The New Raith Rovers Thread

[baillieinleeds]

I might be in the minority but I'd rather we didn't go near Baird again ... We've seen twice now he can walk away and sign somewhere else at the drop of a button (not that you can blame him) and I would rather we don't push our current strikers all down a pecking order to be sitting in another strikerless situation this time next summer ...

I'm a big fan of Baird's, but we would probably be pushing Stewart out of the team & Vaughen out of the Squad and for what, someone who yes can deliver, but shows loyalty doesn't appear to be a word in his dictionary ... Don't get me wrong, I can understand why he moved both times, but that doesn't do anything to help our cause if it happens for a third occasion !

But at the same time Admo, we need to freshen things upfront. I'd love it if Bairdy came home. But at the same time I'd love it if we could bring in Jason Scotland. Two players I really admire and would certainly make a big difference to the squad.

[Big Berk]

I always thought Baird was over-rated, I wouldnt take him back.

Anyway, he's history, right now the good news is that Malpas seems to be righting the ship; I cant believe he hasn't intervened already.

[Ebanda's Handyman Services]

I don't think it's right that we instantly credit Malpas with our two recent wins.

He was in the door for a day or two when we beat an on form Falkirk. If Murray is capable of setting up the team to beat Falkirk, he's capable of setting up the team to beat Cowdenbeath.

I know Murray isn't flavour of the week/month/year but lets not pass all the credit for these wins to someone else who probably hasn't had THAT much of an influence yet.

[renton]

I don't think it's right that we instantly credit Malpas with our two recent wins.

He was in the door for a day or two when we beat an on form Falkirk. If Murray is capable of setting up the team to beat Falkirk, he's capable of setting up the team to beat Cowdenbeath.

I know Murray isn't flavour of the week/month/year but lets not pass all the credit for these wins to someone else who probably hasn't had THAT much of an influence yet.

Absolutely agree, if the buck stops with Murray, and we excoriate him in defeat, then it also stops with him in victory and we should afford him the plaudits.

[Big Berk]

Its speculation, of course. Still, its a bit of a coincidence that organisation on the pitch suddenly improves after months of torture. Or has Malpas been standing around with his hands in his pockets since arriving. I prefer to think he has corrected one or two things, even if Murray has ultimately made the decisions.

[renton]

Its speculation, of course. Still, its a bit of a coincidence that organisation on the pitch suddenly improves after months of torture. Or has Malpas been standing around with his hands in his pockets since arriving. I prefer to think he has corrected one or two things, even if Murray has ultimately made the decisions.

Maybe he has, but the Falkirk game certainly came too early for him to have any kind of influence. It's not that likely he'd even seen us train by that point.

I think Malpas will be valuable to Grant Murray in the long run, but I doubt he'll have been able to stamp any kind of new thinking on management and players in this space of time.

[mojito]

I always thought Baird was over-rated, I wouldnt take him back.

Anyway, he's history, right now the good news is that Malpas seems to be righting the ship; I cant believe he hasn't intervened already.

Not really sure if this is simply a fishing trip.

However our team is crying out for Baird and I would happily bundle him in the boot and drive him to Starks Park tomorrow.

Andy C has hit the nail on the head regarding Malpas, however given some of the shite that normally comes out the mouths of Rovers fans I won't be surprised to see this point gather pace.

No where has it been announced or covered what Malpas's duties consist off but it's certainly harsh on Murray to exclude him from the credit on gathering six points over the last seven days.

[Big Berk]

Hmmm - maybe we've been wrong about Murray all along

A week's a long time in football in some memories

[Michael W]

Perhaps Malpas' appointment was a wake up call for a lot of people.

I know the internet often descends into one upmanship, but let's be reasonable here - two one nil wins is hardly some sort of miracle from Malpas' arrival. At best it's coincidental, however welcome it is.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Michael W

[Ebanda's Handyman Services]

Hmmm - maybe we've been wrong about Murray all along

A week's a long time in football in some memories

Two straight wins doesn't make everything perfect but Murray is delivering the wins that we desire at the moment and we've been no' too bad in recent weeks.

As Renton kind of touched on, if we're quick enough to be pissed off at under par displays, we need to try and be fair and praise decent displays that are delivering 3pts.

[Scary Bear]

Two straight wins doesn't make everything perfect but Murray is delivering the wins that we desire at the moment and we've been no' too bad in recent weeks.

