The Falkirk FC Thread

[Reggie Perrin]

10 hours ago, ShaggerG said:

Just got a mental picture of wee Hartley's torso & legs sticking out of BPM's arse!! 

Should really red dot you for that one!

[DeeBairn]

1 hour ago, Marshmallo said:

What's a "Happy Clapper" here, anyone who isn't having a meltdown and calling for the entire club to be ripped apart from top to bottom after two single goal defeats?

Pretty much, it seems. Not sure what an unhappy clapper would be? Anyone? 

1 hour ago, Bairney The Dinosaur said:

It’s time for a P&B led consortium of Bairns to get this club back where it belongs.

Bairnardo for chairman. 

[DeeBairn]

59 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said:

This is Tommy Wright's sixth season at St Johnstone. He's the fourth longest serving manager in the country.

By my count, which admittedly is in part based on articles saying undisclosed fees are 'believed to be around' a figure, you've actually made slightly more than Hamilton on transfer fees since you were relegated. You've sold more players than they have right enough, but bearing in mind that they've been in the top flight for six seasons of that time it's hardly surprising that they can get more for their players.

I understand why Falkirk fans are frustrated with their board in general, but I don't see how they can be criticised for failing to get enough for players. Making over £3M as a second tier club is outstanding; which players do you feel you didn't get enough for?

I think we got more for McGrandles than we did for Fulton. Should have been on a Par. We've lost players for a lot less than they were worth, either due to not selling early enough or not getting them on an extension. I know we all like seeing good players stay, but if they then leave for pennies then that's a loss. Sibbald being a great example. 

[Shodwall cat]

2 hours ago, Dunning1874 said:

This is Tommy Wright's sixth season at St Johnstone. He's the fourth longest serving manager in the country.

By my count, which admittedly is in part based on articles saying undisclosed fees are 'believed to be around' a figure, you've actually made slightly more than Hamilton on transfer fees since you were relegated. You've sold more players than they have right enough, but bearing in mind that they've been in the top flight for six seasons of that time it's hardly surprising that they can get more for their players.

I understand why Falkirk fans are frustrated with their board in general, but I don't see how they can be criticised for failing to get enough for players. Making over £3M as a second tier club is outstanding; which players do you feel you didn't get enough for?

Scott Arfield, Murray Wallace, Jay Fulton, Stephen Kingsley.  Theres 4 for a start that we could've got more for if we hadn't sold them to the first bidder basically due to the financial state the bod had got the club into plus the fact that their woeful management of the club got us relegated..  If we hadnt been in a financial hole these players would've made us far more money but the club were desperate for cash to fund their cockups. Hamilton were able to get decent money for their players as they weren't needing cash and were also very good at ensuring their players were on decent contracts  .   I have two main issues. One we weren't getting the benefit of some players playing in the side long enough before being sold and secondly we weren't getting enough cash for these players when they were sold. Hamilton got 95 games out of McCarthy and 1.75 million.  Wallace for instance was sold after just 34 games  in the first team to basically the first bid that came in.  Another season with us and who knows how much he might've been worth. Now I'm not saying for one minute that Wallace was worth the same cash as McCarthy but he was worth more than the few hundred grand we got.  I'll tell you now that if James McCarthy had come through at Falkirk we'd have been lucky to get 500k for him.

St Johnstone have had 4 managers since 2006 each one has been a success and has moved on to bigger and better things apart from Wright of course whose still there.  Our last 5 manager have have either got us relegated or failed to get us promotion.

Edited August 22, 2018 by Shodwall cat

[Shodwall cat]

16 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

16 hours ago, Shodwall cat said:

Partick reported to have signed coulibally that was at killie. Hes a cracking player and exactly what we're needing.  Never mind we've got turner , o'hara and mackin so why would we need him. Missed out big time if that deal is completed.

You think that type of signing is within our budget?

If its within Particks then there's no reason why it shouldn't be within ours. I'd rather have him than Mackin, Turner, O'hara, petra put together. 

[Shodwall cat]

13 hours ago, ShaggerG said:

Are Thistle not struggling for numbers squad wise? Will be interesting to see if they add any more or if they've decided to spend the budget on one player. Risky strategy if so.

Not any more risky than signing a load of shite mind you.

At the end of the day last season is last season. Okay his remit was to keep us up he did that. His remit this season is to win promotion. He's been given carte blanche to sign up a team capable of achieving this or at least challenging strongly .  If he fails to do that then he needs to be out the door and the CEO and chairman can follow him if you ask me. 

