The New Raith Rovers Thread

[The Tiel Burn]

5 minutes ago, Always next quarter said:

Good luck to the new media/comms guy that's been put in place.

Guess his first day has been managing a response to Sim. I expect to see him address the board silence ASAP if he's to be taken serious. CEO/Chairman in front of the media please. 

Bit of a gift having Raith TV turning out content as good as any in this league (can't compare to premiership) 

Please don't muck that up for the sake of it. 

Let the poor fella get comfy in his seat first Comms outwith club TV has been poor to appalling since the signing so I'm sure he kens what's needed. 

Brave to take on a role where the immediate requirement is to get the voice of the board out to the fans. Failure to do so wouldnt bode well especially after Sims outburst.

Media and comms for an organisation who have hid behind the sofa for several months is either a great opportunity or a snake pit of a job. 

 

[Enigma]

41 minutes ago, Raith_Raver said:

I'm not bothered about ICT, it's Colin Steven that puts my head in orbit...

See, for me it’s Bene…

Edited April 18, 2022 by Enigma

[Double Jack D]

2 Games left and there is still no word on McGlynn's future. I get that the next 2 games may be crucial in determining whether he is offered a new deal or not but I think the fact it remains unresolved means he will be away at the end of the season.

Genuinely think that I would've taken a 5th place finish, 2 cup games at parkhead, finishing above the Pars and a SPFL trophy win as a very successful season.  However, I can't wait to be rid of the 21/22 season and imo the club needs a fresh start for 22/23.

[Michael W]

If we manage to win one of our last two, we will better Grant Murray's miserable run of three wins in our last 21 matches. We are currently on 3 wins from 19, so we can equal it but will not be worse. 

It's not great, is it?

[renton]

1 hour ago, Double Jack D said:

2 Games left and there is still no word on McGlynn's future. I get that the next 2 games may be crucial in determining whether he is offered a new deal or not but I think the fact it remains unresolved means he will be away at the end of the season.

Genuinely think that I would've taken a 5th place finish, 2 cup games at parkhead, finishing above the Pars and a SPFL trophy win as a very successful season.  However, I can't wait to be rid of the 21/22 season and imo the club needs a fresh start for 22/23.

I dunno, possibly missed due to the rest of his car crash interview was Sim commenting on wanting to keep McGlynn.

Obviously he isn't chairman anymore, and in his own words "not a dictator" but it feels like a pretty strong steer we aren't changing direction.

[Double Jack D]

Haha, I did miss it. Probably due to my eyes bleeding or my head being in my hands. I would imagine that if Sim wants to keep him then he will still be here. I'm not that fussed either way but if we have a similar first half of next season as we had second half of this one then it's not going to be pretty.

[Michael W]

Yeah, that hint in the interview seemed ominous. Would be just fabulous timing from Sim if he ignored the period where we were doing very well (last season - mid-December 2021) and then grants the new contract after a dreadful run of form akin to Grant Murray in 2013/14. 

[renton]

Unless your Arbroath, Morton or (possibly) Dunfermline if they manage the escape, then the other clubs fans seem to be ambivalent at best about their managers this season.

The second half of the season it does feel like McGlynn has tried various things to break out of the rut, few of which have come off well. 

If I thought he was going to be ruthless enough about making changes in terms of players I might be more sanguine about next season.

As it is, we have most of a squad locked in for next season and the requirement to get the remaining slots correct is pretty high.

[Raith_Raver]

For a club our size we have a very strong squad. Despite taht we've hardly been able to put out the first choice team all the time McGlynn has been here. Maybe next season we'll have more luck with injuries. We might also not draw or lose so many games we should have won. I think we'll do better next season.

[Brashy's Boots]

I think he's staying, judging by Sim comments, and whilst I'm pleased about the decent players already under contract, something someone said a wee while ago is in my head. McGlynn's record with strikers is arguably not the best. I get we want to share them around the team but goals from a natural goalscorer could have meant the difference in so many games this season. And I also get that every team wants such players but we've struggled for what seems like forever, or at least since Nisbet left. That's the area of the team which I'm most looking forward to being fixed.

[renton]

1 hour ago, Raith_Raver said:

For a club our size we have a very strong squad. Despite taht we've hardly been able to put out the first choice team all the time McGlynn has been here. Maybe next season we'll have more luck with injuries. We might also not draw or lose so many games we should have won. I think we'll do better next season.

My concern would be that we often look less than the sum of our parts.

I've previously mentioned Stanton, who looks  - individually - like a real classy footballer yet doesn't seem to manage to get a grip of games and influence them as a central midfielder should do.

The obvious one is of course Zanatta: If we get the first half of the seaosn player then we have one of the most dangeorus players in the league. If we get the guy from the last half of the season who sometimes looks like he's been intorduced to a football for the first time 5 minutes before kick off, then that's an issue.

