The New Raith Rovers Thread

[Hank Scorpio]

That was a terrible first half last night, followed by a pretty reasonable second half. I thought the switch to 3-5-2 really worked in an attacking sense but we still looked very suspect down the flanks whilst defending. I always try to separate the performance from the result and not just think everything was good because we won - or bad because we got beat - and being completely honestly we could’ve had zero complaints had Inverness run out winners. Three attempts off the woodwork and a few wonder saves from Kev gives us the win.

Games like last night are why it’s difficult to really complain too much about finishing 2nd. Yes it’s very easy to look at the games v Arbroath and wonder “what if?”, but for every defeat snatched from the jaws of victory we probs let have at least 2 reverses of that where we’ve nicked it without fully deserving it. I think 2nd is probably the right position for us based on the evidence over a whole season. 
 

Still proud of the resilience shown by the squad and it’s another result up in Inverness which, for a long time, many of us thought we’d never see. Fully expect Dundee Utd to piss on Ayr from a great height this afternoon and kill it. 
 

Performances from last night which I thought were noteworthy:

Kev’s performance is as good from any goalkeeper I’ve seen this season. Sensational stops at vital times. 10/10

Dylan Corr did well in basic defending but looked shaky on the ball. I said earlier in the season on the podcast that I think he’s got a lot of the raw attributes to be a very good player but needed game time. I probably still stand by that, but he’s not had the game time to develop. Imagine he will drop into League 1 next season and have a good year. 
 

Liam Dick has had a good season at left back. Dependable and solid. Just wish he could get forward more and provide us with the width we sorely lack from that area. 
 

Vaughan’s finish was a touch of class. Murray hit the nail on the head in his post match when he said that so many other players would look to blast that with their left foot but he’s got the game intelligence to know where the keeper is and goes with the deft right foot no look caress finish into the far corner.  
 

In terms of next season, I don’t want to get too bogged down into who stays and who goes because we’ve a big next month or so to come, but I don’t think a refresh of the forward line would be much of a bad thing. The issue is that the majority of them are signed up for the next season at least. Wouldn’t have any objections to Chalmers to our squad, I’m just not sure that we have the squad space to accommodate him plus all of the current forward options we posses. 

[Arab_R_us]

55 minutes ago, CountryBumpkin said:

Another 3 points that Kev has won for us, some saves last night. Lucky to win but keeps United waiting for another week.

better for you if we win today. if you go into the last 2 games with hope of still winning it I firmly believe you have a greater chance of becoming unstuck in the playoffs.

[TxRover]

14 minutes ago, Arab_R_us said:

better for you if we win today. if you go into the last 2 games with hope of still winning it I firmly believe you have a greater chance of becoming unstuck in the playoffs.

Nah, more fun to watch you lots bums pucker if you lose or draw.

[Arab_R_us]

Just now, TxRover said:

Nah, more fun to watch you lots bums pucker if you lose or draw.

more fun to fail in the playoffs? ok

[TxRover]

Just now, Arab_R_us said:

more fun to fail in the playoffs? ok

[raith1974]

Would love us to try and sign both ICT fullbacks. Harper and Kerr both looked impressive.

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

5 hours ago, Butters Scotch said:

Raith must of have had one of the luckiest seasons of any team I've seen, can't believe you got away with another win tonight. You guys shouldn't be anywhere close to us considering the resources of the teams. Fair play with keeping up however 

Our luck ran out after taking 7 points off the Arabs.

[Specky Ginger]

5 hours ago, Butters Scotch said:

Raith must of have had one of the luckiest seasons of any team I've seen, can't believe you got away with another win tonight. You guys shouldn't be anywhere close to us considering the resources of the teams. Fair play with keeping up however 

I didn't think the game was too dissimilar to the last time United were up there.

Inverness threw most of the punches, but failed to land, then were undone by the one genuine moment of quality in the game.

[SerieA]

We have totally lost our way-especially going forward. Nothing in the wide areas apart from Eastons trickery now and again. Our fullbacks are like a shopping trolley that gets to that point at a supermarket where the wheels don’t work when they get to the halfway line. Our midfield seem to go AWOL at times. Stanton not the same player since coming back.

Saying that we somehow got the 3 points last night mainly down to Kev.I took a bit o stick earlier on in the season when I said he would become our best keeper in recent years.

Thought Corr played well after a shaky first 15 mins or so-chuffed for him.

