The Falkirk FC Thread

[mic_17_uk]

 
Im sure he said the hotel was Maddison Avenue NYC for whoever was wondering.

Is that next to Maddison Square Gardens? #boxofficeparallels

[Gaz FFC]

38 minutes ago, GMBairn said:

Last plan I saw had flats in that spot, even a lake in the middle to deal with/disguise the flooding. 

I seen that plan too but they came out with a new 1 since then.

Pretty sure the fancy roundabout bridge thing was back for that 1 and the flats had become a hotel.

I will try dig it out for you.

 

https://www.insider.co.uk › news › f...
Falkirk Gateway to get 'urban quarter' with shops, leisure ...

Edited July 30, 2019 by Gaz FFC

[roman_bairn]

Is that next to Maddison Square Gardens? #boxofficeparallels

More chance of finding Maddiston ‘Square Go’ Gardens on internet tbh......

[TxRover]

Not to be cynical, but sometimes the obvious is the simplest. The business plan would be to build value in the club with promotion(s), development and player sales. Ok, so why Falkirk?

Well, favorable cost of living and amenities, plus easy access to both Edinburgh, Glasgow and central Scotland, good infrastructure and an already SPL compliant stadium are all pluses. If they can build a practice pitch and some facilities on the east side, which would depend upon the regulations regarding the plant disaster area, it would easily support a youth academy initially.

The hiring of a well regarded footballer with connections to Celtic and lots of contacts within Scottish Football is, to me, a giveaway. They intend to leverage the Celtic connection initially to gain some loan players or youth players to develop. Then they will build the academy, helped by the generally miserable state of youth academies across Scotland right now, and use it to develop players to sell on later. The inducement of playing for a youth development team with some connections to Celtic could be quite useful to both Falkirk and Celtic.

When they then gain promotion to the SPL, the academy will be attractive on its own without the Celtic feeder attraction, and the situation becomes self-sustaining. The Falkirk area is sufficiently affluent, having some of the highest average income outside of the major cities, to support the team well, and the team has a strong history in Scottish Football. As 10 year plan for profit, it’s a reasonably solid one, helped immensely by the club have no debt.

IDK, but I don’t see reason to panic if I was a fan, just would want clear communications, and Campbell seems to be starting that way.

[Poet of the Macabre]

3 hours ago, Gaz FFC said:

Seeing as I have you here how many Ex Bairns remain at EEP?

May be wrong but fairly sure it's just Mr Paul Paton.

[Reggie Perrin]

Not to be cynical, but sometimes the obvious is the simplest. The business plan would be to build value in the club with promotion(s), development and player sales. Ok, so why Falkirk?
Well, favorable cost of living and amenities, plus easy access to both Edinburgh, Glasgow and central Scotland, good infrastructure and an already SPL compliant stadium are all pluses. If they can build a practice pitch and some facilities on the east side, which would depend upon the regulations regarding the plant disaster area, it would easily support a youth academy initially.
The hiring of a well regarded footballer with connections to Celtic and lots of contacts within Scottish Football is, to me, a giveaway. They intend to leverage the Celtic connection initially to gain some loan players or youth players to develop. Then they will build the academy, helped by the generally miserable state of youth academies across Scotland right now, and use it to develop players to sell on later. The inducement of playing for a youth development team with some connections to Celtic could be quite useful to both Falkirk and Celtic.
When they then gain promotion to the SPL, the academy will be attractive on its own without the Celtic feeder attraction, and the situation becomes self-sustaining. The Falkirk area is sufficiently affluent, having some of the highest average income outside of the major cities, to support the team well, and the team has a strong history in Scottish Football. As 10 year plan for profit, it’s a reasonably solid one, helped immensely by the club have no debt.
IDK, but I don’t see reason to panic if I was a fan, just would want clear communications, and Campbell seems to be starting that way.

Not any plant disaster area / blast zone anymore and construction of the new training pitch is already well underway.
Don’t see the Celtic feeder club thing ever being an option.

[Beaver The Bairn]

Not to be cynical, but sometimes the obvious is the simplest. The business plan would be to build value in the club with promotion(s), development and player sales. Ok, so why Falkirk?

Well, favorable cost of living and amenities, plus easy access to both Edinburgh, Glasgow and central Scotland, good infrastructure and an already SPL compliant stadium are all pluses. If they can build a practice pitch and some facilities on the east side, which would depend upon the regulations regarding the plant disaster area, it would easily support a youth academy initially.

The hiring of a well regarded footballer with connections to Celtic and lots of contacts within Scottish Football is, to me, a giveaway. They intend to leverage the Celtic connection initially to gain some loan players or youth players to develop. Then they will build the academy, helped by the generally miserable state of youth academies across Scotland right now, and use it to develop players to sell on later. The inducement of playing for a youth development team with some connections to Celtic could be quite useful to both Falkirk and Celtic.

