Relegation is always a bitter pill to swallow. But in the case of The Spartans, it was always likely to come. King Leonidas, never one to get downheartened by a little misfortune, viewed the return to League 1 as an opportunity to realign, strengthen and weed out any bad eggs in his changing room. And he was keen to ensure none of his players “got a grumpy on,” working them harder than ever in the summer of 2029.
Leonidas’ 6th season at Spartans began by selling another homegrown prospect. They were forced to move striker Laurie Berra on to Falkirk for £50k with a 50% of next sale clause, but got him back on loan for free. Another hot prospect was promoted in 15-year-old midfielder Kenny Wilson, who’s retraining as a left winger, along with striker Regan Stirling and centre backs Regan Crabbe, who improved on loan to become a starter, and Matteo Lennon.
Six seasons in, it seems prudent to have a look at how the squad is developing in terms of Leonidas’ go-to attributes. As you can see below, there’s a splattering of high green attributes plenty of mid-range yellows, a few too many mid-to-low blues and an increasingly-pleasing lack of red. Arguably most pleasing is hot prospect Wilson’s 19 bravery, 14 determination and 15 teamwork while the squad is generally pretty well-rated on determination but lacks a little overall on bravery and positioning.
The manager also decided to revert back to the 4-4-2 that had worked pretty well until last season, with a few tweaks to the tactical instructions.
Feeling More Comfortable Back In League 1
The return to 4-4-2 worked nicely in the League Cup as wins over Queen of the South, Queen’s Park and Bonnyrig Rose, before losing to Motherwell, secured qualification. However, they got Rangers in the 2nd round and lost 3-0.
The bookies don’t fancy Spartans’ chances to bounce back, predicting them to finish 9th in League 1 with title odds of 33/1. Peterhead are relegation favourites with 50/1 title odds while fellow relegated side Dunfermline are tipped for promotion at 1/91 to win the league followed by Partick (11/4), Ayr (5/1), Clyde (8/1) and Stirling (9/1).
Spartans also started really well in the league as an Aaron Reid double and goals by wingers Gary Johnston and Graeme McGinley sealed a 4-0 thumping of Peterhead. They built on that with a 1-1 at Stirling then striker Steven Sharp snapped his ludicrous 26-match goal drought to edge a 3-2 win over Queen of the South. The good tstart continued with a 1-1 at Dunfermline then Reid bagged back-to-brack braces to nick a 2-1 win at home to Clyde and 4-3 success at Ayr, which took Spartans top.
They stayed top as rivalries were renewed with FC Edinburgh as the midfield duo of Laurie Brandon and Kevin Hale earned a 2-1 away win. Reid was at it again as he scored twice in 4-0 demolitions of Partick and Stirling then Berra scored the only goal at Peterhead to equal Spartans’ away win tally all of last season (3) inside 11 games. Leonidas’ 300th game in charge was s trip to Queen of the South and his side marked the landmark in style with Reid’s hat trick and Berra and winger Ruari Darge strikes sealing a 5-2 thumping.
The form showed no sign of abating, including a 4-2 win at Clyde with goals by their four attacking threats McGinley, Darge, Berra and Reid. Berra and Reid strikes downed Ayr 2-1 to surpass last season’s tally of 35 points after just 15 games. And Berra scored the only goal at home to FC Edinburgh to take Spartans halfway through the season still unbeaten, but that streak ended with a 4-2 loss at 2nd-place Partick. However, a 3-2 win at Stirling on Boxing Day moved them 10 points clear of Partick and they finished 2029 in style by smashing 7 past Peterhead with Reid bagging 4 and Stirling scoring a hat trick on his first league start of the season.
Building On An Impressive Start
Leonidas was delighted with the brilliant start his young team had made to the campaign but was keen to ensure they didn’t let things slide. So he was naturally furious that they began 2030 with a goalless draw at Queen of the South and a 1-0 defeat at Dunfermline to allow Partick to reduce their lead to 5 points.
After two games without scoring, they put that right with a 5-3 win at home to Clyde led by a Berra brace. Not to be outdone, Reid scored twice in a 3-1 win at Ayr to quickly extend their lead to 9 points. But that was slashed as Spartans drew at FC Edinburgh then lost 2-0 at home to Partick and struggled to a 0-0 at home to Stirling. A 2-0 win at Peterhead thanks to second-half Reid and McGinley strikes got them back on track, before a 0-0 at Queen of the South and a 4-3 loss at home to 3rd-place Dunfermline. But Partick also suffered a drop in form, leaving Spartans 7 points clear heading into the final 4 games, which included a potentially tasty trip to Partick on the final day.
Game 1 – Ayr United (4th, home): Spartans took a big step towards promotion straight up as an early Berra brace and Reid’s strike just before half time earned a 3-0 win over Ayr. However, they lost ever-present right back Barrie Allum to a broken leg. Partick also won to keep the gap at 7 points.
Game 2 – Montrose (8th, away): They had their first chance to win the title at Montrose and started well as Reid headed home against his former club. Montrose levelled through a nonsense penalty, given Crabbe obviously got the ball, but Spartans bossed the game and were soon back in front through another Reid header. They continued to perform well after the break and got their reward through another header, this time Berra powering home from a Jack Harkness cross. Montrose again got lucky with an own goal but Spartans held on for a 3-2 victory.
The Spartans were Champions of League 1!
Spartans celebrated the title success with a 1-0 win over rivals FC Edinburgh before a final day defeat at Partick. But they finished the season on 77 points after 23 wins, 8 draws and 5 defeats, scoring a league-high 85 goals and conceding 45. Reid set a new League 1 goals record of 32, surpassing Blair Henderson’s tally of 29 in 2026, scoring a goal every 88.4 minutes and outperforming his xG by more than 10, followed by Berra on 21. The two strikers also had the highest average ratings in the league with Reid on 7.56 and Berra 7.42. Also worth a mention is Mason Munn, whose 76% save percentage was the best in the league, and McGinley’s 15 assists was only bettered by Partick’s James Tilley. As a result, Reid won League 1 Player of the Season and Leonidas won Manager of the Season.
Celebrating Spartans Success
Leonidas was delighted that his young team had managed to dust themselves off and claim an unfancied but relatively comfortable League 1 title.
Spartans very much had their front two to thank for their title-winning campaign as Reid and Berra scored 68 goals between them. Reid led the way with 37 followed by Berra (31), Darge (11), McGinley (8) and Stirling and Brandon (5). Stalwart McGinley continues to defy his 2-star rating, leading the way with 17 assists followed by Darge (11), Johnston (9), the midfield duo of Brandon and Hale (8) and left back Ciarán Bow and Berra (7).
They also had a promising youth intake led by left winger Gordon Wallace, who was one of three 5-star potential prospects alongside right wingers Max Rennie and Derek Gibson plys 4.5-star potential midfielder Harley Shand and another winger Harry Handling (who would have made a great goalkeeper). Additionally, the U18s side won the U18 Scottish Tier 3 at a canter, wining the title in March and by 12 points, so there’s plenty of promise at the club.
The big task now awaiting Leonidas and his side was to again defy the odds at Championship level. But could they do it in their 1st season back in tier 2? Join us next Wednesday to find out!
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