The New Raith Rovers Thread

[GOURDiiEE]

I'd have had Dargo in there before Pereira.

.... and as sterling a servant as he's been we can surely do better than Davidson for central midfield over the course of the whole ten bloody years! hell, I'd have Stevie Tosh in there. Sure it was only a wee bit of 2000 he was with us, but he bloody class, even if we all hated his guts.

What about Craig Stanley or Richard Brittain or Darren Brady?

[renton]

What about Craig Stanley or Richard Brittain or Darren Brady?

Stanley and Brittain weren't really around that long and weren't that special for us as I blearily recall. Unlike Raith94, I didn't really rate Brady... having said all that thy are probably better than Davo but Tosh was with us longer, was in a better quality of team at the time and generally looked the part.

[Michael W]

The keeper and defence seems fine to me, but the midfield is a complete mess: Nacho Novo wasn't a left-sided player, and Wilfred Nanou was a centre-midfielder (and wasn't even all that good. I seem to remember him spending a fair bit of time on the bench under Calderon in the Second). Paquito is deserving of his place, but Iain Davidson? Tosh and Burns are pretty glaring omissions from that midfield.

The strikers were always going to be tough to choose from, but I'm surprised neither Sutton, nor Dargo made it in there. Smith scored a lot of goals for us in the second, but Sutton was probably better overall. Likewise, I rated Perreria highly, but Dargo was fantastic in his time at Starks.

[Paco]

.... and as sterling a servant as he's been we can surely do better than Davidson for central midfield over the course of the whole ten bloody years!

We could do better picking only from the current squad! He's played a lot of his time here at centre back as well. Probably in simply for length of service though.

As for replacing Davidson, I always liked Darren Brady.

There I said it.

Ooh, controversial. He was OK.. at times.

[renton]

We could do better picking only from the current squad! He's played a lot of his time here at centre back as well. Probably in simply for length of service though.

Ooh, controversial. He was OK.. at times.

If you really want to get controversial, go for the karate kid par excellence, the man who makes davo look like a meek kitten: Jean Phillipe Javary!

[Michael W]

If you really want to get controversial, go for the karate kid par excellence, the man who makes davo look like a meek kitten: Jean Phillipe Javary!

On a similar vein, how about Sacha Opinel?

I'm sure I can remember his name coming up on Soccer Saturday, accompanied with 'off' and 'serious foul play' on several occasions in the not too distant past.

[renton]

On a similar vein, how about Sacha Opinel?

I'm sure I can remember his name coming up on Soccer Saturday, accompanied with 'off' and 'serious foul play' on several occasions in the not too distant past.

Opinel was a left back wasn't he, Javary was a midfielder, in the respect of someone replacing Davidson, man for man if you like, then psycho French boy would be it (actually it wasn't clear out of Javary and Sacha the Slasher who was the bigger nutcase, but there you go). fact is, there is no bloody way Davidson would be in a team of the decade, bearing in mind, we've gone through a barrowload of players these past few years.

... as for Nanou, Agathe was a right winger as well.

Edited January 7, 2010 by renton

[Michael W]

Opinel was a left back wasn't he, Javary was a midfieder, in the respect of someone replacing Davidson, man for man if you like, then psycho French boy would be it (actually it wasn't clear out of Javary and Sacha the Slasher who was the bigger nutcase, but there you go). fact is, ther eis no bloody way Davidson would be in a team of the decade, bearing in mind, we've gone through a barrowload of players these past few years.

I've no idea, all I remember from him was that he was always liable to get himself sent off.

I'm not arguing about Davidson's merits, don't get me wrong! I think I've made it pretty clear by now that I seriously don't rate him.

Edit: Yeah, I agree about Agathe. I cheated and slotted him in at RB in my own team of the decade, since that's where he played most of the time when he was at Celtic. Cracking player.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Michael W

[DanElderRRFC]

I agree with the team.

People saying Dargo should be in it, remember he only played a few games for us in the year 2000 due to injury before leaving for Kilmarnock that summer, so it wouldn't really be fair to include him in the team of the decade.

And I would say Davo fully merits his place as well. He's been a first team regular at Starks Park for 6 years, and usually puts in a good shift wherever he's asked to play.

What about Craig Stanley or Richard Brittain or Darren Brady?

Craig Stanley was only with us on loan for about 6 months, and wasn't anything special. And Brittain wasn't great with us either. Darren Brady was awful in my opinion.

Nacho Novo wasn't a left-sided player, and Wilfred Nanou was a centre-midfielder (and wasn't even all that good. I seem to remember him spending a fair bit of time on the bench under Calderon in the Second).

I know it isn't clear in the paper, but the teams actually meant to be a 4-3-3. So Nanou would be a bit more central and Novo would be up top.

I would maybe agree with John Sutton being in there though, he was immense for us. But Smithy's goals basically won us the second division, so I think he probably deserves his place.

