Scottish League Ante Post 08/09

[kompressaur]

As mentioned elsewhere the scottish 1-23 thread will be kicking off from saturrday 26th July with eh .Challenge Cup? The Bells Challenge cup? the no sponsor challenge cup? anyhow im anticipating some odds to be on show soon so we might as well be ready for it. Im gonna get slowly back into it but a quick update the now wouldnt do me any harm would it?

Bookmark this for later use folks as i'll have that filled with as much info as i can muster
http://thedailypunt.com/latest-scottish-league-news

i cant see div one here but ill have a look
BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish League | Division Two ins and outs

2 good signings for alloa from Cowdenbeath. Hall was Cowdenbetahs player of the year last year wasnt he? Ive always been a scullion fan. Cant see them improving enough though so far. Arbroath will have to recruit. as it stands their on their way down. Nah i wont say that as i know Queen's Pk have disolved this close season and their gonna surely be the worst team. I still aint looked but they have lost every signle good player. I havent been in pie and bovril since the season ended so i havent read whats being said but QP fans cant be happy. Players have moved on to better clubs.

thats 5 solid signing for Ayr imo. i like all five of them players. Borris needs to screw the nut but maybe like Williams did he will. Prunty i like and Brechin missed Walker when he was out. Keenana did well when he came on loan from morton im sure and again Dempsie was much missed by elgin's defence last season when out. those leaving Ayr i would only say Wardlaw might be missed. never really got his chance.

Brechin could get off to a better start this year. Largely unchanged for 2 seasons now. Canning should do a job for them too. Be interesting to see if East Fife spend some more. they bought a load of players last season and im sure they were bought largely with this one in mind. they;'ll be up for it from the off. maybe even be like a few seasons ago when they'll vcome up and still be leading the league by christmas only to fall away. got relagted that year i think. I did tell you all at the time.

Peterhead. they really do need soem new blood in there. Could be a poor season for Cooper. Holy hell Queens Park really have been ripped apart. Be great to read about that. theyve lost every good player that they had.

Raith look like Mcglynn is being given a chance to build a team from scratch. they gave him a new 3yr? contract the end of last season after a season that went quite poorly. Should be interesting to see the team he gets together. carcary going to Dumbarton is a great signing for Dumbarton. they wanted a forward and maybe Carcary needed a chance and a run at a club. Must have had a few probs at raith. Was out with injury and then never was the same.

stirling you'd have to expect to be there abouts. I would need to read more on them. Be interesting on how many of the team tha won them the ...nah didnt they finish 2nd to morton? bah i forget. anyhow i reserve judgement on them as you can see i dont know much about Stirling.

frizzel is a loss to elgin but is he good enough to shine in this league? I cant see Stranraer doing much although we all thought that a few seasons ago. im sure they went well. I will need to look back.

Someone tell us if you see some odds

[milners]

komp - lads have prices up for 1st and 2nd division.

[lichtielegend]

Not completely accurate as we've also signed Scott Gates (winger) from Dundee and Kenny Wright (winger/striker) who left Albion Rovers last season. Joe Dingwall (left back) from Raith is another signing

We're also in for another winger, Aaron Conway, of Carnoustie Panmure. Previously played for both Dundee clubs. Apparently very talented but suspect attitude.

With Stranraer coming up, it's given us another team that we are capable of finishing above. I don't particularly rate their 2 signings that highly either. Frizzel I've specifically watched twice (as we were looking at him in January), first game awful, 2nd game ripped our slow defence apart.

I'll be delighted with 8th this season, but our central defence may be too weak. Bishop and Rattray defend well on the deck, Raeside does well in the air. They'll all be exposed by pace though and I think that is something every team has in attacking positions nowadays.


From the Laddies odds, I'd say Ayr look best value. However, I'd still wait until other places have prices as I'm sure it'll be possible to get better.

[kompressaur]

thanks LL and Milners. Lets have a quick look at these Ladbrokes odds then. Im actually just finishing up things on the forum and then im away on holiday for 2 weeks. I'll come back with a suntan and some things to talk about

Scottish League Division One 2008/09
Dundee 2/1
St Johnstone 9/4
Dunfermline 6/1
Queen of the South 6/1
Partick 10/1
Ross County 10/1
Livingstone 14/1
Airdrie United 20/1
Clyde 20/1
Morton 20/1

Scottish Division Two 2008/09
East Fife 3/1
Raith 3/1
Alloa 6/1
Peterhead 6/1
Stirling 6/1
Ayr 9/1
Brechin 9/1
Queens Park 14/1
Stranraer 16/1
Arbroath 20/1
Each-way bets 1/5 odds first 3
Ladbrokes

wow 2 great prices on ayr and Brechin. I think i'll have them both

[kompressaur]

