The National Football League, better known as American Football, has graced the USA since the 1920s. In the 80s the UKs channel 4 began broadcasting games and the interest for the game sparked.
Prior to the 2005 season, the NFL primary method of creating interests was mainly down to preseason tours and the creation of the development league – NFL Europe. In 2005 the preseason tours were cancelled and NFL Europe folded but one international game took place in Mexico. The game between the San Fransisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 31-14 in front of over 103,000 fans. This gave an indication for the audience available outside the US.
Due to NFL rules, teams that are playing in temporary homes as part of a relocation or that have recently been awarded the Super Bowl are required to play a home game internationally. The Los Angeles Rams, upon relocating from St. Louis, agreed to host an international game from 2016–2019, while their new stadium is being built. The Los Angeles Chargers, who will be sharing the stadium with the Rams once it is completed, will also host an international game in 2018 and 2019, only getting out of the 2017 game because the team had executed its out clause to move from San Diego after the 2017 International Series games had been announced. The Raiders, who will spend the 2019 off-season in limbo due to the expiration of their stadium deal in Oakland and the lack of an NFL-ready stadium in their eventual home in Las Vegas, have also agreed to annual international home games through 2019.
The beginning
Starting in the 2007 season, the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants played the first regular season game ever played outside North America. The sell out stadium penned a deal for a single game to be held for the next 4 seasons at London’s Wembley stadium. Coverage of the game was given to Fox in the US and the BBC broadcast live – the only game live outwith the Super Bowl that season. The 13-10 win was a rain fest with the football pitch struggling to keep up with the demands of an NFL game. The cutting up of the ground bothered the players on the field and the FA who were required to lay a new pitch afterwards! The 80,000 strong crowd comprised of fans from all teams coming together to see a game live. The “home” crowd were for the Dolphins but most games since have seen a largely mixed crowd.
The New York Giants practice in Wembley ahead of the first London game in 2007
Until 2012 the single game format stayed as the norm with 11 teams coming over to play in London – only the New England Patriots came over twice in the first 5 seasons with an average crowd of 82,000. The St Louis Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to play “home” games in Wembley for the coming seasons – The Rams pulled the plug on the deal due to their relocation to LA – while the Jaguars agreed to a 4 year deal to play games.
2012 on-wards
2013 saw Wembley host 2 games within a month, setting the trend for multiple International games. The 3 game a year format started in 2014 and has continued since. In 2015 the NFL agreed to a deal extending the international series to 2025.
Englands home of Rugby, Twickenham Stadium, hosted the first International London game away from Wembley in 2016 and has held 2 games since. The inclusion of the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium started in 2019. Spurs agreed a 10 year deal to host at least 2 games for each of the seasons. The specially built stadium houses an NFL synthetic pitch underneath the hybrid grass football pitch. Thus negating the requirement for relaying of fields.
NFL posts being installed at England’s home of Ruby
The future
The success of the NFL international series went back to Mexico in 2016. The Estadio Azteca has hosted 2 games but the 2018 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams was moved to LA due to poor field conditions. The stadium is due to host the Chiefs and LA Chargers on 18th November this year.
The NFL commissioner Roger Goodell hasn’t ruled out a permanent franchise in London. While no timetable has been set, the league is working on a goal of establishing a franchise by around 2021, assuming they have all the necessary arrangements in place. It is believed this would be most likely achieved through relocation of an existing franchise, with the Jaguars most often linked due to their association with the International Series, even though their owner is said to be content with the current arrangement and other franchises have more reason to move – the most often cited being poor on-field performance, lack of fans and uncertainty over stadium leases. The NFL has used some of the specific arrangements for the International Series games as a test bed for predicting how a London franchise could be made effective from a logistical perspective. There has also been discussions that in the future the Super Bowl could be held outside of the US – with London being the firm favourite.
When all 2019 fixtures have been fulfilled – 31 of the 32 NFL teams will have played an International Series game. Only the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs will not have played in London. The Jacksonville Jaguars have played the most games with 6, Oakland Raiders have played 5 and the Miami Dolphins have 4 appearances.
Within the United Kingdom, aside from London, potential candidates for hosting NFL games include the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales and Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. Other prime locations to get games would be Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland (Ireland has already hosted the NCAA college football game similar to the International Series), Germany (which hosted the majority of teams in NFL Europe throughout its existence as an all-European league and whose national American football team won both the 2010 and 2014 European Championship), China (Games have been proposed 3 times and cancelled due to stumbling blocks), Brazil, Australia and Canada (Canada hosted the Bills Toronto Series from 2008 to 2013 and a preseason game between the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders 2019).
Games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium started with a 24-21 win for the Oakland Raiders over the Chicago Bears. The Carolina Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-26 a week later. The final 2 International games in London kick off on Sunday 27th October with the Cincinnati Bengals facing the LA Rams – with the Houston Texans facing the Jaguars in the final game on Novermber 3rd.
In 1903 Glasgows Mount Florida region was home to the largest stadium on the planet. A capacity in excess of 100,000 would regularly flood through Hampdens gates. Years later, in 1937, Scotland vs England would host 149,547 official attendees with reports suggesting the actual number was nearer 180,000. It wasn’t only international games that drew massive crowds. The 1937 Scottish Cup Final between Aberdeen and Celtic was attended by 147,365 with a further 20,000 locked outside the Hampden gates. A record that will forever stand as the highest attended football game in Europe.
Modern Era
May 20, 1989 was the last time fans stood on Hampdens slopes. The Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Rangers was a narrow 1-0 win for Celtic in front of 72,069 spectators. This was the final big game in Scotland before the onset of stadium modernisation which greatly reduced capacities within football stadiums. – The final chapter in the history of Scottish terraces was written.
Well before 1990 it became clear that Hampdens standards were falling short. Then owners Queens Park could not afford to fund any of the renovations works and Glasgow City council weren’t interested in getting involved. Queens park considered selling the stadium but were saved by a public appeal and minor repair works. The 1980 riot which saw the ban of alcohol in Scottish football prompted a massive redevelopment at the stadium.
After 2 phases of the redevelopment were complete, the annual Scotland vs England fixture was cancelled in 1989 – sparking questions as to the requirement for Hampden. Rangers proposed Ibrox as an alternative for the National team and Murrayfield in Edinburgh was also suggested, neither of which appealed to the SFA board who felt the national team should have its own stadium. The West terracing was converted to seating in 1991 but with 2 sections of terracing still available, Hampden was disqualified for hosting and World Cup Qualification matches.
The finished article
In 1992 a grant of £3.5m was given and a £12m project to revamp Hampden to an all seater was under way. As the capacity grew, the old South stand was limited to 4,500 and the total capacity to 37,000 – Celtic, who were also getting Celtic park renovated, decided to ground share with Queens park at a cost of £500,000. The final renovation stages began in 1997 with a National Lottery funding of nearly £60m. There was a cost overrun and a fraud squad were called to investigate alleged financial irregularities. The new South stand was complete and opened for the 1999 Scottish Cup final. A new Hampden with a capacity of 51,866 – Queens Park owners and an SFA holding lease until 2020.
A chance missed
In 2013 Hampden was transformed into a modern athletics stadium for the 2014 Commonwealth games. Queens Park played their games at Airdies Excelsior Stadium while the works and events took place. This work rose questions about a possible renovation if the ground was to be converted back for football purposes. The distance from the East and West stands to the pitch is difficult to go unnoticed and doesn’t lend itself to the great atmosphere that can be created. The stadiums front 8 rows were removed which lowered the capacity to 44,000. These works were exactly what would have been required to try and close the gap between the stands and the pitch, but the decision was made Hampden would be converted back to its original state after the 2014 games.
In 2008, German side VfB Stuttgart decided to transfrom their “bowl” stadium into a purpose build football stadium. Lowering the pitch by 1.5 meters and developing the stands and roof to accommodate more rowed seating. The project did not impact the football side as work was undertaken during the off season. In just over 3 years the stadium was completely transformed. If we are forced to keep Hampden, this should be stuck on the wall as an aim to get too.
VfB Stuttgarts Mercades Benz area in 2007The redevelopment complete in 2011
The Options
So what options do the SFA have? The first is to copy the above. Architects say around £90m should get a similar look out of Hampden as Stuttgart got from their gaff. No brainer if we are destined to stay in Mount Florida for the rest of time.
I much prefer the second option. get rid of Hamdpen, start moving the game around the country. Attendances haven’t been brimming for a number of years and the involvement of youth is slowly dwindling away.
Kids in and Dingwall should have just as much chance to see Scotland play as those kids from Cathcart. Admittedly Palmerston Park may be a bit small, but you can’t argue the San Marino game coming on Sunday wouldn’t look better in a packed 9,000 seater rather than sub 15,000 crowd in an empty Hampden.
Rugby Park, Easter Road, Tannadice and Tyncastle. All worthy of hosting competitive international games
With the obvious exception of Celtic Park and Ibrox, both of which provide a much better ‘footballing experience’ the Scotland team needs to get back in touch with the fans. Get the squad playing competitive games in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and if we ever get a worthy pitch back – Killie. Easter Road, Rugby Park, Tyncastle and Tannadice are all exactly the kinds of venues we should be looking to take on San Marino, Gibraltar, Lichtenstein and other of the “smaller” nations. We need to get football out and appealing to the younger generation, confused by an empty stadium when round the corner they have one perfectly suitable to the numbers scattered around the “national stadium”.
The 2019 World Cup opener between hosts Japan and Russia kicks off today, so it is time to look at the 20 nations all chasing the upset of beating New Zealand to the trophy…
The Webb Ellis Cup
The tournament is considered the most open for some time – possibly ever. There are plenty of threats and the all important world rankings up for grabs. The teams are listed below in world ranking order.
IRELAND
Some of the gloss has come off Ireland in 2019 after a stellar year in 2018, although they are still an incredibly formidable side. ranked number 1 in the world at the moment, 2 warm up wins against Wales were rather overshadowed by a mauling at the hands of England. Fingers have been pointed at the age and durability of some areas of the squad, but they are helped by a relatively straightforward pool. Their big test comes first with Sundays game against Scotland – a winner takes the group attitude to this game.
Irelands Jordan Larmour will fill the No 15 role left by the injured Rob Kearney
NEW ZEALAND
Even though they aren’t top of the ranking, there are still few people who will dispute that the All Blacks are the tournament favourites. They are currently the best all-round team in the world. They have named their team to take on South Africa on Saturday and it is loaded with talent. If they can get over that hurdle, they will be sauntering to a favourable quarter-final for the rest of the group stage.
