The Falkirk FC Thread

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Bainsfordbairn said:

I've no idea why but for some reason your reaction stuck in my head for years afterwards. You genuinely looked astounded, hence why it maybe sprung to mind when I was typing up a response to illustrate my lack of interest in boardroom stuff. As I'm a child of the sixties Spock seemed an appropriate analogy. 

Though Seven of nine would make for a more appealing avatar image . 

 

You mentioned my hatred of the Board. Completely the opposite is what I see it as. My challenging of a succession of them is love for the club and what I perceived, even back then, what was happening,  poor unambitious stewardship. To say you have no interest in how your club is run I find “alien” excuse the pun. 
Look where we are now and tell me I was wrong? 
Anyway Rawlins track record is good. He has decided the guys in there now are the people to take us back alongside his knowledge and finance. It is disappointing local investors couldn’t come to an agreement but no one died and I am sure the club will survive. At least fans know there is significant local investment there if it does go wrong. That should be of comfort. 

Time will tell but if you can’t get all fans back next season on the back of reduced ST numbers, which the Board will be expecting,  he is going to have to have long arms to get into his alleged deep pockets. 

I want to see this club turn around, I think local investment would have given balance to the Rawlins investment, but it wasn’t to be.
 

Has the club rock bottom yet? Proposed signings so far and new manager don’t fill me with huge confidence but Sheerin deserves his chance and a fair crack from everyone. 
 

Let’s hope this is a new dawn. For the clubs and fans sake I hope it is. No one will be happier than me if it is. 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Back Post Misses

[Bainsfordbairn]

24 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

Look where we are now and tell me I was wrong? 
Anyway Rawlins track record is good. He has decided the guys in there now are the people to take us back alongside his knowledge and finance. It is disappointing local investors couldn’t come to an agreement but no one died and I am sure the club will survive. At least fans know there is significant local investment there if it does go wrong. That should be of comfort. 

Time will tell but if you can’t get all fans back next season on the back of reduced ST numbers, which the Board will be expecting,  he is going to have to have long arms to get into his alleged deep pockets. 

I want to see this club turn around, I think local investment would have given balance to the Rawlins investment, but it wasn’t to be.
 

Has the club rock bottom yet? Proposed signings so far and new manager don’t fill me with huge confidence but Sheerin deserves his chance and a fair crack from everyone. 
 

Let’s hope this is a new dawn. For the clubs and fans sake I hope it is. No one will be happier than me if it is. 

You weren't wrong. Since our meeting almost every major decision has gone badly, with the possible exception of recruiting Houston. And even then the initial good choice was undone by cutting his budget for the final season which led to his decison to walk. Since then it's not been so much downhill as off a cliff. 

I thought we finally had a new beginning with the Rawlins. Maybe we still do, but the stories that have emerged since are a concern that need to be answered. If he want to have sole control then he has to explain what his plans are if he's to keep the fans on board. 

[Shadwell Dog]

13 hours ago, Stainrod said:

The agency plan is not for now - we need to be top championship / premiership to put prospects in the shop window Generally nobody from England shops in league 1 . We need to get there by getting the best jobbers on the park from the available pool . Although I did hear that a formal link to another club is on the cards - At least this might allow us to get in enough talent on loan to help boost our chances 

A formal link to another club. I'm never sure about these. I thought our plan was to start developing our own players again.  Whilst this will take time concern would be will any of ours get in the side even from the new dev team if we're dragging in young players from elsewhere. If Rawlins wants to be in control then invest the cash to get us out this league properly. Bring in some real quality and get the fans streaming back not the same old jobbers like the punters we've already signed.  It looks like it's going to be try and get out of league one and back to the premier on the cheap and if it all goes wrong well I've not spent much cash anyway so who cares.

 

[Bairn in Exile]

1 hour ago, Shadwell Dog said:

A formal link to another club. I'm never sure about these. I thought our plan was to start developing our own players again.  Whilst this will take time concern would be will any of ours get in the side even from the new dev team if we're dragging in young players from elsewhere. If Rawlins wants to be in control then invest the cash to get us out this league properly. Bring in some real quality and get the fans streaming back not the same old jobbers like the punters we've already signed.  It looks like it's going to be try and get out of league one and back to the premier on the cheap and if it all goes wrong well I've not spent much cash anyway so who cares.

 

I don’t care whether it is Aberdeen, Barcelona, Celtic  or Dinamo Zagreb, I never want to see us have any “formal links” with any other club where we are seen as the “lesser partner”. Sure, take advantage of the loan market where we can benefit from it but I’d rather see us languish in Tier 3 forever than be seen as some pet project to a larger club.

Edited May 31, 2021 by Bairn in Exile

[TheScarf]

12 hours ago, Grangemouth Bairn said:

 

And look at both clubs now . 

I mean just Falkirk and The Caley.  Fuck Rangers.

[FFC 1876]

I want another bunch of signing announcements from the club like they did with the Hartley ones that time. The checklist with the code words.

