AGPar

And the sight of Airdrie tearing unopposed and at will through our midfield time and time and time again was enough to tell me that that had become a significant problem unfortunately. As abysmal as our central defensive partnership is, the protection in front of them is woeful. He may still have a part to play but it's certainly not as a week-in, week-out starter. Our midfield is devoid of physicality, legs, presence, energy. It has been for years. Two new starters are required there. If there's one player, within reason, I would like us to sign - and we won't, as he'll have more attractive offers higher up - it would be Scott Martin, who is out-of-contract at Hamilton. From what I watched in both legs of the play-off final, not afraid of a tackle and also pretty decent on the ball. Would be a massive upgrade on our current options.

A bit? Try a lot more lot quality. A hell of a lot more. And I'm not just talking purely about ability. Attitude, work rate, fight, not completely and utterly shiteing yourself in every big game you play. That is going to need to be present - and in abundance - in whoever comes through the door over the next few weeks, given we know how completely absent all of these things are in those still hanging around from last season.

No surprise whatsoever at this news. The list of players retained gives the squad very much a same old, same old feeling when I think a significant refresh was required after the absolute disaster that was the conclusion to last season. Squad has very little spine to it - in any sense. Can only hope that any further additions are guaranteed starters every week, we're already oversubscribed with filler/back-up/squad player types.

We simply do not and cannot know if that is the case. It's not even June yet. Far, far too early. For all the focus on incomings, I think outgoings will be every bit as crucial. In terms of McGinn, Morrison and Oliver, I would not lose a minute's sleep at all three being moved on to free up funds to be used on new signings (if that option is indeed available to the club). If they are all still around then I'd share the concern that we are heading into a crucial season with a significant chunk of players who have proven themselves unable to cope with playing for Falkirk in League One, who cannot win any game of football that matters, who crumble at the first sign of pressure. But we're not there yet, nowhere near. And in addition to the above, I've also got to believe that McGlynn will have informed some of the current under-contract players that their career prospects would be best served by them and their agents testing the market for an alternative employer. In that category, look no further than the pair of utter clowns masquerading as central defenders. Getting rid of these two would be as good a bit of business as we'll do all summer. There's loads to happen yet I think.

Sheffield Wednesday: total commitment, effort, belief, guts, bottle, willingness to go to the very end Our lot: just get through the 90 minutes without too much further embarrassment then off on holiday. There could not be a greater contrast.

Who our bunch of complete and utter shitebags will be absolutely petrified of.

There was no active decision to retain McKay though. He signed a three-year contract - without question, one of the worst bits of transfer business ever undertaken by this club - and he still has a year left. Dire, but his name was never going to appear on released list at this stage. In terms of the likes of Oliver etc - maybe I'm wide of the mark here, but if they have options for an additional year, would the club not announce that these options have been taken up? So whilst none of them are gone, is it possible that discussions are ongoing and there may yet be departures for some of them? Today's list was pretty much the low-hanging fruit in terms of players being punted. Generally easy stuff, pretty much as expected. I said in an earlier post, if McGlynn wants to hold onto his job for any length of time, he'll need to ditch the olds pals act and start making some hard, unsentimental decisions about squad make-up. I trust these are still to come.

Four consecutive seasons of solid underachievement in League One. A fifth on the horizon. A 7-2 embarrassment in the play-offs including possibly the most gutless 45 minutes of football we have ever produced. A manager who has looked and sounded ever more clueless as the season wore on. Sales probably won’t “drop significantly”. But it’s really, really not that difficult to work out why some supporters may have finally reached a tipping point.

Hamilton won't be short of offers at a higher level than us. Niang I hoped we would be in for last summer after Patrick had decided to let him go. Would be all over that one.

Not a chance in hell of it happening (and a section of our support would have a meltdown if it did) but I wouldn't be that sorry to see McGinn away. Don't dislike him but would rather see his presumably not inconsiderable wage spent on someone a bit younger and more mobile. We are chronically slow. McGlynn appears intent on keeping as much of this season's lot together as he can. I think that would be a massive mistake, but it's his call. For me thanks and cheerio to Oliver, McGuffie, Watson, PJ and Burrell (a bit torn on the latter but I don't think it's really going to happen under this manager). Retain Lawall. If any offer at all is received for C Morrison take it. Inform both of the centre halves that we won't be hard to deal with if they can get fixed up elsewhere. Loan players I'd like to see return: Max and Kennedy (neither will). Wasn't unimpressed with Rowe at times but would rather look at someone like Kyle McDonald. McGlynn needs to start making some hard decisions about squad composition if he wants to remain in a job for any length of time. But I doubt he will.

