Raith Rovers Preview, Season 2011-12

Click here or read below for my prediction of how Raith Rovers will compete during the 2011/12 season. It was published in Scotzine. The 64 page magazine can be purchased here for just £1.

1. Who do you think will win the league this season?

Once again, the First Division is likely to be a tightly contested league. Ross County however, have added a number of different options in the summer which should propel their underachieving team into the title race this season. Colin McMenamin will be a welcome addition up front, Rocco Quinn should add some increased trickery in midfield, while Russell Duncan and Grant Munro will bring an abundance of experience required for maintaining a promotion push late in the season.

2. Other than your side, what club will you be watching closely?

It shall be interesting to observe how Dundee perform this season. Despite their twenty-five point deduction last term, the Dens Park side finished sixth and although they have lost Gary Harkins, Craig Forsyth and Leigh Griffiths they could well be an outside bet for the title.

3. Who do you think will be bottom of the league/destined for the drop?

Ayr United will most probably have the tightest budget next season and will be the only part-time club in the First Division, so you would expect the Somerset Park side to prop up the table. The ninth placed play-off position could be held by a number of teams, but whoever occupies it should be able to come out of the play-offs victorious due to their full time status.

4. Where do you think your club will finish in the league?

It is hard to predict where Raith Rovers will finish this season, due to the similar quality of all teams in the league. However, fifteen players left the Kirkcaldy club in the summer and with a limited number of players replacing the departed, I would expect Rovers to finish around mid-table this time around.

5. Who is the club's key player?

There are no stand out players in the Raith squad although experienced defenders Grant Murray and Laurie Ellis will be an important component of Rovers backbone. However, as the phrase goes, goals win games and therefore top striker John Baird will be the go-to guy when the team is struggling.

6. Hopes for the coming season?

This may come across as very defeatist, but staying in business is my main hope for the season. The fairly significant recent budget cuts were an unwelcome surprise and financial stability is paramount if Raith are to be around for the long run. On the pitch, I would hope Raith can be competitive all season and keep away from the bottom half of the table.

7. Fears for the coming season?

As above, I do worry about the finances of the club, but in more pressing terms I do have a slight fear that Raith could find themselves in a relegation battle this season. Losing experienced campaigners such as Mark Campbell, Stephen Simmons and Craig Wilson may just prove a little too much upheaval.

8. Whose player was the biggest waste of money from last season? And where is he now?

Former Kilmarnock striker Gary Wales was brought to Starks Park in November 2010, but would only go on to make seven appearances all season with a measly sum of just sixty-four minutes on the pitch. Wales was never able to get into a rhythm due to persistent injuries and ended up being a burden on the club's tight budget. As far as I know, Wales has been on trial at Queen of the South recently, but it appears unlikely he will be offered a contract by manager Gus McPherson.

9. Other fans think our club is....

Most fans appeared to praise Raith for overachieving last season after finishing second in the First Division, but the unsavoury style of football on show (labelled “hoofball” or “punt it down the channels”) is widely criticised.

10. What opposition player would you want to play for your club?

Dundee centre half Rhys Weston always impresses me when I see him. He is a superb defender for First Division level and it surprises me that he did not move elsewhere in the summer.

11. What opposition player would you love to see fail miserably?

I have no qualms with any player in the First Division although I am sure a few Rovers fans who disliked Simmons would like to see him fail at his new club Queen of the South.

12. Your manager's popularity out of 10 with the fans?

Despite leading Raith within touching distance of the SPL – an unbelievable feat- a minority of Rovers fans still find themselves bewildered by John McGlynn's supposed favouritism towards certain players and stubborn tactics. Therefore his popularity would be somewhere around 9/10.

13. What team would you select for the opening season for your club?

A home game against Dundee or Falkirk would bring a big crowd to Starks Park and thankfully Falkirk will indeed be visiting Kirkcaldy on the opening day of the season.

written by Will Lyon

Dees Do The Double

Click here or read below for my match report of the fixture at Starks Park this evening. It was published on the official Raith Rovers website.

Raith Rovers 1 v 2 Dundee

Dundee battled to a narrow win over Raith Rovers tonight for the second time in as many weeks.