Vaughan needs to be the main man in the forward area in the last 2 games and thereafter into the playoffs-likely beside Hamilton.

 

[McGuigan1978]

Definitely don't disagree that Dylan Corr could end up being a decent player in time, but I thought he was pretty shaky for a lot longer than 15 minutes, although I do think he settled down the longer the second half went on and had a really good headed clearance towards the end. Up until that point, I thought his decision making was wild, and distribution was wayward. 

The difference in quality from the Lowland League to the Championship is absolutely massive, and has to be tough to bridge for any player, never mind an inexperienced one, but I do think there's something there with him. Based on last night though, I can see why Scott Brown has been preferred in there all season, as right now he's a better option. 

That said, he was still considerably better than Zak Rudden, who is absolutely infuriating. I thought his first few games were pretty encouraging, but I can't remember the last time he done a single thing right for us.

You basically surrender having any possession in the final third when he comes on, as he positions himself behind the centre half, so never wins any clearances, and even when a pass does find him, his first touch is astonishingly bad. He's the worst possible player to bring on when you're holding on to a lead. 

I'd seen it mentioned online that it felt inevitable that Duncan Ferguson would find a result that all but won the title for his former side on (almost) the 30th anniversary of his headbutt on John McStay, so it's very, very funny to win 1-0 in that manner when Inverness are struggling to stay up. 

Ferguson comes across as a bit of an oddball, and I suspect he's probably a terrible football manager, so fair play to Inverness for giving him a three year deal. Another Scott Gardiner masterstroke. 

Edited April 20 by McGuigan1978

[CountryBumpkin]

33 minutes ago, SerieA said:

We have totally lost our way-especially going forward. Nothing in the wide areas apart from Eastons trickery now and again. Our fullbacks are like a shopping trolley that gets to that point at a supermarket where the wheels don’t work when they get to the halfway line. Our midfield seem to go AWOL at times. Stanton not the same player since coming back.

Our fullbacks this season have never been ones to get forward often, mostly because we had 1 midfielder and they were kept back to cover. That said, we do miss the crossing ability from Millen, that has to be addressed in the summer.

Our midfield has been non-existant most of the season, we've seen numerous times that teams will just get so much space in the middle of the park as Byrne/Brown are isolated and its a free run on the defence, you'd hope that Murray, as a self-confessed Arsenal fan would take a few pages from Artetas book and make midfield the main focus of our gameplan. 

Stanton is playing a bit deeper now, as a result of our change since January, it shows in his final third contributions.

40 minutes ago, SerieA said:

Saying that we somehow got the 3 points last night mainly down to Kev.I took a bit o stick earlier on in the season when I said he would become our best keeper in recent years.

Was outstanding last night. I know a few have been on his back costing us goals on occasions, but his points gained vs lost stats are only swinging one way and thats part of why we're where we are. 

14 minutes ago, McGuigan1978 said:

That said, he was still considerably better than Zak Rudden, who is absolutely infuriating. I thought his first few games for us was pretty encouraging, but I can't remember the last time he done a single thing right for us.

You basically surrender having any possession in the final third when he comes on, as he positions himself behind the centre half, so never wins any clearances, and even when a pass does find him, his first touch is astonishingly bad. He's the worst possible player to bring on when you're holding on to a lead. 

Fair summary of Rudden. He's just chaos and little else. Every touch is a lottery, probably a worse first touch than Callum Smith. The good thing is, Smith has the ability to make up for that deficiency.

[SerieA]

24 minutes ago, McGuigan1978 said:

Definitely don't disagree that Dylan Corr could end being a decent player in time, but I thought he was pretty shaky for a lot longer than 15 minutes, although I do think he settled down the longer the second half went on and had a really good headed clearance towards the end. Up until that point, I thought his decision making was wild, and distribution was wayward. 

The difference in quality from the Lowland League to the Championship is absolutely massive, and has to be tough to bridge for any player, never mind an inexperienced one, but I do think there's something there with him. Based on last night though, I can see why Scott Brown has been preferred in there all season, as right now he's a better option. 

That said, he was still considerably better than Zak Rudden, who is absolutely infuriating. I thought his first few games for us was pretty encouraging, but I can't remember the last time he done a single thing right for us.

You basically surrender having any possession in the final third when he comes on, as he positions himself behind the centre half, so never wins any clearances, and even when a pass does find him, his first touch is astonishingly bad. He's the worst possible player to bring on when you're holding on to a lead. 

