Pars for the Course? - A look at the Championship so far: Part 9 - Dunfermline Athletic

(Better Late than never)

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.

Duffy the Dobbie Slayer - A look at the Championship so far: Part 8 - Greenock Morton

Morton started the league campaign with three draws and two losses and were left lying near the foot of the Championship table. Since then Jim Duffy has hit form with the impressive Ross Forbes and Jai Quitongo scoring left, right and centre. In their last four games Morton have won three, including thrashing league leaders Queen of the South 5-0 at Palmerston.

The poor start to the league campaign can be put down to a number of factors, including, uncertainty on the status of hot prospect Jai Quitongo. Quitongo was the subject of bids from English League One side Doncaster Rovers and was tracked by several Scottish Premiership clubs. In conjunction with this, the Greenock side suffered from defensive lapses of concentration, with late goals from St Mirren and Falkirk pegging them back level in matches that Morton should have seen out.

The signing of Gavin Gunning has seemed to bring some experience to the central defence. Despite his occasional irrational behaviour, he has done a service for Morton. The question remains on whether or not he can keep his temperament.

However, if there was one constant it would be the fortress that Jim Duffy has been able to make of Cappielow. In all competitions, Morton have played seven home matches, winning five and drawing two. If there is a key to success in the Championship, being able to make the your home ground a fortress is certainly up there in that respect.

With Twelve points from nine matches, three wins, three draws and three losses, it's easy to see why Morton have not been challenging for Promotion until now. Jim Duffy will be hoping that this recent burst of form will continue right through the season until May. Despite sitting sixth, Morton are keeping in touch with the other protagonists for the league title, the Ton are only six points off of Hibs and Queens, who are sitting first and second.

The League Cup, however has been where the Ton has found success. After winning their group with 11 points from 12, Morton defeated Hamilton Accies and then Dundee United to make the semi-finals of the Betfred Cup. Being Morton's first national semi-final since 1981, the 'Ton go into Saturday's clash with Aberdeen with high hopes.

Morton's next five matches:

• Aberdeen (N) - Sat 22nd Oct - Betfred Cup Semi-Final - LIVE on BT Sport
• Ayr United (H) - Sat 29th Oct - Championship
• St Mirren (H) - Tue 1st Nov - Championship
• Falkirk (A) - Sat 5th Nov - Championship
• Dumbarton (A) - Sat 12th Nov - Championship

The 'Ton's revival has brought another team into play in who is going for the league title. However, I think that run of form that Morton have produced in the last month will be temporary, not permanent.  My prediction for Morton is for them to just miss out on the Premiership play-offs and for them to finish fifth.

Gary's been Locke-d out: A look at the Championship so far - Part 7: Raith Rovers

Ray McKinnon's replacement, Gary Locke was appointed in July. His summer appointment was met with both positive and negative messages from the Stark's Park faithful. Despite this and a poor League Cup campaign as well as the loss of Lewis Toshney to Dundee United, the Kirkcaldy club have placed themselves in fourth place in the league.


Their success can be in part put down to the squad that Locke has inherited from McKinnon with to quality players such as Ross Callachan, Kyle Bennidictus and Mark Stewart. The ex-Hearts boss has bolstered the Raith playing squad with the additions of Kevin McHattie from Kilmarnock, Rudi Skacel and the loan signing of Declan McManus from Fleetwood Town.


Raith have been involved in some high scoring encounters this season. With three wins from their four home matches, it's easy to see why the San Starko is becoming a hard place to come for teams to pick up points.

Like most sides in the Championship, Raith seem to lack a traditional number 9 goalscorer but goals have came from a multitude of places this season. Midfielder Ross Callachan has been on target three times and is currently the league's 5th highest scorer. The club, overall, are the tied second in goals scores in league matches this season.

In defence it's been a different story, Raith have looked very poor. Eleven conceded in eight matches, does not sound like the type of defence that is going to win the league. For example, finding themselves 2-0 down, after half an hour of the match against Dundee United gives Raith a mountain to climb. Despite Raith earning a point at Tannadice in that match, the principle remains; if Locke cannot sort out that defence, they will not maintain fourth place in the league table until May.