I thought those ladbrokes prices looked alright. the best so far. Coral as low as 6/1 on the pair of them. Realistically i can only see it being about

Stirling
East Fife
Ayr
Raith
Brechin

aye half the league East fife have players proved at this level and theyve also got prepared for this season by winning div 3 last season. their team will be well gelled and as i sayid i think i expect them to start well but fade away. Raith again will be inconsistant as ever after the new year and should hang on for a play-off place again. Stirling i think will always be there abouts and theyre my biggest concern. Ayr i think will get it together and give some teams a right doing some weeks. again though consistancy is the key and there's a lot to take on trust with them but at he price i have to take sooner than later. Brechin i think will be pretty consitant all season and should give me a run for my money. So are East Fife a 5th placed team as im suggesting? Aye well they might well be. Brechin were a bteer team over the two matches v them in the scottish cup last season im pretty sure of. Still there's impovement in them. is there though? are they really up for this challenge? Nah i dont fancy them at all and i will be hatimg them all season no doubt.

You think Kenny wright could do it in div 2 Lichtie? Brazil never had a good season last sason did he? away to stenhousmuir i see. Where did you get Brazil from? nah im thinkign of Stein. He wentto stenhousmuir too didnt he? nah montrose. shit i know nothing.

Peterhead got 3 in from aberdeen i see. Need to look at that. Prob kids. Usually works out well for them in div 2. coakley signed for Queens Pk. He was on load to div 3 last seaosn wasnt he and was poor? stranraer i think. correct me here if you wish folks.

Stilring will miss Bell and aitken im sure. Be great to hear from any stirling fans on their thoughts for the season. II might go try get some. shit i aint even read p&b. I'll save it for when i have some food and savour it.

Peterhead have signed Martin Skinner, Davie Ross and Neil McVitie after the trio were released by Aberdeen.

Defender Skinner, 19, was captain of the Pittodrie club's youth team last season but never made it into Jimmy Calderwood's first team.

Midfielder McVitie, 16, and striker Ross, 19, return to Balmoor after having loan spells last season.

Ross made a big impact with Peterhead near the end of last season, scoring four goals in eight appearances.

bbc

lets have a quick look at div one-
BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish League | Division One ins and outs

holy hell dundee have had a bit of a clear out after their failure last season. Rae still the manager along there? Strange for new signing Gilhaney. After a hard season helping hamilton to promotion he has to sit it out in div one again. maybe he'll be determination will reach out to his team mates. i dont really know about div one as all the players are ex dundee utd and the like and i dont follow top level football bar what i have to read about kilmarnock.

no odds on div 3 so i dont feel to much at liberty to say too much. Dumbarton look interesting. Hard to say how their signings from junior football will perform but as mentioned i think the carcary signing shows a bit of ambition. East stirling are picking up the usual miss-match of players. Prob not much differance between those comign in as those goind out. Brand will be a miss though. Forfar should go better. I could like them at home. Montrose are keeping with the same team as last season i see. Baird and co will have to do better though. stenhousemuir have got a few players proved at this level and look like they have to be there abouts.

[kompressaur]

well well well what have we here then? A REALLY hard 3rd divison and a feisty divion 2. Ive gave up on Div one truth be tolf well till the season kicks in and i cant avoid reading about it. I like ayr more and more and Brechin less and less. still im a couple of weeks behind in the news. Dic 2 looks sooooo hard i dontthink i could find anything. anhow lets have a look at some oddds even though my wife just died today

div one dont interest me but dunfermline at 10's has to be worth a consideration surely? i dont read no press nor listen to no shite but them at 10's and st johnstone at 5/2? nah not this year. Last year aye but not this year. truth be told i dont like the div one markets at all bur Dunfermline 2/1 coral to finish in the top 3 looks good from this drunken uneducated stand point. win fcuk all but good at the price imo

Well the 9's have gone on ayr and rightly so. Them and Stiling at 10's with sportingbet look the best bets in a div 2 season i think is gonna turn out very average. Have Coral got a relegated market on this? I'll take Queens Park if so

Div 3 looks great this year and im loving it already. Dmbarton are my face and then stenny. Cowdenbeath will be solid too. Between the 3. I wouldnt like tobet whowould win thogh. Looking forward to it all revealing itself though. aren't you?

[kompressaur]

Lets look forard and make up our own handicap markets on it all as i don't see much value anymore outside the ayr advised at 9/1 and now possibly dunfermline at 10's. anyone want to fill me in from the heart whats been going on at dufermline this pre-season? i didnt lie you last year but ...man thats a great price on a team that might not have to improve too much to improve imo. No early UEAFA cup. No playing the Irish. actuallly let me look outwith the league tables where there is no value bar where mentioned and lets try look to what we have 'without giving anything away'.

