The New Raith Rovers Thread

[Raith Against The Machine]

5 minutes ago, R.R.FC said:

Yeah, Davie has done an excellent job, Sim seems a difficult to interview. Very politician like in his reluctance to answer questions in a direct straight forward manner.

I was going to make this exact point. More than once, Sim answers a completely different question to the one he's been asked. 

[Paco]

Pretty odd interview. In isolation, presents a picture where Sim isn’t really arsed either way whether we get investment or not, everything is basically fine and normal, but it would be nice to have to get to the ‘next level’ (I think he even used those words). Seemed genuinely confused when Davie was pressing on players being moved on this window and kept speaking about next season and how it was the manager’s call.
 

Unfortunately we can’t take the interview in isolation. The chairman was wittering on about selling players in the national media just last week and all word, official and unofficial, from the club seemed to suggest Sim wanted out and has had enough. 
 

All in all, a bit weird. 

[gav-ffc]

I’ve watched part of this out of Interest and found it strange how he said they hadn’t had any direct contact with Silverbear but then talked about the plans for hospitality spaces being built etc.

 

[Raithie]

Going by that interview we better hope to f**k we beat Linlithgow.

[Michael W]

Just now, Raithie said:

Going by that interview we better hope to f**k we beat Linlithgow.

Indeed. It'll be blamed for a loss in the 2027/28 season if we don't. 

[TxRover]

1 hour ago, Michael W said:

On to Silverbear...

Ian Murray had a conversation with Sim, saying we need a reserve team. We can't afford one. Murray also mentioned that some parties had approached the club saying that they could help, would it be OK to talk to them. Naturally, this leads on to Mike Delios. The model described is what we supposed: come in, provide players and potentially sell them on. They were interested also in developing the stadium. 

However, no-one at Raith spoke directly to Silverbear. 

Edit: it doesn't sound like Sim is looking for an immediate sale. Mentions that he thinks it's hard to run a team from Thailand, people need to be on the ground. Mentions Dundee, who are US-owned, but whi had people at the game on Friday. 

I think the correction that the group that approached was “fronted by Mike Dellios” is worth a note. Said led by and then corrected it…as a financial guy, Sim understands the difference and took the trouble to correct his statement. Makes me wonder about Fraser’s involvement with Dellios.

 

1 hour ago, Zen Archer (Raconteur) said:

I'm amazed at John's capacity to have frequent power naps yet keep on talking.

Certainly a very Senator Palpatine look/vib in this interview.

[Always next quarter]

Seems a tricky guy to pin down without losing his trust. Can't imagine the tabloid sports writers being happy with the lack of "Banter moment's" 

All the questions I wanted asked were put forward and where they could be probed.  A lot to take in but I feel as puzzled as ever. 

Seems like good communication from our club who don't normally do good communication. Could this be the beginning of a more routine update, let's hope so as this pattern of amateur hour via Courier, FFP is poor form. 

Output from RTV is exceptional, foundation stuff at Christmas, all the first team stuff and this can't have been an easy task. Wouldn't swap their jobs for a significant wage and they do it as volunteers. It genuinely keeps me from drifting away when I miss a few weeks. 

Oh and I think I'm a wee bit more comfortable than I was last week about our future. 

[basher brash]

Someone alluded to where all the revenue has went from last seasons cup ties etc probably to pay for the Floodlights 150K I saw somewhere at the time an issue that had to be address ASAP and the Titan cabin but probably would have saw some grants mixed in with that , The numerous operations the club had to fork out on injured players etc general maintenance around the ground which included the Electrics being overhauled which were a shambles going back years well before the John Sim days also the main stand being painted , the concourses at each end with non slip paint not to mention the remedial work already undertaken by the club to the north and south stand dont want to mention costs on a public forum but just for the price of the specialised paint under today’s climate you wouldn’t believe , John Sim and the directors made a huge error in signing  you know who but on the whole he has had the best interests of the club at heart would rather him at the moment than anyone else 

[stevoraith]

23 minutes ago, gav-ffc said:

I’ve watched part of this out of Interest and found it strange how he said they hadn’t had any direct contact with Silverbear but then talked about the plans for hospitality spaces being built etc.

 

Plans for stadium redevelopment have been on the go for a long time before Silverbear were on the scene. 
All he said that connected the two was that Silverbear were keen on our plans for stadium redevelopment. 
 

I’m not sure what I got from the interview to be honest. As others have said, he certainly has a skill at answering a different question to that which was asked. 

My two main take-aways are;

1 - there is no fire-sale. Players won’t be given away to try and ease the financial burden. If the manager thinks players are not worth the money we are paying them then we’ll look to move them on, and I dare say if someone came in for one of our better players we may sell but there doesn’t seem to be a pressing need to do that. 
 

2 - Sim will not simply sell to the first bidder. He’s keen to ensure the correct people with the correct motives are in charge, and he’s happy to remain in some capacity once he’s sold his shares. 

