Jump to content

The New Raith Rovers Thread


Recommended Posts

After watching McGlynns pre-match interview and hearing him say he expects a quieter summer window, I had a look at who’s tied down for next year and beyond. 16 in total including young apprentice which is really good to see. Hopefully we can tie down Tumilty, Arnott, Bene and maybe Musonda tied down although I suspect the latter will be off after only recently signing another short term deal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, RRFC1989 said:

After watching McGlynns pre-match interview and hearing him say he expects a quieter summer window, I had a look at who’s tied down for next year and beyond. 16 in total including young apprentice which is really good to see. Hopefully we can tie down Tumilty, Arnott, Bene and maybe Musonda tied down although I suspect the latter will be off after only recently signing another short term deal.

Bene has been beyond rotten, my preference is Berra and Lang. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, Surely No said:

It's been common knowledge for a few months now. Bill Clark had an article in the program well before Christmas about this. Heard nothing since. 🤷🏼‍♂️

It's not the closing down of FEFA, I've been aware of that since last summer.

I was pointing out the pure laziness of the Pars to organise social media.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, Frankly, Mr Shankly said:

Do Raith need an academy? We had a great under twenties side who won their division two years on the bounce. What are any of them doing now? McKay is the only one still in the senior leagues, and clearly McGlynn doesn’t see use for him this season unless something drastic happens to our four first team quality centre backs. We have 6 apprentices, and if McGylnn has seen enough of them in training to sign then that’s good enough for me. 

Fife Elite has been pretty good for us, no? We got Bowie and Tait via that route, and you have the likes of Mitchell and Arnott who we apparently have high hopes for that came via that route.

I think we do need some system by which we have a pipeline to the first team. Whether that's partnerships with exisitng youth teams/setups or going back to a full age group you set up at the club (which is expensive)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Zen Archer (Raconteur) said:

It's not the closing down of FEFA, I've been aware of that since last summer.

I was pointing out the pure laziness of the Pars to organise social media.

Apologies. Still would have expected something from the Rovers on our way forward though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Varian is just about as good as you’re going to get at unsettling defenders, being physical and a nuisance. He’s miles better than Ugwu was. It’s a shame he can’t seem to stick it in the net. 

I don’t buy into this at all. If he was as good as you’re going to get at unsettling defenders then there would be some end product, either scoring himself or creating goals for his team mates. He’s doing neither.

He looks a decent prospect and it wouldn’t surprise me if in a few years he’s playing at a decent level. At this moment in time though he’s not the man to lead the line for us. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Surely No said:

Apologies. Still would have expected something from the Rovers on our way forward though.

There already has been plenty from the club in terms of replacing their youth system. They took over the old Real Fife squads a season or so ago and brought them into the Raith Rovers Community umbrella. We now have teams ranging from young kids right up to teenagers. I hate to use the ‘pathway’ word but that’s exactly what it is. 

Edited by Jilted John
Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, Jilted John said:

There already has been plenty from the club in terms of replacing their youth system. They took over the old Real Fife squads a season or so ago and brought them into the Raith Rovers Community umbrella. We now have teams ranging from young kids right up to teenagers. I hate to use the ‘pathway’ word but that’s exactly what it is. 

Community clubs are incomparable to actual academy’s. Real Fife (Raith Rovers CC u17) folded back in December, which is a pretty high level to have already lost. 
Sure, one or two high prospects might be hidden in one of the CC teams, see Bowie at Glenrothes Strollers. But chances are the players in the CC will end up quitting after Under 20 level or go into the amateur leagues. 

Most of the Raith U20 boys left after Craig Easton packed it. Jamie Watson, Dave Mckay, Ryan Stevenson (not that one), James Berry, Euan Valentine and Jack Smith stayed. 

I personally think that unless you are a club with a proven track record that many players have came up and developed from (Motherwell, Hamilton), say Under 8s into your first team then it would be worth having an a full youth academy. We haven’t had players come through like that since Vaughan/Callachan/Matthews.

You could argue Tait and Bowie, but we picked them up at Under 18 level and got lucky we were still operating a reserve side when we picked them up so they had a season of game time before their breakout seasons. Fife Elite closing is a huge loss, as I think all our youth prospects came from there, but if we get one or two from the closure of FEFA, I won’t be too disappointed over it.

Maybe in the future a new Rovers academy could be considered if the funds are there and it becomes a viable option, but at the moment I don’t think it’s necessary. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jilted John said:

I don’t buy into this at all. If he was as good as you’re going to get at unsettling defenders then there would be some end product, either scoring himself or creating goals for his team mates. He’s doing neither.