All Blacks captain Kieran Read will lead the All Blacks as they aim to defend the Rugby World Cup
ENGLAND
1 loss in their 4 warm up matches will fill England with a lot of confidence. They have hit form at the right time and a healthy squad should see them out their group easily enough. Their opponents shouldn’t worry Eddie Jones as his team look to have a growing number of world class players. Their first test is Sunday against Tonga. If England are on fire in Japan, they could go all the way.
Englands Jonny May has 14 tries in his last 17 matches
SOUTH AFRICA
The resurgence under Rassie Erasmus has picked up speed and the Springboks arrive in Japan in solid form. A draw with tournament favourites and group B opponents New Zealand. They open the tournament on Saturday 10.45 GMT and it’s a winner-takes-all contest for the better seeding in the knockout rounds.
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi has won a fitness test for the opening game against New Zealand
WALES
Coach Rob Howley’s return home after a suspected breach of betting and some recent losses are hard to expel from the mind when judging Wales’ chances in this World Cup. They should not be underestimated, though, as they are the reigning Grand Slam champions in the Six Nations. Star lock Adam Beard met up with his team later than planned after having his appendix removed – he is expected to miss at least the first game – leaving Wales with only 2 fully fit second rows!
Wales No. 10 Rhys Patchell has declared himself fit for the opening game against Georgia
AUSTRALIA
The Wallabies’ demolishing of New Zealand in Perth will be at the forefront of the Aussies minds. A big win for confidence, in a team who naturally peak at the big occasion. In a group with Wales, Fiji and Uruguay, it looks like it’ll be between Australia and Wales to see who can secure the more favourable quarter-final as group winners.
Australia celebrate success over New Zealand
SCOTLAND
A shaky start to the summer was stabilised with a home win over France and then back-to-back victories against Georgia. Facing a threat of Japan would normally not be a big worry, but as tournament hosts, Japan will posse a very real threat. Scotland are still favourites to make it out alongside Ireland. The complete complexion of the group could completely change with a Scotland win over Ireland on Sunday morning.
Greg Laidlaw, Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg will be instrumental in any Scotland success
FRANCE
There have been some signs of life in the French team of late and they rank a couple of spots higher now than they would have at the end of the Six Nations earlier this year. Their opener against Argentina on Saturday will be particularly telling. Given Les Bleus’ history, though, we probably shouldn’t rule out a full-blown player revolt happening between now and then.
France training ahead of their opening game against Argentina
FIJI
Fiji are dangerous. Really dangerous. That said, they are in a tough group with Australia and Wales and although they are capable of beating both of those teams on their day, they will need a number of things to go their way if they are to upset the odds. A tough opening game against Australlia will give us an idea where their game is at – and how they can effect the outcome of this group.
12 of Fijis 15 named starters play in foreign leagues
JAPAN
Japan start the tournament as hosts against Russia today at 11.45. They break into the top 10 rankings for the first time thanks to a strong Pacific Nations Cup earlier on in the year. Facing a tough challenge in the group with 2 other top 10 sides, Japan will be looking to upset Scotland and Ireland to make it through to the quarter finals.
Japan celebrate success at the 2015 world cup
ARGENTINA
Argentina face a tasty tie with France to see who will likely finish behind England in group C. A thumbing lose against South Africa in the final warm up match against South Africa won’t give the Pumas confidence going into face the other top tier rates teams. Their opening game against France is tomorrow at 8.15 – lose that and they will need to pull off a significant upset against England.
Rugby insiders consider Argentina the sleeping giants
GEORGIA
Stuck with Australia, Wales and Fiji in Group D, Georgia are going to have their work cut out over the next few weeks. Their scrum is undeniably ruthless, almost every team in the Top 14 has a Georgian in their pack. Recent losses to Scotland show that their overall game and squad depth isn’t quite there at the moment to go toe-to-toe with the tier one nations.
Georgia have been knocking on the door of the 6 nations to replace Italy
USA
A pretty balanced group for the Eagles, who had the edge over local rivals Canada prior to heading out to the tournament. The introduction of the 12 teamed Major League Rugby in North America has shown massive benefits to the US and Canada. Given where the sport lies in the pecking order in the States, its unlikely they will cause any issues to group opponents England, France or Argentina. They are moving in the right direction and that is always a positive.
A strong performance in Japan could see the growth of American Rugby
ITALY
Italy will be solely focused on securing 3rd spot in their group to guarantee a place at the next World Cup in 2023. They face a challenge of New Zealand and South Africa so trying to be competitive while holding off Namibia and Canada will be the task at hand.
Sergio Parisse will take part in his 5th Rugby World Cup
TONGA
Tonga are said to have an ageing group of players in key positions which means they are struggling to threaten the big boys. They’ll be looking to test themselves against the USA who are at a similar level – a best of the rest in Group C.
Tonga will be looking to the Eagles of the USA
SAMOA
In 2011 and 2012 Samoa were able to pull off upsets against Wales and Australlia – unfortunately a similar issue to Tonga with an ageing squad, means those days are unlikely to repeat. The task will be to challenge Scotland, Ireland and Japan for 3rd place in Group A.
Samoa will cover players tattoos as a sign of respect to hosts, Japan
URUGUAY
Uruguay enter this World Cup with a big loss to Spain hanging over them. A 41-21 defeat at home won’t be a confidence builder with Australlia, Wales and Georgia waiting for them in Group D. Points are only realistically available from Fiji, and even then it’ll be a bonus.
Could be a steep learning curve for the Uruguayans
RUSSIA
The comprehensive beating that Russia took at the hands of Italy last month is representative of where they are right now. They will do well to stay within 40 points of Japan in Tokyo on Friday and they will target being competitive with Samoa as their best shot of an unlikely upset at this year’s tournament.
Russia open up the tournament against hosts Japan
CANADA
Canada’s results suggest they are under performing. As the sole Canadian team of the Major League Rugby, the hop is the Toronto Arrows’ inclusion will help Canadian rugby progress to get competitive.
A long way to go for Canada to get competitve
NAMIBIA
Canada’s Group B opponents are the lowest ranked team in the tournament. Their match against Canada will be for the wooden spoon in the group but should be a match both teams will be able to gauge where they are at.
Namibia are the lowest ranked team in the competition
The Singapore Grand Prix presents Red Bull with a great chance to claim another race win…if it can stop Mercedes and Ferrari, who finally scored its first wins of the 2019 season in Belgium and Italy, Formula 1 returns to Singapore with the pecking order anything but assured.
Charles Leclerc’s debut victory followed by an equally impressive display in front of the tifosi left no doubt as to his talents in just his second full F1 season. The question now lies with who is the number 1 driver for Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel has been used to being the golden boy of the team for years, but it looks like he is slowly fading into the shadow of Lecrlerc.
So F1 arrives in Singapore having had something rare – a number of consecutive exciting races! Wins for Red Bull in Germany, Mercedes in Hungary and Ferrari in in the last 2 races, mean we haven’t had the usual winning paddock.
Here is a team-by-team preview ahead of the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.
MERCEDES
The Silver Arrows will be looking to get back to winning ways
Make no mistake, despite not winning since the summer break at Spa, Mercedes is in prime position to put that right in Singapore. Hamilton will feel hard done to in Italy with his battle against Charles Leclerc, and an extra lap in Belgium would have likely seen the Brit catch the Frenchman and take first spot. But Singapore is a track where Hamilton has won the last 2 seasons, and has 4 wins along side Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel.
Last year’s Saturday display in Singapore by the championship leader was immense, powering a Mercedes that had no right to be on the front row to pole position. There are no guarantees with a street circuit and Mercedes have made inroads to improve performances on these types of tracks over the latest seasons.
RED BULL
Max Verstappen could be the man to upset Mercedes while team mate Alex Albon continues to impress
Ferrari have looked to take hold of the second constructors place with 2 wins in the last 2 races but Red Bull’s impressive progress with Honda has made the team a threat. Around Singapore, the RB15 could be the car most able to take the challenge to Mercedes – and possibly better it.
Alexander Albon heads into his first-ever Singapore GP but has begun his Red Bull senior career with a decisiveness that his predecessor was lacking. Despite Verstappen’s win in Germany, he will be eager to put his corner misfortunes behind him, especially with his history at Singapore. His P2 last year was only 0.2 seconds off the sensational lap set by Lewis Hamilton – on any other day Max would have been on pole.
FERRARI
Charles Leclerc celebrates victory at Monza
On what has been an underwhelming season for Ferrari, two wins on the bounce and a top step at Monza have gave some welcome relief for the prancing horse. However they go into a weekend where their car is at a significant disadvantage. The lack of straight line speed going to prove difficult to match the other big boys around the Marina Bay streets.
There could be a bigger deal happening at Ferrari. Has there been a power shift in favour of Leclerc? His performances comparative to the recent results of Vettel and the spats that have took place show he isn’t willing to be pushed around – and the team look to be backing him.
Vettel’s spin and rejoin at Monza sparked his 3rd penalty points incident. So in the next three races, Sebastian cannot afford to risk another three-point penalty, for that would take his total to 12 – at which point an automatic one-race ban kicks in.
THE BATTLE FOR FOURTH
RENAULT & McLAREN
Renault and McLaren are top of the Midfield table
The battle for best of the rest between McLaren and Renault closed further at Monza. McLaren sit 18 points clear of the French team in the constructors’ standings after Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg’s strong performances at the Italian Grand Prix.
Renault had their best finish of the season with 4th and 5th places, and signs of progress, were a well-deserved reward for the team.
With only 1 point from the last 2 races, McLaren have lost valuable ground in the race for 4th best constructor. Singapore could provide the opportunity to restart their push and claw back some ground on Renault. McLarens Carlos Sainz is a fan of Singapore, having his best every finish with a 4th place in 2017. McLaren would love a similar result this year.
THE BEST OF THE REST
RACING POINT
Racing Point are planning a “performance step” in Singapore
Racing Point will arrive in Singapore with a number of new aerodynamic updates that the team expects to provide another performance step. Drivers Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll have both scored points in 2 of the last 3 races. The team expected to be stronger after the summer break and that has looked to be the case at Monza and Spa.
TORRO ROSSO
Pierre Gasly has bounced back well after his switch from Red Bull
Toro Rosso had looked set for a good haul of points until Danii Kvyat was forced to pull over and retire from the Italian Grand Prix. Torro Rosso will like being back at a street circuit. Monaco got them their second best result of the season earlier in the year. Pierre Gasly continues to acclimatise to the team after his demotion from Red Bull but he looks to be settling in well with the team.
HAAS
Haas have announced that both Magnussen and Grosjean will continue next year
A 16th place finish for Kevin Magnussen and retirement for Romain Grosjean capped off a miserable race for the American team in Monza. Despite their Italian Grand Prix weekend falling apart as soon as the lights went out, Hass have come to Singapore with their 2 drivers confirmed for next season. It seems unlikely that the team will be able to manage a better result though as it continues to struggle with tyre degradation a big worry for the team.
