The New Raith Rovers Thread

[CrossgatesCynic]

Think Cairns does a great job. There’s been a lot of Courier coverage of Dunfermline this season but it’s fairly obvious why. He’s then spread that wee bit further with some Kelty coverage now & again.

Over the piece, he gives the Rovers a fair crack of the whip.

[Double Jack D]

I wouldn't be surprised if Adult Season tickets went up £20 or so. The key for me getting one will be the cost of getting the kids season tickets. 

The club simply has to keep the kids tickets as cheap as possible. One thing that has been hugely encouraging recently is the age demograph of our support. There are literally hundreds of kids every weekend wearing Rovers colours for the community club and wearing them with pride. 

These are the supporters and custodians of the club in the future and the club should be doing all it can to ensure as many under 12s as possible in the Kirkcaldy area have a Rovers season ticket. Short Term this may get a few more adults in but longer term it builds the fan base of the future.

[Raith69]

As I have mentioned in the Ayr match thread, gaffer saying we only have 12 outfield players available for this weekend currently.

This season has been a total farce.

[SirJimmyofNic]

1 hour ago, Raith69 said:

As I have mentioned in the Ayr match thread, gaffer saying we only have 12 outfield players available for this weekend currently.

This season has been a total farce.

Nae worries, at least we've got a keeper this time

[Ro Sham Bo]

1 hour ago, Raith69 said:

As I have mentioned in the Ayr match thread, gaffer saying we only have 12 outfield players available for this weekend currently.

This season has been a total farce.

It's the fact that it's not even close to being a one off occurrence. I look at the team sheet before a match these days and it's a pleasant surprise if we've got more than 4 subs, made worse by the fact that a couple of them are usually Young and Masson. 

[Michael W]

1 hour ago, SirJimmyofNic said:

Nae worries, at least we've got a keeper this time

Yeah, but we might need him to play outfield. 

[Scary Bear]

On 25/04/2023 at 16:31, TxRover said:

True, but with energy costs moderating now, I just feel most clubs will probably feel it’s not the time to try to grab an extra £25-50 for a season ticket. To a great extent, they are also hostage to the £20 barrier. Teams with tickets at or below £20 will be loathe to increase above that magic threshold.

As such, season tickets are effectively capped around £320, or the cost of 16 games for 18 games. Now, adding value via discounts or additional admissions gives some flexibility, but here’s the one depressing thought…once it breaks £20/per, the next level of resistance is £25.

If you’re going by energy costs, the season tickets should now cost around £800. If they are moderating, that moderation hasn’t been passed on to customers yet.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Scary Bear

[Specky Ginger]

Given that it's been £20 walk up and £300 for an adult season ticket for the last couple of seasons, I wouldn't be surprised if it goes up to £22 walk up and £330 season ticket (given season tickets are normally priced equivalent to attending 15 league games).

The psychological thing about breaking the £20 barrier won't count for so much nowadays given the high percentage of people who pay by card rather than cash.

 

[Rover1990]

FFP interview with Lang saying he is still in talks over a new deal and enjoys being here.  Hopefully we can convince him to give us another season.

[CountryBumpkin]

8 minutes ago, Rover1990 said:

FFP interview with Lang saying he is still in talks over a new deal and enjoys being here.  Hopefully we can convince him to give us another season.

And subsequently convince him that trying to win every ball is not always the right option. Maybe he'll lunge through people and dive into tackles less that way. On his day, he can be good, but he's rash and its costs us.

[CrossgatesCynic]

Lang being open to signing a new deal is a positive but I’d hope the club aren’t rushing to offer him improved terms to any significant degree.

A massive bit of this is going to hinge upon whether Murray feels he can realistically bring in other bodies at centre half to replace him. There are players out there but whether the club can afford them or not is another question entirely.

[Raith Against The Machine]

I think this criticism of Lang's rashness is a bit of recency bias. It's undoubtedly there, and came to the fore recently, but there were months of this season where he was pretty imperious. 

You can't overhaul the squad every season. There needs to be stability and consistency, particularly in a defence. If you're not trying to keep guys like Tom Lang - who's a very good Championship centre half, at a good age - who are you trying to keep? 

We've spent large parts of this season struggling to field two centre halfs, let alone two good ones. Are we really going to go and bring in two or three central defenders from elsewhere who are better than Lang? I seriously doubt it. 

[TxRover]

4 hours ago, Specky Ginger said:

Given that it's been £20 walk up and £300 for an adult season ticket for the last couple of seasons, I wouldn't be surprised if it goes up to £22 walk up and £330 season ticket (given season tickets are normally priced equivalent to attending 15 league games).

The psychological thing about breaking the £20 barrier won't count for so much nowadays given the high percentage of people who pay by card rather than cash.

 

Both £300 and £20 are classic “barrier” points, and even with card usage, people “see” the underlying number. It is likely that any increase above £20.99 per would slightly reduce PATG, especially anything over one person because of the multiples of a number making the extra charge more visible. People are weird, in single purchases, £21 vs £25 causes less loss than four time the loss of £20 vs £21…if I remember correctly, it’s usually only about two times the loss from the £1 change to £21 for the £4 change from £21 to £25. The multiple thing is a bit different, with groups seeing £88 for four tickets vs £80 as a 10% increase easily versus £22 vs £20 not being immediately recognized as the same.

Given the season we had, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they move heaven and earth to try to keep £20 and creep the season ticket to £315-320. However, with the Pars back, and possibly Falkirk, they might as well bump it now. The smart move would probably be, like you say, £22 (or £22.50) but then around £325 (another mental “point”) rather than £335 (the natural 15x rounded down). Using non-rounded/additional pence pricing is easier with cards if they want to play the £0.99 game, but that would really need no cash gates.

