The Falkirk FC Thread

[RC55 FFC]

Good pricing for the match & as it’s the first look for both sides can imagine it’ll be a decent crowd. 

[ShaggerG]

58 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Can only imagine anyone making a fuss about the opposition is too young to have seen him and appreciate what it means to get a chance to celebrate Kevin McAllister and immortalise him in our home.

That's quite literally the only reason I can think of for the negativity.

That, or they might just be p***ks!

[Proudtobeabairn]

Personally would have liked a Falkirk legends v Rest of the World Legends (or similar selection of names from Crunchies past) or for the wee man to play a bit of the friendly so we can see him in action one last time and sing a few songs. 

Having said that I realise this isn't being arranged for me, its to honour Crunchie and I'll be there to help give him the ovation he deserves.  Anyone criticising the organisers would most likely find a reason to moan regardless of who we play.  If Killie see it as a 25 year celebration they'll maybe bring a few through and we'll make some money out of it and hopefully beat them too.  win/win.  

[StuartA]

36 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

Now that was a bad call. The Bert Slater Trophy - f**k off

We could call this one the Gary Holt Vase. 

[Reggie Perrin]

1 hour ago, StuartA said:

We could call this one the Gary Holt Vase. 

Gary Holt Paperweight would be more appropriate.

Sits in an office and does f**k all.

[Rugster]

4 hours ago, Dawson Park Boy said:

Going to hear Dick Campbell speaking at an event in Grangemouth on Friday.

Not sure what it’s all about but was invited by a pal.

Dick Campbell? Make sure you learn the lyrics to The Sash before you go…. Oh wait, of course you will know them off by heart. Sorry. 

[Bairn in Exile]

Crunchie, as we all know, was a phenomenal talent and the type of player who not only put bums on seats but also the type of player who lifted bums off seats with his exciting, uplifting play. Exciting and uplifting are not 2 words that I would ever associate with Kilmarnock FC. The same Kilmarnock FC that has given Falkirk fans 2 of the worst days of our Falkirk supporting lives.

I was fortunate enough to have been at Brockville and witnessed Crunchie’s debut against Leeds United where he gave all of their defence in general and Frankie Gray in particular a torrid time of it.

Would Leeds United not have been a better choice of opposition for Kevin’s special day?

They must be in a relatively celebratory mood having just avoided relegation and they don’t have any of those pesky League Cup ties to worry about. I am sure that if we explained the significance of the day to them they might include a smattering of first team players in their travelling squad.

Anybody but Kilmarnock.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Bairn in Exile

[Guest]

………and when, pray tell, was this meant to be organised with Leeds United? Now? Contact Leeds United this week, and ask them to rock up to TFS in four weeks time? Seriously?
Chelsea.…..due to their major limitations due to ownership issues, absolutely no way are  they prepared to commit to anything at this point in time., and even moreso on an artificial surface widely believed to be at the limits of its “use by” date.

Unbelievable as it might seem, but FFC are not particularly high on any club’s “let’s go there” radar. You start of with a wish list, and work your way through them seeking contact with the people (seldom is it one person) who can make it happen…….and seldom if ever is a courteous decline given on the same day. You sit and wait for a day, then two days, then a week……and then you thank your lucky stars that a Scottish top flight club get on board and agree. Anyone but Kilmarnock? Really? So Falkirk v Livingston would have been a better bet?
There is of course, the bit that the CI guys are (rather cutely) well aware of. By all means, slag it off as somehow being the celebration of a defeat 25 years ago (which it isn’t). It’s a celebration of Kevin McAllister, and what he means to Falkirk supporters………but hey, by means of a massive coincidence, isn’t  it also the 65th anniversary of beating Kilmarnock in the final of the Scottish Cup in 1957? You know what, I think it is.

Anyone but Kilmarnock? Nah, for me it’s “thank you Kilmarnock” for getting on board, and being a club that has provided FFC with some hellish memories, and some wonderful ones too. 
 

The CI guys have gone through the equivalent of 20 laps of the Grand National Course for two and a half years to make this happen. I don’t think they want a round of applause, or even a thank you. What they neither need nor deserve is a “anybody but Kilmarnock” or “Leeds United would have been better” as they enter the home straight of the final lap.

[Bairn in Exile]

34 minutes ago, Duncan Freemason said:

………and when, pray tell, was this meant to be organised with Leeds United? Now? Contact Leeds United this week, and ask them to rock up to TFS in four weeks time? Seriously?
Chelsea.…..due to their major limitations due to ownership issues, absolutely no way are  they prepared to commit to anything at this point in time., and even moreso on an artificial surface widely believed to be at the limits of its “use by” date.

