The New Raith Rovers Thread

[renton]

35 minutes ago, Specky Ginger said:

Connolly aside, the goals return from the rest of team, outwith the forward line, has been pretty poor this season as well.

If you look at Partick last Friday, they're getting goals from all over the park and they're one of the few teams in the league with a 'proper centre forward'.

That at least is partly to do with actually having a proper centre forward, who just by his positioning, forces defenders into marking that space to free up others and more actively by taking up positions that even if it doesn't lead to him scoring, allows him to play a part in scoring moves as he did on Friday.

[renton]

Everything wrong with the current side can be summarised by how good our goal of the season competition is. 

We try to, and often have to score some ridiculously quality goals because we lack a system for getting forwards into dangerous positions for simple tap ins.

I agree with @Paco that our wide or creative players are all quite samey, without being poor players. We just don't get in behind teams and if our inside out wingers/number 10s don't then neither will our very defensive full backs. The system worked well once upon a time because McDonald and Tumilty were happy playing on the front foot and getting beyond the guy cutting inside to make room. Millen and Dick simply aren't those types of player.

It's an odd mix of team this year, tidy on the ball, capable of passing it well in possession and can score worldies but lacking any real incision.

Either he goes again with this system, banking on getting lucky with a striker, may be trying to get a more attacking full back to help out, or he tries to find a system that keeps two guys advanced up the park somehow, and try to find another Scott Brown-eque midfielder who will do the hard yards and press high up the park.

Edited April 14, 2023 by renton

[R.R.FC]

6 minutes ago, renton said:

try to find another Scott Brown-eque midfielder who will do the hard yards and press high up the park.

A fit Ross Matthews could do that job IMO. Getting him fit for next season is obviously the unknown. 

[pub car king]

On the striker front, yes the front line have underperformed which is due to not having the mythical 30 goal a season forward but also the way we play with the personal available. None of them are the answer to a 1 up top we need to try 2 of them in a partnership or try something else. 

For me however the problem with the team this season is the defence. We wouldn't need to score so many goals if we didn't ship so many at the back. 

[true_rover]

1 hour ago, pub car king said:

On the striker front, yes the front line have underperformed which is due to not having the mythical 30 goal a season forward but also the way we play with the personal available. None of them are the answer to a 1 up top we need to try 2 of them in a partnership or try something else. 

For me however the problem with the team this season is the defence. We wouldn't need to score so many goals if we didn't ship so many at the back. 

Compared to the rest of the league, our goals conceded isn't too bad. Comparing to the three teams in the playoffs, we've lost 44 compared to 45, 40 and 41 for Queen's Park, Partick and Ayr. 

The difference comes down to goals scored - 43 for us compared to 58, 58 and 57 for those teams mentioned.

[Broken Algorithms]

I've no idea on the statistics of it,  but it certainly feels like when we hit the edge of the box it's like we'll either have the overlap or nothing. I feel like it happens quite a lot with Connolly and Millen, but then again, I might be talking utter pish and the stats are better for them.

[CountryBumpkin]

2 hours ago, pub car king said:

On the striker front, yes the front line have underperformed which is due to not having the mythical 30 goal a season forward but also the way we play with the personal available. None of them are the answer to a 1 up top we need to try 2 of them in a partnership or try something else. 

For me however the problem with the team this season is the defence. We wouldn't need to score so many goals if we didn't ship so many at the back. 

I know that seems to be the answer, but whether we have one or two strikers up top, it won't really change given the players we have available. Since the start of the season, and last, we've got a squad built around getting the bulk of our goals from midfield. Last season we had Zanatta and Connolly chipping in with the bulk and a few more from Spencer, Ross, Gullan and Vaughan. This season its been more of the same but Stanton has replaced Spencer and Easton replaced Ross in the goals front. Changing the formation doesn't change the players strengths within it. Connolly moving to the left to whip crosses in removes what Connolly is good at, as we've seen a lot this year. 

3 hours ago, CALDERON said:

Also doesn't help that the players who are there to take the chances,are often trying to create them.

Against Queens Park, Vaughan laid the ball out wide to Millen, the proceeded to drop deep 10 yards behind their box, with nobody in the box to cross to - and we've seen it multiple times this season.  

Also against Queens Park, Millen whipped in a great ball to Vaughan, who controlled it badly, losing his opportunity to shoot at goal, instead played it poorly to Easton who didn't have an opportunity and passed it to Connolly who controlled it badly and lost his opportunity to shoot. Decision making when we're in front of goal is just as big a factor as anything else this season. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by CountryBumpkin

[CALDERON]

Murrays interview certainly suggests the new investment is pretty much a done deal, to me anyway.  