Raith's next five fixtures:

• Hibernian (H) - Sat 15th Oct - Championship
• Falkirk (A) - Sat 22nd Oct - Championship
• Queen of the South (H) - Sat 29th Oct - Championship - Live on BBC ALBA
• Dunfermline Athletic (A) - Sat 5th Nov - Championship
• Dumbarton (A) - Sat 19th Nov - Championship

In fairness to Gary Locke, he has recruited wisely and built upon a solid foundation that was left by Ray McKinnon. However, like at Hearts and Kilmarnock the frailty of the defence has been his club's biggest problem. Without fixing the problems at the back, all I can say for Raith is that there fans will see a lot of goals and a lot of high scoring matches but not all in favour of the Rovers. My prediction is for Raith to finish in fifth place, just outside the play-off spots.

Keeping up with Kelpies - A look at the Championship so far - Part 6: Falkirk

High flying Falkirk have been a club that has languished in the second tier. The Bairns have traditionally had one of Scottish football's larger followings, with only the big city clubs having higher attendances. Despite this, Falkirk have been stuck in the second tier for seven years. After last seasons Play-off final defeat to Kilmarnock, the pressure is really on Peter Houston this season to guide Falkirk back in to the Premiership this time.

Falkirk have started strongly this season and find themselves lying in third place, only four points off league leaders Queen of the South. Falkirk have made the boringly-named Falkirk Stadium into something of a fortress; winning all but one home match this season.

This success can be laid down to a solid defence, with The Bairns only conceding 7 goals in their opening 8 matches. However, up front they've only scored 11 goals, which makes them the joint 5th top scorers.

Lee Miller has really been their main outlet this season going forward, with three goals. The lack of a "20-goal-a-season" striker may pay dividend to their rivals at the seasons end.

Falkirk also seem to rely on the vast quantity of Premiership experience they have with ex-Dundee United captain John Rankin joining familiar top flight names such as Lee Miller, David McCracken, Mark Kerr and Tom Taiwo, to name a few. This combined with the young prospects like the aptly named Lewis Kidd and Luke Leahy has given Peter Houston a formidable side.

Next Five Matches:

• Falkirk vs Dunfermline - Sat 15th Oct - Championship
• Falkirk vs Raith - Sat 22nd Oct - Championship
• Dundee United vs Falkirk - Sat 29th Oct - Championship
• Falkirk vs Greenock Morton - Sat 5th Nov - Championship
• Hibernian vs Falkirk - Sat 12th Nov - Championship

Falkirk's solid defence will be their main asset as the race for the title continues. However, their inability to score and lack of versatility going forward could be their downfall.  As for my prediction for the end of the season, I believe that this team is an improvement on last season but the league as a whole has also improved, so I would say that bar any huge changes to the playing squad, the Bairns will finish fourth come the season end.

Honest with Harkins - A look at the Championship so far: Part 5 - Ayr United

Ayr United have been Scottish football's perennial underachievers, a club with a relatively large core home support, and a completely full time youth academy. The Honest men are back in the Championship after beating Stranraer in the play-off final last season. With players such as Gary Harkins and Conrad Balatoni, Ian McCall's men are not just here to make up the numbers.

One of the few grounds in Scotland that I haven't been to is Somerset Park, apparently, it's like taking a trip back to 1970s; which is good for the nostalgia lovers which some of the Ayr faithful probably are. Since 1977, Ayr have not been in Scotland's top flight and have unfortunately felt the consequences of having more empty terraces than not.

However, 2016-17 has started brightly under Ian McCall. Eight points from as many games has left the club in seventh place in the table, on target for where they want to be at the end of the season. Their biggest achievement of the season was beating then undefeated Hibs at Easter Road in front of 16,000 bemused Hibees.

However, defensive frailties are still evident. In their first three games, Ayr lost all three and conceded 9, only scoring one goal in response.

