It’s been another topsy-turvy year in Scottish football, with plenty of drama and action to talk about and be remembered. It’s the first year under the new SPFL banner and it definitely helped to bring in some new excitement at the bottom of the Premiership and the top of the Championship with new promotion and relegations places up for grabs. Although some of the winners and losers of the season were predictable, there were definitely some shockers in amongst them too. 2013-14 will be remembered as one of the most unpredictable and interesting Scottish seasons in a long time.
Both the Premiership and League One had perhaps the most uninspiring and uninteresting title races for years, with both Old Firm teams wrapping up their championships before mid-March and losing only one game between them. They are to be congratulated for being the best teams in their leagues, but it’s hard to give their players and management teams much praise for cantering to wins with budgets much higher than those of the other clubs around them.
If you look outside the Old Firm, though, Scottish football is thriving with exciting stories. Aberdeen, for so long the sleeping giants of the game here in Scotland, have returned to the top under Derek McInnes to be a strong challenger for the Europa League spots. Their league form this year was fantastic, finishing 3rd in the league for the first time since 2007, and their success in the League Cup brought silverware to the Granite City once again, ending one of the longest droughts in the club’s history. They also had a great run in the Scottish Cup, coming close to reaching the final of that competition as well only to be denied by St Johnstone, and more specifically their star striker Stevie May. Aberdeen also hold the distinction of being one of only two teams (the other being Morton) to beat Celtic domestically this season. The future looks bright for the Dons, with owner Stewart Milne pledging to help fund some big signings to help the side build up to their former glories once again. It’s unlikely that Aberdeen will be able to make any real challenge to the dominance of Celtic in the next few seasons, but along with Motherwell a real battle is developing for 2nd place.
Motherwell once again proved themselves as best of the rest, with Stuart McCall guiding them to their 3rd consecutive season with that distinction. Their achievements were perhaps overlooked with the Aberdeen story unfolding over the course of the season, but by no means were Motherwell any less impressive than before – racking up their most league wins since 1982 and their highest points total ever.
The bottom half of the Premiership could well have been dull and unimportant in any other season. Hearts’ relegation was almost confirmed last June as the team were lumped with a 15 point deduction for going into administration. With little money, and a transfer embargo to make matters worse, the Edinburgh side were left with no room to manoeuvre in the transfer market and had to play most of the season with a young and inexperienced line-up. To their credit, they have performed magnificently and matched the form of the other sides in the bottom six for most of the season, but they couldn’t manage to overcome their hurdle and will be in the Championship next season. With an exodus of top players from their squad, and a new manager in place, it may be difficult for them to gel in time to mount a serious challenge in what will be a tight league.
However, with the 11th placed team facing a relegation play-off with the SPFL’s new structure, the bottom half of the Premiership this season – particularly at the end of the campaign – was thrilling. As results conspired, had Hearts not had a points deduction every single bottom six club would have gone in to the last day of the season with the threat of relegation hanging over their heads. The other five teams were involved in the struggle all the way from February or so, being separated by as little as two points at times and with goal differences all hovering around the -19 point. The team destined for the play-offs changed hands multiple times through the bottom six race, with Killie, Hibs, Ross County and Partick all feeling the heat by finishing a matchday in 11th in the last few games. St Mirren, Ross County and Partick all secured their status in the top flight in the week before the end of the season so Hibs and Killie went into their clash at Easter Road on the final day knowing it was one of them that would be facing off against a Championship team in the play-offs. Killie won the game courtesy of Kris Boyd’s 23rd league goal of the season and Hibs went into the play-offs without a win in 13 games.
The Championship title race was easily the most exciting, yet again, in Scottish football – with Dundee, Falkirk and Hamilton all battling it out to the last day for the chance to get automatic promotion to the big time. Dundee had a two point advantage, and were 8 goals better off in terms of goal difference, so most assumed that they would only need a draw to clinch the title. In another shocking turn of events, though, Hamilton thumped Morton 10-2 on the day with most of their goals coming as Dundee held on shakily to a 2-1 lead. Thankfully for the Dark Blues they held on to clinch their return to the Premiership at the first time of asking, but the drama of the day will not be forgotten in a hurry by fans of either Dundee or Hamilton or those who followed the action on radio.
