Raith Rovers v Dunfermline Athletic

[All-Star-Par]

A massive shame no crowds are in for this one as it would have been a fantastic atmosphere in both the away end, following on from tipping old grannies cars in the high street, and the Dunfermline Athletic development squads home end. Two very decent starts by both teams so fingers crossed for an exciting ninety minutes and really looking forward to it. Hearing the Rovers streams have been of decent quality too? 
 

I’ll kick off the Fife Derby bingo card with ‘wee team’, ‘pay your debts’ and ‘Kevin Nisbet’. 

[Derry Alli]

Is this on TV? 

[101]

22 minutes ago, Mr. Alli said:

Is this on TV? 

Nah Saturday at 3 so just Raith TV

[Raith Against The Machine]

Not being able to attend is taking a little bit of the sting out of this one, although that might just be me downplaying things because I expect us to lose. 

It's not that Dunfermline are world beaters; Fon-Williams was clearly some way down Crawford's shopping list for a goalkeeper in the summer (below Jamie MacDonald, I'd wager) and neither Declan McManus nor Kevin O'Hara are really properly good Championship strikers. They're both "on his day" forwards, which will be my excuse should one of them score a hat-trick. 

That said, in Euan Murray and Paul Watson I think the Pars have the best defensive partnership in the division, and that midfield looked excellent against Hearts. Whittaker didn't look anywhere near as done as I'd hoped, and Dom Thomas has obviously already proven that he's the excellent signing that he looked to be. 

It's not that I'm particularly pessimistic about the Rovers' chances. By and large performances have more than matched results this season, and they've deserved the points they've had, but we saw yesterday that McGlynn hasn't stumbled on some unstoppable wonder-team, despite Morton's best efforts to make it look that way. We can be nullified by a busy midfield and a dominant central defence. Now, what was I just saying about this Dunfermline side...? 

If the Rovers win this game, the man of the match is either going to be Regan Hendry or Manny Duku. It's going to take a midfield masterclass - which Hendry is capable of - or a completely dominant striking performance - which, although Duku has been very impressive, would require another step up in ability from him. 

We've got quality in other areas of the park. The attacking midfield three of Armstrong, Tait and Ross can and will cause trouble for every team in this division, but they're going to need a standout performance either in front or behind them, if not both, to be the difference. 

TLDR - Jim Leishman's poems are shite, Sammy the Tammy looks like a jobbie wearing a hat, and Morrisons is a much better supermarket than Aldi. 

[HoBNob]

"creditors" and "administration" for the house please chief. With a smattering of that Scottish Cup game. 

I've no what to expect from Rovers at all, I know some of the players but I haven't seen many of them play recently outwith Mcdonald and Tumilty and Ross, Armstrong I haven't seen for a few years but I did like him, typical in that a winger at this level is inconsistent. Hendry seems like he's a key player but I don't think I've ever watched him. I remember Benedictus and Mathew's but haven't seen either in a few years. 

MacDonald, Musonda, Tait and Duku are also players I've never seen. With the way Rovers fans are bigging up Tait it'll be interesting to see him. 

 

We could win, we could lose, I reckon it'll be a draw. 

[101]

7 minutes ago, Raith Against The Machine said:

Not being able to attend is taking a little bit of the sting out of this one, although that might just be me downplaying things because I expect us to lose. 

It's not that Dunfermline are world beaters; Fon-Williams was clearly some way down Crawford's shopping list for a goalkeeper in the summer (below Jamie MacDonald, I'd wager) and neither Declan McManus nor Kevin O'Hara are really properly good Championship strikers. They're both "on his day" forwards, which will be my excuse should one of them score a hat-trick. 

That said, in Euan Murray and Paul Watson I think the Pars have the best defensive partnership in the division, and that midfield looked excellent against Hearts. Whittaker didn't look anywhere near as done as I'd hoped, and Dom Thomas has obviously already proven that he's the excellent signing that he looked to be. 

It's not that I'm particularly pessimistic about the Rovers' chances. By and large performances have more than matched results this season, and they've deserved the points they've had, but we saw yesterday that McGlynn hasn't stumbled on some unstoppable wonder-team, despite Morton's best efforts to make it look that way. We can be nullified by a busy midfield and a dominant central defence. Now, what was I just saying about this Dunfermline side...? 

If the Rovers win this game, the man of the match is either going to be Regan Hendry or Manny Duku. It's going to take a midfield masterclass - which Hendry is capable of - or a completely dominant striking performance - which, although Duku has been very impressive, would require another step up in ability from him. 

We've got quality in other areas of the park. The attacking midfield three of Armstrong, Tait and Ross can and will cause trouble for every team in this division, but they're going to need a standout performance either in front or behind them, if not both, to be the difference. 

