[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-scottish-premiership-best-of-a-bad-bunch":82,"category-counts-nav":100,"related-scottish-premiership-best-of-a-bad-bunch":110},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":98,"_path":99},"Scotland's Title Race: A Crown Forged From Mediocrity","scottish-premiership-best-of-a-bad-bunch","football","Football: Analysis","James Chen","The Scottish Premiership looks destined to hand the title to the best of a bad bunch — but early-season cracks are already showing.","2026-08-09 00:48:52","1 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fscottish-premiership-best-of-a-bad-bunch.webp",[93,94,95,96,97],"Scottish Premiership","Celtic","Rangers","Hearts","Aberdeen","## The Scottish Premiership's Unsettled Top\n\nCeltic, Rangers, and Aberdeen have all dropped points in matches where three were expected. Hearts remain competitive but show glimpses of inconsistency that could prove costly in a title race measured in narrow margins. The gulf between the top four and the rest has not widened, but neither has it narrowed.\n\nThe phrase \"best of a bad bunch\" has circulated through Scottish football media. No side has looked imperious. No side has looked vulnerable either. This is a title race defined by the absence of a clear frontrunner, nearly a first in a decade.","\u002Farticles\u002Fscottish-premiership-best-of-a-bad-bunch",[101,102,103,104,85,105,106,107,108,109],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","general","golf","mma","long-reads","tennis",[111,125,138],{"id":112,"stem":112,"path":113,"title":114,"category":85,"badge":115,"badgeType":116,"author":117,"authorRole":118,"authorInitials":119,"date":120,"readTime":121,"image":122,"imageAlt":114,"tags":123,"excerpt":124},"amorim-agrees-milan-head-coach-allegri-replacement","\u002Farticles\u002Famorim-agrees-milan-head-coach-allegri-replacement","Amorim Agrees Milan Deal as United Dodge Full Compensation Bill","Transfers","tag","Marcus Wright","SportPulse Contributor","MW","2026-06-29 19:35:34","6 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002F9c1b735d0caedd6c9ff52ca9d7767218b456bd4d\u002F480_58_1774_1419\u002Fmaster\u002F1774.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d3c5a5e3237d34ab81bc989e1cbec7d3","Serie A, Premier League, AC Milan, Manchester United","Ruben Amorim returns to management at AC Milan, saving Manchester United millions on his sacked-coach payout.",{"id":126,"stem":126,"path":127,"title":128,"category":85,"badge":129,"badgeType":130,"author":87,"authorRole":131,"authorInitials":132,"date":133,"readTime":134,"image":135,"imageAlt":128,"tags":136,"excerpt":137},"dawson-banton-released-for-t20-finals-day-england-squad-management","\u002Farticles\u002Fdawson-banton-released-for-t20-finals-day-england-squad-management","Dawson and Banton Released for T20 Finals Day","Feature","category","Senior Football Analyst","JC","2026-07-17 10:17:13","9 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F2e99\u002Flive\u002F36c05620-81be-11f1-b976-0b9c15b0ccfc.png","T20 Blast, England Cricket, Vitality Blast","England release Liam Dawson and Tom Banton for T20 Finals Day, balancing international duties with domestic cricket's grandest stage.",{"id":139,"stem":139,"path":140,"title":141,"category":85,"badge":129,"badgeType":130,"author":142,"authorRole":118,"authorInitials":143,"date":144,"readTime":145,"image":146,"imageAlt":141,"tags":147,"excerpt":148},"scotland-clarke-seven-survivors-2026-world-cup-continuity","\u002Farticles\u002Fscotland-clarke-seven-survivors-2026-world-cup-continuity","Seven Survivors: Clarke's Loyalty Blueprint Takes Scotland to the World Cup","Elena Rossi","ER","2026-06-25 23:16:15","7 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F770e\u002Flive\u002F4d5fb100-64ae-11f1-b1db-af71d47507d6.png","World Cup, Scotland, International Football","Seven players from Clarke's first Scotland squad in 2019 remain at the 2026 World Cup, a testament to extraordinary continuity."]