The challenge was set on last Thursday’s podcast. Could I put together a list of all Raith Rovers’ loan signings from the past 10 years and rate them from 1-10?
So, here we are. I’ve brought in the dates slightly – I’m taking it from Rovers returning to the Championship for the 2009/10 season because I literally have other things to do – but it perhaps gives a sense of a) how rarely loan deals work out for the lower league club and b) how many average players Hearts were foisted upon us.
Johnny Russell (2009-10) Rating: 9/10
Johnny Russell was the perfect embodiment of a loan signing. The Dundee United striker arrived at Stark’s Park keen to make an impression and duly did so. His scoring record of six in 29 fixtures wasn’t brilliant, but he married his obvious talent with an impressive work rate throughout his spell and quickly won over the fans. His determination to succeed was clear and he’s proven it since, first at United and latterly at Derby County.
Jamie Walker (2011- 2012) 8.5
Along with Russell, the other loanee head and shoulders above the rest. Walker was amongst the tranche of Jambos loaned to us while John McGlynn was Rovers manager, but Walker was the only one with genuine talent. He scored three goals in 23 appearances, but his pace and trickery out wide meant he was one loanee we were sad to see go.
Jason Thomson (2009/10) 7.5
I don’t really remember anything about his loan spell but it paved the way for a permanent deal so it’s deserving of a high mark. A consistently solid player for Rovers since signing, he’s a deceptively important outlet going forward too.
Callum Booth (2013-14) 7/10
Callum Booth was the prototype for all the left-backs which followed him at Stark’s Park. Good going forward but suspect defensively, especially to balls over the top. Booth at least held down the position all season and was, generally, a competent loan signing.
Ryan Hardie (2015-16; 2016-17) 7/10
In his first spell, last season, Hardie started explosively and added a threat previously missing from McKinnon’s team. With a good touch and composure in the box he looked an excellent capture, but he faded towards the end of the campaign and is only just back at Stark’s after a torrid time at St Mirren. He’s too weak to play as a lone striker, doesn’t enjoy heading the ball and isn’t particularly suited to a struggling team. Jury’s still out.
Damien Casalinuovo (2009/10) 7
Two goals in three loan games – including a famous one away to Dunfermline – made the big Argentinian one of our more popular loanees. He returned as a permanent signing a few seasons later to moderate success
Harry Panayiotou (2015-16) 6.5
Harry Panayiotou might have watched his parent club’s league title win from a pub in Kirkcaldy last season but at least he got a moment of his own to savour. The late penalty miss, followed by the even later equaliser against Rangers was glorious. He even had his own song, which can’t be said for Jamie Mole.
Jordan Thompson (2016-17) 6.5
Thompson started well in the middle of the park this season but he’s faded – much like the rest of the team – since October. Looks a bit lost out there just now.
Louis Longridge (2015-16) 6
Played wide left in a front three after being brought in last season, I quite liked Longridge. He was direct and complemented Aidan Connelly on the other flank. He didn’t have any end product of note though and was surprised to see him appear for Hamilton in the Premiership this term.
Kevin Smith (2009/10) 6
Kevin, who was very good in the third tier for us, is the only player on this list to have been thrown to us on three separate occasions. Surprisingly, despite also having his brother Gordon at one stage, we never managed to pair the two together. It’d have garnered very few goals but at least it’d have been novel.
Declan McManus (2016-17) 5
Oh, Declan. Before his equaliser against Hearts in the Scottish Cup he’d gone 10 games without a goal and was the focus of most of the support’s ire (and that’s a lot of ire). On loan from Fleetwood Town, he’s not a terrible player but he’s desperately lacking in confidence and has probably played more often than his form deserves.
Pat Clarke (2011-12) 5
Pat Clarke was a rare 2012 loanee in that he signed from local rivals Dunfermline, rather than Hearts. He scored four goals in 15 whilst on loan before he was released by Dunfermline and signed permanently for us. He scored another five in 27 appearances. Not a great record but, y’know, not bad in the circumstances.
Barrie McKay (2014-15) 5
I still harbour a deep well of resentment over Barrie McKay. Loaned from Rangers, he clearly had talent but he couldn’t have looked more disinterested at Stark’s Park if he’d gone on strike and spent half time picketing for his return to Ibrox. An away appearance in the cup at Inverness, where he made precisely zero effort, was his nadir.
Jason Holt (2011-12) 5
Holt, Smith and Prychynenko all scored in a 3-2 victory at Hamilton soon after the trio joined and it must have seemed like McGlynn had pulled off a sensational coup in the transfer window. Sadly, they turned out to be neither sensational nor a coup. Holt, while the best of the three, left four games later.
