The New Raith Rovers Thread

[Double Jack D]

No idea how it was handled but looking at the bare economics, I'm kinda on the clubs side with the 200 club thing. I don't think £7 a game is too steep for access to a lounge with Sky TV and free pies at half time.

[CountryBumpkin]

10 hours ago, Zen Archer (Raconteur) said:

This definitely did not happen, the decision was based on a massive hike in fees and unwanted add-ons which was basically a means to get everything to add up to a sum of money the BoD wanted.

There was a vote taken and by a huge majority it was decided to move on.

Regarding the TV situation, not everyone has an interest in the English Championship or Premiership, it's like going for a meal and being made to pay for a starter whether you had one or not.

But most people do.

I've got a membership at a gym which comes with sauna/steam room access as part of the fee. I've no interest in that but its part of what I pay for, even if I don't use it. 

[pub car king]

So what's happening to the club itself. Are they going lock stock and barrel and giving the space back to the club? 

[Specky Ginger]

8 minutes ago, pub car king said:

So what's happening to the club itself. Are they going lock stock and barrel and giving the space back to the club? 

Pretty much.

The club has found alternative pre-match premises.

[CountryBumpkin]

8 minutes ago, Specky Ginger said:

Pretty much.

The club has found alternative pre-match premises.

Does it have Sky TV?

[Raithfan2711]

Isn’t it really close as well? Well done to them for finding a good alternative that meets the price they want to pay, but like others I am on the side of the club with this one. The stadium has limited areas to provide food and drink, has been sold out with hospitality and wants to maximise income. Supporters would be the first to ask questions if we could not compete with others financially at our level to recruit players.

Plenty of options for those who can’t cover the costs as harsh as that may seem.

 

[pub car king]

Potential for the sports bar they wanted to open in the main stand and the Rovers keep 100% of the of the profits. 

[Specky Ginger]

2 hours ago, CountryBumpkin said:

Does it have Sky TV?

Nope 

[AllanJM]

Really enjoyed the Q&A last night.

Some of my takeaways from it:

- The fact that everyone seems open to recruiting players from outside of Scotland would suggest the lack of willingness to do so previously was down to Murray (possibly after the waste of time and energy that was big John).

- Whether people choose to believe it or not, Collins was genuinely our first choice for the job.  Turned it down initially but was then persuaded (more than likely by the offer of a 3 year contract).  Clearly Scott Burns was talking shite when he confidently declared on twitter that Peter Leven was definitely the first choice.  I totally get why some people won't believe a word of it but I'm willing to give Andy Barrowman the benefit of the doubt.

- The club is in a very healthy position financially and the board have plans in place to improve things further.  

- With regards to the Railway Stand, I can only assume the plan would be to knock the whole thing down (i.e. including the bit currently able to be used) and start again.  Sounds like we would've been on course to do it sooner than we now will due to the need to have funds set aside to put in a grass pitch and source a new training ground.

[pub car king]

Just in terms of the railway stand I wonder if they've seen what Ayr did and want a smaller version of that. 

The issue is the railway line has horrendous amounts of restrictions for building or digging anywhere near it. Most of which are resolved by paying them an extortionate fee. 

[CountryBumpkin]

30 minutes ago, AllanJM said:

Really enjoyed the Q&A last night.

Some of my takeaways from it:

- The fact that everyone seems open to recruiting players from outside of Scotland would suggest the lack of willingness to do so previously was down to Murray (possibly after the waste of time and energy that was big John).

- Whether people choose to believe it or not, Collins was genuinely our first choice for the job.  Turned it down initially but was then persuaded (more than likely by the offer of a 3 year contract).  Clearly Scott Burns was talking shite when he confidently declared on twitter that Peter Leven was definitely the first choice.  I totally get why some people won't believe a word of it but I'm willing to give Andy Barrowman the benefit of the doubt.

- The club is in a very healthy position financially and the board have plans in place to improve things further.  

- With regards to the Railway Stand, I can only assume the plan would be to knock the whole thing down (i.e. including the bit currently able to be used) and start again.  Sounds like we would've been on course to do it sooner than we now will due to the need to have funds set aside to put in a grass pitch and source a new training ground.

I think we've probably always been open to recruitment from further afield, but last time we did it we ended up with Connor McBride, Frederiksen and Ryan Nolan (who wasn't all that bad, probably needed more time in the gym)

The Railway Stand is an interesting one. What Ayr have done is probably something we've considered but with the closeness to the railway itself, it restricts what how much we can do. I'd not be adverse to something similar with hospitality boxes, or even safe standing, or a mixture of both. 

