Raith Against The Machine

The Rovers Down South statement made reference to a fighting fund, presumably in conjunction with the Trust and others. I'd hope we hear more about that in the very near future, I think it's a good centralised starting point.

Alan Temple reporting that Macartney did indeed negotiate the deal.

Incidentally, there's a relatively obscure Simpsons meme page on Facebook that's almost entirely for niche Irish in-jokes. There was a Goodwillie meme on there this morning. This isn't going away any time soon.

Add me to those that had no idea that Karen Macartney was married to Paul Smith.

I think Karen Macartney has always had more of an operational role than you might expect from a CEO at this level. All the talk when she was appointed was about strengthening ties in the community, building off-field infrastructure, and the likes. If you look at the initial announcement and her interview in the Courier there's very little about on the field matters. The impression I had at the time was that Karen Macartney would be there to run the wider Raith Rovers "organisation" but that the actual first team would still be reserved to the board. I've no idea what input she had on this Goodwillie process. She could be totally for it or dead against it, but she didn't have a vote when it came to the crunch. As you say, she's a paid employee. It's not as straightforward as just walking out like it is for volunteers or board members who've made their money elsewhere, but like it or not, she does have a responsibility to comment here. I don't want to be all Humza Yousaf and it feels very regressive to keep on focusing on what "the wummin" think about it all, but like it or not Karen Macartney is the CEO of an organisation that's made an incredibly contentious decision, and she's on record (in the interview above) extolling her own virtues as a woman in football.

If you wanted to be charitable to McGlynn, and frankly I'm in no fucking mood to be, you could argue that his primary remit is to win football matches. If he believes David Goodwillie is the best striker available to him, that's his opinion and he's more than earned his stripes in football to have it. But there have to be checks and balances. There have to be others at the club who take into account non-footballing reasons and make the right decision. You don't sign football players in a vacuum. They come with baggage, and sometimes it's enough to put you into the headlines of the News at Ten. I'm not giving McGlynn any kind of free pass on this though. He's been around football long enough to know exactly what pursuing this transfer meant. Maybe not to the extent we've seen, granted, but he knew it wasn't going to be well received, and he pushed ahead anyway. How many Championship managers who've hit a bad patch over the last few years have thought "David Goodwillie would really improve my team"? Probably all of them. How many decided not to even broach the issue? Most, I imagine. A few will have taken it to their board and gotten short shrift. How many found that the football club they manage is so morally bankrupt that they'd bankroll a five figure transfer fee and bring in a rapist against the express wishes of a major sponsor, two directors and countless supporters? Only you, Mr McGlynn, only you.

I'll lose a lot of respect for anyone who attends tonight, either as a spectator or in a voluntary capacity. Employees I have a slight sympathy with, although they should absolutely be assessing their options. The club have made a horrendous, horrendous error. That's bad enough. Bad enough to make a lot of us walk away. They had an opportunity to try to offer an olive branch, or some sort of justification or mitigation, to try and bring people back onside. Even if they can't get out of his contract, they could've shown a little contrition, taken ownership, sought to make amends. They could've at least had the fucking integrity to put their names to that statement. They bought a rapist. And when it became clear that it was their fans (and employees, and fellow board members) or that rapist, they chose the rapist. And spat in our faces as they did so. Nobody should have anything to do with that football club until its entire hierarchy is removed. And if they won't go? If they'd rather see the club run into the dirt and be liquidated than move on? So be it. Not one penny more.

What the fucking hell is that? No contrition, no apology, not even a fucking name on the statement. I honestly didn't think it could get any worse. That's so much worse. I'm in disbelief. Absolutely staggered.

I said last night I'd be walking away, and in terms of attending football matches, that categorically still stands. When I wrote that tear-stained farewell last night though, I didn't think that this dynamic would play out the way it has. If I'm honest, I thought it'd be like the Morton and Ross County situations where a few "woke snowflakes" like me walked away, but the majority settled down and went with the flow. I was devastated about that. Today, though? I feel heartened and encouraged by what I've seen. The strength of feeling I'm seeing across the Rovers, football and Scottish communities is matching my own. People are standing up to say that this is utterly unacceptable. People with a lot to lose are walking away from positions they love. Ordinary fans are putting their hands in their pockets to support Rape Crisis Scotland and reject the actions of a pathetically misguided Rovers board and management. This may well be the darkest day in the history of Raith Rovers Football Club. But it is not the last day. Today, battle lines are drawn. It is us, and it is them. I don't know what form that battle will take, but there is a football club with its current owners, and there is a community which will outlast them. Change must happen, and change will happen. The first phase of that is the termination of David Goodwillie's employment, which should happen today, but the campaign for change must then continue until the architects of this catastrophe are forced through the exit door at Stark's Park, and replaced by a structure and a leadership that will truly put the community first.

