Broonaldo

So the Rose have stumbled and staggered like a dazed prize fighter away from relegation …. only a bizarre freak collapse next week involving a c12 goal turnaround between the Stranraer and Rose games stops that. But what learnings do we take into next season? I think the biggies are: 1. We need a clear out of players. Robbie was too loyal to some and they’re not good enough at this level (and Martynuik isn’t a CB!!). We need strong, tall, dominant CBs; a creative midfielder; and someone to score goals. For a club with no sugar daddy, this is a big ask with limited funds 2. Something needs to happen about our pitch, it’s a mud bath for 10+ games a season. We seem to get better results away from home and that’s surely due to the pitch!! Some may point to our poor facilities but the priority is the pitch. But again, no sugar daddy so do we have the funds? If we spend on players, we can’t afford the pitch …. catch-22!! What we know is the other clubs WILL invest in better players, so the standard will step up - so we need to improve just to stand still …. otherwise next season will be another squeaky bum relegation dogfight

Where are the moderators?? This is a serious message board - surely we have some standards?? We have someone claiming they have a decent knowledge of the league AND they get one of the best players in the league playing for the wrong team. A ban is maybe a little harsh but I would think a very stern warning is necessary here ……

I agree - this was always a possibility, so clubs can’t complain if it happens. And like you, I can’t see EK losing the HL/LL play off ….

Hopefully Spartans have one eye on the playoffs and have an off day. Going to be a tricky game, last time at NDP Henderson bullied our CBs (mind you, our CBs get bullied a lot), so Calum Elliot needs to have a plan to stop that. And hopefully the pitch isn’t too heavy so that Watson can use that pace of his like he did last week, which was definitely his best performance in a Rose jersey. Lots of “hopefully” comments there, which sums up my views on Rose just now …….

Without doubt my favourite SPFL2 away ground. Amazing drive up the A9, brilliant ground, good social club and amazing fans (as a Bonnyrigg fan I regularly sit in the main stand amongst the Elgin fans with not a jot of bother instead I get good humoured banter). There’s also a fab Turkish restaurant in the town …… what’s not to like!!

We may not be Man City but we’re not an “awful team”. Rose will have one of the lowest wage budgets in the league, we could never afford to get Dick Campbell or afford to sign quality like Easton, Austin or Trouten. We’re battlers but we showed today we can play football, so it’s a pity you stand by the “awful team” comment. As for the #9 (McGachie), he certainly didn’t give a decent CB like Easton a moment’s peace, so he can’t be that bad!

“Awful team” ….. harsh and unfair. Rose played really well, took the goals superbly and pretty much dominated the entire game. We hit the post, missed 3 decent one-on-ones so could have scored more. I’m not sure many teams will dominate East Fife like that, they’re a really good team, especially at Bayview. May have been a bad day at the office for East Fife but disappointing you can’t give credit where credit is due, a poor post.

Better performance from the Rose in awful conditions (well played both teams for battling the elements) but once again we lose a goal to a set piece header (a free header in the box at that), and a silly late goal that was preventable. Peterhead are a decent team, McKee and Ritchie look quality but I thought Currie was the MOTM. Both Rose goals were crackers, which was pleasing. It’s onwards to next week ….

The pitch will be really heavy, we’ll certainly not get the usual tiki-taka football we experience at NDP!! Another massive game for the Rose, hopefully Calum Elliot has had time to install a few new ideas to the players.

If you’re saying the running / management of the LL (and the SPFL) is a joke, then I’d definitely agree with you there. There’s plenty of examples - entry of the B teams parachuting into the LL; Rose being forced to install floodlights with unrealistic deadlines before we got accepted into the LL, the fact there’s a LL / HL playoff to get entry into the SPFL …. I’m sure there’s plenty others that showcase all that’s bad with Scottish football, so if that’s what we’re saying is making it a Mickey Mouse league then I’m in complete agreement.

It being a “Mickey Mouse” league is all relative ….. I’m sure fans in the Scottish Premiership think SPFL2 is a Mickey Mouse league, English fans think our Scottish Premiership is a Mickey Mouse league and so on. I’ve followed the Rose through the leagues and our rise hasn’t been easy and the games were tough, so not Mickey Mouse in my eyes. I didn’t agree with the B teams coming in (and the Rose were one of the few clubs who voted against them) but i wouldn’t disrespect the other teams in the LL by sneering at it. As for the decimated funding for the relegated teams, that’s obvious - as you fall down the leagues the income gets smaller and smaller. The challenge for all SPFL2 teams is to live within their means so that if relegation does come then it can be managed. And your point about EK and Kelty chucking money around to progress, again pretty obvious, but it happens everywhere - what do you think happened with PSG, Man City, RB Leipzig and now Newcastle???? Why would our league be any different …

Not sure I agree - the B teams are always in the top 5 or 6 and Stirling Uni are consistently in the top half too, so I don’t think that means the league is “Mickey Mouse”. The fact that ES, Berwick Rangers, Albion Rovers and Cowdenbeath are all still there shows how tough a league it is to get out of ……

You’re right, Robbie has dabbled (unsuccessfully!!) with loads of forwards over the last 2-3 seasons who’ve all been in the same mould - small and speedy. Anyone who’s been to NDP will know it’s a cow field in the winter months and must be like running in treacle, so speed is pretty much negated. Added to that it can’t be the easiest to pass on the deck in those conditions, so we resort to hoofball. The only 6ft+ forward we signed was Faye and he refused to head the ball!! It must be so demoralising for poor Ross Gray to watch those missles get launched at him from defence. I couldn’t understand why we didn’t sign a clone of McGachie, that target man model works for our style and those conditions. As for Kerr, he’s been missed but (1) he’s not had a great season and (2) he needs support - Martynuik isn’t a CB and Grigor / Mercer are too small. We need a Munro (Forfar), Dolzanski (Elgin), Buchanan (Stennie) or Sonkur (Spartans) to add dominance and cut out those ball’s into our box ….. and add a threat when we have a corner.

That’s been the problem all season (and last season) at NDP - hoofball from defence missing out midfield aiming for McGachie who’s usually outmuscled by 2 defenders who’re of similar size or regularly bigger and stronger. And when he’s not there (he's been injured for large parts of the season), the tactics are still the same ….. but this time the target is Ross Gray, Declan Byrne, Kevin Smith, Liam Buchanan et al who are all tiny compared to the CBs they’re up against. And the number of goals we lose from balls launched into our box and being outmuscled in the challenge is embarrassing. Calum Elliot has a big job next season - we’ve got some decent players (especially Martin, Peggie, Mailer, Barrett, Gray) but regardless of what league we’re in we need a rebuild.

Brilliant appointment, hope he does a great job for you.