ALFA ROMEO
Antonio Giovinazzi is reportedly close to signing for next year
Kimi Räikkönen’s hit the wall in qualifying but managed a points finish at Monza. This was a was a good recovery in what has been a strong season for the experienced Finn. Alfa Romeo will be keen not to lose touch on the rest of the field, with rivals Racing Point bringing upgrades to Singapore, its important for them to stay with the midfield pack. A strong performance for Italian Antonio Giovinazzi could cap off a weekend in which could confirm him as re-signing with the team for 2020.
WILLIAMS
Williams look to make more positive steps
George Russell has impressed recently with his performances while teammate Robert Kubica announced yesterday he will leave the team next season. Not quite the fairy tale everyone had hoped for!
While Russell will be experiencing the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time, Robert Kubica has raced at the circuit during his first stint in F1, and so will benefit from greater experience over his team-mate.
Americas game returned last Thursday night for week 1 of the 100th NFL season. All 32 teams bidding to make it to the big one – The Super Bowl.
The results
Green Bay Packers 10-3 Chicago Bears There was a clear lack of game time for both teams starters in this game. Sloppy play with the ball and numerous mistakes meant it only took 1 good drive from The Packers QB Aaron Rodgers to win the game. The well known threat of the Bears defense was evident, sacking Rodgers 5 times and not allowing him a complete pass until 12 minutes into the game! The Green Bay running game was stuffed for less than 40 yards. Bears quarter back Mitchell Trubisky struggled to get to grips with the packers D. Finishing with 57% pass completion and less than 250 yards – that wont win games. Jimmy Grahmas touchdown was enough to see the win for the Packers over their divisional rivals.
The dominent Packers D chase down Trubisky
Cleveland Browns 13-43 Tennessee Titans The hype surrounding the Cleveland team is now well under wraps. With the addition of Odell Beckham the positive vibes from the Browns was huge! Brought right back down to reality now. Their record of the longest run without a playoff spot could continue if things don’t change. Tennessee aren’t exactly world beaters and a 30 point loss wasn’t on the cards. Mistakes from the Browns cost them 182 yards in penalties alone! Baker Mayfield had 3 interceptions and struggled to lead his offence. The star for the Titans was running back Derrick Hendry ran for 84 yards and 1 touchdown as well as a 75 yard receiving touchdown.
Jacksonville Jaguars 26-40 Kansas City Chiefs A high scoring all AFC game had plenty of talking points. Injuries being the first one. Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill were injured as well as Jaguars QB Nick Foles breaking his collar bone. A strong first half showing had Mahomes with over 300 passing yards at the half, but a foot and then leg injury halted his progress. He never missed a snap, but wasn’t his usual self in the later stages. Foles replacement Dardner Minshew looked excellent, throwing for 275 yards and completing 22/25 passes. The Jags can take many positives from losing to what most are saying is the Super Bowl favourites.
Carolina Panthers 27-30 Los Angeles Rams Carolina will look back on this as a game of mistakes. They trailed by 10 points at the half but were more than in the game. The mistakes started in their opening drive, they were marching down the field when a fumble turned the ball over to Cory Littleton. A pass from QB Cam Newton which went backwards was also recovered by the Rams and set up a short field for a touchdown. The Rams run game was strong, even without Gurley seeing his usual workload. Malcolm Brown taking only 3 carries less but scoring 2 touchdowns. Jared Goff looked shaky at stages. Not his calm self that earned a new deal just last week, but the longer the game went, the more he grew into it. Caronlina kept in touch with the Rams but couldn’t capitalise on any of their mistakes.
Running Back number 34 Malcolm Brown celebrates his second TD
Miami Dolphins 10-59 Baltimore Ravens The highly rated Lemar Jackson looked like a player who had done this for years. His first season opener start saw him become the youngest Quarter Back to ever gain a perfect passer rating. 324 yards and 5 touchdowns. The ease of the victory might be taken with a pinch of salt as Miami were considered the worst team in the league prior to the season starting – i don’t think they’ve done enough to lose that tag. Rumours circulated that up to 10 players from the Dolphins asked to be traded on Monday – but who would take players who have just had a hiding off the Ravens? Seems people think a lot of themselves.
Minnesota Vikings 28-12 Atlanta Falcons The Vikings played this game to a T. Their D-Line managing to hassle Matt Ryan throughout the 60 minutes. With the ball the Vikings ran over the top of the Falcons with both Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. Atlanta only really got going late in the 4th quarter by which point the game was done. The Vikings took their foot off the gas and allowed Julio Jones and Calbin Ridley to score two TDs. There will be a concern from Falcon fans that they weren’t more competitive here, but they’ll certainly face easier opposition this year.
New York Jets 16-17 Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills were 16-0 down at half time in the tie. Having turned the ball over 4 times they amassed a second half comeback to get a week 1 win. Quarter Back Josh Allen had a tough first half to the 2019 season – making a couple of mistakes and being directly involved in all 4 turnovers. Allen rallied and was relentless in his approach for the game winning score. The Jets Sam Darnold was struggling to get anything moving through the air. Completing 28 passes for only 177 yards. He looked rattled throughout the game, never settling into any rhythm. Le’Veon Bell scored on his debut for the Jets with 60 yards on the ground and looked back to his normal self against a strong Buffalo defence.
Philadelphia Eagles 32-27 Washington Redskins No one gave the Redskins a chance in this opening fixture – but they found themselves 17-0 up in the opening half. The Eagles had benched most starters for preseason and it certainly showed in the first half. A Wentz and Jackson combination looks as real a threat as any in the NFL. Their 51 yard TD before half time giving the Eagles momentum and allowing them to expose the weak Redskins run defence. Washington can take some positives though, Case Keenum connected well with rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin. His 125 yards and 1 TD showed that there is a threat there, and outdoing all expectations of scoring double digit points will give them confidence.
Eagles QB Carson Wentz
Los Angeles Chargers 30-24 Indianapolis Colts Adam Vinatieri is considered the greatest kicker in NFL history – yet on Sunday night, he can be mostly blamed for the loss his team suffered. A missed extra point, 1 long field goal and another short field goal would have been the 7 points to give the Colts victory. The story of Andrew Luck retiring mid training camp put the starter position to Jacoby Brissett. Brisset had a game. 21 of 27 attempts and 2 TDs. T.Y Hilton was Brissetts favourite target but the run game of Marlon Mack totaled 175 yards and 1 TD. Showing the Chargers run D to be their weakness. The chargers 3 passing TDs allowed Rivers to spread the ball around for his 333 yard game. He had 1 interception – a ridiculous 1 handed grab by Colts safety Mailk Hooker – worth seeing! The Chargers didn’t miss starting Running Back Melvin Gordon as much as they may have thought. Both Justin Jackson and Austin Ekeler ran well and also took some catches from the backfield for positive yards.
Seattle Seahawks 21-20 Cincinnati Bengals Andy Dalton and his Bengals teammates nearly caused a big upset in week 1. Dalton picking up career highs in completions and yards – but ultimately still losing. The Seahawks backs giving up over 400 yards will be a cause for concern, as they will face much stronger QB and WR groups in the next 15 weeks. John Ross was Daltons favourite target with 158 yards and 2 TD’s while their rushing game didn’t really get going. The Seahawks fans will be happy to see the 1-0 numbers but WR D.K Metcalf didn’t disappoint and might be the biggest positive of the night. Leading the team with receptions and yards.
Arizona Cardinals 27-27 Detroit Lions For the second season running, a tie in week 1 of the year. A second half burst of talent from number 1 draft pick Kyler Murray sparked a comeback from 24-6 down and had a 4th quarter for the books. 154 yards and 2 Touch Downs. Yes his start was slow, probably to be expected – but his end was one which will give plenty of hope to the Cardinal fans. Veteran nice guy Larry Fitzgerald helping his rookie QB out by catching 8 passes for 113 yards and a TD. The Cards rung game looks to have a rejuvenated David Johnson who rushed for 82 yards and had 55 receiving yards. The Lions will feel hurt at a loss but their first round pick Tight End TY Hockenson was impressive. A debut game and 131 yards receiving was matched by Matthew Staffords 385 yards through the air. The Lions running game will be a worry, both C.J Anderson and Kerryon Johnson struggling to get going, failing to get over 100 yards between them.
QB Kyler Murray evades the Lions defence
Dallas Cowboys 35-17 New York Giants The Cowboys were hitting headlines with big deals for star Running Back Ezekiel Elliot in the off season. based on the performance from Quarter Back Dak Prescott, there’s a chance his long term deal will be next. 405 yards and 4 TDs to 4 different players. Elliot, who wasn’t 100% fit, got 13 carries for 53 yards and out gained second string Tony Pollard. Elliot is expected to carry more as the weeks go on. The Giants were competing well but the game plan seemed to change away from what was working well. Saquon Barkley ran for 59 yards on his first carry but only got the ball 10 times after that – odd to say the least. Eli Manning is slowly showing he is past his best. The QB gained a lot of yards in the air during the dying moments of the game – leaving him with 306 yards and 1 TD.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-31 San Francisco 49ers Bucs QB Jameis Winston failed to crack the 200 yard barrier despite throwing over 35 times! He also had 3 interceptions, 2 of which went back for TDs and defenders also dropped 2 other picks! Tampa were desperate not to win this game, fumbles and gifting interceptions to the 9ers defence. Poor play calling needs to take some blame for the score from the Bucs point of view. The 49ers did win the game but QB1 Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t light the show up on Sunday. 166 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception. There will be much better and stronger defensive sides that the 49ers will face and the quarterbacking will need to improve. Both first and second string running backs of the 9ers picked up injuries but thirs string Raheem Moster looked goo in the 9 carries he had.
New England Patriots 33-3 Pittsburgh Steelers The Patriots have owned the Steelers over the years, but it’s never been like this. The Steelers are often competitive, but they weren’t anywhere close to New England in this latest version of their rivalry. The Patriots dominated, which is scary, considering that they didn’t even have Antonio Brown available yet. Brown is reportedly housing in Tom Brady’s place while he gets sorted in New England. Brady had 341 yards for 3 touchdowns – there’s no stopping the 42 year old. Phillip Dorsett took his chance to play before Brown arrives with a 95 yard receiving game and 2 TDs, but he looks to be the one that will make way in the depth chart for Brown. The Steelers were struggling big time, but a positive was their run defense which managed to keep the Pats running game at bay. Offensively, as shown by the scoreline, was a real issue. No one could get into a rhythm or get any sort of momentum going. Even when the game was dying down, Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t get a TD. The run game was non existent for Pittsburgh – just 21 yards fro James Conner.