Unbelievable as it might seem, but FFC are not particularly high on any club’s “let’s go there” radar. You start of with a wish list, and work your way through them seeking contact with the people (seldom is it one person) who can make it happen…….and seldom if ever is a courteous decline given on the same day. You sit and wait for a day, then two days, then a week……and then you thank your lucky stars that a Scottish top flight club get on board and agree. Anyone but Kilmarnock? Really? So Falkirk v Livingston would have been a better bet?
There is of course, the bit that the CI guys are (rather cutely) well aware of. By all means, slag it off as somehow being the celebration of a defeat 25 years ago (which it isn’t). It’s a celebration of Kevin McAllister, and what he means to Falkirk supporters………but hey, by means of a massive coincidence, isn’t  it also the 65th anniversary of beating Kilmarnock in the final of the Scottish Cup in 1957? You know what, I think it is.

Anyone but Kilmarnock? Nah, for me it’s “thank you Kilmarnock” for getting on board, and being a club that has provided FFC with some hellish memories, and some wonderful ones too. 
 

The CI guys have gone through the equivalent of 20 laps of the Grand National Course for two and a half years to make this happen. I don’t think they want a round of applause, or even a thank you. What they neither need nor deserve is a “anybody but Kilmarnock” or “Leeds United would have been better” as they enter the home straight of the final lap.

Don't forget to doff your cap and tug your forelock as Kilmarnock enter the stadium, eh?

[Senor Bairn]

It's a fucking friendly Man, I'm not the biggest fan of Kilmarnock either but it's a friendly... 

I'll be going to see the stand getting opened and hopefully see some of McGlynns new signings play. Couldn't give a monkeys about the result tbh. 
 

[Braes_Bairn]

The branding and blurb today does make it look like its the 25th anniversary of the cup final and celebrating defeat, for me naming it before say the scum game would give it more meaning and the type of atmosphere that crunchie deserves a full south stand rockin….

This was exactly my point.

Realistically you’ll hit a couple of thousand max for a friendly match against Scottish opposition. Unveiling at a Dunfermline match would have been a much better occasion and tribute to Crunchie.

[Russ]

Falkirk fans man [emoji23]. It’s a friendly ffs. A friendly. The opposition doesn’t matter a f**k. Absolutely fucking embarrassing reaction from some idiots.

[Bairnardo]

The reaction of folk who dont deserve another Kevin McAllister, and would hunt anyone with the potential to be one out the club before they ever got the chance.....

Hope he's too busy to reach this absolute eye-aids of the last few pages. Shame the CI guys had to see it.

[Harry Kinnear]

I think our fanbase really do now just moan about anything, over the last five years we have become so accustomed to everything being negative that many now just find it easier to moan than praise when something good is being done.

Mind you, that’s probably bullshit as we have always had some right miserable b@stards in our fanbase.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Harry Kinnear

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Bairn in Exile said:

Crunchie, as we all know, was a phenomenal talent and the type of player who not only put bums on seats but also the type of player who lifted bums off seats with his exciting, uplifting play. Exciting and uplifting are not 2 words that I would ever associate with Kilmarnock FC. The same Kilmarnock FC that has given Falkirk fans 2 of the worst days of our Falkirk supporting lives.

I was fortunate enough to have been at Brockville and witnessed Crunchie’s debut against Leeds United where he gave all of their defence in general and Frankie Gray in particular a torrid time of it.

Would Leeds United not have been a better choice of opposition for Kevin’s special day?

They must be in a relatively celebratory mood having just avoided relegation and they don’t have any of those pesky League Cup ties to worry about. I am sure that if we explained the significance of the day to them they might include a smattering of first team players in their travelling squad.

Anybody but Kilmarnock.

There would have been a lot better choices than Kilmarnock so why even set the bar low at Leeds? 

We had to be realistic. We couldn’t send out a blanket request and work our way down. We had to target the best and most realistic option as clubs would not confirm a friendly until nearer the time as they wait for European qualification and other factors that may affect plans. Managers also change and may want a different pre season schedule.

Take Hibs for instance. The club first contacted them when Jack Ross was in charge. He was apparently up for it but then got sacked so had to speak to them again and got a date pencilled in mid February. It fell through before it was able to be confirmed but had we still had it pencilled in then who’s to say Lee Johnson wouldn’t prefer to take them elsewhere? Sorry to say it but playing a low level Scottish opponent won’t feature highly in most managers plans as ideal preparation for the season. Managers will schedule it to give themselves the best start to a season and therefore unlikely to bow to sentiment, unless they have a personal connection. 
 

The Killie game wasn’t even confirmed until a few days after their last game of the season. Had they ended in the playoffs then it may not have been confirmed until now. Same with most clubs. 

We only had a couple of weeks before the League Cup matches in which to play it too as we wanted to make sure it was before the start of the season and not allow any potential for negativity to affect it. It’s also the Falkirk holidays starting on the 25th of June so wanted to maximise our potential to get as many folk there. Any later than the 24th and a lot of people would have been on holiday.

