2010-11 Free Scottish Premier Preview

Tue, Aug 3, 2010

By Dan Tory

OUTRIGHT

Well, it comes down to the Glasgow battle once again to see who claims the SPL title. Last year’s winning margin was the biggest for three years and ended up being a convincing win for Rangers. However, numerous things have changed over the summer and the two, in my eyes, are inseparable. Rangers have the huge boots of Kris Boyd to fill following his move to Middlesbrough and I believe they will struggle to find such an ace marksman to replace his 23 league goals.

Celtic also have a similar problem as Robbie Keane looks unlikely to make a return to Celtic Park. Although he only joined Celtic on loan in January from Tottenham, the experienced Irishman still managed to bag 12 goals and pick up the player of the year award. Both sides have strikers that can step up to the plate but the reliability of Kenny Miller and Kyle Lafferty for The Gers and Marc-Antoine Fortuné and Georgios Samaras for The Bhoys remain to be seen. Neil Lennon has bought in Gary Hooper to take the mantle at Celtic but performing week in week out in front of 45,000 expectant Glaswegians is a world away from being the star at Scunthorpe in front of 6,000 at Glanford Park. I think he may only play a bit part this season but could be a star of the SPL for the future.

As I can’t separate the big-guns I shall concentrate on the market without the two big Glaswegian sides. Dundee United are favourites to pick up the third spot following their great performance last season. The Terrors also managed to bag the Scottish Cup and look to be as solid a side under Peter Houston as they did under the recently departed Craig Levein. United lost the least games away from home last season which is outstanding considering the dominance of the big two but they were somewhat let down at home as they lost seven games at Tannadice Park. As they can be quite inconsistent and rely heavily on the goals of Jon Daly, I think that they won’t have enough this year to stave off the challenge of HIBERNIAN.

John Hughes’ side were being touted as splitting the Old Firm half way through the season but didn’t quite get there at the end of the day. The main strength for Hibs is undoubtedly their goal-scoring prowess. Anthony Stokes never quite managed to reach the big time during his spell in the Premier League but he is turning into one of the most reliable goal-getters in the SPL.

Not only do The Hibees have Stokes to bang in the goals, they also have Derek Riordan at their disposal. Another who didn’t quite manage to make the grade at the highest level during his two years at Celtic, Riordan’s record of 25 goals in 63 games for Hibs speaks for itself. Riordan and Stokes finished as the second and fourth highest scorers in the SPL last year and will be one of the deadliest strike partnerships in the league this season. Scoring goals is all well and good but, with the third worst defence in the league last season, Hughes will have to shore up his defence to mount any push to split the top two.

They have already added talented young centre-half David Stephens from Norwich and experienced full-back Michael Hart from Preston to add more cover to, what was at times last season, a threadbare defence. I think their defence already looks stronger than last year and can see them mounting a real push to challenge the big guns of Glasgow.

Bettrends Advice

Hibernian w/o Rangers and Celtic – 7/2 (Stan James)

TOP SCORER

The top goal scorer in the SPL is more of a challenge this year now that Kris Boyd has moved on to pastures new. His strike partner last season, Kenny Miller, is the obvious choice to fill his boots and score the goals that Rangers need to retain the title but I think that the 9/2 that is available is too short to be considering. His team-mates Kyle Lafferty and Steven Naismith have to finally step up to the plate but their inconsistency is a worry and I wouldn’t call either of them out and out goal scorers.

As I have already stated, both Rangers and Celtic have the same kind of problems but I think that Celtic have the man in GEORGIOS SAMARAS that can jump out of the crowd and finally make himself known on the big stage. The big Greek was a player that I always liked when he was at Manchester City, possibly being the best of a bad bunch at the time at Eastlands, but he got a rough ride from the fans and press alike and was eventually forced north of the border. His performances in a side devoid of any attacking intent at the World Cup were impressive considering the lack of support he was given. There is a misconception with Samaras, as with all tall footballers, that they are good at heading the ball and nothing else. The 25 year old is deceptively quick and more than comfortable with the ball at his feet. For still a relatively young striker, he is widely experienced and could be the man to revive The Bhoys this season.

In an ideal world, Celtic will try and play the ball in to Marc-Antoine Fortuné and get players like Samaras, Hooper and Ledley running off of him into the box and into the channels. For this reason, even though Fortune is a good striker in his own right, I don’t think he will be utilised as the main goal scorer in the side. Gary Hooper is an interesting addition to the Celtic squad. A proven goal getter in the lower leagues in England, Hooper is deadly with the ball in the box but this is his first big money move and I think it may take him a while to acclimatise to the big club feel. For this reason, I think that Neil Lennon will look to Samaras ahead of all others to get the goals that Celtic need to turn the tide with Rangers.

An outsider in this market that could prove to be a bit of a gem is Samaras’ new team-mate JOE LEDLEY. A player much admired by many Premier League clubs, the Welsh maestro decided to turn all of them down for a move to Celtic Park. Unlike in the past, midfielders have shown that they are more than capable of bagging hat-loads of goals in any league. Lampard and Gerrard have both been at the business end of the goal scoring charts in the Premier League for a number of years as they are the lynch-pins of their teams and are exceptional footballers. However, Ledley’s former fellow Bluebird Peter Whittingham finished as joint top scorer in the Championship last year, starting most of his games as a left midfielder. Ledley’s role at Cardiff was subdued during his time their last season as he held the captaincy but he will be freed up more at Celtic and could have the licence to roam forward. The midfield dynamo could turn into a legend at Celtic Park and I think he could bag a fair few goals in his debut SPL season. His odds of 50/1 just look too big in my eyes.

Bettrends Advice

Georgios Samaras – 12/1 (Skybet)

Joe Ledley – each way – 50/1 (General)