Flybhoy Posted August 2, 2023 Share Posted August 2, 2023 1. Queen of the South 2. Falkirk 3. Cove Rangers 4. Hamilton Accies 5. Montrose 6. Stirling Albion 7. Alloa 8. Kelty Hearts 9. Edinburgh City 10. Annan Athletic 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DG_RRFC Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 1st - Falkirk 2nd - Hamilton 3rd - Qots 4th - Cove 5th - Montrose 6th - Alloa 7th - Stirling 8th - Kelty 9th - Annan 10th - Edinburgh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Blue Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 (edited) Most posters seem pretty consistent with the top four (Accies, Falkirk, Cove & Queens) ... not really surprising given the FT status and perceived budgetary advantages. So naturally at least one of these fancied four will screw up, but which one? Most go for Accies/Bairns as outright winners with the odd vote for a Bartley inspired QOS should both Rankin & McGlynn go off the rails. The other six places are very close to call, although most seem to predict a tough season for Edinburgh and Annan, again probably due to perceived budgetary constraints. That leaves Stirling, Alloa, Montrose & Kelty as the mid-table favourites for most. But which is likeliest to embarrass the fancied top four? Stirling would appear to be the hot choice here given their stellar LC group performance. Thoughts ...? Edited August 3, 2023 by Otis Blue 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leomessi1984 Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 18 minutes ago, Otis Blue said: Most posters seem pretty consistent with the top four (Accies, Falkirk, Cove & Queens) ... not really surprising given the FT status and perceived budgetary advantages. So naturally at least one of these fancied four will screw up, but which one? Most go for Accies/Bairns as outright winners with the odd vote for a Bartley inspired QOS should both Rankin & McGlynn go off the rails. The other six places are very close to call, although most seem to predict a tough season for Edinburgh and Annan, again probably due to perceived budgetary constraints. That leaves Stirling, Alloa, Montrose & Kelty as the mid-table favourites for most. But which is likeliest to embarrass the fancied top four? Stirling would appear to be the hot choice here given their stellar LC group performance. Thoughts ...? I cannot see us troubling the top four spots. Preseason I was worried we'd be in a relegation dogfight but I've been impressed with what Tidser has done so far & in Daramola we may have unearthed a gem. I fancy us for 6th at best but who knows I guess. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr November Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 1. Falkirk 2. Queen of the South 3. Hamilton Academical 4. Stirling Albion 5. Cove Rangers 6. Alloa Athletic 7. Montrose 8. Kelty Hearts 9. Edinburgh City 10. Annan Athletic I’m not too convinced by Falkirk’s recruitment (McGinn and Spencer lacks energy and power which Falkirk have needed in midfield for ages and not signing a right back is an interesting choice) but think they’ll finally get the job done in a slightly weaker league. I’ve also not been too impressed by Queens recruitment but I think Bartley will improve them again and have them challenging. Hamilton have a better squad than they did last season but a lot depends on the management. Stirling make up the top four as they look like a solid, reliable unit and while there’s always a shelf-life (see Montrose below), part-time teams with a consistent core tend to do well at this level. I think they’ll start well but fall away as the season goes on, though still having done enough to finish 4th. One full-time team always makes an arse of it and Cove seem most likely. They’ve got a weird squad, the best midfield in the league and some decent options up front but it’s a tough ask to turn them around after last season’s disaster. Alloa have had been disastrous in the League Cup but I think they’ll improve slightly when Taggart, Donnelly and Cawley are back playing regularly. Definitely a team in transition and I’m not sure Rice will see out the season. Despite signing Hester and finally signing a right back Montrose look weak in midfield and think they’ll drop-off again. Petrie’s done a brilliant job there but it feels like a team at the end of their cycle and he’s seemed a step behind rejuvenating it for a couple of years now. I think Kelty will be the most entertaining team in the league and will have enough to avoid relegation. Edinburgh City were woeful from January onwards and have lost a few key players too. They’ll struggle without the customary Airdrie pumpings. I think Annan will be better than last years bottom two but seem the weakest team. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebobsboy Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 12 hours ago, Otis Blue said: Most posters seem pretty consistent with the top four (Accies, Falkirk, Cove & Queens) ... not really surprising given the FT status and perceived budgetary advantages. So naturally at least one of these fancied four will screw up, but which one? Most go for Accies/Bairns as outright winners with the odd vote for a Bartley inspired QOS should both Rankin & McGlynn go off the rails. The other six places are very close to call, although most seem to predict a tough season for Edinburgh and Annan, again probably due to perceived budgetary constraints. That leaves Stirling, Alloa, Montrose & Kelty as the mid-table favourites for most. But which is likeliest to embarrass the fancied top four? Stirling would appear to be the hot choice here given their stellar LC group performance. Thoughts ...? at least one of these fancied four will screw up, but which one? That there is almost always us. I'm actually sick fed up of it, for the love of god and McGlynn's last dance, just get us out of this league the consequences of anything else are too dire to contemplate. