Raith Against The Machine

Is David Munro one who's normally getting games at this level? His name isn't particularly familiar to me.

Our defence without Berra is about 40% as effective. Gaps everywhere.

Once you give the foul, you've got to give the yellow card there. 100% a second booking. I'd stick Musonda on. Bene's just not offering the solidity that he should.

That wee lapse between Benedictus and Dick, and then Bene taking the yellow card, is exactly the kind of thing that just doesn't seem to happen when Berra is on the park. Even if he's not actively involved, he just seems to bring calmness and composure out of others with his very presence.

I think it has to be. Matthews deepest? Or Stanton? Very intriguing.

Well... that's... unexpected. Have Varian and Poplatnik even started to together before? I'm not even sure what that system is. We've gone from being overly reliant on our wide players to not playing any at all. No complaints from me though, he's certainly looking to dominate the midfield!

It'll be really interesting to see whether one or both of Stanton and Williamson get the nod to start. Knowing McGlynn, I think he will stick with Matthews and Tait, with both Stanton and Williamson coming off the bench later on. Sentimentality aside, Tait should be dropping out. Over the last five games our biggest issue has been a lack of goals, but it all stems from an inability to control the middle of the park, which makes our play down the wings our only option, and that becomes too predictable and easy to counter. We haven't been able to change the forward line yet, so the midfield has to change. To go with the same set up as the last few weeks is just going to invite the same problems. Particularly in light of the Pars' deficiencies, we should be doing everything possible to dominate the midfield.

He's got a lot of the ingredients you'd want in a young striker, but it's a case of how well he can develop each of them to become a finished product. He's obviously had a bit more development time (although not a huge amount of first team game time) since we last saw him, but I'd say he's currently a good League One striker. He'd be a first pick at that level. In the Championship, he's good enough to be man of the match on his day, but he'll also need time on the bench. I don't know that he'll ever be a 20 goal a season striker at this level or above, but he could be a very effective second striker. Despite the fact that what we really need is just raw goals at the moment, I'd be pleased if we signed him permanently. He's got a lot of potential. If we brought him in just on a loan until the end of the season, without any other forwards coming in, I'd be a little disappointed.

Yawn.

It would appear that Luke Mahady is returning to the Rovers, but that Quinn Coulson is staying at Central Park til the summer.

The Rovers have given an update to say that two of our players out on loan are returning to the club, without referencing Keatings. I'd take from that that he'll be with you for the rest of the season.

Bad news for fans of narrative, and Cinch heritage - Harry Panayiotou has been released by Livi, on the understanding that he's going back down south.

Yeah, we're very much in Limmy territory.

Yogi Hughes is in the Courier more often than a man having an affair with his Hermes lady. His latest effort is an attempt to take full responsibility for getting the Rovers relegated, whilst heavily insinuating that others were actually responsible. Honestly man, he's such a haver.

No' exactly fuckin' man of the year though, is he?

That's true, and he's a member of a very exclusive club, in that regard. I'm led to believe he's one of only three men in Scotland who have been deemed a rapist by a court of law, but not added to the register.

Also, the loan player 100% is Williamson.

I don't think it was anywhere near as targeted or as malicious as that. It's the kind of thing I've heard Davie say multiple times before, usually when a window opens. "Fans don't often understand just what goes into a transfer. It's not as easy as just picking a target and bringing them in, is it John?" Something along those lines. It's a perfectly normal way of getting an interviewee on-side, even if it is a little condescending towards supporters. Although, having read the opinions of some of our support this week, maybe it's not that far off the truth.

We've got a mystery player self-isolating who'll miss the game. No clues to his identity other than "he's staying with his parents at the moment" so you'd assume it's one of the younger members of the squad, but really could be anyone. With the players testing daily and the rates where they are, it'd probably be a surprise if there's just the one missing out across both squads.

So... do we reckon Stanton goes straight in from the start? It's not a typical McGlynn move, he's normally more inclined to ease new guys in, but that midfield does need a bit of a shake-up. On the basis that clearance comes through, and the Rovers actually announce Ben Williamson, I suspect he'll go with Stanton and Matthews as the base of midfield, with Williamson (and Tait, if he hasn't gone yet?) on the bench.

If anything, the chance of getting a ticket and then not getting one has scunnered me even more than if there was never any chance. I was really looking forward, with a healthy amount of trepidation, to seeing Hughes back at Stark's. Whatever happened, the atmosphere would've been quality. Him getting it tight trudging back up the touchline after a loss, or giving it the big 'un to an emptying South Stand after a win. Either way, it's the kind of stuff that makes football what it is. The lack of fans just takes away all the extremes. Whether we win or win lose, it won't mean as much, and it won't feel as important. I'll watch it on the stream and I'll be chuffed if we win or disappointed if we lose, but half an hour later I'll be doing something else.

Was it Dunbar where McGlynn picked up some mop-haired teenager in his first spell, a sort of prototype Scottish Javier Amaya? Or was his surname Dunbar? Joe Dunbar, maybe?

I'm also going to be sat at home. Shite.

Not even slightly in the same realm.

There's a real lack of nuance when it comes to discussing this case. Too many people want to reduce it to a black and white "guilty" and "innocent" as if it's a case of mistaken identity. Like the two possible scenarios are that David Goodwillie is a rapist, or he was at home reading his bible. He's either 100% guilty or 100% not guilty. And that's just not the case. The facts of the case may not have met the appropriate threshold for a criminal conviction (because of the need for corroboration, such as I understand it), but there's much more information about the events of the night. The actions of David Goodwillie, as detailed in the civil case, are the actions of a deeply despicable person. Too many people are choosing to be wilfully ignorant. They're choosing to take the headline "not successfully prosecuted in criminal court" because the person in question can score goals, without taking on board the additional information available. The justice system has to stick by very specific rules and standards. That's the best set of guidelines we have to keep all of us safe, both as victims and potentially as suspects of crime. But the rest of us aren't bound by that. We can take the information that's in the public domain and reach our own conclusions. It's deeply, deeply depressing that so many people are willing to go to bat for despicable scum like David Goodwillie just because he's good at football.