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Steelmenonline Crystal Ball - SPL 11/12


Steve Diggle
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Bit early yet to make any serious predictions but here's my gut feeling.

 

Either Celtic or Rangers will win the league and which ever one doesn't will finish second. At this moment in time I would back Celtic as McCoist is never in a million years a manager but his media cronies won't say a bad word about him no matter how poor he does.

 

Either Celtic or Rangers will the League Cup.

 

Either Celtic or Rangers will win the Scottish Cup.

 

Scotland will fail to qualify for Euro 2012, cue mass wailing and cries for Levein to get punted from the usual numpties who refuse to accept that Scotland just do not have the players or the resources to compete at that level.

 

Motherwell will be fighting relegation, I know I say that before the start of every season but this season it's more likely than ever as we have a very poor squad and also a very poor manager who is only getting an easy ride from the support as a whole just now because he managed to buy himself some time with the Cup runs last season, but that will change as the support slowly begins to turn on him just as they did with Malpas when it was obvious that he wasn't the right man for the job. And as has already been said, we're probably 'due' a poor season given we've done relatively well over the past few years, but like I say, the manager we currently have isn't up to it IMO and this will become apparent as the season gets under way. I also confidently predict that we won't be anywhere near Hampden Park next season, after our three trips last season and it will be back to the usual dire performances in the Cups.

 

And we still won't be able to beat Rangers.

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As someone that started supporting Motherwell in the eighties my initial thoughts are always to avoid relegation and I think if the season were to start tomorrow we probably have a squad good enough to do that.

 

I can see three or four teams struggling at the bottom, St. Mirren, Dunfermline, possibly Kilmarnock and I actually have a feeling that McInnes will live to regret not taking the job down in England and that St. Johnstone will go down.

 

Pretty confident Hearts will join the OF as the top three.

 

But it's still too early though to really have a good idea of how the rest of the teams will finish. Teams like Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, Hibs, Dundee Utd are all likely to bring 4 or 5 first team players before the end of the transfer deadline and you'd hope we'd have some to and its hard to predict if Inverness will move forwards or backwards. There really isn't much between them all and keeping hold of a star player or making a couple of astute signings will probably be the difference between Europe and making up the numbers in the bottom six.

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My reason for thinking we'll struggle next season is really down to our poor league form last season, if Aberdeen and Hibs hadn't been so woeful I reckon we'd have finished much lower than we did. As it is I really cant see Hibs being as bad as they were last year. If it wasn't for the Cup runs I think we'd be looking at last season as being fairly ordinary.

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Can't understand the feeling that Hibs and Aberdeen will be better.

 

Aberdeen have signed Mawene, who may well be a crock. They've got one full-back, one striker worth anything, one centre half of note in Mawene and are putting a lot of stock in Milsom and Folly playing like they did before they got injured last season. Langfield looks like he'll be out for a while as well, giving them the total of nae keepers.

 

Hibs, from the outside looking in, look like they're in disarray. Calderwood looking like he might go, Adams heading back north. They've sign O'Connor who is a rocket and probably a crock, Ivan Sproule with nae pace and have brought the slowest player in the world, Edwin De Graaf back from loan. Their gameplan seems to be based on 'give it to palsson and hope for the best'.

 

We've lost Sutton, Jeffers and Ross. Sutton, the only mainstay replaced with Higdon, the other two, less than vital. Our form in the last six games was shocking, but with other, more important things coming up, I can understand it. If the season started tomorrow, I'd be far more confident as a Motherwell fan than I would as an Aberdeen or Hibs fan.

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Absolute nonsense. So we pretty much equal our league placing from the 09-10 season, haven't really lost integral players as yet, had two managerial upheavals running at Xmas (you would think we'd avoid that next year), we're maintaining our playing budget when everyone else's is decimated with a team growing and gelling together and a manager increasing his knowledge of the opposition and his teams capabilities. What precedent or reasonable argument can you have to suggest relegation is on the cards with a team from the following at present:

 

---------------------- Randolph --------------------------

Saunders - Hutchinson - Craigan - Hammell

-- Hateley ----------- Forbes ---------- Lasley --

------- Humphrey -------------------- Murphy -------

------------------------ Higdon --------------------------

 

I think many overlook if almost everyone else in the SPL (gruesome twosome and Hearts - I don't know how, exempt) is losing around £400k from their wage pool it means they can't attract anyone of any quality ..... and that's our opposition. You're giving too much respect to some of the other pish in this league and how they will perform.

