The New Raith Rovers Thread

[Hank Scorpio]

I’d have McGlynn again, too. But, as is well known, I absolutely fucking love John McGlynn, so I’m maybe not the best to give impartial views. 

[CALDERON]

27 minutes ago, Jilted John said:

We must be the only team to ever be singing the managers name on a Sunday then be hounding him out on the Wednesday! 
 

To put a bit of perspective into this debate, if someone had offered you mid table championship football and a cup win just as covid struck two years ago, you’d have been commissioning that statue. 
 

For what it’s worth I would give the current management team another crack, if we don’t make the top 4 next season then it’s time to part ways. 

It's more the manner in which things have collapsed that concerns me, rather than finishing 5th (or worse)

The flip side is, imagine someone said at the end of the Kilmarnock game in December that we would be almost 20 points behind them in April? It's absolutely wild.  Or after easily beating Arbroath in October that we'd be 15 points behind them?

I'm struggling to think of a bigger collapse in my entire time watching the Rovers.  

The injuries of course have had an impact,  can't deny that, but you don't go on a run of form like this purely by chance or without something being really wrong somewhere.

I don't however think the club should go in a different direction  for the sake of it, but if Mcglynn is the manager next season then I'd like to think part of the reason for that is that the club couldn't bring anyone better in, which may well be the case.

 

[Scary Bear]

3 minutes ago, CALDERON said:

It's more the manner in which things have collapsed that concerns me, rather than finishing 5th (or worse)

The flip side is, imagine someone said at the end of the Kilmarnock game in December that we would be almost 20 points behind them in April? It's absolutely wild.  Or after easily beating Arbroath in October that we'd be 15 points behind them?

I'm struggling to think of a bigger collapse in my entire time watching the Rovers.  

The injuries of course have had an impact,  can't deny that, but you don't go on a run of form like this purely by chance or without something being really wrong somewhere.

I don't however think the club should go in a different direction  for the sake of it, but if Mcglynn is the manager next season then I'd like to think part of the reason for that is that the club couldn't bring anyone better in, which may well be the case.

 

It’s not really that much of a struggle. Pick a Grant Murray season.

[CALDERON]

4 minutes ago, Scary Bear said:

It’s not really that much of a struggle. Pick a Grant Murray season.

Murrays was 3 wins in 21.  This could be worse.

[Scary Bear]

I’m undecided on what I’d like to happen. I’ll just watch with interest and see how the close season pans out.

Maybe McGlynn has had enough. Maybe the Board have plans. Maybe they are both happy enough with a mid table finish and a cup win.

If we are making a change I’d expect it straight away at the end of the season and for us to have another guy lined up to take over. If that doesn’t happen then we’ll be chasing our tails and the League Cup will be here before we know it.

Thinking about it, it sort of feels like one of those seasons where major change is required.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Scary Bear

[Scary Bear]

6 minutes ago, CALDERON said:

Murrays was 3 wins in 21.  This could be worse.

The league campaigns under Murray were absolute torture.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Scary Bear

[Ro Sham Bo]

What concerns me most is the fact McGlynn seems clueless as to how to get us out of this slump and there must be a real chance that if he stays it carries over to next season. 

 

[renton]

Funny to think that 4-4 game back at the start was basically a microcosm if our whole season to come.

[keyser_soze]

57 minutes ago, Jilted John said:

 

For what it’s worth I would give the current management team another crack, if we don’t make the top 4 next season then it’s time to part ways. 

100% this, Give them another year but I'd get the CEO in the sea

Edited April 10, 2022 by keyser_soze

[Ro Sham Bo]

Just now, renton said:

Funny to think that 4-4 game back at the start was basically a microcosm if our whole season to come.

You have to think that the scars from that match have also had a big part to play in our inability to see out leads this season. 

[Paco]

What concerns me most is the fact McGlynn seems clueless as to how to get us out of this slump and there must be a real chance that if he stays it carries over to next season. 
 