NORTH/EAST DRAW
Ross County -v- St. Johnstone
Alloa Athletic -v- Dundee
Arbroath -v- Forfar Athletic
Brechin City -v- East Fife
Dunfermline Athletic -v- Stirling Albion
Peterhead -v- Montrose
Elgin City -v- Cowdenbeath

BYE: RAITH ROVERS

SOUTH/WEST DRAW
East Stirlingshire -v- Ayr United
Clyde -v- Gretna
Stenhousemuir -v- Albion Rovers
Partick Thistle -v- Queen's Park
Berwick Rangers -v- Queen of the South
Livingston -v- Stranraer
Airdrie United -v- Dumbarton

BYE: MORTON

The above ties will be played on Saturday 26th July 2008.

[kompressaur]

Ros County i $#%$. they've recruite well but how can you bet against a St Johnstone team that has ^%$^%#$ already this $%$#%. Dundee you wont get better than 8/11 and i wont take it. O'll take forfar at 3/1 and above although the did have beter chances last season and i think arbroath wont be up for losing this in any capacity. Replay of las year with brechin v east fife and its as game i'd love to go and see but sadly i am hled by the company store. they hold my soul. stirling albion will be no strangers at dunfermline and if you offered me enough i could bite. they looked good in defeat up there last season. Nah sorry that was clyde im thinking of. Montrose you SHOULD get a price on but you wont should give Peterhead a game and oi oi oi we'll get...5/4 on Cowdenbeath. Mayb better. great be imo. soz City Fan

Ayr will be 4/6 or less. Hard game for them. Man im an old ayr fan as i love the lilly white.the black and white of the two makes me see that there is more to life.

clyde v gretna sorry. nah fcuk off. surely they aint ds\till darkening our door? get to fcuk. Its all over now baby blue. clyde at too low a price to back. stenhousmuir v albion has traditionally been a tough one and i just know the bookies are gonna expect stenhousmuir to ..as Kevin roland once sain..gget this right from the start. I say fcuk of and get a shave and stop annoying us you smelly cnut. aye well..

I dont know if Partick will go off as much favs as they shoulf be but they should come through it. QP been an ok cup teram and their amature stautus gives them heart especially when in the window. QOS i would love to think i could get 4/5 but i wont get anywhere near that. fcuk look at the next two ties. ties of death. Livvy at home..........dum dum dee dum. stranraer wont worr them and againb if i can get near 4/5 i'll have them. Airdrie v dumbarton has all the makings of a really shit game to me

[Wet_Sail]

Ayr looking good in pre-season. We'll have by far the best midfield in the league with Stevenson, Aitken, Keenan, Borris & Agnew. Concern is up front where we literally have just 2 signed strikers - Williams & Prunty. They'll get plenty of goals but we can't afford injuries and desperately need cover.

I see Hills have us down at 9/2. I'd be more tempted by Stirling at 10/1...I just can't back Ayr to win a league over the course of a season. You're right, Komp, we'll thrash some teams out of sight this year, but I just don't think the consistency will be there.

[kompressaur]

I aint so sure about Stirling anymore Wet sail. theyve lost a lot of players and the fans don't seem that impressed with their replacements. Looks like a season of reconciliation for Stirling poss. Ayr are best priced at 6/1 now and Brechin are as low as that in places too. Aye im happy with them both at the prices mentioned earl;ier in the thread but i dont have as much as i would like on them. anyone seen any handicap lists?

Div 3 looks real tough and i think i will wait a few weeks before taking anything. Montrose havent recruited well enough for me. Dumbarton i still fancy the best of them but again consistancy could bea problem. the same could be said for stenhousemuir. aye i think i will wait on div 3 or else see what the handicap coupon brings.

[Wet_Sail]

Stirling's last two signings were Andy Lawrie and Ian Harty. On paper, two very good signings for this level. We wanted Lawrie but missed out; Harty is a loose cannon capable of brilliance one day and dross the next, but I'd never rule out an Allan Moore side and while I don't think they'll win the league, 10/1 is too big when you can punt for an each way shout.