Having seen Ayr, they just look like a side that isn't equipped for Championship football. This could be down to their quasi-part-time status or it could just be poor management. From what was evident, they were still one attacking player away from showing any real threat in a league that has very poor defenses.  Gary Harkins will score goals for them, but he's not enough, Ayr need a Greg Spence type player to keep them out of the relegation battles.

Ayr's next five fixtures:

• Dumbarton (A) - 15th Oct - Championship
• Queen of the South (H) 22nd Oct - Championship
• Greenock Morton (A) - 29th Oct - Championship
• Hibernian (H) - 5th Nov - Championship
• Raith Rovers (A) - 12th Nov - Championship 

Unfortunately for Ayr, it looks like it could be a long season, however, should they continue to improve over the course of the season as they have done, they should just survive. The problem is that they can't compete with the league's better squads on a consistent basis, yes granted they beat Hibs, but that was a fluke result. My prediction, however is for Ayr United to finish 8th and in turn survive the play-off by a point or two.

My review of Scotland vs Lithuania - player by player

So the dust has settled, and we've woken up to the news that Scotland have found a new low in the bottomless pit of failure.

As a Scotland fan, I was very confident of Scotland's chances going into this game. That was until I saw the starting eleven.

A 4-2-3-1 formation which played like a 4-5-1 is useful when playing away from home or playing against quality opposition. Lithuania, ranked outside the world's top 100, are not quality opposition. A 4-4-2 was the formation needed last night when playing a below-average side at Hampden.

To make matters worse Strachan started Chris Martin as the lone striker. Chris Martin is a good player, however when you have the choice of Leigh Griffiths, Steven Fletcher and Martin for that role, the Celtic striker should win out every time. I seriously doubt there were any members of the Tartan Army who wanted to see Martin over Griffiths.

That's not mentioning the vendetta Gordon Strachan seems to have against Ross McCormack and Jordan Rhodes.

As for Lithuania, they looked incredibly average, that's probably the worst Lithuania side I've seen. Scraping a draw with them is a national embarrassment. If Lithuania play as they did last night, I can guarantee that when they play Slovakia next month, Hamsik and company will put several past them.

As usual the excuses will be made. "Lithuania should have had a man sent off", "Chris Martin should have had a penalty" and the usual "The referee was biased against us!". I'm sorry but after 18 years of Scottish heartache and disappointment these excuses don't cut the mustard.

Player By Player:

David Marshall - 7

In all fairness to David Marshall, Lithuania only created a handful of chances and the saves he did make kept Scotland in the game. As for the goal, there wasn't too much more he could have done to prevent the Lithuanians taking the lead. He gave a solid performance on a night we didn't see much of him.

Callum Paterson - 5

The young right back put in a below average performance last night. He is still an improvement on the other players who have put on the number 2 shirt for Scotland in recent years. Poor passing and an inability to hold onto the ball was his downfall last night, an abnormal blip for the Hearts right back.

Grant Hanley - 5

A very poor showing from Hanley last night. He was repeatedly being found out on the counter from Novikovas as well as being responsible for the Lithuania goal. At least he was responsible for the assist to the equalizer in the 90th minute. Being blunt, it was probably his worst game in Scotland shirt for a very long time.

Russell Martin - 6

Martin was average on a night that Scotland looked utter trash. He was able to get away with it as the opposition were very poor. If he plays the same way against Slovakia, then Scotland will be in huge trouble.

Andy Robertson - 8

Scotland's most creative player and best performer by a country mile. The only threats from Scotland were coming from Robertson on the left flank. He gave the supporters who have been calling for Tierney to replace him, some Humble pie, as well as a fork and knife to eat it.

Barry Bannan - 7

Bannan was alongside Robertson and Snodgrass as Scotland's best performers. Looked dangerous on occasion and provided great link up play with Snodgrass and Robertson on the left wing.


Darren Fletcher - 6

Fletcher didn't show much in his 45 minutes of action, but looked like a captaining figure in a side that needed some leadership. Scotland fans can only hope his injury is not too severe, as he will be a key figure on Tuesday night.

