The Falkirk FC Thread

[AL-FFC]

Am struggling to work out what is the worst scenario:

MC takes over empties Ray

MSG Stay in place and offer Ray a new contract.

I haven’t seen anything that could suggest he could win a league or at least gain us promotion from the Championship should/if we go up.

[roman_bairn]

Am struggling to work out what is the worst scenario:

MC takes over empties Ray
MSG Stay in place and offer Ray a new contract.
I haven’t seen anything that could suggest he could win a league or at least gain us promotion from the Championship should/if we go up.

For me, the first one is the worst. That’s the one where there’s a threat we may not exist in a few years.
No brainier.

[Bainsfordbairn]

9 hours ago, keithgy said:

I was told he had a hamstring problem when he was with us that limited his time on the park.

The reserves had ten games after Lavery arrived. He played in eight of those, missing only the ones on 19th and 22 March when we beat Dundee at Station Park and then drew at home to Hamilton. As there was an international break at the end of that week I suspect he may have been away with Northern Ireland.

You might be right about a hamstring problem, but it didn't appear to affect his reserve game time. I think he started all the games he played at that level. And he looked good in the majority of them.

 

[Newbornbairn]

There's a danger that with the latter we'll exist but nobody will care.

[Shadwell Dog]

10 hours ago, keithgy said:

I was told he had a hamstring problem when he was with us that limited his time on the park.

That might be but he was on the bench for the vast majority of games he was at the club. Given the fact we had so many strikers on the books I very much doubt he was given a place on the bench even though he wasn't fit enough to play at all and as has been pointed out he turned out for the reserves regularly playing well. . It was ludicrous that Mckinnon kept on picking a diddy like Jarvis in front of him.  Never mind though this season we have Deadly Denny Johnstone instead of him.

Edited October 23, 2019 by Shadwell Dog

[AL-FFC]

1 hour ago, roman_bairn said:

For me, the first one is the worst. That’s the one where there’s a threat we may not exist in a few years.
No brainier.

 

42 minutes ago, NewBornBairn said:

There's a danger that with the latter we'll exist but nobody will care.

Both scenarios have their dangers and you’ve both hit the nail on the head, if we fail to get promoted first time.

This season has been indifferent the gulf between club and fans has probably never even wider, speaking for myself on this one Saturdays just don’t feel the same going to the games and I would say the not really caring is setting in.

Upshot of it is the club needs change but this takeover is on a par with Brexit how stale and boring its getting, just someone show MC the door and either put the other offers back on the table or announce they don’t want to sell (the nobody wil care will set in then)

[Shadwell Dog]

Just now, AL-FFC said:

 

Both scenarios have their dangers and you’ve both hit the nail on the head, if we fail to get promoted first time.

This season has been indifferent the gulf between club and fans has probably never even wider, speaking for myself on this one Saturdays just don’t feel the same going to the games and I would say the not really caring is setting in.

Upshot of it is the club needs change but this takeover is on a par with Brexit how stale and boring its getting, just someone show MC the door and either put the other offers back on the table or announce they don’t want to sell (the nobody wil care will set in then)

If they don't sell you've also got the issue of where does that leave the club financially? Have they spunked extra cash in the budget still hoping that it would be covered by the new owner?

[Shadwell Dog]

2 hours ago, AL-FFC said:

Am struggling to work out what is the worst scenario:

MC takes over empties Ray

MSG Stay in place and offer Ray a new contract.

I haven’t seen anything that could suggest he could win a league or at least gain us promotion from the Championship should/if we go up.

Surely the worst is probably MC takes over and keeps Ray?  Dodgy owner and dodgy manager?

[Bairnardo]

19 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

That might be but he was on the bench for the vast majority of games he was at the club. Given the fact we had so many strikers on the books I very much doubt he was given a place on the bench even though he wasn't fit enough to play at all and as has been pointed out he turned out for the reserves regularly playing well. . It was ludicrous that Mckinnon kept on picking a diddy like Jarvis in front of him.  Never mind though this season we have Deadly Denny Johnstone instead of him.

