FOR a generation of football fans, becoming a successful Championship Manager required only a laptop and plenty of spare time in which to indulge themselves in another world.
Dreams were achieved and hopes were dashed on the virtual field, but for the first time in Scotland, 10 men will be playing for real this season. This time it is not just a game.
The new SPFL Championship may not have the glamour of its English counterpart – there will be no Wembley glitz nor claims about the finale being the richest game in football – but the sprint for the line come the end of the campaign could still be just as enthralling come the culmination next May.
Of the 10 teams that will line up on the opening weekend of the season on August 10, only a few are unlikely to harbour dreams of promotion to the Premiership. Having achieved the seemingly impossible and beaten the drop last season, Dumbarton and Cowdenbeath are likely to find themselves in a similar battle this time around as up-and-coming managers Ian Murray and Colin Cameron look to further enhance their reputations.
The part-time pair will probably be joined by the teams promoted to Scotland's second tier, Queen of the South and Alloa Athletic, but both will hope their recent momentum – a cruise to the Second Division title in Queens' case and back-to-back promotions for Paul Hartley's side – will continue even as they climb the league ladder.
At the other end of the table, Dundee will start as favourites for the title. Despite the ongoing takeover uncertainty at Dens Park, John Brown has a very capable squad at his disposal, bolstered by the summer signings of left-back Willie Dyer and forward Peter MacDonald from last year's runners-up Morton.
Dundee didn't achieve the SPL great escape in the end, but should be the ones to beat.
The bridesmaids last time will nevertheless look to become the brides this time out as Morton manager Allan Moore gears up for another shot at the title. For the second consecutive summer, he has carried out major surgery on his squad, but has gone about his business efficiently and effectively this year.
The acquisitions of Marc Fitzpatrick and Dougie Imrie could prove to be Moore's masterstrokes while Reece Hands and Joe McKee have been brought on board from Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers respectively.
French goalkeeper Nicolas Caraux and Slovakian pair Michal Habai and Tomas Peciar are largely unknown quantities, as is striker Kabba-Modou Cham, although four goals in two games against Motherwell and St Mirren is certainly not a bad way to start life in Scotland.
The rest of the runners may well need to be separated by a photo finish. There was little to choose between the respective young guns of Hamilton Academical and Falkirk last term and the they are likely to be closely matched again, alongside Raith Rovers, in the race for a top-four finish. All three, though, have lost their main goal threats – Stevie May, Lyle Taylor and Brian Graham.
Livingston will also have an eye on being in the mix for the new promotion play-offs as this could be the year their boys become men. Stefan Scougall and Marc McNulty are two of Scotland's brightest talents outwith our top flight and the West Lothian team have experience, and indeed champions, in their ranks and should mount a decent challenge.
With the Premiership and League One titles all but decided before a ball has been kicked, the second tier that could provide the excitement once again come May. Let the game begin.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article