New Orleans Saints 30-28 Houston Texans The game of the week. The late night Sunday game was exciting and went back and forth in the second half, as Drew Brees and Deshaun Watson exchanged thrilling passes. There were even two lead changes in the final minute, with the Texans going up by one before Brees put together a blazing-fast drive to put Wil Lutz in position to drill the decisive kick. Both quarterbacks were fantastic. Beginning with Watson, he hurled several deep bombs in this game, Hopkins was 20-of-30 for 268 yards, four touchdowns (three pass, one rush) and an interception. There was a scary moment in this game where Hopkins injured himself on his touchdown run. He was able to engineer a furious drive to put his team ahead with about half a minute remaining in regulation. When the Texans scored that final touchdown, I instantly thought that they left too much time on the clock. That’s because the Saints had Brees, who was surgical in the second half; he went 16-of-20 for 210 yards and two touchdowns following intermission. Brees fired a number of short passes to gain 35 yards in 15 seconds to set up Lutz’s game-winning field goal. No need to chat about the defence in this game, they stopped it from being a monumental scoreline to both teams.
Kicker Wil Lutz celebrates his game winning Field Goal
Oakland Raiders 24-16 Denver Broncos A rather eventful week for Oakland saw Antionio Brown eventually get traded and possibly see the negativity go with it. The Raiders certainly came out with a passionate and confident performance against their AFC West rivals. The stand out Raider was rookie Josh Jacobs who had over 100 net yards and 2 TDs – the first player to do so on his debut since LaDanlian Tomlinson. QB1 Derek Carr was laser accurate through the night, 22/26, 260 yards and a TD with a number of passes going to new recruit Tyrell Williams. Joe Flaccos first game as a Bronco suffered badly with leading offensive lineman Ja’Wuan James missing the entire second half, containing the Oakland D-Line was a real challenge. Flaccos numbers weren’t terrible with 268 yards and 1 TD. A new bond with WR Courtland Sutton showed real promise. Sutton catching 7 of his 8 thrown to and gaining over 120 yards. The run game didn’t prove effective for the Broncos with less than 100 yards between 2 backs over 22 carries.
Week 2 schedule and predictions
Thursday, September 12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Carolina Panthers: Panthers 30-22 Sunday, September 15 Arizona Cardinals v Baltimore Ravens: Ravens 31-21 Buffalo Bills v New York Giants: Bills 23-17 Dallas Cowboys v Washington Redskins: Cowboys 28-21 Indianapolis Colts v Tennessee Titans: Titans 31-21 Jacksonville Jaguars v Houston Texans: Texans 24-17 Los Angeles Chargers v Detroit Lions: Chargers 27-23 Minnesota Vikings v Green Bay Packers: Vikings 21-17 New England Patriots v Miami Dolphins: Patriots 34-7 San Francisco 49ers v Cincinnati Bengals: Bengals 26-20 Seattle Seahawks v Pittsburgh Steelers: Steelers 17-14 Kansas City Chiefs v Oakland Raiders: Chiefs 34-21 Chicago Bears v Denver Broncos: Bears 24-20 New Orleans Saints v Los Angeles Rams: Rams 31-28 Philadelphia Eagles v Atlanta Falcons: Eagles 28-17 Monday, September 16 Cleveland Browns v New York Jets: Browns 27-21
With the decision to make Steve Clarke the new Scotland boss in May, the Tartan army followers and outsiders alike, believed change was coming. Sadly, it looks to be the same old story for Scotland.
A squad selection able to perform far higher than they’ve showed in the last week were dealt two damaging defeats at home, in front of a less than half full Hampden park. The powers that be must see that the life is being sucked out the game due to a number of factors. Ticket pricing, kick off times and team performances all to blame.
Scotland vs Russia
Lets start with the last one first. Scotland faced the team they were competing with for second place in the group. A positive start saw John McGinn take advantage of a Russian error. From then on Scotland were on the back foot. A great save by Marshall denying an equaliser before a scrappy bit of defending saw Dzyuba stroke the ball past Marshall. Russia then piled on the pressure, building on their lead while Scotland struggled to put any real attacking threat together. Russia were well worthy of their win.
the players react at full time
Repeatedly losing possession and struggling to turn attack into defence are killing any chance we had to play the way Clarke did at Killie. Having O’Donnell so high up the park for an out ball has cost us already on a number of occasions.
Scotland vs Belgium
The worlds best team came to Hampden and barely got out of first gear. Missing one of the best midfielders in Eden Hazard, Belgium looked in complete control of the game. Allowing Scotland to keep the ball, knowing the lack of clinical attacking players we have to offer. The shape of the team was as narrow as it gets – both Ryan Fraser and James Forrest sitting in the stand proved not to be a master stroke. A number of other changes showed Clarkes displeasure with the side who lost to Russia.
It didn’t take long for the scoring to start, a Scotland free kick quickly turned into a 2v1 attack for Belgium – with Lukaku calmly slotting the ball beyond Marshall – 1-0 after 9 minutes, and a long night ahead.
Kevin de Bruyne then caught the Scotland defence sleeping to cross to Thomas Vermaelen who couldn’t miss from 4 yards out. Another set play goal before halftime saw Toby Alderweireld make it 3-0 to the visitors at the interval. de Bruyne himself then made it 4 as he dominated the game and showed his class throughout.
different class…
Where do we go from here?
So it looks like all faith will have gone to the playoff place Scotland secured last year in the Nations League. It means we head to a one game semi final against either Bulgaria or Israel at Hampden on the 26th March. Winning this will see a double legged tie against what looks like Norway or Serbia to see who gets to Euro 2020. The safety net is good to have, but it now looks inevitable with sights being set on finishing 3rd in the current group. That is as good as can be expected at this stage – as we sit behind Kazakhstan, Cyprus and Russia for second place. Grim reading.
So why are a decent team on paper struggling to gel together under a new manager? Well the truth is that it seems the state that Strachen left Scotland in has been inherited by Clarke. A talented group of individuals who cannot seem to get a winning solution on the park.
From back to front we are struggling to get a settled team – its always going to be tough when international fixtures don’t come around very often – but a fairly consistent XI would be a start for a more stable side.
David Marshall has pulled of some good stops over the campaign and is rightfully the number 1 at the moment. My love for Stephen O’Donnell is clear for all to see – but he isn’t international level. His style of play and that of which Clarke uses, has seen him caught out too many times already. A centre back pairing of Mulgrew and Cooper didn’t provide the security at the back. Throughout the group we have been shipping goals. A firm pairing needs to be found – and quickly. Andy Robertson is the highest profile player we have, but I feel he forgets he isn’t playing with Van Dijk or Salah when he pulls the dark blue on.
Players need to want to play! Scott McTominay and Matt Phillips were both guilty of shiteing it out of challenges last night, would they have done the same for their club? We need to be daring. Attack teams. With wingers like Fraser and Forrest, no team would be comfortable playing against that. Keep things solid through the middle of the park with McGregor, Armstrong and Christie.
The need for a proven goal scoring striker is evident. Will Leigh Griffiths fill this void when Clarke feels he is ready? For me, he should certainly be in the starting line up for our remaining games.
The next squad needs to be committed, daring and attacking. I don’t doubt that Steve Clarke has the ability and desire to take this team forward, but he needs the time to get sorted. It’s no quick fix!!
So its been a few weeks since my last blog – real life getting in the way.
The football season has reached its first natural break with Internationals taking place this weekend. The first 4 games have set up a few surprises around the leagues in Scotland and we will have a look at where teams stand in the early stages.
Premiership
Celtic lead the way with 4 wins from 4 games. An opening day 7-0 win over St Johnstone certainly showed the intent from the outset. A 5-2 away win at Fir Park also shows goals aren’t going to be an issue this season. 17 goals for and 3 conceded means their defensive issues may not be as big an issue as first appeared. A derby win at Ibrox before the break means it couldn’t really be better for Neil Lennons side.
Rangers are 3 points a drift of Celtic – with their only loss coming to their city rivals. A last minute winner gave them all 3 points on the opening day at Rubgy Park while another edgy performance saw a 1-0 at St Mirren. A very impressive win over Hibs at Ibrox will give plenty of optimism for Steven Gerrard and his side. The loss to Cetlic could be costly given the confidence beforehand, time will show the reaction to Livingston at home on the 14th of September.
Gary Holts Livingston sit pretty in 3rd place with 8 points. Opening day draw with Motherwell looks like a good point but a disappointing draw in Perth means this could be a lot better for the Lions. 2 wins on the bounce including a 4-1 win away in Dingwall means there is plenty to smile about.
Aberdeen will be content with their opening 4 games which sees them sit 4th in the table. A European exit will give the Dons more focus on domestic matches and a comfortable win over Ross County before the break will give them loads of confidence for their upcoming fixtures.
Motherwell games look likely to give goals this season. Apart from their openeing day stalemate with Livingston, their other 3 games have produced 15 goals. 5th place and 2 wins on the bounce sees the Steelmen sitting joint with Aberdeen on 7 points.
Killie share 4 points with the teams from 6th down to 9th at this stage. Losing the opening 2 games to Rangers and Hamilton – some twitchy bum holes started around Rubgy Park. A shake up over the transfer window and a much needed 3 points at Perth sees spirits suddenly rise.
Hamilton come next with a lesser goal difference and seem to be shipping goals fairly easily. 8 conceded and a mix of form will give the Accies faithful cause for concern. Their only win coming at Rugby Park but Hamilton are always a team able to pick up points.
Hibs opening 3 points against St Mirren remains their only League win. With a disaster at Ibrox, a poor draw at home to St Johnstone and then a hammering by Motherwell – Paul Heckinbottom needs to galvanise his squad and get some much needed points on the board.
St Mirren sit alone with 3 points on the board in 10th place. A spot which i think most Buddies would bite your hand off for. A good win over Aberdeen has been followed by 2 losses to Rangers and Livingston. Arguably strong opposition but the Paisley side will be looking forward to facing the “lesser” opposition.
Hearts have picked up 2 draws from the opening 4 games. Losing to Aberdeen and Celtic. Not the worst stats, but 2 draws at home to Hamilton and newly promoted Ross County would have expected wins when the fixture list came out.
St Johnstone see themselves footing the table and have conceded 12 goals in 4 games. Draws with Livingston and Hibs are sandwiched between losses to Celtic and Killie. With a goal difference of -8 already, its looking a bit grim for Tommy Wrights side.
Championship
As predicted – Dundee United sit aloft the Championship table with 4 wins from 4. Lawrence Shankland has already bagged 8 goals and is strolling it. Impressive wins against their neighbours and a goal difference of 10 puts them in a commanding position. Ayr united sit second with 9 points and 3 wins out of 4 – losing only to Dundee so far and their 3 wins sit nicely where they are looking to be. Inverness have had a steady start which sees them sitting 3rd in the table – Their only loss coming to the league leaders on the opening day.
