The New Raith Rovers Thread

[Lang Toun Lad]

Other than making sure it doesn't fall down  the Railway Stand should pretty much be forgotten about. It has to be pretty far down the priority list just now after big losses in League One and then maintaining the areas of Starks that are actually used by fans and staff.

I remember sitting in the Railways Stand with my Dad and Grandad as a kid but to bring it back up to spec at a time when we can fit most crowds in the South Stand alone is a complete waste of time and money.

[Lang Toun Lad]

I like the trajectory that Sim seems to have set us on (which is probably helped by on-field success!) but, as someone said previously, setting out x-year plans isn't really possible at this level. It will be interesting to see what happens next year if we don't go up and lose some of our better players. That's a thought for later, though, as I don't want to dwell on the downsides while we are still in the middle of such a great season!

[roverthemoon]

35 minutes ago, Lang Toun Lad said:

Other than making sure it doesn't fall down  the Railway Stand should pretty much be forgotten about. It has to be pretty far down the priority list just now after big losses in League One and then maintaining the areas of Starks that are actually used by fans and staff.

I remember sitting in the Railways Stand with my Dad and Grandad as a kid but to bring it back up to spec at a time when we can fit most crowds in the South Stand alone is a complete waste of time and money.

This. The only redevelopment of the Railway Stand that should ever be considered is one that’s going to bring in significant additional revenue. That means either hospitality or some sort of use that helps us rent the pitch. And I’m not convinced either of them would add the revenue needed to cover the cost of bringing it back into use. We definitely shouldn’t be spending money on simply displacing existing fans around the ground. 

[roverthemoon]

3 hours ago, CALDERON said:

I don't mind it so much.  ICT and St Johnstone have played in Europe in the past decade, and it's on the radar of clubs like Livingston and St Mirren.  Its a million miles away from where we are just now, but to aim towards being mid table in the Premiership or able to reach a National cup final, in the next 20 years, isn't beyond the realms of possibility - and both of those things at least put European football on the radar.

Like or loath Sim, there is ambition, a plan, but tempered with ability and caution with regards to the finances.  The club feels like it has an actual plan in place to grow and go forward - rather than job about between this league and League 1, as we have done for the last 20 years.  Doesn't mean that won't happen, we are always one bad season away from disaster, but I feel far more comfortable with the running of the club than I did a few years back.

I've had this feeling for the past year that going down to League 1 and having to bring Mcglynn back to clean the mess up will end up being the best thing that could have possibly happened to the club. 

The European thing just makes me uneasy. It seems far too much of a stretch for me at this point in time and feels too much like populist playing to the gallery. It’s actually at odds with everything else Sim seems to be doing which is on the face of it methodical, planned and as you say, cautious  (assuming there’s no smoke and mirrors hidden financial day of reckoning coming as there has been from past owners). I’d much rather he just said the initial aim is to get us back in the Premiership for the first time in a generation. 

Totally agree on your last point though. With hindsight, failure to go up on that last day has us in a far stronger position I reckon.

Edited May 10, 2021 by roverthemoon

[R.R.FC]

On 26/04/2021 at 09:29, R.R.FC said:

In games Matthews has been involved this season:

Played: 19   
Lost: 3     
Goal For: 36    
Goals Against: 17 
Goal Difference +19

Without Matthews:

Played: 10    
Lost: 5    
GF: 11   
GA: 19   
GD: -8

Updated stats on a post I made before the Hearts game. Really is incredible the difference he makes to the team. Adds important balance to the midfield.

[Broken Algorithms]

The first hurdle is to get us competing and to make the jump into the top flight. It's easier now than in the past but it's still a system which is against a club like our own. Next season might well be the first where you've got a club where the expectation is that they'll romp to the title - the only surprise winners who haven't had the advantage in terms of budget since 14/15 are St Mirren (who had momentum from the previous season to go with some outstanding young talents) and Ross County (who even then, have Roy McGregor to splash the cash).

We're always going to face teams who either have owners who will be willing to either chuck cash or who naturally have larger budgets and can attract players who are outwith our spending capacity. Dundee are a perfect example this season where they've brought in McMullan, Fontaine and Cummings who have changed the dynamic of their side. It's the nature of the game. Realistically, we need to try to be shrewd with multiple year contracts which can be a risky business in itself. With that said, I've got complete faith that McGlynn will have players identified who can add positively to the squad even if we lose the likes of Regan Hendry in the summer. 

3 hours ago, CALDERON said:

I've had this feeling for the past year that going down to League 1 and having to bring Mcglynn back to clean the mess up will end up being the best thing that could have possibly happened to the club. 

Completely agreed. Had we gone up with Smith in charge, you'd feel we'd have just treaded water until he left. There never felt like there was a plan under Smith. 