Hibs fell through mid April so we had to think of a decent alternative quickly. Killie seemed like a really good option to get in a big crowd as they were likely to go up and ofcourse there was the tie in with it being the final and the chance for revenge. Ofcourse they’ll market it as a celebration but the more punters they bring the more money the club makes, that can go towards our first team.

It’s easy to sit and say what if but harder to achieve things when you start to consider what it takes to achieve them.

We’ve never been closed to help though. It’s a bit late in the day now but if you have suggestions to help make this as good as it can be then please email us at Crunchie.initiative@gmail.com. We’re pretty tied in with what we have planned as doing all this in our spare time so if you do have an idea to help make this event better then please be prepared to do the bulk of the work in organising it. 

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by Guest

[Zbairn]

I sometimes despair at what our fans will moan at.

It took 2 and a half years to get this accomplished, at times against an uncoopertaive and hostile board and we still get folk complaining. I don't think people understand what a mammoth task this was to get the project up and running, to finance it, to organise all the details that will make it a success on the day and to bring it to fruition.

Then folk take umbrage at the fact that it's Killie that is the opposition for the stand opening, simply because we lost to them in a cup final in 97 and in the play off's.  If we go down that route then we can't play against Rangers or ICT. Why stop there?...what about losing to Partick in a LC semi, Dundee Utd in a play off or Stenhousemuir in the Stirlingshire Cup? What about the teams that voted against us getting promoted because we didn't have an all seater stadium?

Realistically this is as probably good as it gets, if we consider Crunchies links. Hibs didnt want to play, Leeds and Chelsea would be a non-event with their under 16 team turning up (if they deemed to play us at all). That leaves Albion Rovers, Camelon Jnrs, Bonnybridge Rose and Stirling Boys Club. Hardly a huge draw for the crowds.

This event has nothing to do with Killie. It's all about honouring one of our own, a legend at our club.  Time some folk backed off and just accept the fact that this is for Kevin, no one else !

 

[Shadwell Dog]

Some folk on here are completely fecking clueless. Chelsea and Leeds United Jesus. I'm sure either would be delighted to bring their pre season training forward by 3 or 4 weeks so that they can fit this in FFS. Epl sides don't start preseason till July and then two weeks later Leeds are in Australia and Chelsea are in America. We have the league cup starting on the 9th of  July. 

[Shadwell Dog]

21 minutes ago, Van_damage said:

There would have been a lot better choices than Kilmarnock so why even set the bar low at Leeds? 

We had to be realistic. We couldn’t send out a blanket request and work our way down. We had to target the best and most realistic option as clubs would not confirm a friendly until nearer the time as they wait for European qualification and other factors that may affect plans. Managers also change and may want a different pre season schedule.

Take Hibs for instance. The club first contacted them when Jack Ross was in charge. He was apparently up for it but then got sacked so had to speak to them again and got a date pencilled in mid February. It fell through before it was able to be confirmed but had we still had it pencilled in with then who’s to say Lee Johnson wouldn’t prefer to take them elsewhere? Sorry to say it but playing a low level Scottish opponent won’t feature highly in most managers plans as ideal preparation for the season. Managers will schedule it to give themselves the best start to a season and therefore unlikely to bow to sentiment unless they have a personal connection. 
 

The Killie game wasn’t even confirmed until a few days after their last game of the season. Had they ended in the playoffs then it may not have been confirmed until now. Same with most clubs. 

We only had a couple of weeks before the League Cup matches in which to play it too as we wanted to make sure it was before the start of the season and not allow any potential for negativity to affect it. It’s also the Falkirk holidays starting on the 25th of June so wanted to maximise our potential to get as many folk there. Any later than the 24th and a lot of people would have been on holiday.

Hibs fell through mid April so we had to think of a decent alternative quickly. Killie seemed like a really good option to get in a big crowd as they were likely to go up and ofcourse there was the tie in with it being the final and the chance for revenge. Ofcourse they’ll market it as a celebration but the more punters they bring the more money the club makes, that can go towards our first team.

It’s easy to sit and say what if but harder to achieve things when you start to consider what it takes to achieve them.

We’ve never been closed to help though. It’s a bit late in the day now but if you have suggestions to help make this as good as it can be then please email us at Crunchie.initiative@gmail.com. We’re pretty tied in with what we have planned as doing all this in our spare time so if you do have an idea to help make this event better then please be prepared to do the bulk of the work in organising it. 

 

Any chance of getting too near the keeker back for the half time entertainment against the 97 boys?

Edited May 25, 2022 by Shadwell Dog

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Any chance of getting too near the keeker back for the half time entertainment. 

Possibly….  

[Dawson Park Boy]

10 hours ago, Rugster said:

Dick Campbell? Make sure you learn the lyrics to The Sash before you go…. Oh wait, of course you will know them off by heart. Sorry. 

Sounds good.

Ill do my best.

I think the profits are going to FFC.