Not if it's more of the same spineless garbage he won't. If he is stumbling on into next season, his position should be reviewed after the first quarter. If we have got off to our standard pathetic slow start and are thrashing about in fourth or fifth place whilst a Cove Rangers or whoever are racing away over the horizon it should be thanks and goodbye, with a list of possible replacements to approach long since drawn up. Problem with that scenario is that another season could be well and truly stuffed but I don't see him going anytime soon, so it's a risk those in charge are clearly happy to take, so they will also have to accept the consequences. Sticking with McGlynn is not going to end well. Does anyone seriously believe it's going to be much different? He's not going to change. Zero confidence in him having the ability to take us up. After the horror of the last few days, he's a dead man walking. Keeping him only delays the inevitable.

Cove Rangers, 1-0 at home early in the Covid season under M and M (Morrison I think). They were top at the time and, from memory, hadn't even dropped a point. Fell away quite dramatically after that, the shame of defeat to us in an important game simply too much to bear and never recovered. Other two wins against Airdrieonians as you say. Their fans should be ashamed. What an utter embarrassment!!

It truly is. But I might just be able to top you there I had a look at our record in the bigger, head-to-head type games since relegation in 2019. So four season's worth of league matches against the following clubs: Airdrie, Cove Rangers, Dunfermline Ath, Partick Thistle, Queen's Park, Raith Rovers P 35 W 3 D 15 L 16 Which translates into 24 points gained from an available 105 Absolutely frightening numbers Nothing further. Speaks for itself.

When virtually every big game we play - with the exception of Ayr United - happens to be a "bad day at the office"? No.

I never mentioned wage bill. "Budget for recruitment" - the most cursory of reviews of the transfer business undertaken by every club in the league confirms that McGlynn had a significant advantage in that category. By far.

And even if that target was the play-offs, what occurred on Tuesday night should - at an absolute, bare minimum - have concentrated a few minds in the boardroom about whether what we currently have on the pitch and in the dugout is fit for purpose. A capitulation on that scale is a game changer as far as the future of the manager - in fact, any manager - is concerned. His team lay down and died whilst he appeared incapable of doing anything to affect change. They appointed a highly experienced management team, handed them by far the largest recruitment budget of any club in the division and the autonomy to use as they decided. The outcome? Utter terror at the mere sight of Airdrie. The biggest bottle job ever - and that's saying something for us - and quite simply, one too many. In the eyes of some, there is no coming back from something as seismic as that. He's done. I've no doubt he'll hang on to his job and survive into nest season but he's damaged goods. Credibility gone. Clock now ticking.

I'm not convinced they have to sell anything though. That's my point. However big a laughing stock we are on the pitch - or, until fairly recently, off - fans continue to turn up in very consistent, respectable numbers. Season after season. What would it take to change that? I've no idea. Relegation down another level?! The club has - or certainly appears to have - pretty much a captive audience. So if McGlynn is still in charge going into next season, would that result in a few season ticket holders deciding to chuck it? Maybe. But hundreds, or certainly enough to have a real financial impact? I just don't think so. There are some very sound football reasons for deciding to twist as far as the managerial position is concerned - you could start and end with that abomination last night. I just don't buy the "we need to empty him or season ticket sales will fall off a cliff" argument. Because, on all available evidence, they won't

We.ve been saying that for how many seasons now? It never comes to fruition. There seems to be no corelation whatsoever between what happens on the pitch - or in our case, what doesn't happen - and attendances/season ticket sales etc. Maybe it's time to consider if that is, in some ways, part of the problem. Fans turning up in good numbers regardless so is there any real consequence, financial or otherwise, from despicable performances such as last night and far, far too many others. Not the main factor obviously, but perhaps in some small way a contributing one as to why the club remains gutless to the core and soft as shite. I still think he's pretty safe and likely to be in charge at the start of next season. Sad fact is, if you're desperate for him to go, it might just require a repeat performance/result on Sat to tip the balance. If Airdrie are content to go through the motions/conserve energy for the final/rest one or two players it might just be possible for us to scrape some sort of semi-respectability and that will be enough for McGlynn to spin it us some sort of positive, progress being made yad yada. If they fancy going for the jugular to maintain momentum, well, it could be anything. A double-figure aggregate score well within their grasp. Another disaster - which is absolutely a possibility - might be needed to bring some sort of positive action. I still don't it see though.