 

However don't let the fact its mid June and there's still 2 months till the transfer window closes get in the way.

 

 

 

Our squad isn't strong enough.We're in a better position than some teams (Killie) at the moment but if we went in with the squad we have just now then 2/3 injuries and we're fucked.The rest of the teams will likely add a few players and if we don't and go in with the squad we have just now then i think we'll be bottom 3.

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Can't understand the feeling that Hibs and Aberdeen will be better.

 

Aberdeen have signed Mawene, who may well be a crock. They've got one full-back, one striker worth anything, one centre half of note in Mawene and are putting a lot of stock in Milsom and Folly playing like they did before they got injured last season. Langfield looks like he'll be out for a while as well, giving them the total of nae keepers.

 

Hibs, from the outside looking in, look like they're in disarray. Calderwood looking like he might go, Adams heading back north. They've sign O'Connor who is a rocket and probably a crock, Ivan Sproule with nae pace and have brought the slowest player in the world, Edwin De Graaf back from loan. Their gameplan seems to be based on 'give it to palsson and hope for the best'.

 

We've lost Sutton, Jeffers and Ross. Sutton, the only mainstay replaced with Higdon, the other two, less than vital. Our form in the last six games was shocking, but with other, more important things coming up, I can understand it. If the season started tomorrow, I'd be far more confident as a Motherwell fan than I would as an Aberdeen or Hibs fan.

 

 

I never said Aberdeen would be better but I dont think either them or Hibs could be worse. I believe we need to strengthen and all we've done is replace Sutton with Higdon, our league form at times was pretty woeful and if anyone below us had come with a late run we might not have made the top 6. As it was everyone below us cut each others throats and we remained in sixth. For me the boost from the Cup run and the unexpected win over Celtic saw us through.

I really dont know what to expect next season but at the moment I'm more anxious than excited.

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Our squad isn't strong enough.We're in a better position than some teams (Killie) at the moment but if we went in with the squad we have just now then 2/3 injuries and we're fucked.The rest of the teams will likely add a few players and if we don't and go in with the squad we have just now then i think we'll be bottom 3.

 

Don't really understand your argument here, so we have to go with today's squad while everyone else gets to continue to add to their squad, up to the season opening day or the transfer window closing? Even if that was the case, the team I listed is a little light in a few areas, but by no means woefully weak, we'd still do OK.

 

Of course if any team loses 2-3 players they would have their back up against the wall, even more so a hypothetical full physio table week before the squad report back for pre-season.

 

Essentially though, what your suggesting won't happen and never was going to.

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old firm - if rangers sign goodwillie i think they'll win it. a front pairing of jelavic and goodwillie with with naismith supporting will run riot if they all stay fit. celtic seem to be quiet on the transfer front at the moment and seem to be paying the price of no CL football combined with having a 35 man first team squad and making a ridiculous amount of transfers. can't say i'm too impressed with the championship defenders they have brought in either.

 

hearts - they've got a right strong squad now and can put out a very strong first XI with plenty of options. they spent 6 million quid more than they turned over last season and they appear to be increasing their wage bill. they'll have a good season but they are going to pay for it eventually.

 

motherwell - i'll go for us finishing 4th as i seem plenty of room in the team for players to step up their game. i think higdon will give us a decent return but the key players are murphy, hutchy, humphrey and hateley. if all 4 guys play to their potential consistently we'll be a team to reckon with. we need a cm, lm and a striker and hopefully increased contributions from page, mchugh, pollock and carswell.

 

dundee united - they have lost a lot of players but they'll surely sell goodwillie and get some replacements in. houston is unproven in the transfer market but i think they will have enough about them to do ok.

 

hibs - signing o'connor is mental. i still think they'll scrape top six though as calderwood will make them hard to beat.

 

ict - they won't be the same without rooney, think us in butcher's final season. nick ross will impress.

 

st mirren - they might actually score some goals this season. an 8th place finish would be like a CL win for the mongos on p&b.

 

aberdeen - they'll be utter pish and if brown lasts the season he won't last much longer.

 

pars - being the suprise package will see them through.

 

killie - they're fucked. nae money and 7 important players to replace. harkins is overated imo.

 

st j - relegation beckons i think. geoff brown has apparently brought in someone to oversee cost cutting. they were totally gash last season but accies and st mirren covered up for them a bit. i think we'll be seeing plenty more 'st johnstone 0' this season.

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Don't really understand your argument here, so we have to go with today's squad while everyone else gets to continue to add to their squad, up to the season opening day or the transfer window closing? Even if that was the case, the team I listed is a little light in a few areas, but by no means woefully weak, we'd still do OK.