I’d agree with this. I’m a huge McGlynn fan, I genuinely never thought I’d see the day I’d be thinking he should go, but it’s hard to escape the reality that he’s tried desperately and failed miserably to change this run of form.

As crazy as it sounds if we’d huffed and puffed our way to relegation, I honestly think I’d be here arguing to keep him on. Even in the situation we’re in, I’d possibly be arguing not to sack him if he had another year on his contract. But can we in good conscience give another contract to a manager currently performing so poorly?

It’s clearly very, very early days and can all change but we’re relegation favourites for next season at this moment. We’re in a huge slump, the worst form of any championship team at any point this season. Do we actively make the choice to persevere with what we have, or do we take a gamble (and it is a gamble, John McGlynn is still a good manager) that a new man can change that? For me the gamble looks like the better option.

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

2 hours ago, SirJimmyofNic said:

I guess we'll never find out who at Clyde spoke to who at Rovers that started it all, and if we were that desperate to get to the land of milk and honey it spectacularly backfired 

3 games to go till the end................ thank feck

I'm not convinced that events happened this way.

However, if it were so the bloke won the wisest man in the world tile, but regrettably had to surrender it 2 months later when the daft c**t agreed to take him back on loan.

[baillieinleeds]

Thinking about it, there isn’t anyone out there I’d take to replace John McGlynn, other than either Ian Murray or Jack Ross.  I know for a fact that neither would rock up at Starks Park. Especially if Airdrie are promoted, he’ll fancy his chances in the Championship with them. Ross wants to go back down South I think. If McGlynn is to stay I really really hope he uses due diligence and stop signing injured players. 

[roverthemoon]

6 hours ago, raith1974 said:

Some of the comments on here against a BOD that just want the best for the club are appalling. Yes they made a mistake but we need to get over it and move forward.

Not seen much, if any, personal abuse or name calling towards them. Just dissatisfaction with their silence and refusal to front up to a camera (still ongoing by the way) and irritation at a couple of subsequent decisions that don’t help rebuild trust or win back those that are staying away. It feels like one step forward, two steps back at the moment with decisions like appointing MacDonald chairman.

Know a few folk who can’t bring themselves to return at the moment because of the Board’s decisions. These are genuine Rovers fans who are gutted at the state of things. I know the edgy thing from the hard men on social media is to tell them to shut up or f**k off and support another club, but I’d rather our Board was better than that.  If they genuinely just want the best for the club, then healing the divide in the fanbase so that we can all get back to just supporting the club next season should be the priority. Simply telling people just to get over it and move on isn’t a strategy. 

[foreverarover]

It's been a very odd long, dreadful run of form. Obviously part of that is because it's been punctuated by a (minor) cup win, but I felt like Wednesday night was the first time the fans really turned on the team (albeit I wasn't at the game where we were turned over by Ayr, where I can imagine there was a fair amount of disgruntlement). Other than that, and even yesterday, there's been a general air of disappointment more than anything else, and the players have been clapped off the park after 90% of these defeats. 
I was thinking yesterday about other Rovers teams that have been brutal over a prolonged period, and other teams in this league who've been poor, and generally there are players who stand out as being utterly dreadful, or having stinking attitudes, and that's just not been the case. We don't have that villain, that Barrie McKay or Ross Perry who makes you groan when they step onto the park. Who's the worst player we've had this season? Blaise Riley-Snow? He wasn't great but he wasn't a disaster either, and his attitude was never in question. 
McGlynn, by accident or design, has probably built the most "guid hoanest laddies" squad I've ever seen, it's just that the depth of quality in certain parts of it is paper thin. I'm not seeing players downing tools or not putting in the effort, there's just not enough players available right now who are good enough for the Championship. 
If you could remove all injuries and suspensions, the first choice eleven is probably good enough for a second or third place finish in this division. Put in an eleven made of the second choice in each position and they'd struggle to get off the bottom. Obviously to an extent that's the nature of building a squad with the kind of budget we've got, but I think there's a lesson to take into next season with regards to resilience, not just in terms of positions, but also experience. 
I don't think the team was ever quite as good as the earlier long unbeaten run suggested, or as poor as this poor run of form suggests now. Over the piece, we've not been one of the best four teams in the division. 
Going into next season, from a purely footballing perspective, I think McGlynn's position is on a knife edge. I can understand totally anyone who looks at one win in sixteen and wants him gone, but I'm looking around at the other managers who've been recruited by Championship teams this season and it's clearly not a great pool to choose from. Imrie has done brilliantly, and McInnes has come from a market we don't shop in, but Hughes/Taylor/Gibson/Bullen/Dodds? I wouldn't thank you for any of them.
I'd almost want to do the full recruitment process and see who came out on top and then compare them to McGlynn and make a decision on his future. 
Generally speaking, McGlynn adapts quite well year-on-year and makes improvements. It's not perfect, we'll finish in a worse place than we did last year, but he had the loss of Hendry etc to cope with. 
I could very well be proven incredibly wrong, but I think if you keep McGlynn on, the realistic worst case scenario is finishing seventh or eighth in the Championship. I don't see a total year-long collapse under him. But, with his limitations, playoffs are almost certainly the best we can hope for. Could we bring in a new manager who could sustain a title challenge? It's definitely possible. There are good enough managers out there. But it's just as likely, if not likelier, that we appoint a Peter Grant and see years of progress disappear in a matter of months. 

