Zbairn

2 years I believe…..in saying that….every five minutes for the FSS rep on the board!

Rock and a hard place with this one. I agree that reducing subscriptions may increase number of participating fans, which is a good thing. However, I also agree with KJLK that reducing from the current £10 level may also result in fans reducing their subs meaning the club gets less cash in, which is a bad thing. No right or wrong here and I'm not sure which is the best for everyone.

Take your point.... £5 for kids / Under 18's ?

To calculate and rationalise FSS numbers like this is a bit disingenuous. There are a huge number of factors involved in our average attendance. How many are school kids ? How many are families attending and the parents pay the FSS ? How many find the £10 a month just a bridge too far in this economic climate ? How many are unemployed ? How many are in hospitality who perhaps have only come along as a guest ? ..... so many reasons for not being a member of FSS yet still attending a match. Beside where I sit, a lady regularly attends with 3 kids ....thats potentially 4 FFS members but I doubt that she will cough up £40/month. There are also a few old guys around me who probably have not got a clue what the FSS is. We could also hypothesise that there are thousands of Falkirk fans out there who do not attend matches. Consider semi-finals and finals. If they attended matches the club would certainly be much better off. That would be a significant cash generator for the club. What can be done to get the footfall increased? I'm not saying there shouldn't be a lot more in the FFS (I wish there was), but 720 is a fantastic achievement and one that benefits the club substantially in terms of the cash it gives every month. One point I agree with is that the monthly subs could be reduced to £5. It would certainly increase numbers, but I'm not sure the uptake would be substantial. What I don't agree with, is trying to rationalise the FSS uptake with regular attendance.

Pretty much sums it up !

There is an FSS meeting coming up shortly. That is when the members get their say !

That's a presumption that the Patrons Group and remaining MSG are in agreement with the concerns of the FSS. If there is a disagreement between the two (or three) then that might not necessarily be the case. That is why the 25%+1 is important. The FSS is the umbrella group of over 750 fans. Not just 20 or 30. Basically it's a guarantee that nothing can be done without the bulk of fans agreeing to it. My main concern now is that the FSS cash is effectively a donation to the club. Without some safeguard of being able to retain that % of shareholding , should an investor come in, then it makes the FSS redundant. Any new cash to the club should only be given on the understanding that its a "soft loan" and when new shares become available, then the FSS can call in that loan for the new shares.

The concept of fan ownership (and the reason I joined the FSS) was always to have that "veto" and prevent a takeover by some numpty. In the great scheme of things £15k isn't a huge amount of cash, although in our case it is always welcome. My reading of this is that the BoD do not want the FSS to get the requisite shareholding. Not a cash thing. Politics at play here !

Just wondering is this is one of the reasons why the FSS director quit recently ? .....and what does the other FSS director think of this situation whereby the FSS cannot buy any more shares in the club.

Just saw this update from the FSS in my e-mails :- "Following the payment of the money from the Fan Bank loan to FSS, this money was passed to the club to purchase 875,000 shares. These shares, when added to those previously purchased by/donated to FSS, takes us to a current total of 1,279,000. The total number of shares issued by the Company (Falkirk Football Club) are 5,197,575, so FSS is the largest shareholder at 24.6% of the total shareholding. The FSS committee has unanimously agreed that we require to reach 25% plus one share. This (25%+1) is important because it is the number of shares required to veto any special resolutions - thus providing FSS (and the wider fanbase) with the 'safeguard' associated with our message. That means FSS needs to obtain a further 37,184 shares to reach the figure of 25% plus one share. Falkirk Football Club Board of Directors have informed us that there are no more shares available to us (the club has elected to retain approximately 1% of total shares for other potential investors), but they are understanding of our aim of reaching over 25%. As a result, FSS needs to find a different mechanism to buy or obtain the additional 37,184 shares. For example, recently 2000 shares were anonymously donated by a Bairn to FSS." I thought the whole premise of fan ownership was to provide the fans with a veto to any unwanted predator trying to buy into the club. Is that not the whole concept of the FSS (and the Patrons Group)? Can anyone enlighten me with the logic why the club don't want the fans to have the 25% +1 shareholding and that "safeguard" ? If the fans cannot buy the club, then what is the purpose of the FSS and Patrons Group? What is the point in the Govt spending £300k if not for fan ownership? I am a little perplexed by this

My one little worry is is his size and that he might get brushed aside by big bruising forwards when high balls are thrown in. The real positive is his awareness. The number of times he comes out to help our defence, or stands up as a "one on one" has been instrumental in us not losing more goals in the few games he has been No.1.