TLDR - Jim Leishman's poems are shite, Sammy the Tammy looks like a jobbie wearing a hat, and Morrisons is a much better supermarket than Aldi. 

Nice round up it could be the classic 2 cracking teams nullify each other. Been impressed with Dukus scoring record any chance of him sticking in Kirkcaldy?

Shame we can't get into this one, if Dunfermline are as up for this as they were Hearts then we should have enough to win but if anyone drops their performance then we are in trouble.

[Shandon Par]

The 30% sell-on clause  was a great piece of business. Nisbet’s goal against Celtic yesterday will have added another big chunk onto his value.

A win will send Raith back above us so that’s a decent incentive not to feel sorry for themselves over losing at Inverness. Interesting to see if they are genuinely as good as they have looked so far or if it’s a case of catching teams cold and ICT working them out. 

Pars entering their tenth month unbeaten and showing a real variety in the way they win games. Much bigger test than the Hearts game IMO. Hearts have some decent players but are a bit one-dimensional and one-paced whereas Raith look a better footballing side. 

 

 

 

[Broken Algorithms]

Glad to jump into this thread while it's not descended into a farce. 

The Caley game should temper our expectations in this one somewhat. We never got going in midfield and as a result looked utterly pedestrian. I'd disagree with Paul Smith who said that he'd rather we were playingnext week: Kieran MacDonald was a shadow of himself yesterday after returning from a few weeks on the sidelines. We really need him firing on all cylinders to be able to threaten. He's just one of several players who look like they've been running on empty. 

Dunfermline are one of the few sides we can go in knowing what to expect given how many of their players we've played against in the past. They've done brilliantly in the last few years to pick up players who have been consistent in league 1 like Murray, Turner, Thomas etc. I'm not convinced about Crawford as a manager - if the Pars win then I would be surprised if it was down to his tactical nous and more down to the players at his disposal. 

 

[Raith Against The Machine]

29 minutes ago, 101 said:

Been impressed with Dukus scoring record any chance of him sticking in Kirkcaldy?

He's a funny one. He's been much, much better than I expected, but then I didn't expect very much. There aren't many players in their mid- to late-twenties who haven't made a mark above Conference level who turn out to be brilliant. 

My feeling is still that he's outperformed his own natural level so far, and that he'll level out over the course of the season. To answer your actual question, I don't think there'll be a queue of other teams desperate to take him to a higher level. 

That, however, is just my suspicion. We knew from his YouTube showreel that he'd be quick and strong, but he's technically better than I thought he'd be. You look at his goal tally and you might assume he's being used as an out and out lone striker, but he's really been more of a focal point in a false-nine sense to bring our aforementioned midfield three into play. 

In the games we've done well in, he's exploited shoddy defending very well. The big puddings at the back for Queens in particular had an awful time. The problem we've had (and not just with Duku, but with his like-for-like replacement Lars Lokotsch at Dens) is that when he's having a tough time against a good defence, the whole team struggles to get forward.

Personally, I think he's the right player for the system that McGlynn and Smith are using. In that sense, he has been and will continue to be a very valuable player for us. I'm less convinced he's got the potential to go and do better things elsewhere. 

[roverthemoon]

Can I throw in ‘That’s never ten yards...’

Really looking forward to this one. Pars looked very strong against Hearts and we looked out of sorts against ICT, but I’m trusting McGlynn and Smudger to devise a master plan to secure the win and the rightful return of the wee team to the summit of the Championship. 

[CALDERON]

The ICT game was a stark reminder that we are now playing at a higher level. 

If we are to take anything from this game, we can't afford any passengers. And we certainly can't afford it if they have Hendry or Armstrong on the back of their shirts. 

 

[TxRover]

Very difficult to predict this one. On the whole, I’d certainly agree that Raith, as a team, are a step below you...however, it’s not a huge step, and the gap can be closed easily enough depending on if a couple of players have good or bad days. Common opponents makes interesting reading, with you beating Hearts, ICT and Queens where we only beat Queens and managed a draw with ICT in that trio.

Best guess is your back line is of solid enough quality to blunt our attack and reduce the effectiveness of our midfield, while our back line is still mid-pack or below. If our players are on, and the passing game reaches the levels seen versus Morton, we can certainly put you to the sword...but I’ll thinking the match will probably be a closely played loss for Raith, perhaps 2-1 or so. While it might be what they call a moral victory, given the Pars rapid start, that would be disappointing but probably reflective of the likely true level of Raith this year, somewhere mid-table.

