The Falkirk FC Thread

[Shadwell Dog]

Just now, All-Star-Par said:

Genuine question Falkirk fans, what's actually happened with your youth academy? Used to bring a couple of decent players through every couple years and was a real envy of pretty much every team out with the Prem. Can't really recall anyone recently since Alston an Sibbald to an extent who has 'made the grade'. Is this kind of youth policy something Houston has pretty much done away with since he came in? 

Problem is we've sold a number of players in recent years before they played much for the first team. This then means your young players get younger and younger. We've got a number of Scottish internationals coming through who possibly aren't ready yet for the first team and others who really should've been moved on by now or given a chance. Difficult to experiment though when your trying to win the league.

[Shadwell Dog]

5 minutes ago, MrDust said:

Both cooper and Smith ply there trade still in the championship. A better manager would get the best out of players....I fkin hate Pressley but he got the best outta Mark Stewart

Cooper is awful and Smith is now being used as a right back by Dumbarton and although he does a steady job for them he's nowhere near good enough for us. 

[PipoIsABairn]

8 minutes ago, All-Star-Par said:

Genuine question Falkirk fans, what's actually happened with your youth academy? Used to bring a couple of decent players through every couple years and was a real envy of pretty much every team out with the Prem. Can't really recall anyone recently since Alston an Sibbald to an extent who has 'made the grade'. Is this kind of youth policy something Houston has pretty much done away with since he came in? 

In his opinion they don't look ready for the first team yet. Bare in mind though that in his opinion Gasparotto can play at RB and Gallagher was the only LB we needed prior to kicking off the league season.

[Shadwell Dog]

11 minutes ago, dmcgregor7 said:

 

 

But all the other players you have seen have excellent games for falkirk have had a least at season at the club ? Aird got half a season ? Yet Harris hasn't even had 3 full league games & you've wrote him off ? What happens if he's excellent next game ?

 

 

Aird got 12 games . People said the same about Smith and Cooper. Give them a chance they could be great next week. If he couldn't do shit at the start of the league campaign when his confidence shouldve been sky high then god knows how he'll do anything now.

[ANEWHOPE]

Hartley or McCall for me.

Even before today I'd have gone for Naysmith but think just about anyone would be better. However we all know it will still be Houston & we can once again just cut & paste the posts from this week and last.

[Grangemouth Bairn]

8 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

 

I switched it off shortly after he said he couldnt remember who the other firdt time player missing was. That was fucking cringeworthy.

 

Aye it was. The man's clearly hurting badly.

I bet a lot of the players are not as down as that.

I don't know how this can be fixed. 

[RichieBairn]

Aird got 12 games . People said the same about Smith and Cooper. Give them a chance they could be great next week. If he couldn't do shit at the start of the league campaign when his confidence shouldve been sky high then god knows how he'll do anything now.

Harris is the least of our problems at the moment. Our CF's are unfit or shite and our defence is a complete and utter shambles and the midfield lacks creativity and I have no faith in our keeper. How many kicks did he punt straight out today?? Apart from that we are in fine fettle!!

[ANEWHOPE]

McCall's Ayr are demolishing teams a level down (today excepted). He knows the level and puts in the hours travelling and scouting.

McCall said recently he has no interest in leaving Ayr as he owes the Chairman a great deal for standing by him during his personal troubles. And as we all know he is a man of his word! [emoji847]

[ANEWHOPE]

If houston did go....got a horrible hunch the board will just gee it to alan maybury.

I agree & that gives me the fear but sometimes you have to face your fears.

[PipoIsABairn]

1 minute ago, ANEWHOPE said:

 

I agree & that gives me the fear but sometimes you have to face your fears.

 

Just out of curiosity why does everyone think Maybury would be far worse? I mean he could well be but I have no idea what he's like as a manager as, to my knowledge, he's never been one? 

[ANEWHOPE]

I would not be against Aitken.

That would be 3 ginger managers in a row tho! Think we need to give another hair colour a go.

[MrDust]

11 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Problem is we've sold a number of players in recent years before they played much for the first team. This then means your young players get younger and younger. We've got a number of Scottish internationals coming through who possibly aren't ready yet for the first team and others who really should've been moved on by now or given a chance. Difficult to experiment though when your trying to win the league.

The facts are we scraped results last season and couldn't give these young players a 10-15,20 cameo role to get them used to first team, that and Houston has a love in with Shepherd

10 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Cooper is awful and Smith is now being used as a right back by Dumbarton and although he does a steady job for them he's nowhere near good enough for us. 