[TxRover]

The key for next year will be is IM committed to getting players to fit his beloved 4-2-3-1, or is IM committed to getting the best players he can and playing a system that fits them properly? As is noted with nauseating regularity above, we aren’t doing the job with a single striker up top. It is clear that finding the mythical striker that can score in football is more random than f**k, and we recently hit the jackpot with Nisbet, but there is no assurance he would have continued to deliver if we had been promoted.

The Championship is likely the most difficult League to source this player in, because the clubs above us have the resources to maintain several proven strikers and the clubs below us are playing part-timers who may already have a job they don’t wish to risk. That leaves us trawling young talent from above and below, sifting through this with nine other club all looking for the same nugget.

[Specky Ginger]

Nisbet was generally always part of a pair - with either Buchanan or Duggan.

The flip side of that is our midfield were slow and sluggish with guys like Wedderburn, and Matthews was much less effective in that formation.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Specky Ginger

[CountryBumpkin]

11 minutes ago, TxRover said:

The key for next year will be is IM committed to getting players to fit his beloved 4-2-3-1, or is IM committed to getting the best players he can and playing a system that fits them properly? As is noted with nauseating regularity above, we aren’t doing the job with a single striker up top. It is clear that finding the mythical striker that can score in football is more random than f**k, and we recently hit the jackpot with Nisbet, but there is no assurance he would have continued to deliver if we had been promoted.

The Championship is likely the most difficult League to source this player in, because the clubs above us have the resources to maintain several proven strikers and the clubs below us are playing part-timers who may already have a job they don’t wish to risk. That leaves us trawling young talent from above and below, sifting through this with nine other club all looking for the same nugget.

You never go full Chelsea. This is probably the worst thing you can do. You have a system and find the right players to fit it that you can afford. The other way around is just a round hole, square peg method.

[Michael W]

31 minutes ago, CALDERON said:

Murrays interview certainly suggests the new investment is pretty much a done deal, to me anyway.  

That not-very-good FFP article earlier in the week said Sim would provide an update at the end of the week...

[TxRover]

3 minutes ago, CountryBumpkin said:

You never go full Chelsea. This is probably the worst thing you can do. You have a system and find the right players to fit it that you can afford. The other way around is just a round hole, square peg method.

I don’t disagree, but there has to be a bit of pragmatism involved here. It you cannot find the “player” to make the system work, it’s time to change. I note that IM references a player out of contract perhaps deciding to move on…it sounds to me like possibly Spencer has told to team he isn’t exercising the player option, since IM had openly talked about Connolly as in discussions.

[Raith Against The Machine]

On 06/04/2023 at 08:22, sinkorswim said:

Smart, Penman, Mckenzie, McGregor, Kilgour, Barrowman the group Iv heard. 

Kelty have just announced that McKenzie and Bannerman (along with manager John Potter) have all left the club. I suspect all three will shortly be wearing Rovers ties. 

Can only assume that Potter will be coming into some sort of Director of Football type role. Replacing Murray with him would be a horrendous move. 

[Offshore Rover]

2 minutes ago, Raith Against The Machine said:

Kelty have just announced that McKenzie and Bannerman (along with manager John Potter) have all left the club. I suspect all three will shortly be wearing Rovers ties. 

Can only assume that Potter will be coming into some sort of Director of Football type role. Replacing Murray with him would be a horrendous move. 

https://keltyhearts.co.uk/kelty-hearts-enter-new-chapter-in-its-history/
 

For anyone looking 

[Michael W]

Well, I wonder what that could mean then...

[D'Jaffo]

13 minutes ago, Raith Against The Machine said:

Kelty have just announced that McKenzie and Bannerman (along with manager John Potter) have all left the club. I suspect all three will shortly be wearing Rovers ties. 

Can only assume that Potter will be coming into some sort of Director of Football type role. Replacing Murray with him would be a horrendous move. 

But brilliant for everyone else next season. Absolute certainty you’ll finish bottom of the pack with him in charge. 

[Ro Sham Bo]

What a shambles. Recruiting the 'brains' behind the team 8th in league 1.

Sim is an absolute idiot. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Ro Sham Bo

[pub car king]

Hello, is that Mike Dellios. Listen I think we might have been a bit hasty a few months ago are you still interested. 

[Hank Scorpio]

Potter won’t be the manager, ffs.