The end-of-season play-offs provided the excitement and drama that all in Scottish football hoped they would, and ended up bringing fitting conclusions to both Hamilton and Hibs’ seasons. Hamilton defeated Hibs on penalties to earn promotion to the Premiership and condemn Hibs to relegation for the first time in 16 years in a great two-legged contest. With a 2-0 win away to Hamilton in the first leg, with Jason Cummings scoring twice, the odds seemed stacked in Hibs’ favour to save themselves the humiliation of the drop. However, a spirited Hamilton performance was rewarded with a 2-0 win of their own at Easter Road, with a dramatic goal in the dying minutes of injury time to force the tie to extra time. After further Hamilton pressure in the added time went unrewarded, the game went to penalties where the nerves and pressure of the situation was too much for the home side. Cummings saw his penalty saved after veteran Kevin Thomson had also put the ball into the keepers grasp and this was enough to see Hamilton win. Hibs now join Hearts and Rangers in what will be an amazing Championship next season while Hamilton return to the top flight and will be looking to avoid play-off drama or worse next year.
The honour of best cup side this season has to go to St Johnstone with their triumph in the Scottish Cup in their first ever appearance as well as making the semi-finals of the League Cup. If Aberdeen’s first cup win in 16 years was cause for neutral celebration, it was dwarfed by the delight at seeing the Saints win. The Scottish Cup final was a rather meek game itself, but St. Johnstone were the better of the two sides as Dundee United rarely showed the attacking flair that they have been capable of this year. A powerful Steven Anderson header just before half time set the stage for what could have been a great second half, but neither team could break the other down until Steven MacLean’s strike six minutes from time all but secured the trophy for the Perth side. They may have finished in 6th place, three spots below their position last year, but without doubt this will feel like St. Johnstone’s best ever season – with a major trophy in their cabinet and another European adventure secured for this summer.
The Challenge Cup was this year won by Raith, who defeated the overwhelming favourites Rangers in what was a turgid and hard-to-watch encounter. Their first ever Challenge Cup, and their first final appearance since their famous League Cup triumph over Celtic in 1994; it was a great achievement for the Kirkcaldy men who have had little to cheer on this season, or indeed since they were runners-up to rivals Dunfermline in the league three seasons ago.
Perhaps the best Scottish Cup run this season, though, was Albion Rovers’, with the League Two side making it to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1934. The Wee Rovers recorded wins over non-league Spartans and Deveronvale before beating Motherwell 1-0 in what will surely be one of the Cup’s biggest giant-killings in recent memory. They also held Rangers to a 1-1 draw at home at Cliftonhill, with Rangers’ goal being very questionable with the scorer Bilel Mohsni being offside when he put the ball in the net. It’s always great to see small teams go far in the big competitions, when things often seem to favour the bigger sides, and it’s especially good to see Albion Rovers have some success with some of the initiatives they’ve put in place this season to give their fans something back – such as their “Pay What You Can” entry day. Although the team’s league campaign wasn’t too successful, finishing in 8th, they have a good management system at the club which might let them kick on to the play-offs and perhaps promotion in the seasons to come.
The next season in Scottish football may very well be dominated by the Championship rather than the Premiership. Celtic will win the latter without breaking a sweat again, and I’d wager an Aberdeen buoyed by their successes this year and a hefty summer transfer budget would wrap up second place as well. But the Championship is going to be a free-for-all of epic proportions, with Rangers, Hearts, Falkirk and Hibs all with a reasonable chance of winning the league. There is also the possibility of relegation from League Two for the first time next year, as the winners of the Highland and Lowland leagues play-off for a tie against “Team 42” of the SPFL and a place in senior football.
Another season of Scottish football has passed then, with no Armageddon to speak of, and a lot of memories to be cherished for some and a lot of painful ones that some will want to banish. Although the football wilderness of summer isn’t quite as bleak with a World Cup on telly, it’s comforting to know that the season begins anew in just 61 days with the Challenge Cup. Suffice to say, if next season is anything like this one, bring it on!