Oliver Burke - 5

The young Red Bull Leipzig midfielder looked disappointing on a night where some of his magic would have came in useful. There was plenty effort from the 19 year-old but it just wasn't his night. Strachan's decision for Burke to be substituted after 56 minutes was probably the correct call.

Robert Snodgrass - 7

Snodgrass looked like he could be the provider for a Scotland goal, if there was a striker that could finish it for him. It was a welcome return for Snodgrass to the Scotland squad and the Starting XI looks stronger with him included.

Matt Richie - 6

A very poor performance from the Newcastle player. He was nearly anonymous during the match, except from the occasional blocked shot that gave away possession.

Chris Martin - 4

Never looked like scoring, in a match that needed goalscorers. Barely got a shot on target and has simply awful at holding the ball up. Scotland would have been just as well playing the Coldplay singer. He should have came off at half time for Griffiths, not the 79th minute.

Verdict.

Strachan's comments after the game bordered on delusional. The honest truth is that Gordon Strachan lost the support of the large section of the Tartan Army last night and he has Tuesday night to either make or break the campaign.

Fortunately, Slovenia did us a huge favour last night in beating Slovakia, but if Scotland play as they did last night, they may end up 5th in this group so it would e absolutely worthless.

Scotland need two points from Slovakia and England, making Tuesday pretty much a must-win game. If Scotland lose, Strachan should receive his P45 as soon as he lands in Glasgow on the Wednesday morning.

Is Sunshine really back on Leith? - A look at the Championship so far - Part 4 - Hibernian

First of all, apologies for the lack of posts in the last couple of days. University work combined with a sore throat has stopped me from writing anything for the blog.

After two unsuccessful attempts the Leith club are hoping this season will be the season that Hibs return to the big time. The summer saw big changes at Easter Road, Alan Stubbs left to go and manage Rotherham, his replacement Neil Lennon has signed six players including former Inverness midfielder Andrew Shinnie on loan from Birmingham City.

The Hibs squad, supplemented buy the addition of Shinnie and co. is without doubt the strongest in the League. The young talent that Hibs possess is of almost as high a quality of the mid 2000s squad that included Brown, Riordan and Fletcher. After 8 goals in as many matches, striker Jason Cummings is a wanted man by several teams both sides of Hadrian's Wall. He was subject to several £1m+ bids in the summer transfer window. Whilst, midfielder John McGinn is rapidly becoming a regular name in the Scotland squad and is thought of being Scott Brown's replacement in the national team.


Season Ticket sales have been up by over 40% on last season and Easter Road has been seeing crowds of on average of over 15,000 this season. That is the highest crowds seen at Easter Road since the construction of the new East Stand in 2010.



After five consecutive victories to start the season, Hibs have since hit a sticky patch, losing at home to Ayr and drawing with Queen of the South and Dundee United. Albeit the latter two will most likely be the Hibees challengers for the title. Lying on 17 points, Hibs find themselves only a point behind Queens at the top of the table.

However, the same problems still show at Hibs. Specifically, the inability to finish off a match whilst in front or in control.

The live television match against Dundee United was a prime example of this, United were barely in the match, with the occasionally exception of a counter attack. Despite Hibs dominating the match for 65 minutes against a side that are very poor at defending, it was 1-0. All it took was one corner for United to equalise through William Edjengule and all the dominance Hibs had was in vain.

Like the last few seasons, Hibs need to be more clinical to finish teams off when in front or in control of a match if they want to return to the Premiership.

Hibs' next five fixtures:

• St Mirren (H) - Sat 8th Oct - Irn Bru Cup
• Raith Rovers (A) - Sat 15th Oct - Championship
• Dunfermline Athletic (A) - Sat 22nd Oct - Championship
• St Mirren (H) - Sat 29th Oct - Championship
• Ayr United (A) - Sat 5th Nov - Championship 

To summarise, Hibs are the biggest team in the league and have the best players in the division. However, their inability to be win matches after leading is what may be their downfall, yet again. Not many sides in this division have the quality to either be defensively strong enough or clinical enough to punish Hibs. My prediction for the Hibees is that they will go onto the win the division by a margin of five to ten points.