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Blue Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 8 hours ago, ebobsboy said: at least one of these fancied four will screw up, but which one? That there is almost always us. I'm actually sick fed up of it, for the love of god and McGlynn's last dance, just get us out of this league the consequences of anything else are too dire to contemplate. Depends how you define a screw up. If a club doesn't win the league then a top four finish at least still offers a possible escape route via the playoffs even if it's a long shot (but don't mention that to Airdrie). Not even making the top four offers zip, nowt, rien, nada (ie QOS last season). So for me, a complete screw up by one of the "fancied four" FT sides would be not even making the top four. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoonhamerDon Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Falkirk Hamilton Cove QOS Montrose Alloa Stirling Kelty Edinburgh Annan I said Falkirk last year - surely they can't miss out again (funny as that would be) I think we'll get into the play-offs - our form since Bartley came in suggested that over a season we would have got the points needed but I'm not sure on placing - other than not winning the league. Montrose and Alloa seem solid for middle of the pack - going Mo slightly higher as they've got a striker in Hester. I'm wary of putting too much stock in league cup performances but I think Stirling will have enough to stay up and Edinburgh look to be continuing the dire form from end of last season so will be bottom two along with Annan. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dysart Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 1. Falkirk 2. Hamilton 3. Stirling 4. QOS 5. Cove Rangers 6. Alloa 7. Montrose 8. Kelty Hearts 9. Annan 10. Edinburgh City 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Annan Edinburgh City Kelty Hearts Stirling Albion Alloa Athletic Montrose Queen of the South Cove Rangers Hamilton Falkirk -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoveRangers1922 Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 15 hours ago, Mr November said: 1. Falkirk 2. Queen of the South 3. Hamilton Academical 4. Stirling Albion 5. Cove Rangers 6. Alloa Athletic 7. Montrose 8. Kelty Hearts 9. Edinburgh City 10. Annan Athletic I’m not too convinced by Falkirk’s recruitment (McGinn and Spencer lacks energy and power which Falkirk have needed in midfield for ages and not signing a right back is an interesting choice) but think they’ll finally get the job done in a slightly weaker league. I’ve also not been too impressed by Queens recruitment but I think Bartley will improve them again and have them challenging. Hamilton have a better squad than they did last season but a lot depends on the management. Stirling make up the top four as they look like a solid, reliable unit and while there’s always a shelf-life (see Montrose below), part-time teams with a consistent core tend to do well at this level. I think they’ll start well but fall away as the season goes on, though still having done enough to finish 4th. One full-time team always makes an arse of it and Cove seem most likely. They’ve got a weird squad, the best midfield in the league and some decent options up front but it’s a tough ask to turn them around after last season’s disaster. Alloa have had been disastrous in the League Cup but I think they’ll improve slightly when Taggart, Donnelly and Cawley are back playing regularly. Definitely a team in transition and I’m not sure Rice will see out the season. Despite signing Hester and finally signing a right back Montrose look weak in midfield and think they’ll drop-off again. Petrie’s done a brilliant job there but it feels like a team at the end of their cycle and he’s seemed a step behind rejuvenating it for a couple of years now. I think Kelty will be the most entertaining team in the league and will have enough to avoid relegation. Edinburgh City were woeful from January onwards and have lost a few key players too. They’ll struggle without the customary Airdrie pumpings. I think Annan will be better than last years bottom two but seem the weakest team. Yeah can't disagree with that too much. Hartley at the helm without an inherited squad and needing to rebuild was alarm bells for many. He's incredibly lucky to still be in employment after guiding us from safety to automatic relegation. I'd reluctantly give him a season. Doesn't get us into the playoffs then it will be adiós. Not because we deserve to be in the top 4 but because I'll have seen enough by then. We do have a strong central midfield but really need Fyvie and Yule back pronto, they are key and so is a firing Mitch if we are to do anything here. If Scott Williamson signs it's 5 strikers; for L1 that's almost mind blowing if you ask me. When we won the league we had 3, 2 of the best and Leighton who was capable enough. More depth in attack but will we find the partnership and score as many. Cove's downfall could be defensively. Balint is some keeper but the back line isn't watertight. I'm clearly not getting to see the other teams in much depth during pre-season and League Cup action but none of the other expected "promotion contenders" appear to be firing on all cylinders. Perhaps we're all trying to find our groove, needing a bit more quality added. