The New Raith Rovers Thread

[renton]

7 minutes ago, Scottydog said:

I'm actually a Varian fan. IMO he wins far more of the ball than he should but unfortunately he's not got the predatory instinct or scoring touch.  This isn't new it has been happening all season but goals have dried up of late and folks are getting edgy.

The reason we're unhappy is probably that goals have dried up of late for Zanatta, Ross and Conolly (our 3 top scorers) yet we are lamenting the form of a a guy that has only 2 goals to his name, anyone know how many assists out of interest?

I think we may just need someone more efficient to play off him, as I say he wins far more balls than he's entitled to but who is there to capatalise on that?  Ross certainly had plenty freedom at Douglas Park last month and I seem to recall a lot of that being down to Varian dragging the Accies defenders from pillar to post,   the good form on that day of Zanatta might also be attributed to the engineered spaces opening up in front of him.

As SirJimmy says its about beating the press. Pretty sure our tactics would work as before but unless you control the centre, you are forced to go longer which increases the gap between Varian and the rest and lowers the probability of being able to exploit any spaces.

[basher brash]

11 minutes ago, Scottydog said:

I'm actually a Varian fan. IMO he wins far more of the ball than he should but unfortunately he's not got the predatory instinct or scoring touch.  This isn't new it has been happening all season but goals have dried up of late and folks are getting edgy.

The reason we're unhappy is probably that goals have dried up of late for Zanatta, Ross and Conolly (our 3 top scorers) yet we are lamenting the form of a a guy that has only 2 goals to his name, anyone know how many assists out of interest?

I think we may just need someone more efficient to play off him, as I say he wins far more balls than he's entitled to but who is there to capatalise on that?  Ross certainly had plenty freedom at Douglas Park last month and I seem to recall a lot of that being down to Varian dragging the Accies defenders from pillar to post,   the good form on that day of Zanatta might also be attributed to the engineered spaces opening up in front of him.

Unfortunately because his goal ratio is very poor he is currently under the spotlight but he brings plenty of other attributes to the team ,  very physical , wins most headers , Win free kicks in vital areas , Created the most assists in the squad   4 in 17 games   . Great point you made regarding Zanatta is form is right out the window has done nothing in weeks and when he does opposing teams have sussed him out . IMO we really need Varian up top with another forward to play off him  ideally we have that type of player already but unfortunately one is out long term with injury and the other is a bench warmer for Montrose who clearly doesn’t give a hoot about professional football 

[Michael W]

A non-scoring striker can be overlooked when the players behind him are scoring goals. When that dependency breaks down, it becomes a problem. The primary purpose of a striker, after all, is to score goals. 

I don't think Varian is a bad player at all, but his lacking in front of goal is an issue. He has a really difficult job playing the lone forward and he is only 18/19 as well. That he has put in an admirable shift in that department is to his credit given his age. But he does need to be adding more goals. There's a player there with a good future in the game if he can add that. 

I also think Zanatta could do with a spell on the bench. 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Michael W

[SirJimmyofNic]

Yeah Zanatta needs a hard boot up the erse

[Broken Algorithms]

Said it a few times but I think we'll kick on when we get Stanton available. Tait doesn't fit well into the Spencer role and isn't as influential as Ross is when playing behind the striker. On Saturday, we had numerous phases where we'd play the ball along the back 4 inviting pressure on, only to punt it to to Varion who had very little support.

I complete agree with what Michael W mentions about Varion. We can get away with it if others are picking up goals but that hasn't been the case over the last few games. I think we're somewhat fortunate in that our "bad spell" has coincided with us hitting a time where we can make changes to the squad. Williamson and Stanton offer alternatives in the middle and ideally we'll add other options up top.

[renton]

1 minute ago, Broken Algorithms said:

Said it a few times but I think we'll kick on when we get Stanton available. Tait doesn't fit well into the Spencer role and isn't as influential as Ross is when playing behind the striker. On Saturday, we had numerous phases where we'd play the ball along the back 4 inviting pressure on, only to punt it to to Varion who had very little support.

I complete agree with what Michael W mentions about Varion. We can get away with it if others are picking up goals but that hasn't been the case over the last few games. I think we're somewhat fortunate in that our "bad spell" has coincided with us hitting a time where we can make changes to the squad. Williamson and Stanton offer alternatives in the middle and ideally we'll add other options up top.

I'd be surprised if any of the other top half teams put in as poor a performance once over a season as we have in the last two weeks.

