GG Riva

Aye, when I went to speak to Bob Garmory and Ross McArthur about my idea, they couldn't have been more enthusiastic. Bob asked "When can you start?" and Ross added, "Just tell us what you need from the club to get started and I'll see that you get it." Ross said that the club's name and reputation had been badly damaged when we went into administration, not just among other clubs, but also in the local community. He saw school engagement as a great way to start repairing that damage by making our club the focal point of the West Fife community. A rreally switched on gent. Eh, how did we get from James McPake to schools engagement? 🤔

Nah, I can't agree with your opening sentence, KP. United are the best team in this league and will be promoted. That they didn't play so well last night was down to the way the Pars played. If we had sat back and admired them, they would have buried us. But we didn't. We got in about them from the start, scored an early goal. Gave our players a lot of confidence and theirs an uphill task. Our tactics were different, too. No playing sideways at the back. Mehmet launched every kickout/goal kick over halfway. In summary, you can only play as well as your opponents allow you to.

All the players totally buy in to the school initiative, EET. after last week's visit, Breen said to me, "This is great, I'd do it every week." Dave Mackay drew up a rota so that all the players visit approx 2 schools per season. I've messaged Dave to let him know that Breeny has volunteered to do any extra visits going. 😀

As a senior Pars fan, I always tell myself it`s only a game and try not to get too down after a poor result. Similarly, I try not to get carried away by a good performance and result, but I was walking on air on my way home last night, and I`m still in the clouds this morning. 😀 Schadenfreude is not the most noble of sentiments, but I can`t deny that watching the East Stand emptying after our 3rd goal induced a perverse pleasure from my head to my toes. I don`t agree with those who think United are a poor team - they`re top of the league on merit. We made them look poor on the night, which is quite different. We had no failures, but special mentions to Jakubiak (also my MOM) KRH, MFW, Bene and Todd. Training will be buzzing next week and hopefully, the players can take that feel good factor to Cappielow next week and get a positive result - we owe Morton one. As others have said above, last night shows what this team and manager are capable of achieving when he has most of his key players available. I make no apology for repeating that when we last played Morton at EEP, there were TEN players sitting a few rows in front of me and at least 6 or 7 of them would have been either starting or on the bench had they been fit. Ironically, when we beat Morton 3-1 going on 4 or 5, in the earlier game at EEP, Morton had NINE players out and were rooted to the bottom of the table. When these players started to return, their results improved dramatically and they shot up the league. Let`s hope the "McPake Out" lobby will now be permanently silenced. 🤫

I firmly believe he will keep us up and that we would have comfortably made the top 4 but for a horrendous run of long-term injuries to so many key players. I hope the owners give him a decent budget to allow him to add a few quality players to an already decent squad (when they're all fit.) There's also a great harmony in the squad (Rhys Breen replied to a question from a pupil at Masterton PS this week, that the best thing about playing for the Pars is that there are no Prima Donnas, every body gets on really well with everyone else) and this has to be down to McPake and Dave Mackay at least in part.

I don't see this game being another 0-0, but I don't think we'll lose if we score the first goal. It would give the team a great confidence boost and United might start to wobble as they must be feeling the pressure with the Rovers breathing down their necks..... 😀

Not trying to be a smart@rse, KP, but if the understudy was better than Mehmet, would he not be starting and Deniz would be on the bench? Totally agree about MWH selling the second goal - he obviously thought the ball was going out.

What makes you think that he was rushed back, KP? is it because he picked up another injury each time? I'd completely agree with you if he had aggravated the same injury, but they were totally unrelated, so we can't say he was rushed back. James McPake relies on advice from medical staff in any case. He doesn't just ask the player if he feels OK to play, especially not Bene, as he's notoriously optimistic. "It's just a broken metatarsal" he told me, when I saw him in a moonboot after his first injury this season. "I'll be back in 3-4 weeks max."

Bene will be even more desperate to play than normal for this game. I hope he gets his wish. His absence has been a huge factor in us trying to avoid the relegation playoffs, rather than looking to claim a top 4 spot.

