R.R.FC

Yeah like I said I get the reasoning for it, I just thought we lost a bit after they went off. Also, neither player looked too happy about it, so they could have managed to finish the game. I think they would both have offered more late on than their replacements but it’s a minor gripe.

Can’t really argue with a draw. Thought we were the better team after Easton came on and had Airdrie mostly penned in but they still came incredibly close to winning it through Gallagher. And they were the better side the first hour. Thought Airdrie were one of the best teams we’ve played. Really good on the ball and always carried a threat, although they did notably change and look to be happy with a draw with 15-20 minutes to go. No complaints with the time wasting from an Airdrie perspective it’s what clever teams do but feel like there should have been more added time from the ref. Doubt it would have made any difference though. For us, 7 points from 9 is a good return for the week but it’s a bit frustrating not to pick up 3 points at home. I think the fact Dundee United also dropped points adds to that frustration rather than lessening it (ultimately we’re not finishing ahead of them anyway but the longer we can stay in touch the better). Not sure on the late double sub from Murray. I get trying to bring Brown’s drive into midfield and McGill did combine well with Stanton to create Easton’s late chance. However, when you need a late goal, regardless of how they’re playing, I’d rather have Vaughan and Connolly on the pitch than McGill and Masson.

You’re absolutely right, my nerves are shredded but it’s very much a ‘my diamond shoes are too tight’ problem to have!

That’s an excellent win. Down to the bare bones but fantastic effort from the squad. 7 points clear of 3rd place with a game in hand after 10 matches is outstanding. Being the Rovers I expect a bump back down to earth at any moment but the last 6 months since the new owners came in really have been great fun.

With the cup draw to Dunfermline, 5 of our next 6 are away from home. Still carrying a few injuries as well, going to be a really tough run for the squad. We’ve passed every test so far and our start has given us a bit of leeway going into this difficult set of fixtures but things can obviously change quickly in this division. We have won 10 points in the last 15 minutes of games this season which seems unsustainable but is a credit to the character of the players and strength of the squad. I mentioned on Saturday, it has happened far too often now for it to be luck. I think we will have a pretty good idea by the end of this upcoming away run where our battle is for the season. We will all have our own thoughts and it probably depends how optimistic you are as a fan. I still think top 4 should be the expectation and expect we might have a few set backs in the coming weeks but hope to be proved wrong and we can have a good run at 2nd. I think Dundee United will have far too much over the season, admittedly that is based on their results against others, rather than anything I saw at Starks a few weeks ago. Still, what a change from this stage last season. 8 points better off after 9 games in what I think is a stronger league. Average crowds more than doubled up from 2,025 to 4,320 after our first 5 league games, with admittedly a big Dundee United crowd and a derby helping but you can see the large increase even comparing similar games last season. Hopefully this can hold up well over the rest of the season even if results drop off and the winter weather sets in (not that the Dundee United game was glorious sunshine!). Wanted to get the positive post in now just in case our usual post clock change woes set in.

Murray was pretty honest in his post match interview, acknowledging the performance wasn’t good enough on Saturday and he will have told the players as much so hopefully we can see an improvement. As above if Easton is remotely fit I’d bring him and Connolly in for Mullin and McGill but I think it’ll be another 20 minute cameo for Dylan. This to me feels a bit like the Airdrie game, tricky away game on the back of a scarcely deserved 1-0 home win with a late goal. Murray said then they almost needed that defeat to reset things as it had been coming for a while, I think our performances have been good since that game but Saturday was poor. Hopefully we don’t need another defeat to reset things and we can put in a much improved performance here. Another week closer to having key players back too. The likes of Watson, Matthews, Hamilton and a fully fit Easton should make a big difference, it’s all about getting through till then as best we can. I’ll go for a 1-1 draw. Vaughan for us and Robbie Muirhead with his customary goal against us for Morton.

It shows how opinions differ in football, I thought that was outstanding.

Don’t know whether it’s credit to the Pars fans or a damning indictment of Falkirk that in a derby match thread with a 93rd minute winner, somehow one of their fans has ended up coming across as the biggest arsehole.

Chris Hamilton walking off clapping the Rovers fans and giving us a thumbs up as he was laughed down the tunnel is honestly the most real life representation of this meme that I have ever seen.

Awful game of football. Thought the Pars were slightly better but neither team will be too happy with their performance, looked every bit two sides struggling with injuries. Who fucking cares though? Great strike for the winner, take 90 minutes of shite for that any day of the week. Euan Murray MOTM for me, thought he was excellent. Thought him and Brown defended well, we could really do with Watson back but only to push Brown forward, he’s stepped in admirably at the back. Missed Hamilton up front as well, we had no presence up top despite being pretty direct at times (credit to Dunfermline for forcing that with their midfield pressing tbf). Excellent start to the season. The amount of late goals we are scoring is passed the point of luck.

