The New Raith Rovers Thread

[pub car king]

I'd be surprised if we're not getting shit from the spfl over our handling of this as well. 

Ultimately its very bad publicity for Scottish football and change has been force by principled individuals rather than the industry. 

[Florentine_Pogen]

Tick tock, tick tock, still nothing from the bunker

This media blackout / head-in-the-sand strategy just screams out. :-

"WE ARE RANK AMATEUR HEADLESS CHICKENS WITH NO IDEA WHAT TO DO".

[stevoraith]

the only winners in all this shitstorm is the media

Not sure that’s true.

Hopefully society as a whole can be a winner as the story has brought the subject into the public awareness.

If that means that the attitudes of certain groups of people regarding what they class as ‘harmless fun’ or ‘just being a lad’, as opposed to what they class as rape, may change then everyone is a winner.

[AsimButtHitsASix]

Just now, stevoraith said:

Not sure that’s true.

Hopefully society as a whole can be a winner as the story has brought the subject into the public awareness.

 

I don't think any player with a conviction for sex crimes will get a gig in the SPFL ever again after all of this. 

Good. 

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

7 minutes ago, pub car king said:

I'd be surprised if we're not getting shit from the spfl over our handling of this as well. 

That would be a bit rich seeing as they said f**k all when he joined Clyde.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Zen Archer (Raconteur)

[McGuigan1978]

Aye, there’s a sliver of positivity in all this, and I mean a very thin sliver. 

The fact that fans have stood together and decided this isn’t good enough and demanded change is genuinely admirable, and I hope, but don’t expect, that it leads to better conversations in football and in society as a whole. 

We stood up to it, and I think we should be proud of that. 

I’m still angry that the statement last Tuesday suggested that the fans, volunteers and women’s team were less important than David Goodwillie, who apparently was part of our football family, and it’s interesting to see it’s been deleted. 

We’ll see what happens going forward, but it can’t be tokenism. 

[Double Jack D]

1 hour ago, DreamOakTree1 said:

As an outsider (Morton Fan) I have to say that as much as the Raith BOD have come out of this episode badly, I think the backlash from Rovers’ fans and sponsors has woken people up to the double standards that exist in football. This response has made a UK wide impact in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen before in similar situations, where it’s been paid lip service and pretty much swept under the carpet. I say well done to the Raith Fans, Sponsors, Ladies Team and everyone else who’ve not just spoken out but have take brave and tangible stances by their actions.

Thanks for that. In these dark times it's the glimmer of hope that a brighter future may lie ahead for my club and our game.

We're miles away from it just now though and forgive me for wishing it was another club that had sacrificed itself on this hill. 

[SirJimmyofNic]

8 minutes ago, stevoraith said:

 

Not sure that’s true.

Hopefully society as a whole can be a winner as the story has brought the subject into the public awareness.

If that means that the attitudes of certain groups of people regarding what they class as ‘harmless fun’ or ‘just being a lad’, as opposed to what they class as rape, may change then everyone is a winner.

 

Yeah, I very much doubt any club in the UK would dare sign or keep any player/staff that were abusive to women whether sexually or otherwise its certainly made everyone stop and think, but its selling papers and thats what I was meaning

[Florentine_Pogen]

That would be a bit rich seeing as they said f**k all when he joined Clyde.

That's a fair point Zen but I think it's way too late for revisionist finger-pointing in this situation.
Hopefully, the RR / Goodwillie transfer will come to be seen as the "line in the sand" with regard to rape / sexual crime and Scottish football. Hopefully UK and further afield.

[SirJimmyofNic]

3 minutes ago, Florentine_Pogen said:

That's a fair point Zen but I think it's way too late for revisionist finger-pointing in this situation.
Hopefully, the RR / Goodwillie transfer will come to be seen as the "line in the sand" with regard to rape / sexual crime and Scottish football. Hopefully UK and further afield.

Not just Football but any kind of Sport

[Double Jack D]

2 minutes ago, McGuigan1978 said:

Aye, there’s a sliver of positivity in all this, and I mean a very thin sliver. 

The fact that fans have stood together and decided this isn’t good enough and demanded change is genuinely admirable, and I hope, but don’t expect, that it leads to better conversations in football and in society as a whole. 

We stood up to it, and I think we should be proud of that. 

I’m still angry that the statement last Tuesday suggested that the fans, volunteers and women’s team were less important than David Goodwillie, who apparently was part of our football family, and it’s interesting to see it’s been deleted. 

We’ll see what happens going forward, but it can’t be tokenism. 

I'm still astounded that we did it. I know Goodwillie had been rumoured previously but genuinely thought it was typical media shite. All the positive community stuff the Rovers were doing and the very positive direction the club appeared to be going in... 

