R.R.FC

Got sent a screenshot from one of my mates, looked like something the man himself had posted online.

He had surgery to remove it in February 2021 and was given the all clear to return to normal in March 2021. He then made his debut for the Faroes in September 2021.

Like I said, I agree with you but it’s not what Murray has said in interviews when talking about signing targets the last few weeks. Just have to wait and see though, I actually do think we could do with another winger but it would be third in the priority list behind striker and then centre back.

I agree we could do with another, more experienced, centre half. Joe Shaughnessy is one who I thought would be out our league but has been linked with a move to Hamilton today, would’ve been an excellent signing. However, I’d be surprised if the two signings weren’t a winger and a striker. Murray has said for weeks those are the two positions he has been looking at. That was before Zanatta left too, so with his departure, I can’t see Murray deviating from his original plan.

Feel like Gullan has been much improved in recent weeks. Played well against Dundee and Morton and sounds like he has continued that today. Glad he’s been rewarded with a goal. Still definitely need another, more natural striker but Gullan definitely has his uses in this side.

I remember this yesterday but I think, in fairness to Easton, it was actually Connolly he was having a go at. Connolly was alongside O’Riordan but stood and watched O’Riordan go up and not reach the ball and then it bounced out of play. I think Easton was making the point if Connolly had gambled and ran beyond when O’Riordan went up for the header, he would have managed to get on the end of it and kept it in play given it was well inside the pitch when it bounced before it went out. Obviously it would have been better if Easton just hadn’t overhit the free kick and that was the main issue but he was right to make the point to Connolly in terms of his anticipation in case there was a similar situation later. I have noticed Ethan Ross and Gullan arguing with Easton in recent weeks as well so he does seem a bit of a moaner but I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing (see John Baird). We have a squad of players that seem very nice. Having someone dig people out and let them know when they have messed up is no bad thing, it can make the rest of the team put demands on themselves and others too. Needs to make sure it is fair though and not just blaming others for his own mistakes but I don’t mind it.

I’m not sure where the idea that Murray will take 3 seasons to get things right either. It seems to be suggested by Airdrie fans who say he ultimately failed in his target to get them up and it took until last season to have a proper go at the title. However, would anyone have predicted Airdrie to win the title at any point Murray was in charge? There have been teams with bigger budgets every season who would have been expected to finish above Airdrie and it would have been a big shock and huge achievement if he’d won the league at any point with them. Since Airdrie were relegated to League One their record before and after Murray is as follows: Before Murray 6th 5th 5th 3rd 7th After Murray 5th (Appointed after 9 games) 3rd 2nd 2nd So his 3 full seasons in charge were better we’re better than anything they had managed in the 5 seasons before he took charge. Gradual improvement every season obviously but he pretty much overperformed the pre season expectation every season. It’s not like he took over play off regulars tasked with going to the extra step to win the league, they were nowhere near promotion till he took over. Airdrie have started this season well and good luck to them, would prefer to see them win the league over Falkirk or the Pars. But the new manager has inherited a much better and confident squad than Murray did and they are two games in, we will see if they sustain it over the course of the season. It certainly doesn’t take anything away from what Murray did there. Wild for anyone to be calling for Murray’s head after 2 games, I can only assume those doing so are at the wind up. We haven’t won at home since December and won 1 out of 16 league games without Brad Spencer under McGlynn last season. We then lost our manager to a team who have been the laughing stock of Scottish football for the last few seasons which doesn’t say a lot for the faith he had in the project at the Rovers. It was naive for anyone to think that with the bulk of the squad remaining the same, we would hit the ground running from the start of the season. This is a squad of players than has been in the habit of not winning games. We were in relegation form the second half of last season. Now it’s not just bad luck responsible for that, there are deficiencies in the squad which Murray has to address. And he has made some mistakes with recruitment IMO, we were never going to get better than Tumilty but Millen looks a poor signing and Nolan needs a run of games to be judged fully but I’m not convinced he’ll be better than anything we had last season, although I believe some of those departing were finance related rather than ability. I think Brown looks decent in midfield and his versatility and leadership means I don’t get the criticism for his signing. Despite being well stocked in midfield he is a different type of player to what we had in there and it was needed. Likewise I think Easton has plenty to offer, looked sharp off the bench yesterday and also our brightest player off the bench at Pittodrie so it’s not a question of ability at a higher level, just needs to develop consistency which will come with games and I still think he can be a big asset for us. If we can get the right striker addition (big IF obviously) and some key players returning from injury we will be in a much better place soon. We’ve not been played off the park at any point this season, it’s small margins, with a settled back 4 gelling together, more cutting edge upfront we will hopefully get a much needed win soon and use the momentum to kick on. I think there are too many weaknesses in the squad for challenge for the top 4 but a 5th/6th place isn’t out the question and would be fine for what is a transitional season. If we are showing Dunfermline under Peter Grant form in terms of performances and results at the end of the first quarter then of course Murray should be under serious pressure but we are a long way from that at the moment and I saw enough yesterday to take some encouragement going into the next couple of games. Tl;dr - Murray has proven himself to be decent manager, he’s made some mistakes so far but needs to be given a fair crack of the whip and I think we’ll be okay.

