Livingston: Second Division Champions 2010/11

We have our first league champions of the season.

Congratulations to Livingston on securing the Second Division title yesterday with a 3-0 win at Stenhousemuir.

21 points clear of Brechin, Livingston have dominated the league this season.

And now they've got their reward. Successive promotions have taken them back to the First Division, just two seasons after they were dumped into the Third Division by the Scottish Football League.

Livingston had erred and the SFL were within their rights to take action. But the league's own inconsistency in dealing with such situations left a bitter taste for many.

That will have made last night's champagne taste all the sweeter.

Rumours of a new stadium will add to the sense of excitement. And surely dreams of an SPL promotion are already invading some peaceful slumbers in West Lothian.

Three promotions in three seasons is a hell of an ask.

It would be a remarkable story though, not least because it would mean Livingston travelling from bottom to top flight twice since 1995.

All that's in the future. Time now to savour the win. And, no doubt, survive the hangover.

Kick Off Part One

The SPL Brylcreem boys don't get going for another week but senior league football returns to these shores tomorrow with the IRN-BRU First, Second and Third Divisions getting underway.

I've done a quick headcount and it appears that all the teams that finished last season are still alive and - to varying degrees - kicking, so that's something.

And, with Brechin's charity shirt logo and Stirling Albion's fan ownership, two SFL clubs are doing a far more passable impression of Barcelona than any SPL sides can manage.

Somebody at the Scottish Football League actually seems quite switched on at the moment and they've got a shiny new website that you really should check out. BBC Alba will continue to provide some TV publicity and SFL TV will carry online highlights on the website.

Scotland struggles to sustain even a top flight of 12 teams. So the SFL is always, always going to face problems. But maybe this year they are ready to come out fighting rather than lying in a darkened room whimpering about how nobody loves them.

In an ideal world all the clubs would be supported and sponsored well enough to break even, each league would be competitive from top to bottom and there would be a constant supply of fresh young talent moving through the leagues.

But this is Scotland, not some strange footballing utopia. Some of those aims should be achievable but in the meantime we need to make do and mend with what we've got.

Part of that should involve paying more attention to the lower leagues. And I'll endeavour to do that as this season progresses.*

For now let's just welcome back league football and hope that things get going with a bang tomorrow afternoon.

*If you'd like to cover any of the SFL divisions or write club specific posts then get in touch. No payment I'm afraid but you'll get to see your name up in lights italics.

Celebrate!

I thought this was a cracking photo.

The player is Bryan Deasley who scored Forfar's second goal as they beat Arbroath to clinch their place in the Second Division:

I was delighted to shoot Bryan Deasley fire home Forfar’s clinching goal – I’ve known the wee man for about five years and he’s not had the best of times in his career in the last couple of seasons. Good to see something nice happen to him – and it helps to know a player when you are trying to get his attention for a ‘celly’ pic – Ta for this one wee man. I’ll add to this post once I’ve sorted out what’s going to the paper.

I suppose you could say "this is what it means."

Picture reproduced with permission: please visit davidyoungphoto.

Click here for more pictures from the game.

Click here for more of David's football pictures.

Not so Blue Brazil

Those of us who want our football measured against fairytales and romantic epics were left disappointed yesterday at Hampden.

Our fault, we were looking in the wrong place.

Cowdenbeath today sealed promotion to the First Division with a 3-0 win at Brechin.

It's the first time they've reached the second tier in 20 years.

That would be an achievement in itself.

But there is more to this story. Cowden only reached the Second Division thanks to Livingston's relegation to the Third Division.

They've also managed to get promoted with no money. Not just a bit skint. Totally potless. Impecunious to the point of disappearing.

Somehow Danny Lennon has managed to galvanise his players against that bleakest of backdrops and they've responded in the best possible way.

Remarkable really.

The money questions won't disappear, Spartans might still be waiting in the wings, a takeover bid prepared.

Let's hope not. In their own way Cowdenbeath are an iconic name in the Scottish game. They've shown resilience in turning a season that was all about survival into a season that brought success.

Sadly many of our clubs now fight their biggest battles in lawyer's offices and banks rather than on the pitch.

Thanks, then, to the Blue Brazil for showing that football can still provide some salvation.

Brechin 0 (0) v 3 (0) Cowdenbeath - Mbu 17, Wardlaw 25, 45

Around the web:

BBC
STV

Elsewhere: Martyn Fotheringham and Bryan Deasley gave Forfar a 2-0 win against Arbroath to clinch a spot in the Second Division.

Promotion and relegation

First Division

C: Inverness Caledonian Thistle
R: Airdrie
R: Ayr

Second Division

C: Stirling Albion
P: Cowdenbeath
R: Arbroath
R: Clyde

Third Division

C: Livingston
P: Forfar