I genuinely can't believe the attitude of the majority of the board was f**k the fans, volunteers, major sponsors etc, for David fucking Goodwillie.

Somebody said on the K107 show that they simply don't have the energy to start at the bottom building this club back up again. That's how I feel. I haven't put in a smidgen of what some volunteers have, simply supported it where I could. But  in one cataclysmic decision we've reset the clock to pretty much the Anelka period and I wouldn't blame anyone that has sacrificed significant amounts of their own time over those years that said f**k it I'm out... permanently.

[Florentine_Pogen]

Not just Football but any kind of Sport

Of course, Jimmy,........

[Stevo Fife]

7 minutes ago, SirJimmyofNic said:

Would be good if there could be some arrangement, but hes probabley no chance of getting his other job back and it still wouldn't take the heat off us, and Val isn't going to back off till she gets blood, the only winners in all this shitstorm is the media

Wouldn't be good for Rovers. DG playing for Clyde again would only keep the whole shitstorm current and Rovers continually in the spotlight. Everyone connected to the club will be wishing this will blow over, die down whatever, but it's not going to happen anytime soon. 

Best thing DG could do would be to f**k off abroad and ply what's left of his career somewhat off the radar. Either way, Rovers lose. That's a lot of cash to fork out on a player who is never going to play. 200k+ ? Crazy money to throw down the toilet. Those responsible need to be held accountable both from a moral aspect and financial.

Not many are gloating. This is a sorry episode and still can't quite believe that McGlynn, Sim and the rest could be so naïve. I don't buy into McGlynn not having much of a say in the signing.  He's Mr Raith Rovers and clearly identified DG as a requirement and would seem not to give much consideration to the consequences. No denying he's club legend but he should do the decent thing and resign. The silence coming from the club is unbelievable and astonishing and not doing them  any favours at all. Rovers have more or less imploded in the space of a few days and it'll be a long time before this sorry episode is forgotten.

Sim holds the ace card. Everyone knows that much. The tricky bit will be finding someone that wants to buy him out. Not going to be easy in the current climate.

Is ground sharing an option if it came to that?

That said, fair play for standing firm. The supporters deserve a lot of credit. I like to think most club supporters would do the same if the shoe was on the other foot.

[L. Brilliant]

Football is only part of what a football club is, but that's less apparent to people who aren't interested in it most of the time. It might seem like 'football itself is going through a moral dilemma' or whatever, but that's only a byproduct. What's really happening is Raith Rovers deciding what kind of football club it wants to be.

I don't think there will be any kind of change in what kind of person clubs will sign as players. The wider public hysteria logically always implies 'sponsors and customers should not stand for this - they should withhold their money' etc. This only has so much effect if you're a lower league, smaller budget club. I'm sure Goodwillies, Thomsons etc will always get another gig as long as they'll go to a low enough level for their ability to outweigh the outrage and its financial implications. Rovers were just the first club in a while daft enough to poke this with a stick and see.  If DGW was an even better player or even 5 years younger who knows what would be playing out now.

 

[Rovers_Lad]

5 hours ago, Double Jack D said:

I've listened to the Bill Clark interview and, whilst he gives a decent account of things, he hasn't really clarified a lot of the key issues. I believe he wasn't involved in the deal over last weekend but I sense he is protecting McGlynn and Smith by trying to alleviate any blame from them. 

However he does give an indication of how transfers at the Rovers have worked, and would be currently expected to work. The key thing is that the initial request always comes from the management team and based purely on footballing reasons. It is then escalated to the board for approval who look at all the other implications, usually the financial investment in most cases however you would like to think other things like reputational matters would be considered also.

Clark is very much of the opinion that McGlynn has no authority over anything outside of football and therefore he points the blame for this mess squarely at the board who voted for it. I'm not sure I can agree.

It seems clear now that the signing of Goodwillie would never have happened unless McGlynn wanted it. Although only responsible for footballing matters, he was willing to overlook Goodwillies character in order to benefit his team. He is as complicit as the board who voted for it. They are all rape apologists and if the club is to move forward beyond this then they all need cleared out. 

Much the way I see it

[Benjamin_Nevis]

I’d assume (not a lawyer) that if he owed her and claimed bankruptcy then the debt was wiped clean and sadly she won’t see it from him and she then has no right to claim it, so unless he chooses to do the honorable thing (aye right) and pays her voluntarily she’ll not get a penny from him.  If we just paid the money on his behalf we’d be the one who’d be in the wrong as we owe it to Goodwillie and he’d just take us to court. 

It would depend if the money he owed her was included in his bankruptcy. If so then even once discharged, any lump sum/windfall in the 4 years following his bankruptcy being awarded should go to the Accountant in Bankruptcy to be distributed pro rate to his creditors. By my reckoning he'd still be within that 4 year period.

