Fans In Focus
I'm Will Lyon and I live in Dalgety Bay. I have just finished a four year history degree at the University of Edinburgh and will be missing the first half of this season to train as a reporter at the Press Association in Newcastle. Away from Starks Park I keep myself involved with other sports, but due to my lack of sporting talent I tend to watch, read and write about it instead!I was bought a Raith shirt shortly after they won the League Cup in 1994, but didn't take much notice of them at the time as I was only five years old. Although I was living in Jersey at the time, I started following Rovers in 2001 after I was brought to a pre-season friendly while on holiday. My first full season watching Raith was the 2007/8 campaign when they were knocked out of the playoffs by Airdrie United after a few goalkeeping errors in the first leg.
Laurie Ellis is my favourite Rovers player at the moment. He is always dependable, organises the defence well and has been a fine servant to the club in his three spells. The goal he scored against Dundee in the Scottish Cup semi final in 2010 was something special and the celebration, with his arms aloft, was just as brilliant.
Robert Sloan may not have been the fastest player in the world, but I like a player with a cultured left foot and Sloan's was probably the best in the Second Division. He was a calming influence on a team which had a tendency of thumping the ball up the pitch, but my overriding memory of him would be the fantastic set piece ability he had. The freekick he scored against Brechin City in the climax of the 2008/9 season will live long in the memory.
The 2-2 draw against Dunfermline last November was a classic, but the aforementioned 2-1 Scottish Cup semi final win over Dundee is the best game I've ever attended. The feeling of being two goals up after just ten minutes and then walking out of Dens Park, knowing you would be going to Hampden to watch Raith play for a place in a national final against a team other than Queens Park, was just incredible.
A very unoriginal choice, but it has to be Lionel Messi. His goal against Real Madrid in last season's Champions League semi final summed up the qualities he possesses. He has pace, balance, control, composure and a superb first touch.
I am not expecting another title challenge this season, but I would expect Rovers to steer clear of relegation and if I had to pick a position, I would say seventh. I think that Ayr United, Morton and Livingston all have a weaker starting eleven than Raith, but a lot could rest on injuries and suspensions picked up along the season.