When they then gain promotion to the SPL, the academy will be attractive on its own without the Celtic feeder attraction, and the situation becomes self-sustaining. The Falkirk area is sufficiently affluent, having some of the highest average income outside of the major cities, to support the team well, and the team has a strong history in Scottish Football. As 10 year plan for profit, it’s a reasonably solid one, helped immensely by the club have no debt.

IDK, but I don’t see reason to panic if I was a fan, just would want clear communications, and Campbell seems to be starting that way.

 

Despite our town’s shortcomings, Falkirk lies in an incredible area, Scotland wise.

 

I am so torn over the deal. I want to believe that we have caught a break and we will achieve things I only dreamt possible.

 

At the same time. If we have to bail the club out again, I know we will. Campbell knows this and I hope to f**k it never comes to that.

[Stainrod]

This.
The costs on buying the stadium, building a hotel, running a youth academy, putting a team together on and off the pitch that can make Falkirk consistently one of the Top 6 clubs in the SPFL are massive - I don't see any profit made on selling these things on covering the initial outlay and running costs.

I’m surprised and concerned about the lack of info on the guy
1. Where did he live in England . Somebody from that area must be able to throw some light on him
2 What real estate did he sell in New York
3 What turnover / profit does his enterprises have
4 What is his business history
5 Who does he support
Don’t get me wrong I’m all for taking a chance on him but the lack of info on the guy is a bit of a red flag . I really thought that by now we would have the complete picture. Anyone could state they have sold real estate and have an interest in a coffee company bug that could be as little as having sold a few flats with 95% mortgages and the wife runs a cafe. The devil is in the detail . We don’t want Walter Mitty taking over the mantle from lex as Falkirk biggest plonked !

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Poet of the Macabre said:

I will confess to not knowing - or really caring - if this fella is above board or not.

However, I am sure all sane Falkirk fans will be asking what his true intentions are for the club. I'd be suspicious of anyone getting involved in football ownership at any level, when there is so rarely any financial return. No businessman is throwing away money for no reason, so they either feel the club can generate significant profits or feel owning the club will benefit them in some other way.

I think you'd have been better with the fans in charge but I'm maybe just sentimental.

 

If he is indeed legit, I think he is eyeing a Toytown version of the Chelsea Village with a number of other business ventures sprouting up on the available acreage around the stadium. He has of course, yet to cross swords with that bastion of free enterprise, the Falkirk Council in all of its class leading dysfunctionality. That bit I really do look forward to, and wish him every success.

[Stainrod]

What are people expecting, someone asked?
Link me to his coffee company's website
Name the 'hotel chain' he bought and sold at a profit 
Explain why a divorce would mean he has little to no record online
If his end game is to build a hotel, buy and sell land around the stadium or build out space within the stadium which can be rented out, explain why he wanted to buy Sunderland, which is a complete shit tip with no tourist attractions whatsoever
Give some reasoning for why his main company website was made on the same day he made his pitch to the board, contains a generic picture and a blank contact form with nothing else on it whatsoever, and give me detail on why it was made using Squarespace, a build your own website style thing which is advertised on every podcast going
 
The whole thing seems ludicrous to me. 

If what you say is correct I’m afraid the probability is he is a bullshiter . If that’s the case then the board need to be hounded as it would be an absolute disgrace to put such a character up as preferred bidder before BTB . I fear for them if this turns out to be their latest fu-k up .

[GeordieBairn]

All these questions flying around but nobody wants to ask the man himself, he’s clearly open to conversation on Twitter so jump on there dm him and hopefully get a response. Why call him this and that when you don’t have a scooby doo.

[JulioBairn]

15 minutes ago, Stainrod said:

 

I’m surprised and concerned about the lack of info on the guy
1. Where did he live in England . Somebody from that area must be able to throw some light on him
2 What real estate did he sell in New York
3 What turnover / profit does his enterprises have
4 What is his business history
5 Who does he support
Don’t get me wrong I’m all for taking a chance on him but the lack of info on the guy is a bit of a red flag . I really thought that by now we would have the complete picture. Anyone could state they have sold real estate and have an interest in a coffee company bug that could be as little as having sold a few flats with 95% mortgages and the wife runs a cafe. The devil is in the detail . We don’t want Walter Mitty taking over the mantle from lex as Falkirk biggest plonked !

 

 

It’s all getting a bit repetitive. If he doesn’t have the money he won’t get the keys as the MSG will not be going anywhere until their pockets have been lined. 

Nobody knows if he’ll keep his promises if/when he takes over but he’ll have to go some to be worse than the current regime. If he is true to his word then things are going to get pretty exciting. 

