Early 2023/24 predictions

[clashcityrocker]

Arbroath will be a much improved team this season - of that I am sure - can't see them finishing in the bottom 2.

[oneteaminglasgow]

12 minutes ago, clashcityrocker said:

Arbroath will be a much improved team this season - of that I am sure - can't see them finishing in the bottom 2.

Who do you think that Arbroath will be better than?

[Aufc]

1 hour ago, Tattie36 said:

I was just going to say the same. To call us “not very good” after watching us comprehensively brush aside a team that will, more than likely, end up top half in L1, with our best performance in ages is odd. Perhaps he left at half time as the second half was about as one sided a game as you could get.

Also bear in mind that we kept a clean sheet (with McAllister and Hester both playing for Mo) with a threadbare and makeshift defence.

Ok, we might not be great and I do think we’ll be towards the bottom of the table come May, but at least we look dangerous and dynamic in attack… or did on Saturday anyway.

Yeah second half was all Arbroath but you struggled the first half and a better team than montrose could have been 2-3 up against yoi

[Smokerson]

39 minutes ago, oneteaminglasgow said:

Who do you think that Arbroath will be better than?

We will be better than Airdrie hopefully. Queens Park will have that second season syndrome and I am not sure the route they are going down will work, could be wrong. Dunfermline don't look to have strengthened that much and although Ayr, Morton, thistle and Inverness did reasonably well last season, I'd expect a drop off in one of them, it happens most years in this league, one of the full time teams get off to a poor start and end up struggling.

We look a lot better than last season, at this stage last year we were a complete shambles and it dragged on to christmas. Unlike a lot of teams though, our objective will be to get to 8th which we will end up doing again I think.

[lichtiekev]

11 minutes ago, Aufc said:

Yeah second half was all Arbroath but you struggled the first half and a better team than montrose could have been 2-3 up against yoi

The first half montrose had a strong wind behind them and won a few corners, I don't remember Gaston even making a save against a team with 2 fit defenders,

If you based your argument on any of the other 3 matches I'd agree with you but Saturday arbroath were miles ahead of montrose 

[madton]

Most fans seem to be going into the league campaign with confidence that their team will have a good season. Possible exceptions being Caley and QP fans who had poor league cup groups.

I'm sure that will quickly change in a few weeks when a few clubs are bottom with 0 points!

Bring it on!

 

 

[jagsfan57]

I might be an exception from a Thistle perspective, but at the moment I think mid table is the best I am expecting. Mind you it is hard to judge when one of your new signings hasn’t kicked a ball in competitive football yet due to injury and two of the others are just in the door. 

[Tattie36]

33 minutes ago, Aufc said:

Yeah second half was all Arbroath but you struggled the first half and a better team than montrose could have been 2-3 up against yoi

Agree that Montrose had more of the play in the first half and they would have been good value to have been level at half time. Having said that, aside from a well worked fee kick that ended up with a tame shot that Gaston easily saved, an effort blazed over the bar and a load of corners, I don’t remember Montrose having many good chances in the first half. We had our goal, a header just past the post and a driven ball across the 6 yard box just begging for a touch. So as far as goal scoring chances go, it was about even. Yes, a “better team” may have scored 2 or 3 against us but we were playing Montrose - if my auntie had balls.

As for the second half, I remember Montrose had 1 attempt, a shot blocked by Little whereas Arbroath  could have scored 5 or 6 - as well as the 3 goals, 3 good close range saves by Gill, hit the post etc.

As a few of us have said, none of us expect anything other than an extremely tough season again but things look more positive than last season. Our main problem last season was scoring goals - we drew 16 and scored less than a goal a game, even the vast majority of our defeats were very close. So the fact that, on paper, we’ve massively strengthened up front, hopefully, means we’ll win a few more games and make survival a little easier. Of course that’s assuming that our defence will be as miserly as last season and we all know that’s not how football works, particularly as our defence is the main problem so far this pre season.

Anyway, predictions are mental at the moment. Give it a couple of months and we’ll all have a better idea of how things will pan out.

Edited July 31, 2023 by Tattie36

[Fuctifano]

I think I could make a good case for just about everyone bar Dundee Utd and Airdrie to finish 5th. That said, for the lols in 9 months or 6 weeks time, and obviously there's a full month of the transfer window to go so more complete squads are probably being overrated here:

1- Dundee Utd- obvious but they'll get there in the end

2- Raith- the trendy dark horse but with the caveat that they can't get their usual amount of injuries or they'll be closer to the bottom than the top.

3- Thistle- Should have enough goals in us to finish top 4 but the defence will cause issues.

4- Morton- not much change from last year though losing Grimshaw obviously a blow. Possibility of Imrie rage quit if things not going well always seems like it's in play

5- Queen's Park- the hardest of the lot to predict, could be 2nd and push Utd all the way or could sink like a stone. Be fund to see what happens if the latter, whether the total voetbal team get to stay or the Baron panicks about a return to L1, wields the axe and Ian McCall is brought in

6- Ayr - they were very much a one man team last year and are relying to a degree on hitting the English non league striker jackpot 3 years running, which seems unlikely. 

