[The Exiled Heretic]

In terms of the destiny for the championship most would quite rightly point to the 2002/03 season as the best race given how close it was. That year though there was no relegation so the title was all that was exciting.

In the 2003/04 season around this time everyone knew that title was going to Celtic Park and the Partick Thistle would be heading for the First Division. The split was really a non-event. Not much excitement for anyone thereafter.

This season though Falkirk have booked themselves a place in the SPL 2005/06 ensuring we will see a meaningful relegation battle. What a battle it is. This is one of four battles which amazingly includes all but one of the SPL clubs- although one of those is all but decided. Kilmarnock are the only club who have nothing to play for at this point in time.

The fight for the title

Rangers and Celtic are only one point apart with 7 games left to play. With one of those games being an Old Firm clash it could not get much tighter and will most likely go to the wire.

The fight for europe

Now that Dundee United have booked a UEFA Cup spot by earning a place in the Scottish Cup against Celtic only third spot in the league will reward a team the other place. It's a tight battle there with not alot between the 3 sides contesting that place. Hibs lead Aberdeen by a point with Hearts 5 points behind their Edinburgh rivals. Both Edinburgh sides have a game in hand and it's against each other tomorrow in the derby match.

The fight for finance

The fight for sixth place in the league is all but over and looks to be taken by Motherwell. Inverness though are 6 points behind them with two games left to be played so could mathematically still overtake them. A top 6 finish would ensure more lucrative gate returns than a bottom six finish and as such is a financial benefit.

The fight for survival

With Falkirk waiting in the wings to take someone's place 4 SPL clubs are scrapping it out seperated by 9 points. Dundee are on 31 points with a 4 point margin over Dunfermline. These two clubs have played 32 matches. Livi are 3 points behind Dunfermline and Dundee United are 2 points behind them but they both have only played 31 matches. The post split games will no doubt bring alot of excitement for all involved as well as heartache for one club.

 

[Angle_eyes]

Although there are still things to play for amongst the provincial clubs, it's quite difficult for me to gauge seasons that way. The race for 3rd, 6th, and survival might be mildly interesting, but the standard of football is still largely pish.

Even Rangers and Celtic have played a lot of poor football this season. We both had better teams a few years back.

 

[Marco Negri]

The glass is half-full, Angle.

 

[Xieldos]

Im not saying that the standard is better..but surely on entertainment value (i.e the competitiveness) the SPL is better right now than the Premiership? 90% of the clubs are still involved in something worth fighting for whereas half the Premiership are already in the dulldrums of mid-table mediocrity.

 

[King_Henrik]

I'm inclined to agree with Angle's point on this one.

Celtic and Rangers are supposed to set the standards in Scottish football, but both have been seriously ordinary at best this season. The last time the title race was so close both of us had very good teams and the standard was high, Celtic qualified for a European final that season but still couldn't knock Rangers off the perch for the majority of that year.

The last time it went to the wire both teams finished the season on 97 points, which summed up the high standards that were attained that year. This season i seriously doubt that either team will get even close to that tally.

In terms of tightness then it's relatively exciting, but the mediocrity levels this season have dulled my enthusiasm for it all i have to say.

 

[The Exiled Heretic]

From a Rangers or Celtic point of view it may not be the best SPL season for a while but I was talking about the league as a whole. WE all know that it's going to be a two horse race so it's good to see that the majority of the other sides have something to play for still at this point in time.

The standard of Rangers and Celtic hasn't been too bad this season to be fair. Some credit must be given to the teams that have taken points from them.

To be honest if it was just about the title race then it would be no different really to any other year. I'd rather see one or two more teams challenging all the way. As a Rangers fan it would be easier to take losing out on the title if it wasn't 100% guaranteed that it would result in Celtic winning it- vice versa I'm sure for the Celtic fans. I'd like to see some other sides be more competative and can only hope this will happen in the future to make the league more exciting. Until it does this is as exciting as it will get.