Scottish Championship: Why you should be following 'the best league in the world'

Dipo Akinyemi, Owen Coyle, Ian McCall and Dick Campbell (left to right) have all been key protagonists already this season

There is some World Cup kicking off soon, but we're here to talk up the best league in the world - the Scottish Championship.

Will Somerset Park soon be a top-flight ground? Has a near-fairytale flipped into a nightmare? Is a six-foot-seven Faroese striker in Kirkcaldy the signing of the season?

Put your sticker albums and wall charts to one side and take a dive with BBC Sport Scotland into the wonderful wilderness of Scottish football's second-tier.

Seven title challengers?

Yep, you read that right. Seven teams are separated by just seven points... it's getting tighter. Are that many nations in contention in Qatar?

"If anyone can sit on a Saturday and predict more than 50% of the results, they're doing a lot better than me," BBC Scotland pundit Leanne Crichton said.

Let's take a wee look then at the state of play following another classic weekend of Championship shenanigans.

Lee Bullen's Ayr United lead - but only just. Conceding a late equaliser up in Inverness allowed the chasing pack to edge nearer. Still, few would have had them there at the start of the season. They won just nine games in finishing eighth last term but are already just one short of that tally in this campaign.

Although unbeaten in their last six, the league leaders don't boast the best run right now, though. That belongs to Greenock Morton, who recovered from a 5-1 scudding by Partick Thistle to give five to Hamilton Academical and four to Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ground gained on the Honest Men courtesy of Saturday's win away to Cove Rangers.

Level with Morton - and in search of an immediate return to the top tier - are Dundee. Gary Bowyer's experienced side haven't stormed the division as might have been expected, but they remain breathing down the neck of Ayr and well within the mix.

And what of promoted Queen's Park? They're just a point further adrift and put in the performance of the weekend, stunning Stark's Park by coming from behind to bounce back along the M8 with a 5-2 trouncing of Raith Rovers. Owen Coyle's side have been nomads while renovations continue at Lesser Hampden, but they made themselves comfortable in Fife.

As Crichton said, "you're only a couple of results away from jumping a number of places..." and that's exactly what Ian McCall's Thistle have done. Bringing their five-game losing streak to an end with a resounding win over Arbroath, the Jags jumped two spots up to bring some much-needed thrills to Firhill.

Despite having not won in six, Inverness too are only five off the top. Salvaging a late point against Ayr after taking the lead, Caley Thistle are very much still in the conversation.

Raith's form epitomises the Championship. Before Saturday, Ian Murray's lot enjoyed the second-best defence - then conceded five in just over 30-minutes of football. But, with wins against the top two, you never know what you're going to get when Rovers are in town.

Potential promotion to basement battle

So, seven title challengers, but Arbroath are not among them.

Dick Campbell's troops stole the footballing nation's hearts last season - unless you were a Kilmarnock fan - when the part-time team came agonisingly close to winning the Championship.

This season, though, just preserving their second-tier status looks like the goal. With just two wins, the Angus club are in the relegation play-off spot, one point above Hamilton.

Top scorers last term with 54 goals, Campbell's side have only found the net 10 times - the league's lowest by a stretch.

"They've lost key players - Joel Nouble, Jack Hamilton and Nicky Low, " Crichton said.

"They are not turning those tight games into victories like they were last season and Gayfield isn't the fortress it was either. Other teams have improved, too, but there is always a bit of magic in Arbroath."

Hamilton could do with some of that, too. They dominated possession and had more shots on target than leaders Ayr last weekend but lost 3-2. That's been the story of the season for John Rankin's lot, shipping 31 goals in 16 games, four defeats in their last five with the latest a 1-0 loss on Tayside.

And what of Cove? Ten points off the promotion play-offs and five points clear of relegation spots. Which way will the Aberdeen side's first-ever second-tier campaign go?

Choose your season-signing fighter

Manchester City's Erling Haaland is considered the summer's most fearsome striking signing by many, but plenty Scottish Championship defenders would make mention of Ayr's Dipo Akinyemi.

With a burst of acceleration, quick feet and a vicious strike, Akinyemi is a prospect. The 25-year-old has 14 goals in 16 appearances, including three in the last two games and six against Ayr's three closest rivals.

"I think he is getting better every week," Crichton said. "I wouldn't be surprised if there has been a bit of interest in him, but he has the chance to try and be a part of something really special with Ayr."

Then there is John Frederiksen. Raith's 6ft 7in Faroese international striker's height could prove to be an asset.

While he's spent more time so far ducking under most door frames and ensuring his feet don't dangle off the end of the bed than scoring goals, don't be surprised if he starts making his presence felt soon.

And what of a man who has appeared at an Olympic Games, a World Cup and even won the Africa Cup of Nations? Step up - or back-flip - Efe Ambrose.

Morton are the former Nigerian international's sixth Scottish club, with his signing a "brilliant" move, Crichton suggested. His signature move graced the Cappielow surface for the first time a week ago against Thistle and his name is already being sung from the stands - quite the welcome on the west-coast.

So there you have it, focus on Dens instead of Doha. Arbroath rather than Argentina. And Billy Dodds over Didier Deschamps.