Raith Rovers v Arbroath

[Paco]

Yeah, this is a tough game. Far more like the Morton game than the Dunfermline one, albeit I don’t see Arbroath absolutely refusing to try and score a goal like Morton did.

The Pars were caught out by our formation, if there’s one thing we can be sure about it’s that Dick Campbell will have a plan to try and stop it.

It isn’t an easy game but it’s probably our ‘easiest’ on paper in the run-in. As such if we want second, we really need to be looking at three points. Hopefully MacDonald/Matthews/Gullan all make it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Gullan especially is out for a couple of weeks.

[afc_36_0]

You haven't really beat us comfortably for 50 years.

[SimonLichtie]

It always amuses me when diddy team fans get above their station and somehow think they're some sort of bigtime club.

A club that have pissed away hilariously large sums of money over the past decade in order to maintain some sort of illusion of superiority over the rest of us diddies, when the reality is Alloa have performed at an overall better level consistently over the same period with 300 fans and a part time squad.

Surely clubs like Arbroath and Alloa should be an absolute irrelevance to Raith Rovers, and the fact they're making any sort of noise towards fans of clubs like ours should be viewed as highly embarrassing for those involved.

[Raith_Raver]

18 minutes ago, SimonLichtie said:

It always amuses me when diddy team fans get above their station and somehow think they're some sort of bigtime club.

A club that have pissed away hilariously large sums of money over the past decade in order to maintain some sort of illusion of superiority over the rest of us diddies, when the reality is Alloa have performed at an overall better level consistently over the same period with 300 fans and a part time squad.

Surely clubs like Arbroath and Alloa should be an absolute irrelevance to Raith Rovers, and the fact they're making any sort of noise towards fans of clubs like ours should be viewed as highly embarrassing for those involved.

This is pure fiction. No one among us think we're a big time club or that teams like Alloa and Arbroath are diddy clubs.

[CALDERON]

Assuming that post is directed at Raith Rovers, apologies if it isnt. 

We haven't really spent "hilariously" large amount of money in recent years tbh.  Actually, one of the biggest problems was probably not spending enough.  The 18/19 season saw a piss thin squad assembled on the cheap, with some kind of illusion that full time football would be the golden key.  We've probably spent more money since Mcglynn came in (I'm guessing) but have done so to assemble an actual squad of footballers. 

Absolutely mental to say that Alloa have achieved better in the past decade.  The past decade has already seen 1 2nd place finish in this league, 1 4th place finish (in the strongest Championship for years, where we finished absolutely miles clear in 4th place) and very possibly another 4th place finish this year.  Add to that a Challenge Cup win against Rangers, and 2 Scottish Cup quarter final appearances.   Alloa have punched above their weight, for sure, and deserve immense credit for that - but they have rarely done anything other than scrap towards the bottom part of this league or be in the leagues below.  

We didn't end up where we did because we spent large amounts of money - we did because we hired Gary Locke, John Hughes turned insane, and we trusted Barry Smith to get us promoted.  

 

 

[raith1974]

28 minutes ago, SimonLichtie said:

It always amuses me when diddy team fans get above their station and somehow think they're some sort of bigtime club.

A club that have pissed away hilariously large sums of money over the past decade in order to maintain some sort of illusion of superiority over the rest of us diddies, when the reality is Alloa have performed at an overall better level consistently over the same period with 300 fans and a part time squad.

Surely clubs like Arbroath and Alloa should be an absolute irrelevance to Raith Rovers, and the fact they're making any sort of noise towards fans of clubs like ours should be viewed as highly embarrassing for those involved.

You really need to direct this post to Dunfermline fans who still believe they are a big club in Scottish football. We are a provincial club  with limited money who are no similar to other clubs our size. Difference between us and Arbroath is we've had success and as a result had to build 2 stands to play in the Premier league. 

[CALDERON]

I'd probably also say that the 2 seasons we spent failing to get out of this league, were the best thing to happen to the club (in hindsight).  We had to bring Mcglynn in to fix things, and failing to go up in 18/19 meant he had to rip the squad apart and start again, to an extent.  I'd rather that, in the long run, than one of those boring squads shit-festing promotion then scrapping to stay up the following seasons playing eye-bleeding football. 