Even at halftime, I didn't expect us to get anything at Firhill but we won. I don't expect us to get anything at the San Starko...... 🙂 There have been so many unexpected results in this league, who knows?

Almost impossible to call. So little between the teams. Sit on the fence and predict a draw? No, because most games end in a home or away win. Normally you'd think home advantage would swing it but the Pars home record is inferior to their away form. Nothing for it but to close my eyes and stick a pin in a scoreline. There, done it now. 2-1 Pars. 😀

During the Forest - Liverpool game on MOTD last night, the commentator mentioned that the home fans regaled Darwin Nunez when he came on as a sub with "You`re just a... sub standard Andy Carroll." 😃 I`m sure most folk watching would have seen the funny side of that, although Nunez himself was probably none the wiser. He had the last laugh though, scoring the only goal of the game after 99 mins. What`s the funniest banter you`ve heard at a game?

I'm not sure, S'Ally. Bene is well known for his eagerness to return from injury when not fully fit. I'm willing to bet McPake put him on the bench to humour him and had no intention of putting him on unless there was a real emergency. I'd imagine Benjamin would have come on before Bene, if one of the back 4 had been injured. They were all solid today (Deniz didn't have a lot to do) but Hammy was immense. He's done brilliantly at centre half and he can't be any taller than 5' 8". 🙂

My optimism has just increased from from 1 pt to 3 for tomorrow.

Bottom line for me is that I want to be able to continue to support the team I have followed since 1963. The memory of 2013 is still vivid - I remember feeling sick to the bottom of my stomach at Starks Park, as we watched what was expected to be the Pars last ever game and I don't ever want to experience that horrible feeling ever again. I believe our investors are not short of a £ or two, but they didn't become wealthy by throwing away good money year after year, so I'm sure they won't be happy to have lost over £1m last season. If we were to post a similar loss for this season, they may decide they've had enough and walk away and then what?

As was pointed out by one of the more sensible posters on dotnet, 2 home playoff games may have totalled around 10,000 fans, but we would perhaps not have had 9,000 v Falkirk and 6,000 in the title winning game v QOS.

I thought the play off money was put into a pot by the SPFL and distributed among its member clubs. Is that not the case? I also believe we posted a modest profit in our previous season in League 1, but we obviously had bigger outgoings last season.

Imagine if we'd managed to get Ashcroft on loan and he'd done his hamstring in his first game. There would have been the mother and father of all meltdowns on dotnet. 😀😀

It's no consolation to any of us or the club, but the Pars are by no means unique when it comes to counting up their walking wounded. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68423241

First goal will be crucial but who's going to score for the Pars. We came from behind at Firhill but it's harder at home as it quietens the home fans and the visitors can set out to frustrate the team and the Pars fans alike. My head suggests another draw but my heart says we can grind out a narrow 1-0 win.

Story I got was that he's off to Hamilton. He's been released by the Rovers but it appears to be mutual - he no longer wants to play for them and they don't want him.

No doubt we'll find out on Thursday. Maybe just not well, as MOH was last week.

I'm going to disagree with your last sentence in your last post. Last Friday's result means 3 precious points, win, lose or draw tomorrow night. A defeat on Friday followed by another to Inverness would have seen us in really deep ****. As it is, while we want to take something from the game, we'll still be in the pack of clubs trying to avoid 9th even if we were to lose the game. I strongly fancy a 1-1 draw.

Yes, when I saw the message, I had a strange feeling I'd seen or heard it already, but then thought it must be my recollection of Terry Butcher telling his Hibs team that half of them wouldn't be at the club the following season, just before the 2nd leg of their play off v Hamilton. They'd won 2-0 away in the first leg, so they looked a nailed on certainty to complete the job at Easter Road. They ended up losing on penalties and being relegated.

All is not well in Pratt Street, it would seem. I don't subscribe to the Courier but they have had a whiff of something. https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/4903322/raith-rovers-ross-millen-will-miss-ayr-united-clash-internal-matter/ I received a text yesterday, that's doing the rounds. It names names and it appears that at least one player is unlikely to play for the Rovers again and that is why they brought in J. Brown from St Johnstone. Bringing in Ashcroft is apparently unrelated.