The Falkirk FC Thread

[PB1994]

11 minutes ago, spud131 said:

 

 

I have to say I'm honestly struggling to think of any half decent managers that are available (and likely to want to come to Falkirk).

 

You should be getting in touch with Neil McCann to see if he wants it.

[Shadwell Dog]

4 minutes ago, JinkyBairn said:

Give it a rest man fs. Easily the worst poster in this thread.

Sorry to disappoint you so much.  You can continue to chortle at the numerous pictures of people laughing getting posted. Fire away.

[HopeStreetWalker]

3 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Whilst we are in a bit of a shambles we're still an attractive prospect for many managers/coaches. Full time team in a part time league. New team needing built, first class facilities etc. We'll just have to wait and see.

For that to be achieved it would be a 3-4 year job and a free hand and I can't see them doing that.

To attract the quality to do the job required that security and control would have to be part of the contract.

Also think there is a good chance of a handful of full time players and the rest part time.

Worrying times !

[Grangemouth Bairn]

34 minutes ago, G51 said:

Being serious for a minute, Falkirks current situation looks to be primarily down to a failure of recruitment.

Yes, the management staff weren't very good on the park, and good managers can turn decent players into good ones. But it's much easier to simply sign good players in the first place.

What I'd be worried about if I was a Falkirk fan is I'd have no confidence in Holt's ability to implement a decent recruitment process. There are loads of half-decent managers kicking about that can get a player producing something close to his level of ability.

That's the real danger for Falkirk here. Not fixing the recruitment side of things can turn a 3 year stay into a 6 or 7 year one.

Add to this that there are now ambitious clubs like Cove, Queens Park, Brora and Kelty who have decent financial backing and will feel, that due to the weakness of the bottom 2 leagues, they have a realistic chance of progressing to Championship level.

[Marshmallo]

Just get a likeable team on the park again and make it enjoyable to go to the football again before anything else. It has been hellish watching us over the last four years with players who are faceless, cowardly or both. There are a thousand things we should (rightly) want changed at the club but for me the most fundamental is give me some entertainment on a Saturday, otherwise I'm so worn down watching a lot of generic plodders that I'll just go and watch eg Pollok in an entertaining game with my mates where I can get in for £6 and get a pint at half time. At our "best" in the last 3 or 4 years we have been unbelievably dull.

Edited May 5, 2021 by Marshmallo

[AL-FFC]

The thing is we have filled the team with journeymen who lets face it haven't achieved much on the field, they turn up play football get a wage and thats their lot.  They simply dont give a shite either way they get paid.  When was the last time we had a player that gave a toss about the club therein lie part of the issue.  Might mean nothing to them but means a damn sight more to us. they move on and find another club. 

No doubt Durnan will turn up at QP next season as will a few of them.

 

[Guest Peter LaFleur]

15 minutes ago, PB1994 said:

You should be getting in touch with Neil McCann to see if he wants it.

We could do a lot worse. I think McCann, Grant or Murray would all be decent enough appointments that are realistic. Admittedly none of the above are earth shattering exciting picks.

Edited May 5, 2021 by Peter LaFleur

[Raith Against The Machine]

Has your "Sporting Director" considered giving any other sports a go? Maybe football isn't for you. 

[Left Back]

6 minutes ago, AL-FFC said:

The thing is we have filled the team with journeymen who lets face it haven't achieved much on the field, they turn up play football get a wage and thats their lot.  They simply dont give a shite either way they get paid.  When was the last time we had a player that gave a toss about the club therein lie part of the issue.  Might mean nothing to them but means a damn sight more to us. they move on and find another club. 

No doubt Durnan will turn up at QP next season as will a few of them.

 

How many players at any club do you think actually give a toss about that club?  It's a job to them all.  If you're hoping for a team of badge kissers you're utterly deluded.

[Guest Ecosse83]

10 minutes ago, AL-FFC said:

The thing is we have filled the team with journeymen who lets face it haven't achieved much on the field, they turn up play football get a wage and thats their lot.  They simply dont give a shite either way they get paid.  When was the last time we had a player that gave a toss about the club therein lie part of the issue.  Might mean nothing to them but means a damn sight more to us. they move on and find another club. 

No doubt Durnan will turn up at QP next season as will a few of them.

 

Let’s hope so! 

[Ranaldo Bairn]

20 minutes ago, Marshmallo said:

Just get a likeable team on the park again and make it enjoyable to go to the football again before anything else. It has been hellish watching us over the last four years with players who are faceless, cowardly or both. There are a thousand things we should (rightly) want changed at the club but for me the most fundamental is give me some entertainment on a Saturday, otherwise I'm so worn down watching a lot of generic plodders that I'll just go and watch eg Pollok in an entertaining game with my mates where I can get in for £6 and get a pint at half time. At our "best" in the last 3 or 4 years we have been unbelievably dull.

Yup.

My son's team or Jeanfield Swifts for me.

[spud131]

We could do a lot worse. I think McCann, Grant or Murray would all be decent enough appointments that are realistic. Admittedly none of the above are earth shattering exciting picks.

McCann has done alright taking over Robertson's ICT team for half a season, but his only other managerial experience is at Dundee where he lost over 50% of the matches (albeit in the Premier league).

