#keltie fraser

[ladyofthenorthtm]

#my stuff #my gifs #savada serratos #neilina fraser #maeve astra #lenora everleigh #keltie fraser #evangeline dayne #araminta delacour #emilie hart #calliope hart

[thefootballlife]

Scottish League One Preview

Logic generally says that full time teams have such an advantage that promotion is assured. Logic, therefore, appears not to visit Kirkcaldy. But this season has the biggest full time team in it that it has had for a while in Falkirk whose surprising/hilarious relegation last season put them here. They start as massive favourites for a division that looks otherwise far from straightforward.

Airdrieonians

The club have moved back to a sort of hybrid part/full time structure at the club after a fairly disastrous experiment with doing similar a few years back. This time, however, they look far better prepared for the switch with a relatively strong and deep player pool. Their Betfred Cup campaign was very promising, with a win away to Clyde and close losses to Partick and Hamilton showing they can hang with bigger sides. Callum Fordyce is a good acquisition along with Ally Roy (already seeming in good form), and I’m sure some will be surprised by the talent of Kurtis Roberts, picked up from Queen’s Park. Add in Nat Wedderburn in the midfield and you have a nice mix of experience at this level with some potentially explosive attackers. Winning the league is out of reach for obvious reasons, but the playoffs are a good aim for the Diamonds this season.

Clyde

Danny Lennon finally got Clyde up out of the bottom tier last year, a few years after such expectations were originally brought into the club by Barry Ferguson. It’s been a long road, but Clyde should do more than make up the numbers. David Goodwillie was the best striker in League Two and is the best striker in League One. Perhaps more importantly, John Rankin remains and he, much like Goodwillie, put in performances last season that showed he still has plenty to offer at a higher level. Chris Johnston is a very good acquisition who excelled at Annan last season. Defensively, they are probably a bit too light to push for the playoffs, but they have plenty of firepower to justify a mid-table finish.

Dumbarton

The Sons were close to relegation last season and, arguably, were saved by Dom Thomas last season. There is no such luck this time around and the argument of having Scotland manager in waiting Jim Duffy in charge is not one that holds water.

But he has, at least, been busy with ins and outs both in the teens. It didn’t seem to help much in their Betfred Cup group and many of those ins are coming from outside of the league system - if Duffy’s eye is in, then that’s no bad thing, but it’s not exactly an encouraging sign. Ryan McGeever and Joe McKee are the closest things to safe bets, while Jordan McMillan will likely only add to the club’s rap sheet and little more. Much of the others are bets on young players progressing quickly. They have the resources to avoid automatic relegation, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be in that conversation.

East Fife

Much like Ayr a division above, East Fife faltered late last season, ending up seventh. There can be little argument they’ve started this season well, however, with a win over Dundee United and a penalty win over Hearts in the Betfred Cup. Their recruitment has been decent, bringing in players who were doing jobs at bigger sides last season but this is a league with an awfully congested mid-table and while they are better than seventh, there are more compelling arguments for other sides to surpass them.

Falkirk

If Falkirk don’t walk the league, it will be a big surprise. In the midst of a takeover, they took no time to set their stall out to make this trip into the third tier a short one,.with a radical reshaping of the team. Cammy Bell, Aidan Connolly, Gregor Buchanan, Denny Johnstone, Mark Durnan, Charlie Telfer, Conor Sammon, Michael Tidser and Declan McManus are signings that would form the core of a fairly upwards looking Championship team, never mind a team looking to get out of the tier below. Promotion isn’t just expected, it’s demanded and, to be fair to Falkirk, it’s hard to not see that goal being met and with something to spare.

Forfar

Forfar’s key losses this summer have been to Kelty, rather than to strengthening any rivals and they look a little lighter up front than last season. But Ross Forbes is a tremendous get, given his handy habit of scoring brilliant goals and Andy Jackson should rediscover his scoring habit in a side that doesn’t have the stench of death around it. Their Betfred Cup campaign did nothing to dissuade anyone that they won’t continue to be a tough nut to crack and of every side in the league, Forfar are likely the one best placed to put in a challenge to Falkirk if Jim Weir can bring in a couple more players to take the scoring burden off the midfield.

