The New Raith Rovers Thread

[TxRover]

2 hours ago, pub car king said:

Hopefully that doesn't mean he will sell to the first circus that rolls into town in a falling apart clown car.  

Technically, SP is the current falling apart clown car…

[RRFC_Liam]

1 hour ago, R.R.FC said:

Obviously on one hand it’s encouraging that the club are suggesting they have closed the door on these wasters and the above confirms what everyone on here already thought about the dubious nature of their bid.

However, it’s quite concerning that just a couple of days ago, two months into due diligence checks by the group and regular contact with the club, our chairman was speaking very positively about them telling us their bid would be ‘huge’ for the club…

It’s hard to get too excited if they have genuinely been chased because I have very little faith whoever we end up with isn’t going to be cut from the same cloth.

Also in the article it says we’re talking to other interested parties so a takeover isn’t completely dead or is folk missing that part? 

[da_no_1]

3 hours ago, roverthemoon said:

Whole things feels shambolic from our side and theirs. 

Top band

[raith1974]

20 minutes ago, RRFC_Liam said:

Also in the article it says we’re talking to other interested parties so a takeover isn’t completely dead or is folk missing that part? 

Not missing that part but until we have an idea who they are then the potentially don't exist.

[Mr.Blue]

I knew Rovers were in a bit of a predicament but reading that BBC article was surprising. Having had our past experiences of chancers taking over the club and almost killing us in the process I'd be very wary of any investment or takeover from an individual/company I've never heard of who is going working through a 3rd party to do his business. Hopefully you guys can come out of this whole situations at the other side for the better.

Is fan/ community ownership an option? It seems to be working well for us so far.

[basher brash]

If rumours are true and Gordon Smith is the middle man what the hell is he thinking of , He clearly knows these players have been pimped about and are not good enough, He knows Scottish football inside out .It actually gives me some encouragement that the board have involved the manager and asked look are these the players on offer any good ? So I think even though they want new investment they aren’t selling to any interested party they have to be the right people 

[McGuigan1978]

10 hours ago, Ro Sham Bo said:

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/james-carlin-83a0b3a4

 

Think I’ve read this about five times now. Absolutely sensational. 

I really want to know more about his 27 years at the Michelin tyre factory tbqh. 

In all honesty, I’ve no idea how legitimate this company from Hong Kong are, but even if they’re genuine, decent and keen to get involved, the people they’ve aligned themselves with at this Evro Football thing appear to be absolutely hopeless. 

[Ro Sham Bo]

10 hours ago, CountryBumpkin said:

The most obvious answer is perform the required cuts, live within our means and go from there, like we should have been doing every season after we first made a loss. We're a wee club that are crippling ourselves by trying to be a big club, that has to stop, surely?

No way we can raise the funds or find a way to plug the gaps otherwise 

Agreed. As bad as it seems, far better we take our medicine, make some budget cuts and end up in league 1 rather than get involved in another circus and end up in league 1 anyway. 

8 hours ago, R.R.FC said:

Obviously on one hand it’s encouraging that the club are suggesting they have closed the door on these wasters and the above confirms what everyone on here already thought about the dubious nature of their bid.

However, it’s quite concerning that just a couple of days ago, two months into due diligence checks by the group and regular contact with the club, our chairman was speaking very positively about them telling us their bid would be ‘huge’ for the club…

It’s hard to get too excited if they have genuinely been chased because I have very little faith whoever we end up with isn’t going to be cut from the same cloth.

Yep it's hard to reconcile what McDonald said in his courier interview with the silverbear statement and our subsequent response. 

[Manfaefife3]

Is Gordon Smith still an active Football Agent ?

[R.R.FC]

2 minutes ago, Ro Sham Bo said:

Agreed. As bad as it seems, far better we take our medicine, make some budget cuts and end up in league 1 rather than get involved in another circus and end up in league 1 anyway. 

Yep it's hard to reconcile what McDonald said in his courier interview with the silverbear statement and our subsequent response. 

Yeah it’s hard to make sense of it. Even as a tactic to create further interest or generate another bid from an interested party it makes no sense as by basically publicly naming a preferred bidder you put others off.

