Finally, Scottish football episode 2019/20 is in the can and we can all move on to thinking about next season.
I think that’s the only really sensible option left at the moment, to be perfectly honest.
It’s far from ideal to finish the campaign eight or nine games before the end but it’s the cleanest way to do it.
Even if there are casualties like Hearts, Partick and Stranraer.
They’ll all argue they would have got out of trouble and I can see their point.
However, they were bottom of their respective tables for a reason – they had been the worst teams in their divisions.
Just like Dundee United deserved to be Championship winners, Celtic top-flight champions and Raith and Cove likewise lower down.
Falkirk will have something to say about Raith but the Kirkcaldy side had been the best team up to the point the pandemic hit.
I don’t think we’ll ever hear the end of the arguments surrounding this decision but, when there’s no sign of even lockdown ending in Scotland, how can we expect to restart a season?
Better to call a halt and start afresh.
In an ideal world it’ll be with league reconstruction but the Premiership clubs have already said that’s not likely to happen for next season.
Now, though, clubs have a glimmer of some certainty for the future.
We are now in close season ahead of a new one scheduled to start in mid-July. You never know, we may even have cup draws coming soon!
I must say, however, I feel the SPFL’s stated aim of kicking off the new campaign at that time –August 1 for league football – is hopeful rather than one they expect to pull off. There is a whole lot of work to be done to prove to the government football matches can be staged safely.
Now, the Premiership clubs have given themselves some space to think about how to restart football with a new campaign.
It’s the only sensible option.
Clubs now know what division they are going to be in and there can be some tentative plans put in place to move forward.
That’s a step in the right direction.
Dundee now know they’ll have to fend off Hearts if they want to win the Championship and can budget for the year ahead knowing who they will be playing.
Whether there are fans in attendance, we’ll have to wait and see.
The good thing is, it feels like our game is finally moving forward.
The past couple of weeks have seen both Dundee and Dundee United start to reshape their squads for next season.
Neither are yet in a position to start signing new players, of course, but there are some hints of what is to come at both clubs.
United released a few boys at the end of their contracts – Paul Watson, Rakish Bingham and Osman Sow among them.
It’s not a clearout or anything but I think we should expect a number of new faces at Tannadice once some sort of normality reappears.
With Watson going, they evidently have a new centre-back in mind.
I’d expect them to strengthen the spine of the team, adding a central midfielder and a striker to compete with Lawrence Shankland and Nicky Clark.
At Dundee, I only expect a handful of new faces.
A striker to partner Kane Hemmings is a certainty while maybe another wide attacker and central midfielder will arrive.
What happens with Christophe Berra we will have to wait and see. Hearts might not be too happy with Dundee right now…
IT was refreshing to see a bit of live football on the TV over the weekend with the Bundesliga kicking off again.
It might not have been what we are used to with no fans, masked subs and some
tentative celebrations but there was some cracking football.
Dortmund’s Erling Haaland showing a pandemic still can’t stop him.
Germany is leading the way on how to get the game back – problem is I don’t see any other country being able to do it as safely as the Germans.
I’M no basketball fan but watching the Last Dance on Netflix certainly made me think about becoming one!
Remarkable series on the 1990s Chicago Bulls and the great Michael Jordan.
Get it watched!
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