As said it’s hard to be too confident until we know the full injury picture. Watson, Matthews, Corr and Thomson seem certainties to miss out. That leaves Murray, Millen, Byrne, Easton, Gullan and Hamilton that missed our last game or went off injured during it. If the first 4 from that list make it, I’d be a lot happier. Hamilton even as an option off the bench would be a huge boost too. Dunfermline have their injury problems too and McPake will be desperate to see a reaction after back to back defeats. I expect they’ll be much improved from the weekend. I do think we have a better squad than Dunfermline this season but that’s also been true the last 2 seasons we’ve shared a league and it’s not exactly guaranteed success in these games. Both games have been close this season so far and I expect this will be similar. I am rarely confident ahead of a derby so I’ll go for a 1-1.

I would agree that £24 is too much for a Scottish Championship game. However, a higher adult price allows us to offer free under 12 tickets to encourage the younger generation. For a example, a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children under 12) would be £48 at Starks as opposed to £56 at East End Park. Even one parent and a child of any age would work out overall cheaper at Starks. Obviously if you are just paying for an adult ticket it’s a bit much but if you have a family the pricing is better than most in this league.

Handball shout isn’t a penalty for me, too close and I would be pretty annoyed if it was given against us. Happily admit I have no clue on the handball rule anymore though. I’ve been one of Dabrowski’s biggest fans since he joined and glad to see him winning others over now too but I think most of the saves he made are ones you’d expect him to make. The exception being the point blank save in the second half which is excellent. The stop right at the end is better than I thought at the time too, still expect him to make it but it’s a good save, particularly getting it well away from danger. Good point and a draw definitely the fair result over the 90 minutes. Both teams deserve credit for a very watchable game given the conditions. Dundee United will win the league pretty comfortably IMO but matching them over 90 minutes with our most experienced defender missing, our captain playing out of position and our main (only) number 9 out should give the players and support some confidence for the rest of the season.

All the best with this. A dedicated Rovers podcast is something I’d been looking for a while now. Seems like a really good group of people involved so no doubt it’ll be a success, all the best with it! On John’s query regarding the timing of our goals conceded. I make it last season in the 15 minutes after half time we conceded 16 which was double the amount we scored in that same window and the most of any 15 minute interval. However, Saturday was only our second this season. If we split the game into 30 minute thirds since Murray took over there does appear to be a particular vulnerability either side of half time. Our percentage of goals conceded is as follows: First third: 22% Middle third: 46% Last third: 32% For the full picture the breakdown on our goals scored in Murray’s tenure is: First third: 30% Middle third: 27% Last third: 43%

I would return to Brown and Byrne as the midfield 2 with Stanton further forward if Watson is fit. I understand the reluctance given the exciting attacking performance first half on Saturday which we hadn’t seen for a few weeks. However, I think if we go toe to toe with Dundee United we get beat IMO. A look at their games so far show the teams with the most success are those who have got bodies behind the ball, defended well and frustrated them. Leaves us open to criticism if we get beat meekly taking a more defensive approach when it is 2nd vs 1st and we are at home so I’m probably in the minority but I just think it is the best way to get a result. I also think some of the criticism of Byrne and Brown as a partnership is over the top. There are obviously similarities and draw backs to them as a duo but it gives us a very solid base to build from and they’ve had far more good games than bad since they were paired together. Before the Airdrie game we averaged a goal for every 50 minutes they played together and a goal against every 149 minutes so it’s not exactly like they sapped all creativity from the side. We have more than enough creativity in the front 4 positions to create chances regardless of who is playing behind them. Similar style to the Ray McKinnon side which on our unbeaten run often played 2 out of Davo, Toshney or Callachan ahead of Barr and Benedictus to just give the front 4 the freedom to go and find space and create. Also, on Scott McGill, I really like him and think he’s an excellent squad player and someone I was pleased we sign. I just don’t think he’s good enough to actually be a starter for us in his natural position of midfield when everyone is fit. I get he brings energy and different qualities but I don’t think we’d gain anything by bringing him in for any of the midfielders or attackers who played on Saturday.

Can only assume Hamilton isn’t 100% fit, can be the only reason for him to be on the bench after playing well the last couple of games. Looks like the usual 4-2-3-1 but with Brown into centre back? Dabrowski Millen Brown Murray Dick Byrne Stanton Mullin Vaughan Easton Smith Could also be the 4-1-3-2 we seen earlier in the season with Stanton and Vaughan both pushed up one.

The step up from Kirkcaldy & Dysart to the Scottish Championship is absolutely gigantic. Hannah by his own admission in his recent interview still finds training at this new level difficult. He is nowhere ready to be our starting left back. We all hope that one day he will be but the absolute worst thing we could do for his development is throw him in before he’s ready. He’s a long term project, we need to give him time and space to adapt and develop. If Watson is out, I’d imagine the only two options to Murray are a straight swap for Masson or moving Liam Dick to centre back and bringing McGill at left back (assuming we don’t do any further transfer business).

