'We weren't told dad was on death pathway'

Click here (Daily Mail version) or here (Mail Online version) to read my story about Arthur Oszek who was put on the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway without permission from himself or his family.

Kiddie crooks aged 3

Click here to read a story I wrote about kids as young as three, who have been caught committing crimes. It was published in the Daily Record.

Terrace Travels 2011-12 #4

Click here or read below for my Terrace Travels report of the recent fixture between Raith Rovers and Greenock Morton. It was published on The Terrace. 

Raith Rovers 1 v 1 Greenock Morton

Raith Rovers found themselves embroiled in a bitter title challenge with neighbours Dunfermline Athletic last season, but after sizeable budget cuts in the summer little is expected of the Kirkcaldy side this campaign. However, Rovers have begun the season with a bang, collecting six points from two games placing them second in the table. As Greenock Morton came to town Will Lyon headed to Stark’s Park to see if Raith are the real McCoy.



Stark’s Park is an odd football ground. It has an old fashioned L-shaped main stand, complemented by a disused and “unsafe” coo shed on the other side, while two large modern stands sit behind the goals. It also lies on what some might say the aptly named, Pratt Street. However, for the usual sixteen hundred home fans, they could not imagine being anywhere else come three o'clock on a Saturday afternoon.

Once seated in the South Stand behind the goals, the first thing you notice is how far away the travelling support are situated. The three or four hundred Morton fans soak up the sun 120 yards away in the North Stand which makes it quite tricky to generate any sort of atmosphere.

Above the disused coo shed (otherwise known as the Railway Stand) is the Second Division flag still proudly fluttering in the breezy seaside air, two years on from its unfurling.

Stark’s Park has a different feel to it from last year and indeed that Second Division championship season. There is less of a buzz around the ground, despite the club's similarly lofty position to just four months ago. This is probably due to a sharp dose of realism amongst the Rovers faithful. Fifteen players left the club in the summer due to a lack of money spinning local derbies against Dunfermline and now, a drop in season ticket sales.

On Raith's bench today are five players with an average age of nineteen, none of which have SPL experience and manager John McGlynn unable to even find one striker to bring along. Go back in time twelve months and you would find a bench with an average age of twenty-four, three of which possessed a total of 135 SPL appearances between them. Therefore it is easy to see why there is a relative hush over Starks Park these days, Raith fans are lacking faith with a squad whose depth and experience has been completed mutilated.

The match itself starts of in a decent fashion. Despite the slightly long grass (probably due to the incessant rain the nation has had to suffer in recent weeks) both teams try to play the ball on the deck, although it must be said the pace of the game is frighteningly pedestrian compared to what was witnessed of Spurs at Tynecastle on Thursday.

Morton decide they are going to try and catch out Raith striker John Baird, a player who likes to play off the shoulder of defenders and as a result Rovers are caught offside an incredible five times in the first fifteen minutes.

Another fifteen minutes later, Baird keeps himself in an onside position and threads a lovely little ball through to St Johnstone loanee Stephen Reynolds who proceeds to round the lanky goalkeeper that is Colin Stewart and rolls the ball into the empty net.

Rovers begin to gain an extra air of confidence after the goal but somehow find themselves back all square eight minutes later when a Morton freekick is knocked on by the outstanding Michael Tidser, and Paul Di Giacomo, who could barely score for love nor money at Ross County, smashes home his sixth goal of the season.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, sitting in the Rovers Directors Box, is obviously very upset that Morton have scored against his beloved team, so he scurries off for a pie with his bodyguard before the half time whistle.

The second half is a little more frustrating than the first, with both teams squandering chances in the final third of the pitch.

What is enjoyable however, is the performances of Baird and Tidser. Baird, frustrated by a lack of service in the Rovers midfield continually drops deep, receiving the ball, spraying it wide, running into the box and trying to get himself on the end of crosses. Tidser on the other hand is spraying balls all across the pitch to his Morton team mates, with his fair share of quick, short passes too, while cracking spectacular twenty-five yard shots at goal when given the appropriate space.