Newly promoted Arbroath have ignored all suggestions of them struggling this season. An opening day draw and wins against Alloa and Dunfermline see them comfortably sitting 4th and 6 points away from the foot of the table. Morton sit 5th despite managing to lose 12 goals in 4 games. A drubbing from Inverness on a Friday night wasn’t the ideal start to their opening stint. Dundee have had a bit of a roller coaster ride with 5 points so far. Which includes a good win over Ayr and also a 6-2 loss to their opponents across the road.
Part timers Alloa are next in 7th place with 1 win and 1 draw from their opening 4 games. Any suggestion of survival would be great for the Wasps and their 3 points against Queen of the South had put a glimmer of hope that they can do it. The Queens come next in 8th with a just 2 points – 2 draws and 2 defeats saw the International break as a welcome. Dunfermline will be disappointed with no wins in their first 4 games. A team who were considered one of the stronger in the league will need to make some serious changes to get back on track. Partick Thistles fall from grace continues – rumours of an internal bust up with manager Gary Caldwell and the players is apparent and their 1 point shows all is not well. 3 losses on the trot and confidence at an all time low!
League 1
League 1 clubs have only played a max of 3 games up to this stage but there aren’t too many shocks. No team who have played 3 games has won all of their games which shows how close a league it could turn out to be.
Falkirk are top with 2 wins and a draw and are followed by Raith Rovers. Forfar have a 100% win record but join 7th placed East Fife with only 2 games under their belt. Airdrie, Stranrear and Dumbarton make up the rest of the pack while Peterhead, Montrose and bottom of the league Clyde all look for their first wins of the year.
League 2
Contrast to League 1, we are 5 games into League 2 and there are some gaps appearing already. Sitting at top is promoted Cove Rangers. 4 wins and 1 loss give them 13 points and 3 ahead of Edinburgh City. City were defeated by Rangers 5-0 on the opening day, a big result which looks to set the tone!
Cowdenbeath sit third with Queens Park behind them followed by Annan on 8 points. A good middle pack which included relegation favourites Albion Rovers as well as Elgin City.
The lower end of the table has Stenhousemuir on 5 points and Brechin City with only 1 win. At rock bottom is Stirling Albion who have lost every game and are already 3 points adrift of the rest of the field.
So while some of my previous predictions are looking good, plenty aren’t. However, there is plent more football to be played.
Friday evening sparks the new Premier League season in England as Norwich travel to Liverpool. Defending champions Manchester City have already got a trophy for the 19/20 season, beating Liverpool in the Charity shield, and they’ll be desperate to add a 3rd consecutive league title to their haul. Liverpool amassed a massive points total for a team not to win the league last season – and the European champions are chasing their first title under the “Premier League” name. Both City and Liverpool seem to be miles ahead of the chasing pack.
Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are all squabbling over 3rd place and the Champions League spots but could have close company with Everton looking like they’ve had a successful close season.
Norwich, Sheffield United and Aston Villa have all been Premier League clubs before and now find themselves part of the 19/20 season. Coming out the Championship, each of these will want to survive in the worlds richest league.
Arsenal (5th last season) Unai Emery heads into his second season as Arsenal manager and last season proved its going to be a long road for the Gunners fans. Its clear it’ll be a rebuild of a few seasons and transfer windows to get the London side back to where they feel they belong. Their 2018/19 season started with defeats by Chelsea and Man City before a 14 game unbeaten run filled the Gunner fans with hope – 4 defeats in the last 7 games of the year meant they missed out on a Champions League spot by 1 point to rivals, Spurs…
New Arsenal signing Pepe!
Transfers have come in but with money being spent on the future by the looks of it. 18 year old centre back William Saliba from Saint-Etienne. He will return there for a season long loan, so Arsenal cant even utilise their most expensive signing at £27m. A strange bit of business given Laurent Koscielnys recent antics and the fear of Shkodran Mustafi being the “reliable” centre back. In addition they dug deep and found a spare £72m and splashed it on Nicholas Pepe! The pacey winger arrives from Ligue 1 club Lille where he scored an impressive 35 goals in 74 games. At 24, he has a lot of years left in him.
Aston Villa (Promoted – Championship playoff win last season) A three year absence comes to an end for the Villa in the Premier League, and they are back with a bang. New owners have ploughed money into the club including over £80m in new signings for the coming season with that number expected to rise. Holding onto Jack Grealish and John McGinn could prove vital to Villa who only have 2 remaining players from the side relegated in 2016. Last seasons run of 10 wins on the bounce set them up perfectly for their playoff campaign and Derby were the last scalp at Wembley.
Championship and Villa hero Tyrone Mings makes his loan move from Bournemouth a permanent deal worth ‘up to’ £26.5m but the capture of Brazilian striker Wesley is grabbing some attention. Signed from Belgian side Genk for £22m, his 35 goals in over 115 appearances suggest hes not signed to be a prolific goalscorer. It feels he will be a target man to allow the goal scoring threat from midfield to push forward.
Bournemouth (14th last season) A rags to riches story rarely comes around these days, yet here Bournemouth are. Now a regular in the Premier League fixture list just 11 years on from administration. Starting League 2 with a -17 point total, they somehow survived and even managed to push on. Eddie Howe has been at the helm for most of it guiding the Cherries all the way to their glory days. With the added challenge of the Premier League comes the expectation – a mid table finish would seem nominal for a team of this caliber but not after spending around £80m last year.
Unlike a lot of other teams they haven’t went mental with signings. Howe is determined to make the squad he has work, and signing only where he feels its needed. The signing of 20 year old Lloyd Kelly from Bristol city adds some well needed flexibility in an injury struck defense. More of the same can be expected with a team of dedicated, resilient players.
Brighton and Hove Albion (17th last season) The sacking of Chris Hughton raised a lot of eyebrows among neutral fans given what he has done for the club. However the form they showed towards the end of last season meant it was a miracle they didn’t go down. The owners have acted and as such Graham Potter has taken of the reins and it’s likely going to be another long season for the Seagulls fans.
New Brighton winger Leandro Trossard
After spending over £60m on a number of duds last year, Brighton will be looking to spend wisely this summer. Another signing from the Belgian league sees Leandro Trossard from Genk seal an £18m move. The left winger had 14 goals and 7 assists in 34 appearances last season – impressive stats from the 24 year old who had been linked with Arsenal!
Burnley (16th last season) Manager Sean Dyche will oversee his 8th season at Turf Moor – 2 promotions and a relegation sandwiched in-between means hes had a roller coaster journey at the club. He is regularly cited as the reason for Burnley’s continual survival with his positive, no nonsense attitude – but how long can it last?
Last seasons form wasn’t great, consistency the main issue which saw a rare 8 game unbeaten run their main highlight era. Important wins over relegation rivals at vital times saw them drift close to the relegation scrap but ultimately survive. West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez makes a return to Burnley for £10m. 22 goals last season is his personal best and one which the Claret and Blue will hope continues.
Chelsea (3rd last season) A transfer embargo falls over Chelsea this season as Frank Lampard returns to Stamford Bridge in the managerial position replacing Mauizio Sarri. Yet the high expectations still remain for Mr Abramovich. With the loss of Eden Hazard, Lampard has a big task to replace the Belgian and get a squad capable of a top 4 finish. With Lampards had forced, fringe players and young talent will have a rare chance to shine.
Kovacic and Lampard during Chelsea training
With the embargo Chelsea only really had one option to sign – on loan Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic. His presence wont fill the Chelsea fans with delight, but if he can do the donkey work to help out N’Golo Kante – that might just be enough. A big season lies ahead for Ruben Loftus Cheek and Ross Barkely among others.
Crystal Palace (12th last season) Palace have finished their last 6 seasons between 10th-15th in the League – a model of consistency. It hasn’t come without its ups and downs. Some describe it as miraculous that they have managed to survive some of those seasons yet here they are about to go again. After Christmas they amassed 9 wins to steer them well clear of the relegation battle.
The imminent departure of Wilfred Zaha will worry Palace fans, Arsenal and Everton rumoured to be sniffing about. Wan-Bissaka heading to Manchester United for £50m would make you think cash was there to be reinvested…but the £2.2m signing of Jordan Ayew won’t get many hearts racing. His loan spell last year saw 20 appearances with 1 goal… Andros Townsend will again be the main focus for much of Palace’ attacking play, and Eagles will know the importance he holds to how their season will unfold.
Everton (8th last season) Everton have often been seen as one of the ‘best of the rest’ but they’ll be looking to get back to the form which saw them challenge in Europe. Manager Marco Silva has taken on this challenge after his impressive time with Watford. A mid season hangover looked to cause concern but a good start and end to the season saw Evertons rebuilding year finish strong.
Players like Gylfi Sigurdsson and new signing Andre Gomes from Barcelona, will look to provide control in the midfield. Silvas attacking mentallity will suit Everton this year with striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin expected to take on the burden of providing a strikers touch.
Gomes made his deal to Everton permanent from Barcelona
Leicester City (9th last season) The 19/20 season will see Bredan Rodgers take control of the Foxes for his first full season. He took over from Claude Puel and has quickly made a positive impact. A far cry from the side that won the league, Leicester will be hopeful of pushing into the top 6 teams this season.
Goals are always available with Jamie Vardy in your team. 10 goals in his last 11 games of the 18/19 season showed he still has what it takes. The £80m sale of Harry Maguire has raised a lot of eye brows – can he really be worth more than Virgl van Dijk? (of course he shouldn’t) Money looks to have been spent wisely with the signing of Youri Tielemans from Monaco. The £40m spent sounds high, but the impressive loan spell last year meant they were happy to pay the asking price.
Liverpool (2nd last season) The 97 points accumulated by last seasons second place, would have won the title 25/27 Premier League seasons – both the others were won by Peps Manchester City. Can they go one better this year? The Champions of Europe was as good a silver lining as you can imagine, but the young Reds side will be desperate to get their hands on the Premier League trophy.
The requirement to add to the Liverpool team isn’t much, therefore only one major signing has been in the papers. 17 year old Sepp van der Berg comes in just over £1.3m from Dutch side PEC Zwolle. Says everything about the squad Jurgen Klopp has managed to build. The ususal suspects will be lining up for Liverpool and their familiarisation will certainly be an advantage heading into their league opener on Friday.
Manchester City (1st last season) The blue side of Manchester will start the season without Vincent Kompany for the first time in 11 years. The void left will be felt much more in the changing room than on the pitch given his injury concerns of recent years – but its a void none the less. The armband looks to be heading to David Silva, a worthy servant of the club who is also set to move on after this season.