At the first and third goals - I think, they all blur into one - literally as soon as the Airdrie player picked up the ball, before they had even advanced a single step, every fan in the away end knew what was coming, it was so utterly, utterly predictable. There cannot be an easier team to play against. I have never seen a Falkirk team so petrified, and I've seen us at Ibrox when Laudrup was running riot or against Celtic with Di Canio. The saddest thing of all - most, maybe all of our players, will wake up this morning with a sense of overwhelming relief. They cannot handle a scintilla of expectation or pressure. And that's all gone now. It was gone after fifteen minutes last nightand I'd bet my last penny most of them - internally at least - were breathing a massive sigh of relief. Their utter gutlessness shames the club.

I haven’t read any comments post-match. I would not go within a million miles of McGlynn’s interview. I know what I saw tonight. The single most gutless, spineless, despicable, embarrassing capitulation in over 30 years of watching Falkirk. And before anyone says Queens Park, this was on a whole different level. In terms of the importance of the game. In terms of the vast gulf in budgets between the two clubs. In terms of the yawning chasm in experience between the two managers. I knew we would absolutely shite ourselves tonight-everyone but the truly deluded knew that. But never in my wildest dreams-make that worst nightmare-did I think we could bottle it so comprehensively, I felt physically ill watching that first half. McGlynns years of experience clearly counts for bugger all on the park. But he must know there is no coming back from this. You do not survive this seismic a result. He’ll stumble on until the last rites on Saturday then we call it a day and move on.

Shitebags. Of the very highest order f**k off McGlynn

I'll be honest, if you are hoping for a change of manager, I think you are wasting your time. It is simply not going to happen. I'm towards the sceptical end of the McGlynn Fanboy spectrum but I would be utterly amazed if we don't start next season with him in charge, regardless of what happens over the next few weeks. The bare statistics of a second-place finish in the league and a Scottish Cup Semi-Final will have given him more than enough credit in the bank. Even our standard bottle job in the play-offs (and anyone who does not believe that is a strong possibility is deluding themselves) won't change anything. Not saying I would be wildly enthusiastic about the above, but I'm not going to waste a single second on a scenario which simply is not going to happen. McGlynn isn't going anywhere.

Let's think. We finished second in a Championship containing two of the five biggest clubs in the country. Both with multiple times our budget. We lost four regular league games that season. Two of them at Ibrox, one in the last minute. We knocked Hibs out of the play-offs. We beat Kilmarnock at home. Rugby Park was just one game too far for a squad who had given everything they had. Go and tell the likes of Vaulks they bottled it. If the current lot had 1/100th of the spirit, attitude, fight, desire, willingness to go to the 90th minute (and way beyond on quite a few occasions) - well, there would not even be any discussion about play-offs. Your comparison is absolutely ludicrous. Because there is none.

You’re literally talking about a base of three or four players maximum. Edwards, Todd certainly, perhaps Comrie. I don’t think it includes some of the players you have been quoting. Dunfermline fans would have personally driven Chalmers to any club daft enough to take him. He was utter garbage last season. What would have been the reaction had he turned up at TFS? I can guess. McCann wasn’t considered good enough either. I just don’t look at a squad containing the likes of Mehmet, O’Hara, Todorov and think “wow” But they are a proper unit, not reliant on two or three individuals. McPake has worked with most of the tools he inherited -interpret tools however you want!-and supplemented it with very selective, clever recruitment in the likes of Benedictus, Hamilton, Ritchie-Hosler. That’s good management. Even accepting the argument that we started from an even lower base - well, intelligent use of an infinitely greater budget, both last summer and in January, should have helped to bridge that gap. It hasn’t. In that context, I don’t see 14 points off top spot and failure to mount any sort of credible title challenge as anything other than gross underachievement.

Neither did Dunfermline fans. From recollection, most of them were fairly pessimistic - or certainly not optimistic - about their chances. Top four and a play-off place being a reasonable enough expectation, but nothing much more than that, and certainly no talk that they would cruise the league in the manner they have, with the cigars out pretty much since they beat us in November. All managers are, to some extent, judged against the performance of their peers at rival clubs. And I think that is where our manager has a problem. I didn't particularly rate McPake from his time at Dundee but, on an absolute fraction of what we have spent on recruitment, he has comprehensively outmanaged McGlynn, something I would not have thought possible. He's got the absolute most from a group of largely someone else's players, some of whom - Chalmers for example - most Pars fans would have been delighted to see the back of a year ago. The idea that their squad, on the back of a comedy season under the guidance of a pair of clowns (sound familiar?) was ready made to absolutely stroll to the title - sorry, not buying that for a single second. Absolute rubbish. It's just an argument being used to suit a particular narrative, and one with no basis at all.