As we move towards the turn of the year it’s a time of reflection for all of us, and for football fans it’s a chance to review the first half of the season, assess what’s gone, and try to predict how the campaign is going to pan out. From the Dons point of view, it has been anything but boring!
After the European run, the start to our domestic season was quite simply incredible with that record-breaking sequence of victories. Then came the horrendous dip, and of late the recovery which has seen us re-establish ourselves in second place.
All in all, it has been a good one so far, and we are ahead of where we were this time twelve months ago. I had a look back at how the Premiership table stood this time in 2014 and by then Celtic had forged clear of the pack. What was remarkable was seeing that we were only just ahead of Hamilton and Saturday's opponents, Caley Thistle, and neck-and-neck with Dundee United!
The decline at Tannadice has been staggering.
We all know about the high-profile departures, and that has of course had a significant effect on their team, but to plummet from title-challengers to odds-on relegation favourites in such a short space of time is astonishing, and United are going to require a remarkable turnaround if they are to survive.
Ross County did just that last season, but by this point in the campaign they were back in touch, and Roy MacGregor was prepared to spend to ensure they kicked-on. I can’t see the same thing happening at United. County have been one of the success stories of 2015-16, as have St Johnstone, who have been a joy to watch as Tommy Wright somehow transformed them from a perennially solid but shot-shy outfit into the league’s great entertainers.
They will certainly secure a top six finish along with Celtic, Hearts and ourselves, and I would expect Ross County to do likewise.
That leaves half a dozen clubs battling for one remaining spot while at the same time looking over their shoulders towards the relegation play-off place, and given how well matched most of those sides look, and the way results have gone so far, it could be that we are in for a dramatic second half of the season.
Partick Thistle have shown the best recent form, but it’s not that long ago that people were tipping Alan Archibald to be the next manager to come under intense pressure to try to save his job. A few defeats and it can all flip round again, and that’s something every manager in the bottom half will be well aware of.
There are those who look secure in their positions, others less so, and with Motherwell having already made their move and hoping to pull clear under Mark McGhee, you can be guaranteed there will be other boards of directors who have given serious thought to managerial change.
With the opening of the transfer window just around the corner, the festive period might go a long way towards making their minds up.
