Jump to content

Expectations For Season 14/15


Judge Jules
 Share

Recommended Posts

I know the Stjarnan wounds are still pretty raw but i was curious to see what the general thoughts are about where we will finish in the league and perform in the cups this coming season. It looks like the euro defeat means no more players are coming in so with the squad we have what does everyone think we can manage this year ?

My personal thoughts are we will finish in the top 6 but not the european spots, the cups are obviously a sore spot with us right now but i have a gut feeling we might have a run in one of the cups this year (Scottish cup hopefully).

The main reason i see us as a top 6 side is although we may be a poorer side this year than the last few before, the opposition is not really in great shape either.

Celtic, Aberdeen, United and St Johnstone will all be in the top 6 but after that its up for grabs.

So i'll predict a 5th place finish for us with a Scottish cup semi final as well. Thoughts anyone ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be honest i think we will still be up there in the fight for 2nd or 3rd. Aberdeen look strong but StJ, Dundee untd and us have more or less the same squads as last season so i think it will between those 4 for the best of the rest and Euro places.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought our league placing was very flattering based on some of the performances, too many losses and some of them humbling from those around us.

 

Therefore this season, for the first in a while, I'm very pessimistic. I don't think we'll have much to play for come the split. I think Aberdeen will give Celtic a run much deeper into the season and Dundee Utd if they don't have another lull or two like they did last year will fill in 3rd. I can see some distance between us and the top three.

 

I can't see any improvement in cups, unfortunately a marker was put down last November and a number of players and the manager stressed there would be no repeat and here we are. Why should any of us believe there will be no repeat now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've given up trying to predict how we'll do in the league as we've managed to defy the odds time and again in recent years despite annual player losses and budget cuts. I really don't think we'll have enough about us this year to outperform Aberdeen and United over the course of a season and I reckon we're looking at a respectable mid table finish providing we can bring in some new faces and our confidence doesn't nose dive. Who knows though?

 

What I can quite confidently predict without any danger of being proved wrong is that we will do absolutely nothing in either domestic Cup except whimper out at an early stage and if we draw 'The Rangers' or Aberdeen at any stage in either tournament then we'd be as well just not turning up to play the match as we all know we would lose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you couldn't complain too much if we retained a top six place this season but I don't think we will be in the hunt for a European place this time round.

 

Aberdeen, Dundee Utd and St. Johnstone all look to have better teams than us this term. We may of course strengthen our own pool but that's the situation right now.

 

St. Johnstone in particular have a smaller squad this season so it could come down to injuries, suspensions, or signings in or out.

 

Margins are tight in this league so small actions could have a big effect either way, up or down.

 

In the cup competitions a lot comes down to the draw but ultimately I don't see any success there and we all know why.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Celtic, Aberdeen, United and St Johnstone will all be in the top 6 but after that its up for grabs.

 

To be honest it's hard not to predict a 'same again' at least in the Top 6 finishers. I suspect the order will be different though this time.

 

Inverness have virtually the same squad as last season and so far have held on to their best players.

 

Can't see any challengers in the Bottom 6 to be honest.

 

I think Accies will do quite well but won't be good enough to get Top 6.

 

It will be interesting to see how Paul Hartley's Dundee will do but I think they will come unstuck at the top level.

 

St. Mirren are good in some areas but weak in others and that will be their undoing.

 

In terms of squads probably Kilmarnock have the best one in the bottom 6 but Allan Johnston didn't exactly set the heather on fire last season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a more settled squad this coming season.

 

Faddy has left, but apart from a handful of games over Xmas never got going and I think Josh Law will be a more than adequate replacement.

 

Hollis has left and the jury is out as to whether Dan will be any better. FWIW I think he will.

 

Anier has been sold on and he may well be a big miss. That said he did miss parts of the season and mccall did not reinstate him toward the end of the season, maybe becuase he was not fully over his shin injury. I expect a striker coming in and we have Thomas, Erwin and Moore when he is back fit.

 

The big ask is how big a miss Hutchy will be? Would we have conceded the golas v Stjarnan if he had been in our defence?? Right now we look weaker in this area, which is a real concern given our porous defence.

 

As to where we will finish. I think Dundee will start well, but fall away. That apart I think no reason not to hope for a top 4 finish. Yes St J look stronger but we seem to have their number especially at Fir Park. Aberdeen are stronger than last year so will finish above us. United have sold Gauld and Robertson, but have the finances to replace these players, so will not be markedly weaker!

 

So I will go for 4th or 5th in the SPL. League semi-final and Scottish Cup quarter final...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd be quite happy if May 2015 involved an open top bus parade and a relegation play-off.

The chance that we could be relegated (which could pose some serious financial problems for us down the line) as long as we win a cup?

 

Nah, not for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

St Johnstone looking stronger? People are aware that they've let 3 first teamers leave without replacements and the Browns are reluctant to sign anyone, right?

 

They've only lost on loan James Dunne who was a first choice player in the second half of last season. You could throw in Hasselbaink and Cregg but they were bit part players for them.

 

They are carrying a smaller squad this year than last year but they have kept the solid foundation of the cup winning team and with their Euro money you'd expect them to bring in one or two.

 

Mannus - Mackay, Wright, Anderson, Easton - Miller, MacDonald, Davidson, Wotherspoon - MacLean, May.

 

Prety solid line up, with some experience on the bench and some promising youngster coming through as well like Chris Kane, Liam Caddis and Scott Brown.

 

They aren't miles ahead of us but they are a bit more 'solid' I'd suggest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The chance that we could be relegated (which could pose some serious financial problems for us down the line) as long as we win a cup?

 

Nah, not for me.

 

Would you settle for never seeing claret and amber ribbons as long as we have a healthy balance sheet at every AGM? Our priorities are obviously different, which is fair enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can never tell what is going to happen in a cup, you could end up losing to a flukey deflection or something whilst in a league these things could cancel themselves out.

 

I think Aberdeen and Dundee Utd are better than us, Inverness, St Johnstone and us are much of a muchness. The other six, I'd be disappointed to finish below any of them but you never know what might happen. Ross County ended up fifth because once they got ahead of the team in bottom they went for it and had nothing to lose and ended up doing very well. Think Accies and Dundee could be the best of the bottom half.

 

One thing I would say though is that momentum is key in this league. A bad start normally means a bad season, after five games we need to be looking at being on at least 8 points.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking at our squad and other teams squads I'd say expectation is either 5th or 6th.

 

Some of the other squads look pretty bare, in particular Partick Thistle. Aberdeen are without question the best of the rest on paper, they will be favourites for second, they may even get a bit tighter on the heels of Celtic this time around. St Johnstone, as has been mentioned, look solid enough. The St. Mirren squad looks ok, they could do a bit better than last season. I actually think Dundee have pulled together a reasonable squad. Killie look average, with only Lee Miller being the surprise addition. Hamilton don't look too great but they did surprise everyone with the result against Hibs. I think Ross County could have a good season again. Overall I'd rate the current squads as

 

Celtic

Aberdeen

Dundee United

St. Johnstone

Motherwell

Ross County

St Mirren

Dundee

ICT

Killie

Partick Thistle

Hamilton

 

No doubt the way Scottish football goes I'll be completely wrong. There probably isn't a huge amount between 5th and 11th.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would you settle for never seeing claret and amber ribbons as long as we have a healthy balance sheet at every AGM? Our priorities are obviously different, which is fair enough.

Not at all, I'd love to see us win a cup, just not at the possible expense of us losing our top flight status.

 

If we finished 5th or 6th and won a cup I'd be happy enough with that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...