The New Raith Rovers Thread

[Hank Scorpio]

51 minutes ago, Brashy's Boots said:

2 hours ago, Ro Sham Bo said:

Went into the Montrose thread there and found this about Keatings....

That's not good, is it? If he's a ghost at that level he's pretty much done. The whole signing is a strange tale, and one we'll probably never get to the bottom of.

There’s not that much to it, is there? He can’t get himself fit enough to play at this level, so has been loaned out.  

[Broken Algorithms]

3 hours ago, renton said:

Presumably Paul McCabe was trying to write a quick match report from his seat in the away end at Ibrox yesterday.

It was amazing to see how quickly he backtracked last season when he was retweeting stuff about how Hearts shouldn't have been relegated only to get called out by our support. 

The FFP coverage is pretty generic nowadays - I'm pretty much an Alan Temple fanboy at this point with the content the Courier are putting out.  

6 hours ago, R.R.FC said:

Happy clapper post incoming.

All credit to John McGlynn and Paul Smith for a fantastic first quarter. There were a lot of people (myself included) a bit concerned about their transfer business this summer but most of the players have exceeded my expectations, a common theme under McGlynn. I still don’t think the squad is deep enough to sustain a title challenge but I’m pretty confident now of being right in the mix for a promotion play off place.

To lose MacDonald, Hendry, Kennedy, Gullan as well as Musonda and Vaughan with injury and actually improve on any quarter results we managed last season is outstanding. As well as that we reached the League Cup quarter final for the first time in over 20 years. That is despite starting the season with a confidence sapping collapse as well as the crushing blow of another Vaughan injury and a packed fixture schedule at points it really shouldn’t be underestimated how good a job McGlynn has done.

You can see with the movement and fluidity of our attacking and different patterns of play that we are a very well coached side offensively as well as defensively (last 10-15 minutes of comfortable leads aside!). The big thing for me after the Locke/Hughes/Smith period is that I actually enjoy and look forward to going to Starks again. Even if we don’t win, it is still usually a decent watch.

We obviously have our usual defeat from Inverness to come next week and a couple of injuries could change everything but good to see a more positive atmosphere around the club again after a bit of pre season pessimism. We still play the best football in the league but I think we are a bit more pragmatic with it this season, in a good way. The experience of Berra has made a huge difference in knowing when to play and when to go long (see Varian’s first half chance yesterday) and I think on the whole we have a more experienced, street wise side and than last season.

There’s still plenty opportunity for it to turn to shit so you never get carried away as a Rovers fan but I think credit where it’s due for a very good first quarter and a great start to the season.

Excellent post this. I wasn't upset with any of the signings - I've got a belief McGlynn can get the best out of players. There are a good few players who have left us now, whether their own choice or forced by structural changes, who are struggling to replicate how well we did last season. Connolly looks like he's coming to the fore week by week and even while Zanatta hasn't scored in the last few games, he still got an assist yesterday and looked lively throughout. Poplatnik is off the mark and Varian is an utter unit who does really well up top to create space. 

I've no doubt there'll be a lot of twists and turns but it feels like after a bit of a bumpy start we've put ourselves into a strong position. As I said elsewhere, had we not drawn that game against Accies in the first game then we'd be right behind Caley. It was a freak result, and at points people have some form of PTSD regarding it given our habit of losing late goals. It's hardly the most original point, but we just need to try to stabilise our defence and stop leaking out goals which are preventable. 

I'm really keen to see how we go forward in the next quarter. Especially when we add Ethan Ross into the mix. I genuinely believe we can replicate what we did with Regan Hendry - taking a promising player from a youth academy of a far bigger club and giving them a platform to kick on. Huge game next weekend - we've said it for years but we need to put this hoodoo against Caley to bed. 

[Brashy's Boots]

There’s not that much to it, is there? He can’t get himself fit enough to play at this level, so has been loaned out.  

I didn't mean there was any subterfuge or anything untoward. More that we pre-signed a noted goalscorer, albeit not in top form at time of signing, and after failing to get fit enough to play in our league, now looks to be doing the same in a lower one. JMcG has proven he knows a player when he sees one, so I'm just wondering where it all went wrong with this one.

[Been going too long]

2 hours ago, Brashy's Boots said:

3 hours ago, Ro Sham Bo said:

Went into the Montrose thread there and found this about Keatings....

That's not good, is it? If he's a ghost at that level he's pretty much done. The whole signing is a strange tale, and one we'll probably never get to the bottom of.

Sadly he does look done

[Been going too long]

39 minutes ago, Broken Algorithms said:

The FFP coverage is pretty generic nowadays - I'm pretty much an Alan Temple fanboy at this point with the content the Courier are putting out.  

Yeah Alan Temple is the man to follow, does a great job on all the local teams and gets a wee inside scoop quite regularly 

[Specky Ginger]

7 hours ago, Ro Sham Bo said:

Yeah the FFP is beyond awful now and I've given up on it completely. The boy at the Courier is the only local journalist with any reasonable interest in the Rovers. 

Fixed.

[Jilted John]

There’s obviously been a lot of plaudits for the likes of Berra and Zanatta recently but one player who I think has gone a bit unnoticed lately is Brad Spencer. He’s filled the ‘Hendry’ role since he left and while he’s not at the same level, he’s been fantastic this season. 

[Lang Toun Lad]

He was everywhere at the weekend. As a player who I'm sure many weren't fussed for keeping when we were promoted he's really stepped it up and has been excellent this season and last.

[roverthemoon]

FFP has gone downhill since it lost Matt Elder. He had a genuine interest in and rapport with the club. That Hearts supporting guy is clearly just phoning it in and doing the bare minimum. As others have said, Alan Temple is excellent. 