Haven’t listened to the interview on the website yet but an interview in the courier just gone up where he says he hopes to have a centre half in for the Dundee game (presumably O’Riordan) and another striker and a winger although the winger is down the list of priorities at the moment.

On the plus side he is a centre back, 6 foot 4 and has played 11 games, in the second half of last season, in English League One which you would have to say is a much better standard than the Scottish Championship. On the flip side, he is only 18 with limited career playing time so another gamble alongside Nolan and not the experienced addition I think we need in there. Fingers crossed he turns out to be a gem, if it goes through. Despite the criticism Murray has taken over the inactivity in the transfer market, it’s clearly not for the lack of trying. Seems to be casting the net pretty far and wide to get what he needs, let’s hope he manages to get a couple over the line of the required standard.

Yeah, like I say, he definitely splits opinion and there will be loads of fans that will agree with your view. I just don’t see him being hugely prolific over a season at this level but we may well find out if/when he signs for another team in the league. Agree with your last point, an absolute certainty to score against us!

I’d guess either them or Morton. Imrie will know him from his days at Livi and they are in need of a striker. There seems to be a real spread in opinion on how he is rated amongst Rovers fans. With some thinking he is the answer to all our problems and others (myself included) thinking he was fine but had as many bad games as good ones. I mentioned before, if you take out that 4 game purple patch, he scored 6 goals in 40 games and 2 of those goals were against a rank rotten East Fife side and Banks O’ Dee. Obviously he did have that 4 game purple patch which he deserves credit for but it’s not enough for me to say that was his true ability and would replicated throughout the season if we signed him again. Given we now have Connell in with some physicality, I would have been happy to see Poplatnik join as a squad player. Not a guaranteed starter but I think Gullan, Poplatnik, Vaughan and Connell would have been a decent selection of options. However, I’m not sure he would accept the wage/role of a squad player with us when he would likely be a guaranteed starter and be paid a bit more accordingly at the likes of Ayr/Morton. Good luck to him, for as much as I didn’t think he was brilliant, you couldn’t fault his effort and the performance in the cup final will be remembered for a long time, he was phenomenal.

1. Partick 2. Dundee 3. Inverness 4. Arbroath 5. Queens Park 6. Raith 7. Morton 8. Ayr 9. Hamilton 10. Cove Think it will be between Partick and Dundee. Dundee have the biggest budget and what seems a competent manager so I probably should have picked them but Partick have done a lot of good business this summer and I just have a feeling they will edge it. Don’t think Inverness will have enough over the course of the season to keep up with those two but they will be comfortably better than the rest. Would surprise me if any of those 3 weren’t in the top 3 at the end of the season. 4-10 could end up in any order, everyone still has some sort of deficiencies in their squad and one or two good quality signings for any of those sides would see them favourites to be best of the rest.

Hasn’t Lee Ashcroft done quite well for Dundee? Regardless of the fact we aren’t paying a 5 figure sum for a soon to be 29 year old centre back, he would not leave Dundee to join us unless he has been told he is surplus to requirements, in which case, Dundee would not be turning down a 5 figure fee. Dundee fan at the wind up but I suppose it’s nice to have a rumour. Looking on enviously at the Montrose Twitter and hoping we see a similar flurry of activity later today.

The guy Arbroath signed is a left back also although he may be able to cover at centre back. He played against us at left back on Sunday.