Montrose

Montrose can never really be counted out given they have the best manager in the lower leagues (if not all of Scotland) in Stewart Petrie. Last season’s playoff side have been kept together but with some defensive reinforcements. Cammy Ballantyne is a good right back at this level and most would have expected Kerr Waddell would have been given a chance by Dundee rather than let go - for him to turn up in League One at Montrose is a coup. It turns a reliable, steady side into one you can be confident will not ship many goals this season. Similar to Forfar, a real quality addition up front would be welcome but the second half of the season showed the side are comfortable at this level and a playoff chase should be expected once more.

Peterhead

After what’s been a prolonged stay in the bottom tier, Peterhead are finally back in the big time. Much of the business done has been to raid League Two side of their better players in Gary Fraser and Scott Hooper, but they still remain in a bit of an odd place. Peterhead won League Two, yes, but were they really better than Clyde who were harmed by their points penalty?

It’s a question you’d want to be returning an emphatic yes to rather than the reality, which is a shrug and a “dunno”. If anything, one would be more confident of Clyde and their combo of better manager and younger top striker than Peterhead’s combo in the dugout and penalty box. If Clyde should be mid-table, Peterhead should be looking at just avoiding the playoff place in what is an extremely tight mid-table.

Raith Rovers

Raith have made a mess of trying to get promoted plenty of times before. Last season was a golden chance to do so given the relative size of the teams around them and contrived to finish third in a one horse race. Kevin Nisbet is a huge loss and Joao Vitória is a distinctly underwhelming replacement. Fernandy Mendy is a giant ball of entertainment in defence who has probably killed his Raith career before the season has properly started. Cove beat them 3-0 in the Betfred Cup and, to be honest, double that would not have flattered the league debutants.

Raith should still be too strong for many in this division but appear to have little hope challenging a very good Falkirk side and should be aiming for the playoffs and to not get involved in what will be a close contest for the last place in them.

Stranraer

It was a little surprising that Stranraer managed to stay up last season after looking in trouble for much of it. Innes Cameron was their best player last term and isn’t coming back on loan and other players have gone elsewhere. If Falkirk are nailed on to win the league, Stranraer are equally so to finish bottom.

Predicted table

1: Falkirk

2: Forfar

3: Raith

4: Airdrieonians

5: Montrose

6: East Fife

7: Clyde

8: Peterhead

9: Dumbarton

10: Stranraer

[akcampbellandsons]

What’s on in Kirkcaldy and further afield this week? (Tues 18th July 2017)

Hi there, and welcome to our weekly round up of things to do in and around Kirkcaldy, Fife and beyond this week.   We hope you get some ideas from it and are liking what we’re doing.  If you have anything to add, just leave us a comment below the post.   So, the same layout as usual, stuff to do with families, walkable pets, pubs, restaurants, gigs and things we just think look fun.   Enjoy and have a great week!!    

Families

  Kids Club - Outdoor Pizza Making

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  "Make pizza in our wood fired oven using fresh toppings from our garden at Ravenscraig Walled Garden.

Our Summer Kids Club is back ! We have a great programme of activities planned from den building, to outdoor cooking, exploring woods and more. You can bring your children to one or all of them if you like – each one is outdoors, active and full of fun!   Our Kids Club activities are suitable for children aged from 5-12. Children can be accompanied by a parent or guardian (max. 3 children) or dropped off. Please make sure children are dressed for the weather – rain or shine!   There is a small non - refundable charge for each session- £5 per child per session (£3 unwaged/low wage) and places must be booked. Please note - places can only be confirmed when we have received registration form and payment.   All sessions will run from 10am – 12pm.   We're finalising our programme for August and we'll let you know about these soon.   If you would like to book places on the Kids Clubs, please use the eventbrite link, contact us by calling 01592 858458, e-mail [email protected] or drop into our High Street Hub - it's open 10am - 4pm Wednesday to Saturday. We will send out meeting point information when bookings are confirmed."