Edited August 22, 2018 by Shodwall cat

[ShaggerG]

7 minutes ago, Shodwall cat said:

Not any more risky than signing a load of shite mind you.

Very true; but then, you'd have been moaning like f**k if we'd blown the budget on one player and had no strength in depth too, wouldn't you?

[Bairnardo]

If its within Particks then there's no reason why it shouldn't be within ours. I'd rather have him than Mackin, Turner, O'hara, petra put together. 

Why? What do you know about their fonances in comparison with ours? Thats a baseless statement and you are only saying it to frame their signing of Coulibaly as a way to get at Hartley again. Most in Scotland clubs outwith maybe the top 3 or 4 would be delighted to get him and are currently scratching their heads how Partick managed it. Also, he hasnt played for them yet due to paperwork stuff.

This is not a rod you can beat Hartley with. Playing Dylan Mackin up front on his own is, but not getting Coulibaly isnt.

[Shodwall cat]

19 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

Very true; but then, you'd have been moaning like f**k if we'd blown the budget on one player and had no strength in depth too, wouldn't you?

No I wouldnt actually. I still feel that quality over quantity is the way to go and the best way of competing with sides that have bigger budgets than you.  If we'd say hypothetically signed Stephen Dobbie instead of Mackin, Turner and o'hara then I'd be all for it. Yes there's a risk he could get crocked in the first game of the season but its one I'd be happy to take and couldnt blame the manager for if that happened.   I must admit I thought that was the way Hartley was intimating we would be going. A amaller squad of better quality but instead we seem to have a big squad full of dross.

[Shodwall cat]

20 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Why? What do you know about their fonances in comparison with ours? Thats a baseless statement and you are only saying it to frame their signing of Coulibaly as a way to get at Hartley again. Most in Scotland clubs outwith maybe the top 3 or 4 would be delighted to get him and are currently scratching their heads how Partick managed it. Also, he hasnt played for them yet due to paperwork stuff.

This is not a rod you can beat Hartley with. Playing Dylan Mackin up front on his own is, but not getting Coulibaly isnt.

Oh well   I suppose we'll just need to continue to wait a wee bit longer for these marquee signings we're supposed to be getting this season.. These are the signings that make all the difference. The kind of signing that I'd hope we would be seeing at least one or two of under Hartley. One or two of that bit more quality. Instead we've simply signed more mediocre players that will be lucky to keep us above Alloa never mind challenging for promotion.

Edited August 22, 2018 by Shodwall cat

[MrDust]

12 hours ago, NewBornBairn said:

As stated before he took over a team at about the same time and in a similar position as Jack Ross did the previous season. Ross was hailed a miracle worker by the media when he managed to avoid the playoffs on goal difference on the last day of the season. Hartley - from the same start point - took us 17 points clear of the playoffs. 

I still don't see the miracle Jack Ross survival thing, similar time frame as Hartley, similar path in when the wins came in but I'd have said Hartley inherited a better squad and Ross got better players in than we did for 2nd half of the season. 

We had the luxury of winless Brechin and giving us 9pts under Hartley where Ross at St mirren were ploughing through teams around them scoring 4,5 and 6 goals in games, beating Hibs comfortably and scoring 45 goals in the 2nd half of the season, that's where Ross gets plaudits for me whereas we beat only two teams comfortably in utd and Morton

 

11 hours ago, ShaggerG said:

I think it's worth pointing out that St Mirren weren't 'cut adrift' when Ross took over, they were 2 points behind Dumbarton. It took about 4 months of Ross's management to actually get them cut adrift before they managed to turn it around.

Hibs with a premier league budget, utd probably similar added with a stronger overall championship and how Ross got them playing is where Ross gets credit, he could've got them relegated due that 4 month which is why I'll never say Ross was a miracle worker/Houdini act.

I'd actually say the team he took up wasn't a patch on the team that he had that 2nd half of that season.

There was no way we were finishing 9th last season due to the competition in the league, we couldn't beat Dumbarton till it became a meaningless game, which we excelled in, winning our last three meaningless games.

I still feel everyone has tinted specs with Hartley's achievements of last season.

Two deserved wins, three at a push

[Shodwall cat]

8 minutes ago, MrDust said:

I still don't see the miracle Jack Ross survival thing, similar time frame as Hartley, similar path in when the wins came in but I'd have said Hartley inherited a better squad and Ross got better players in than we did for 2nd half of the season. 