Or Benedictus, who can stride through a game like a colossus for an hour before jumping into a rash challenge that invites the referee to make a decision. Or who can get caught under a simple ball one week to lose the game, before making a last second challenge to secure the win the next week.

That's before we get into a conversation about how reliable some of the players - who also happen to the best in their positions - cope when coming back from serious knee injuries, advancing age or both.

Your assessment isn't wrong - but in my opinion it's a generous reading that relies on inconsistent players suddenly becoming consistent. That's obviously a gamble you take with a finite budget but I'm not convinced we couldn't err towards a little more solidity in some positions.

If I could I'd get rid of both left backs and start again. We need someone who will provide the alternate attcking outlet that stops players doubling up on Zanatta.

If we could get Tumilty to sign back on I'd say we'd have two out of four of a starting defence. If it was a case of keeping Benedictus or Musonda I'd probably keep the latter. I just don't think bene has it in his locker to string together enough consistency that would see us avoid a relegation fight most seasons. As it is, I think Tumilty will be away and we'll be looking at really only Berra (and maybe Musonda) as good enough and fit enough to start going into next season.

We need Spencer to sign back up, and to bring in someone else who is more a high energy tackler - similar to Matthews so that we have a bit of balance in the midfield.

Wide player positions are probably what they are, maybe with a oanee in there come the start of the season. I'd be hopeful that Ethan Ross could really push on next season.

Up front is an entire rebuild, largely from scratch. I think we shuld have stuck rather than twist with Ugwu last year, and Poplatnik has scored mre than he has, so if it were an otpion (and it may not be financially) I'd try and build a forward line around him. That involves getting a number 10 close to him or a straight up partner, and we wil likely want another battering ram type forward. We can't build a team around Vaughan as tempting as that might be, given his talent. If he stays fit it's a nice to have, not a lynchpin of the side.

[Raith_Raver]

I don't think there's much to argue against there, some players have been disappointing or inconsistent. The first mistake IMO was getting rid of Keiran McDonald who fitted perfectly with the way we want to play: We thought Dick was going to be a big signing but he hasbeen a bit meh. I think Varian is less effective than Gozie too, and scores fewer goals. Stanton,  exactly what I think; as some have pointed out there's a suspicion that he isn't glad about playing for us. The whole forward line has been disappointing - we have been depending on midfielders and wingers for most of our goals. Despite some poor signings we've done well with others eg Ross and Stanton (notwithstanding what was said) which reveals  a genuine intention to progress.

[renton]

Apparently 125 folk stuck their hands up to be in the fans panel. Can seei it turning out like:

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by renton

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

[Raithie]

34 minutes ago, Raith_Raver said:

The first mistake IMO was getting rid of Keiran McDonald who fitted perfectly with the way we want to play: 

Agree with that, Dick has been a definitely a step down on MacDonald. I don't think it was a case of us getting rid of him. I'm sure we offered him terms but he was making a mint being an engineer by trade so what we were offering in terms of a full time contract would have meant a big reduction in his income. No idea what script was with him then deciding to sign for Hamilton but sure there were terms that would still allow him to do his engineering job on the side. 

[CALDERON]

The decision not to re sign McDonald was only as good as his replacement.  Mcglynn said Dick wasn't his first choice, and I think we can see that.

[basher brash]

Never got the reason to not offer MacDonald a part time contract I’m sure we would have managed one player being part time  because Dick gets dizzy as soon as he hits the half way line and puts Tumilty under more pressure to attack , Not offering Gozie a contract was another failure because you can see how Morton have benefitted from him being fully fit . As someone else has already stated at the start of the season we would have probably taken our current league position / cup run however since Christmas it’s been a huge disappointment with performances and results .

[Raith Against The Machine]

1 hour ago, renton said:

Apparently 125 folk stuck their hands up to be in the fans panel. Can seei it turning out like:

 

"You want a team that plays out from the back but never knocks it across the backline and a team that goes direct but never sends it long to nobody?" 

"And Kieron Bowie should be in it!" 

[Enigma]

2 hours ago, basher brash said:

Never got the reason to not offer MacDonald a part time contract I’m sure we would have managed one player being part time  because Dick gets dizzy as soon as he hits the half way line and puts Tumilty under more pressure to attack , Not offering Gozie a contract was another failure because you can see how Morton have benefitted from him being fully fit . As someone else has already stated at the start of the season we would have probably taken our current league position / cup run however since Christmas it’s been a huge disappointment with performances and results .

I think you end up with a situation where we’d be training in the evenings two days a week, rather than in the mornings, for the benefit of a single player. It messes with the usual pro footballer schedule.

[grumswall]

What would everyone say is our strongest lineup with the players we have? Fit or otherwise. I don't think there will be full agreement on quite a few positions and that will say alot about the squad imo. Decent overall, but without any form of standout.