  See more from original source here...

Thursday at 10 AM - 12 PM Ravenscraig Walled Gardens, Kirkcaldy, Fife

    Kinghorn RNLI Open Day

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  "Come along and join us for a day of fun. See the lifeboat, meet the crew, watch rescue demonstrations and find out more about the RNLI.   We will also have other emergency services on the day including Coastguard, Police, Fire and Ambulance. There will be Newfoundland rescue dogs, British Divers Marine Life Rescue demonstrations, and beach games to keep everyone entertained.   There will be all of the usual stalls including plants, bric-a-brac, tombola, face painting and much more.   It would be great to see as many of you there as possible to help us continue saving lives at sea."  

  Saturday at 12 PM - 4 PM Kinghorn RNLI Lifeboat 30 St James Place, KY3 9 Kinghorn, Fife   See more from original source here...    

Herb Day at Falkland Palace

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  "Falkland Palace & Garden’s unique Herb Day will provide a fantastic opportunity for visitors to learn more about how these versatile plants have been used through the ages – from creating perfumes and flavouring foods, to treating ailments and providing a staple ingredient for traditional crafts.   Take a guided tour of the Palace’s ‘Physic Garden’ to see herbs traditionally grown in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots and find out how they were used by the Royal Physician to heal the King’s and Queen’s ailments.   - Pick up growing tips from horticultural experts.

- Take part in arts and crafts activities for all the family.

- Children's palace and garden trails

- Purchase locally grown herbs and plants. - Enjoy the peaceful and tranquil arts and craft gardens by Percy Cane, the ancient orchard and the wildlife meadow.   Normal admission applies. National Trust for Scotland members free.   For more information on becoming a National Trust for Scotland Member follow this link: https://www.nts.org.uk/Membership/Monthly/

  Sunday at 12 PM - 5 PM Falkland Palace and Gardens, East Port, KY15 7BU Falkland, Fife   See more from original source here...    

Walk of the week

  Blairadam Forest - Kelty

  KY4 0JE, UK - Use map below to get directions from where you are...

  "There are three different routes for walks, all well signposted along the way: the blue trail is the smallest and is only half a mile long; the red trail is two miles long; and the yellow trail is the longest at two and a half miles long. We have walked all of them and the dogs have thoroughly enjoyed each of them.   We most commonly use the red trail, as there is a river that runs alongside the path for the entire walk. There is also a 'pool', which is generally deep enough for the dogs to swim in. A really nice place, which can be busy at times. Dogs can be off lead for the entire walk and there are plenty of interesting bits for them to explore and have fun. There is a field about half way round the red walk, which is grassy and never has livestock in it so is ideal for throwing a ball for the dogs."

  See more from original source here...    

Pub of the week

  Bogarts, Kirkcaldy for drinks before heading for something to eat...

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  "Bogarts is a small local pub on the fringe of Kirkcaldy. It is very much a 'local's local', with a pool table, and screens with satellite channels. The ambience is quiet and relaxed. Bogarts is an ideal pub for a quiet pint."

  199 Commercial St, Kirkcaldy KY1 2NS 01592 595659

  See more from original source here...

    Restaurant of the week

  The Steadings Kirkcaldy

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  "The Steadings is a newly refurbished bar and restaurant located on Bennochy Road in Kirkcaldy, Fife. A great place to eat, drink and socialise.   Whether you’re looking for a place to meet up with friends for a drink or somewhere to celebrate a special family occasion over lunch or dinner, our lively, friendly pub is the perfect place to come to.   We serve wholesome Scottish food made with fresh local ingredients. There’s an excellent choice of drinks on offer – wines, cocktails and draft beers including craft and cask beer."

  11am - 12am Sunday - Thursday 11am - 1am Friday - Saturday   93 Bennochy Road, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY2 5RB 01592 263102   See more from original source here...    

