Ladbrokes Premiership Preview – Part Two

In part one we previewed Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee, Hamilton Academical, Heart of Midlothian and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Part two brings you the remaining six. . .

With a raucous backing and perhaps the best performance of their season, Kilmarnock comfortably made it through the two-legged Premiership play-off final. The 4-1 demolition of Falkirk at a sun-drenched Rugby Park prompted wild celebrations, mainly from Lee Clark. As he addressed the crowd you got the sense that this was a team about to kick on under the former Sunderland and Newcastle player.

Deadwood, of which there was a lot, were shown the door as Clark aimed for revolution rather than evolution. The deadwood has been replaced by a bevy of non-entities. That term can be chucked around quite liberally but in this instance it is on the money.  A new team of players have been added so far and I genuinely can’t add anything of note other than that they will bring an unknown factor.

It is a policy that has rarely worked in Scotland, bringing in a host of players from down south, with the possible exception of Inverness – even they had their fair share of duds. Managers with experience from England underestimate not only the talent needed to succeed but the mentality and attitude as well. Signing four or five would be acceptable if they were added to an already reliable spine but 11 is beyond risky – especially when four don’t even have Wikipedia pages.

Killie’s League Cup showings were far from impressive. Souleymane Coulibaly notched a couple of goals and has talked himself up but apart from that Killie will once again lean heavily on Jamie MacDonald and Josh Magennis for inspiration. The fact that Gary Locke’s Kilmarnock appeared to have more about them than this squad says a lot.

One team who were in a similar position to Kilmarnock last season were Motherwell who had Mark McGhee come on board and fix a ship taking on lots of water under Iain Baraclough. Their big summer signing was James McFadden. Again. This time as player/assistant manager. Can you see it? I certainly can’t.

For the first time in a few seasons the Fir Park club have not had to stand idly by as their best talent is cherry picked. This means they still have the pace, power and craft of Lionel Ainsworth and more importantly Marvin Johnson on the wings and the goals, guile, experience and moaning qualities of Lewis Moult and Scott MacDonald in the central positions. Further back, there is an expectancy surrounding Chris Cadden. A talented midfielder, he is the type fans take to because of his strong, indefatigable running in both directions. His performance against Rangers in the League Cup suggests there are goals to his game, running beyond the forwards.

The uproar among Plymouth Argyle fans following Carl McHugh’s move north is a positive sign. He will add composure and measured passing qualities to a hard running midfield that still includes Keith Lasley. As an aside I do remember Well fans doing that Icelandic (Steelmen) chant/overhead clap to ‘Keith’ long before it appeared at the European Championships.

Like many in the division, Motherwell look weakest at the back. Dean Brill should win the fight for the number one position but Stephen McManus has shown that he is milk rather than a single malt, getting worse with age. Steven Hammell is still a fine left back – but he seems to suffer from Werner syndrome. Full-back is a problematic area but Kieran Kennedy should continue his progress.

Elsewhere McGhee may use some of the talented youngsters who won the Scottish Youth Cup so emphatically last season. A top six finish should be the aim even if it may allude them in the end.

Another of the sides with genuine and realistic ambitions of breaking into the top six is Partick Thistle. Analysing the league as a whole the top six has quite a predictable look to it. Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Rangers and probably St Johnstone will likely fill the top five positions. The competition for that possible final place (I’m not ruling out a surprise or two) will be extreme. Like Inverness, the Harry Wraggs appear to have put themselves at the front of the queue after a fine League Cup campaign.

Alan Archibald has done a sound, somewhat understated, job at Firhill. Yet the time is upon him to take Thistle to the next step of their progression. Whether that is a top-six finish or a deep run in one of the cups. One thing they possess in abundance is reliable players. Tomas Cerny is one of the best goalkeepers in the league, they have added Ziggy Gordon to a defence which conceded less than St Johnstone, Abdul Osman is steel personified in the middle of midfield and then there is Kris ‘I know you want better than me but I will still score double figures* for you’ Doolan.

Despite there appearing to be a reluctance to fully trust Doolan he is their main goal threat but it is understandable that Archibald is so keen to add to the firepower. No one scored less goals than the Maryhill Magyars (seriously?) last season. Mathias Pogba is still there and Ade Azeez has the potential to bring some chaos factor to the attack. The return of fans favourite Chris Erskine for his third spell will increase creativity and goals from deer as he joins the enigmatic David Amoo, Ryan Edwards and Steven Lawless.

The Firhill faithful can have little to complain about regarding their full-backs. Quality centre backs in the division is sparse, from the top to the bottom, and its no different in Maryhill. However, in Liam Lindsay Thistle have a player with potential and with the correct development should join what is an already fine Thistle spine.

Not only will Thistle be looking to make the top six they will also be defending their honour as Glasgow’s second team with the return of Rangers to the top flight. One year longer than expected, the Gers are back in the top flight adding extra intrigue to the Premiership. Can they challenge for the title? Will they be lucky to finish second? It is a difficult poser to answer. Exhibit A: Their semi-final performance against Celtic. Exhibit B: Their run-in to the Championship title and Scottish Cup final.

While Celtic have brought Brendan Rodgers and Kolo Toure to Glasgow, Rangers have matched that with Joey Barton and Nico Kranjcar which has added further stardust to this season’s Ladbrokes Premiership.

