The Falkirk FC Thread

[Gaz]

27 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Quick summary from me then:

Rennie, Sheerin, M&M, McKinnon, Hartley - all useless managers

Hartley wasn't useless for us. Our results when he took over from Houston, particularly from January onwards when he signed a good few players, were very good.

He has spent his entire managerial career being very good apart from the situation in the summer with us, which I don't think we'll ever know the full story about.

[Gaz]

12 minutes ago, Russ said:

Starting with the managers. Paul Hartley is a very good manager. Particularly in the lower leagues. He done a great job turning us around from the January onwards in his first season. Then in the summer, whether it was his idea or not, the recruitment was dreadful. If we’d brought a few of they boys in but kept a core of players that knew the Scottish game we might’ve got away with it but too many players came in who were miles out their depth. Ray McKinnon is a pretty mediocre manager the fact we tapped him up rather than advertise the job properly is something I don’t think I will ever understand. He had enough time to keep us up he failed and should’ve been binned that summer instead of getting the summer window. M&M were a desperate appointment by the board to get the fans back onside. No offence to either of them but there’s a reason they’ve both now got jobs outside of football and won’t get a management job again. Paul Sheerin is a glorified youth coach. Sure he can give the bibs out in a first team training session but that’s as far as his involvement in a first team environment should be. Martin Rennie is absolutely dreadful like Sheerin is never a manager.

Of course all they players aren’t poor. There is some absolute shite in there. But likes of Robson and Longridge are very good League 1/bottom of the Championship players. David Mitchell injures didn’t help him with us but he’s very good at League 1 level as well. Jordan McGhee is now playing in the Premiership week in week out he was always good with us but we kept shunting him into playing full back. Petravicius got way, way more stick than he deserved btw his technical ability was shite but very good physical attributes and he was always a threat with his pace. Declan McManus was absolutely fantastic when actually played up front. Gomis/Toshney/Miller all done a job for us, yes we’ve had Gary Miller too long now but he was almost a revelation in midfield when M&M took over. Keena/Morrison/McCann/McGuffie/Connolly have all done ok-good with us.

Yes our recruitment has been poor for years but the buck stops with the manager. A good manager can make a team better, can get more out of players and can improve them. If we get the manager right then a lot of the poor players we’ve signed over the last few years are made to look better.

A very good post.

You only have to look at the number of players who look hopeless with us who then go on to perform significantly better at other teams, even at a higher level.

That's the difference a competent manager and coaching staff has.

[ShaggerG]

30 minutes ago, Chinatoon Bairn said:

This isn't actually something that had crossed my mind when I had been talking about the hybrid set up with ma mates but seeing it in writing worries me quite a bit.

Aye, and it means that, if we do go hybrid, the part-timers are generally going to have to be our best players.

[Reggie Perrin]

39 minutes ago, Blame Me said:

I had intended to go along to at least one of them but in hindsight the "pub tour" approach can exclude fans.

For instance, I was at the match on Saturday and BtG gives you no excuse for proximity ... except I had my 8yo son with me so then it's a non-starter due to licensing.

Same with yesterday evenings event as in my circumstances I was a stones throw away from the Courtyard but he had a regular activity right before so I couldn't attend taking into account the roundtrip to drop him home.

Not digging out the FSS / directors as they have tried to be open but something that needs considered. The future of the club is not just in the hands of one particular age group. Our younger fans also have an interest.

Possibly an event in the Westfield Lounge or one of the local community centres would be appropriate.

[gav-ffc]

47 minutes ago, Gaz said:

Hartley wasn't useless for us. Our results when he took over from Houston, particularly from January onwards when he signed a good few players, were very good.

He has spent his entire managerial career being very good apart from the situation in the summer with us, which I don't think we'll ever know the full story about.

What like having a scout who was an agent?

[Shadwell Dog]

1 hour ago, Gaz said:

A very good post.

You only have to look at the number of players who look hopeless with us who then go on to perform significantly better at other teams, even at a higher level.

That's the difference a competent manager and coaching staff has.

I keep hearing this about other players going elsewhere and performing significantly better especially at higher levels  but can't think of many at all. Blair Alston perhaps. 

