Eric D

Thanks for your kind words, but I think Raithie and you will find it was a CEO of another club that stated that.

Believe me, I'm as upset about this as you are, not least because of the impact on the attendance, hospitality and POTY, but also because of the impact on all supporters of BOTH clubs. When we have a succession of 3 dislocated games in a row, because of TV, the situation does become all the more annoying. However... the clubs voted in 2013 to accept this MG Alba TV deal and the contracts do allow the companies free choice of fixtures. UEFA rules and other broadcasters rights restrict available slots for Alba (which only starts broadcasting at 4pm daily) and to be fair to Alba, the late announcement is down to them being at the end of the food chain after BT Sport and Sky choose fixtures, dates & timings. I guess it kinda goes with the territory as Rovers (and Falkirk I suppose) are 'box office' for Alba. Imagine how it would be if we supported a leading EPL club, say. We'd rarely have a Saturday 3pm kick off. The POTY committee is meeting this evening and revised arrangements will be announced ASAP. The club will also respond by way of an announcement, probably tomorrow or Monday.

Rather than risk antagonising some supporters with my tired attempts, at the end of a busy week, at open communication , I shall try to content myself with simply continuing to monitor supporter opinion as expressed online. Thanks for the above suggestions., which I do appreciate. There is already work in progress in some of the areas posters have outlined, I'm glad to say, so 'watch this space' and we do already operate an extensive kids tickets scheme across schools and organised youth groups in and around Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes. As I say, I shall continue to take note of further ideas expressed in this and other forums and indeed any offers to help bring these ideas to life will be welcome. If anyone wishes to speak to me one-to-one, either with offers of help, ideas or opinions (good or bad), I'm happy to chat if you'd care to phone me at Stark's Park or make an appointment to meet up. Thanks

I do understand that some people can be turned off by reading a story pointing out that levels of support are disappointing, but I maintain that - in the interests of transparency / openness - it would be wrong only to give out good news stories. As has been said, I have focused considerable efforts on improving social media communication (which is why I'm writing this) and it's good that people are noticing the improvement. And you're right, on Twitter we get far more views / retweets / likes for positive / informative football related stories than we do about things like ticket sales / financial info etc...but I maintain that I can't be selective AND transparent at the same time. Also, Ali More and his team are working hard to improve the match day experience and attract the next generation of supporters. Bottom line is that many of these positive football developments...in particular the signings of Robertson,, Longridge, Connolly, Panayiotou and Hardie have only been possible as a result of external funding of these over budget commitments, and that's not a permanently sustainable financial model. So if we don't see fans returning, there are undesirable consequences looking forward. We do not have the luxury of time to await a trickle of returning supporters becoming a flowing stream as the assembly of next season's squad is already well under way. Season tickets will go on sale during April - and there will be an increased range of tickets on offer together with an option to spread payments rather than have to fork out a lump sum. If the uptake is strong, that gives us the best chance to support the gaffer to maintain / build on this season's progress. So, you'll appreciate that we just can't afford to wait and hope for supporters to drift back. We need to force the pace now, while our stock is on the rise, if we are to continue onwards and upwards. Anyway, we are all on the same side and I hope that, together, we really can maintain this momentum. ⚽⚽

Well, as Director and CEO of the current Raith Rovers blockbuster currently on location at San Starko dealing with dozens of ticket enquiries almost entirely from, shall we say, west of West Fife, can I ask you how you would wish to address my perceived negativity (even though you accept I have a point!)? Would you prefer if I lied to the support and told them we will be able to comfortably maintain or improve our squad whether our fans turn up or not, and whether we can afford to do so or not? There are lots of good news stories coming out of Stark's Park this season. We have done well to attract additional sponsorship to close the gap created by continuing low attendances. We have a strong management team and a very good squad of players getting good results, but are still not being supported in numbers by the local community (as you will see by the occupancy of the South Stand on Saturday). I have written and posted the vast majority of the good news stories published on our various media channels and then I come on here and see you single me out for criticism because I tell it as it is. Gies a brek, and allow my fellow directors and me and, in particular, our hard working staff to continue to keep the club on the straight and narrow with the help of our loyal fanbase and sponsors. And if you don't like being told the truth, don't read what I say on here or in the papers

Is that right, Rocky, aye?

Right guys, let me try to explain. But first of all, can I explain that I have significant interest in this subject matter as my wife is registered disabled and a very good friend of mine has severe disabilities. Second of all, I'd like to say sorry for any confusion. As has been suggested, the original message had to be rushed out by me on Sunday past in order to give enough notice of Wednesday's sale day. In hindsight I should have taken more time with the wording. Anyway... The situation is that, very annoyingly, the girls in the ticket office and stewards / turnstile operators are regularly faced with what can best be described as 'chancers'. Fraudsters would be another way of putting it. Things like out of date passes, using other people's passes and - shall we say - not being entirely truthful about age. We have tried cracking down on it, but other ways are still found to diddle the club out of money it so badly needs. We even know of a carer who sit up the back of the stand while the disabled person sits down the front. Apart from anything else, this is placing the disabled person at risk in the event of health issues or in an emergency. We also know of a disabled person who requires a free carer pass at Stark's Park but somehow manages to travel to places like Ibrox and sit alone there. Nuff said! It's difficult to put a figure on it, but I'd estimate that fraud in various forms has cost us a five figure sum this season. My job as CEO is to try to address that, and this policy change we are talking about here is just the first of several measures that will be rolled out next season. Before anyone asks, this will most definitely include closer monitoring of all concessionary admission. So those who have admitted in this discussion to 'trying it on' can expect to be challenged next season. Issue of complimentary tickets will also be significantly reduced. That said, there is another issue at play as well that is not linked to fraud in any way. It's simply that we were arguably too generous in the past with concessionary pricing. At very many places of entertainment eg some gigs, cinemas, other sporting events etc (Graeme also mentioned the Flyers), and other discretionary spending like eating out or buying clothes there are no / minimal concessions. I know that from personal experience. At a few others, both disabled person and carer get in free. That's very generous, but RRFC is unfortunately not able to stretch that far in its financial circumstances. We have therefore chosen the middle ground, and followed the steer given by disability organisations at our last 2 (very positive) disability audits...ie we will charge the disabled person the normal price for their age and offer a free carer pass, if required. I appreciate that the price adjustment just introduced appears severe. Arguably it is, but we are simply trying to align with the market norm. Issue of the free carer pass will be strictly regulated, and card use will be closely monitored via CCTV, it goes without saying that genuine carers such as Graeme P have nothing whatsoever to fear about this tougher regime as Raith Rovers FC will continue to do all it can to accommodate people with disabilities, limited only by the design of a century old stand! Just to try to clear up one other point... The website article reference to walk up concessions was intended to refer to Senior Citizens and Juniors. Disabled match day admission has always been different and that will change for 15/16 in line with the season ticket changes. In summary, 1. Our season ticket prices are aligned to age criteria only. There are no concessions for other categories such as job seekers or students. It's an attempt to keep the offering straightforward. The only exception to this principle is the free carer concession for disabled persons. 2. We are by various means tightening up on control of access to the stadium including by away fans, and other aspects of match day processes, to try to maximise match day revenues. I hope this helps clarify, and that readers will accept that the overall package of measures is ultimately in the best interests of RRFC and it's supporters. Once again, sorry that the original website message wasn't up to scratch.