The Jarvis thing I found really odd. Ray talked that laddie up so much, that I had become convinced there must surely be a real player there somewhere. Then he just turned out to be average at best, whilst Lavery who always looked pretty lively in his limited game time never got the chance to build on it.

[Shadwell Dog]

6 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

The Jarvis thing I found really odd. Ray talked that laddie up so much, that I had become convinced there must surely be a real player there somewhere. Then he just turned out to be average at best, whilst Lavery who always looked pretty lively in his limited game time never got the chance to build on it.

Its crazy. I would suggest that even Todarov is a better striker than Jarvis  and he's done okay at ICT since he went there. 

[AL-FFC]

25 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

If they don't sell you've also got the issue of where does that leave the club financially? Have they spunked extra cash in the budget still hoping that it would be covered by the new owner?

The other one being as well are they pinning their hopes on going up first time of asking  (You know they are) and if that one fails (Let’s face it al their other plans have backfired and don’t se this one being any different) as that leaves some issues for next season or players still contracted.

Again you can look at it a number of ways no academy or youths to bump up numbers in the first team and no young players that could possibly sold on for other revenue stream.

[Shadwell Dog]

2 minutes ago, AL-FFC said:

The other one being as well are they pinning their hopes on going up first time of asking  (You know they are) and if that one fails (Let’s face it al their other plans have backfired and don’t se this one being any different) as that leaves some issues for next season or players still contracted.

Again you can look at it a number of ways no academy or youths to bump up numbers in the first team and no young players that could possibly sold on for other revenue stream.

Just see Airdrie, Raith for what we could be like in a few years down here,

[60`s bairn]

2 hours ago, Bainsfordbairn said:

The reserves had ten games after Lavery arrived. He played in eight of those, missing only the ones on 19th and 22 March when we beat Dundee at Station Park and then drew at home to Hamilton. As there was an international break at the end of that week I suspect he may have been away with Northern Ireland.

You might be right about a hamstring problem, but it didn't appear to affect his reserve game time. I think he started all the games he played at that level. And he looked good in the majority of them.

 

You beat me to it BB. You and I discussed that regularly.

[Top Bins]

If that stubborn imposter of a manager had played Lavery in the first team more, rather than stuck in the reserves, more than likely we would still be in the Championship imo!!

 

[TxRover]

44 minutes ago, AL-FFC said:

The other one being as well are they pinning their hopes on going up first time of asking  (You know they are) and if that one fails (Let’s face it al their other plans have backfired and don’t se this one being any different) as that leaves some issues for next season or players still contracted.

Again you can look at it a number of ways no academy or youths to bump up numbers in the first team and no young players that could possibly sold on for other revenue stream.

SD’s correctly notes the two warning entities here, but since I haven’t gone that into depth, just how “committed” is FFC to the promotion run? That is, have they spent the load on it, or is there some reserve that a disaster this year will not destroy/eat up? The overall numbers on FFC were pretty decent, but this league has to be draining the coffers rapidly with Ray’s spending.

If the MSG did authorize spending above and beyond because of MC’s bid, and that bid falls through, the results could be dire.

[Shadwell Dog]

I'm hoping the budget has simply been boosted by the first tranche of the Will Vaulks money. I was hoping that a new manager would get the second tranche to play with but that now looks unlikely.

[JinkyBairn]

1 hour ago, Shadwell Dog said:

I'm hoping the budget has simply been boosted by the first tranche of the Will Vaulks money. I was hoping that a new manager would get the second tranche to play with but that now looks unlikely.

There’s no new manager coming in this season. We’ll be stuck with Ray for this season at least.

The club is actual so dead from top to bottom. At the point where I could not care less about it.