Sean Higgins scored 2 goals for the Dees on either side of half time, while a curling Allan Walker freekick temporarily brought the hosts level for 4 minutes.

Overall, the Starks Park side failed to click while their opponents from over the Tay looked dangerous every time they attacked the table toppers.

Indeed, it was the away side who dominated the first 10 minutes, with playmaker Gary Harkins in deadly form. It was he who broke through the Rovers defence after 5 minutes, threading a neat pass to Craig Forsyth, but the winger's effort was well saved by Rovers goalkeeper Andy McNeil.

Minutes later, Harkins was creating move havoc and would have scored were it not for the diving McNeil just managing to tip his shot wide of the post.

Raith, struggling to get a foothold in the game, had a half chance on the 12^th minute when a long throw was received by Walker, but his 20 yard strike sailed over the bar.

The Kirkcaldy side began to force their way into the game and Dundee failed to threaten again till the 27^th minute. Trialist Craig Robertson ran down the left side of the pitch and crossed in a perfect ball to Higgins, but the 26-year-old almost lackadaisically swung a shot on goal and McNeil was able to gather.

On the half hour mark Harkins was causing trouble again as he drove at the Raith defence and played a through ball to Forsyth who was about to pull the trigger until Mark Campbell made a superb last ditch tackle.

However, in an almost identical move Raith conceded just 1 minute later. This time it was Forsyth who would sprint through the Rovers half crossing a decent ball into the path of Higgins who coolly slotted the ball past McNeil to send the away side a goal to the good at half time.

The second half was started at a frantic pace by Raith, who may have been on the receiving end of a few hastening words from manager John McGlynn at the break. Just moments into the second period, Gregory Tade did well to run through the Dundee defence and one-on-one with goalkeeper Rab Douglas looked set to shoot, but changed his mind and aimed a pass at Walker which was cut off by the ensuing Dees defence.

The home fans' groans turned to cheers on the 50^th minute after Iain Davidson was hauled down just outside the box and Walker stepped up to curl a superb 25 yard freekick into the bottom corner of the goal leaving Douglas helpless and the hosts back on level terms.

Unfortunately for the Starks Park faithful, Rovers were only level for 4 minutes as a Harkins cross was bundled into the net by Higgins for his second goal of the night.

The goal was a huge kick in the teeth for Rovers and were lucky to have 11 men still on the park when Davidson, already on a yellow card, committed a professional foul on the edge of the box, but referee Iain Brines, who took charge of the Old Firm derby on Sunday, decided the challenge was not enough to merit a booking.

The match started to become quite physical with both teams desperate to find another goal. However, it would be the away side who struck next with the chance falling to Stephen O'Donnell. On the 67^th minute O'Donnell received a pass into the box and found himself with just McNeil to beat, but the former Hibee pulled off a spectacular diving save. Thirty seconds later, O'Donnell received the ball again, this time on the edge of the box, but his shot was cleared off the line.

With 20 minutes left on the clock, Raith had Campbell to thank again as he made another goal saving challenge on Harkins. However, the former Blackburn youth continued to carve open opportunities for his side as he combined with Forsyth again, but McNeil made the save.

Iain Williamson, Gary Wales and Graham Weir replaced Stephen Simmons, Scott McBride and John Baird as McGlynn attempted to freshen his team up for a final push to equalise. It almost worked too when a Raith corner was cleared by Dundee only as far as Williamson who looped the ball back over the Dees defence to Weir who smashed the ball at goal, but Douglas spread himself to make a brilliant save.

Campbell, playing as a striker towards the end, had a headed chance in the dying seconds, but was unable to find a way past the dominate Douglas.

This was Dundee's fifth win in a row and their sixteenth league fixture unbeaten which is a phenomenal achievement, but questions will be asked if they can maintain this sort of form to the end of the season with such a small squad of players.

Meanwhile Raith will need to regroup as they have conceded 10 league goals already this calender year compared to the measly 8 they conceded from August till the end of December last year. The team struggled to pass the ball to a blue shirt tonight, but all is not lost as they still sit top of the First Division, three points clear of Dunfermline Athletic, who drew 0-0 away to Ross County.