Posted this on Fan Talk but decided to post it here as well.



Why should Raith open the North Stand for the pathetic amount of away supporters who make their way to Starks Park as it no doubt costs the club to open it for a handful of fans.

Teams want the North Stand open they should either bring a decent amount of fans with them or put up with the South side of the Main stand.

Totally pathetic away support today and clubs like this don't deserve to be in the same league as us, why should we give them a pay day when we go to Alloa yet it costs Raith to house their car full of people.

Give it to Morton and Cowden when they visit make the rest of them sit in the Main Stand.

No doubt Stranraer fans will come up in a tandem and we could house them in a garden shed and we cant afford to open up the North Stand and lose money.

Rant over.

I will get flamed for this but it's fucking true why should Raith pay out money to let pathetic amount of away supports use the North Stand. It isnt our fault you don't bring enough to justify opening it.

Why not just reopen the railway stand. My mate was saying this today: it would be far easier

It doesn't have a safety certificate. I don't think the toilets or anything work either.

Its no longer included in the official capacity of Stark's, which is 8000-odd instead of 10104.

Official website is a bit muddled on the issue

http://www.raithroversfc.com/cgi-bin/clubinfo.cgi

Lists the capacity as 10,104 but away allocation as 3,369

http://www.fife.police.uk/Default.aspx?page=1870

Away Support

The West Stand (Railway Stand) Total Seats 627
The North Stand. Total Seats 3369

So it includes the Railway Stand in total capacity but not when it gives the away support allocation. No seats in it anyway

You don't carry a massive support either though.Fair play you have brought between 200-300 fans the last couple of times and are one of the better supported teams-but dont go overboard on this!
We always bring 150-200 and although I agree we don't need to be in the North stand,but blaming the team is a load of bollocks.Look at your own board who could change this!

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Totally pathetic away support today and clubs like this don't deserve to be in the same league as us, why should we give them a pay day when we go to Alloa yet it costs Raith to house their car full of people.

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What a patronising comment

I've posted elsewhere about the crowd. I've a lot of time for Raith but comments like this do turn me off. Why don't we compare debts. I think you'll find Alloa, a 'diddy team' have never been as financially mismanaged as Raith have been in the past

agree with the allocation of the away fans. althoguh i enjoy the games more facing the away fans. gives us an aim to b shouting and singing at instead of having thm out of sight in the main stand.

I think the last time we put away fans in the North Stand, we got bummed 7-1.

Are you Morton in disguise? I thought it was only them that talked about the size of support! We were in the corner of the main stand 3 or so years ago and the view is pish, it almost made Somerset look like a palace in comparision.

Look forward to seeing your massive support next week.

I'm simpy saying it's not cost effective to open a stand and maintain it for 4 games this season as all the other teams don't even bring enough to open the Railway Stand if it was still available.

And I bet were bring far more than 50 and at least give some vocal support to our team.

They should not be in the same league as you? Clarity here please ?

Its more to do with costs than "We've got more fans than you."

We're opening a 3500 capacity stand, for 50 people. Means we have to switch on the leccy for the entire stand, employ extra catering staff, extra stewards and various other costs.

We had about as many fans at the game as Stirling had at the recent game at Forthbank did we not?

Also there was no vocal support backing your team at all and you were meant to be the bloody home team.

Don't you people care or do you just go out of habit?

Exactly, it dosent justify the means to open it for them.

They would be the first to complain if they were housed in the Main Stand but expect Raith to operate at a loss and it's not on anymore.

That I don't agree with at all.

Alloa could be playing in the park, and we could be playing in the San Siro, it doesn't matter.

Only football should decide who's in what division.

I will take that comment back but the rest I stand by.

Think we were expected to take more to the game today, and that's why there is such an uproar. The bus wasnt on, which would have probably meant we would have brought about 100. What does singing have to do with anything ?

The point is why should Raith open the North Stand and potentially lose money from tiny amounts of away support it isn’t cost effective. If fans can’t be bothered to make the relatively short distance from Alloa to Kirkcaldy why should we even attempt to open it for clubs further away.

As for the comments about signing It isnt a funeral you are at but way many of you sit during games you would think it was. Directed at some fans in general btw.

Last time we came to Stark's, it was us making the noise, and you were the ones sitting back. Funny how times have changed since DL left????

It was the last game of the season and we had nothing to play for not even pride you had a play-off place to win.

The way you celebrated at the end it was as if you had won promotion

He's got a point... Dalziel goes and suddenly Raith think they're Real Madrid, AC Milan or Morton

Hardly

big away suport you's only brought 50-odd to stair park when u's had a new manger for his first game as well so you can't say anything about big away suport's

and for a 'diddy' team like stranraer we always bring roughly 100-150 suport to away games

ie. 60 if your lucky fae Stranraer.

It's up to Raith to open the appropriate part(s) of the ground.

Surely if your tape off part of your ground, as you do, the number of Stewards you "employ*" is entirely down to the part(s) of the ground you open.