Gigs

  Open Mic Night - Cupcake Coffee Box - Kirkcaldy

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  Friday at 7 PM - 9:30 PM KIRKCALDY HIGH STREET, KY1 1JP Kirkcaldy, Fife

  See more from original source here...

    Silent Disco - Old Manor Hotel Lundin Links

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  "Our next (and only) Public Silent Disco event in July is an exciting Summer BBQ themed party at The Old Manor Hotel in Lundin Links on Friday 21st July, 7:30-12.   We will again be throwing a full nights entertainment. 3 channels of Silent Disco with music choices from the 60s,70s,80s,90s to present chart! And YOU can select from your headset which of the 3 channels you want to listen to... at any one time (for example) the choice could be Billy Ocean, TTF or Justin Bieber... which one would you choose?   Trust me everyone will be dancing and singing their hearts out all night long!   Please check out our videos of previous party footage to fully understand just how much fun and totally unique this night really is!!   ***The Old Manor are also giving away a bottle of wine for any group snapping up a tables worth of tickets guys (10), could you round up another 9 family or friends and claim a bottle?   Its a night guaranteed to be full of wild dance moves, heartfelt singing and a laugh a minute... try it & you'll Love it!!   Tickets are on Sale Now priced at £12 per ticket and also include Burger* and Chips shortly after arrival provided by the hotel. (*Beef, Chicken and Vegetarian options)   Please contact The Old Manor directly to purchase tickets, Call the hotel directly for tickets:   01333 320368   Please note there will be a £10 deposit required on arrival for your Silent Disco headset. This is refunded at the end of the night when headset is returned.

  Friday at 7:30 PM - 11:59 PM The Old Manor Hotel 55 Leven Road, KY8 6AJ Lundin Links   See original source for more info...    

Bel Airs at O'connells

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  "Blues, RnB, Soul, Rock, Funk   The Bel-Airs are an occasional pick up band comprised of Pro and Semi-Pro musicians:- Who's line include and have included:   Kim Seymour - Vocals Laura-May Gibson - Vocals Richard Young - Keys, Gtr, harp, Vocals Rod Philip - Guitar Charlie Jefferson - Bass Ian Holmes-Lewis - Percussion Pete Rabjohns - Drums Lovat "Dawg" Fraser - Bass, Slide Tony Duffy - Keys, guitar, slide, mandolin, blues Harp Mike Wallace - Drums"

  Friday at 9 PM 32 High Street, KY1 1LU Kirkcaldy, Fife   See more from original source here...    

No 1 Sun - at Truth in Leven

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  "Truth are delighted to be welcoming No1Sun to the stage! This fab 3 piece band play a variety of covers to suit all ages and music tastes and are sure to have the dance floor filled all night!!"

  Friday at 10 PM - 3 AM Truth 79 North Street, KY8 4LY Leven, Fife   Tickets and more from original source here...

    Some things fun

  W3L Wrestling Showdown - Fife Ice Arena, Kirkcaldy

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  "All the stars of the World Wide Wrestling League are set for an evening of W3L Wrestling Showdown Action! "

  Saturday at 2:30 PM - 5 PM Fife Ice Arena Rosslyn St, KY1 3 Kirkcaldy, Fife   More from original source here...    

Annie Sloan Essential Painting Workshop - £65 - at Love Restored Kirkcaldy

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  "We will demonstrate the different techniques that you can achieve with Annie Sloan chalk paint.   Our aim is to ultimately help build your confidence in using the paint and waxes, so that you can go home and have fun on your own projects.   The workshop will cover various techniques including a 2 toned colour paint effect with a base coat and top coat along with how to distress. We will also teach you how to create an aged textured look, a modern flat paint finish with chalk paint and how to use stencils.   Along with learning all about chalk paint we will teach you all about the wax application and experimenting with coloured waxes to enhance your painting techniques.   The workshop will last approximately 3 hours with refreshments provided.   Discount on Annie Sloan products are also included to get you started on your own projects at home.   Book in store, telephone or online 01592 328531

  Sunday at 12 PM - 3 PM Love Restored 292 High Street, KY1 1LB Kirkcaldy, Fife   More from original source here...    