7- Dunfermline - normally the L1 champions do quite well, Cove last year bucking the trend. I don't think they will be in relegation danger but will fall away from the playoff race near end of the season

8- Inverness- they seem to keep pulling rabbits out of hats but look as if they're increasingly relying on McKay

9- Arbroath- If Bird isn't any cop then I don't see who's keeping them safe with Linn gone

10 - Airdrie- good league cup results but that doesn't always count for much and still seems like a league one squad on paper.

[clashcityrocker]

1 hour ago, oneteaminglasgow said:

Who do you think that Arbroath will be better than?

Last season Arbroath played the complete season without a striker (Hilson put in a  great shift, but he's not an out right striker).

This season Arbroath have 4 strikers and have recruited well - once the players start to gel things will click.

Still a couple of signings to be announced - so things are looking good at Gayfield HQ.

 

[oneteaminglasgow]

3 minutes ago, clashcityrocker said:

Last season Arbroath played the complete season without a striker (Hilson put in a  great shift, but he's not an out right striker).

This season Arbroath have 4 strikers and have recruited well - once the players start to gel things will click.

Still a couple of signings to be announced - so things are looking good at Gayfield HQ.

 

You did not play the whole season without a striker, you just signed a load of absolutely shite strikers. 

I would argue that it very much remains to be seen whether or not Arbroath have recruited well. And every club in the division will still have a couple of signings to make. 

You haven’t answered my question of which teams you think you’ll be better than?

From what I’ve seen, I think the league looks a bit better than last season, where Arbroath were pretty fortunate to survive, and even if they have improved, it might not be enough. My take is that I’d expect you, Airdrie and Caley to struggle, but ultimately you and Airdrie will be the bottom two. 

[Les Cabbage]

Dundee Utd

Raith Rovers

Partick Thistle

Dunfermline

Queens Park

Inverness

Ayr

Airdrieonians

Greenock Morton

Arbroath

 

[ClydeTon]

I think going forward Morton are definitely going to be closer to the top end than we were looking to be just over 24 Hours ago.

The money from the Rangers game (which in theory should be similar to the Celtic game, in the region of a quarter of a million) should allow us to get some signings in throughout the end of August, and hopefully in turn that will help secure Imrie's place at the club.

Most teams looked good in their LC Groups, Airdrie in particular, but it's hardly any reason to raise eyebrows, yet. Inverness and QP looked poor but again, Inverness often find a way to come back into the league later on in the season, and QP are, well, QP. Hard to predict, if last season's anything to go by.

Dundee Utd are the only team I would be tempted to move around solely because of the league cup. Their abysmal start with defeats to Spartans and Partick should be a concern and that appears to be a continuation of last season's poor form more than anything.

So, my serious predictions for 23/24 are:

1. Partick Thistle (Originally Dundee Utd)

Sadly. I think Partick still seem to have a good amount of their quality and, in a league that seems to be filled with squads fairly short on quality players, I think Partick could be there.

Like every other team on here, though, they could easily finish 8th and nobody would really be surprised.

2. Dundee Utd (Originally Ayr)

As much as I think Dundee Utd are, currently, totally pish, I think they'll still be pushing for the title, most likely following the sacking of Goodwin at Christmas time following a 5-0 pumping at Hampden. That being said, I do not see them getting over the line, not quite. I initially had Ayr here in my first prediction in June and United in 1st, but that's not realistically happening.

I have them down as the opposite to QP 22/23, instead of falling from grace, they come back up from the seeming dead. I don't see them getting promoted through the playoffs either, though.

3. Morton (No Change)

Sticking with my original view of Morton, now with more justification. In the 7 games played so far (including friendlies), we've scored 14 Goals, conceding 5, and, crucially, goals are coming from everywhere. Broadfoot and Crawford are the two top scorers so far, with two and three, respectively.

The money that is likely to come off the Rangers game (as I mentioned at the start of this post) will give us the finances to bring in a few more players, and really such a draw couldn't have come at a much better time.

We have a fairly solid defense (similar to last season) and a goalkeeper who, so far, looks to be an amazing signing. Broadfoot, I would argue, is an upgrade over Efe Ambrose and so far appears to still be capable of fitting into this Morton side. Midfield is much the same as last season, with the only notable change being Grimshaw, but we can survive without him. Plenty of options on the wing and the forwards are the same as last year. In other words, we'll be fine.

4. Dunfermline (No change)

I think Dunfermline will do quite well. That's all.

5. Raith (Originally QP)

Raith had a decent League Cup group and they do seem to have a decent side. I think they'll narrowly miss out of the playoffs, though.

