CENTRAL BELTER: Scotland's most competitive league may have lost a couple of romantic outposts, but the battle for this season's Championship title will be as wide open as ever

Back in the 1990s, World Wrestling Entertainment — or the World Wrestling Federation, as it was then known — found itself under attack from a smaller rival. 

Obscure and decidedly uncool to begin with, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) soon became so outrageous and unpredictable with its storylines that it defeated its bigger, better-established rival in the cable ratings war for 83 consecutive weeks.

The last three seasons have, in some ways, felt like the Scottish Championship’s WCW phase. 

The more the Scottish Premiership has been dragged down by the joy-sapping effects of VAR and the predictability of Celtic’s yearly procession to the title, the more the grass has seemed greener down in the Championship, with its coupon-busting ‘anyone can beat anyone’ chaos and a knack for surrealist comedy that Brass Eye creator Chris Morris would be proud of.

First, there was Kilmarnock almost being pipped to the title by the travelling circus of Dick Campbell’s Arbroath. Then we had Dundee being pursued right down to the final day by a Queen’s Park side chasing a third promotion in three seasons. Last term it was Dundee United’s turn to be the bookies’ favourite given the fright of their lives by an unexpected adversary, this time a reborn Raith Rovers.

The sad epilogue to the WCW story is that eventually they ran out of storylines, then money, and were gobbled up by Vince McMahon’s WWF. Of course, nothing of the kind is about to happen to the Championship, but the 2024-25 edition of Scotland’s most manic division — which kicks off when Queen’s Park pay a visit to Falkirk this evening — is undoubtedly a slightly harder sell from a marketing standpoint.

With Dundee United promoted to the Premiership and Livingston coming down in their place, the Championship no longer has a marquee name for the nine other clubs to take potshots at. And the relegation of Inverness and Arbroath leaves it somewhat bereft of regional flavour. In fact, the entire Championship map almost fits into the Central Belt now; the 90 miles separating Stark’s Park from Somerset Park representing the longest journey any fan will have to undergo over the forthcoming 36 matchdays.

What impact any of this has in terms of bums on seats, or viewing figures for BBC Scotland’s Friday night live games, remains to be seen. But the difference in entertainment value is likely to be negligible.

‘I’d say all 10 clubs will be, at a minimum, looking at a top-four finish — with potentially five or six really aiming for the title,’ Livingston chief executive Dave Black tells Mail Sport. ‘It will make for huge games across the league all season and we’re looking forward to it.

‘There’s been lots to enjoy about the Championship as a neutral over the last couple of seasons but, in all honesty, I’ll be more than happy with a boring, uneventful campaign this time round — so long as we find ourselves top of the pile come May.’

Theoretically, it should be Livingston — off the back of six seasons in the top flight — assuming that mantle of the marquee name but, lacking the fan numbers and financial backing that predecessors like Killie and Dundee United were able to fall back on in the same situation, many foresee a complicated campaign lying ahead for the Lions. And that includes the bookies, who have Livi pegged as mere third favourites for the title, behind Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle.

Perhaps it’s worth remembering, though, that this is a club whose entire raison d’etre over their 29-year existence has been proving people wrong.

Having retained the services of manager Davie Martindale and totally revamped the squad, the West Lothian outfit are giving off a quiet air of confidence about their return to life in the second tier — or at least they were, until the shock defeat to The Spartans last weekend which saw Martindale’s side tumble out the Premier Sports Cup.

‘(Chairman) John Ward and I both wanted Davie to stay, and Davie himself wanted the chance to lead us back into the top flight, so that made it a fairly quick and easy conversation,’ explains Black, a lifelong fan whose own remarkable ascent through the Livi hierarchy, from club shop to boardroom, mirrors Martindale’s.

‘What Davie has achieved in his time at the club has been terrific, and for me, he’s more than earned the right to have the club stick by him at this point. We had to put last season’s disappointment behind us on the full-time whistle of the final game, make our peace with it and put all our energy into returning to the top flight. And, by and large, the majority of our support have been fantastic across the summer.

‘Whether the bookies have us as favourites to win the league or not is irrelevant. We were touted as favourites to be relegated for the last six seasons, and for five of those the bookies were miles off the mark.

‘Internally, we’ll be putting pressure on ourselves across the club to push as hard as we can for a successful season. But we’re under no illusions about the quality in this league.’

Speaking of which: Raith Rovers. Inspired by new ownership and the cavalier tactics of Ian Murray, Raith had the time of their life in last year’s Championship, beating Dundee United home and away and enjoying a stunning streak of comebacks and late victories, before a more sedate final third of the season saw them eventually lag behind United and suffer a heavy aggregate defeat to Ross County in the play-off final.