Although most attacks are going through both players it would be unfair to label both Raith and Morton as “one man teams” but there can be little doubt that the loss of these players would have fairly catastrophic consequences for both sides respectively. No doubt McGlynn and Morton boss Allan Moore would have loved to lock both players in a safe house straight after the game to keep any potential buyers away and continue to do so until the transfer window shuts later this month.

Back to the game, Morton striker Peter McDonald, who has been trying to con referee Charlie Richmond into giving him a free-kick all game, threw himself to the ground for what is now a third time but Richmond once again waves play on. Then McGlynn, with no other attacking options replaces striker Stephen Reynolds with left winger Scott McBride who looks completely lost up front.

Meanwhile at the other end of the park, six stewards make their way to the bottom of the North Stand to stop any mental Morton fans running onto the pitch to celebrate a winning goal. To be honest, they might as well have gone home early as a Darren McGeough powerdriver aside, a goal was never on the cards.

It is hard to tell whether either of these two sides are able to mount some sort of title challenge, as Baird and Tidser aside, there were no star performers aside from defenders. In truth, it could be a number of months before some teams begin to break away from the pack and show title credentials. Most teams in the First Division have solid defences and with a general lack of talent in attacking positions it would be sensible to predict a side with the least injuries and suspensions to have a chance of glory.

On another note, Gordon Brown never returned to his seat, the part time fan that he is. Boooo!

written by Will Lyon

Fifteen Players Leave Raith Rovers

Click here or read below for my article on the recent player cull at Raith Rovers Football Club. It was published on Scotzine.

Financial Turmoil at Raith Rovers?

On Tuesday this week it was announced that fifteen players had left Scottish First Division side, Raith Rovers. This followed just hours after the startling news that fellow league side Falkirk had asked eighteen players to depart their club. However, are Rovers simply shedding excess players, or are the Kirkcaldy club really in serious financial difficulty?

Gregory Tade: Off to pastures new

Recently, Chairman Dave Somerville offered an honest assessment of the club’s finances on the official website. He admitted it is a “myth” that the club are debt free and that certain Directors and a Shareholder have been adding personal funds at critical times of the season, but that “this practice cannot continue.” It seems that even Rovers, a club with a modest First Division budget, are struggling to sustain full-time football without outside investment.

However, while fifteen players does sound like a major cull (especially at a level where fellow First Division side, Queen of the South, often struggled to field eleven senior players throughout the season), the cuts to Raith budget do not appear as severe as first thought. Seven of the released players were from the under nineteen squad and four were ‘squad players’ or ‘bench warmers’. Of the four first team players released, Gregory Tade had been offered two contracts but had rejected them both, as he wanted to test himself at SPL level. Therefore the remaining three: Craig Wilson, Stephen Simmons and Mark Campbell are the only first team players who have actually been culled. Yes, just three.

Mark Campbell has left Raith after five years at the club

 So after looking a little closer at the cuts, it becomes apparent that while there are obvious budget cuts, the negative newspaper headlines and downbeat interviews from Rovers manager John McGlynn, are perhaps a little exaggerated. With the loss of promoted Dunfermline Athletic’s sizeable away support, there was always going to be a reduction in Raith’s budget and if Directors are having to subsidise the club during harsh winters, then obviously, re-adjusting the finances is required.

Clearly, it would be wrong to label Raith Rovers as a club in crisis, but simply one re-adjusting to the financial climate and factors out of their control. Indeed, if it is true that Raith have signed Greenock Morton’s top striker, Brian Graham, the cuts are not even close to being catastrophic.

John McGlynn and the Raith board are quite rightly lowering the expectation of fans, especially after a season of pushing above their weight, but perspective must be retained.

written by Will Lyon

Raith Rovers 0 v 2 Partick Thistle

Click here or read below for my match report from today's fixture at Starks Park this afternoon. It was published on the official Raith Rovers website.