[TxRover]

32 minutes ago, gav-ffc said:

I’ve watched part of this out of Interest and found it strange how he said they hadn’t had any direct contact with Silverbear but then talked about the plans for hospitality spaces being built etc.

The Community Hub has been on and off for a few years now, and planning permission was actually granted before any of this stuff popped up, so it’s more of a possible attraction to an investor than a result.

 

8 minutes ago, Always next quarter said:

Seems a tricky guy to pin down without losing his trust. Can't imagine the tabloid sports writers being happy with the lack of "Banter moment's" 

All the questions I wanted asked were put forward and where they could be probed.  A lot to take in but I feel as puzzled as ever. 

Seems like good communication from our club who don't normally do good communication. Could this be the beginning of a more routine update, let's hope so as this pattern of amateur hour via Courier, FFP is poor form. 

He was evasive, but always has been. He failed to answer that which he wished to avoid, but that’s down to Davie not wanting to push repeatedly, and probably for good reason. On the communication…as he thought and answered, we see a lot of closed eyes and pauses, almost like he was trying to recall exactly what had be decided he would say/reveal. The interview responses seemed very canned/planned.

Now, I’m not suggesting RaithTV sat down with Sim and agreed upon the subjects beforehand, but rather that Sim prepared for this interview more than previously and rigorously stuck to his script (thank God, give the results of other less channeled interviews, eh?).

 

Edited to add: Sim looked very muted/tired…perhaps some indication of mortality has kicked off his sudden drive to find a new steward(s) for the club?

Edited January 12, 2023 by TxRover

[Skyline Drifter]

1 hour ago, RandomGuy. said:

Its easier to sign foreign players in Scottish football than its ever been.

Whit? No it isn't. On what basis is it easier, because as far as I can see it absolutely isn't.

Maybe if you are a Premiership side registered as a sponsoring employer anyway it's not all that different. For lower division clubs it's much harder than it was pre-Brexit.

[Broken Algorithms]

2 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Whit? No it isn't. On what basis is it easier, because as far as I can see it absolutely isn't.

Maybe if you are a Premiership side registered as a sponsoring employer anyway it's not all that different. For lower division clubs it's much harder than it was pre-Brexit.

That's certainly our experience. We brought in Frederiksen and needed to use an immigration law expert firm to push the deal through. Ayr had too wait months to get a deal through due to the same issue. 

[TxRover]

Notes on Starks Park:

-Movement of Starks Park to SPP Ltd. driven by lender requirements.

-£500,000 cost reported is bid to paint north and south stands. Note that this need may impact ability to maintain overdraft facility with Allied Irish bank, so is likely critical.

-Rust issue, caused by Barr design, on main support beams for north and south stands was addressed, but the solution doesn’t sound long-term and did NOT address the underlying rust. This is the next possible Health and Safety issue.

-Electrical issues have generally now been resolved, at some expense.

-If polystyrene was used to “resolve” the water pooling/rust issue, there are lifespan concerns for the repair, highly dependent upon exposure.

Edited January 12, 2023 by TxRover

[RRFC_Liam]

6 hours ago, Raithie said:

For the moment yes, he's not had his contract renewed by Killie which ran out this month. His loan is over so if we want him we'll need to sign him permanently I believe. 

Hopefully not as he’s not good enough we could use his wages and try get someone better 

[RRFC_Liam]

5 hours ago, Raithfan2711 said:

He had some good defensive headers but looked way off the pace otherwise - both tactically and in terms of literal pace.

A bit hard to be fully upto pace when you’re getting 2-3 minutes sub appearances those things will come if he gets more game time

[RandomGuy.]

7 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Whit? No it isn't. On what basis is it easier, because as far as I can see it absolutely isn't.

Maybe if you are a Premiership side registered as a sponsoring employer anyway it's not all that different. For lower division clubs it's much harder than it was pre-Brexit.

Its almost impossible to fail the appeals process so, if you want a foreign player  youll get them.

[SirJimmyofNic]

I thought it was a reasonable interview, given his age thinking what he was going to answer next and not wanting to divulge too much about possible investors/buyers, as he alluded to in the Dellios talks being conducted in public, all in all I think I prefer him as the owner for the time being till someone better comes along who has the club and community at heart

[Raithie]

Slightly off topic from the recent Sim interview but I see Alegria has been re-called by Rangers, previously was at Falkirk on loan, with possibility of him being loaned out again before the window closes. Any good and worth a punt? Wiki has him down as scoring 9 goals in 16 games.

[SirJimmyofNic]

I vividly remember the days during the close season when we volunteers painted the turnstiles , doors, crush barriers etc in and around the ground.................... buy the paint and rust remover John, us supporters will save you a fortune...... health & safety permitting

[Michael W]

9 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

Its almost impossible to fail the appeals process so, if you want a foreign player  youll get them.

After a few months. 

That is not easier than it was previously.