[Harry Kinnear]

1 hour ago, ShaggerG said:

Aye, and it means that, if we do go hybrid, the part-timers are generally going to have to be our best players.

Looking at the list of contracted full timers we would probably have to retain from this season they probably would be our best players anyway.

[Russ]

I keep hearing this about other players going elsewhere and performing significantly better especially at higher levels  but can't think of many at all. Blair Alston perhaps. 

Blair Alston
James Craigen
Joe McKee
Kevin O’Hara
Anton Dowds
Scott Mercer
Mikey Doyle
Ross MacLean
Ciaran McKenna
David Mitchell
Nikolay Todorov
Andy Irving
Dimitris Froxylias

That’s just from the top of my head from the last few years. All either playing at a higher level or performing far better at this level than they did with us. Slightly different with Froxylias where he had a good spell with Dumbarton first and then shite with us but you get the point.

[gav-ffc]

1 minute ago, Russ said:

 

Blair Alston
James Craigen
Joe McKee
Kevin O’Hara
Anton Dowds
Scott Mercer
Mikey Doyle
Ross MacLean
Ciaran McKenna
David Mitchell
Nikolay Todorov
Andy Irving
Dimitris Froxylias

That’s just from the top of my head from the last few years. All either playing at a higher level or performing far better at this level than they did with us. Slightly different with Froxylias where he had a good spell with Dumbarton first and then shite with us but you get the point.

 

Liam Henderson also now at Arbroath.

[Springfield]

19 minutes ago, Russ said:

 

Blair Alston
James Craigen
Joe McKee
Kevin O’Hara
Anton Dowds
Scott Mercer
Mikey Doyle
Ross MacLean
Ciaran McKenna
David Mitchell
Nikolay Todorov
Andy Irving
Dimitris Froxylias

That’s just from the top of my head from the last few years. All either playing at a higher level or performing far better at this level than they did with us. Slightly different with Froxylias where he had a good spell with Dumbarton first and then shite with us but you get the point.

 

Apart from the obvious, Is it the simply the case that we’ve employed a succession of shite managers, which has resulted in a succession of lost dressing rooms?

Shite + Shite = Shite 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Springfield

[Russ]

Apart from the obvious, Is it the simply the case that we’ve employed a succession of shite managers, which has resulted in a succession of lost dressing rooms?
Shite + Shite = Shite 

That’s not the sole reason but a large part of it aye. We’ve recruited poorly but at the same time the most important person at a football club is the manager and our last 4 appointments have been dreadful. Managers who are at best tactically naive and have no clue how to get the best out of or to motivate the players they’ve got.

If you take any of Sheerin/McKinnon/Rennie/M&M and put them in charge of Arbroath or Montrose 2 of the best part time teams in the country with 2 great managers who have seen them over achieve compared to their budget then they would all fail absolutely miserably.

[bairn88]

31 minutes ago, Russ said:

 

Blair Alston
James Craigen
Joe McKee
Kevin O’Hara
Anton Dowds
Scott Mercer
Mikey Doyle
Ross MacLean
Ciaran McKenna
David Mitchell
Nikolay Todorov
Andy Irving
Dimitris Froxylias

That’s just from the top of my head from the last few years. All either playing at a higher level or performing far better at this level than they did with us. Slightly different with Froxylias where he had a good spell with Dumbarton first and then shite with us but you get the point.

 

Exactly. And of the current crop, if they were all released tomorrow, I bet R Williamson, Watson, McCann, Mcguffie, Nesbitt, Hetherington (debatable), Telfer, Morrison, Kabia, Dowds, Griffiths, will play at a team currently above us in the pyramid.

Sure, in their current form, our team is an utterly gutless bunch, but it is successive atrocious managers that means we are as bad as we are.

Edited April 5, 2022 by bairn88

[Bairnardo]

Blair Alston
James Craigen
Joe McKee
Kevin O’Hara
Anton Dowds
Scott Mercer
Mikey Doyle
Ross MacLean
Ciaran McKenna
David Mitchell
Nikolay Todorov
Andy Irving
Dimitris Froxylias

That’s just from the top of my head from the last few years. All either playing at a higher level or performing far better at this level than they did with us. Slightly different with Froxylias where he had a good spell with Dumbarton first and then shite with us but you get the point.