Agree with the main part of your assessment of the team, but... The manager doesnt have to be the same drivel names regurgitated from team to team. Marvin Bartley is very estute and educated in his interviews and radio work Id take a punt on him and Berra as a management team.

[Broken Algorithms]

Not seen much, if any, personal abuse or name calling towards them. Just dissatisfaction with their silence and refusal to front up to a camera (still ongoing by the way) and irritation at a couple of subsequent decisions that don’t help rebuild trust or win back those that are staying away. It feels like one step forward, two steps back at the moment with decisions like appointing MacDonald chairman.
Know a few folk who can’t bring themselves to return at the moment because of the Board’s decisions. These are genuine Rovers fans who are gutted at the state of things. I know the edgy thing from the hard men on social media is to tell them to shut up or f**k off and support another club, but I’d rather our Board was better than that.  If they genuinely just want the best for the club, then healing the divide in the fanbase so that we can all get back to just supporting the club next season should be the priority. Simply telling people just to get over it and move on isn’t a strategy. 

The only person getting personal abuse from the whole situation is Val McDermid, which is pretty incredible given she's one reason why we don't have a rapist running about the pitch wearing our strip (it was a collective effort of course. I personally think the penny dropped when Raith TV couldn't function). There's a few folk I follow on social media who have walked away and won't be back until things have changed. It's all well and good talking about folk like Val, but it's the folk who would go to Peterhead away in the pissing rain in mid November who we're still missing. I don't think there'll be any attempt from the club to engage with these people unfortunately.


It's easy to sit back and say "this is boring, we need to move on". I'm glad we've got folk like Steven Lawther who is happy to call them out. Its been bad enough to watch our name get dragged through the dirt signing Goodwillie.

It's really not good optics watching folk call Val "poison" and "a fat ride" on twitter to someone who's biggest crime was to walk away after the club doubled down on their blunder.

[baillieinleeds]

14 hours ago, foreverarover said:

22 hours ago, Against The Machine said:

