Aberdeen moved into second place on the SPFL Premiership table with a 2-0 win over Partick Thistle on Saturday at Pittordrie Stadium as the race for European spots heats up.
A fifth victory from their last six games has the Dons in blistering form as we move into February in Scottish football.
But where is Premiership football? And is it still exciting?
With Celtic already clinching the Premiership title this early in the season and having one of the great Premiership runs in Scottish football history, all eyes are now starting to shift towards the battle below.
Aberdeen and Rangers are battling it out for second and third, while Hearts are nipping at the heels keeping the pressure up as they continue to push for a Europa League spot themselves.
Second to fourth might not seem like much of a difference to many, for Aberdeen, Rangers and Hearts finishing as high as possible is always the goal for each club. Not to mention the nearly £300k difference between second and third places comes seasons end, with second to fourth an even bigger pay gap.
The lower you finish within the Premiership, the lower the prize money for each club.
Further down mid-table places are still alive and the relegation battle still not assured as Hamilton Accies (21pts) who currently sit 11th one win from sixth place (Motherwell 24pts), while Inverness Caley Thistle (18pts) who are at the foot of the Premiership are five points from moving out of the drop zone with Dundee in 10th spot on 23 points.
If the season were to finish now Inverness would collect close to £1 million and be relegated to the Championship, the money would allow for a better chance at instant promotion the next season, however avoiding the drop is more important than cash in the coffers.
Many will criticise Scottish football and the Premiership as a boring league with two teams generally – Celtic and Rangers – only having a chance of winning the title, with the last non Old Firm top division winner coming from the 1984-85 Aberdeen side.
I find the positions in the Premiership below first place just as intriguing and exciting as the fight for the Premiership crown. Not only for the European places that are on offer, but the change that Scottish football takes each season.
Who finishes in the top half? Who gets relegated? Who fights for Premiership survival in the Playoff games?
If you asked football fans five years ago if we would see Hibernian and Dundee United relegated to the Championship you would have been laughed at, with Hearts also having a stint in the Championship over the past three years.
It’s here where the Scottish game continues to surprise, with the more fancied teams for relegation in Ross County, Hamilton Accies and Partick Thistle holding onto their top flight football status, while bigger and wealthier clubs are unable to avoid being relegated.
It’s the old saying of ‘Money can’t buy success’, which in large parts is true. You need more than money, its culture, environment and it all coming together to form on-field success.
With sixth to 12th place still not settled with 19 games remaining, the eye on the prize for clubs in that block of teams isn’t the jostle for money, it’s the prize of another season in the Scottish Premiership.
Hamilton have been here before, history has shown they are up for the fight, Kilmarnock too. Inverness haven’t felt the relegation heat for eight years, losing that battle and dropping to the then First Division.
We have seen last day drama across major leagues around Europe with Scottish football often getting overlooked, the finish to the 2016-17 season looks to be another exciting drama-filled run home with so much on the line.
January transfers have come in thick and fast as clubs bolster their squads for the back half of the season, and come May, all will be revealed as the drama in the SPFL Premiership will be at its ultimate peak.
I might be a Scottish fitba tragic, but I love embracing the excitement that is the SPFL.
BrisbaneBhoy
Roar Rookie
Ah, The Bunnet... Not only was he a saviour/"white knight". Fergus McCann was a visionary. He saw the true potential of Celtic and took steps to see that potential reached (under the climate we find ourselves in - to reach our full potential either Celtic has to leave Scottish football or things in Scotland change drastically).
jeff dustby
Guest
i watch replays the next day. what are your thoughts on the SPL? do you prefer the Bulgarian Super league from your time there?