This is the case as it appears to me. Karen Macartney is CEO, she's not a director.

Well, that's the final whistle for me. It's been fun. Like everyone else, this football club has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is having my photo taken in my parents' back garden wearing the full "Kelly's Copiers" kit, the one they recently re-released. I loved that shirt. I've been a season ticket holder for somewhere in the region of 20 years. For the last fifteen that's meant a 100 mile round trip for home games. I didn't mind. It was worth it. It's something I do with my Dad. Going to Rovers games. It's a shared passion, and it's nice to feel part of something bigger. Something that carries with it the hopes and dreams of a community. Something that does good for that community too, and uplifts it. Well, it was nice, until tonight. I can't in good conscious go on from here. I thought about it, before when the rumours first emerged, and again today when they resurfaced. Could I just ignore what he did? Could I maybe just sit on my hands, support the other ten players and ignore him? No, I'm afraid I can't. I can't put my name alongside his, or alongside this club. "Who do you support mate? Oh aye, they just signed..." No thank you, not in my name. People seem all too willing to forget that rape isn't some buzzword. The way this conversation gets framed sometimes you'd think it was like that open goal Chris Iwelumo missed. "Oh, don't sign him, he did that thing that one time". He raped a woman. There's a human being who has to live her life in a totally altered state because of the actions of this man. Nobody mentions her much. I hope she's okay tonight, as her rapist's name reverberates around yet again. I can't imagine she is. So from that incredibly significant impact, to an incredibly small one. I'll be logging off. There's no reason for me to post here anymore, a man without a football club. There's not much call for journeymen P&B posters. I expect I'll still lurk from time to time, the draw of lower league football is just too strong, but it won't be the same. I might pop up now and again, like Yoss does. He always was the best Rovers poster on here. And I might pop up at Stark's Park again. Hopefully just once he's gone. Maybe a year or two. But maybe longer. Can I in good faith cheer the manager who signed him? Or the owner who paid his wages? Maybe I'll have a new team by then. Only time will tell. Goodnight everyone. Enjoy your football.

Och dinnae fucking say that. I was thinking at least if we get to midnight I'll be able to sleep easy.

There's an announcement coming. I've got an absolutely horrible feeling about this.

The idea that Val McDermid needs Raith Rovers for publicity is laughable in itself. Just on Twitter alone she's got 4x as many followers.

Yup, they've got me on strings. I'm absolutely bricking it.

If we sign Tade I'll sponsor his jersey, double my contributions to the Supporters Fund, and I'll come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays to clean his boots.

What are the chances of an arrival today, do you reckon? Slim to none? There's been a bit of a slow build to the last few arrivals, with breadcrumbs appearing here or in the Courier in the days beforehand, but I haven't seen any suggestions of names this week. I know there are domestic loans available after today, but I'm not sure how much that market has left to offer us. If a player was going to come in now I'd probably expect it to be another Varian or Musonda, a player from down South who's either on loan from the 23s or looking to kick start their career up here rather than the non-leagues in England.

Morton, Ayr and Killie all made four substitutions this weekend. Caley Thistle made five.

There's no way Morton are a part of that relegation scrap anymore. Imrie's getting the best out of a relatively limited group that he's inherited. It'll be interesting to see how they get on next season when he's had more time to bring in his own players. A manager worth backing. As for the Rovers, ultimately that's not a bad point, but we really needed to win either tonight or Tuesday, so the pressure amps up a bit for that one. I don't know how much McGlynn is learning from these games. We were marginally better tonight and created a few chances from open play, so hopefully we see more of that, but we lost two goals from headers and could've lost more, so the merits of the three at the back are lost on me. I reckon we'll see another change of shape on Tuesday, with at least one of the wingers brought back in. It needs to be a case of keeping the plus points from tonight and changing the parts that didn't work, but there's a real risk that the team reverts to type.

Wow. That's the worst first touch I think I've ever seen.

I don't think there are many referees who'd buy this falling down at the first contact that he's fond of, but this one certainly won't.

We've lost a ludicrous number of headers for a team with three big centre backs on the park.

Eh, I meant, eh, collectively. As a unit. Liam Dick drives the average right down...

Sam Stanton and ten other c***s.