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoveRangers1922 Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) 1. Falkirk 5th time lucky for the Bairns? Feel this is going to be the year that they end the lengthy hiatus and return to the Championship. Pressure from all angles is mounting year on year so potentially they could get in their own way. Lang, Spencer, Alfie and even Calvin Miller are all astute signings which will compliment a strong enough core still left from last year. There's still some deadwood in the side but with a 1/2 decent loans I expect they will do enough. Probably the best defence in the league as it stands. 2. Hamilton Tough season in the Championship but a shuffle in the boardroom and some financial muscle springs healthy optimism. A few "ambitious" signings which took many by surprise. Likes of O'Hara, Kilday, Barjonas, Tait and the enigma that is Henderson were surely on the watch list of others in tier 2. Biggest coup for me is keeping Scott Martin. All guns fire, they could challenge for top spot. Rankin like Hartley will come under criticism with a poor start. 3. QOS Feel the Doonhamers will improve second time around in L1 under MB. Will undoubtedly miss the goals of Paton, there is still time for Marv to find a replacement. Quite like full backs Church and Houston and clearly Johnson is a fine keeper with a bright future. Harry Cochrane seems to be finding his feet, clearly a talent. Kept Connelly, Todd and Wilson so have experience and multiple sources for goals. Queen's could finish higher than i give them credit for. 4. Cove £750k in liabilities (that's debt to me), FT, Hartley rebuild; what could go wrong. We'll be an unknown for many, including Cove fans myself alike, given the monumental changes of late. Naismith is the only remaining January signing, all others (9) have gone. I suspect he will go before long too. 13 or so in this summer and currently 18 out; its a circus at Balmoral. We've played 10 games so far and not once seen close to a full strength side. If we keep Scully and Mitch, and the latter rekindles form, and importantly Fyvie and Yule come back and stay fit we should be competitive. Quite a few IF's. Defensively suspicious and Hartley to boot will mean playoff contender at best. Optimistically i put us 4th but we could be middle of the pack. If anyone is going to crash and burn it could be us. 5. Montrose Mighty Mo coming off a 7th place finish last time around which surely was disappointing given they were 3rd, 4th, 4th and 4th in the previous seasons. Can Hester and Rory bag enough goals to propel them to those heights? Petrie, for me, needs one or two creative midfielders and needs big Kerr back fit at CB. 6. Alloa Really can't call Alloa. Could be playoff contenders or middle table. Been a fairly busy summer with 9 in and 13 out. Church, Stanger, Miller, MacIver are big losses; have any been replaced with better? Didn't expect the Wasps to hemorrhage goals like they did in the LC group stages. 13 in 4 games with only 4 for doesn't make great reading. They are better than that. If Rice finds a compotent striker then playoffs will be achievable. Sammon and Donnelly are fine but there are better out there. 7. Kelty Hearts Toiled last season under the VERY focal Potter but Tidser's first foray into management seems to have started brightly. A successful LC campaign, finding the gem that is Daramola on a 3 year deal and adding astutely with CJ and Cunningham who seem to compliment Tiwi no end. Biabi and McCluskey for backup. Seem top heavy and like Cove i worry if they can keep it tight enough at the back. Keep Daramola then i doubt Kelty will finish too far away from the playoff spots and will pinch points off of all. 8. Stirling Albion Outstanding LC which culminated in a 4-0 demolition of St Johnstone which has most people taking notice. Quite a settled side for the L2 champions and with the industrial addition of Dale Hilson up top along Lewis Milne seems it could be a hassle free return to L1. Could finish higher than i think, could well of missed judge this. Gap between 4th and 8th isn't substantial for me. 9. Edinburgh City Disaster of a league cup campaign. Was it just Ouzy that was away livin the high life this summer or did the rest of the City squad do similar. Rusty, and ex-Cove player, Robbie Leitch are ok for this level and on their day could be match winners. Offord is good business and so could Jack Wilkie who signs just in time for the opener against Stirling Albion. Kept the likes of Innes Murray and Ouzy See. Latter always fails to impress me but sure he's had his fair share of good games. Liam Fontaine will need to be kept fit and find prime form in order to give City the chance to survive. 10. Annan Athletic Tough gig for Annan this season after breaking the duck and finally getting promotion to L1 after what felt like forever in L2. Small squad, will it be enough to keep them up. I feel 2nd to 8th could regularly take points off of each other and it will be fairly tight throughout the whole season. Edited August 4, 2023 by CoveRangers1922 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) Always hard to call with a lot of changes around the league and quite a few teams who could do well but could equally flop. But anyway.... Think Falkirk might well finally get the job done. Some questions over attack but the squad looks solid and the competition isn't too strong this season. Best case scenario for them is they get a nice lead and coast home. If they end up in a close race there are recurring doubts over McGlynn's handling of big games. Of course they might also have a mixed start