[Broken Algorithms]

I'd be surprised if any of the other top half teams put in as poor a performance once over a season as we have in the last two weeks.

Wouldn't disagree with that tbf. I think at the moment it's clear where our issues are.

[renton]

2 minutes ago, Broken Algorithms said:

5 minutes ago, renton said:

I'd be surprised if any of the other top half teams put in as poor a performance once over a season as we have in the last two weeks.

Wouldn't disagree with that tbf. I think at the moment it's clear where our issues are.

I wrote the other day that a side who's performance floor is potentially that low doesn't deserve to be classed as a title contender.

It certainly illuminates how McGlynn ball has a single point of failure in having the right kind of midfielder. Without someone like Hendry or Spencer who can drop in to collect a ball and have the energy and range of passing to make space for the players in front of them we are beat.

Someone the other day mentioned us missing Spencer 'more than fans might think' it was genuinely a surprise to me that there wasn't a universal acceptance that this season he has been the indispensable beating heart of our side.

It's also a glaring omission that we aren't able to set up any other way. Same as last season.

[Raith Against The Machine]

The Varian/Zanatta (/Connolly/Ross) issues aren't separate problems, they're one and the same. 

Zanatta was getting space (and Varian was getting assists) when defenders were worrying about the big striker. 

They know now that they don't have to, not to anywhere near the same extent. 

It's not a lack of endeavour or talent within the individuals, it's the limitations in a system with so little variety. 

[Ro Sham Bo]

1 hour ago, renton said:

I wrote the other day that a side who's performance floor is potentially that low doesn't deserve to be classed as a title contender.

It certainly illuminates how McGlynn ball has a single point of failure in having the right kind of midfielder. Without someone like Hendry or Spencer who can drop in to collect a ball and have the energy and range of passing to make space for the players in front of them we are beat.

Someone the other day mentioned us missing Spencer 'more than fans might think' it was genuinely a surprise to me that there wasn't a universal acceptance that this season he has been the indispensable beating heart of our side.

It's also a glaring omission that we aren't able to set up any other way. Same as last season.

The second half against Ayr at Starks told us everything we need to know about how much we depend on Spencer. 

[Frankly, Mr Shankly]

Just seen Ben Williamson outside Stark’s. Looks like he’s signing.

[pantene proV]

We need to start scoring cheap goals from corners. 

So feckin annoying that we don't. 

[renton]

33 minutes ago, pantene proV said:

We need to start scoring cheap goals from corners. 

So feckin annoying that we don't. 

We would need to try something other than the ball to back post and header back across box routine.

[pantene proV]

Just now, renton said:

We would need to try something other than the ball to back post and header back across box routine.

We did mix it up frequently at the start of the season. Never came off then either.

I can only think of Bene v Partick where we scored from one (or 2)

[Brashy's Boots]

We would need to try something other than the ball to back post and header back across box routine.

Is Jock McStay still playing?

[Ro Sham Bo]

4 hours ago, Brashy's Boots said:

4 hours ago, renton said:

We would need to try something other than the ball to back post and header back across box routine.

Is Jock McStay still playing?

Bring back the near post flick on. 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Ro Sham Bo

[Wardy]

Bring back Mark Campbell while your at it….

[Raith_Raver]

On 27/12/2021 at 12:27, R.R.FC said:

You can’t claim to be a family, community club...
 

Do we? How can an organisation be "family friendly" that endorses the bigoted pressure group Stonewall? It has become so bad that the government is cautioning against it, big companies are distancing themselves from it,  has misrepresented the 2010 equalities act to dishonestly promote its views, and even the woke BBC has cancelled it over impartiality issues. Its rabidly transgender stance wants to ruin girls sport by campaigning for men identifying as women to compete, and led to it being banned from Exeter University for blocking a gender critical feminist from giving a speech.

"Family friendly"? You're having a laugh.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Raith_Raver

[Raith Against The Machine]

You know, if you'd asked me "Which Rovers supporter on Pie and Bovril will launch a totally out of context and wildly ill-informed GB News style rant about Stonewall?", I'd be going home with a brand new set of golf clubs. 

[Raith_Raver]

4 minutes ago, Raith Against The Machine said:

You know, if you'd asked me "Which Rovers supporter on Pie and Bovril will launch a totally out of context and wildly ill-informed GB News style rant about Stonewall?", I'd be going home with a brand new set of golf clubs. 

Spot the woke fake news promoter