We know smith couldn't play right back for us by what deduction ?

There is a player in Cooper as far as I'm concerned, we may actually see that this season, whilst Houston couldnt

3 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Aird got 12 games . People said the same about Smith and Cooper. Give them a chance they could be great next week. If he couldn't do shit at the start of the league campaign when his confidence shouldve been sky high then god knows how he'll do anything now.

Let's not forget you praised Aird

[ANEWHOPE]

Just out of curiosity why does everyone think Maybury would be far worse? I mean he could well be but I have no idea what he's like as a manager as, to my knowledge, he's never been one? 

Hands up here & my issue is largely personal. I've had a few dealings with him & think he is an arsehole. However I also question his ability to coach players given the evidence in front of me.

[All-Star-Par]

14 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Problem is we've sold a number of players in recent years before they played much for the first team. This then means your young players get younger and younger. We've got a number of Scottish internationals coming through who possibly aren't ready yet for the first team and others who really should've been moved on by now or given a chance. Difficult to experiment though when your trying to win the league.

 

10 minutes ago, PipoIsABairn said:

In his opinion they don't look ready for the first team yet. Bare in mind though that in his opinion Gasparotto can play at RB and Gallagher was the only LB we needed prior to kicking off the league season.

Pretty much the plague of the provincial Scottish club then were we all bite off the hand offering us buttons for any decent prospect before we even get a chance to watch them after essentially paying for them all the way through the youth teams? Probably up there with one of the most frustrating and kinda disheartening things about supporting clubs like ours. 

[Billy Jean King]

You appear to be heading for a season like we had last year. Our biggest problem was waiting as long as we did to change managers. It appears to me as an outsider Houston has run his race with you and it's time for a change. Still time if you act now imo, decent enough squad but lost faith in the leader.

[PipoIsABairn]

1 minute ago, ANEWHOPE said:

 

Hands up here & my issue is largely personal. I've had a few dealings with him & think he is an arsehole. However I also question his ability to coach players given the evidence in front of me.

 

I've had no dealings with Houston but he comes across as a total arsehole in interviews, in my opinion, and similarly appears unable to coach our players. The one thing I will say though is that Maybury seems to get on a bit better with the players in general. When you watch his personal interactions with them he they seem more relaxed around him than they do around Houston. You hardly ever see a single player greet Houston in anything you would describe as a comfortable way and they don't seem to ever really praise him or give him any kind of recognition for any good things going on within the team. 

[Homer Thompson]

Journeymen?

I never thought it was possible but my opinion of Houston had actually gone down.

What a grade A c**t.

[Shadwell Dog]

3 minutes ago, MrDust said:

The facts are we scraped results last season and couldn't give these young players a 10-15,20 cameo role to get them used to first team, that and Houston has a love in with Shepherd

We know smith couldn't play right back for us by what deduction ?

There is a player in Cooper as far as I'm concerned, we may actually see that this season, whilst Houston couldnt

Let's not forget you praised Aird

No aird was shit too. I was just pointing out that Harris is shit but getting a lot less stick than aird got.  Cooper has been murder for us and st mirren in this league which is why he ended up in the seaside leagues. He's got a punt at ICT because they have no cash and even then he's only played about 1 game.

[MrDust]

1 minute ago, PipoIsABairn said:

I've had no dealings with Houston but he comes across as a total arsehole in interviews, in my opinion, and similarly appears unable to coach our players. The one thing I will say though is that Maybury seems to get on a bit better with the players in general. When you watch his personal interactions with them he they seem more relaxed around him than they do around Houston. You hardly ever see a single player greet Houston in anything you would describe as a comfortable way and they don't seem to ever really praise him or give him any kind of recognition for any good things going on within the team. 

There really isn't a right or wrong way to be a manager, its results that matter.

Houston has on paper had three good seasons, reality its one

 

[Shadwell Dog]

3 minutes ago, PipoIsABairn said:

I've had no dealings with Houston but he comes across as a total arsehole in interviews, in my opinion, and similarly appears unable to coach our players. The one thing I will say though is that Maybury seems to get on a bit better with the players in general. When you watch his personal interactions with them he they seem more relaxed around him than they do around Houston. You hardly ever see a single player greet Houston in anything you would describe as a comfortable way and they don't seem to ever really praise him or give him any kind of recognition for any good things going on within the team. 

Houston's a decent guy and he's desperate to take falkirk up but I reckon hes ran his course.  Id have liked nothing better than fot him to have taken us up but he doesnt want his ladt falkirk memories to end up like Alex totten.