Yeah I would tend to agree with this. Don’t get me wrong, if we start the league season with no centre backs, it’s a pretty ridiculous situation and poor from all involved. However, it doesn’t mean the entire season will be a disaster. We won 1 out of our first 4 league games last season and then followed that up with a 13 games unbeaten run (let’s not mention what happened after that) so whilst a fast start would be preferred it doesn’t define the season. Assuming we add at least 2 reasonable quality centre backs as well at least 1 (preferably 2) decent strikers, I don’t see us being relegation bound as some fear. We have a very good keeper and midfield for this league and we still have Matthews, Spencer, Vaughan and Lang to return at various points through the first half of the season who have all shown to be good to excellent players at this level. Hopefully 2/3 signings before the weekend to ease everyone’s fears. The suddenness of Berra’s departure and rumours of cut budget have understandably made people uneasy but I’m not sure it’s as bad as made out. Berra was fantastic the first half of last season but the second half of the season he was either injured or poor and he hadn’t started the season well. Assuming he is replaced quickly, losing our highest earner who didn’t suit the manager’s style and wasn’t performing to the level expected would be no bad thing. His experience will be a loss to the squad though, something it definitely lacks. The fact the only player we have any concrete links to is a left back too is quite concerning but you can flip it another way and think surely that has to be in addition to a couple of centre backs and strikers in which case it is a good addition to the squad and an attacking left back is something we have lacked and would suggest the budget is better than expected. Either that or Ian Murray is a complete maniac who thinks Liam Dick is the solution to our centre back problems but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now!

He must have a brilliant agent.

Would take a draw here, even if we do manage to get at least one of the centre backs we need along with the striker, it’s unlikely they will be at their best immediately. I do still think we have the basis of a good squad but I think the first few games will be damage limitation until the we get the new signings we need added and settled into the squad as well as some of the injuries back. Cove had a difficult time of it in their League Cup group which is to be expected with a new manager and waiting on a few signings (same as us) but had a decent result at the weekend and Saturday will be a big day for the club with their first match as a Championship side. Traditionally the League One champions start the season well, the last League One winners to lose their first home game of the season were Rangers back in 2014. Will go for a 1-1 draw but wouldn’t surprise me if we lost. Hopefully we can put up a better fight than our last couple of visits to Cove at least!

I’m not concerned over whether the signings will come in, Murray is quite clear the reinforcements are coming in. It would be preferable if they were here for Sunday, I think he will get a resounding defeat without them, but the most important thing is they are here for the Cove game. My concern is over the quality. The next 3 signings (assuming they are defenders and strikers) will shape our season. If we get them right, the rest of the squad is in place to challenge for 4th and we can all relax a bit. If they are duds, the worry we have seen in here will build and the conversation will move from the lack of numbers to the lack of quality. We will find out soon if Murray’s patience in waiting for the right players and his gamble in moving on Musonda and Bene has paid off and I am actually more nervous about seeing who the signings are rather whether we will see any signings. Reading between the lines, it seems like at least one if not more of the signings will be from down south which is fine, we may get lucky with some real quality but it is also more of a gamble. I’d hope at least one of the key signings would be a known quantity but obviously the issue is what players of quality in Scotland are available within our budget and in the positions we need? I’m confident we can pick up a decent centre back or two but everyone in the country seems to be looking for a striker. Some laugh when the only signing announced today is Andrew McNeill as 3rd choice keeper…

As most have said, if the league started tomorrow and we were running with this squad for the season then I’d be concerned but that’s not the case. The manager has confirmed he is hoping to have at least 3 players added to the squad for Cove next week. We also have the likes of Spencer, Matthews, Vaughan and Lang to return at various points throughout the first half of the season and we saw what an impact missing Spencer had on us last season. Midfield hasn’t really been an issue the last few games we have controlled much of the games but there is no doubt having the options of Matthews/Spencer/Brown in there will improve us further. A new manager will take time to get things right and set up how they want to play, judging him after 3 games with key injuries and the squad not complete would be ridiculous. In McGlynn’s first full League Cup campaign (after also having 3/4 of the previous season) we won 1 game out of 4 conceding 10 goals in the process including a 3-0 battering from newly promoted to League Two, Cove Rangers. We also lost 3-2 to Stranraer and 4-2 to East Fife in the first 5 games of the season with folk losing their shit about us starting the season with a 16 year old up front. Turns out he was alright and McGlynn’s patience saw us bring in Steven Anderson, Daniel Armstrong and John Baird later in the window, quality players at that level we would never have got if we had completed the squad at the start of July and all played their part in us winning the league. There are other factors as Murray has spoken about also, 3 games in 6 days with pretty much the same players will have taken a lot out of them at this stage of pre season. I have seen enough from the first 3 games in terms of the style of play and approach work that with the right additions in defence and up front along with injuries returning we should have a pretty solid season. I think we’ll finish somewhere between 4th-6th. However, that’s on the assumption the attacking and defensive additions are of reasonable quality, if they’re poor signings then I will maybe consider joining the panic merchants…

