Scottish football does not exactly celebrate diminishing standards but it has been forced to accept them.
Inverness enjoyed the finest season of their short history in 2014-15 and lost one of their star players, Marley Watkins, to Barnsley for a 400% salary increase. Earlier, the main striker at the Premiership’s third footballing force, Billy McKay, left for League One-bound Wigan Athletic. He has thus far made little impression.
St Johnstone began this season with understandable and renewed hope before being bundled out of Europe by the team who finished fourth in the Armenian league. This was not an isolated, if depressing, scenario. But for Celtic, Scotland would be in severe danger of a negative coefficient. Cheerleading to the contrary is common but tricky to fathom. The securing of Europa League qualifying places is cause for celebration in May but regret in July.
If the financial – and football – chaos at prominent clubs such as Rangers, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian in recent years has offered fresh hope for smaller clubs, there must be a recognition of the level at which the Scottish game finds itself. And not, as commonly portrayed, because of certain clubs’ demise; trouble was evident long before these scenarios. The annual question is whether things have yet bottomed out.
Yet this weekend, despite an underlying unease at the overpriced monotony, deeply unimpressive administrators and certainty of who will be crowned champions come the end of the season, hope springs eternal. The ability of this sport to consume a nation, regardless of whether or not people are attending matches, remains a wondrous scenario. It leaves you wondering what it would be like if, once again, Scottish football was in fine fettle. The very importance placed on the sport in a country hardly short of other things to be excited by is a phenomenon in itself.
Celtic’s main challenge for the Scottish Premiership crown should again come from Aberdeen, who finished second and 17 points behind last season. The outpouring of hooped anger had Derek McInnes’ team pipped Celtic to a fourth title in succession is not worth imagining, and the same principle exists this term. Celtic have the playing and financial resources to swat aside all before them. Last season, when push eventually came to shove, they did likewise to Aberdeen. Celtic will retain the flag, the question being by how much.
McInnes’s work should not be ignored, however. Aberdeen continue to upsize, thereby endorsing what should be their status as an attractive, appealing Scottish club. The signings of Kenny McLean and Graeme Shinnie, bright young talents from within the game in Scotland highlights this much.
Aberdeen easily look the best of the rest, and while McInnes arrived at Pittodrie at a useful juncture, several preceding him had failed. It is also worth noting that the manager’s reputation has survived a tumultuous time at Bristol City.
Aberdeen’s season begins with a match against Dundee United, a club apparently damned by fiscal reality. The sales of Gary Mackay-Steven, Stuart Armstrong and, most recently, Nadir Ciftci to Celtic riled supporters who had already watched a batch of talent depart Tannadice for lucrative fees. McNamara desperately needs a bright opening to the campaign.
His opposite number at Dundee, Paul Hartley, has shown himself fond of rapid recruitment drives. Pertinently, they have been successful ones. Dundee should be of a mind to challenge for Europe. As should St Johnstone, who for all their European woes have punched above their domestic weight under Tommy Wright.
Such a lofty position may be beyond Ross County but Jim McIntyre is also worthy of credit for rejuvenating a team who had been in danger of losing their positive, community-led identity in the latter months of Derek Adams’ tenure. Adams departed aiming shots at the club. They responded by comfortably avoiding demotion. McIntyre has subsequently put in place further building blocks, backed by one of the most admirable chairmen in the Scottish game, Roy MacGregor.
Hearts’ supporter base, with season ticket sales halted at 13,500, is of obvious benefit to the league. The weight of expectation behind the Edinburgh club will come from supporters who watched their team canter to the Championship last season, and the club’s recruitment policy is an intriguing one, based around the signing of foreign players with a history of impressive performances but also injury. Robbie Neilson, Hearts’ head coach, will argue that is the very reason such personnel has ended up in Scotland.
The man Neilson replaced at Tynecastle, Gary Locke, has taken full advantage of being given a free hand to rebuild Kilmarnock. In Kris Boyd, the Ayrshire side should have a striker capable of notching enough goals to avoid a relegation battle, which may be between Partick Thistle, Motherwell and Hamilton, who descended into freefall in the latter half of last season.