Rovers Slump To Fifth Home Defeat

Raith Rovers slumped to their fifth home defeat of the season against Partick Thistle this afternoon after two second half goals from Kris Doolan and Paddy Boyle.

The home side struggled to find any sort of rhythm, while the visitors created numerous chances and could have won by a larger margin in the end.

Remarkably, this was the first time Thistle had overturned Raith since the Kirkcaldy side won promotion to the First Division in 2009.

With Dunfermline securing a 2-1 win away to Falkirk it means the Pars have closed the gap at the top of the table to just two points.

After an encouraging display at Dumfries last week, hopes were high amongst the Starks Park faithful as the teams emerged onto the park at three o'clock, but it was Partick who would cause the early problems.

Just three minutes into the match Raith midfielder Stephen Simmons lost possession in his own box, but thankfully for the league leaders, the ball was cleared behind. From the corner Ryan McGowan headed the ball into the ground and as it viciously bounced up towards goal Andrew McNeil managed to tip over the bar.

Raith tried to gain a foothold in the game but ten minutes later they were struggling to clear their lines once again. A succession of Partick shots were blocked, with the final one landing to right back Paul Paton whose shot was deflected wide by Simmons for another corner.

The corner resulted in nothing, but minutes later Partick had another opportunity when Chris Erskine was played in on goal, only for Dougie Hill to slide in and make a great last ditch tackle to divert the ball wide of the post. The corner was swung in and Rovers fans held their breath as Doolan looked just inches away from connecting with the cross.

Halfway through the first period McGowan had a clear sight of goal as the ball broke to him outside the Raith box, but his effort was comfortably dealt with by McNeil.

Partick's final attempt on goal in the first half arrived on the 34th minute when Paton's cross was glanced past the post by Martin Grehan.

Raith - still being backed by the home fans – finally managed to get a grasp of the game with their first real chance falling on the stroke of half time. Midfielder Allan Walker slipped a delightful through ball to the pacey John Baird who connected well, but Thistle keeper' Scott Fox tipped wide and the half time whistle was blown by Frank McDermott.

Despite being second best for the first period, Rovers fans were encouraged by the final flurry, however they were soon to be disappointed when Partick took the lead on the 49th minute. A corner was curled into the box and the unmarked Doolan headed down through McNeil's legs.

Looking for a quick response, Raith finally managed a few more shots on goal. A freekick was headed wide of the post by Hill, before a cross to the back post was caught on the volley by Walker, only for Fox to tip his effort over the bar.

However, Thistle regained control of the match, causing numerous problems. On the 66th minute, Chris Erskine went on a lung bursting run down the left wing, cutting inside and blasted the ball at goal but McNeil was able to tip over for a corner.

From the corner Grehan managed to flick a cross ball at goal, but McNeil was able to gather.

Raith's Grant Murray nodded over from a corner before McNeil made yet another save, this time from Doolan who was looking to add another goal to his tally.

Rovers manager John McGlynn rung the changes on the 72nd minute as Mark Ferry, Gregory Tade and John Baird were replaced by Gary Wales, Graham Weir and Iain Davidson.

Raith's final chance came five minutes later after a corner fell to Mark Campbell who laid the ball back to the onrushing Simmons, but his effort was high and wide.

The home side threw men forward as the final minutes ticked away, with Partick relieving the pressure admirably and in the final minute of regulation time they sealed the win. Boyle took advantage of a mistake by Campbell who was unable to get the ball out from under his feet and the left back slammed the ball past McNeil to seal Partick's first away victory since October 2010.

All in all, a very poor Rovers performance and the players will have to pick themselves up quickly for Tuesday evening's fixture against Cowdenbeath.

Meanwhile, the victory for Partick means they have moved up to fourth in the league, comfortably clear of the relegation places and top spot respectively. Ian McCall's side will probably have one eye on next season already now.

written by Will Lyon