However, the timing of the public appeal in the courier for additional funding does suggest they were always unsure of the Hong Kong bid. If discussions have been ongoing with them for two months and they were always the preferred option, why did the club come out publicly seeking funding just a couple of weeks ago? It suggests to me they realised during the discussions (probably as these players were offered) that they were complete chancers. This would make sense, if it wasn’t for MacDonald’s interview a couple of days ago so perhaps I am giving those involved far too much credit.

Another thing I find strange is how publicly this whole affair has been conducted from the appeal, to the interested parties to statements from all sides all going through local news outlets just seems very odd to me. Hopefully the silence from the other interested parties (assuming they exist) is actually a positive as they try to conduct their business in a more professional manner. 

[Michael W]

9 hours ago, SirJimmyofNic said:

Found this part of the bbc report summing up these fecking wasters for what they are, has this Peter Chunn or whatever his name is done any due diligence on these chunts before he finances them

"The same players have been showcased at other Scottish clubs and have not been offered contracts"

Unfeckingbelievable

Don't worry about Peter Chun - the first thing he'll have asked himself is whether he gets his money back if the whole thing ends up a footballing disaster. 

[Scary Bear]

The main thing I would take from the last 25 years is that we, or rather the folk running the club, just don’t learn lessons. 

Whether Rovers are owned by fans or some local businessmen, or an overseas investor, or the latest 5-a-side/DJ/46 keepie-uppie crazies, if you can’t balance the books (without racking up soft loans) then you’re doing things wrong and the club will eventually come to grief.

Edit: forgot the Glasgow gangsters/carpet salesmen. Doesn’t do to forget them.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Scary Bear

[Heid_The_Baw]

12 hours ago, Broken Algorithms said:

Might just be me, but I've read it so that it's both a Swiss international and a loan from a top club. 

We couldn't just get a normal philanthropist who wants the club to do well. It simply has to be the most batshit mental scouting scheme on the go. 

What are Herve Ebanda, Moussa Outarra and Jules Tchimbikalla (a very good international apparently) doing nowadays?  
O_o

[Heid_The_Baw]

10 hours ago, Offshore Rover said:

 

The whole thing screams of Anelka signing random punters who have barely kicked a ball. 
 

 

To be fair, Murray has signed one of them.  A Faroese international basketball player.  In fact probably get more luck signing random punters from the local pub.

[The Duck of Death]

10 hours ago, Michael W said:

. . . . .

Unfortunately, we are very attractive to shysters and spivs given the position that we are in.

 

[Raithfan2711]

Willing to bet some of these players were the trialists in the Hibs friendly. Didn’t exactly stand out, and were certainly not in positions that we are crying out for cover in (well, maybe left back now if Ngwenya’s injury from Monday turns out to be long term).
 

If that’s the case, they’ve been involved in training for some time now so Ian Murray will know if they are a worthy addition to the squad or not. His fingers will have been burnt with big John too so won’t want to risk more of what is clearly a tight budget on players he feels can’t break into the first team.
 

Anyone buying a football club at our level and demanding certain players play as part of a deal over a manger’s judgement is extremely worrying. Managers with options would probably not work with us in the future if this was the set up.

[lgb61]

Glasgow Evro Football Pro don't even have a website, it's a facebook page ffs!

Whole thing does smack of the Anelka debacle and I think the club put out a firm statement politely telling them to do one and that the manager picks the players not some twat that used to make tyres!.

If we can get a mid table finish this season, I can see a return to part time football, which would probably mean a new manager and playing squad but may possibly reduce the financial burden over the next 3 to 5 years, yes we would risk going down a league again, but I think a good part time team could stay n the championship for a good few years whilst, financially, they get themselves sorted

[Raith Against The Machine]

Further response from the club in The Courier

That would appear to be that, as far as "Silverbear Capital" are concerned. The Rovers essentially calling this Dellios clown out as a fantasist, and name checking his Michelin Man too. 

Very unbecoming that it's had to be played out in public, but good news that this mob have been chased. 

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

1 hour ago, Scary Bear said:

if you can’t balance the books (without racking up soft loans) then you’re doing things wrong

This was explained at an AGM, due to not having a constant income stream there will be cash shortages through the year.

Since the 29th October we have played 7/10 games at home, our next 10 games see us playing 4/10 games at home.

The juggling act is to spread the income over the 20 games in the example.

[Raith Against The Machine]