[All-Star-Par]

Honestly not seeing why Rovers are playing their chances this season down. Given how honky tonk Dundee have turned out to be there is a real chance of a playoff spot for us/you/Ayr/ICT imo and with it being such a shortened season you’ve made a good start which was imperative. Think there is a real chance this could be a right exciting season for both our clubs. 
 

*until we sign Duku and Hendry in January using the money we stole off local businesses and derail you* 

[Enigma]

I think Saturday was the end of our Championship honeymoon really. Inverness had played us before, sussed us out (in truth I think they did after the 1st half in the League Cup game), and they looked much better than us overall. In truth they probably should have been 2 or 3 up by half time. This one is difficult to call but I have a bad feeling here, the Pars will be wanting to bury the 3-0 game and they’re on red hot form. I’ll go for 2-0 Pars here.

There’s been a lot of discussion of are we actually good or are we just riding a wave and I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I don’t think we’ll be troubling the relegation places but with Hearts, ICT, and the Pars all looking good and if Dundee get their act together top 4 might just be a bit above us.

In relation to Rage Against The Machine talking about Duku, he’ll be away in the summer. He’s out of contact and if he carries on with even half the goals to game ratio he’s started with there’s no way he’ll hang around, somebody in the league above will take a punt.

[D.A.F.C]

Yooooose arrr chhheeetzzz

[TxRover]

1 hour ago, All-Star-Par said:

Honestly not seeing why Rovers are playing their chances this season down. Given how honky tonk Dundee have turned out to be there is a real chance of a playoff spot for us/you/Ayr/ICT imo and with it being such a shortened season you’ve made a good start which was imperative. Think there is a real chance this could be a right exciting season for both our clubs. 
 

*until we sign Duku and Hendry in January using the money we stole off local businesses and derail you* 

Faulty rear end...so to speak. We have ended up on the thin side in the back. In the middle, with McKay out for the season, Mendy is working now (by necessity), Musonda is turning out well and Davo/Bene are somehow still working OK at this level. That leaves us with a staffing problem now that Davo has joined McKay as out till Jan, since Musonda is also a cover at LB/RB. on the outside, Tumilty was an excellent pickup, and KMac is fulfilling his promise, which is nice on the edges, but they have no real backup. In a pinch we might have to play our only four CB’s across the back, thereby crippling our wide threat.

If we had half the depth in back we have in the middle, we’d be laughing. In another year Mendy might be a solid starter as he’s probably 75-80% there. Musonda will likely be taken, much like Duku, if he keeps this up since he’s also on a one year deal. With this likely Davo’s last year starting, we need to find some defensive depth quickly.

[DA Baracus]

Has Ugwu been playing for you? 

[HoBNob]

1 hour ago, Enigma said:

I think Saturday was the end of our Championship honeymoon really. Inverness had played us before, sussed us out (in truth I think they did after the 1st half in the League Cup game), and they looked much better than us overall. In truth they probably should have been 2 or 3 up by half time. This one is difficult to call but I have a bad feeling here, the Pars will be wanting to bury the 3-0 game and they’re on red hot form. I’ll go for 2-0 Pars here.

Raith won't be the last side this season to become unstuck up in Inverness, Robertson is the best manager at this level imo. A defeat doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things for Raith, the longer Dundee hold onto McPake, and Aye aren't looking great there's every chance Raith can grab a playoff spot. 

I think you're putting too much emphasis on that 3-0 game, from the team that played that day not a single Dunfermline player remains, although Murray will be on the opposition side. A testament to the rebuilding job Craw has done. 

[San Starko Rover]

Honestly not seeing why Rovers are playing their chances this season down. Given how honky tonk Dundee have turned out to be there is a real chance of a playoff spot for us/you/Ayr/ICT imo and with it being such a shortened season you’ve made a good start which was imperative. Think there is a real chance this could be a right exciting season for both our clubs. 
 
*until we sign Duku and Hendry in January using the money we stole off local businesses and derail you* 

I think Rovers fans are just a bit reluctant to say we’re good enough to obtain a safe position this season in case it’s just a promotion bounce. So far we’ve been a good side in the division and yesterday aside have got some good results. I think we’ll be 5/6 come the end of the season and I’d have snapped your arm off if offered that at the beginning but a lot will depend on injuries to key players like Hendry, Duku and MacDonald.

For this game Pars look a decent side and I’d expect them to be the only team capable of giving Hearts something to worry about as Dundee are guff. We’ll need to play at our best to get anything out of Dunfermline and we really need a great performance from our midfield that was seriously lacking yesterday.

I want to be confident but at the moment I think we’ll lose this one 2-1.

[Beachbum]

7 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

Has Ugwu been playing for you? 

He started 2 friendlies back in September and that's it. Out injured until yesterday when he made the bench.