Sean Welsh still gets game time for ICT IIRC. We couldn't wait to launch him either.

[Russ]

Sean Welsh still gets game time for ICT IIRC. We couldn't wait to launch him either.

Captain and one of their best players over the last 3/4 years but absolute dugmeat with us.

At this level it’s inevitable that players moved around clubs and for some reason it just won’t work out at certain clubs however with us when is the last time it worked out the opposite? Where a player was poor at his previous club and we got the best out of them?

[GeordieBairn]

Never forget Shayne Lavery barely kicked a ball for us and went and tore it up in Northern Ireland, scored 8 in the English Championship this season.

[ShaggerG]

49 minutes ago, Russ said:

Captain and one of their best players over the last 3/4 years but absolute dugmeat with us.

At this level it’s inevitable that players moved around clubs and for some reason it just won’t work out at certain clubs however with us when is the last time it worked out the opposite? Where a player was poor at his previous club and we got the best out of them?

McManus

[Russ]

McManus

Nah I don’t think he counts. He was played predominantly as a winger at County and mostly off the bench. We did play him on the wing under McKinnon and he was poor.

[Rugster]

1 hour ago, Russ said:

 

Blair Alston
James Craigen
Joe McKee
Kevin O’Hara
Anton Dowds
Scott Mercer
Mikey Doyle
Ross MacLean
Ciaran McKenna
David Mitchell
Nikolay Todorov
Andy Irving
Dimitris Froxylias

That’s just from the top of my head from the last few years. All either playing at a higher level or performing far better at this level than they did with us. Slightly different with Froxylias where he had a good spell with Dumbarton first and then shite with us but you get the point.

 

Jordan McGhee

[bridge of allan bairn]

1 hour ago, Russ said:

 

Blair Alston
James Craigen
Joe McKee
Kevin O’Hara
Anton Dowds
Scott Mercer
Mikey Doyle
Ross MacLean
Ciaran McKenna
David Mitchell
Nikolay Todorov
Andy Irving
Dimitris Froxylias

That’s just from the top of my head from the last few years. All either playing at a higher level or performing far better at this level than they did with us. Slightly different with Froxylias where he had a good spell with Dumbarton first and then shite with us but you get the point.

 

to add to this significant list jordan mcgee at Dundee in top league. he was motm against Rangers a couple of weeks ago

[Chinatoon Bairn]

1 hour ago, Russ said:

Blair Alston
James Craigen
Joe McKee
Kevin O’Hara
Anton Dowds
Scott Mercer
Mikey Doyle
Ross MacLean
Ciaran McKenna
David Mitchell
Nikolay Todorov
Andy Irving
Dimitris Froxylias

That’s just from the top of my head from the last few years. All either playing at a higher level or performing far better at this level than they did with us. Slightly different with Froxylias where he had a good spell with Dumbarton first and then shite with us but you get the point.

 

Obviously there are some on this list which nobody will be able to disagree with but at the same time there are some who don't belong on this list at all;

Feel that most were in general agreement that while Irving was good it was more the situation that hindered him at his time with us than anything else. No real surprise that he has gone on to play at a higher level. He was 18 years old when he was with us. Finds himself unfortunate to be without a club at the moment due to his previous team's financial trouble.

Scott Mercer is currently set to be relegated.

Ross MacLean is another who could very well end up being relegated this season with Dumbarton.

Joe McKee while he did perform well when he left for Dumbarton initially before his move to QoS he finds himself back in Dumbarton and as above, in with the possibility of being relegated.

Kevin O'Hara aside from his season at Alloa hasn't really performed to the levels expected of him when he first broke through. 33 appearances and 7 goals this season, a willing runner as he was with us but little in the way of goals. Could very well end up playing at the same level as us next season.

Ciaran McKenna is one that I remember most wanting to keep after performing relatively well for us, fair enough during the relegation season, but was solid enough in spells.

David Mitchell left us due to the treatment he was receiving from the manger at the time. A relatively decent keeper who went on to do well for Clyde playing at the same level.

Then that brings us to Froxylias..