What is the Dumbarton stream like? Is it decent quality or is it one of the Pixellot cameras? Can’t get through tomorrow so considering getting the stream but at £15 for a pretty meaningless League Cup game, I’ll not bother if it’s Pixellot.

Any rumours of Dylan Tait joining Ayr? Hibs are sending him out on loan and I’m sure it was Mathie that signed him there. Think he also lives in the west and is a forward thinking central midfielder that Ayr seem to be lacking looking at their squad.

Yeah that’s fair, I’m certainly not against the signing of MacKay particularly if it isn’t at the expense of Ross. Attacking players, particularly wide ones are notoriously inconsistent at this level (see Zanatta last season) so plenty of options in the area is no bad thing and something we lacked last season. However, given most of us expected a cut to the budget after the Goodwillie disaster, I’d be pleasantly surprised if there was room in the budget for MacKay as well as the much needed good quality centre back and striker without any outgoings.

Pretty sure he’s not a striker. Thought he played out wide or as a 10. Decent player with Inverness but don’t really see the point in signing him unless the Ethan Ross rumours are true. Would give us Easton, Zanatta, Connolly, MacKay, Ross, Vaughan and Gullan all capable of playing in the 3 positions behind the striker which although a fantastic range of options for this level would be a ridiculous waste of funds when we have no out and out number 9 and one fit centre back. Wait and see what happens but I have the fear it could mean Ross is away.

Do people think there are strikers and centre backs who are very good players and fit into our budget and are willing to sign for us right now and Murray is just choosing not to sign them? Just because we haven’t signed anyone for those positions yet doesn’t mean that Murray isn’t trying. People have either turned down offers or the quality isn’t available yet, he’s not sitting there doing nothing comfortable with Lim Dick being our starting centre back, that’s pretty obvious. He knows what we need. He’ll be working very hard at it but every team is in the same boat, none of the best players are available or committing to anything at the moment. I’d rather we waited and got the right person in than panicked and made a mistake. We can’t afford another Keatings/Mendy/Riley-Snow this season. It’s essential we get a centre back and striker in but it’s also essential they’re good, filling the positions with duds is much worse than not filling them at all at this stage, we still have almost 4 weeks till our first league game.

Every single year there is a massive overreaction to pre season. Results and performances are completely irrelevant. As had been said, there are countless examples of bad pre seasons which have produced good seasons and vice versa. There is a reason we are playing pre season games and it is because we are not ready to play competitive games, we need fitness and sharpness to get to the level required for the real stuff so how can you possibly judge anyone when they are playing their first games after 2 months and getting rid of the rust. If they were at their best already we’d just have went straight into the League Cup games. Furthermore, we have a brand new manager experimenting with different players and formations, I can guarantee we will not see that back 4 from yesterday start a league game this season. Aside from players getting up to speed, we still have at least once centre back and striker to come into the starting line up. The manager could easily go out and fill those positions today but if the quality available just now is not right, what is the point? Those signings will define our season. Like everyone else, I would love is we signed them this week but if we have to wait till the first league game to get the quality required then so be it. Nobody else in the league has made any signings I’d be jealous of in the last week or so, we’re all in the same boat. The League Cup offers good money for a club at our level and we should be looking to progress given the draw but even that is really an extension of pre season. Look at Dunfermline last season, cruised through their group and then had a disaster of a season. Or Inverness, they a shocker under their new manager last season being beat at home to Stirling and comfortably by Cove. Billy Dodds saying he hadn’t had a chance to work with the defence yet which I’m sure triggered a few alarm bells. They then started the season with 5 clean sheets in a row and had a really good season. I’m not sure people appreciate what a change it is with a new manager and it will take time for him to find the right formula, the fact people are raising concerns already after effectively 2 pre season games is absolutely fucking wild.