and with memories of Airdrie still fresh the fans could quickly turn on McGlynn. Accies look decent on paper and have potentially excellent attacking options. Questions over the manager there too and some lingering ill feeling about the club. Not entirely convinced about the signings QoS have made but Bartley made a solid start with a struggling squad last season and I think they will be much improved and should make play-offs. Cove likewise with signings but there are a few really solid players for League One there and should in theory be up in the top half. Of the rest, I think we have some good signings and a few others that look questionable. I do believe there is a good team there if key men are fit and properly deployed by the manager but not convinced that will happen. The League Cup was a bit of a shambles and I do have slight concerns that the constant tinkering when we have so many new faces could lead to a bad start that would also be hard to turn around. Desperately need a striker but still enough good players to give any team in the league a real game if used properly. Montrose plateaued a bit last season after a few years of good showings. They'll hope it's been freshened up and Hester should bring goals. Perhaps the best part-time team. Kelty should be OK I think despite regime change. Tidser has made a promising start and I think will have a competitive team. Glad to see Edinburgh City back under their proper identity. Felt they overachieved last season even with the squad they had and obviously lost a few key men since. I think Maybury has done really well since going there and is one who deserves a shot at a bigger club but he's going to have his work cut out this season. Of the new sides Stirling will be full of confidence after an excellent League Cup group stage. I didn't think they were overly impressive against us actually but what was clear was that team was well organised and pulling together, and that allied with a few decent attacking options for this level should ensure they are difficult opposition for everyone. Don't see them struggling. Annan I don't know too much about to be honest but I'm absolutely sure they will be better than Clyde and Peterhead last season. Falkirk Hamilton QoS Cove Montrose Stirling Alloa Kelty Edinburgh City Annan Edited August 4, 2023 by Waspie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RolandPie Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 1. Hamilton Accies 2. Falkirk 3. Cove Rangers 4. Queen of the South 5. Alloa 6. Stirling Albion 7. Montrose 8. Kelty Hearts 9. Edinburgh City 10. Annan Athletic No play-off misery this season, thank you 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoveRangers1922 Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, Waspie said: Always hard to call with a lot of changes around the league and quite a few teams who could do well but could equally flop. But anyway.... Think Falkirk might well finally get the job done. Some questions over attack but the squad looks solid and the competition isn't too strong this season. Best case scenario for them is they get a nice lead and coast home. If they end up in a close race there are recurring doubts over McGlynn's handling of big games. Of course they might also have a mixed start and with memories of Airdrie still fresh the fans could quickly turn on McGlynn. Accies look decent on paper and have potentially excellent attacking options. Questions over the manager there too and some lingering ill feeling about the club. Not entirely convinced about the signings QoS have made but Bartley made a solid start with a struggling squad last season and I think they will be much improved and should make play-offs. Cove likewise with signings but there are a few really solid players for League One there and should in theory be up in the top half. Of the rest, I think we have some good signings and a few others that look questionable. I do believe there is a good team there if key men are fit and properly deployed by the manager but not convinced that will happen. The League Cup was a bit of a shambles and I do have slight concerns that the constant tinkering when we have so many new faces could lead to a bad start that would also be hard to turn around. Desperately need a striker but still enough good players to give any team in the league a real game if used properly. Montrose plateaued a bit last season after a few years of good showings. They'll hope it's been freshened up and Hester should bring goals. Perhaps the best part-time team. Kelty should be OK I think despite regime change. Tidser has made a promising start and I think will have a competitive team. Glad to see Edinburgh City back under their proper identity. Felt they overachieved last season even with the squad they had and obviously lost a few key men since. I think Maybury has done really well since going there and is one who deserves a shot at a bigger club but he's going to have his work cut out this season. Of the new sides Stirling will be full of confidence after an excellent League Cup group stage. I didn't think they were overly impressive against us actually but what was clear was that team was well organised and pulling together, and that allied with a few decent attacking options for this level should ensure they are difficult opposition for everyone. Don't see them struggling. Annan I don't know too much about to be honest but I'm absolutely sure they will be better than Clyde and Peterhead last season. Falkirk Hamilton QoS Cove Montrose Stirling Alloa Kelty Edinburgh City Annan I agree that only Falkirk can romp this league this season. Whether they will remains