Football Season Guide

Alloa will not repeat the notorious feat of Brechin last season by not winning a game. But being the only part-timers they are clear favourites to finish bottom of the Championship. Jim Goodwin’s team will cause problems on their notorious synthetic surface at Recreation Park, but their overall lack of quality seems likely to condemn them straight back to League One. Although Alloa finished well adrift of Ayr and Raith Rovers last season, they comfortably dealt with Rovers and then Dumbarton in the play-offs. Are these results an indication they will at least be competitive this forthcoming season? The answer is probably yes, especially in the first half of the season. If their manager, Jim Goodwin, can capture some decent loan signings from the Scottish Premiership, then Alloa will be tough to beat. Watch out for the bigger teams and older pros trotting out tales of injuries incurred on synthetic pitches - even though all teams train and play on them on an increasingly common basis in Scotland. Striker, Greig Spence, is back in Alloa colours again and hoping to be among the goals. He managed 13 goals with Raith Rovers last season, but will find it harder in the Championship as he has in the past. Experienced winger/forward, Alan Trouten, also joins from Albion Rovers with a highly impressive 27 goals last season. If he can score even half that total in the Championship, then Alloa have a chance of survival. Ahmed Aloulou has also been added to their forward line. Alloa will strive to emulate the feats of Dumbarton and survive in a hostile full-time environment. It will be difficult and the reality is they are aiming to avoid 10th place and automatic relegation. They will spring some surprises at Recreation Park, but scoring enough goals through the whole season to ensure survival is a huge task for them.