Pushed on by big crowds and an in-your-face social media strategy, the Kirkcaldy men have often seemed fuelled by sheer vibes. The question now is whether that can be sustained over the longer term.

‘The club have been relentless in using social media as a force for positivity, and people in the town have really taken notice of the marketing,’ says Robbie Weir of fan podcast Oh No No No. ‘Season ticket sales are up and it feels like the club are announcing new sponsorship deals every week, so people are continuing to buy into the project around Rovers on and off the pitch.’

After recruiting experienced former Hibs pair Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson (aged 34 and 36), and youth in the form of midfield talents Kai Montagu and Lewis Gibson (aged 17 and 18), it is Raith that have taken that poisoned chalice of the ‘bookies’ favourites’ tag. But can a club that finished seventh only two seasons ago cope with that degree of pressure?

‘No less than six of our current squad have been promoted from the Championship before,’ Weir points out. ‘There isn’t any doubt that this should be the most open Championship in years, but I’d expect that Ian Murray and the squad are really well-suited to handle the stress of the campaign.’

Others suspect that the trophy may instead be headed for Maryhill. After a season and a half of high-scoring football and steady progress under manager and club legend Kris Doolan, Partick Thistle fans are hoping now might be their moment to pounce and seal automatic promotion, without any need for the emotional torture of the play-offs — where the Jags have suffered penalty shootout defeats two years in a row now.

Leading this quest, as ever, is evergreen goal machine Brian Graham, assisted by a promising batch of academy graduates and a group of eye-catching new signings led by returning midfielder Kyle Turner.

‘There’s no denying that expectations are higher this season,’ offers David Forrest, a contributor to Thistle podcast Draw, Lose or Draw. ‘Every panellist on our podcast has predicted we’ll lift the league title. Considering the pragmatic nature of a lot of the gang, it’s a frightening bit of hubris!

‘Last year, a lot of people were just happy the club didn’t die or get sucked into the drop zone. This time round, I think the majority of the fanbase would be disappointed if we didn’t go up, considering the lack of a wounded giant who can buy the league.

‘The general idea with “Doolanball” since the day he stepped in has always been “we’ll concede one and score two”, and it’s a very exciting style of play.’

The intrigue doesn’t end once you get beyond the Championship’s three main favourites, either. Ayr United have a glistening new North Stand, 10 new signings and a manager in Scott Brown whose measured approach is proving totally at odds with the rabble-rousing persona of his playing days.

Falkirk play some of the best football seen anywhere in the lower leagues and are fresh from an unbeaten title win in League One.

And then there’s Airdrieonians. Surprise fourth-place finishers last term in their first Championship campaign for a decade, the Diamonds appeared primed for a dose of second-season syndrome when they lost defender/assistant manager Callum Fordyce, player of the year Charlie Telfer and top scorer Nikolay Todorov.

Judging by the League Cup group stage, however, where Aberdeen were given a scare and East Kilbride were tanked 8-0, widely admired player-manager Rhys McCabe has done an excellent job of rebuilding on a shoestring budget. And Northern Irish striker Ben Wilson — six goals in four competitive games so far — already looks like a ‘signing of the season’ frontrunner.

Slightly to the south, Hamilton Accies are still buzzing from their successful ambush of Inverness in the play-offs, and appear to have won a watch by picking up the aforementioned Todorov for free. But elsewhere, there is scepticism and, in one corner of Fife, outright panic.

A sense of mild identity crisis endures at Queen’s Park, with their permanent move into Lesser Hampden — or The City Stadium — not happening any time soon and some of the club’s most promising youngsters moving on over the summer.

Greenock Morton were heavily beaten by East Fife in the cup and have lost George Oakley and Robbie Muirhead, the twin battering rams that defined Dougie Imrie’s up and at ‘em tactics.

And where to start with Dunfermline, where James McPake and the Pars’ German owners are already under severe pressure due to an underwhelming transfer window, poor results throughout pre-season and an embarrassing administrative error that prevented them registering young goalkeeper Kai McLean.

Yet, ultimately, this is a league where fans’ proclamations of doom have to be taken with the exact same pinch of salt as any chat about their team waltzing to the title. When the remaining four games from the first fixture card kick off on Saturday afternoon, all fans like David will know for sure is that they don’t have a trip to sunny Gayfield to look forward to this season.

‘It’s a travesty, to lose those trips to Arbroath, Dundee and Inverness and have a league swarmed with astro-turf pitches in the middle of housing estates,’ he laughs. ‘But there are still some crackers in there, like Ayr, Dunfermline and Cappielow. Away days are only as good as you make them...’