SPL Title Is There For The Taking

Now just hang on right there. Before anyone starts I am not suggesting for one minute that the title of this article means that this season’s SPL title is there for our own team to win – I’m merely about to
re-iterate that the overall standard of our league is so poor that there is surely now no reason for a non-Old Firm club not to seriously compete for it.

Last night’s latest embarrassment for Rangers once again brings home just how bad a team that they are, and the rest of the SPL really should be looking at that and re-assessing how they view their chances of firstly individual matches against them, and secondly being better than them over a season.

I continually bore people to tears about the real problem in our game as far as lack of competition being concerned continuing to be the mental attitude of the rest of the league when it comes to competing for the title. Their in-built inferiority complex with the Old Firm and complete lack of self-belief dictates that the SPL is essentially a ‘two-horse race’ every year, even though since 2005 at least, it really hasn’t had to be like that when you assess the actual abilities of each of the teams.

Sure, the likes of Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and Dundee United are no great shakes either, but we have seen on several occasions over the past four to five years now that very often they are more than a match for Rangers and Celtic. Many results in one-off games will prove this, as will the fact that the match officials have had to ‘raise their games’ so-to-speak in order to ensure that everyone’s least favourite status quo remains.

The time is now for these clubs to seriously realise that they do have the chance to break this stranglehold in Scotland that has sapped the life out of the game up here for too long. In fact, with all of this nonsense in the press about the Old Firm’s latest ‘delusions of grandeur’-like schemes to move away from the SPL, what better time than now for another club to come along and take the title away from them? That would be the ultimate two fingers up from the rest of the country!

Who could do it this year? Not Hearts if their owners continue to deny their manager an ability to strengthen the areas of his team that he needs to, but on the evidence I’ve seen so far Dundee United have the makings of being genuine challengers. They probably have the most astute manager in the league and a pretty strong squad, too. Hibs? I haven’t seen too much of them to be honest but they have certainly had a good start under John Hughes and could make that a great start if they beat Rangers this weekend. I know this is a Hearts site but I think that would be a good thing for the game if that happened, too……..besides, we’ll probably still beat them in the forthcoming derby, anyway!

Whoever does it, it doesn’t really matter. The game needs a change here and the opportunity is clearly there for someone – all they need is the belief to actually go out there and do it.