[Relegator Ritchie]

Without trying to sound like I’m being impatient with or having a go at Kenny J or those involved in the BtB bid, but I think I’m right in saying Kenny and Keith G both met Mark Campbell on Monday morning at around 9.30am. It would be good if Kenny could issue some sort of statement regarding how he felt that meeting went. I’m sure Kenny knows that many fans are sceptical and hold the opinions of the BtB’s guys in high regard. With that in mind, why the silence? If they found Campbell to be open and honest enough, tell us so many of our fears can be alleviated. Similarly, if they have doubts over Campbell’s credentials and find him a bit of a chancer, let’s not keep it secret. Speak up and tell us either way.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Relegator Ritchie

[welshbairn]

What Falkirk clearly need is a social media influencer to buy the club, with their own Youtube channel to show how fabulously wealthy they are. Any businessman without a large following on twitter and facebook, and a biography instantly obtainable on Linkedin has to be a conman. I don't know why they even bother with due diligence anymore, we've checked him out in minutes on google. What on earth were Sunderland even doing giving him the time of day? 

[TxRover]

1 hour ago, Reggie Perrin said:

Not any plant disaster area / blast zone anymore and construction of the new training pitch is already well underway.
Don’t see the Celtic feeder club thing ever being an option.

Ah, now you see why local knowledge trumps research...and makes the whole idea even better. If all the clear land around the stadium is available, at a price of course, then it makes the business plan sounder. I could only gather a little data to analyze the idea.

Now, as for the Celtic feeder thought. Perhaps you took my description too literally. It’s not a hard and fast relationship, but it is a, very clear to all, beneficial arrangement. When a team wishes to loan out a player for development, what are they looking for? A team that needs a player at that position, at a level they feel their loanee can play at, and in a organization that can nurture the loanee. An established relationship with a manager at a club goes a long way to assuaging any concerns the loaning club might have, thus the advantage of Park. Also, since Falkirk has splashed out the money to pickup players with higher level experience, a loaning club can feel comfortable that their player will learn a lot.

[Nedelko]

Not saying the guy is definitely legit - haven't seen anything to convince me either way yet -
but let's assume he gets the keys to the club and *starts* delivering on what he says he will (3 new signings in before the deadline and plans in place for a new stand etc). At what point do the cynics among us start to come around? How far do things have to go without any signs that he is a fraud before we're happy with him at the helm?

Personally, if he takes the reins, funds a few signings and puts us on course for the premiership while maintaining the level of transparency he's shown in these very early stages then I'll be an incredibly happy man regardless of whatever ulterior motives he may have.

[KiwiDB]

2 What real estate did he sell in New York
3 What turnover / profit does his enterprises have
4 What is his business history

I’m sorry but that’s an incredibly naive view of how business actually operates..

Over the last few years I’ve been involved in some fairly meaty transactions where businesses have been bought and sold for hundred of millions...

if you were to try and google and research some of the buyers you would find ZERO about them as they are incredibly private businesses and investors who just go about their business quietly and efficiently with minimal fuss.

Many of the entities used to buy the businesses are only set up once they have received preferred bidder status or even later and there’s certainly no websites with any of those names of them.

I don’t have any opinion either way on whether this guy is legit however the fact information is hard to find is far from a red flag for me.

[orco]

No idea why but reading this thread the names Pearse Flynn, Angelo Massone and Charles Green keep coming into my head. 

[Hank von Hell]

10 hours ago, Marshmallo said:

What are people expecting, someone asked?

Link me to his coffee company's website

Name the 'hotel chain' he bought and sold at a profit 

Explain why a divorce would mean he has little to no record online

If his end game is to build a hotel, buy and sell land around the stadium or build out space within the stadium which can be rented out, explain why he wanted to buy Sunderland, which is a complete shit tip with no tourist attractions whatsoever

Give some reasoning for why his main company website was made on the same day he made his pitch to the board, contains a generic picture and a blank contact form with nothing else on it whatsoever, and give me detail on why it was made using Squarespace, a build your own website style thing which is advertised on every podcast going

 

The whole thing seems ludicrous to me. 

Absolutely this in a nutshell.

It reeks and the last point about his main company website should ring alarm bells loud.  

We might have no debt right now but I bet that won't be the case with MC in charge.

[Hank von Hell]

10 hours ago, JulioBairn said:

£10-£15million is a complete guess so why make that up? 

Why are we suddenly the only club that the owner needs to make a profit? How much profit has any other owner of any other club made? 

If he’s true to his word then we are going places and he’ll have plenty opportunity to make some money back. If he’s not then he’ll struggle to get in the door.

 

Because he is apparently a businessman ,and not a fairy godmother, with no previous links or love for Falkirk FC.

Neither FFC or MC had heard of each other 6 months ago. 

We are supposed to believe he will pump millions into our club for no profit because he is a football fan.