[RRFC1989]

The European thing just makes me uneasy. It seems far too much of a stretch for me at this point in time and feels too much like populist playing to the gallery. It’s actually at odds with everything else Sim seems to be doing which is on the face of it methodical, planned and as you say, cautious  (assuming there’s no smoke and mirrors hidden financial day of reckoning coming as there has been from past owners). I’d much rather he just said the initial aim is to get us back in the Premiership for the first time in a generation. 
Totally agree on your last point though. With hindsight, failure to go up on that last day has us in a far stronger position I reckon.

The guy has ambition and I like it. We might not get into Europe but aiming for it isn’t a bad thing. Its small minded thinking that has had the club stuck between the 2nd and 3rd tiers for as long as we have. Look at some of the smaller clubs that have been in European qualifiers in the last 11yrs, Falkirk, ICT, Killie, StJohnstone, Motherwell. I see no reason as to why we shouldn’t to match their achievements.

[Ebanda's Handyman Services]

Our current ground is incredibly limited. I'd love to see the club move away from Stark's Park. 

Tradition shouldn't hinder progress. 

[CALDERON]

I wouldn't want the club to move out of town.  I know there was talk years ago about moving out to near Chapel Level, wouldn't want anything like that.

Ironically, somewhere like where the Morrisons is now would have been absolutely ideal in terms of location. 

I would hate to end up with a ground like Clyde, Airdrie, East Fife, Livi, St Mirren et al.  

[HIT THE CHANNEL]

***Apologies in advance for length***

Really enjoyed Sim's extended interview (also the show in general is a really enjoyable listen. Graeme, your hosting is top notch!). 

Anyway, I was thinking about the community/social hub (CSH) that was being discussed in the latter part of the show. I appreciate this will be costly, and there are other priorities that come first from a purely business sense. From a match going fans sense, however, having a Queens Park style CSH is something that is right at the top of my list. I would love to frequent a bar bedecked in Rovers memorabilia and artwork, knowing that every penny is going towards the club. It would be a great atmosphere on match day and on non-match day's it would be a great place for parents/guardians to wait out the kids classes (with the bar open serving tea/coffe and everything else).  It also offers a space to host even more community groups and connect even more with the town. This is surely one of those investments that would pay for itself, become a money spinner and greatly improve the match day experience - once the initial finance has been found. And that seems to be the issue.

I know board/officials and others read this forum, so here is one (very rough and potentially ill-thought out) idea that popped into my head. On the off chance it is helpful, I will jot it down.  It would be great if others on the message board could pitch in with ideas (if they think it a valuable enterprise)!

The donate a ticket/rovers just giving pandemic fund showed that when there is a clear cause and momentum that the fans can dig deep. I wonder if the club could create a 'build the CSH fund' and encourage fans to donate, sponsors to donate etc. It need not be a quick fix either. It could be a one, two, three year target, or however long seems reasonable.

Like everything, incentives would be key. Here are some examples which immediate  pop into my head:

a) those who donate X amount could have their names on a board/mural inside (£50 a name  generates £25k with 500  signing up.)

b) those who donate X amount could have tables/booths/corners of the CSH named after them or there fans group and (£2,000 a table generates £20k if there are 10 sponsored tables. For example, we could have 'The Jimmy Nicholl' table paid for by 'Name of fan/group'; 'The Munich '95 table' paid for by 'Name of fan/group'

(These kind of things have proved popular in the past with fan tiles and steps. Like the steps, the table names could be leased for say, 10 years.)

c) Donate a ticket could continue, with proceeds going to the CSH. Incentives such as free hospitality could be offered.

d) A new go fund me could be created.

e) Ex players could be encouraged to auction off memorabilia and donate proceeds to the CSH - the incentive could be these players would also be recognised on a special wall/plaque 

f) Fundraising activities could be organised, with proceeds donated to CHS. Individual fans could take this upon themselves and there could be collective club events.

g) Cutting costs to begin with. The whole enterprise could try and draw upon a spirit of collectivism. Perhaps we could cut costs by having fans who are sparkys/plumbers/joiners/architechts etc. donate their time and expertise? Perhaps we could have local artists do some of the interior? Volunteers could paint and decorate. Businesses could donate tech such as TVs, speakers, juke boxes etc., with advertising offered in the CSH). Perhaps a local band or two could do a sponsored gig (the shambolics have gotten great exposure from the Rovers using their song, for example). 

h) John Sim  mentioned that the Alloa chairman had a knack of drawing on grants and community funding. Perhaps there is scope for this if it forms part of our efforts to make the facilities benefit the wider community. i.e. helping the facilities become gender-equal (i.e. female only changing rooms for match day officials that John mentioned are needed). Or if we grant free access of the CHS one night a week to mental health groups etc. Or if we guarantee to hire folks who struggle to enter the job market (for whatever reason) to help them gain skills, experience etc. I have no experience with any of this, so this may be irrelevant/pie in the sky - but thought it would be worth including in what is effectively an 'ideas on a whiteboard-type post). 

 

The 'danger' or hesitancy I can perhaps see is that there may be a concern that if folks donate to this then it may impact upon fan money that would be expected to come to other elements of the club. However, experience of other enterprises seems to show there is a core of fans who basically sign up for most new initiatives and also that initiatives that are clearly ring fenced and marketed as an 'extra' can gather momentum. As this should turn into a money-maker, it seems that it is  a gamble worth taking. 