[kompressaur]

I still don't like hem for this season Wet Sial. Are you backing them? should be an interesting seson. Eh up Skybet not only are doing a 50 pound free bet at he moment theyve also got their handicap lists out. Lets have a look

St Johnstone scr 15/2
Dundee +2 15/2
Queen Of South +7 15/2
Dunfermline +9 15/2
Partick +14 15/2
Livingston +14 15/2
Morton +17 15/2
Ross County +17 15/2
Clyde +19 15/2
Airdrie +24 15/2


East Fife scr 15/2
Raith +3 15/2
Ayr +5 15/2
Stirling +7 15/2
Brechin +9 15/2
Alloa +9 15/2
Peterhead +9 15/2
Stranraer +18 15/2
Queens Park +18 15/2
Arbroath +22 15/2

Dumbarton scr 15/2
Montrose +3 15/2
Cowdenbeath +4 15/2
Stenhousemuir +5 15/2
Berwick +7 15/2
East Stirling +10 15/2
Forfar +12 15/2
Elgin +15 15/2
Albion +20 15/2
Annan +26 15/2
Each Way terms: 1/4 of odds for 1st 3 places

[kompressaur]

I think clyde will do a lot better than folks are predicting. I think with the ex Queen's Park boys and Pat clarke having a full season for them they'll lay as a team. I couldnt back them mind. well i would need to look into them more. Partck would be a consideration. aye they could give the top 2 a run for their money. I said that last season togh. they dont wi enough at home for my liking. Dunfermlne have ost most their top players and wont be buying any. they surely cant be considered to trouble the leaders. st Johnstone yet again are in the top 2 of the betting and hw can you expect anything else from them than another season of high hopes followed by the evnual dissapointment. theyve got a load of new players in and they could be anything in this division. dundee wont be much if any better than last year so i'm siding with st johnstone poss. It's a gamble in tself taking them. will it be their year - finally?

East fife are expected to be strong and lead from the front. Even though i don't like them i shouldnt discount them. they have the players capable of winning this league. My head's tlling me that they will win it and possibly well if raith just dont gell and ayr are as inconsistant as they are capable of. once Williams and Borris start picking up the cards and their missing out ayr could lose a bit of ground. On their day they will be handing out thumpings and their goal record will be good (well if they get another striker). I'll stick to my 'ayr e/w for the league' at 9/1 and leave them off my handicap list. Stirling i just hink will be very average this season. Hard to beat at hme and possibly pick up too many draws like last season. Brechin ive take a little for the league at 9's too. I think that they will be there abouts for sure. Will they be 9pts behind a probable east fife? Hard to say especially if East fife really do fire and beat folks week in week out. draws are gonna kill a lot of cubs in this league pos. Actually Brechin wenton a great run themselves last season and i see no reason why they wont again. aye im starting to think the league will finish

east fife
Brechin
ayr
raith

Just a case of working out the points handicap. aye Brechin +9 i like the sound of.

Cowdenbeath im starting to veer towards in div 3. strong squad with players proven at a higher level. I forgot that they have such good players that Dempster doesnt even get a game for them. Dumbarton i fear wont be the finished article and it will be another season of disappointent for the dumbarton fans. They should be hard to beat especially at home but i wouldnt get too excited about taking them away from home. Scoring goals could yet again be their dowfall. Stenhousemuir i see s a threat but theyve been the punters hell-team for about 3 seasons. should rack up some big wins but again consistancy at home could let them down. Montrose need some players but should be there abouts. Berwick i think could be bette than iimage but the they could be anything. Forfar was the team i was hoping to back in this but im a little dissapointed in their +12 quote. Need to look at them more but i wa quite impressed with one or 2 of their signings.

Cowdenbeath and Brechin i think i am interested in the nw for the handicap. be interesting to see how the oter bookies price it up before commiting

[kompressaur]

just looking at forfar's sqad for this season-

IN:
Dick Campbell (Manager)
Ian Campbell (Assistant Manager)
Craig Winter (Raith Rovers) (LINK)
Elliot Smith - Re-signed (LINK)
Sean Kilgannon - Re-signed (LINK)
Kevin McLeish (Berwick) (LINK)
Pat Keogh (Stranraer) (LINK)
Derek Lilley (Stirling Albion) (LINK)
Stephen Tulloch - Re-signed (LINK)
Ally Brown (Stenhousemuir) (LINK)
Steve Manson (Sligo Rovers)
(LINK)
Darren Brady (Ross County)
Ian Campbell (Spartans)
Stuart Ferguson (Arbroath)
The Pie Shop > Forfar Summer Transfers
that aint a bad squad at al for this division imo. i might have a wee tinkle on them in the handicap league.

[Wet_Sail]

Right enough, that's a good-looking squad Forfar have rustled up. But I hate Dick Campbell...don't rate him at all. Not sure I could bring myself to back one of his teams. A lot will depend on the mobility of Keogh & Lilley at their advanced years, but on paper they should bag plenty of goals.

That said, Cowdenbeath look the solid handicap bet in Div 3.

As for Stirling, I'm steering well clear now komp. Think it was a moment of madness that had me talking them up.