Raith Against The Machine

I don't think it's fair to say that McKeown is reluctant to get forward. If anything, he's a little more direct than Booth. Whereas Cardle would come inside and Booth would stick to the touchline like a rabbit on a rail and try to hit the byline. McKeown seems to aim for somewhere around about the corner of the box before releasing the ball. At one point in the St Johnstone game there was a little give and go, which didn't quite come off, but ended up with him in the right wing position. That, if anything, is being too eager to get forward!

Murray out! Glen in.

Is there an echo in here?

Not that I recall. I can't think of any opportunities for him to do so, though. Certainly we didn't have a lot of throw-ins that were continuously taken short. I hope we do utilise the long throw, though. It's a great weapon, would be daft not to.

I really like what I've seen so far. My biggest concern for this season was finding a replacement for Calum Booth, but McKeown looks to be ticking a lot of boxes. It's obviously difficult to tell from a few friendlies against mixed opposition, but he should be absolutely fine. Barring injury and suspension, he'll play every game for us, so consistency is as, if not more, important than flashes of brilliance.

A lot to be pleased with, after that. The line-up was obviously in preparation for next week, being pretty much full strength other than Anderson and Elliot, who are suspended for the Pars game. Hopefully Moon is available to come in for Fox, but it wouldn't be a disaster if he isn't. I felt Fox had a very good game today, particularly when compared to some of his performances towards the end of last season. Cuthbert was nothing other than what I expected. Calm, commanding and confident. More than happy for him to be starting in goal while McGurn's recovery continues. We're very well catered for in the goalkeeping department - we still seem to have another guy warming up alongside the three senior goalkeepers, but he doesn't look particularly "youthful". I'd be interested to know who he is, just out of curiosity - and that can only be a good thing. Thomson and McKeown are both more than capable full backs at this level. The lack of other options for their positions is a slight concern, but hopefully they can avoid any particularly serious absences. The rest of the squad, other than perhaps up front, is pretty well stocked. Ross Perry looks like a big, strong lad. The almost unanimous criticism from people who've seen him play regularly is a worry, but he wouldn't be the first player to flourish at this level after being released by Rangers. Fingers crossed he builds on a solid debut. Watson was as impressive as usual at the back today. He's almost certainly our most important player. Alongside Fox, Jimmy Scott was outstanding at the base of the midfield. With twenty minutes left to play it was obvious that he's had a very disrupted pre-season, but he was still making a fantastic effort to get about the pitch and harass the Caley players. Could (possibly should?) have scored with a header too. Conroy had his best game in a Rovers shirt. If he keeps on improving the way that he has been then he'll be unplayable by the time the first league game kicks off. Vaughan doesn't look out of place at all in the first team. He's always willing to try something different, he makes himself available and he never shies away from a challenge. I really hope he gets a start at East End Park, and he gets an opportunity or two to affect the game. This could be a big breakthrough season for him, especially if we don't bring in another forward option. Mark Stewart is one that I've got a wee question mark over. When he arrived we were basically told that he's got pace, and nothing else, but I can't say I've really seen much in the way of raw speed from him. I did think he played well today though, and he made sure he was getting back to support Thomson when necessary. Good discipline from a striker being asked to play out wide. And what can you say about big Nade? When he rattled the bar at the start of the game it was ridiculous. Full volley, on his weak foot, from a thirty yard cross. His close control and ball skills are tremendous. I can only echo what someone else said - to maximise his effectiveness, we need to be getting the ball into his feet. That said, he is strong in the air too. I had feared he'd be an Armand Oné style "big man" who shrinks when the ball is played to his head, but he wins his fair share of flicks-ons and knock-downs.

He's been getting distance on his clearances, cut out a few dangerous looking passes and doesn't panic on the ball. Did completely misjudge a header at the beginning of the game but it didn't lead to anything and he obviously didn't dwell on it.

Pretty good half of football for one with no goals. Jimmy Scott is definitely adding battle to the midfield, Cuthbert looks as assured as you'd imagine and Perry's been decent enough. I've been impressed with Liam Fox so far this afternoon. He's misplaced a pass or two, but overall he's played better than st any point in the last few months of last season.

As a matter of fact, I do. We're a time-fighting cream.