[DiegoDiego]

I don't think any player with a conviction for sex crimes will get a gig in the SPFL ever again after all of this. 

Good. 

It's a very emotive subject, but the main reason I don't want Goodwillie in the SPFL is his complete lack of contrition, not the actual offence. I do think people can be rehabilitated and given second chances. Their behaviour after the act is as important to me as the act itself.

Martindale's a great example of that. His crimes were worthy of four years, the average sentence for sex crimes in Scotland is much less than that.

I'm fine with Martindale having a job but there are others in the SPFL that I wouldn't want to see at my club, many of whom were convicted of much lesser offences.

That said, I'm perfectly okay with anyone who doesn't want a convicted criminal at their club.

[San Starko Rover]

37 minutes ago, L. Brilliant said:

Football is only part of what a football club is, but that's less apparent to people who aren't interested in it most of the time. It might seem like 'football itself is going through a moral dilemma' or whatever, but that's only a byproduct. What's really happening is Raith Rovers deciding what kind of football club it wants to be.

I don't think there will be any kind of change in what kind of person clubs will sign as players. The wider public hysteria logically always implies 'sponsors and customers should not stand for this - they should withhold their money' etc. This only has so much effect if you're a lower league, smaller budget club. I'm sure Goodwillies, Thomsons etc will always get another gig as long as they'll go to a low enough level for their ability to outweigh the outrage and its financial implications. Rovers were just the first club in a while daft enough to poke this with a stick and see.  If DGW was an even better player or even 5 years younger who knows what would be playing out now.

 

I’m not sure he’ll play again he’s going to get his wages paid that’ll take him up to being 35, yes he could play on a bit longer but is it really worth the hassle at any club in this country for the level he’d be at? The only way I see him ever playing again is if he heads abroad. 

[AlanCamelonfan]

1 hour ago, AsimButtHitsASix said:

I don't think any player with a conviction for sex crimes will get a gig in the SPFL ever again after all of this. 

Good. 

Yet only a few miles along the road at cowdenbeath. Noone saying anything about that anymore 

[Broken Algorithms]

1 hour ago, McGuigan1978 said:

Aye, there’s a sliver of positivity in all this, and I mean a very thin sliver. 

The fact that fans have stood together and decided this isn’t good enough and demanded change is genuinely admirable, and I hope, but don’t expect, that it leads to better conversations in football and in society as a whole. 

We stood up to it, and I think we should be proud of that. 

I’m still angry that the statement last Tuesday suggested that the fans, volunteers and women’s team were less important than David Goodwillie, who apparently was part of our football family, and it’s interesting to see it’s been deleted. 

We’ll see what happens going forward, but it can’t be tokenism. 

Aye, I think going forward in the future opposition fans can criticise our board and management over this deal, but nobody can have a bad word to say about how our fans have reacted. I'd like to think every support would be the same.

The thing which gets me is the lack of comments from those within the game: I think I've only seen one person who is currently playing (an ex-Pars player who is now down south) come out and say "That's a brutal decision and I'd not feel comfortable with it". Most of the comments were about how "that statement hasn't gone down well". Everyone just seems to accept it, whether it's through fear of being 'black listed' or just through apathy. 

1 hour ago, Double Jack D said:

I'm still astounded that we did it. I know Goodwillie had been rumoured previously but genuinely thought it was typical media shite. All the positive community stuff the Rovers were doing and the very positive direction the club appeared to be going in... 

I genuinely can't believe the attitude of the majority of the board was f**k the fans, volunteers, major sponsors etc, for David fucking Goodwillie.

Somebody said on the K107 show that they simply don't have the energy to start at the bottom building this club back up again. That's how I feel. I haven't put in a smidgen of what some volunteers have, simply supported it where I could. But  in one cataclysmic decision we've reset the clock to pretty much the Anelka period and I wouldn't blame anyone that has sacrificed significant amounts of their own time over those years that said f**k it I'm out... permanently.

One tweet summed it up nicely. We were happy to have Goodwillie in the Raith Family, but what about Val, Tyler, Margie, Andy or any other fan?

I feel like the season should be over. The next game I'll likely to be at is Partick at home at the end of this month, but I've got zero appetite at the moment. I've just got no interest in the footballing matter even though I really like the squad which McGlynn has assembled (other than our newest recruit, of course). It's a tough state of affairs. All the good will and unity has been trashed. We'd not won in over a month and I genuinely wasn't too bothered at this point last week. My main concern was that we were continuing to shoehorn in certain players. 

It really is a tough time at the moment. There's no blueprint for how to work through this.