The Falkirk FC Thread

[Bairn winner]

2 minutes ago, Caractacus Potts said:

So we should have stuck with the past managers?

The problem was more than just the managers, the problems were deep rooted in the club. Granted Rennie and M&M were a mistake that shouldn't have even been considered for management.

[FalkirkBairn2021]

I think McGlynn is fine for another season. Even if we don't go up I wouldn't punt him though I understand why people feel underwhelmed. 

I'm still not sure we have a style of play really. Or certainly not a good one. This interminable passing between McKay, Kinnear and Donaldson is rancid. I still think we struggle to link back to front. McGinn does a great job but doesn't have the legs he used to, and needs a pal in there.

We're complete dependent on our wingers and Morrison is so hot and cold. When he's in this sort of form we are incredibly predictable. 

I still think we have an excellent chance in the playoffs. I think we'll go up.

 

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

4 minutes ago, Bairn winner said:

The problem was more than just the managers, the problems were deep rooted in the club. Granted Rennie and M&M were a mistake that shouldn't have even been considered for management.

Yeh I agree with that and do think that things behind the scenes are a lot better than before. I’ve never said McGlynn was a bad appointment but I’m definitely disappointed with how he’s performed for us. Better recruitment but tactically poor and players that he was credited for coaching the best out of seem to have resorted back to previous performances. 

[Springfield]

Just caught up with McGinns after match interview, he’s just short of naming the two guilty culprits in our defence, obviously raw after defeat, but ten out of ten for saying it how it was. I’ve given the guy stick but probably our top performer yesterday, well done.

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

37 minutes ago, Disco Duck said:

You’re being a petulant dick.  There you go, that’s a differing opinion.  That’s tolerated, right?

Of course improvement on last year is a low bar, but what else is he to improve upon?  Should we use McGlynn’s starting point as when we finished 7th in the Premier League?  He had a squad to start with, he’s improved it (some by changes, some by improving existing players performance).  This is not difficult stuff here.

Ah well, if we’re losing some players (that you are happy with anyway, it seems) we should just sack the manager?  What leap of logic is that?

I don’t remember how I felt about M&M, but they weren’t good at their jobs.  They were miles worse that McGlynn.  And I don’t recall getting rid of them helping at the time.  But it is nothing to do with now - so a fatuous comparison.

Think you need to read the meaning of petulant. 

M&M weren’t miles worse than McGlynn. In terms of stats that is totally untrue. 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Caractacus Potts

[PedroMoutinho]

This “we’ve improved on the worst season in the club’s history so McGlynn has done a great job” is a bit of a nonsense for me. First and foremost, we should never have been in that position in the first place given our resources and full time status. Secondly, McGlynn has been backed to bring in a whole new squad and the players from previous regimes still here are largely here by choice (e.g. Nesbitt’s two year extension) so I’m not sure how relevant comparisons to last season are.

For me, should we not go up, the board should be conducting an objective assessment as to whether McGlynn gets another season to try. As it stands, I’d be inclined to look at alternatives- I am surprised at the vitriolic reaction that seems to be causing as his performance has hardly been exceptional by any measure.

Pros:

Largely better recruitment- although there have been a few odd decisions like paying a fee and giving a 2.5 year deal to a striker who hasn’t played and giving Nesbitt a 2 year extension

Big improvement in league position and points total

Cup run- here the relatively easy run helped us. Miller and McCracken also beat Arbroath in the cup, which is often forgotten.

Cons

No title challenge and not a glove laid on Dunfermline 

For me 18 wins from 35 in a mainly part time league is not acceptable 

Inconsistent performances 

Stubborn tactics and game management 

Edited April 30, 2023 by PedroMoutinho

[Shodwall cat]

43 minutes ago, Caractacus Potts said:

Nice to know that differing opinions are entertained on this forum. I’m not being unreasonable in my assertions and I’ll continue to not talk to you in the same manner as you feel acceptable to discuss with myself. 

An improvement on last year is a very low bar to set. This season it has been said many a time how McGlynn has been our best manager in years but as his record is now not any better than M&M, the only fair comparisons are to last season. 

I’m happy with most of the players McGlynn has brought in but there will need to be a fair shift anyway as several players are out of contract and a few loan players will head back to their parent clubs. 