[Michael W]

Yeah, that would work in a 4-3-3, fair enough. I'd still replace Davidson and probably Nanou, though, but the formation and positioning are fine.

I can accept the argument about the length of time being used as a factor in eliminating players. It depends what you're looking for: ability or sustained performance over a period of time. On the whole, I'd tend to go for ability.

Despite some very, very poor seasons, we actually had some very good players in the last decade. It's just a pity we couldn't have had 6 or 7 of them together in the same team.

[philpy]

Any thoughts for the transfer window anyone? i think ferry will be offski, which would be pretty shite, unless mgGlynn has issues with him it would be daft, he's scored a few vital goals for us, injury time winner against arbroath, and a derby winner against the methil hoors being the best. Could see weir leaving too, but cant remember if he is still on a 2-year contract?

[Raith Against The Machine]

Any thoughts for the transfer window anyone? i think ferry will be offski, which would be pretty shite, unless mgGlynn has issues with him it would be daft, he's scored a few vital goals for us, injury time winner against arbroath, and a derby winner against the methil hoors being the best. Could see weir leaving too, but cant remember if he is still on a 2-year contract?

If someone is willing to take on Ferry's contract, we'd probably be as well letting him go. He doesn't play enough to justify keeping him, if there's interest. Looking at the amount of time he plays, his place could be taken by an Under 19, given that it's just 15 minutes at the end of the odd game. Maybe not quite as effective on the park, but definitely more cost-effective.

[Broken Algorithms]

Any thoughts for the transfer window anyone? i think ferry will be offski, which would be pretty shite, unless mgGlynn has issues with him it would be daft, he's scored a few vital goals for us, injury time winner against arbroath, and a derby winner against the methil hoors being the best. Could see weir leaving too, but cant remember if he is still on a 2-year contract?

Ferry deserves a chance to stay I reckon. Last year he got a bit of stick when in reality he was a decent player for us. As well as the goals above he scored the beauty against Morton at Starks this season. As for Weiry, I think his last performances were an improvement but he really needs to justify why he should be playing at this level with further improvements.

[Paco]

To be honest, although I genuinely do like Ferry, I think his continued absence from the starting line-up has made him a better player in the minds of some than he actually is. His form was very patchy last season, although he took far more stick than he deserved. He's probably not good enough for the First Division, despite his normally good showings from the bench, and I think it's pretty clear John McGlynn feels the same way. I highly doubt he'd have been kept on had he not been on a two-year deal - Allan Walker was probably in the same situation, but he's been mostly good for us so far.

I do like him, and it was exceptionally harsh on him not to get a start when we had all those injuries a couple of months ago, but he probably isn't quite good enough for this level. Would be more than happy to see him stay on should we end up collapsing and getting relegated though.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Paco

[renton]

Yeah, that would work in a 4-3-3, fair enough. I'd still replace Davidson and probably Nanou, though, but the formation and positioning are fine.

I can accept the argument about the length of time being used as a factor in eliminating players. It depends what you're looking for: ability or sustained performance over a period of time. On the whole, I'd tend to go for ability.

Despite some very, very poor seasons, we actually had some very good players in the last decade. It's just a pity we couldn't have had 6 or 7 of them together in the same team.

Well, that's just it. It's been quite a fallow decade to be honest. Sure you have the two second division winning teams, and on sheer falir and ability Calderon's is the better of the two. However, at the start of the decade you have McVeigh/Hetherston's team which tends to distort everything that comes after. It's impossible to judge guys from the last couple of years fairly against a team of the calibre of the 99/00 season, no matter how few games they had pushing them into qualification.

The drop since then has been breathtaking....

Edited January 8, 2010 by renton

[Hank Scorpio]

Iain Davidson in the best team over ten years? You're having a fucking laugh.

[raith_94]

I'd imagine his being from Kirkcaldy may have assisted Mr Elder's decision in putting him in.

A great servant mind you.

[donny86]

I'd imagine his being from Kirkcaldy may have assisted Mr Elder's decision in putting him in.

A great servant mind you.

I'd imagine him being best o' neeburs with him would influence it too

[AllanJM]

I would definitely have Dargo in there ahead of Pereira, if only for that goal at East End Park in 2000.

I really rated Nanou and would love a player like him back in the team.

As much as Davidson has been a "great servant" I don think he is one of the best midfielders we've had in the last 10 years. I'd probably move Calderon into midfield and play Stanic at LB.

[renton]

I would definitely have Dargo in there ahead of Pereira, if only for that goal at East End Park in 2000.

I really rated Nanou and would love a player like him back in the team.

As much as Davidson has been a "great servant" I don think he is one of the best midfielders we've had in the last 10 years. I'd probably move Calderon into midfield and play Stanic at LB.

Ah c'mon, stick in Sacha the Slasher!