Swanny
Guest
Get a salary cap in the Scottish premier league and it might make it interesting .
j binnie
Guest
Don - Very interesting comment .putting Celtic so far ahead of competition. Therein lies a story. This is the same Glasgow Celtic that only 23 years ago were within 8 hours of being wound up by the major bank in Scotland Along came a white knight, from, of all places ,Canada, and within 5 years he had turned the whole "company" into the powerhouse it is today. Maybe we should look,study, and learn. Cheers jb..
j binnie
Guest
Celtic 344. You are correct, Scottish football is an example of what can happen in a small populated country where the two main contestants have long term beliefs driving their fan bases.It is no surprise that Celtic and Rangers (despite recent financial woes ) dominate the scene in a country with a very small population which ensures the previous mentioned loyalties guarantee them huge,by our standards ,followings. Could it be we could learn from this example as Victory are setting the same type of pace in our league closely followed by the 2 Sydney identities. Food for thought . Cheers jb.
celtic bandaid
Guest
You forgot to mention Dannys 9 great years at Kilmarnock when he was just Invincible !!!
stu
Guest
You may be in for a shock once the salary cap is no more in the a-league.
Andrew Macdougall
Roar Pro
Thanks for the comment, Dons. I actually never thought about the prospect of being the team who stopped the run, that is a good point you raise. Celtic obviously have a much bigger war chest, but Aberdeen have been so close recently as a neutral it was exciting to watch. Australia has always had a bit of a back and forth with players to Scotland, currently my team (Queen of the South) have a Aussie on their books. If I recall correctly, Aaron Mooy was performing very well at St Mirren and might still be held in high regard. Long live the tragics indeed!!
marcel
Guest
"I support Partick Thistle FC, I say that because most people think they are called Partick Thistle Nil " Billy Connolly
Dons83
Roar Rookie
Andrew, As you rightly acknowledge, it’s not for everyone. I guess it does help being a fitba tragic…. But in Football there is much to admire and deem worthy of interest in many leagues across the world. Yes by any standard you hold the Scottish league to, Celtic are a significant distance ahead, Points, Goal Difference, Revenue, Attendances, you name it they boss it. They are currently unbeaten through domestic competition for the season 16/17 and their aim will of course be the domestic treble. It would only be an eternal optimist and aforementioned Tragic that would potentially contemplate a loss for the hoops this season. However, in the words of the late Spurs legend Jimmy Greaves, “Football’s a funny old game”. Week in week out, those not of a green and white persuasion look on to see if this week is the week that the crown slips just for a second. Teams have put themselves in a fantastic position to do the rest of the league a favour and show that the ‘Tic are human, only for Brendan Rodgers’ charges to find a way to turn the spectre of defeat into a draw or in some occasions push hard to the 6th minute of injury time and snatch an unlikely victory from the proverbial jaws. In much the same way as the football watching public of Australia checked the results of Brisbane Roar to see when their unbeaten run would end. Or who would be the team to topple the Arsenal “Invincibles”, or could AC Milan go two season unbeaten? Would Juventus complete the season with 0 in the loss column. In terms of previous financial dealings in the Scottish league (focussing mainly from around 1988-1990 onwards) only two teams have really had any money and even though one of those clubs has been down and back up due to irregularities (and depending on who you talk to they may not even be the same team but that’s for another post in another lifetime) these two teams still command the top two positions in the Scottish firmament for wage bills. Aberdeen come in a very distant third with Heart of Midlothian Fourth. The ability of Brendan Rodgers to come in and have a war chest to buy players like Scott Sinclair and Eboue Kouassi and have the draw to bring Moussa Dembele up to Glasgow, could never be replicated in the current financial climate for any other team outside of the “old” firm. At roughly 3 times the average wage for a Celtic Player compared to that of Rangers and (only had a quick look so the figures are old on this and I would suggest with the new charges coming in to Celtic that the gulf may even have widened) and 6.5 times compared to Aberdeen, it’s always going to be incredibly difficult to stay with a side over the course of a season. The rest of the teams trickle down to around 20 times the difference in average salaries and this is just in the top league and generally, this means that most outside the big two rely on a core of quality players with an influx of loan