - probably shouldn’t be competing for a European place. But they did. For a while.

 

Clarke’s approach is a narrow 4-3-3 (a 4-5-1 out of possession) that restricts space, waits for a turnover and then launches a quick attack. It’s almost as if he spent a lot of his career working with Jose Mourinho…

 

Kris Boyd - yes, he still plays - continues to be a penalty box poaching menace and with the right service from the likes of Jordan Jones, a tricky inside-forward/winger, Killie can score and deny the opposition any fun whatsoever.

 

For all the defensive organisation and Boyd-sponsored goal grabbing, Killie lack quality and will really miss ex-West Brom player Yousseff Mulumbu, who was outstanding last season. He fancies a move away from Rugby Park on a free transfer but there is hope - at time of writing his Twitter bio still says he's a Kilmarnock player. Clarke will be sending him Whatsapps every day begging him to stay.

 

Where they finished

 

Fifth

 

Where they'll probably finish

 

Fifth. Or Sixth. Or Seventh? Eighth maybe. Ninth? It's possible.

 

Livingston

 

Kenny Miller left Rangers in the summer to take up a player/manager role at newly promoted Livingston and now has the difficult task of learning how to be a coach while also getting the best out of his best player: Kenny Miller.

 

David Hopkin lead the club to the SPFL after back-to-back promotions but left to pursue a job in England (he doesn't have one yet) and it’s a real challenge for Miller to try and continue that momentum in his very first job in charge of a team.

 

How often does he play himself? What happens when he doesn't play well? Can a manager really identify problems on the pitch if he is standing on it?

 

So far Miller has tried 4-4-2 in the League Cup once and then a 3-5-2 in two games after that and has won four out of four competitive games - a promising start, even if three of those were against lower league sides and the fourth was a 0-0 draw with Hamilton, who as we've established, aren't very good.

 

Livingston could either finish bottom or enjoy one of those newly-promoted bounces that teams sometimes get. Whether Miller will have the players available or managerial ability to steer them to safety is entirely up in the air.

 

Their first game is against Celtic...

 

Where they finished

 

Second in Championship, beat Partick Thistle in promotion play-off.

 

Where they'll probably finish

 

Nobody on the planet knows

 

Motherwell

 

Stephen Robinson took Motherwell to the Scottish Cup final last season, implementing a highly organised and structured 3-5-2 system which has really seemed to work. The players are really well drilled, have clear pressing triggers and defend in a compact, rigid shape.

 

But like so many other teams, Motherwell lean on the defensive side of their game to make up for a lack of creativity and goalscoring talent further up the pitch. The lack of money in Scotland means genuine attacking talent is held by youngsters unprepared to use it properly or by those who leave Scotland once they are.

 

Expect more of the same from Motherwell, and by that I mean it is as likely they finish fourth as they are relegated.

 

Where they finished

 

Seventh

 

Where they'll probably finish

 

Anywhere from fourth to 10th.

 

Rangers

 

Steven Gerrard’s first managerial job is a mammoth challenge. The pressure of looking after this Glasgow giant has crushed many an experienced coach in the past and reputation alone won’t count for anything when Rangers come up against tricky, highly-motivated opponents - is Stevie G ready?

 

The signs so far say possibly yes. Gerrard quickly identified weaknesses in the squad and took steps to address them, signing Alan McGregor to protect the goal, a new defence (including ex-teammate Jon Flanagan) to protect the goalkeeper, Jamie Murphy and some young loanee friends from Liverpool (amongst others) to build a 23 man squad.

 

In SPFL terms Rangers have spent a lot of money this summer - they're eager to win things quickly - and somewhat literally simply cannot afford a disaster on the pitch this season. Success to the fans, as ever, will be measured by how well they do compared to Celtic, but they are miles away financially.

 

The calibre of footballer Gerrard has brought in should certainly help Rangers in their attempt to claw their way past Aberdeen and close the gap on city rivals Celtic - but Rangers lost 10 games last season and have a new squad which could take time to gel. This is a team in construction, not the finished article and though the name carries a certain weight, Rangers are not the all-defeating team of yesteryear.

 

On the pitch it looks like Gerrard has implemented a structured 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 formation and likes his players to press from the front, dropping into their defensive shape if the opposition beats the first press. It's not perfectly balanced yet and the team lacks left-footed players but it seems as though Gerrard has picked up a thing or two from Rodgers and Rafa Benitez in particular. He sounds like a manager too:

 

Forget that Gerrard, before accepting the job, may not have known much about the SPFL. He and his management team will scout, plan and prepare to ensure nothing is left to chance (well, you’d hope so anyway) and Rangers' opening game against Aberdeen will be an absolute stunner. A defeat would immediately pile pressure on Gerrard, a win might signal the start of things to come. Which will it be? What does a draw even mean?

 

Where they finished

 

Third

 

Where they'll probably finish

 

Second. Or third. Fourth if it goes badly. But definitely second. Or third.

 

St Johnstone

 

St Johnstone have overperformed for years under Tommy Wright but that run came to an end last season as they fell to eighth place.

 

Tony Watt signed in July - the same Tony Watt who once scored against Barcelona for Celtic - and the hope will be that he finds form and fulfills even a little bit of the potential he showed back then.

 

Other than Watt, they're absolutely fine. On a good day St Johnstone can beat or draw a top four side, on a bad day they'll lose 3-0 to Livingston.

 

Always a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1, chipped passes down the wing into the channels, win the second ball, repeat.

 

Where they finished

 

Eighth

 

Where they'll probably finish

 

¯\_(?)_/¯

 

St Mirren

 

Lost highly talented manager Jack Ross to the lure of crisis club Sunderland and then turned down Guti (!) to hire ex-Hibs boss Alan Stubbs. It’s hardly the most inspired of signings but one based on Stubbs ‘knowing Scottish football’, something which didn’t seem to help him particularly when failing to get a decent Hibs side promoted in either of the seasons he was in charge.

 

Stubbs did manage to win the Scottish Cup during his time at Hibs and utilised a 3-5-2 shape while there, in a system which ultimately didn't work. But he's had time to think about why that was. And he 'knows Scottish football' so that'll make all the difference.

 

A 6-0 League Cup thrashing of Dumbarton was carried out in a 4-4-2 shape in St Mirren's most recent game, with Stubbs having little luck using his 3-5-2, a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-2-3-1 in their other early season matches.

 

St Mirren were excellent in the Championship last season but it doesn't seem like Stubbs has a total handle on how he wants to play this campaign and they haven’t really added anyone of significant quality - unless you think Jeff King on a free transfer from Bolton will prove to be a hidden gem. Safe to say, it could be a struggle to retain Premiership status.

 

That said, St Mirren could easily end up taking points from the top four and lucking their way to a top six finish. It doesn't have to make sense, it's the SPFL.

 

Where they finished

 

Won the Championship

 

Where they'll probably finish

 

¯\_(?)_/¯

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