The hustings for the election of the RRFC supporters director was held tonight in the Raith Suite. There was a good discussion and it is clear we have two excellent candidates for the post.

The full recording of the session is available here:

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The audio starts with candidate Allan Traynor thanking fellow candidate Dave Wann for performing the role of Supporters Director for the last two and a half years.

The session is chaired by Steven Lawther from the Raith Supporters Trust and there is also some input near the end of the session from John Mainland, one of the returning officers for the election in relation to a specific question about election proceedings.

Thanks to all who came along and submitted questions.

The session was also video recorded and edited highlights should be available on the Official RRFC website over the next few days.

All Raith Rovers fans will be given their chance tonight to put their questions to the two candidates hoping to become the fans representative on the RRFC Board.

The hustings will be held TONIGHT at 6.30pm on Wednesday 15th May in the Raith Suite at Starks Park

We hope as many Rovers fans as possible come along and get involved.

A question and answer session with the two candidates has been arranged for 6.30pm on Wednesday 15 May in the Raith Suite at Starks Park.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

Letters to all those eligible to vote will be sent out today. New memberships taken from today will not be able to vote in this election.

Two Rovers fans have put their hat in the ring to become the latest ‘Supporter-Director’ of the club.

David Wann, who has held the post for the last two years, and Allan Traynor, a project manager, both put forward their nomination to take up the role which was secured after the Reclaim the Rovers campaign in 2005.

Both candidates have provided a statement to support their nomination and now it’s over to supporters to make their choice. Voting papers will be sent to all members of Raith Forum organisations (Trust, Supporters Club, 200 Club and Jim McMillan Club) over the next week. The election will end on Friday 24 May with results announced over that weekend.

Click here to download the two statements (one document).

The nomination process for the Supporters-Director role at Raith Rovers FC is now open.

Nominations, seconded by two members of Raith Forum organisations (Supporters Club, 200 Club, Jim McMillan Club and Supporters Trust), should be received no later than Friday 26 April. In the event of more than one nomination being received an election will take place between Monday 29 April and Friday 17 May.

More details on the duties and responsibilities of the role can be found here.

The Nomination Form can be downloaded here.

Raith Rovers announced last night that a donation will be made to the Dunfermline Athletic Steering Group immediately following this Staurday’s derby match. This is to help our neighbours and biggest rivals in their time of need as they fight to help their club survive.

The donation will be part of the gate receipts, from those Dunfermline fans in the north stand in excess of 2,000. A large crowd will therefore benefit both clubs this Saturday, and we encourage all fans from both sides of Fife to come along and bring as many others with them as possible. Let’s fill the stadium, and give both clubs a great pay-day.

In these days of “self preservation” it is rare to see such generosity in the face of our own financial difficulties, and the Raith Supporters Trust would like to thank and congratulate the board of RRFC for this tremendous gesture.

http://www.raithrovers.net/8024/rovers-to-help-the-pars-off-the-pitch.htm

The Raith Supporters Trust attended the Fans meeting on League Reconstruction last night at Starks Park. It was an interesting and frank session with Turnbull Hutton and Eric Drysdale leading the discussion and a number of other Rovers Directors present. Below is a brief summary of the main points discussed:

The SFL have a ‘shopping list’ of issues they’d like to address in any reconstruction, namely:

1. A single league body
2. Fairer distribution of money
3. An easing of the ground regulations to get into top flight (seats, undersoil heating etc)
4. Voting rights being dominated by the Old Firm
5. More promotion and relegation between divisions
6. Number of teams in each division (bigger divisions, not playing each other 4 times)

The Board of RRFC felt that the 12-12-18 proposal meets all these except the last item on the above list.

• The SPL and SFL will merge, this is not a takeover by one of the other
• The Old Firm veto will end as the new league body will have 9 Directors: 3 from the Premier, 2 from the Championship, 1 from the National League, 2 Non-executive Directors and a Chairperson
• There will be two automatic promotion spots from National League to the Championship, and a 6-team playoff between the bottom 2 in the Championship and those in positions 3-6 in  the National League
• A pyramid has been proposed, but this is dependent on the SFA being able to get agreement with the non-league bodies to set up two national feeder leagues – It was felt this probably won’t happen in the short term.
• SPL teams are giving up money in order to create a better model lower down the league structure. This means teams finishing in the top half of the Championship before the split receiving significantly more money than at present (an additional £419k for the winners). For example if Raith Rovers finished second again  they would receive an extra £352k on top of the current £90k
• The other potential benefit to clubs lower down in the structure will be that any sponsorship or TV money over and above what is currently raised will trickle down to all 42 clubs, rather than being kept by the SPL clubs.
• Ground regulations will be relaxed and will be handled more on a case-by-case common sense basis.
• Promotion and relegation between Premier and Championship will be done through the “Middle 8 split” consisting of the bottom four teams from the Premier and top four teams from the Championship. The middle 8 would start with everyone on zero points potentially making it a more exciting ‘sprint’

The Board of RRFC felt that while 12-12-18 is not seen as ideal, it is really the only model on the table. Many other configurations have been discussed and researched, but could not be made to work financially. The club is concerned that if it doesn’t go ahead then the SPL will invite clubs into an SPL2 and do nothing to address any of the concerns on the shopping list.

They felt that while the proposals don’t deliver bigger leagues at the top end of the game they do mean that the majority of the 42 teams in Scotland will play a greater number of teams each season than they currently do. They see the current proposal as a window of opportunity to move forward, and the only option that will allow Raith Rovers to break out of its current financial situation. They recognise that it is not perfect, but believe it is the only way forward which is likely to be offered. While not perfect, going forward the single league body and change in voting rights mean that it will be much easier to change the make-up of the divisions in future if 12-12-18 is found not to be the right structure.

The session was well attended and we appreciate the RRFC Board giving us the chance to find out more about the proposals and put our views to the Board. If you have any thoughts then please let us know at chairman@raithtrust.org.uk

There have been press reports that the team that are talking to Queen of the South about a possible takeover also approached Raith Rovers.

http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/sport/football/raith-rovers/raith-board-declined-takeover-talks-1-2243624

While new investment in Raith Rovers is always to be welcomed it is important that we don’t chase finance with no thought to where it is coming from. The lessons from Claude Anelka situation and the current position at Rangers should be a reminder that not all new investment is in the long term interest of football clubs.

The best way to secure the long term future of Raith Rovers is as a community club run with fans being listened to and having a say in the future direction of the club. The Trust will continue to work with the current board of Raith Rovers FC to ensure that we build towards a stronger and stable Raith Rovers in future. The first step in doing that is securing our First Division status in the next three games so let’s get right behind the Rovers!

Raith Supporters Trust has marked the anniversary of John McGlynn’s first five years in charge of Raith Rovers by presenting him with a framed collection of photos from some of his finest moments.

(Photo copyright: Fife Free Press)

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