It's not Alloa 50-150 visiting fans fault you're in the 2nd division. It's not the Alloa fans fault you are p!sh. Look closer to home from the blame.

* if employ is the right word!

Edit: Unbelieveable spelling - or is it unbelievable?

Back up from a Stirling fan - Thanks

What a load of crap about a complete non-issue. Youre in the same league as us because of your performance on the park, thats the way football works (or is supposed to anyway..SPL1/2 ). To be honest I dont care whereI have to sit at Kirkcaldy but I cant imagine it costs that much to open the north stand. 1 turnstyle operator, someone on the pie stall and 4 stewards?? Even 50 fans paying £12 is easily going to cover that.

As for our support today people have already stated that the guy who helps run the Alloa supporters club and bus was getting married and as such the bus didnt run and a number of fans who do travel to away games were at the wedding, otherwise we would have had more fans there. We took over 300 last time we were there, does that mean we are allowed to be in the same league as the mighty Raith

Its not as if Raith bring a huge support to Alloa anyway

Breakdown of Forthbank crowds this season-

Ayr
620(home fans), 374 (visiting)

Forfar
529 (home) 46 (away)

Raith
619 (home), 367 (away)

Stranraer
549 (home), 89 (away)

So Ayr have brought a bigger support than the mighty Raith this season-how dare they.

Visiting Raiths ground last season-I never heard a peep from your lot and I was in the dug ouy last season (closer to the Raith fans)

Dinnae bother listening to Steven, what kind of support were you expecting from Alloa? OK, maybe the Main Stand would be better for a handful of fans, but if I was travelling to an away ground I'd at least want a good view, which you don't get from the main stand. Maybe give away fans all the main stand? Would be a better atmosphere in the South Stand then

Spot on mate



Steady

im in the railway stand every home game to put the flag up, and no way is it going to get opened anytime soon. some parts of the roofs have holes on them, we would need new seats, as someone said dont think the toilets work. theres too much rong with it to list everything.

Whats right with it

Th only thing I'd say is if clubs don't open their nice big shiny stands for the away fans and pap them in the old stands with pillars obstructing every 20 yards of the park, then they should reduce the admission as the facillities in older parts of grounds are never as good as the new build ones.

Try spending a Saturday afternoon at Newmains......

That's utterly ridiculous.

That comment is a reflection of everything that's wrong with football clubs attitudes today, and i hope Raith Rovers don't have the same opinion.

For a change i agree with you monster

Steven, just be happy that you have a team to support, and stop moaning about crowd sizes eh? its pretty obvious that teams with smaller fan bases will bring a smaller support *puts on basil fawlty voice* what did you expect, hordes of alloa fans roaming they away stand? well?

Thanks, but you're still a retarded chimp.

A bit harsh...






...on chimps.

Firstly, as MIF said, the Albion fans comfortably outnumbered Raith fans that day. Raith's away following is pretty poor considering the relatively high number of home fans you get. 367 is about a fifth of the average number of home fans at Raith. Albion would generally take 150, possibly as many as 200 to Raith - that's about a third of our paltry home support. I'm not having a go at Raith fans by the way - just pointing out how ridiculous it is for a Raith fan to slag other teams' support.

As for "vocal backing" - sure, we don't make much noise at Forthbank, but few clubs do make much noise at home at this level, Raith included. We make more noise away from home.

Why the f**k is this being posted here anyway, go to the board ya pure nugget.

And u go back to your third divison thread

Good post.

What an absolute load of bollocks.

We'll see how many Raith fans attend next week before we decide to open the railway end at Somerset then shall we?

Oh and Steven, I look forward to hearing the glorious, loud singing from your massive away support that'll be there next week!

What a pillock.

100ish.

bearing in mind this is only one supporters view. I have nothing against people using the North stand, frankly what really makes the difference is the fact of how far u travel for away fans. I don't go to many away games cos frankly i can't be arsed trailing my body all the way to Peterhead/Greenock/Ayr to watch rovers missing sitters and getting more draws

You "cant be arsed" true supporter eh? if you care about the team at all you would go to more away games!

The football was pretty poor yesterday so I was pleased to indulge in my regular hobby of away crowd counting. If the club housed the away fans in the old Main Stand I would be heartbroken and there would be no reason to go to the footie.

To be fair, the singing from the Rovers fans yesterday was pretty good. However, I found the presence of atmosphere frightening and confusing, so I left early.

I can confirm that I will not be joining the thronging hordes of Rovers fans making there way to Somerset Park next week. So the away crowd may drop below 1,000. Ayr fans will have to take up the slack.

That Morton though, they've got some support.. Would fill the Albert Hall two times over.

Whether its 1 fan or a 1000 fans coming to away grounds they deserve to be treated with respect and looked after the same way as home fans.That is unless they are idiots and thats when the police will sort it out but otherwise they should be looked after.

50 fans will cover the costs of opening the stand, why build it and no use it? Personally I wouldnae put anybody in the corner of the main stand except pars, OF fans and people fae england

That's practically the whole of scotland!