[SirJimmyofNic]

2 hours ago, Rover1990 said:

FFP interview with Lang saying he is still in talks over a new deal and enjoys being here.  Hopefully we can convince him to give us another season.

I'd like to think he'll give us another year or two considering the time he's had out and the cost of his op and rehabilitation 

[CountryBumpkin]

1 hour ago, Raith Against The Machine said:

I think this criticism of Lang's rashness is a bit of recency bias. It's undoubtedly there, and came to the fore recently, but there were months of this season where he was pretty imperious. 

You can't overhaul the squad every season. There needs to be stability and consistency, particularly in a defence. If you're not trying to keep guys like Tom Lang - who's a very good Championship centre half, at a good age - who are you trying to keep? 

We've spent large parts of this season struggling to field two centre halfs, let alone two good ones. Are we really going to go and bring in two or three central defenders from elsewhere who are better than Lang? I seriously doubt it. 

I think he's always been a bit rash, hes the sort of defender that always wants to win the ball, regardless of consequence. I don't think we should be getting rid of him, but it has to be something that is trained out of his game. I think Lang would benefit from not being the leader at the back. Berra would have been great for him had he remained. 

[TxRover]

35 minutes ago, SirJimmyofNic said:

I'd like to think he'll give us another year or two considering the time he's had out and the cost of his op and rehabilitation 

Plenty of commentators here don’t seem to want him to stay. Assuming his contract is reasonable for this level, I’d prefer we keep him and Nolan(ditto on contract demands)…which doesn’t stop us looking for a third experienced CB to join Masson (come on, IM, sign the lad) as our core 4 CB’s. I think 4 CB is probably the sweet spot for us, although 5 would be tolerable as Masson has shown the ability to play RB as well.

That being said, unless IM expands his small core team vision as a result of this year, I would guess the squad will be:

3 GK, 4 CB, 3 FB, 3 DM, 6 M/AM/W, 3 ST/FW, plus 2-5 additional signings, heavily weighted toward young developmental players (Modern Apprentices if we don’t reform a youth team).

[Raithie]

46 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Plenty of commentators here don’t seem to want him to stay. Assuming his contract is reasonable for this level, I’d prefer we keep him and Nolan(ditto on contract demands)…which doesn’t stop us looking for a third experienced CB to join Masson (come on, IM, sign the lad) as our core 4 CB’s. I think 4 CB is probably the sweet spot for us, although 5 would be tolerable as Masson has shown the ability to play RB as well.

That being said, unless IM expands his small core team vision as a result of this year, I would guess the squad will be:

3 GK, 4 CB, 3 FB, 3 DM, 6 M/AM/W, 3 ST/FW, plus 2-5 additional signings, heavily weighted toward young developmental players (Modern Apprentices if we don’t reform a youth team).

If we're running at further player budget cuts and looking for 'young' players then, assuming Lang, Nolan and Masson extend their contracts, then that might be it at the back. Murray will know he's got Brown and/or Dick (are they signed up?) that can cover CB if need be - not that I'm in favour of that but wouldn't surprise me.

[TxRover]

13 minutes ago, Raithie said:

If we're running at further player budget cuts and looking for 'young' players then, assuming Lang, Nolan and Masson extend their contracts, then that might be it at the back. Murray will know he's got Brown and/or Dick (are they signed up?) that can cover CB if need be - not that I'm in favour of that but wouldn't surprise me.

I know…Brown is signed, that’s it. Masson is on an expiring MA contract, like Mitchell and Young. Lang, Nolan and Dick are out of contract.

My thoughts: Masson will be cheap (like Mitchell and Young). Nolan shouldn’t be massively costly, unless someone else has decided to feel him out, and might feel like he owes us another year for us helping him (I could see any of several teams liking him as a second or third CB). Lang is going to be costly, as is Dick…both are veteran players who could start at probably at least five or six of the ten Championship teams.

My expectaion: Our CB stable will be Masson, Nolan, and one of Dick and Lang, plus a new signing or two. If Dick leaves, Lang gets signed, if Lang leaves, Dick gets signed and converted; either way, Young gets signed and allowed to try to hold the LB spot (unless IM has a pet lower level LB to bring in to compete).

[CrossgatesCynic]

Having Lang & Nolan signed up to new deals would suit me just fine. As I’ve said, I just wouldn’t be in a rush to throw significantly more money at them (Lang being the one in question).

On the assumption that the playing budget is being restricted for next season, I definitely still feel getting a proper centre forward in is a priority, with a preference for getting in a bit more grit into the defensive side of midfield too.

[CountryBumpkin]

4 minutes ago, TxRover said:

I know…Brown is signed, that’s it. Masson is on an expiring MA contract, like Mitchell and Young. Lang, Nolan and Dick are out of contract.

My thoughts: Masson will be cheap (like Mitchell and Young). Nolan shouldn’t be massively costly, unless someone else has decided to feel him out, and might feel like he owes us another year for us helping him (I could see any of several teams liking him as a second or third CB). Lang is going to be costly, as is Dick…both are veteran players who could start at probably at least five or six of the ten Championship teams.

My expectaion: Our CB stable will be Masson, Nolan, and one of Dick and Lang, plus a new signing or two. If Dick leaves, Lang gets signed, if Lang leaves, Dick gets signed and converted; either way, Young gets signed and allowed to try to hold the LB spot (unless IM has a pet lower level LB to bring in to compete).

Nolan is currently being paid and accommodated by the club, last I heard anyway, i'm sure he was being put up at the Strathearn Hotel. Renewed terms would need to take that into account or a likely wage increase to support private accommodation.