[G51]

2 minutes ago, Grangemouth Bairn said:

Add to this that there are now ambitious clubs like Cove, Queens Park, Brora and Kelty who have decent financial backing and will feel, that due to the weakness of the bottom 2 leagues, they have a realistic chance of progressing to Championship level.

It's not an insurmountable challenge though. I'd still fancy Falkirk to outspend those teams, and even if you didn't, you just need to find a competitive edge somewhere.

Falkirks edge in the old days was the youth academy. It often produced really good players. Even when it only produced average ones, it gave you them at cut-price wages because they were young academy graduates. That allowed you to spend the money saved elsewhere in the squad.

That's gone now. So what do you do now? What are Falkirk going to do better than the other nine teams in the league?

The obvious answer IMO is a robust recruitment process. Most Scottish clubs have an archaic recruitment process based on the managers contacts. There's scope for a smart club to innovate, and American owners are likely to be receptive to that considering how prevalent analytics are in American sports.

 

[Shadwell Dog]

3 minutes ago, Left Back said:

How many players at any club do you think actually give a toss about that club?  It's a job to them all.  If you're hoping for a team of badge kissers you're utterly deluded.

Not the club but their careers. You need players that take pride in their own performances and don't just turn up and go through the motions. We play against part time teams every week where the players bust a gut either to move on in the game or at the very least so they have some personal pride in their own work. They fight kick and scratch for each other noatter what team they personally favour. 

[Shadwell Dog]

1 minute ago, G51 said:

It's not an insurmountable challenge though. I'd still fancy Falkirk to outspend those teams, and even if you didn't, you just need to find a competitive edge somewhere.

Falkirks edge in the old days was the youth academy. It often produced really good players. Even when it only produced average ones, it gave you them at cut-price wages because they were young academy graduates. That allowed you to spend the money saved elsewhere in the squad.

That's gone now. So what do you do now? What are Falkirk going to do better than the other nine teams in the league?

The obvious answer IMO is a robust recruitment process. Most Scottish clubs have an archaic recruitment process based on the managers contacts. There's scope for a smart club to innovate, and American owners are likely to be receptive to that considering how prevalent analytics are in American sports.

 

Teams like Arbroath, Airdrie, east Fife, alloa, Raith have had far better recruitment programs than us in recent years.  They pick up far better young players released from elsewhere and are far more successful in the loan market. To me we should be seeing what they are doing right and learn from it.

[Believe The Hype]

Whoever is calling the shots is really going to have to pull it out the bag to get any fans back on board. 

[TheScarf]

1 minute ago, G51 said:

It's not an insurmountable challenge though. I'd still fancy Falkirk to outspend those teams, and even if you didn't, you just need to find a competitive edge somewhere.

Falkirks edge in the old days was the youth academy. It often produced really good players. Even when it only produced average ones, it gave you them at cut-price wages because they were young academy graduates. That allowed you to spend the money saved elsewhere in the squad.

That's gone now. So what do you do now? What are Falkirk going to do better than the other nine teams in the league?

The obvious answer IMO is a robust recruitment process. Most Scottish clubs have an archaic recruitment process based on the managers contacts. There's scope for a smart club to innovate, and American owners are likely to be receptive to that considering how prevalent analytics are in American sports.

 

That is a huge issue for Falkirk IMO.  They don't have the option of promoting young talent into the first team, who may actually give a fuck.  Instead they have to hunt around for Championship/League One level jobbers with half the SPFL on their CV.  Dump them after a season, then the whole process starts again.  You need a consistent side to be successful.  Or at least 5 or 6 of the 11 who have been there for 2/3 seasons or more and know how to play together.

 

[PedroMoutinho]

57 minutes ago, ilostmyself said:

 

So a potential base for the new manager and hoping desperately that somehow Keena and Alston turn back into footballers

Mutch

Williamson New New New

Morrison New Alston New

Keena New

Bench: Sneddon, Miller, Dowds

Alston needs to be first out the door for me. He’s offered absolutely nothing all season.

Hopefully he has a non promotion clause in his contract.

[Grangemouth Bairn]

7 minutes ago, G51 said:

It's not an insurmountable challenge though. I'd still fancy Falkirk to outspend those teams, and even if you didn't, you just need to find a competitive edge somewhere.

Falkirks edge in the old days was the youth academy. It often produced really good players. Even when it only produced average ones, it gave you them at cut-price wages because they were young academy graduates. That allowed you to spend the money saved elsewhere in the squad.

That's gone now. So what do you do now? What are Falkirk going to do better than the other nine teams in the league?

The obvious answer IMO is a robust recruitment process. Most Scottish clubs have an archaic recruitment process based on the managers contacts. There's scope for a smart club to innovate, and American owners are likely to be receptive to that considering how prevalent analytics are in American sports.

 

You make some really good points Tbf mate. 
 

The only one I’d disagree with is that we can’t outspend as they are being funded through some ‘sponsorship deal’ by Lord Willie Haughey. I’m sure it’ll be structured in such a way that’ll it will bypass the financial fair play rules.

[Shadwell Dog]

4 minutes ago, PedroMoutinho said:

Alston needs to be first out the door for me. He’s offered absolutely nothing all season.

Hopefully he has a non promotion clause in his contract.

He'll be one of our highest earners. If not then we can only hope that with a manager with half a clue and in a decent side he can recover his form.  No guarantee we'll.have either of them mind you.