Today's thumping was totally predictable, yet that still doesn't make it any easier to take. Embarrassed and appalled doesn't begin to cover it.

Where now for East Fife though? Yes we'll enjoy some good wins again this season, but I hate to say that it already looks unlikely that we'll have enough to finish in a play off place once again (at the right end of the table) and that avoiding relegation might be a bigger concern.

I could accept this if we had a young, inexperienced side and a rookie manager, it can take time to build a team as the young guys learn the ropes. What worries me is that we do have a mixture of experience and loan players, thus the team always has a temporary, or short term feel to it. Even our manager isn't here for the long term.

I worry that East Fife aren't looking very far ahead, what are the clubs long term plans for the playing side of the club?

We have been totally dominated in the last decade by Cowdenbeath who have smaller crowds, smaller budgets and poorer facilities. Time and time again they uncover quality local talent, and (aside from Brian Welsh) their appointment of young untried managers has been first class (two now manage internationally, and one in the Premier League, Cameron has also shown his great potential so far).

Where do they get it right, and how do we get it so horribly wrong?

Agree with most of your post. Cowden deserve credit for being a very well run club for their size. They seem to appoint the right managers and always seem to have a decent, hungry and fit side. Their record against us is sensational.

At the moment there appears (and i might be wrong) to be nothing long-term about us. Over the past 3 seasons I have seen little that I could describe as solid on-field progress. The league always seems to be tight in the middle so a few wins can be the difference between 5th and 9th, but in terms of all round progress i think we're lacking.

Having said that, at least we're not in the graveyard league now. I just think that as a club we haven't hit out potential in nearly 30 years. A club like Cowden have exceed theirs for at least the past 10,

"Worried" has put the result into context. It's not about today, or this season. It's been like this for ten years. Some years are worse than others, some are relative successes, but in a decade we can hardly buy a win against Cowdenbeath, who are a smaller club but know how to pick a manager and where to pick up players.
Our fundamental problem lies with the decision makers at Bayview. We make poor decisions, regularly, and then don't know what to do when a situation goes wrong.
But this is to be expected. Ten years on from the Danskin scandal, we still do not (officially) know who ended up owning East Fife when Danskin was removed. The people who pull the strings at EFFC are cloaked in secrecy, and the puppets they have put in place should be nowhere near the Bayview boardroom.
This is not a normal club. It is a charade at the top, with the wrong people in charge under false pretences.
Is there a less impressive chairman in the Scottish Football League than Sid Collumbine? He had zero interest in East Fife before he was parachuted in, he wouldn't know Aberhill from Aberdour, and his business skill is the disposal of dead bodies. It's hard to blame him for the position he's in at EFFC. He likes the status and the perks (all enjoyed in our club's name, of course). But will today's result be the first thing he thinks of when he wakes tomorrow? I doubt it very much.

I would take 8th place if offered it now. Depressing stuff on the pitch. As to what is going on off it, can't add much more to what has been said above and on the match thread but agree that we need to take a long hard look at ourselves as a club and where we are going. The new stadium thing is a case in point, can we have a statement on this place?

Right now attendances are poor, performances outside of the cups have been mediocre, players don't seem motivated and morale among those fans who still care is pretty low. I'd like to think we'll have a decent 2012 but just can't see it at all as things stand.

Go back/read back a few months and you'll see that nothing has changed.
Bar a few decent cup games this is the worst East Fife team i've had the misfortune of watching for quite some time. Guttless, spineless call it what you want but they are rank rotten as a team and on an individual basis nothing much to write home about.
Is it a player motivational thing or simply a part time manager who is very part time and unable to devote much time to a club that is regressing faster with each game? Robertson cant shoulder all of the blame but he has to decide if its in the clubs best interest for him to carry on for much longer. There is very little light at the end of this tunnel.
Crowds are in decline and neither wonder. Who'd pay to watch that week in week out?
Its a bad day when you look at the prediction league and see almost everyone predicting a pumping from our local rivals.
Shows how bad we really are.
I wont be rushing back until there is evidence of a backbone. Evidence of a team that care and want to play for the club. I dont mind spending £13 to see us get beat with spirit but unfortunately that is something that is lacking and has been for quite a while. Watching that kind of clueless shite on a cold afternoon isn't good for the health!
Cue the usual part time supporter nonsense but how many feel the same way?
Congrats to Cowden. Part time club, shitehole of a stadium, poor crowds yet a club that continue to surprise us. Worthy league leaders and champions elect. If only we had the magic recipe.

Get the best young east fife youth players signed up as full timers think they call it a modern apprentice scheme, most sfl clubs do it so can't understand why East Fife don't. Perfect example being cowden who have had a full time youth set-up for a good few years and it seems to be working for them. Think they had 4/5 first team players playing today who have come through there full time youth set-up, would rather have young and hungry players then the rubbish we are seeing at east fife at the moment.

The majority of the players are the same guys who made stevie crawford realise there was no point in going on.After that performance today im sure john robertson will be asking himself the same question.Any east fife fan who had the misfortune to be there, will ask themselves if they can justify spending 14 quid plus petrol money to watch a team that cant even put up a fight in a derby game.The manager has to take the blame for the tactics and the shape of the team.We must have learned from our first two encounters where we went wrong but that today was the worst yet.Cowden didnt even get out of first gear.Since Robbo said publicly that he was going to leave things havenot been right.The balance and shape of the team isnot right.I know that in the last 4 weeks we havenot played or trained very much this could be used as an excuse for today,but no excuse for lack of commitment or effort.Robbo must find two or three born winners who are prepared to play for the shirt or these same players will tarnish his footballing reputation.The players attitude and commitment to the east fife shirt has to be questioned.We will see if the board is behind robbo with what they allow him to do in the transfer window.Im sure after todays display the board must know that we need to get some new blood on board.

When you think back to our more successful sides of the past 30-40 years you'll find they were full of guys who had the right attitude, were committed to the team/club/manager and were mentally strong. I could reel off names in the mould of Dave Clarke, Colin Methven, Jim McLaren, Stewart Burgess, Steve Kirk, Greig McDonald and half a dozen more but suffice to say those sort of characters do not exist within the club right now. This might be something to do with the short term nature of contracts these days but we are desperately short of players who really want to play for the shirt.

So?

Couldn't be there as away from home but after reading all the posts on the game, especially the "not trying" element i feel sorry for the fans that travelled. However, is this really the case that the players didn't put in the effort? Could it not have been the lack of games over the past 4 weeks? I really do find it hard to believe that the players who obviously seen and heard a decent support would not put in 100%. Even if there was a lack of bite, surely the manager would have dealt with that. As i said, i was not there, but when we lose there has to be a reason posted on Aftn and its never "on the day they were better" On the day does not always mean the other team are better overall, just "on the day" We never seem to be able to accept defeat graciously. Other teams excepted, Cowden DO seem to be better than us this season for whatever reason, i think we all knew that. Other than that the play offs can still be achieved with a wee run, if the weather allows it.
We all like a wee moan after losing, its the Fife fans way but we always get over it and by Friday the optimism is back. MONTHEFIFE>