Raith Rovers v Arbroath

[Lichtie78]

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

Yeah, I do remember Kyle Benedictus being out injured for a number of weeks following a game against us, right enough. Although that might’ve been because he injured himself trying to scythe down Michael McKenna when he had no chance of getting the ball. I do hope nobody dares tackle Lewis Vaughan on Saturday!

[Scary Bear]

That season apart, have we ever had that much animosity with Arbroath fans. Its usually Ayrshire folk we fall out with.

[Michael W]

7 hours ago, Ebanda's Handyman Services said:

A bit of complacency creeping in to some of our fanbase by the look of things. Arbroath, despite their league position, are more than capable of giving us grief. 

We're a really good side at the moment but I'm never comfortable with the assumption that we'll easily roll teams over. 

Just look at the game at Gayfield - we were never in it. Conversely, we strolled the game at Stark's. I'd mark the match up this season as a score draw. 

The bottom line is that if we don't perform, points will be dropped. We won't get the time or space we got against Dunfermline but I'd be resistant to turning to Ugwu/Duku unless we have to - play our best team where possible. 

Slow, lumbering play will wreck us here. Campbell gets a fair bit of stick sometimes but he can set up and organise a side - if we give Arbroath too much time, we will be reduced to hopeless crosses into the box. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Michael W

[lennyzer0]

19 hours ago, TxRover said:

Don’t forget Friday’s game...Alloa can beat Hearts, and if they do sphincters all over Arbroath, Ayr and Morton will be tighter than a snare drum, especially if Tuesday’s results come in as expected (Dundee and ICT winning).

If Alloa do, sphincters in Gorgie will not exactly be relaxed...

[Smokerson]

If i am being honest, i don't really tend to find the Rovers fans (on here as i don't any personally) pretty fair in terms of the big time billy attitude, Dunfermline, Falkirk, even Ayrs and Mortons all worse. They accepted we won the league by quite some distance in 2019 and were by far the better team when we defeated them at Gayfield a few weeks back.

I would imagine John McGlynn's remit this year would've been to finish between 5th and 7th or thereabouts. Got off to a good start, seem to have built up a real bit of momentum/confidence of late and should get a play off place no problem. Us on the other hand should always be looking to avoid the drop as reasonable success and stay as the best part time team in the country.

Rovers should absolutely expect to beat us in most games i would say. 

[Double Jack D]

I don't consider Arbroath to be a bunch of hatchet men, far from it. They can be a particularly entertaining team to watch and have contributed immensely to this level of football for the past couple of seasons. They were easily the best team in League 1 a couple of seasons back and that team unit has remained fairly consistent until now.

However, as with any time you play against a Dick Campbell side, you need to be prepared to win the battle before you can expect to have any chance of winning the game. Saturday will be a challenge, Arbroath will be up for it and we need to be prepared to match that before we can expect anything out of it. If we do match them in the battle, we should have the quality to win. 

Should be a really good game though.

[Mexico]

That season apart, have we ever had that much animosity with Arbroath fans. Its usually Ayrshire folk we fall out with.

I don’t think there’s any real animosity between anyone here.

During lockdown P&B has pretty much descended into who can reply with the shittest, snidey, arsehole type patter to prevent any decent football chat being discussed. This season id suggest Raith have a pretty high percentage of this type of poster replying, nowhere near as bad as Dundee though.

Just my opinion like.

For what it’s worth, I’d take anything on offer here, still not convinced by us despite getting a result on Saturday and this is probably our hardest game left on paper.

[steakngravy]

Yes a trip to Arbroath is a good day out regardless of the result, stock up on smokies go for a few beers. Still to try that pie shop that's up the road from the bus station though. Any information about the fare on offer?

[stan3600]

“We’re a big club, we should win this easily” is a load of nonsense in a league this tight where you’ve already lost once to your opponents. Raith are on form and flying high so are, of course, favourites on Saturday - but not because you’re a big club. Maybe a big diddy club, but hardly a sleeping giant.

[Mexico]

What’s the crack with Kai Kennedy? Looked absolutely unbelievable at times for ICT but I’ve not seen if he’s replicated that at Raith.

[Raith_Raver]

9 minutes ago, Mexico said:

What’s the crack with Kai Kennedy? Looked absolutely unbelievable at times for ICT but I’ve not seen if he’s replicated that at Raith.

He's doing well and we like him. Naturally it takes a little while to settle in to a different style of play but we can see the quality he has.

[1320Lichtie]

Jesus f**k this thread. Arbroath one of if not biggest PT clubs. Raith one of smaller FT clubs. Raith are a bigger club than Arbroath. 
 

None of the above matters or affects this game. Raith have been a very good team this season and I think the hiding we got first game of the season fucked our whole first half of the season,  but we showed in the last game (save the excuses) we can beat you.

 

I hope the results tonight have fired us up for this.

[Scottydog]

On 06/04/2021 at 10:23, 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.