We had the luxury of winless Brechin and giving us 9pts under Hartley where Ross at St mirren were ploughing through teams around them scoring 4,5 and 6 goals in games, beating Hibs comfortably and scoring 45 goals in the 2nd half of the season, that's where Ross gets plaudits for me whereas we beat only two teams comfortably in utd and Morton

 

Hibs with a premier league budget, utd probably similar added with a stronger overall championship and how Ross got them playing is where Ross gets credit, he could've got them relegated due that 4 month which is why I'll never say Ross was a miracle worker/Houdini act.

I'd actually say the team he took up wasn't a patch on the team that he had that 2nd half of that season.

There was no way we were finishing 9th last season due to the competition in the league, we couldn't beat Dumbarton till it became a meaningless game, which we excelled in, winning our last three meaningless games.

I still feel everyone has tinted specs with Hartley's achievements of last season.

Two deserved wins, three at a push

Whether either side stayed up by a point or goal difference or 20 points makes feck all difference anyway. Hartley should be judged on his comparison with Ross in his second season where like Ross he had a whole preseason to sign players and build a team. Ross turned them from relegation candidates to champions . What will Hartley be turning us into if anything?

[faedenny]

heard rumours on twitter we are close to a couple of signings....1. hope its true, 2. they better be decent.

[Bairn Necessities]

13 hours ago, Bainsfordbairn said:

 

I get your disillusionment with the manager. He seemed to do everything that many of us fans wanted, such as bringing in players from outwith Central Scotland, binning those who we didn't think were good enough and starting again from scratch. We had an exciting summer of new signings and suddenly they haven't hit the ground running and the flak is flying. Fair enough. PH is  judged on results and performances so at the moment any criticism of him is understandable.  

 

A lot of his signings have still been from Central Scotland or thereabouts.

Mackin, Irving, Fasan, Petravicious, Froxylius, Paton, Russell and Haber are all from the Scottish market. That's about half the signings.

Managers are judged mainly on two things :-

Recruitment - which is currently a D-

And Results - which is currently an F. 

He has time to certainly improve the latter. Whether he's good enough to do so I doubt. 

[Falkirkfan1985]

8 minutes ago, faedenny said:

heard rumours on twitter we are close to a couple of signings....1. hope its true, 2. they better be decent.

Where on twitter?

[Gaz FFC]

Imagine if we sign a Right back.

Absolute scenes

[ilostmyself]

4 minutes ago, Gaz FFC said:

Imagine if we sign a Right back.

Absolute scenes

There are players who specialise in that position?!

[MrDust]

26 minutes ago, faedenny said:

heard rumours on twitter we are close to a couple of signings....1. hope its true, 2. they better be decent.

Do we have the receipt to return some of the current signings ?

 

[DeeBairn]

28 minutes ago, ilostmyself said:

There are players who specialise in that position?!

They're called right footed left backs I believe. 

 

I can't help but feel with regards to recruitment, it's the board again that's fucked up. Bear with me. Mitchell spends months drawing up a list of targets, Hartley approves them. The board then gets their hands on it, and signs the cheapest ones they can get a hold of. As has been said, the best signings we have made have been the last minute ones, and one of them was a player that Hartley already knew. 

 

You just know that the board have knocked back experienced pros in the hope of signing some young guys they could sell on. 

 

Does Penicuik need a right winger? 

[Bairn Necessities]

41 minutes ago, DeeBairn said:

They're called right footed left backs I believe. 

 

I can't help but feel with regards to recruitment, it's the board again that's fucked up. Bear with me. Mitchell spends months drawing up a list of targets, Hartley approves them. The board then gets their hands on it, and signs the cheapest ones they can get a hold of. As has been said, the best signings we have made have been the last minute ones, and one of them was a player that Hartley already knew. 

 

You just know that the board have knocked back experienced pros in the hope of signing some young guys they could sell on. 

 

Does Penicuik need a right winger? 

This is possible, and likely has merit. Hartley was insistent on bringing in Mitchell though. That was his man and his way of recruiting. If he recommended any of these duds (which he has to have done as who else could) even as a second option he's failed. 

I'm sure there were people we didn't get because we wouldnt pay a relatively paltry amount more per week.

I'd love to see how we manage our budget. I'd bet a lot of money it's a fucking stupid way of going about it, given the clowns involved.