deals. Having lost and incredibly talented Loan prospect in the January Window, Aberdeen are back to basically the squad that finished last season, which should hopefully give them a cohesion to kick on and try and make second theirs, ahead of the richer blue side of Glasgow (equal on points with a game in hand and a goal difference that the dons haven’t had in what seems like forever). Though based on the first outing for Hearts new signings in the last week, they look like they have some interesting new weapons at their disposal. That’s not to say that there haven’t been a few squeaky bum moments in the recent past for the top club with Aberdeen having 4 chances last season to close on the champions and push an advantage home only for some bad luck and some poor concentration to put pay to the title tilt on each occasion. Not many of the dons had been in that position before and the experience of Celtic shone through at the pointy end of the season. Celtic have improved significantly under the tenure of Rodgers however and the mistakes and complacency of last season have for the most part been eradicated hence a 27 point gulf to the rest. I would also suggest that disparaging eyes cast over the Scottish game would be a disservice to some very capable Australian Players past and present. Of course everyone is raving about the performances currently of one Tomas Petar Rogic. But perhaps is not being challenged each week in a lower quality “unfashionable” league? Other noteworthy mentions who have played at some stage in their career in Scotland include, Craig Moore, Tony Vidmar, Mark Viduka, Ryan McGowan, Patrick Kisnorbo, Scott McDonald, Daniel Mcbreen, Rostyn Griffiths, Erik Paartalu, a shy retiring Wallflower by the name of Kevin Muscat, some bloke by the name of Aaron Mooy??? Oh, and SBS’ very own David Zdrillic, who even though I’ve never heard him refer to it is still fondly remembered in the North East of Scotland for his season at the Dons. Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix fans may also remember the flambouyant Ivorian Eugene Dadi who spent some time at both Aberdeen and Livingston. Of course it’s not all been one way traffic Scotland has provided several players, particularly in the early phase of the A league. Grant Brebner was part of two Double winning Victory teams, Charlie Miller, Stephen McGarry, Ian Ferguson, Stewart Petrie, Scott Gemmill and…er..Bob Malcolm..Actually based on that last one, perhaps Scotland may have done better out of the hands across the sea. Long live the tragics, COYR, and here’s to watching football (and all sports) for the love of the game and the wonderful moments it gives us at every level.
MarkfromCroydon
Roar Pro
Have managed to watch a few of the Bhoys games this season (usually replays on the internet). They are a good team. A very good team. They have been behind, but always found a way to come back. I don't think the other teams have been that bad, but people are not giving Celtic the credit they deserve this year. Don't forget, they played with postive intent in the Champions league and took it right up to the heavyweights. City couldn't beat us, Borussia played well to beat us only once and we drew the other at their ground and it's no disgrace to be thumped by Barca at home, and the return showed we could push them and cause them some problems. Not bad for a club that gets much less revenue than the English clubs do.
Celtic334
Guest
Scottish football is a reflection of the times and the constraints of economic factors. Sadly i cannot see the quality getting any better than it currently is. The only way forward for either Celtic or Rangers is the age old argument of going down south. The problem with this tho is it must be done right from the very start of the league set up, so in other words it will never be done.
Andrew Macdougall
Roar Pro
It's not for everybody and while the 30 point gap this season is outrageous, hopefully the merger of the SPL/SFL will eventually pay dividends in the long run. Two winners in 33 years is definitely not ideal, apart from this season, under the new SPFL banner it's only been a 4-5 game gap from champions to second place which is the same as other major leagues around the world. People love La Liga, but since 1984 it's been won be either Barca or Real 26 times, quality is obviously a lot better though. Thanks for the comment.
Nemesis
Guest
How many SPL matches have you watched this season? Are you seriously telling us you wake up in the middle of the night to watch a competition you don't rate highly? I'm not sure if that's sad or pathetic that people are so bereft of things to enjoy they spend time doing things they don't enjoy.
Jeff dustby
Guest
I like the SPL- it's at least the 45th best in Europe If they weren't Anglo Celtic then no one would know them
Fadida
Guest
Sorry, but a league where everyone is fighting for second place, 30 points behind is not my definition of exciting. 2 winners in 33 years!