The one I struggle to get my head around is how we made such a spectacular loss in the 2015-16 season (2017 accounts) when we had full houses from Rangers twice at SP  and Hibs (4 times with one cup game televised. The other seasons are fairly explanatory if you account for the fact that when finishing in the promotion play offs it's kind of expected that you offer contracts to try to move forward and hopefully win promotion and not (as actually happened) plummet to the foot of the league and be lumbered with paying higher paid contracts than you can no longer afford due to lessened income. Many clubs don't but Raith were also paying for surgery to Craig Barr (x2), McGurn, Vaughan (x3), Cuthbert, McHattie along with the wages for non contributants.  Lastly add in the paying up of contracts to sacked managers and it all makes a tidy hole in the accounts. Arbroath are to be lauded for the way they operate but it is only done with a lot of beneficial help from outside. I know that as one of the top paying PT clubs Arbroath could not afford to be so if reliant on gate revenue (and I don't mean just now) alone.  To summarise, long contracts was a failed gamble, medical fees were the honourable thing to do and paying up managerial contracts were our just deserts for making a rip roaring James Hunt of it in the 1st place.

I don't subscribe (and nor do any Raith fans I know but looking at the thread it seems some Arbroath fans on here tend to think we are) to us being a big club, I would suggest we are and should mostly be  2nd tier club, that by definition. means occasional trips to the top flight and spells in the 3rd level.

On 06/04/2021 at 10:46, grumswall said:

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

This^^^

2 year contracts with Championship salaries handed out when the club had an average away support of 900 tend to get kind of screwed when that away average drops to 90. The club honoured contracts and gambled on "Roaring back" within a year and it failed.....spectacularly.

On 06/04/2021 at 10:50, stan3600 said:

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

This is true, and it's really only relevant if you spend and continue to spend as if you are in a higher league above, as I've shown much of the loss was generated through poor decisions made either by managers signing either dud players (Skacel, McHattie, Johnston, M'Voto, Brennan, Penksa  etc) or better players on long contracts that could not be sustained in the lower league. The principal fault was directors employing dud managers and then paying them off (Locke, Smith) and as such effectively for two managers a the same time, there's the best bit of a £100,000 loss (Locke & Jackson) and a £60,000 (Smith) loss right there.

 

You can fairly say there has been a touch of bad luck regarding some of the losses but by far the biggest chunk of it was accrued through mismanagement at coach and board level.

[Broken Algorithms]

What’s the crack with Kai Kennedy? Looked absolutely unbelievable at times for ICT but I’ve not seen if he’s replicated that at Raith.

He's a cracking talent but his reputation precedes him. A lot of clubs focus on him heavily. Ethan Ross was arguably less talented but had more success as he got more freedom.

[Broken Algorithms]

Didn't realise Linn was injured for this one. He was outstanding up at Gayfield. Glad he's not available for Saturday but there's still plenty of others like Hamilton to keep an eye on.

[CALDERON]

Kennedy was quickly identified by opposition managers as a huge threat and has been marked out of the game a few times.  Its partly why its so important we get Hendry, Vaughan and Gullan on the park and playing well - its very difficult to mark all 4 out of the game.  

We've actually done alright defensively since we got a bit of a doing at Gayfield.  I wouldn't say we've played poorly in any game since, the only defeat (league) being at home to ICT when we had 10 men, and their form of late has mitigated that a bit - and we actually played pretty well that night (all things considered)

Really, really need Mcdonald, Matthews and Gullan to be fit and feature for this.  We dominated against Morton with a changed side, but the goal was late in coming and lets face it, Arbroath will likely be a tougher nut to crack.

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by CALDERON

[Broken Algorithms]

2 hours ago, CALDERON said:

Kennedy was quickly identified by opposition managers as a huge threat and has been marked out of the game a few times.  Its partly why its so important we get Hendry, Vaughan and Gullan on the park and playing well - its very difficult to mark all 4 out of the game.  

We've actually done alright defensively since we got a bit of a doing at Gayfield.  I wouldn't say we've played poorly in any game since, the only defeat (league) being at home to ICT when we had 10 men, and their form of late has mitigated that a bit - and we actually played pretty well that night (all things considered)

Really, really need Mcdonald, Matthews and Gullan to be fit and feature for this.  We dominated against Morton with a changed side, but the goal was late in coming and lets face it, Arbroath will likely be a tougher nut to crack.

 

Apparently if you beat us at home then it inspires your team to go on a very good run of form. Caley and Queen of the South were both the same. Must be all the confidence coming from beating such a big team...or something like that...

[Specky Ginger]

2 hours ago, Broken Algorithms said:

Apparently if you beat us at home then it inspires your team to go on a very good run of form. Caley and Queen of the South were both the same. Must be all the confidence coming from beating such a big team...or something like that...

Hertz have blown your theory out of the water somewhat. 

[grumswall]

Hertz have blown your theory out of the water somewhat. 

There's always an exception to the rule.

[baillieinleeds]

On 06/04/2021 at 09:15, 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.

That’s one hell of an inferiority complex you have, not once have I read, or heard anyone disparage Alloa or Arbroath for being diddies. We are well aware of our most recent past in that when it’s good it’s good, when it’s bad it’s bloody horrible.