 

Of course if any team loses 2-3 players they would have their back up against the wall, even more so a hypothetical full physio table week before the squad report back for pre-season.

 

Essentially though, what your suggesting won't happen and never was going to.

 

 

 

My argument is that we'd be in trouble if we didn't sign anyone else the same as a number of other teams would but as you said i'm sure we will sign a few more.

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Our squad isn't strong enough.We're in a better position than some teams (Killie) at the moment but if we went in with the squad we have just now then 2/3 injuries and we're fucked.

 

I think you could say that about the majority of teams in the league.

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Just wondered how you lot think you'll do this coming season?

 

Now Sutton has gone, how will that affect you? Who will be your key man/top goalscorer?

 

Hope you have another successful season, maybe a bit of silverware this time round :)

Edited by Andy_P
Merged into existing prediction thread
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I hope McCall goes for a few quality additions and brings on a couple of the more promising youth players. St Johnstone are signing a load of players, which is fair enough, but the majority of them are shite. I would rather we continued to go with quality of quantity tactic.

 

As for the season? Jury still out on McCall and Black tactically wise. We'll see how they address this fairly worrying weakness over the next few months.

I reckon we'll see a League position of around 7/8th and maybe get to the Quarters of the Cups.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Rangers

Celtic

Hearts

St Mirren

Dundee United

Aberdeen

Motherwell

Hibs

Dunfermline

Inverness

Kilmarnock

St Johnstone

 

Now everybody will think I am mental putting St Mirren up there, but Carey, Thomson, Teale etc are all high quality SPL players imho.

 

One thing is for sure I am not posting on Pie and Bovril, place would go crazy!!!

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Rangers

Celtic

Hearts

St Mirren

Dundee United

Aberdeen

Motherwell

Hibs

Dunfermline

Inverness

Kilmarnock

St Johnstone

 

Now everybody will think I am mental putting St Mirren up there, but Carey, Thomson, Teale etc are all high quality SPL players imho.

 

One thing is for sure I am not posting on Pie and Bovril, place would go crazy!!!

Yes, St.Midden have improved, but not tht much. I can't see them finishing any high than 7th

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Rangers

Celtic

Hearts

St Mirren

Dundee United

Aberdeen

Motherwell

Hibs

Dunfermline

Inverness

Kilmarnock

St Johnstone

 

Now everybody will think I am mental putting St Mirren up there, but Carey, Thomson, Teale etc are all high quality SPL players imho.

 

One thing is for sure I am not posting on Pie and Bovril, place would go crazy!!!

 

 

Whit :doh: St Mirren 4th and Aberdeen 6th you are mental, St Mirren will struggling to avoid relegation again and as for the Sheep sha**ers they are basically the same pish outfit as last season.

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As previously stated, i think that with Law in the side that will make a massive difference, Humphrey and Murphy will score more goals this season as a result of his addition, Higdon will chip in with the same amount of goals as Sutton, Sutton was a good player but not great. I am excited about the prospect of a top 4 finnish.

 

 

 

Rangers

 

Celtic

 

 

Hearts

 

Motherwell (Very close with Hearts) could go either way.

 

Hibs

 

Dundee Utd.

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Dundee Utd will struggle to make the top top 6 this season. I think they have just about lost their whole midfield & if Goodfanny doesn't leave now i see him leaving in the January transfer window.

 

I'd agree that they look considerably weakened from last year, but I don't think enough of the other teams have strengthened to a level that would see United struggle to make the top six.

 

Who would realistically take their place? The likes of Hibs, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock etc still look, on paper at least, absolutey dross. The only difference this year is that Dundee Utd have gotten closer to that level, but not to a point where they'll struggle to finish in the top half IMO.

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If McCall wants us to entertain then I can't see us in the top six, I don't see Higdon replacing Sutton's work rate.

 

That might not bad thing tho. I think Higdon will be more disciplined in his role as a striker. Not as likely to run around chasing every lost cause. You will know where he is meant to be and where he should be.

 

I liked Sutts but sometimes he infuriated me as he would be out wide far to often leaving nobody in the central position.

 

Having a disciplined central point of attack could lead to players like Law and Murphy having more space to create and move into channels. Isolating them one on one with the full backs and other defenders.

 

I can well imagine a lot of the East Stand slaver brigade will soon be screaming and bawling calling Higdon lazy but to me it could be what we need. Similar to what the much esteemed Porter did during his time at the club.

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