After the club was rescued from the pits of Administration in 2013, the Pars have only now just returned to the second tier of Scottish Football. After 10 matches, Dunfermline are sitting on seven points, and are only point above Dumbarton in the relegation play-off slot. A relegation battle seems on the cards, between themselves, St Mirren and Dumbarton. Can they save themselves?
The summer saw a raft of changes at East End Park, with last season's top goalscorer Faissal El Bakhtaoui leaving Halbeath Road to join Premiership outfit Dundee. The French-Moroccan-Fifer scored 22 goals in 32 league matches last season. Manager Allan Johnson was able to sign experienced Premiership players such as Kallum Higginbotham, Nicky Clark and Farid El Alagui as well as young prospects like Euan Spark and Scott Lochhead from Dundee United.
It's not like Dunfermline have been outclassed by their league rivals. In fact, I would say that Dunfermline have one of the stronger squads in the league. It's their inability to take chances that has been their downfall this season.
A good example would be their match against Dundee United on 10th Sept. The Pars were given not one but three penalties at 0-0 in the first 35 minutes of the match. All three were saved by Cammy Bell and United went on to win 3-1.
Defending hasn't been Dunfermline's forte this season either. Both wins the Pars have managed in the league this season have been 4-3; both being at home against the sides directly beneath them in the table. With 21 goals conceded in 10 matches, Dunfermline have the worst defence in the league, by three clear goals.
If there is a silver-lining on this big black and white coloured cloud, it is that with their attacking prowess, they can score goals. El Alagui, Cardle, Clark and Geggen will eventually score goals, and I would be very surprised if they couldn't muster 10-12 goals each by the end of the season.
Dunfermline's next five fixtures:
- Dumbarton (A) - Sat 29th Oct - Championship
- Raith Rovers (H) - Sat 5th Nov - Championship
- Dundee United (A) - Tue 8th Nov - Championship
- Dundee United (H) - Sat 12th Nov - Irn-Bru Cup Quarter Final - Live on Premier Sports
- St Mirren (A) - Sat 19th Nov - Championship - Live on BBC ALBA
It's hard to judge the quality of Dunfermline this season and how unlucky they have been and how poor they've been. Dunfermline Athletic are a big club and like several others in this league are punching well below their weight. Although, I do think it might be a struggle for the Pars fans this season, they might just escape a drop back down into League 1. My prediction for Dunfermline is that they will escape relegation and finish in seventh place.
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