My opinion only - The 3rd leg of the stool was to be major shareholders. In that sense, it includes Sandy Alexander, the Rawlins and possibly Martin Ritchie. They are entitled to put bodies onto the BoD's but have declined to so in favour of the FSS/Patrons Group. I'm pretty sure that any external investor putting in significant cash would likely want to "control" the club. To only be part of a 3 legged stool model and have minority voting rights would probably not be in their interest. My thoughts only.....are that any external investor coming in probably means the end of fan ownership and the "3 legged" model.

I think it is right that the club is always alert to and considering external investment, as long as it is carried out with due diligence and is beneficial, both in short and long term. In all likelihood, any external investor would rightly be looking at control of the club. However, one note of caution. The Govt. grant of around £300k was a lifesaver and based on the principle of fan ownership. Should the club lose that pathway for funds (i.e. the FSS buying what limited shares are left), or the club is no longer fan owned, then the Govt could rightly question why they gave us that cash and perhaps try to recoup. Edited - just another thought....if the club is sold on to an external investor, why would fans want to contribute to the FSS if it is no longer fan owned....other than a donation to the club ?

The club uses 2nd class post. Expect it for the last game of the season. If it doesn’t arrive, go into the shop and they will print you a paper ticket.

Quite liked big Krasniqui. Always thought he didn't get enough show time at the Stadium.

.....can't wait !

Heard the same. Pablo did a lot good work for the FSS and he will be sorely missed. Helluva coincidence that John Wright excused himself from the BoD as the FSS rep and now Pablo, who I think was instrumental in getting the Govt. loan. Some good guys who have made a difference going, in my opinion.

The Captains' armband has been available for sponsorship for a few years, on a game by game basis. Just that the Falkirk Daft guys have got in there and are doing it for the whole season.

Have to agree. All the dealings I have had with the Commercial Dept. recently have been excellent in terms of return communication and feedback. This may be due to the fact they now have extra bodies, but they still need to show "value for money" .... which, by all accounts they are doing !

Not sure on that. I heard this week that some players (McGinn, Lang and Spencer e.g) are on a fairly decent wedge. Was surprised to hear how much and certainly much more than I was expecting. We could possibly have got 6 part time players in for the numbers quoted. Info came from a reasonable trustworthy source, but really need someone with a link to those at the top to confirm (highly unlikely)

A Jumbotron ...... great for commercial income, team line ups, posting messages, KissCam, showing goals against the Pars, the bigot brothers, Hibs, Hearts etc, ..... or just anything that is half decent on the TV at the time as we are getting humped.

I see Juan Alegria is a free agent looking for a club. Pity we have no cash to sign. Might have been a reasonable bet for up front.

Proud to be a season ticket holder, 1876 Club member, FSS member, Equity Bairns member, 50/50 ticket buyer, KM stand letter sponsor……Falkirk now, Falkirk then, Forever Falkirk

That's the $64000 question. I think that McGlynn knows his time is up. He will struggle to get another gig. Smith on the other hand, still has a good bit of working life in him. Maybe he will see this as a perfect opportunity to cut the ties that bind ?? Who knows?

Just a wee snippet re McGlynn. Was at a birthday bash a few weeks back and had a chat with an ex director of Raith. His take on McGlynn was the same as DF. Interestingly he also said that the team were miles better when McGlynn had to take a few months off for health reasons. Smith then took charge of the team as interim manager and it was like "night and day", only to revert back to boring when mcGlynn came back. Saying that...if the club were to get rid of the Management team, they only need to sack McGlynn and replace him with Smith. Only one contract to pay off