World of Supercars - Knockhill Racing Circuit

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  "The Autoglym World of Supercars Show and track day is expected to be the biggest and best track day ever seen at Knockhill! An anticipated 200+ Hypercars and Supercars will be on display and be driving on the famous British Touring Car Circuit at Knockhill. Never before will there have been a gathering of such performance exotica in Scotland! In 2016 we had a La Ferrari, Bugatti Veyron, McLaren P1 together with a full range of Aston Martins, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Porsches, Ferraris and McLarens – what more could any supercar fan want from a day!   What is the Autoglym World of Supercars Show?   The Autoglym World of Supercars Show is a car Trackday and show where we welcome over two hundred Sports, Super and Hypercars, to celebrate the most exotic machinery on the planet. The speed and sound of these cars will be seen and heard to the max as they roar around the circuit.   Is this event specifically for modern Supercars?   The era of the Supercar can date back to when the likes of the Jaguar E-Type first burst on to the unsuspecting public roads in the 1960’s. The Ferrari 308, Lamborghini Countach and Porsche 911 Turbo era then made them into poster cars, posters that adorned almost every teenager’s bedroom walls throughout Europe. An area for classic Supercars will complement the 21st Century line up of McLaren, Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini Supercars in the paddock and on track!   What will I see?   Off-track attractions will feature static displays of exotica from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Porsche, Maserati, Bentley, Aston Martin, Audi R8 and numerous others from the world’s finest performance manufacturers. The latest 2017 Supercars will be on display from dealerships from all over Scotland, to allow them to showcase their newest models. The Hyper Cars and special exhibits will be undercover in the show area within the pit lane garages for fans to see up close!   On the track, car owners will display the performance characteristics of their cars to the full in Supercar Trackday sessions, driven hard as they should be away from the restrictions of the road. Allowing fans to appreciate the noise and spectacle of the exotic machinery and capture exceptional photo opportunities.   If you would like to display or Track your Supercar at the World of Supercars Show and Trackday, then please send your enquiry to [email protected]

  Sunday at 10 AM - 6 PM Knockhill Racing Circuit By Dunfermline, KY129TF Dunfermline, Fife   See more from original source here...     There you have it for another week, we hope you find something interesting to do here and have a great week, here’s hoping for sunshine!   Disclaimer:  A K Campbell and Son are not affiliated with any event or outing we share here, it’s just stuff we think is fun and so, if you have any problems you have to go to the organisers of the event or whatever, not us.   Basically, we’re not being paid by anyone to post for them or making any money from any sales i.e tickets etc. And, if injured, it’s on your own head. You are legally responsible for yourselves!   What are you up to this weekend, got anything to add?  Comment below.   Hopefully see you in our jewellery shop on Kirkcaldy High Street soon.  Visit our website for some inspiration: https://www.akcampbell.co.uk/kirkcaldy

What’s on in Kirkcaldy and further afield this week? (Tues 18th July 2017) was originally published on https://www.akcampbell.co.uk/blog/

[thefootballlife]

Scottish Championship Preview

Last season’s Championship was an incredibly fun league. The relegation fight went all the way, there were shocks and an even larger tsunami of shenanigans thanks to the efforts of Falkirk, Morton and others.

 Now, for this season, imagine the same thing, but this time with Dundee derbies.

 Alloa Athletic

 Jim Goodwin did extremely well to keep the side up last season thanks to some excellent use of the loan market and big results against the division’s bigger sides. Goodwin is gone, those loans are gone and the Betfred Cup campaign saw them in leaky form. The good side of the side is that they have some very effective players – Neil Parry is the best part time goalkeeper in the country and Alan Trouten is a very potent threat for the side (and in goalscoring form from the Betfred Cup already). It is, however, a small squad – even in comparison to the other part-time team Arbroath. Alloa stayed up thanks to the loan market last season and if Peter Grant can use it as well as Goodwin did, then they have a chance of repeating the feat and staying up. But it’s unlikely there will be a pair of full time sides as poor as what the league had last season and it’s unlikely that Alloa will pull off the standard of loan recruitment as last year.