[SimonLichtie]

38 minutes ago, CALDERON said:

Assuming that post is directed at Raith Rovers, apologies if it isnt. 

We haven't really spent "hilariously" large amount of money in recent years tbh.  Actually, one of the biggest problems was probably not spending enough.

Is this a joke?

Accouting period ending 31st May 2019 - Loss of £202,541

Accouting period ending 31st May 2018 - Loss of £393,220

Accouting period ending 31st May 2017 - Loss of £197,183

Almost 800k pissed away in 3 years, and one of the 'biggest problems' is that the spending wasn't enough? According to someone else this is also 'pure fiction'.

This is what I'm talking about, lads. Pissing away 800k in the space of 3 seasons and claiming the spending wasn't enough. You're trying to pretend, and spend, miles above your station, and incredibly don't see any issue with it  The inability to accept reality, the size of club you are, and live within your means like the rest of us do, or at least try to do, is exactly what makes your 'big time' attitude.

Essentially, if you weren't being propped up by directors, you'd be deid or at the same level as the rest of us diddies.

[grumswall]

Who would have thought playing in league 1 would result in a championship level club losing money.

[stan3600]

Who would have thought playing in league 1 would result in a championship level club losing money.

If you’re in league 1 you’re not a Championship level club.

[CALDERON]

36 minutes ago, SimonLichtie said:

Is this a joke?

Accouting period ending 31st May 2019 - Loss of £202,541

Accouting period ending 31st May 2018 - Loss of £393,220

Accouting period ending 31st May 2017 - Loss of £197,183

Almost 800k pissed away in 3 years, and one of the 'biggest problems' is that the spending wasn't enough? According to someone else this is also 'pure fiction'.

This is what I'm talking about, lads. Pissing away 800k in the space of 3 seasons and claiming the spending wasn't enough. You're trying to pretend, and spend, miles above your station, and incredibly don't see any issue with it  The inability to accept reality, the size of club you are, and live within your means like the rest of us do, or at least try to do, is exactly what makes your 'big time' attitude.

Essentially, if you weren't being propped up by directors, you'd be deid or at the same level as the rest of us diddies.

Its incredibly simplistic to say its a case of cutting cloth and getting on with it.  Cutting costs is one thing, but there is a pretty direct link between cutting costs, the product on the pitch, and therefore an absolutely drastic reduction in income.  The club rely pretty heavily on season ticket money, and hospitality.  The longer the club stayed in League 1, both of those go down - as well as the gate money on a Saturday.  You have a drastic reduction in away attendances also.  - thats before you consider prize money, which is drastically down at League 1 level. 

The club have historical debts, which are well documented and well trodden ground.  Cutting cloth and accepting our fate at League 1 (or below) level would have had a huge impact on income, and only a limited impact on the bottom line. It was vital to get out of that league, and the club did.  It isnt ideal, but the club has to sustain Championship level football, in my opinion anyway.

Unless you have a huge fanbase, which we don't, then income will have a pretty linear correlation to results on the pitch.  If you cut the costs that determines the performance on the pitch, too much, you hurt the income in a similar manner - which doesn't help the overall picture. 

When you also consider clubs like Cove are coming up the ranks, whilst spending big bucks, as well as some decent size clubs finding their way down to League 1 over the years.  It was vital we got out when we did, and in reality it should have been sooner.  Football is changing at that level.  Clyde, in the not too distant past, were a similar sized club to ourselves - and they found themselves towards the bottom of League 2 not too long ago.  There is now a real danger of getting relegated out of that league.  

It's a catch 22 situation, and Raith Rovers are incredibly lucky that in all probability that we haven't went down the shitter at some point - however the view that you can cut costs to the bone and plod along at a lower level and just get on with it - it doesn't stack up to me.  

It's also worth noting, than John Sim, the chairman, is CEO of a global accountancy firm.  I'm pretty sure that if "cutting cloth and getting on with it", to the extent you are implying, was viable - then the club would have done that.  

Edited April 6, 2021 by CALDERON

[stan3600]

Sure, CEOs of global accountancy firms are well known for their investment nouse and financial probity - especially with their hobbies.

[R.R.FC]

47 minutes ago, SimonLichtie said:

Is this a joke?