One aspect of Rangers’ return which will not surprise is how they will play. Brendan Rodgers may get pilloried for his talk of philosophies but he displayed his pragmatic side at Liverpool. Mark Warburton is the division’s most dogmatic manager. He has no Plan B. Plan A, then Plan A, then Plan A that bit more. They build from the back, they are always on the move, they take their corners short, they are in a constant state of flux. Barrie McKay can be playing in a left-back role while Lee Wallace rampages on. James Tavernier is happy to neglect his right-back position to play as a number nine. Martin Waghorn moves laterally and vertically from his centre forward position. They are a mind-bending watch.

Yet, for all their good play they have a clear weakness. Their defence. The defenders are not bad players but the way Rangers set-up they commit a number of players forward leaving themselves exposed at the back. It is hard to see where Clint Hill fits into a defence which defends very high. There is no doubt he will bring great experience, old-school defending and defensive organisation but I can’t imagine him keeping up with a rampaging Marvin Johnson who has half the Ibrox pitch in front of him.

This will be their downfall in putting up a sustained title bid. They will out-play and overrun teams this season and look like champions-elect on certain occasions. But over the whole season against better opposition there will be games where there passing isn’t quite right, movement static and they get picked off. Warburton’s reticence to ‘mix-it up’ is admirable but it won’t help in these situations.

Barton will add some much needed steel to the base of midfield and the more Rangers dominate the ball the more influential Kranjcar will be. If the full-backs play with continued abandonment the Croatian will find them in advanced areas. On the wings Rangers have a bit of everything, from O’Halloran’s pace to McKay’s illusive jinking and penetrative passing. Waghorn will likely finish the team’s top scorer but Kenny Miller’s Indian summer shows no sign of slowing.

They may not win the league but they will certainly entertain . . . at both ends of the park.

WHY? WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO US, JACKSON?!?! It’s not going to be the same in Dingwall. From joke figure to cult hero to fully-fledged (sex?) God. That love of your life has just walked out on you for five. A measly 5/10. And that is a generous observation.

It feels like the spine has been ripped out of Jim McIntyre’s Ross County. But there was and is more to the Staggies than their ex-long-haired, strapping midfield bulldozer. They may have lost the White Yaya Toure but this is a side who are coming into the new campaign on the back of the greatest season in the club’s history. A top-six finish, a League Cup victory with their manager netting a manager of the year award.

Former Scotland internationalist and Saulius Mikoliunas hater Jay McEveley has been added to strengthen a defence which appeared to become increasingly porous as the season progressed. If Andrew Davies stays at the club and remains fit they should be more impermeable. McEveley will be an upgrade on Jamie Reckord who went to pieces after a promising end to the 2014/2015 season.

Another top-six finish would be an adequate return for the Staggies. With Alex Schalk signed on for the season and Liam Boyce, Craig Curran and Brian Graham remaining there is plenty of goals in the side with a variety of qualities in any strike partnership.

What McIntyre has to settle on is a system which gets the best out of a strike duo, while bringing balance to the rest of the squad. Martin Woods and Ian McShane seem to prefer being part of a midfield three and without Irvine to do their running McIntyre may have to improvise.

Elsewhere there isn’t a lot to the team. More will be asked of Gardyne, who is enjoying a resurgence back in the north, and of Jonathan Franks who flitted in and out the team. As for the foreign signings, this is Ross County, who actually knows what we are about to witness. But if they can find a consistency which was lacking at times last season and Liam Boyce finds goals easier to come by they’ll not only be a team to watch but one which will take points of the top teams.

Yet, perhaps the stuffiest team for the ‘top four’ will once again be St Johnstone. Their 3-0 victory over Falkirk in the League Cup was a hallmark of who this team are. They gave up few chances, were industrious in midfield and out-thought and out-fought the Bairns in the final third.

Last season was an interesting one at McDiarmid Park. It could be divided into Michael O’Halloran inspired goalfests and post-Michael O’Halloran. The former saw Saints rid themselves of any defensive shackles, notching 36 goals before February. To put that into context they scored 34 goas in the whole of the previous season. Saints used O’Halloran’s pace to get down the sides and behind opponents’ defence. Tommy Wright then had to reformat his team and he opted for default. Saints shored up their defence, settling on a back four before easing to fourth place with four wins and a draw after the split.

Saints are continuing on that path. They have two very good goalkeepers at different spectrums of their career. In front of whoever wins the number one battle is a defensive unit which can be found under ‘reliable’ in the Oxford Dictionary. Wright will be hoping Steven Anderson and Brian Easton remain fit throughout. Anderson is one of the best in the division and Easton offers width and power from left-back.

Saints, once again, haven’t strengthened heavily. Creativity, flair and pace have been in short supply. Paul Paton and Blair Alston add depth, while Michael Coulson is a much needed option out wide.

The best business by far is the continued presence of Wright. Scandalously overlooked for more prestigious jobs, his powers are best emphasised by turning Joe Shaughnessy into a dependable and mistake-free centre back. Further proof why the signing of Keith Watson shouldn’t be ridiculed.

Saints lack pace in the forward areas with much of the creative onus falling on Danny Swanson. The strike duo of Steven MacLean and Graham Cummins dovetail excellently – they will be a handful for all defences, bullying centre backs, winning headers, getting into knockdown and most importantly getting into scoring positions.

St Johnstone will continue to be St Johnstone and that means another fine season in the top echelons of the league.

Written by Joel Sked

*Doolan has notched double figures in five of his last six league seasons. The one time he didn’t he fell one short.