[MrDust]

18 hours ago, TxRover said:

I’m with the Dog on this one. There are a number of permutations of formation that depend heavily on player skill sets. However, your point about coaching time and players “understanding” and “knowing”’the system is very valid at this level.

However, that begs the question about Ray...how is he so blind with regard to some of these players being absolutely unable to make a formation work? Yes, he seems to have relented, but you just just know that with a setback or two, he’ll go right back to it. Is it simply that he believes himself above this level and that the players and fans canna see the wisdom of his thinking?

It’s a right poser, because he’s done this shite before. Assuming you can jettison the above personnel in Jan, will there be suitable replacements for them?

As I figure it, the results are:

MC takes over and keeps Ray

MC takes over and fires Ray

Takeover fails, MSG keeps Ray

Takeover fails, MSG fires Ray

I’m wondering if Ray hasn't done well enough to keep the wolves at bay, because is one point out of first, with a better goal differential, a firing offense? If MC takes over, perhaps...if the MSG is still holding the wheel, is it? It’s sad to say that, because if a team goes on a tear, they could be out of reach of Ray’s methods pretty quickly...and does anyone trust Ray in the play-offs?

I hope we are in a Celtic or Rangers position where 2nd place isnt good enuf to keep Ray and even 1st isnt either. If we do go up with Ray and keep him, we will struggle and be looking at being in that group of Ayr, Morton, Dunfermline, QoS and Partick of being wary of drop to mid table to sneak a play off place.

I am not suggesting we have a divine right to be looking at play offs(top ones) if we do go up but it was the minimum expectations in the past and its where our aim should be.

3 hours ago, Shadwell Dog said:

That might be but he was on the bench for the vast majority of games he was at the club. Given the fact we had so many strikers on the books I very much doubt he was given a place on the bench even though he wasn't fit enough to play at all and as has been pointed out he turned out for the reserves regularly playing well. . It was ludicrous that Mckinnon kept on picking a diddy like Jarvis in front of him.  Never mind though this season we have Deadly Denny Johnstone instead of him.

I dont think Lavery played all that well in the reserve games I seen, some of which O'Hara outshone him but lets not forget that Lavery is now playing in the Irish leagues now where a lot of average/poor Scottish players go to extend their career.

3 hours ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Its crazy. I would suggest that even Todarov is a better striker than Jarvis  and he's done okay at ICT since he went there. 

Auntie had baws statement but Todarov wouldve scored as far as I am concerned if he got more game time, yes he was stinking in his only start but one start shouldnt have been the write off for his time at Falkirk but that meant trying to attack, which for sure killed us

[Shadwell Dog]

45 minutes ago, MrDust said:

I hope we are in a Celtic or Rangers position where 2nd place isnt good enuf to keep Ray and even 1st isnt either. If we do go up with Ray and keep him, we will struggle and be looking at being in that group of Ayr, Morton, Dunfermline, QoS and Partick of being wary of drop to mid table to sneak a play off place.

I am not suggesting we have a divine right to be looking at play offs(top ones) if we do go up but it was the minimum expectations in the past and its where our aim should be.

I dont think Lavery played all that well in the reserve games I seen, some of which O'Hara outshone him but lets not forget that Lavery is now playing in the Irish leagues now where a lot of average/poor Scottish players go to extend their career.

Auntie had baws statement but Todarov wouldve scored as far as I am concerned if he got more game time, yes he was stinking in his only start but one start shouldnt have been the write off for his time at Falkirk but that meant trying to attack, which for sure killed us

Lavery also did very well at Europa league level which is a good bit higher than scottish league one.

[Monkey Tennis]

56 minutes ago, MrDust said:

 

Auntie had baws statement but Todarov wouldve scored as far as I am concerned if he got more game time, yes he was stinking in his only start but one start shouldnt have been the write off for his time at Falkirk but that meant trying to attack, which for sure killed us

The whole Todorov situation sums up the philosophical void at the structural heart of Falkirk FC imo.