 Prediction: 10th

 Arbroath

 Dick Campbell’s men were impressive winners of League One last season and come up with more or less the same team that won them promotion. Under that positivity, however, lies reason for concern. For one, their form fell away towards the end of last season and all of the building work for their easy title win was done in the first half of the season. The only real improvement made has been to bring in Derek Gaston in goals who may have only played 10 games last season but still has plenty to offer for a lower Championship team.

 Things are fairly positive for the club, however. They play a direct, attacking style of football that many teams struggled to acclimatise against last season. Given that many of the teams in the Championship come with some “entertaining” defences, that actually stands Arbroath in fairly good stead. With the wiliest of managers in charge and a talent of accentuating their strengths, you’d still expect decent attacking returns from the talismanic Bobby Linn and from Greig Spence, who is more than proven at Championship level.

 Prediction – 8th

Ayr United

Ayr brought a lot to the division last season - a hot streak for the start of the season that was the base of their playoff challenge and Ian McCall’s amazing signing photos being just two. But, in 2019, Ayr fell apart and moved from being The Honest Men to The Honestly Quite Pants Men.

Such a spectacular fluctuation in fortunes should not be expected this time round in favour of mid-table reliability. Their loan business has been very satisfying - Ross Doohan is a quality keeper, Frank Ross is promising and Stephen Kelly scored possibly the best goal of the Betfred groups with his spectacular free-kick against Stranraer. Those encouraging bits are, however, let down by an attacking roster that looks weak - Craig Moore didn’t make the team look better often last season, Kris Doolan has to show he still has it away from Firhill and Michael Moffat is 34. The remainder of the side should be enough to keep them out of trouble, but finding a way to score enough is going to be Ayr’s Achilles heel.

Prediction: 7th

Dundee

New rookie manager. Huge player turnover. Recipe for disaster?

Not if the Betfred Cup is any marker. Thrown into an awkward group with two good League One sides in Raith and Peterhead, newly Leagued Cove and last year’s playoff semi-finalists Inverness, Dundee progressed unbeaten with a 1-0 win over Caley to round things off.

Much of the detritus from last season (you know, the defence) has been shipped off and James McPake has put his stamp on the side with a fairly radical reshaping of the side. Danny Johnson is a quality striker and should chip in with a decent number of goals, particularly alongside Andrew Nelson - one of the few who got pass marks from last year. Josh Todd deserves his shot at a big side after impressing in Dumfries and Jamie Ness brings ample experience from the English lower leagues and Shaun Byrne was playing fine in the Premiership last term.

But it’s a big ask to expect McPake to turn the side around and get them straight back up. That’s not a criticism of him but he has picked the team up in a state and, while the side is undoubtedly talented, even proven talent in the dugout would have a task getting Dundee straight back. Playoffs.

Prediction - 2nd

Dundee United

Surely this season. More of the deadwood has gone - the likes of Adam Barton, Edjenguele, Fraser Fyvie and Morgaro Gomis whose time at this level was done. The replacements are good - United can now offer an attacking line up of Osman Sow, Nicky Clark, Cammy Smith and Lawrence Shankland which is a pretty great selection to choose from, given those strikers are all a little different from each other to allow flexibility where required.

Their Betfred Cup campaign was not particularly good, however. But it’s so hard to bet against a side with that attacking roster, with a creative roster behind it of Pawlett, McMullan, King and more. They may struggle at the back, but there is more than enough in the rest of the side to be able to blow most sides in the league away.

Prediction: 1st

Dunfermline

The Pars had a bit of a weird season last time out, either being totally abject or really quite good. The side had expectations around them last season, however; ones they didn’t meet.