Anyway, the idea of a Rovers CSH is just so good that it would be amazing if the fans could whip up a big wedge to help the club to make it happen. 

Hopefully there is some useful nuggets in the above that those who are involved in the club/talented at raising money can draw upon. 

P.S it is hard to know how viable this kind of model is without knowing what kind of money is needed to build it. 100k, 300k, 500k more? etc. If anyone knows or has a professional background that means they think they can give an estimate, I would be really interested to hear it. 

Sorry for War and Peace!

 

 

[Raithie]

29 minutes ago, CALDERON said:

I wouldn't want the club to move out of town.  I know there was talk years ago about moving out to near Chapel Level, wouldn't want anything like that.

I think the move to Chapel Level was spoken about before we built the new stands and if I remember correctly architecht drawings were made up and it was supposedly very Livingstone'esque in design. 

[roverthemoon]

1 hour ago, RRFC1989 said:

The guy has ambition and I like it. We might not get into Europe but aiming for it isn’t a bad thing. Its small minded thinking that has had the club stuck between the 2nd and 3rd tiers for as long as we have. Look at some of the smaller clubs that have been in European qualifiers in the last 11yrs, Falkirk, ICT, Killie, StJohnstone, Motherwell. I see no reason as to why we shouldn’t to match their achievements.

It’s a legitimate ambition and maybe it is best we aim high, just makes me a bit uneasy that’s all.  Still think we should walk before we can run and build a solid foundation that gets us established as a Premiership side more often than not first. We’ve not been in the top tier since 1997. Yeah Falkirk were in Europe, but look at where they are now. Aiming too high can bring you crashing back to earth with a bump unless the foundations are rock solid.  

[roverthemoon]

16 minutes ago, Raithie said:

I think the move to Chapel Level was spoken about before we built the new stands and if I remember correctly architecht drawings were made up and it was supposedly very Livingstone'esque in design. 

Pretty sure Sim said on Saturday the boat had sailed on moving away from Stark’s Park. It’s a difficult one. The facilities at Stark’s are shite and space is a premium but I love the history and uniqueness of the place. Would hate to move to a soulless out of town place. 

[Michael W]

59 minutes ago, CALDERON said:

I wouldn't want the club to move out of town.  I know there was talk years ago about moving out to near Chapel Level, wouldn't want anything like that.

Ironically, somewhere like where the Morrisons is now would have been absolutely ideal in terms of location. 

I would hate to end up with a ground like Clyde, Airdrie, East Fife, Livi, St Mirren et al.  

There are unsurprisingly a lack of suitable sites. We'd have go on the other side of the A92 up the Chapel Level, which would be utterly rubbish. The other one springing to mind is the land at Boreland, although I think that's getting developed into a huge new build estate now. This, too, would be utterly rubbish. 

[CALDERON]

25 minutes ago, roverthemoon said:

Pretty sure Sim said on Saturday the boat had sailed on moving away from Stark’s Park. It’s a difficult one. The facilities at Stark’s are shite and space is a premium but I love the history and uniqueness of the place. Would hate to move to a soulless out of town place. 

Yeah.  Aberdeen are in a similar position re Pittodrie, but where they were originally planning to move to would be dreadful from a day out perspective.

Its a tough one. 

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

OH MY FUCKING SIDES!!!!!

McKinnon's been binned by Queens Park.

[pub car king]

[Scary Bear]

8 hours ago, Michael W said:

Spending money on the railway stand is unfortunately a total waste of money the club will almost certainly never get back. 

I do however acknowledge the longer we leave it, the more expensive that repairs etc. are going to become. However, we don't need it and the club racked up some pretty bad losses in League One that this season should hopefully put a significant dent in. Keeping the club on a good financial footing should be the immediate priority. 

I haven’t listened to the interview yet but people react to their environment. Having a derelict stand in plain sight probably isn’t a positive thing. I hope we do sort out the Railway Stand at some stage. I liked watching games from there.

[ATLIS]

3 hours ago, CALDERON said:

I wouldn't want the club to move out of town.  I know there was talk years ago about moving out to near Chapel Level, wouldn't want anything like that.

Ironically, somewhere like where the Morrisons is now would have been absolutely ideal in terms of location. 

I would hate to end up with a ground like Clyde, Airdrie, East Fife, Livi, St Mirren et al.  

Don't see what's wrong with Almondvale to be honest. It's in the middle of the town, can be a bit empty but when it's full it's a cracking stadium with the stands up close and on top of the pitch. Been a lot of work done on it in the last few years too, bringing it into the modern era

[roverthemoon]

The Railway stand was a cracking place to watch football from. Right on the half way line, view of the classic main Stand and opposition fans to your left for a bit of banter.  The only drawback was there was a right moany contingent in there giving younger players dogs abuse at times. They hated Jason Dair back in the day I seem to remember.

Edited May 10, 2021 by roverthemoon