[Zbairn]

3 hours ago, Back Post Misses said:

You mentioned my hatred of the Board. Completely the opposite is what I see it as. My challenging of a succession of them is love for the club and what I perceived, even back then, what was happening,  poor unambitious stewardship. To say you have no interest in how your club is run I find “alien” excuse the pun. 
Look where we are now and tell me I was wrong? 
Anyway Rawlins track record is good. He has decided the guys in there now are the people to take us back alongside his knowledge and finance. It is disappointing local investors couldn’t come to an agreement but no one died and I am sure the club will survive. At least fans know there is significant local investment there if it does go wrong. That should be of comfort. 

Time will tell but if you can’t get all fans back next season on the back of reduced ST numbers, which the Board will be expecting,  he is going to have to have long arms to get into his alleged deep pockets. 

I want to see this club turn around, I think local investment would have given balance to the Rawlins investment, but it wasn’t to be.
 

Has the club rock bottom yet? Proposed signings so far and new manager don’t fill me with huge confidence but Sheerin deserves his chance and a fair crack from everyone. 
 

Let’s hope this is a new dawn. For the clubs and fans sake I hope it is. No one will be happier than me if it is. 

The big question is will the club survive and in what form ?

Rawlins has no track record in 3rd tier Scottish football.  It's a damn sight different to the big cash available at Stoke or even in the MLS.  We are a provincial Scottish Club whose main footballing organisation cannot even get half decent sponsores for their major competitions, if at all.

If all the investors are doing is backing off and wallking away without a fight,  letting the Rawlins and BoD dictate how our club progresses and accepting the abysmall way they treat our fans, then they don't deserve to have a say in the club.

[AL-FFC]

14 minutes ago, Zbairn said:

The big question is will the club survive and in what form ?

Rawlins has no track record in 3rd tier Scottish football.  It's a damn sight different to the big cash available at Stoke or even in the MLS.  We are a provincial Scottish Club whose main footballing organisation cannot even get half decent sponsores for their major competitions, if at all.

If all the investors are doing is backing off and wallking away without a fight,  letting the Rawlins and BoD dictate how our club progresses and accepting the abysmall way they treat our fans, then they don't deserve to have a say in the club.

I think we are all looking at the situation with no knowledge of what this grand plan is we might have called it right we might be wrong until we get out this league then i dont think we are going to see any of this grand plan till then.

As for the local investors backing of and walking away could be just a case of pick your battles wisely as track record is going the club will need the investors before the invotrs need the club circumstances may well chance in regards to boardroom and whats gone on until then and in fact in all scenarios its a case of wait and see.

[Zbairn]

3 minutes ago, AL-FFC said:

I think we are all looking at the situation with no knowledge of what this grand plan is we might have called it right we might be wrong until we get out this league then i dont think we are going to see any of this grand plan till then.

As for the local investors backing of and walking away could be just a case of pick your battles wisely as track record is going the club will need the investors before the invotrs need the club circumstances may well chance in regards to boardroom and whats gone on until then and in fact in all scenarios its a case of wait and see.

Apologies....but it's like sitting on a fence and hoping !

The investors offered the club £600k. Looking at where we are at the moment, are we really in a position of turning down that kind of cash ?

The role of directors is to look after the well being of our club. That cash could be a lifeline for us and should have been welcomed, not pushed away. What the BoD's have effectively done is support The Rawlins in their ownership status (and perhaps their own status) to the detriment of the club.

I have yet to see any real strategy from the club other than alienating fans.  I remember Gary Deans statement that "They (The Rawlins) completely buy into what we are striving to do and in our vision of a balanced ownership structure, a structure that is only successful when fans get to invest and support simultaneously with outside investors"

That statement sounds a bit hollow considering they have chased away significant investment from fans.

[HopeStreetWalker]

3 hours ago, Shadwell Dog said:

A formal link to another club. I'm never sure about these. I thought our plan was to start developing our own players again.  Whilst this will take time concern would be will any of ours get in the side even from the new dev team if we're dragging in young players from elsewhere. If Rawlins wants to be in control then invest the cash to get us out this league properly. Bring in some real quality and get the fans streaming back not the same old jobbers like the punters we've already signed.  It looks like it's going to be try and get out of league one and back to the premier on the cheap and if it all goes wrong well I've not spent much cash anyway so who cares.

 

He will invest more cash all right but manipulate the value to buy in at the bottom of the market.

That means sitting on his wallet. Fans will not see a coin from him until its a total buyout  'Will take it off your hands with a take it or leave it offer' most likely buying out the community stadium and surrounding land in the same package its textbook American business doctrine.

Cynical ? Ruthless ? Yes ! but that is the way they do business.

[TheScarf]

Just read on the Infowire sub-forum that you haven't played Queens park since 82/83.  Surely not?  Will change next season of course.

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

19 minutes ago, AL-FFC said:

I think we are all looking at the situation with no knowledge of what this grand plan is we might have called it right we might be wrong until we get out this league then i dont think we are going to see any of this grand plan till then.