to be seen. Faired well against an albeit struggling Dundee United and a Thistle side who were still building. Both of these sides will be promotion challengers in tier 2. Their squad is probably the only one that would be competitive in the Championship. We'd crash and burn well and truly, even worse than last season. If they struggle they will still be in contention until near the end. The comedy years of Holt, Rennie, Miller and McCracken are gone. McGlynn at least has a legacy of being semi competent Edited August 4, 2023 by CoveRangers1922 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebobsboy Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 50 minutes ago, CoveRangers1922 said: I agree that only Falkirk can romp this league this season. Whether they will remains to be seen. Faired well against an albeit struggling Dundee United and a Thistle side who were still building. Both of these sides will be promotion challengers in tier 2. There squad is probably the only one that would be competitive in the Championship. We'd crash and burn well and truly, even worse than last season. If they struggle they will still be in contention until near the end. The comedy years of Holt, Rennie, Miller and McCracken are gone. McGlynn at least has a legacy of being semi competent Yes but we are starting the season without a recognised right back because semi incompetent McGlynn blew the budget elsewhere. Despite him on record as saying we needed to address the defence and in particular right back at the end of last season. McGlynn is a steady the ship guy and he did that when he came in, he also failed to get us anywhere near Dunfermline with possibly the best budget in the league culminating in us being shite for months before being blown away by Airdrie in the playoffs and not turning up in a Scottish cup semi final. We won't romp the league I think we will be pretty much the same as last season, comfortably beat the perceived lesser lights but struggle against the better sides. If we do win it and that's a big IF it won't be an over the hill and far away stylee like Dunfermline, I think it'll be a close run thing. I'd add we are running with a smaller squad this season and are probably only an injury or two away to key players for us to struggle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bod Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 3 hours ago, ebobsboy said: Yes but we are starting the season without a recognised right back because semi incompetent McGlynn blew the budget elsewhere. Despite him on record as saying we needed to address the defence and in particular right back at the end of last season. McGlynn is a steady the ship guy and he did that when he came in, he also failed to get us anywhere near Dunfermline with possibly the best budget in the league culminating in us being shite for months before being blown away by Airdrie in the playoffs and not turning up in a Scottish cup semi final. We won't romp the league I think we will be pretty much the same as last season, comfortably beat the perceived lesser lights but struggle against the better sides. If we do win it and that's a big IF it won't be an over the hill and far away stylee like Dunfermline, I think it'll be a close run thing. I'd add we are running with a smaller squad this season and are probably only an injury or two away to key players for us to struggle. And we could well be starting the league season without a recognised left back as we have in the cup games. Yes Church was on the bench last week but hasn't featured in a game so far this season! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eindhovendee Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 1. Cove Rangers 2. Stirling Albion 3. Hamilten 4. Queen of the South 5. Falkirk 6. Alloa 7. Montrose 8. Annan 9. Edinburgh City 10. Kelty 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartyMac Posted August 5, 2023 Share Posted August 5, 2023 1. Falkirk (grudgingly) 2. Hamilton 3. QOS 4. Cove Rangers 5. Stirling Albion 6. Alloa 7. Montrose 8. Kelty 9. Annan 10. Edinburgh City I think it might be the tighest points gap ever between 5th-10th this season, there's very little to separate all six teams. Hopefully, due to the fact we have a settled side and an excellent manager, we can finish top of that section, although to be honest, 8th place would do me just fine. Our game today at home to Edinburgh might actually be a good barometer as to where we actually are, as the LC campaign can sometimes be misleading. Alloa and Montrose have both been in this league a while now, so will have that savvy element. Its a nightmare trying to predict this! As for the top 4, pretty nailed on given the full time status of the four sides I reckon, and I can't see Falkirk making an arse of it again, as hilarious as that would be. Would actually like to see QOS win the league as always had a soft spot for the Doonhamers. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19QOS19 Posted August 5, 2023 Share Posted August 5, 2023 2 hours ago, StewartyMac said: I think it might be the tighest points gap ever between 5th-10th this season, there's very little to separate all six teams. * Would actually like to see QOS win the league as always had a soft spot for the Doonhamers. ** * I'm actually expecting Edinburgh and Annan to be completely cut off at the bottom this year. I think 8th place will be in absolutely no danger of slipping into 9th spot. I actually think it'll be closer in the top 5 places than the bottom half. ** Cheers babe, love you too 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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