Accouting period ending 31st May 2019 - Loss of £202,541

Accouting period ending 31st May 2018 - Loss of £393,220

Accouting period ending 31st May 2017 - Loss of £197,183

Almost 800k pissed away in 3 years, and one of the 'biggest problems' is that the spending wasn't enough? According to someone else this is also 'pure fiction'.

This is what I'm talking about, lads. Pissing away 800k in the space of 3 seasons and claiming the spending wasn't enough. You're trying to pretend, and spend, miles above your station, and incredibly don't see any issue with it  The inability to accept reality, the size of club you are, and live within your means like the rest of us do, or at least try to do, is exactly what makes your 'big time' attitude.

Essentially, if you weren't being propped up by directors, you'd be deid or at the same level as the rest of us diddies.

Any particular reason you have left out the period to May 2020 where we ran at a profit? Genuine question, not sure whether you couldn’t find it or just left it out because it didn’t suit your point.

Anyway, you won’t find any Rovers fan disagreeing that we have been woefully mismanaged off the field for large spells of the last 25 years as well as many spells on the field too. However, we now seem to have people in charge who having us moving in the right direction and on course for 2 years profit in a row despite the difficulties of the pandemic. Kind of shows we are ‘living within our means’ now.

I can’t say I know much about Arbroath but for most of my life they have been at least a division below us or relegation fodder when we have shared a league so I assume the current spell is one of the best of their recent history? They seem to be well run off the pitch so all credit to them for that.

As Arbroath have shown in recent seasons, if a small part time team is well managed on and off the pitch, it is possible for them to outperform a basket case full time team who is mismanaged.

However, it isn’t billy big time or an ‘inability to accept reality’ to say we are a bigger team than the likes of Arbroath/Alloa and should expect to finish above them. More often than not we have, even whilst we have been poorly managed and I can’t see that changing any time soon. There will always be 2/3 season spells where teams outperform their natural level as Arbroath have the last couple of seasons (and the likes of Stirling/Brechin/Cowdenbeath have in the recent past) but history shows it’s unlikely to be sustained.

Edited April 6, 2021 by R.R.FC

[Beastie Russell]

1 hour ago, SimonLichtie said:

Is this a joke?

Accouting period ending 31st May 2019 - Loss of £202,541

Accouting period ending 31st May 2018 - Loss of £393,220

Accouting period ending 31st May 2017 - Loss of £197,183

Almost 800k pissed away in 3 years, and one of the 'biggest problems' is that the spending wasn't enough? According to someone else this is also 'pure fiction'.

This is what I'm talking about, lads. Pissing away 800k in the space of 3 seasons and claiming the spending wasn't enough. You're trying to pretend, and spend, miles above your station, and incredibly don't see any issue with it  The inability to accept reality, the size of club you are, and live within your means like the rest of us do, or at least try to do, is exactly what makes your 'big time' attitude.

Essentially, if you weren't being propped up by directors, you'd be deid or at the same level as the rest of us diddies.

A few signed Frey Bentos pies will sort that debt out

[Starkiplier]

Thank f**k this game is at home so we don’t need to listen to “Fermer” screaming down the mic and telling female viewers to get back in the kitchen.

[Raithie]

Feel like I'm back in League 1 reading these Arbroath posts. Angry bunch.

[steakngravy]

To much time spent in the smoke house eh.

[Raith_Raver]

15 hours ago, Scottydog said:

There is a decent argument to play for an hour with Ugwu, King, Armstrong or Kennedy and even Duku then sub on the hour to bring in Vaughan and Gullan (if fit).  We've seen dirty Dicks tactics before. Fairly sure Vaughnny still has some of the stud marks to this day. 

I wouldn't be surprised if JMcG takes a similar view and brings on more robust forwards. There's every chance Dick will try every tactic available, including crocking our players as Arbroath have been inclined to do in the past. It's a situation where we have to weigh playing our strongest team and risk injury to key players for the remaining games or take a chance on resting them.

[Lichtie78]

Find this image of us being a team full of hatchet men absolutely hilarious

[Raith_Raver]

19 minutes ago, Lichtie78 said:

Find this image of us being a team full of hatchet men absolutely hilarious

You have history, but maybe not as bad as Farfar.