Liam Smith (2016-17) 5
Another Hearts loanee, Smith briefly appeared this season to cover a right-back crisis and was fine.
Ryan Wallace (2009/10) 4
It’s possible that Raith played more Hearts under-21 players over a three year spell than the Jambos reserve side. Wallace scored on his debut against Thistle but was so lightweight he was banned from playing in even light winds, lest he blow away.
David Smith (2011-12) 4
David Smith had, by all accounts, one good game for the Rovers. Or, more accurately, a good half hour, when McGlynn brought him on behind the strikers at home to Falkirk and we salvaged a draw from 2-0 behind. Otherwise, he flattered to deceive as a winger. Now at Dumbarton he’s utilised far more effectively at full-back.
David Armstrong (2009-10) 4
David Armstrong, unlike most loanees over this period, was a defender. He was raw and ungainly but wasn’t completely terrible. He got sent off at Dundee, but of his eight appearances helped keep three clean sheets. The best trivia about David Armstrong is that Wikipedia says his middle name is Maradona. In this age of fake news being accepted as fact I’m proclaiming this is as truth.
Kevin McBride (2010/11) 4
I’m actually losing the will to live writing this. What can I really say about Kevin McBride? He was exactly like every single central midfielder we’ve signed since 1998; adept at sitting near the centre circle and passing five yards either side of him.
Craig Wighton (2015-16) 3.5
The low point of Wighton’s poor spell at Raith came at Easter Road. The ball had found its way to Hibs’ centre half Paul Hanlon. Wighton moved to close the defender down but Hanlon managed to traverse 180 degrees around the young striker with the ball still at his feet, leaving Wighton exasperated and dizzy. The Dundee loanee clearly had talent but he looked both uninterested and out of his depth.
Aaron Lennox (2016-17) 3.5
Locke brought goalkeeper Lennox in as our only over-23 loanee this season, played two games then got his face smashed in during a development game which fractured his jaw. Although he looked reasonable when he played it did seem a waste of the over-23 loan rule to bring in a backup keeper.
Jamie Mole (2009-10) 3
You’re struggling for strikers; you need goals. Who do you call for? That’s right: Jamie Mole. Soccerbase tells me he scored SEVEN career goals between 2004-2011. Soccerbase isn’t always accurate but I’ve seen Jamie Mole play and I believe this to be 100 per cent true. Incredibly, he played in a Scottish Cup semi-final for us. Less incredibly, he did not score.
Stephen Reynolds (2011-12) 3
I think Shaughan mentioned him on a recent podcast. A rare loanee from St Johnstone, we signed Reynolds around the same time Stevie May went out to Alloa. While May was banging in 19 goals in 22 games at Recreation Park, poor hapless Reynolds was failing to even start at Stark’s. He did score one goal, against Morton, but that was it. He never returned after Christmas.
Denis Prychynenko (2011/12) 2.5
Denis Prychynenko joined from Hearts with the most misguided reputation since Jewish housewives voted Mel Gibson Heartthrob of Year in 1999. Proclaimed by Jambos as a dead ball specialist. Deadly Denis was in fact far better at launching his set pieces high into the stand. Absolute dross.
Dale Carrick (2014-15) 2
Dale Carrick only made two appearances for Rovers but one was at least notable. It was he who Lee McCulloch stamped on – subsequently receiving a two-game ban for – during a 2-1 Scottish Cup win at Ibrox. Unsurprisingly, the perma-crocked Carrick was hobbled soon after and returned to Hearts immediately.
Greg Cameron (2009/10) 1
Greg Cameron was a midfielder who played two games during a short-term loan, did nothing of note and was subsequently replaced by someone from Hearts (probably).
Scott Roberts (2016-17) N/A
The only thing I can tell you about Scott Roberts is that I’ve twice mistaken him for Declan McManus. The world’s first theoretical football player, he seems more of an abstract idea than an actual living, breathing person. Honestly, I have never seen him do anything. Released by Rangers at Christmas and now with us, predictably, on a short-term contract.
Danny Thomson (2011-12) N/A
I actually have no idea who this is. Genuinely, not a clue. Wikipedia tells me he was another from Hearts’ vaunted youth academy but he’s left no impression on me whatsoever.
Josh Watt (2012-13) N/A
Another I remember absolutely nothing about. Josh Watt does sound like someone who should play football though. Or perhaps star in an LA Police television series. I could see him in a Hawaiian shirt and boardshorts.
Jonny Stewart (2012-13) N/A
Another anonymous Hearts regen. Since leaving the Rovers Jonny has released three folk albums with his band, the Frilly Drifters*.
*this may not be true.