I’m not demanding McGlynn to be sacked but I wouldn’t be unhappy if we brought in someone else. Asking you if you were unhappy about M&M being sacked prior to 4 important games is entirely relevant so can I ask again were you unhappy with that decision and in hindsight do you think it was a bad one?

The biggest mistake with m and m was giving them another punt at after we missed out to Raith. In no way we're they ever going to be good enough to manage Falkirk. They did ok with McKinnon's signings which was probably more down to their easy osey approach than anything else but their recruitment was fecking dreadful. With the chance to put the foot down that January they rush in the dreadful Rafa de vita and the brutal josh Todd and that was our chance gone. To then give them another year at it was ludicrous. 

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

3 minutes ago, Shodwall cat said:

The biggest mistake with m and m was giving them another punt at after we missed out to Raith. In no way we're they ever going to be good enough to manage Falkirk. They did ok with McKinnon's signings which was probably more down to their easy osey approach than anything else but their recruitment was fecking dreadful. With the chance to put the foot down that January they rush in the dreadful Rafa de vita and the brutal josh Todd and that was our chance gone. To then give them another year at it was ludicrous. 

I agree with all of that.

[FalkirkBairn2021]

We need to end the Henderson in midfield experiment too IMO. I'd play him at centre half.

I think a really good CM would solve a lot of our problems. Obviously hard to find. Max is decent but still very raw. 

That's where I'd look to throw our budget in the summer.

[Shodwall cat]

We've had succession of shite managers that have seen us go from bad to worse on a never ending downward trajectory. We now have a manager that has finally managed to get us moving in the right direction and people want him sacked.  It's not just a simple case of one season and everything is alright again.  Feck even guardiola won absolutely nothing in his first season at man city . You need to give managers time to build sides and a culture at any club . Majority on here said progress was the important thing to see this season and we've seen enough of that surely.  We've had to  bring in around 14 players this season which is way more than you want to be seeing churning through a squad. The more you sign the more won't work out but I think in the grand scheme of things mcglynns done pretty well. Whatever happens we will have a good basis to build on next season. This season has certainly been the first I've enjoyed in a good while and hopefully still more to come.

 

[Paramour]

4 minutes ago, Caractacus Potts said:

I agree with all of that.

The longer that youse persist with this imposter of a ‘coach’ the happier we will be. 
 

Again, no harm to you but anyone who watched that game yesterday and reckoned it was remotely competitive is kidding themselves. I seen a side low on confidence, decent in ability but utterly gutless when it comes to what to do when you go behind. Some of this can be managed, more so it can be mitigated, but the greatest influence on the outcome is the coaching. I’ll be more than happy to see McGlynn kick around for a decade there but you won’t improve a jot. 

[Shodwall cat]

3 minutes ago, FalkirkBairn2021 said:

We need to end the Henderson in midfield experiment too IMO. I'd play him at centre half.

I think a really good CM would solve a lot of our problems. Obviously hard to find. Max is decent but still very raw. 

That's where I'd look to throw our budget in the summer.

We still need a proper enforcer in the middle of the park. Henderson is a big laddie but he's more a footballer than a proper hard man. I'm not sure about him back at centrehalf though after his shocker at Clyde.  

Inverness's physicality again stood out against us yesterday. Even their wide players are strong and they interchange with the lone striker far better.  Can't imagine either Morrison or Kennedy being at the end of that deep cross for their second like Danny Mackay was.  Thought their two loan players were excellent in the wide positions.

[Shodwall cat]

4 minutes ago, Paramour said:

The longer that youse persist with this imposter of a ‘coach’ the happier we will be. 
 

Again, no harm to you but anyone who watched that game yesterday and reckoned it was remotely competitive is kidding themselves. I seen a side low on confidence, decent in ability but utterly gutless when it comes to what to do when you go behind. Some of this can be managed, more so it can be mitigated, but the greatest influence on the outcome is the coaching. I’ll be more than happy to see McGlynn kick around for a decade there but you won’t improve a jot. 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

3 minutes ago, Shodwall cat said:

We've had succession of shite managers that have seen us go from bad to worse on a never ending downward trajectory. We now have a manager that has finally managed to get us moving in the right direction and people want him sacked.  It's not just a simple case of one season and everything is alright again.  Feck even guardiola won absolutely nothing in his first season at man city . You need to give managers time to build sides and a culture at any club . Majority on here said progress was the important thing to see this season and we've seen enough of that surely.  We've had to  bring in around 14 players this season which is way more than you want to be seeing churning through a squad. The more you sign the more won't work out but I think in the grand scheme of things mcglynns done pretty well. Whatever happens we will have a good basis to build on next season. This season has certainly been the first I've enjoyed in a good while and hopefully still more to come.