Agreed there appears to have been a bit of an overreaction to yesterday. We have an above average Championship squad IMO but it’s not even close to perfect. We aren’t going to blow teams away week after week and every team in this league is capable of beating us on their day if we aren’t at our best, it’s the nature of the league. There’s things that can be learned of course but I don’t think there needs to be a full scale inquest and ripping up of something which has brought us 4 wins in 6 games. Pleased to hear Murray recognise the last couple of performances haven’t been great but I think it’s tweaks and fine tuning rather than anything wholesale needed. To be honest, I was more concerned Murray said in his interview he asked Watson to gamble on his fitness yesterday and it backfired. Has it been mentioned anywhere what type of injury he had? I would like to hope/assume it was just a knock and we weren’t taking any risks on a muscle injury? I’d hope we’ve learned the lessons from that last season. I realise sometimes you do just have to gamble on players fitness but with your most experienced player and one of only 2 senior centre backs in the squad, I don’t think 5 games into the season when you have 13 points out of 15 it is a risk you need to be taking. Yesterday wasn’t going to define our season either way but losing Watson for a number of games definitely could. Like I say, hopefully it was just a knock and he’s back again very soon.

Agree with this and the team posted by @Rover1990 if Stanton is fit, he comes in for Smith and Easton goes on the left IMO. Think the width provided by Mullin is really important. Harsh on Smith and Vaughan but such is the competition in attacking areas, if you have poor/ineffective games like they did at the weekend, your position will be under threat. I agree there hasn’t been a game I’ve walked away from this season thinking we are brilliant and have a serious chance of challenging Dundee United for the league. At this stage if we did go on a bad run, you could probably say there were some warning signs in the games played so far. However, it is to be expected with the amount of new players joining that the fluidity might take some time to come, I hope we have another gear or two still to go up as things gel further. We’ve not been bad by any stretch, we have shown good quality in games, it just tends to be in spells or a half at most rather than the majority of a game but I suppose it is part and parcel of how competitive a league the Championship is that teams are rarely dominant for 90 minutes. What can’t be argued is the extra experience, resilience and depth to the squad. We look a lot more streetwise and a lot more direct than last year with Hamilton as the focal point which we totally missed last year, I thought he was excellent on Saturday. Last season we were far too predictable and naive in our play games and that, along with many other things seems greatly improved. The next 4 games to end the quarter will give us a real indication of where we’re at, 3 tough but winnable away games against Airdrie, Ayr and Arbroath with our only home game against Dundee United. Years of watching the Rovers have made me pretty pessimistic and I expect there will be a bump or two coming up in these games but if we could manage 7/8 points I’d start to have some real confidence we can be in the mix for the top 2/3 positions.

Yeah, we had two goals by a substitute in our 36 league games last season which were McBride at Arbroath and Akio at Queens Park. 3 in all competitions, which was 49 games (Goncalves vs Motherwell). We have 4 in 5 league games so far with Mitchell at Partick, Vaughan’s double against QP and Gullan today. Makes such a huge difference being able to turn to the bench when things aren’t working and having a variety of good options that aren’t going to weaken the side in any way. Think it has helped Murray too, much more sensible changes knowing we have the quality to find a way through, rather than just throwing attackers on left right and centre (albeit he’s had to do that a couple of times, with some success too but even that felt more measured).

Another to add to the list. The greater strength in depth is definitely showing at the moment. Credit to Murray for making the right changes again, I am sure he would himself admit it’s a lot easier when he turns to the bench and sees the quality we have available. We’ve already scored more goals in the last 10 minutes in our first 5 league games than we managed in 36 last season.

Seeing that video the club have put up recapping the league games so far has me thinking we have already had more exciting, memorable moments in 4 league games than we did in the entire 36 last season.

There is no doubt Ethan Ross can be an excellent player at this level but as others have said it’s been at least 18 months since we’ve actually seen that regularly. I think his impact off the bench has been overstated since the Thistle/Morton games. He did very well in those but has limited impact is his other, admittedly short, appearances since then. He wasn’t going to shift himself ahead of Mullin, Smith, Vaughan, Stanton, Connolly or Easton in the pecking order so best he goes out and gets game time elsewhere and if he does well we can use him in January. Not to mention I would imagine he must be one of our highest earners. If him going out allows us to bring in another natural number 9, it would give a much better balance to our attacking options which was/is very heavy on attacking midfielders but light on out and out strikers.

FWIW we were reported to be in for Stanger so that’s one Ayr beat us to. Who else from our summer signings would Ayr have been in for? Byrne, Mullin, Hamilton and maybe Smith? Byrne is from Kennoway so was always likely to pick an east coast team, Smith is also from Cowdenbeath and worked with Murray previously. So would suggest Mullin and Hamilton are the only 2 we’ve actually ‘outbid’ you for. Mullin, I believe Barrowman was in touch with him very early with the offer of a 3 year deal, length of deal rather than money sealed it and it was agreed by April. I would imagine we must have had to offer a very good deal for Hamilton though and Ayr not having sold Akinyemi at that point probably counted against them being able to compete for that one.

The Challenge Cup is decent if you get to the final but it’s perfectly acceptable to give a big old shoulder shrug when/if your team exits in the early rounds. Even then, our win against QOTS a couple of years ago wouldn’t even rank in the top 10 of my favourite Rovers games in the last 20 years (the win over Rangers would tbf) and winning it isn’t going to automatically turn a poor season into a good one but the final is still an enjoyable day out and it’s great for younger fans to celebrate their team winning an actual trophy.