He looks a decent prospect and it wouldn’t surprise me if in a few years he’s playing at a decent level. At this moment in time though he’s not the man to lead the line for us. 

He’s out of form just now but you’ve a pretty short memory. The amount of goals we’ve scored earlier in the season that came as a direct result of him winning a header or a flick on bullying a defender out the way is high. QoS is one example that immediately springs to mind. 

Edited by Hank Scorpio
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All this talk about Varian is interesting, was there major worries when we went 15 odd games unbeaten with him starting most (if not all) weeks? Varian is one of several players who have been off the boil lately and sooner we get back to winning ways the better. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, RRFC1989 said:

Hopefully we can tie down Tumilty, Arnott, Bene and maybe Musonda tied down although I suspect the latter will be off after only recently signing another short term deal.

Surely you intended to say Spencer (free at years end), not Arnott (signed through Jun 2023).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, baillieinleeds said:

Bene has been beyond rotten, my preference is Berra and Lang. 

I don’t know what it’s been like more recently, but not long ago Benedictus stats from Wyscout were far superior to Lang’s. The Terrace did a bit on it. I’m sure @McGuigan1978 could clarify more recent stats. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got me pondering our committed team members. Our holes going forward would be RB (Tumilty and Musonda both out of contract with no clear cover on the team) and questions at striker. Otherwise we seem to have a very viable core for Championship, or even lower half Premiership competition.

We expect to lose Musonda and McKay in the back, and risk losing Tumilty, so surely we’ve been expending some effort to either re-sign one of Tumilty or Musonda or to identify a suitable replacement. Midfield seems decently stocked, however with BRS likely to leave, we still could use a depth player depending on the expectations for Arnott and Coulson next year and if Vaughan can return.. Wings seem fine, but striker still seems listless and weak, even with Gullan (if he plays as one), until Mitchell and Mahady’s development is clear, since Keatings is the other “striker”.

While Vaughan previously strengthened our striking force because of his electric abilities, and the demand he be properly marked (drawing covering players from out strikers), until we are sure he can return and reach his previous levels, we look certain to be seeking a true striker to somehow replace Keatings. If we intend Gullan at striker going forward, an “experienced” player in the mound of Berra might be a viable choice, but that might have been the idea with Keatings…

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me, the best central defensive pairing I’ve seen this season is Berra and Bene. It just seemed a nice balance and Bene was playing his best football for years.

Then Bene was injured in the 1-1 draw at home with Inverness, at the end of October, where Varian was also injured.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Got me pondering our committed team members. Our holes going forward would be RB (Tumilty and Musonda both out of contract with no clear cover on the team) and questions at striker. Otherwise we seem to have a very viable core for Championship, or even lower half Premiership competition.

We expect to lose Musonda and McKay in the back, and risk losing Tumilty, so surely we’ve been expending some effort to either re-sign one of Tumilty or Musonda or to identify a suitable replacement. Midfield seems decently stocked, however with BRS likely to leave, we still could use a depth player depending on the expectations for Arnott and Coulson next year and if Vaughan can return.. Wings seem fine, but striker still seems listless and weak, even with Gullan (if he plays as one), until Mitchell and Mahady’s development is clear, since Keatings is the other “striker”.

While Vaughan previously strengthened our striking force because of his electric abilities, and the demand he be properly marked (drawing covering players from out strikers), until we are sure he can return and reach his previous levels, we look certain to be seeking a true striker to somehow replace Keatings. If we intend Gullan at striker going forward, an “experienced” player in the mound of Berra might be a viable choice, but that might have been the idea with Keatings…

A midfield without Spencer is not decently stocked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Scary Bear said:

For me, the best central defensive pairing I’ve seen this season is Berra and Bene. It just seemed a nice balance and Bene was playing his best football for years.

Then Bene was injured in the 1-1 draw at home with Inverness, at the end of October, where Varian was also injured.

It's Berra and Lang, for me. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Raith Against The Machine said:

It's Berra and Lang, for me. 

Yup! McGlynn will have all the “stats” and was still going for this before Berra’s suspension. That tells you pretty much all you need to know really.

Edited by Enigma
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bit of a Raith fan through my pal so delighted to see Gullan sign on here permanently. Never really got a chance at Hibs apart from when things weren't working, and he wasn't going to be the answer to that himself. Watched his interview with the club channel last night and nice to hear his dad is basically a fan of the club as a result of the previous loan arrangements, on top of that Gullan himself was very well spoken throughout and made me a tad sad he's offski, even though his chances at Hibs were realistically probably done for.

Long story short I'm hoping he's a major success for yous in whatever role he plays and that he's part of firing you back into the top flight.

Sosia Vin Diesel GIF by Programa Pânico

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...