 

I’m not having a go at anyone that wants to give McGlynn the playoffs. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable position to hold but I’ve seen enough to make me lose trust in him to take us forward so the sooner the better for me. 

Sacking managers is only a problem if you continue to replace them with others who fail. McGlynn was a sensible appointment but he clearly wasn’t the best appointment. Same with when we got Hartley. It’s no problem to admit we got it wrong or if you see enough to keep him but I never get the argument to keep him purely because we’ve sacked so many managers in the past.  

[Shodwall cat]

1 minute ago, Caractacus Potts said:

I’m not having a go at anyone that wants to give McGlynn the playoffs. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable position to hold but I’ve seen enough to make me lose trust in him to take us forward so the sooner the better for me. 

Sacking managers is only a problem if you continue to replace them with others who fail. McGlynn was a sensible appointment but he clearly wasn’t the best appointment. Same with when we got Hartley. It’s no problem to admit we got it wrong or if you see enough to keep him but I never get the argument to keep him purely because we’ve sacked so many managers in the past.  

I'm sure if second place and a cup semi final had been offered to any of us last June very few of us would've seen that as failure but there's always the odd few. Took him two years to get Raith up the last time so every chance it might take another season with us. I'd much rather we gave him the chance to build on the progress we have already seen than to roll the dice on another managerial appointment though. 

[Blame Me]

With all the striker chat I'm not sure what we all expected tbh.

McGlynn has tried his best to find goals but due to the squad composition at the start and everyone and their dog looking for a scorer we've had to make do with untested or un-prolific ones that we could afford.

Another pre-season to integrate Allan and Burrell with more games under his belt could be all that's required. I wouldn't discard them with another addition in the summer.

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

12 minutes ago, Shodwall cat said:

I'm sure if second place and a cup semi final had been offered to any of us last June very few of us would've seen that as failure but there's always the odd few. Took him two years to get Raith up the last time so every chance it might take another season with us. I'd much rather we gave him the chance to build on the progress we have already seen than to roll the dice on another managerial appointment though. 

Fair enough but think if you also said at the start of the season that McGlynn wouldn’t pose a title challenge and not lay a glove on Dunfermline then there would be a lot of derision from others. Getting to a Scottish Cup Semi is an achievement but the draw was extremely forgiving. As Pedro said, M&M got us to a quarter final too so doesn’t always tell the full story. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Caractacus Potts

[Bairnardo]

There really, REALLY isn't a managerial discussion to be had until after the playoffs are completed, unless you have taken against John McGlynn and won't hear otherwise regardless of results. 

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

11 minutes ago, Blame Me said:

With all the striker chat I'm not sure what we all expected tbh.

McGlynn has tried his best to find goals but due to the squad composition at the start and everyone and their dog looking for a scorer we've had to make do with untested or un-prolific ones that we could afford.

Another pre-season to integrate Allan and Burrell with more games under his belt could be all that's required. I wouldn't discard them with another addition in the summer.

Am I not right to think Jordan Allan was one of the top scorers in the league when we signed him yet we’ve barely given him a chance nor made a system to suit him best. 

[Blame Me]

1 hour ago, FalkirkBairn2021 said:

... 

I'm still not sure we have a style of play really. Or certainly not a good one. This interminable passing ...

 

Interesting that some of our most successful teams in recent times have played this style.

Yogis team was often derided for the "tippy-tappy pish" IIRC.

Pressleys kids overachieved realistically but had a Farid or Lyle Taylor and Houston's was a fine side and were easy on-the-eye when compared to the route one guff we've enjoyed a few seasons ago. 

Our only downfall is the transition and often we're not quick enough to catch the opposition out which is where ICT succeeded yesterday although I personally didn't think they were great.