[Raithie]

31 minutes ago, pub car king said:

The issue is the railway line has horrendous amounts of restrictions for building or digging anywhere near it. Most of which are resolved by paying them an extortionate fee. 

We're obviously going back many years now but I'm sure I had heard that when it came to redeveloping Starks Park, part of which involved relaying the pitch, it allowed the relevant machinery onto the pitch to do the work on the Railway Stand prior to new pitch going down. If we're ever in a position of needing to revert back to grass then's the time to perhaps think about doing what needs to be done to the railway stand, a pretty penny though on top of a new pitch mind you so maybe a non starter. 

[TxRover]

2 hours ago, AllanJM said:

- The fact that everyone seems open to recruiting players from outside of Scotland would suggest the lack of willingness to do so previously was down to Murray (possibly after the waste of time and energy that was big John).

I didn’t realise the extent of UK players recruited to the U.S. to play college football (soccer). Was in the security line at Heathrow a month ago and chatting with a couple of lads going to the Tulsa area to play football for a college there (Jesus Christ, the culture shock those lads were in for…and the heat), and a nephew was mulling over doing that before Sheffield Wednesday signed him (yes, he’s a striker, and I’ll mention him to Andy B., eh)

2 hours ago, Raithie said:

We're obviously going back many years now but I'm sure I had heard that when it came to redeveloping Starks Park, part of which involved relaying the pitch, it allowed the relevant machinery onto the pitch to do the work on the Railway Stand prior to new pitch going down. If we're ever in a position of needing to revert back to grass then's the time to perhaps think about doing what needs to be done to the railway stand, a pretty penny though on top of a new pitch mind you so maybe a non starter. 

The problem will be the timeline. The new grass pitch will be required to be laid so quickly, unless we ground share (chose a nearby grass stadia with enough capacity and shudder) there wouldn’t be time.

[Beastie Russell]

1 hour ago, TxRover said:

I didn’t realise the extent of UK players recruited to the U.S. to play college football (soccer). Was in the security line at Heathrow a month ago and chatting with a couple of lads going to the Tulsa area to play football for a college there (Jesus Christ, the culture shock those lads were in for…and the heat), and a nephew was mulling over doing that before Sheffield Wednesday signed him (yes, he’s a striker, and I’ll mention him to Andy B., eh)

The problem will be the timeline. The new grass pitch will be required to be laid so quickly, unless we ground share (chose a nearby grass stadia with enough capacity and shudder) there wouldn’t be time.

The cost of kids going even to trials, before they get anywhere near the US  college system is ridiculous.

Looked into if for one of the boys that played in my U17 team and if he was selected for a scholarship he would have shelled out thousands.

I understand it’s a competitive marketplace, but someone is making a good living in the back of kids hopes and dreams 

Edited September 11 by Beastie Russell

[TxRover]

25 minutes ago, Beastie Russell said:

The cost of kids going even to trials, before they get anywhere near the US  college system is ridiculous.

Looked into if for one of the boys that paled in my U17 team and if he was selected for a scholarship he would have shelled out thousands.

I understand it’s a competitive marketplace, but someone is making a good living in the back of kids hopes and dreams 

Surely, but it also means there’s a solid phalanx of UK players in the U.S., likely graduating but not having an immediate place to play, ripe for spotting by people Neill might know…just saying, it might be an interesting niche.

[Beachbum]

 

[Been going too long]

2 hours ago, Beastie Russell said:

The cost of kids going even to trials, before they get anywhere near the US  college system is ridiculous.

Looked into if for one of the boys that played in my U17 team and if he was selected for a scholarship he would have shelled out thousands.

I understand it’s a competitive marketplace, but someone is making a good living in the back of kids hopes and dreams 

There is a lot of money to be made in football on many levels 

[Been going too long]

1 hour ago, TxRover said:

Surely, but it also means there’s a solid phalanx of UK players in the U.S., likely graduating but not having an immediate place to play, ripe for spotting by people Neill might know…just saying, it might be an interesting niche.

@TxRover if you have a bit of free time  think you should be our man in the USA

[TxRover]

2 minutes ago, Been going too long said:

@TxRover if you have a bit of free time  think you should be our man in the USA

Eh, everyone would be worried I’d be pushing young kids on the team.

[DaveT]