Stevie Crawford came in with low expectations but, by turning the side’s form around a bit, he showed that he is a perfectly decent manager at this level. Many have left over the summer but little has really been lost and, by snaffling Kevin Nisbet from Raith, they have found a good goalscorer who looks at home a level up from last season. Their Betfred Cup campaign had a blot in it thanks to Edinburgh City but a pair of thrashings given to Albion and East Kilbride, along with a win away to Premiership St Mirren. Readers of the site’s Premiership previews may know that the latter doesn’t mean much, but it’s a reflection that this side can get results against larger sides. Last season, they disappointed but this season they should reach their aims of looking upwards.

Prediction: 4th

Greenock Morton

Morton were really really bad last term and there are two schools of thought about it. One is to lay it all at Jonatan Johansson’s door and the other is to see larger weaknesses in the squad.

It’s probably a bit of both but if Morton wanted to make a statement this summer, they have. David Hopkin is the managerial appointment you make if you want to go up - his time at Livingston showed that. His time at Livi showed one other thing - that success takes time. Trading high scoring games with sides in the Betfred Cup showed merely that Morton are a good deal better than League One and a good deal worse than Motherwell.

There have been several statements of intent from the side - Aidan Nesbitt, Robbie Muirhead, Nicky Cadden and getting John Sutton out of retirement are certainly statements of a side that wants to be considered in the upper echelon of the league. But it will take time and while progress under Hopkin will be assured, it will take time. More than a season of it.

Prediction: 6th

Inverness Caley Thistle

Last season’s third-placed side have stood still this summer. There was plenty last season that was frustrating and uninspiring, but they are no worse off now than they were in May. The loss of Nathan Austin to Kelty has been mitigated by bringing in James Keatings, who knows how to get out of this division more than most. James Vincent replaces Liam Polworth bringing back a player who enjoyed his time in Inverness to replace a layer who had done his time in Inverness. There isn’t enough in the way of a quantity of quality as seen at their direct rivals for promotion but there is enough to maintain the standards of last year.

Prediction: 3rd

Partick Thistle

Last season saw Thistle go the wrong way initially before recovering to sixth as part of the congested bottom half of the table. Few can be overly happy with Gary Caldwell’s transfer policy of sending away sacred lambs - Chris Erskine’s departure was unwise, Kris Doolan’s in his testimonial year was downright ruthless. However, it should pay dividends compared to last season with more stability. There are still questions around much of the side - Joe Cardle and Gary Harkins are, shall we say, mercurial, Kenny Miller is practically fossilised. Shea Gordon has impressed in Betfred Cup duty but to transfer that form to a full season is a much bigger ask. They are, at least, solid at the back even if their attacking line up is probably heavier on name value than game value. Rumour still abounds over the potential future of the club, subject as they are to a possible takeover by legitimate billionaires - that may well have a big impact on how this season goes.

Prediction: 5th

Queen of the South

This is a difficult one to piece together. On one hand, Stephen Dobbie does Stephen Dobbie things and scores an awful lot of goals. On the other hand, the rest of the team is weak as always as the wages go the way of the legend. Save a win at Dumbarton, the League Cup campaign wasn’t that impressive with a penalty win over Annan being the lowlight.

The other lowlight was that Dobbie scored only twice and only against lower league opposition. Past seasons have shown that Dobbie is at his most effective in the early season and to see him not have an especially good return from these games does not augur well for when the league itself starts. Are the likes of Gary Oliver and Connor Murray going to be the perfect foils for Dobbie as Lyndon Dykes was (when he was interested)? Kevin Holt is a good signing but the defence is still a weak area of the side. The midfield is short on numbers, which was a theme from last season that seems to continue into this. Allan Johnston made his managerial name at Palmerston last time with an overpowered side that got out of League One into the Championship. Now, he takes an underpowered and undermanned side into a fight that they may not have the weapons for, especially if Stephen Dobbie’s endless goalscoring is coming to an end.

Prediction: 9th