As for the local investors backing of and walking away could be just a case of pick your battles wisely as track record is going the club will need the investors before the invotrs need the club circumstances may well chance in regards to boardroom and whats gone on until then and in fact in all scenarios its a case of wait and see.

How long do we have to wait and see though is the question?

I was excited by the Rawlins coming and I know it’s been a relatively short period but the signs are not promising. Also businesses have been run via zoom for over a year so being in Orlando is not a good enough excuse either. It’s not like they are likely to emigrate to Scotland either. 
 

They allowed Holt to be appointed. Seemed a strange move and felt like it undermined the managers at the time. Certainly didn’t improve matters anyway and of all signings, Tiffoney went to Partick and effectively helped them win the league. 
 

The retail offerings have not improved and neither has the social media side. We couldn’t even announce Sheerin before Aberdeen and took ages for it to appear on the main newsfeed. Simple acts of professionalism should not take long to implement. The Airdrie report is still yet to appear. 
 

The communication to the fans. They have treated both the CI guys and the fans group with contempt. That’s not a good start. 
 

Falkirk legend Alex Totten decides to walk and strong rumours are it’s because of the way he’s been treated. Certainly lines up considering the timing of it and the fact he’s not been given a proper send off. 
 

They don’t seem to be plugging their own finance in to the club. Think we’d be lying when they arrived and we didn’t think they’d pull off a bit of a coup with regards to the new manager. If what’s said to be true too then if they increased their shareholding that would give the club a good amount of money in the bank. Why have they not done that? If it’s because they have control already then that just confirms they won’t put their own money in, unless they’re guaranteed to get it back. 
 

Have to say, I’ve went from excited to wait and see to now very sceptical and needing answers. 
 

Folk may get annoyed about the continuation of this issue but it’s extremely important for the future of our club and its immediate success. 

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

5 minutes ago, HopeStreetWalker said:

He will invest more cash all right but manipulate the value to buy in at the bottom of the market.

That means sitting on his wallet. Fans will not see a coin from him until its a total buyout  'Will take it off your hands with a take it or leave it offer' most likely buying out the community stadium and surrounding land in the same package its textbook American business doctrine.

Cynical ? Ruthless ? Yes ! but that is the way they do business.

Well if true then we need to get shot of them as soon as possible. 

[D Angelo Barksdale]

Seeing snippets on here of some sort of link to the US.

I've just heard something which would possibly confirm it.

I know the family of a young Scottish player currently playing for an English Championship B team. He is looking to move back home as he's not going to break into the 1st team. He's been talking to St Johnstone and Falkirk, a no brainer on paper given both clubs current situations, but is edging towards Falkirk as he's been told the club would get him a move to the US in 12-18 months time.

[Reggie Perrin]

5 minutes ago, Avon Barksdale said:

Seeing snippets on here of some sort of link to the US.

I've just heard something which would possibly confirm it.

I know the family of a young Scottish player currently playing for an English Championship B team. He is looking to move back home as he's not going to break into the 1st team. He's been talking to St Johnstone and Falkirk, a no brainer on paper given both clubs current situations, but is edging towards Falkirk as he's been told the club would get him a move to the US in 12-18 months time.

We are where we are because Hartley signed an entire squad of this type of player and almost to a man they were chronic, including the Captain  of Chelsea U  23’s!

[Guest Peter LaFleur]

1 minute ago, Reggie Perrin said:

We are where we are because Hartley signed an entire squad of this type of player and almost to a man they were chronic, including the Captain  of Chelsea U  23’s!

You’re absolutely right. Let’s completely write off every English academy player. Vaulks who?

[D Angelo Barksdale]

3 minutes ago, Reggie Perrin said:

We are where we are because Hartley signed an entire squad of this type of player and almost to a man they were chronic, including the Captain  of Chelsea U  23’s!

He'd be more than adequate for League 1 based on the admittedly little I've seen of him.

The fact that St Johnstone are keen on him might suggest he's a step up from Hartley's jobbers ?

[FalkirkBairn2021]

If Rawlins wants sole control he can buy it. At the moment he has sole control for next to f**k all investment.  Thats the problem. 

[FFC 1876]

4 minutes ago, Peter LaFleur said:

You’re absolutely right. Let’s completely write off every English academy player. Vaulks who?

Precisely, just because Hartley completely fucked it up by not even getting the players in to have a look at them first before signing them doesn't mean it's the wrong way to go. 

[FalkirkBairn2021]

 

8 minutes ago, Reggie Perrin said:

We are where we are because Hartley signed an entire squad of this type of player and almost to a man they were chronic, including the Captain  of Chelsea U  23’s!

Speaking of the absolutely woeful Sammut.. I saw this hilarious quote from him whilst playing at.. Dulwich. There's self-delusion then there's this.. 

You never know what the circumstances would have been if Lampard’s reign came a bit earlier, or another manager came in who played young players,” Sammut says on the morning of a game for his current club, Dulwich Hamlet.