Age is certainly something that Manchester City have a bit more of compared to others around the top of the table. The aging legs of Fernandinho sparked a move for 22 year old Rodri from Athletico Madrid. The £62.5m price tag was never going to be an issue and his comparison to Sergio Busquets means hes a no nonsense centre mid.
Rodri better get used to holding trophies
Manchester United (6th last season) This could be one of the most unpredictable seasons in Manchester United history. Has the impact of Ole Gunner Solskjar done enough to rejuvenate his squad and add well? Time will tell. The pressure and spotlight will again be on Paul Pogba who is widely criticised, although remains the focal point of the team.
The signing of right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka is an odd one. £50m for a player with one seasons experience in the EPL and the Red Devils seemed determined to pay the overvalued price. At only 21, he has plenty of time to repay the faith showed by the cheque book. Man U fans were getting disgruntled at the Mourinho way of playing, and from last seasons showing OGS wont be looking back in terms of his style of attacking football.
Newcastle United (13th last season) So the toon army are rightly disgusted with the owners and the way Rafa Benitez was allowed to walk away from the club – not even a massive Sports Direct mug could keep him! It seemed owner Mike Ashley was destined to grab the headlines this summer and his (9th choice!!) replacement, Steve Bruce, will be wondering what hes got in store for him!
Not content with going through managers, money seems to be flying about as well. £40m on Joelinton from the German Bundesliga will fill the space left by Solomon Rondon. Can Bruce find a system to please the fans and grab some much needed positivity around the club…?
Norwich (promoted – Championship winners) This will be the 7th time the EPL has welcomed Norwich into the league – it seems to be a place they have no issues getting to – but get heavy lost when they get there. There’s no doubt the attacking and goal scoring threat but they are prone to leaking like a sieve at the back.
Daniel Farke hasn’t felt the need to dip heavily into the transfer market, instead opting to trust those who got them there. The goalscoring of Teemu Pukki will again be heavily relied upon if they’re going to stick around for seasons to come.
Sheffield United (promoted – 2nd in Championship) After a spell down as low as League 1, the Blades are back in the top flight. The Yorkshire side had 3 previous playoff attempts which all failed to get them back to the promise land. After Christmas, their run saw 15 wins from the 23 games and took them up automatically.
Compared to the other 2 promoted teams, the Blades are somewhere in between when it comes to money and transfers. Dipping their toe in and out while keeping some of the core talent from last season. Lys Mousset is there biggest transfer at £10m from Bournemouth. Mousset will be looking for a regular start after the majority of last season was spent on the bench.
New blades signing Lys Mousset
Southampton (16th last season) The 18/19 season started in dramatically poor circumstances with only 1 win on their first 14 games. This duelly shot Mark Hughes out the door and the appointment of RPB Leipzig boss Ralph Hasenhütl brought back some stability to the team. He didn’t perform any miracles, but he done what was required.
Danny Ings makes his move from Liverpool a permanent one worth £20m. Still only 27 he seems to have been around forever. This could be a great chance for Ings to stay injury free and get a run of starts under his belt. If he can do both, the goals will almost certainly come!
Tottenham Hotspur (4th last season) Fourth place and a Champions League final – not bad for a team who are considered bottlers. The squad Mauricio Pochettino has acquired, built and grown looks to be another force to contend with this season. The new stadium is just as impressive and will host its first full season in London.
The squad is strong and has been for a couple of years now. Any time Harry Kane is around he is first name on the fantasy football list – a natural goalscorer who will feed off and inspire the rest of the players around him. New signing Tanguy Ndombele joins from French side Lyon and is regarded as the closes thing to Mousa Dembele they were likely to find.
Tanguy Ndombele for Spurs
Watford (11th last season) Right in the middle of the pack. A stable team who quietly go about their business with goals chipping in from all over the pitch. A team full of players with individual talents sees Watford as one of the most varied. Able to play good football or stand toe to toe with the bruisers of the game – they adapt well to whatever is put in front of them.
Javi Garcia has managed to blend a team of brutes like Deeny and Doucoure with the flair of Deulofeu and the Solidness of Capouse. All of who will contribute more than a few goals. While new signings have been hard to come by, there will likely be some big activity with their record transfer fee due to be obliterated.
West Ham United (10th last season) A hectic season which saw a number of big players queue for the physio room meant that a 10th place finish was more than acceptable. The sale of Marko Arnautoivic could get rid of what was a bit of a nuisance in the dressing room – hopefully that money can be spent wisely. The breakout season for Irelands own Englishman Declan Rice will see a large focus on how he handles his second year.
In the forward positions they have splashed £45m on the tall Frenchman Sebastien Hallar from Eintracht Frankfurt. He will look to build on his near 1 goal every 2 games record for the German side. There will be the same caliber of expectation from the Hammers 65 year old gaffer, Manuel Pellegrini, for the team to be unselfish and consistently pick up points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (7th last season) As far as promoted season go, this was one for the books. A scintillating start saw Wolves get right among the big boys but a small lapse in November soon brought them back to reality. A Europa League place is what they took from last year and I bet they would be more than happy with the same again!
Wolves haven’t been shy in spending money in the past few years. Desperate to get back into the top flight, the owners flung money at the club. They have completed the signing of former AC Milan striker Patrick Cutrone who is considered to be a good all around play-maker. This along with the flair that Wolves presented last season could see another top 10 for the Midlands side.
So the SPFL season is finally nearly upon us. An interesting year ahead after some major changes all through the leagues. We will look at the ins and outs and I’ll give my predictions for the coming season!
Premiership
Aberdeen (4th last season) Boosted by Derek McInnes signing a new deal until 2022, Aberdeen will be looking for another season in Europe next year. It would be a great achievement for the Dons who overall, have added well in their transfer window. The addition of former Derby County midfielder Craig Bryson looks to be a fine bit of business with the Dons ex captain Graeme Shinnie swapping changing rooms with Bryson down the M6 as Shinnie agreed a 3 year deal with the Rams. More positive news was the extension of Shay Logan and Joe Lewis’ contracts. The exit of Gary Mackay-Steven raised some eye brows as hes landed right on the Hudson with a deal at New York City FC.
Their European campaign has started well with victory in Finland taking them into the second round, a first leg draw in Georgia puts the Dons in a good position for the return leg at Pittodrie.
Joe Lewis celebrates a new contract and a new role as team captain
In:James Wilson (Manchester United), Curtis Main (Motherwell), Craig Bryson (Derby County), Ryan Hedges (Barnsley), Ash Taylor (Northampton Town), Luc Bollan (Dundee United), Sam Jackson, (Dundee), Michael Ruth (Queen’s Park), Funso Ojo (Scunthorpe) Loan: Jon Gallagher (Atlanta United), Greg Leigh (Breda). Out: Gary Mackay-Steven (New York City), Graeme Shinnie (Derby County), Mark Reynolds (Dundee United), Archie Mair (Norwich City), Greg Halford David Craddock, Ryan Harrington, Morgan Brown. Loan ended: Greg Stewart (Birmingham City), Max Lowe (Derby County), Dominic Ball (Rotherham United). Loaned out:Frank Ross (Ayr United), David Dangana (Stranraer).
Celtic (1st last season) Neil Lennon’s appointment will split opinions both outwith and within the Celtic support. Some praising it as good business and others feeling its a backwards step. The exit and loss of experience with the likes of Mikael Lustig and Dedryck Boyata, will make the need for new faces all the more important. The Glasgow side will be looking for another year of trophies to back up their treble treble although Celtic didn’t look the same outfit under Lennon as they did under Rodgers. So it will be interesting to see the teams reaction and how they start the campaign.
A confident start to their competitive season has seen positive results in the Champions League qualifying rounds. They head to Estonia with a 5-0 advantage from the first leg.
In: Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo (Rapid Vienna), Christopher Jullien (Toulouse), Luca Connell (Bolton Wanderers), Hatem Adb Elhamed (Hapoel Be’er Sheva). Out: Dedryck Boyata (Hertha Berlin), Scott Allan (Hibernian), Dylan Forrest (Hamilton Academical), Wallace Duffy (Dundee) Marvin Compper (Duisburg), Regan Hendry (Raith Rovers), Reece Willison (Airdrieonians), Dorus de Vries (retired), Mikael Lustig, Emilio Izaguirre, Youssouf Mulumbu, Christian Gamboa. Loan ended: Timothy Weah (Paris St-Germain) Filip Benkovic (Leicester City), Jeremy Toljan (Borussia Dortmund), Oliver Burke (West Bromwich Albion).
Hamilton Academical (10th last season) Hamilton are a team who have been in and around the lower end of the league for as long as I care to remember. A team not fussed on what others think, it gets to Christmas and the points start rolling in. Last season was no different. An impressive 2-0 away win to Aberdeen midweek the pinnacle of a Hamilton result! Brian Rice has unfortunately managed to keep them in the league again so the story of Hamilton continues. You’ve got to tip your hat to how they manage to do it, season after season! This year looks to see some major changes on the pitch, names always associated with Hamiltons top flight leaving and taking their years of experience with them – Ziggy Gordon, Dougie Imrie and Tom Taiwo all leaving New Douglas Park. New signing Blair Alston has had high expectations in the past, so pressure will be on him to deliver at the Accies.
In:Will Collar (Brighton & Hove Albion), Blair Alston(St Johnstone), Brian Easton (St Johnstone), Markus Fjortoft (Southern United), Dylan Forrest (Celtic), Owain Fon Williams (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Ciaran McKenna (Falkirk), Johnny Hunt (Stevenage). Out: Ziggy Gordon (Central Coast Mariners), James Keatings, (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Gary Woods (Oldham Athletic); Dougie Imrie (retired), Tom Taiwom (retired), Alex Penny, Lennard Sowah, Matthew Kilgallon, Delphin Tshiembe, Jacob Marsden, Hamish Morrison. Loan ended: Tony Andreu (Coventry City), David McMillan (St Johnstone).
Heart of Midlothian (6th last season) Last season saw Hearts spring to the top of the league after the first 12 games, then it all fell drastically downhill. A spate of bad injuries to key players ultimately cost them their league position and then towards the later part of the year more injuries costs them a decent crack at the Scottish Cup, where they lost in the final. The younger members of the squad will have gained some valuable experience both in the cup and league which will no doubt benefit them going forward. The return of Jamie Walker will sure to excite the Jambos fans but seeing the back of Steven Naismith will mean a new goal threat is required.
The pre season style Betfred Cup has seen the Jambos draw with East Fife, but do still sit second in their group and will face Motherwell in the last 16.