As Renton kind of touched on, if we're quick enough to be pissed off at under par displays, we need to try and be fair and praise decent displays that are delivering 3pts.

While the wins are very welcome, we are still fairly poor to watch. While I was watching the game through a fence in the freezing cold I was regretting my decision to attend. There's just not much oomph about this team. Hopefully this improves as the confidence comes back into the team.

[Yoss]

I assumed people were at least half-joking about the Malpas thing - but in case they weren't, yeah, what Andy said.

Despite having lost the two games before that, we actually showed some improvement in those games too. (One of them was against a Hibs side who have now hit form and against Dumbarton I thought we were just plain unlucky.) So there has been a bit of a response since the Livingston game, which will hopefully prove to be the nadir.

Don't want to read too much into a couple of 1-0 wins, but there's a real chance over the next three games to pick up another win or two and put any relegation worries to bed. That being so, we can reassess come the end of the season.

[Ro Sham Bo]

Murray is now in almost a no win situation with the fans, in that if we pick up now and finish the season comfortably in the top six Malpas will receive the credit but if we continue to stumble along as we did throughout 2014 Murray will be blamed.

I suppose it can be argued that Murray has brought this situation on himself though.

[Michael W]

That Cowdenbeath fan's post in the match thread was a fairly brutal reminder of last season - we took 13 points from our last 17 games. Ouch.

We have had another poor run this season, although have ended it somewhat with back to back wins (and clean sheets). If we can go through the season without suffering another form collapse and mount something of a challenge to push up the table, I think people will ease on Murray a bit. The last year has, however, damaged confidence in Murray to the point where even a defeat next week will have calls for his head. No-one can be blamed for their lack of confidence in Murray.

The board were right, though - results must improve. We had an utterly dismal 2014 where the league is concerned, and a repeat is absolutely unacceptable.

Edit: I've just noticed we have QoS at home next week. Win, we're 5 behind a team currently placed fourth, but lose and we're 11 back. A very big game - we aren't making the playoffs but can bring the gap to a level that gives us something to play for.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Michael W

[McGuigan1978]

Our record against the teams outwith the top four is actually pretty reasonable now. Think that's 7 wins and 2 draws from 11 matches.

I don't think for a minute we'll challenge for the playoffs, as I don't think we're good enough, but it would be great to make the "winter slump" a thing of the past at least.

Edited January 3, 2015 by McGuigan1978

[Michael W]

We've lost to Queens twice, Dumbarton and Livingston. I think that's it?

[SUPERSOUTH]

We've lost to Queens twice, Dumbarton and Livingston. I think that's it?

Think you'll find we are 3rd equal.

[Skyline Drifter]

Think you'll find we are 3rd equal.

We are not "3rd equal", we're 4th. Lets not ignore the facts. However we are still in the top four.

[Pride of Fife]

Malpas may not have had direct influence on the team/result at Falkirk especially or at Cowden but his just being there could have brought a wee bit extra out the players.

Bit like "Shit, Murray could be gone soon so I won't be walking into the team each week unless I up my game".

QoS is a pretty big game for everyone, need to win to hang onto their coat tails, lose and more than likely we have to settle for a battle to finish above the part timers. Some viewed that as a success at start of season, I believe we should of always been aiming for 3rd, 4th

[Paco]

Agree with those who say it's absurd to credit Malpas with the immediate turnaround, credit where it's due to Murray. If we were being honest, we carried a big bit of fortune at Falkirk which we just hadn't had for a few weeks, that was the only real difference there - if Falkirk had taken their chances it could've easily been another 2-0 / 3-0 defeat. And yesterday was a game we'd expect to have won anyway - it's debatable whether we should, but we all know we'd expect it. Nonetheless it's pleasing to do so, and with a clean sheet too. Do we lose Perry yet?

Bigger test next week against QoS, albeit a little out of sorts QoS. With Alloa and Dumbarton at the back of this, I'm hoping we can get at least another two wins which eases the pressure on the management and gives us a bit of confidence to take into the trickier games. With the way out fixture list is we get the tough games back to back (Hibs, Rangers, Falkirk, Rangers, Livi, Hearts after the trip to Alloa) so perhaps sequences can look better/worse than they are in reality.

Hopefully it's a corner turned, it might not be, but it could be. And although Malpas may not have had much/any influence yet I would agree that his appointment may have been a bit of a jolt for the players, and indeed the management staff. Crazy how a sub won the game yesterday, and Murray was the only who actually made the change...