Can I object to Ratman? I'm not a big fan of 'Ratman'.

I wonder if he's just being deliberately coy. After all, if he said 'I'm looking for another striker' and a deal fell through, he'd look pretty daft. The squad is bigger than it was at the start of last season, and we didn't have any problems with depth until we were about half way through. It sounds like at least one or two of the casualties should be back on Saturday, so we should have a decent enough XI available for the Dunfermline game and the start of the league season. I've seen absolutely nothing to say that the budget has been used up. It reads to me like Murray is happy enough with what he had to be going on with, and he's keeping money in reserve to plug gaps in the squad if and when the need arises. Folk are really overreacting to a friendly defeat, having completely forgotten that we drew with St Johnstone a few days before. We got pumped off Hearts last season, when they were still absolutely rotten. Pre-season results, particularly with the third choice keeper in goal, really do mean nothing.

You're gonna need a bigger boak.

Aye. Dougie Hill's been scheduled in for an operation to remove his shins, and have his feet attached to his knees, just like his Uncle Cotton.

Mind when Robinson was playing, and Laidlaw was Gigi Buffon? Aye, me too...

Two trialists look to be the same as Saturday. One is Andy Munro from the Reserves, still no idea who the other is.

Thank Christ for that. Can someone remind me - is Scott Law the young goalkeeper who signed, or is he the other outfield player with Jonny Court?

Ross Perry will be looking for wages that far outstrip Bates'. The problem with bringing in Ross Perry until January is that once everyone is back fit, we're left with an abundance of centre halves. We'd be looking at playing two, having two on the bench, and leaving one in the stand, and that's without taking Bates into account. That's shite for the budget, and it's shite for the harmony of the squad. If Murray can't get Perry in on a short deal, I'd expect to see the arrival of the first loanee of the season. What a terribly unfortunate way to begin the season.

Has anyone got a source for this Messi rumour? Seems like Dumbarton fans just making stuff up tbh.

I obviously can't speak for any Falkirk fans, but Jamie MacDonald is probably the most "box office" signing that anybody in this league has made so far this summer. As a first major signing, if that's not motivating lapsed fans to go and pick up a season ticket, I can't think of anyone, realistically, who would.

I believe that's the plan, yeah.

I'm a little concerned that we're now half way through our pre-season (match-wise) and we haven't managed a single minute out of our top three centre halves or either of our senior goalkeepers, but there was a lot to be pleased with today. The young boys who have played haven't really looked out of place. Obviously there are wee mistakes here and there, but Bates looked more solid than he did on Wednesday night, Matthews looked quite impressive today, when he came on at the base of the midfield. Sprayed a couple of decent passes around, and wasn't afraid to go for something other than the easy option. Vaughan's definitely got that wee spark too, hopefully we see a bit more from him over the course of the season. Does anyone know if the boys were there doing the video for the website? I'd like to see that Nade goal a few thousand times more.

Thought it was a full volley as well, at the time. Also thought the was thirty yards out and the ball trailed flames, mind...

Having had a proper look at them now, the big trialist isn't Perry, it's Munro from Reserves. I'd like to see him get some time on the park. I don't know who the other trialist, but he looks just a young guy. Built like a winger or a forward. Definitely not Archie Campbell or Ross Perry. Have we been linked with anyone else? Could well just be someone from within the club who isn't technically on a contract today, like Munro.

No idea who this big blonde keeper is. As per Wednesday, I can only imagine he's doing us a favour while Cuthbert gets over an injury. Watson, Hill and Barr must be carrying injuries, none of them feature. I can't see Archie Campbell. One of the trialists is Andy Munro, who was basically the Reserves 'Captain' last year. Spent time on loan at Sauchie too. Centre half who can also cover at right back.

It was unfortunate that Donaldson had to be called back from Peterhead when he was. Instead of spending six months in Peterhead building up confidence in a winning side and coming back to fight for his place, he was parachuted into a crisis-hit defence in that was struggling badly. It would've taken some superhuman performances for him to really stand out, and I'm not surprised that both parties have taken the chance to start afresh. It looks like Bates will be taking up the 'Donaldson' role, and hopefully if he gets a loan spell it'll be lengthy and impressive. Under the circumstances, I think letting Donaldson go was the right decision. It could've been different, but it wasn't.