[McGuigan1978]

5 hours ago, roverthemoon said:

FFP has gone downhill since it lost Matt Elder. He had a genuine interest in and rapport with the club. That Hearts supporting guy is clearly just phoning it in and doing the bare minimum. As others have said, Alan Temple is excellent. 

Agreed, we were arguably spoiled by Matthew Elder, but you could tell he had a deep affinity for the club. On match days, there’d be constant updates and actual insight, while the online engagement with fans afterwards was always good. 

If there was anything coming out the club during the week, he’d also keep us informed. 

Now, virtually nothing, and while I mean no disrespect to the person who replaced him, last season, you had as much chance of him sending an angry tweet to the Hearts Twitter account than anything about Rovers. 

I’m happy to pay for good journalism, and funnily enough I subscribed to the Courier yesterday, as the stuff they’re putting out about Fife, Tayside and Angus football is excellent. 

He’s been mentioned a few times, but Alan Temple’s enthusiasm for football shines through, and his stuff is constantly very good.

As an aside, I do feel a bit sad when people put screen shots rather than links as they’re trying to earn a living through clicks etc, but regardless, the fact you’d barely know Raith had a game on via Kirkcaldy’s newspaper is a pretty sad state of affairs. 

Edited October 18, 2021 by McGuigan1978

[roverthemoon]

43 minutes ago, McGuigan1978 said:

I’m happy to pay for good journalism, and funnily enough I subscribed to the Courier yesterday, as the stuff they’re putting out about Fife, Tayside and Angus football is excellent. 

Strangely, reading this thread had me thinking of subscribing.  Made me realise how many times I’d wanted to read one of Alan Temple’s interviews about the Rovers but couldn’t. 

[McGuigan1978]

31 minutes ago, roverthemoon said:

Strangely, reading this thread had me thinking of subscribing.  Made me realise how many times I’d wanted to read one of Alan Temple’s interviews about the Rovers but couldn’t. 

It’s less than £2 a week and worth it in my opinion, especially when you throw in the fact you have access to all of Peter Grant’s latest  weird quotes. 

Edited October 18, 2021 by McGuigan1978

[da_no_1]

1 hour ago, McGuigan1978 said:

It’s less than £2 a week and worth it in my opinion, especially when you throw in the fact you have access to all of Peter Grant’s latest  weird quotes. 

"Any chance they got were really from a throw in. Some people might think that it is crazy to say that but that was a fact."

What's weird about this summing up of Kilmarnocks' threat on Saturday........?

Or this.........?

"I don’t pick the team during the week, only on a Saturday."

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by da_no_1

[HoBNob]

3 hours ago, roverthemoon said:

Strangely, reading this thread had me thinking of subscribing.  Made me realise how many times I’d wanted to read one of Alan Temple’s interviews about the Rovers but couldn’t. 

If you open up the article on incognito mode you can read as many as you want. 

[Broken Algorithms]

 

[Scary Bear]

On 17/10/2021 at 10:25, Enigma said:

I guess for me the only disappointment is the size of the home crowds. We should be able to get more than 2,000 in through the turnstiles.

 

On 17/10/2021 at 10:43, Ro Sham Bo said:

I think there is still a reasonable number of folk who've not returned since lockdown. Whether that because they've found something else to do or aren't comfortable about returning, who knows. 

 

On 17/10/2021 at 10:49, Michael W said:

You can still stream the game at home if you want to. Once that ends, perhaps the crowds will increase again. Our stream is very good, but I'd prefer to be at the game. Not everyone will feel the same. In my position this is largely theoretical, granted. 

There is also undoubtedly a section of society uncomfortable with attending these types of event, possibly just for now but possibly permanently. 

I think the Main Stand being shut may make a difference. The crowd on Saturday was 1700. How many fans were folk expecting?

Around 1400-1500 home fans didn’t seem that bad to me.

[Jilted John]

2 hours ago, Scary Bear said:

 

 

I think the Main Stand being shut may make a difference. The crowd on Saturday was 1700. How many fans were folk expecting?

Around 1400-1500 home fans didn’t seem that bad to me.

That’s the same kind of crowds we were pulling in whilst treading water in league 1 though. 
 

Given last season was played behind closed doors, everyone was desperate to come back and we are playing sexy football and mounting a promotion push, I’d have hoped for 2k at a home game tbh.

[Scary Bear]

17 minutes ago, Jilted John said:

That’s the same kind of crowds we were pulling in whilst treading water in league 1 though. 
 

Given last season was played behind closed doors, everyone was desperate to come back and we are playing sexy football and mounting a promotion push, I’d have hoped for 2k at a home game tbh.

I recall us getting 2000 against Arbroath a couple of seasons ago but generally 1700 against Arbroath is the usual crowd against them over the last few years. It’s only October so maybe if we keep up the good form and we can mount a title challenge then the crowds will rise:

Edited October 18, 2021 by Scary Bear

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

6 minutes ago, Scary Bear said:

I recall us getting 2000 against Arbroath a couple of seasons ago but generally 1700 against Arbroath is the usual crowd against them over the last few years. It’s only October so maybe if we keep up the good form and we can mount a title challenge then the crowds will rise:

4,426 once, mind you  there was a good reason.

I got hypothermia that day having being soaked with rain and it blowing a gale.

BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish League | Raith Rovers 0-0 Arbroath

[Scary Bear]

6 minutes ago, Zen Archer (Raconteur) said:

4,426 once, mind you  there was a good reason.

I got hypothermia that day having being soaked with rain and it blowing a gale.

BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish League | Raith Rovers 0-0 Arbroath

Dear John, please could you win us the league again, so we can get a decent crowd in.