New Hearts defender Craig Halkett
In: Craig Halkett (Livingston), Conor Washington (Sheffield United), Jamie Walker (Wigan Athletic), Aidy White (Free Agent). Out:Arnaud Djoum (Al-Raed), Jack Hodge (Hibernian), Marcus Godinho (Zwickau), Aaron Hughes (retired), Conor Sammon (Falkirk), David Vanecek, Malaury Martin. Loan ended: Steven Naismith (Norwich City), Demetri Mitchell, (Manchester United), Conor Shaughnessy (Leeds United).
Hibernian (5th last season) After the bizare turn of events which lead to Neil Lennon’s departure from Easter road, Paul Heckingbottom came into Hibs and continued right where Lennon left off – losing only 2 of his first 13 games in charge. Having lost influencial players in the transfer window including John McGinn, Hibs managed to get a comfortable 5th without ever really putting pressure on 4th spot. Heckingbottom will be keen to keep hold of players like Florain Kamberi and Stevie Mallan especially with goals exiting as Marc McNulty heads back to Reading. Scott Allan makes another return to Hibs to bulk up their midfield. Ryan Gauld reflected the story of his career after Dundee United by never really getting going!
The Hibees topped their Leagu Cup group with 4 victories (one on penalties) and will fancy their chances of progressing as they’ve drawn Championship side Morton for the knock out stages.
In: Scott Allan (Celtic), Josh Doig (St Johnstone), Jack Hodge (Heart of Midlothian), Joe Newell (Rotherham United), Adam Jackson (Barnsley), Christian Doidge (Forest Green Rovers), Tom James,(Yeovil Town), Steven Bradley (Queen’s Park). Loan: Chris Maxwell (Preston North End). Out: Marvin Bartley (Livingston), Ross Laidlaw (Ross County), Kane O’Connor (Brentford), Mark Milligan (Southend United), Miquel Nelom, Gael Bigirimana, Jonathan Spector, Callum Donaldson, Kane O’Connor, Kevin Waugh, Lewis Allan, Ruari Paton. Loan ended: Marc McNulty (Reading), Ryan Gauld (Sporting Lisbon), Stephane Omeonga (Genoa), Thomas Agyepon (Manchester City), Adam Bogdan (Liverpool), Darnell Johnson (Leicester City). Loan: Kevin Dabrowski (Cowdenbeath), Tommy Block (Queen’s Park).
Kilmarnock (3rd last season) The end of the Stevie Clarke era will be a difficult one to follow up. Angelo Alessio has his work cut out to even try and get close to the previous 2 seasons. An anomaly among Killie and Scottish football to see such a transformation in a short space of time. The new gaffer impresses in terms of his coaching and experience, but the proof will be in the performances. Last seasons squad had a number of key players loaned in, so replacing them will be a top priority for the new boss. Losses like Yousouff Mulumbu and Aaron Tishbola were regulars in the starting XI while goalkeeper Dan Bachmann also returns to Watford.Mohamed El Makrini looks to bolster the middle of the park and a replacement keeper is already in place – Laurentiu Branescu from Juventus, hopefully hes like that Buffon lad.
A disastrous start for new gaffer Anglo Alessio saw part time side Connahs Quay Nomads beat Killie 2-0 at Rugby park and send them crashing out of Europe in spectacular style. A lack of matches and signings is a big worry for Killie who are definitely in a re-building season.
Killies new man between the sticks – Laurentiu Branescu
In:Mohamed El Makrini (Roda), Alex Bruce. Loan:Laurentiu Branescu (Juventus). Out: Jordan Jones (Rangers), Kris Boyd (retired), Scott Boyd (retired), Daniel Higgins. Loan ended: Youssouf Mulumbu (Celtic), Daniel Bachmann (Watford) Mikael Ndjoli (Bournemouth), Liam Millar (Liverpool), Aaron Tshibola (Aston Villa), Conor McAleny (Fleetwood Town).
Livingston (9th last season) After consecutive promotions, David Hopkin decided not to take a new contract to see his Livingston side into the Premiership. Kenny Miller got the job on a player/manager role but after just 7 games they parted ways. Gary Holt took over the helm and lead them to an impressive 9th position. With goals not too easy to come by and no real out and out scorer, Livingston struggled to find any sort of consistency but a 5-0 win over Hearts was the highlight of the season. The loss of goalkeeper Liam Kelly is cause for concern given his form was worthy enough for a Scotland call-up, and Craig Halketts performances for the season earned him widespread plaudits, so he will also be a big miss. Holt has been active in the transfer window already looking to fill the voids that have been left.
Livi have also progressed into the League Cup final stages having not lost a match, a confidence booster for Gary Holt and his side as they prepare for their league opener versus Motherwell.
In:Marvin Bartley (Hibernian), Aymen Souda (Dunarea Calarasi), Robbie Crawford (Ayr United), Nicky Devlin (Walsall). Loan:Matija Sarkic (Aston Villa). Out:Craig Halkett (Heart of Midlothian), Declan Gallagher (Motherwell), Liam Kelly (Queens Park Rangers), Shaun Byrne (Dundee), Nicky Cadden (Greenock Morton), Callum Crane (Edinburgh City), Cameron Clark (Queen’s Park). Loan ended: Ryan Hardie (Rangers), Ciaron Brown (Cardiff City). Loan:Carlo Pignatiello (Stranraer), Jack Hamilton (Queen of the South).
Motherwell (8th last season) Motherwell spent their 34th consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football in 2018-19. Manager Stephen Robinsons contract is due to run out after this year, so he will be looking to impress the board. Losing Cedric Kirpe to Wigan in August was a loss for the Steelmen but the loss didnt effect their defence as badly as first thought. Curtis Main, Chris Cadden were the main threats from Motherwell’s attacking options along with David Turnbull. The turmoil surrounding David Turnbull’s pre-season situation has meant the Midfielder has undergone surgery on a knee problem, putting him out for a number of months. Along with the loss of Jake Hastie Motherwell face a tough test to break into the top 6.
Motherwell topped group E without losing a single goal. 4 victories and 13 goals will give the Steelmen all the confidence they need heading into the new season.
In:Casper Sloth (Silkeborg), Declan Gallagher (Livingston) Sheerwin Seedorf (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Liam Polworth (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Jake Carroll (Cambridge United), Christopher Long (Blackpool), Jermain Hylton (Solihull Moors). Loan:Devante Cole (Wigan Athletic). Out:Jake Hastie (Rangers), Curtis Main (Aberdeen) Carl McHugh (ATK), Shea Gordon (Partick Thistle), Kyle MacDonald (Airdrieonians), Neil McLaughlin (Edusport Academy), Elliott Frear, Alex Gorrin, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair, George Newell, Christian Mbulu, Shaun Bowers, Liam Brown, Akeal Rehman, Broque Watson. Loan ended: Tom Aldred (Bury), Gboly Ariyibi (Nottingham Forest), Ross McCormack (Aston Villa), Conor Sammon (Heart of Midlothian).
Rangers (2nd last season) Steven Gerrard arrived at Ibrox for the beginning of last year. An impressive Europa League performance saw them get into the group stages, finishing 3rd behind Rapid Wein and Villeareal. This good form continued into the start of the season with only 3 losses in their first 15 games. Draws and some untimely defeats saw Rangers come up short of first spot by 9 points but were a comfortable 11 points ahead of Killie in 3rd place. For the 19-20 season some strong additions include Greg Stewart from Birmingham, a player who showed his class with Killie in the first half of last season, could play a vital role for Gerrard’s side. The loss of Ryan Kent could be costly but talks continue to get the winger back to Ibrox.
A confident start in Europe has seen the taming of Progres Niederkorn at Ibrox. Rangers head to Luxembourg with a 2-0 advantage and only an unthinkable disaster would see them go out.
Former Killie and Aberdeen play maker Greg Stewart
In:Steven Davis (Southampton), Jake Hastie (Motherwell), Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock), Greg Stewart (Birmingham City), Joe Aribo (Charlton Athletic), George Edmundson (Oldham Athletic),Filip Helander (Bologna). Loan: Sheyi Ojo (Liverpool). Out:Lee Wallace (Queens Park Rangers), Lee Hodson (Gillingham), Gareth McAuley. Loan ended: Ryan Kent (Liverpool), Joe Worrall (Nottingham Forest), Lassana Coulibaly (Angers). Loan: Ross McCrorie (Portsmouth), Jordan Rossiter (Fleetwood Town), Robby McCrorie (Queen of the South).
Ross County (Promoted – 1st in the Championship) A dominating Championship performance saw County win by 6 points. Striker Billy Mckay scoring 17 league goals and will be the main threat going into the Premiership season. County had 3 other players with over 10 goals in all competitions, so scoring didn’t come short last year. Goalkeeper Scott Fox, who made 45 appearances in the Championship season, will be the main loss for co-managers Steven Ferguson and Stuart Kettlewell. Blair Spittal looks to be a good signing with years of experience from Partick Thistle and previously Dundee United.
In: Ross Laidlaw (Hibernian), Joe Chalmers (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Blair Spittal (Partick Thistle). Loan: Nathan Baxter, (Chelsea), Simon Power (Norwich City). Out:Scott Fox (Partick Thistle), Callum Semple (Queen of the South), Russell Dingwall (Elgin City); Greg Morrison. Loan ended: Andy Boyle (Preston North End). Loan:Ross Munro (Raith Rovers).
St Johnstone (7th last season) The top of the bottom league last season saw the Saints comfortably pull away from the relegation battle and fight it out with Motherwell for 7th position. A lack of goals should cause concern if they want to get into the top 6. Only Hamilton, St Mirren and Dundee scored less than St Johnstone last year – and with Blair Alston and Tony Watt leaving, manager Tommy Wright must be on the hunt for a goalscorer.
St Johnstone are 1 of the 2 Premiership sides who didn’t make the last 16 of the League Cup. A worrying start for the Perth side who only managed 1 win in their 4 group matches – losing the other 3.
In: Elliott Parish (Dundee), Wallace Duffy (Celtic). Out: Tony Watt (CSKA Sofia), Blair Alston (Hamilton Academical), Brian Easton (Hamilton Academical), Josh Doig (Hibernian), Aaron Comrie (Dunfermline Athletic). Loan ended: Sean Goss (Queens Park Rangers); Cammy Bell (Patrick Thistle), Niall Keown (Partick Thistle). Loan: Euan O’Reilly (Airdrieonians), Marky Munro (Stenhousemuir), Olly Hamilton (Brechin City).
St Mirren (11th last season – defeated Dundee Utd in playoff) It’s been an eventful pre-seaon for The Buddies. Former manager Oran Kearny has parted ways and headed back to Colraine in Northern Ireland. Alloa’s successful manager and former League Cup winning captain Jim Goodwin has taken over at the top. Goodwin will have it all to do with a large number of last seasons squad heading back to their respective parent clubs. The playoff penalty shootout win comes about as close to relegation without actually going down. So a clean slate for the Paisley side could be the injection they need to spring into a more secure league position.