I'd seen it mentioned online that it felt inevitable that Duncan Ferguson would find a result that all but won the title for his former side on (almost) the 30th anniversary of his headbutt on John McStay, so it's very, very funny to win 1-0 in that manner when Inverness are struggling to stay up. 

Ferguson comes across as a bit of an oddball, and I suspect he's probably a terrible football manager, so fair play to Inverness for giving him a three year deal. Another Scott Gardiner masterstroke. 

Agree with Corr.I was being kind with the shaky for 15 minutes or so comment.

Spot on with Rudden as well.I would rather see Smith playing up top, especially late on in games

[Jilted John]

24 minutes ago, McGuigan1978 said:

Definitely don't disagree that Dylan Corr could end being a decent player in time, but I thought he was pretty shaky for a lot longer than 15 minutes, although I do think he settled down the longer the second half went on and had a really good headed clearance towards the end. Up until that point, I thought his decision making was wild, and distribution was wayward. 

The difference in quality from the Lowland League to the Championship is absolutely massive, and has to be tough to bridge for any player, never mind an inexperienced one, but I do think there's something there with him. Based on last night though, I can see why Scott Brown has been preferred in there all season, as right now he's a better option. 

That said, he was still considerably better than Zak Rudden, who is absolutely infuriating. I thought his first few games for us was pretty encouraging, but I can't remember the last time he done a single thing right for us.

You basically surrender having any possession in the final third when he comes on, as he positions himself behind the centre half, so never wins any clearances, and even when a pass does find him, his first touch is astonishingly bad. He's the worst possible player to bring on when you're holding on to a lead. 

I'd seen it mentioned online that it felt inevitable that Duncan Ferguson would find a result that all but won the title for his former side on (almost) the 30th anniversary of his headbutt on John McStay, so it's very, very funny to win 1-0 in that manner when Inverness are struggling to stay up. 

Ferguson comes across as a bit of an oddball, and I suspect he's probably a terrible football manager, so fair play to Inverness for giving him a three year deal. Another Scott Gardiner masterstroke. 

I agree with all of that. Corr looked very nervous which is completely understandable and he struggled with  Samuel’s physicality… again understandable when you consider he got 3 last time he played against us. I’d like to see us give him more minutes in the next couple of games to see whether he’s a realistic option in the playoffs should we need to use him.

Rudden is a complete haddie. Can’t hold the ball up at all. We really need to get Hamilton back in form.

[TxRover]

And now we, if I understand the regulations correctly, get Hannah and Masson back for at least the last two matches. Will Hannah get a sniff to allow Dick a rest and IM a chance to see him in action? How about Masson, who is out of contract once again?

[SanStarko]

Thought it was interesting in Murray's post match interview he mentions hoping to give Corr more time next season.  Pretty sure Corr only signed a one year deal so wonder if there's been some discussions about keeping him on to see how he progresses.

[SerieA]

46 minutes ago, TxRover said:

And now we, if I understand the regulations correctly, get Hannah and Masson back for at least the last two matches. Will Hannah get a sniff to allow Dick a rest and IM a chance to see him in action? How about Masson, who is out of contract once again?

If we do play a back 3 at some stage in next 2 games I would like to see Hannah play left wing back.Smith, maybe McGill are the only other 2 that can play there.What I’ve seen and heard about Hannah I think he would be perfect in that position.

[FitbaSupporter]

The way we sit off teams in midfield and let them advance with very little pressure isn’t good for the heart, especially when we’re trying to hold onto a lead. 

main take from last night is that we’re far more threatening with Vaughan and Easton in there. Dylan can be infuriating wasteful but when he twists and turns he scares the shit out of opposition teams. The Play offs will be very tight and could come down to a moment of quality. We’re far more likely to get that with Easton and Vaughan on the pitch. 

[SirJimmyofNic]

33 minutes ago, SanStarko said:

Thought it was interesting in Murray's post match interview he mentions hoping to give Corr more time next season.  Pretty sure Corr only signed a one year deal so wonder if there's been some discussions about keeping him on to see how he progresses.

I certainly hope he does get a new deal, as there is definitely a very good player in there that needs to be brought out with game time, but Corr himself may feel he needs to go elswhere to get that game time 

[SirJimmyofNic]

That's Ayr down to 10 men now

[CountryBumpkin]

It seems that Partick have no problem in getting goals against Airdrie. 3-0 up. 10 man Ayr still holding Dundee United too.