It's been a very odd long, dreadful run of form. Obviously part of that is because it's been punctuated by a (minor) cup win, but I felt like Wednesday night was the first time the fans really turned on the team (albeit I wasn't at the game where we were turned over by Ayr, where I can imagine there was a fair amount of disgruntlement). Other than that, and even yesterday, there's been a general air of disappointment more than anything else, and the players have been clapped off the park after 90% of these defeats. 
I was thinking yesterday about other Rovers teams that have been brutal over a prolonged period, and other teams in this league who've been poor, and generally there are players who stand out as being utterly dreadful, or having stinking attitudes, and that's just not been the case. We don't have that villain, that Barrie McKay or Ross Perry who makes you groan when they step onto the park. Who's the worst player we've had this season? Blaise Riley-Snow? He wasn't great but he wasn't a disaster either, and his attitude was never in question. 
McGlynn, by accident or design, has probably built the most "guid hoanest laddies" squad I've ever seen, it's just that the depth of quality in certain parts of it is paper thin. I'm not seeing players downing tools or not putting in the effort, there's just not enough players available right now who are good enough for the Championship. 
If you could remove all injuries and suspensions, the first choice eleven is probably good enough for a second or third place finish in this division. Put in an eleven made of the second choice in each position and they'd struggle to get off the bottom. Obviously to an extent that's the nature of building a squad with the kind of budget we've got, but I think there's a lesson to take into next season with regards to resilience, not just in terms of positions, but also experience. 
I don't think the team was ever quite as good as the earlier long unbeaten run suggested, or as poor as this poor run of form suggests now. Over the piece, we've not been one of the best four teams in the division. 
Going into next season, from a purely footballing perspective, I think McGlynn's position is on a knife edge. I can understand totally anyone who looks at one win in sixteen and wants him gone, but I'm looking around at the other managers who've been recruited by Championship teams this season and it's clearly not a great pool to choose from. Imrie has done brilliantly, and McInnes has come from a market we don't shop in, but Hughes/Taylor/Gibson/Bullen/Dodds? I wouldn't thank you for any of them.
I'd almost want to do the full recruitment process and see who came out on top and then compare them to McGlynn and make a decision on his future. 
Generally speaking, McGlynn adapts quite well year-on-year and makes improvements. It's not perfect, we'll finish in a worse place than we did last year, but he had the loss of Hendry etc to cope with. 
I could very well be proven incredibly wrong, but I think if you keep McGlynn on, the realistic worst case scenario is finishing seventh or eighth in the Championship. I don't see a total year-long collapse under him. But, with his limitations, playoffs are almost certainly the best we can hope for. Could we bring in a new manager who could sustain a title challenge? It's definitely possible. There are good enough managers out there. But it's just as likely, if not likelier, that we appoint a Peter Grant and see years of progress disappear in a matter of months. 

Agree with the main part of your assessment of the team, but... The manager doesnt have to be the same drivel names regurgitated from team to team. Marvin Bartley is very estute and educated in his interviews and radio work Id take a punt on him and Berra as a management team.

You could use that argument about Locke, he interviewed well and by and large quite articulate. We all know what happened with that. 

[Hank Scorpio]

‘Gary Locke’ and ‘articulate’ in the same sentence. The boy can barely string a sentence together. 

[baillieinleeds]

26 minutes ago, Broken Algorithms said:

 

 

The only person getting personal abuse from the whole situation is Val McDermid, which is pretty incredible given she's one reason why we don't have a rapist running about the pitch wearing our strip (it was a collective effort of course. I personally think the penny dropped when Raith TV couldn't function). There's a few folk I follow on social media who have walked away and won't be back until things have changed. It's all well and good talking about folk like Val, but it's the folk who would go to Peterhead away in the pissing rain in mid November who we're still missing. I don't think there'll be any attempt from the club to engage with these people unfortunately.


It's easy to sit back and say "this is boring, we need to move on". I'm glad we've got folk like Steven Lawther who is happy to call them out. Its been bad enough to watch our name get dragged through the dirt signing Goodwillie.

It's really not good optics watching folk call Val "poison" and "a fat ride" on twitter to someone who's biggest crime was to walk away after the club doubled down on their blunder.

 

I’m fuming that MacDonald was made chairman he was one of the saboteurs that sanctioned the signing. Feels like a kick in the guts. Val McDermid was brave in her stance, she walked away from the club she loves and I commend her principles. That should be everybody’s principle. The club are now forever tarnished because of this. Whenever I mention that I support Raith Rovers I get heckled for being a rape apologist, even by OF fans, that’s even more insulting.

[Raith Against The Machine]

Marvin Bartley maybe not the most diplomatic choice for a club with an existing very high profile violence-against-women public relations issue...