Must be something about the St’s. The Buddies are the other side waving goodbye to the League cup with their inferior goal difference meaning Falkirk took their best second place spot. 2 wins and 2 losses in arguably the easiest of the groups will have the Paisley faithful a bit concerned.
New manager Jim Goodwin
In:Tony Andreu (Coventry City), Dean Lyness (Raith Rovers). Out: Adam Eckersley (Airdrieonians); Anton Ferdinand, Simeon Jackson. Loan ended: Mihai Popescu (Dinamo Bukarest), Lee Hodson (Rangers) Danny Rodgers (Aberdeen), Anders Dreyer (Brighton & Hove Albion), Laurentiu Corbu (Dinamo Bukarest), Jordan Holmes (Bournemouth), Kyle McAllister (Derby County), Duckens Nazon (Sint-Truiden), Brad Lyons (Blackburn Rovers)
Final League table prediction
Celtic – The depth of squad should see them pip Rangers in a close marathon.
Rangers – As above, Rangers could win the league, but I don’t think they will this season.
Hibernian – A good year lies ahead in my opinion, the best of the rest.
Heart of Midlothian – A chance for them to get back on track and build on the first half of last season.
Aberdeen – I feel this could finally be the season where they struggle, its been going too well the last few years.
Kilmarnock – A rebuilding year, would be delighted with a decent top 6 finish.
Motherwell – Have lost too many big players that will be difficult to replace. Top of the lower league.
St Johnstone – Another difficult year ahead for the Saints who are crying out for goals.
Livingston – Another solid year will see them finish in a position away from the relegation scrap.
Ross County – A strong squad coming up but could find it tough to adapt to the Premiership.
St Mirren – Scraping last seasons Premiership Playoff and looking likely to be in the same mix again.
Hamilton Academical – Last season could have been their final avoiding the drop.
Cups Scottish Cup – Rangers -Can see a cup heading to Ibrox. League Cup – Hibs – A strong season ahead with the chance of silverware. Challenge Cup – Dundee Utd – Superior of the teams in the competition.
The Championship
A strong bunch of teams make up this seasons Championship. Possibly the strongest second tier Scotland has seen for a number of years. Both Dundee clubs are likely favourites for the top 2 spots, but United’s capture of goal machine Lawrence Shankland is a great bit of business which puts them firm favourites for the title. Closely followed by Partick and Inverness who have both gained promotion in recent history. At the other end the two As of Arbroath and Alloa are likely to struggle this year. Alloa being a part time outfit will always find it tougher against other full time opposition.
May as well give him the Championship golden boot now!
Dundee United
Partick Thistle
Dundee
Ayr United
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Dunfermline
Greenock Morton
Queen of the South
Arbroath
Alloa
League 1
If you check the odds for the league 1 winner then Falkirk are streaks ahead. And rightfully so. A team of their stature have made a dramatic fall from grace, losing their academy and gaining all sorts of negative limelight with their board and managerial appointments. Their closest rivals will be Kirkcaldy outfit Raith Rovers and top scorer Kevin Nisbet who bagged 29 league goals last season. Airdie, Clyde and Forfar will likely make up the middle of the pack. The relegation battle could see Montrose and East Fife along with Stranrear and Dumbarton. A close contest is to be expected.
Former Premier League striker Conor Sammon finds himself down in Scotland’s League 1 – should score a barrel load!
Falkirk
Raith Rovers
Clyde
Forfar
Airdrie
Peterhead
East Fife
Stranrear
Dumbarton
Montrose
League 2
Last season saw Edinburgh City close to getting out the League for the first time, eventually losing out to Peterhead on the final day. Clyde and Annan were consistently around the top half and pose a real threat to what could be the closest league in Scotland this year. The addition of Cove Rangers will see the former non league side up in the professional game for the first time. Their demolition of Berwick Rangers in their playoff showed they are well comfortable playing with pressure. Albion Rovers are runaway leaders at the bottom of the odds checker list with only 27 points last season. Cove certainly on paper seem a stronger outfit leaving the Coatbridge side in real danger of finishing bottom.
Gordon Young and Paul Hartley have taken over for Cove Rangers at the Balmoral Stadum
Edinburgh City
Annan Athletic
Stenhousmuir
Cove Rangers
Elgin City
Stirling Albion
Queens Park
Brechin
Cowdenbeath
Albion Rovers
So that wraps up my predictions for the upcomming season, be sure to make note to challenge me at the end of the 19-20 season when the results are in.
And they’ll remember the name on the back. Never a truer word said in football. Players that give their all for that badge are those players who earn the respect from the fans. Regardless of technical ability, if players give 100%, it’s not then their fault if they aren’t good enough.
How important is that badge, and the template it sits upon? History shows teams will regularly adopt colours and stick with them. The famous all white of Real Madrid, the red of Liverpool or the blue of France. Colours can come and go, but almost all stick around.
With the new campaign for Paddy Power where they have ‘un-sponsored’ shirts – my opinion is that 90% of kits look better without a sponsor. While the money and the advertising is pivotal for some companies, and teams alike, some just don’t fit in terms of style or colour.
These days the number of kit providers has grown extensively, with companies having sub divisions to manage the lesser clubs who still want that brand exposure. Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Balance, Hummel, Uhlsport, Umbro, Erra, Macron, Pendle, Jomma all involved in Scottish football this year – teams are launching their 2019 kits.
2019 Kits
Without going through every team and into hunners of detail, i thought I’d pick my best and worst 3 from the Scottish Premiership and then dive into some others beyond that. I’m sure there are some others worthy of being in either category!
Scottish Premierships Best 3
Livingston Away – A pretty plain but rather nice template from Nike fits well with the white and gold combo. On this instance the shirt sponsor doesn’t look out of place and makes for a cracking looking strip.
Hearts Home – The new home shirt brings a modern twist on the traditional design. Inspired by the Umbro logo, the print consists of shattered diamonds on the ever so familiar maroon.
Kilmarnock Home – A little biased but who cares!? The 150th anniversary throws-back to the original ‘Oxford blue’ the from the early Killie days. The small chequered pattern is homage to the badge used from the 1940’s through to 1993.
Premiership worst 3
Celtic Third – Although not confirmed yet. The leaked Celtic shirt looks like it belongs at ascot rather than a football stadium. The silver is bad enough before emblazoning a large V and turning every logo a rather bright pink. Wouldny be my choice!
Ross County Home – The Staggies have always been experimental for a team with three popular colours to chose – blue, white and red. So its difficult to think that they can fit this much into one top. Hoops, with more hoops, with smaller hoop lines and red flashing. Awful.
Hibernian Away – Purple and green has been a combination for Hibs before – it didn’t look great then, and certainly isn’t braw with the pinstripes this year. Considering some of their past efforts, this one shouldn’t be remembered for any right reasons.
Notable SPFL 2019 kits
The good
Airdrieonians Away – Jomma have created this template and along with Airdrie, Stranrear have also selected it in their blue and white. This red and black kit has an almost hallucinogenic pattern throughout and is certainly different. I’m a fan.
Cowdenbeath Home – The Erra manufactured kit looks like it belongs in Spain rather than Scotland. Likeness to Deportivo of the past – the blue Brazil’s shirt looks rather out of place sitting in League 2.
Raith Rovers Home – Puma certainly seem to be a manufacturer happy to push the boat out with their shirts. Not content with a template base, lots of teams seem to be given options to pick and chose what they like. The Kirkcaldy side have partnered again with Puma for this blue fading to white – old screensaver style shirt.
The no so good
Albion Rovers Home – Not content with being favourites for the dropping out of League 2. They’ve changed sponsor but the kit template remains the same yellow and red combination as last season, and also – remains a howler.
Queens Park Home – You could be mistaken for thinking this was a rugby shirt from the mid 80’s, but thankfully this wont be the primary kit for the spiders this season. Similar fashion to Killie, they will dawn ‘Oxford blue’ for their 150 year anniversary.
Stenhousemuir Away – Almost mirroring the Roma Away kit (below). It Could have been a thing a beauty but the light blue lines just don’t fit in. Sadly that addition has ruined it.
T.R.O.T.F.W. (the rest of the footballing world)
Some other 2019 kits from the footballing world to spark conversations.
Kaizer Chiefs Home – The South African football team more widely known as the band who were in and about the charts a number of years ago. Since then the Chiefs regularly pull some wild kits out the bag. This one is a bit marmite…
Arsenal Away – Throwback shirts are an in thing at the moment, and clubs are cottoning on. Arsenal and Adidas have went back to the iconic ‘bruised banana’ away strip seen in the early 90’s with a modern day twist.
AS Roma Away – As mentioned above the Stenhousemuir team must look at this and think, “what if?” A simple but effective design has this as one of the best looking shirts this season.
West Bromwich Albion Away – Now, there arent really too many words to describe this eye sore. It seems they aren’t a bunch to learn from their mistakes as last seasons identical colour scheme produced an equally terrible result.
Forrest Green Rovers Home – There is always a way to stand out from the crowd. Forrest Green have tired to lead the way with a Vegan football team – you don’t need to be Vegan – but pre/post match meals will be. Now they’ve went and made a kit from bamboo!! 50% of the kit is made from bamboo reducing the use of plastic.
All time classics
These are just a few of my favourite all time classics!
Parma 1998/99 Home – The kit has Parmas classic look and the players who wore it also have a familiar face. Player such as Thuram, Cannavero, Baggio and Veron. An all time belter.
Holland 1988 Home – A top associated with the Euro 1988 final where Holland defeated the Soviet Union 2-0. The iconic Marco Van Basten volley from the tightest of angles became legendary with this shirt.
Barcelona 1999/2000 Home – The centenary year saw a celebration marked by this half and half shirt. Players like Kluivert, Figo Rivaldo and Puyol dawned this shirt. A second place in La Liga and a Semi Final in the Champions League didn’t give the centenary it deserved.
Scotland 1994 Home – An all time classic in it’s entirety. The tartan blue and purple along with the old badge is a long way from the modern day touch. Worn in Euro 1996 it saw Scotland finish behind England and Switzerland in the group but it’ll be forever remembered as an iconic shirt.
Kilmarnock 1999/2000 Home – A personal one, my first ever Killie shirt. The all blue back with Killie on the collar sparked the beginning of an obsessions, one which remains to this day.
An identity
Whether it’s wearing it to a match, a pub or a game of 5s – your teams shirt represents a lot more than an item of clothing. The badge proudly on display with colours synonymous with history. A bit like the effect music has by taking you back in time – seeing football shirts can take you to the highest of highs or the lowest of lows!
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Post Match Pints 