6. Queens Park (Originally Partick)

Queens Park, I think, will be the wildcard. The amount of money they're spending, the international transfer(s) and playing at Hampden will keep it interesting. I don't see them getting playoffs again, though. Again, a but of a wildcard in the sense that they could go and win it to not many people's surprise.

7. Inverness CT (Originally QP)

As mentioned in the opening, Inverness always seem to come back into it. And whilst 7th does imply a bad season, I really can't seperate anyone from here up to 1st from the playoffs race. I think they'll be bottom of the promotion pile, but they'll still be close to 4th.

On to the three A's:

8. Ayr United (Originally Inverness)

I had Ayr Utd 2nd at first, but revising this prediction, I'm putting them 8th. I don't think they'll be in the relegation race with a few games to go, I think they'll be safe with time left. At the same time, I think they'll probably be beyond any hope of playoffs by that point.

9. Arbroath & 10. Airdrie (no change)

I really can't seperate these two. Arbroath are the same side, more or less, as that of last season's struggle, whilst also being much the same as the ones of 21/22's title charge.

Airdrie on paper look to be on a par with Hamilton or Cove from last season's championship, but their League Cup form, while often proving meaningless, was promising.

I've put Arbroath 9th and Airdrie 10th in the grounds of "sticking with my gut" but it could very easily be flipped.

In short:

1. Partick

--------------

2. Dundee Utd

3. Morton

4. Dunfermline

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5. Raith

6. Queens Park

7. Inverness

8. Ayr

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9. Arbroath

--------------

10. Airdrie

[Tattie36]

12 minutes ago, ClydeTon said:

…

9. Arbroath & 10. Airdrie (no change)

I really can't seperate these two. Arbroath are the same side, more or less, as that of last season's struggle, whilst also being much the same as the ones of 21/22's title charge.

…

Not arguing with you putting Arbroath down at the bottom as I think we’ll be anywhere from 7th-10th but to say it’s essentially the same side as last season is crazy.

Arbroath let 13 players go at the end of the season and have a completely new attack. 2 new wingers and 3 new strikers, also a new right back (hopefully a new left back this week) and a few midfielders. We are a completely different proposition to last season, particularly going forward. Doesn’t  mean we’ll do any better, granted but we may line up on Friday with anything from 4-7 new players starting.

Edited July 31, 2023 by Tattie36

[HoBNob]

Arbroath fans are very touchy. Is it very surprising that the team that finished 8th last season is predicted to finish near the bottom? 

[edinburghhonestman]

4 hours ago, Fuctifano said:

6 - Ayr - they were very much a one man team last year and are relying to a degree on hitting the English non league striker jackpot 3 years running, which seems unlikely.

The signs are that we won't be a one man team this season. Our 16 goals so far (including friendlies) have been scored by 8 players. It's too early to judge our new striker as he's only played 19 minutes but Jamie Murphy looks like he'll score a few to take some of the pressure off.

[Dunning1874]

There are a lot of massive assumptions being made by some Arbroath fans about all their recruitment necessarily being better last season.

Steele might be an improvement on what you had in defence last season, but he's a 21 year old who's never played at this level before. If he ends up being the first choice right back, it'll certainly be very impressive if he's an improvement on Oakley who you started last season with. Aware of that trap I've laid myself here, yes, Oakley was also getting his first real experience of first team football at 19, but the odds of someone being that good are different with a highly rated loanee from Birmingham and a signing from East Fife.

Stowe might be able to make the creative contribution from out wide you were sorely lacking last season, but he's 24 and he's never played at a higher level than the East of Scotland Premier. It's an absolutely huge leap to the Championship.

Slater has spent the last four years in League Two, McIntosh was part of the side which finished bottom last season (although scored a creditable 8 goals), Hylton has had one good season in his career and lived off it since but still found himself in the 7th tier of English football last season, Norey, Bird and Turan are all in the unproven category as well.

If even half of them turn out to be good then sure, Arbroath probably will have a better squad than last season in that case, but this is very much up for debate as it stands and with the disaster that Campbell's recruitment was last summer it could easily be misplaced confidence to assume he's made it a better job of it this time.

[Central Belt Caley]

We have no way of knowing where anyone will finish but we certainly seem to have found out which 2 teams have the most fragile fanbases 

[Broken Algorithms]

19 minutes ago, HoBNob said:

Arbroath fans are very touchy. Is it very surprising that the team that finished 8th last season is predicted to finish near the bottom? 

They've always been like that in fairness.

[Chippyminton]

21 minutes ago, HoBNob said:

Arbroath fans are very touchy.

I have to completely disagree. Their supporters on here (virtually to a man) are as realistic, humble and self-effacing bunch as you're likely to find. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single roaster amongst their support on here. I'd add that Gayfield's my absolute favourite away day, and their supporters are a friendly bunch indeed. There's no fun in being the eternal underdog, and just like last season, I really hope they stay up.