The Falkirk FC Thread

[AL-FFC]

7 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Yeah I dont think taking this at face value with no questions is the right move. It seems that Gow has or us about to acquire a large number of shares in our club whilst simultaneously injecting himself as top of the tree for all footballing decisions. Firstly, is it all his own money? Secondly, if it isnt, whose is it? Thirdly, how does he see this paying off?

He isnt a fan so let's leave the romance for the facebook maws. All of our concerns regarding agents being involved in the MC shambles and us becoming an agent run club still exist in this scenario, except the potential that the fox is already in the hen house is much more real here.

You simply cannot trust decisions made by the MSG to be in the best interests of the club and its fans, and of that has to include casting some dount over Alan Gow then so be it until we see otherwise

Anyone that buys over the club isnt going to be there for the love of it, i think we need to accept that.  Yes we are playing 3rd tier in Scottish football yes we should be a Premiership club but we scrapped the infrastructure  (mainly the Academy) to get us there by pouring the money into the first time (it wasnt and it was namely in paying players off).  Whatever is done is down to business Gowser deals with the footballing side of things and whoever comes in is going to be dealing with the council to buy the land and the stadium ( the end of the day thats what anyone  who wants to buy the club wants), they need the stadium to get the land).

 

[Bairnardo]

1 minute ago, AL-FFC said:

Anyone that buys over the club isnt going to be there for the love of it, i think we need to accept that.  Yes we are playing 3rd tier in Scottish football yes we should be a Premiership club but we scrapped the infrastructure  (mainly the Academy) to get us there by pouring the money into the first time (it wasnt and it was namely in paying players off).  Whatever is done is down to business Gowser deals with the footballing side of things and whoever comes in is going to be dealing with the council to buy the land and the stadium ( the end of the day thats what anyone  who wants to buy the club wants), they need the stadium to get the land).

 

Well..... Unless you are the current owners and accept the fans bid which you previously encouraged, then torpedoed in favour of super deviant Keane fan Mark Campbell not once (BTB) but twice (patrons bid)  

[Dawson Park Boy]

No particular inside knowledge on this but reading between the lines , I think this is a precursor to a big change in ownership of the club.

I would guess that SA and MR want to have a much lower equity stake as, having a controlling shareholding but not wanting to take executive responsibility is a bad place to be.

The way out is to have a rights issue which will dilute their stakes and, at the same time, encourage other investors to buy out the likes of Lex and CL and partly SA and MR both of whom want to have minority stakes and be classed as super fans without the responsibility.

Anyway, just some musing!

[AL-FFC]

4 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Well..... Unless you are the current owners and accept the fans bid which you previously encouraged, then torpedoed in favour of super deviant Keane fan Mark Campbell not once (BTB) but twice (patrons bid)  

Personally i think they will do the exact opposite of what the fans want (they have done so far)  as it will be seen as capitulating i mean why have a support that gets the owners they wanted.  They will milk it for that last bit of praise oh look what you could have had as an owner (i think everyone seen though MC the minute he was wheeled out in the SS).

It was a fans dream list return of the academy, grass park, Stadium owned outright plans for as 4th stand whoever takes over has all that to do anyway so it doesnt matter if its MC or anyone else as they still need to work out all of that as long term those should be all the goals of the club add in to getting back to the Premiership by escaping the seaside league and championship but need a bit of luck on our side for a change.

[Guest Ecosse83]

1 hour ago, AGPar said:

Based on what?? They have not played one single game yet, not a minute. Any fan still capable of independent though will be holding off on the "great recruitment" chat until we see if they're actually capable of rising above the utter dross they will be facing  on a weekly basis. The "great recruitment" chat was getting chucked about last pre-season. And the pre-season before that. And they'll be holding off on the "great appointment" chat with regards to Gow as well. After the appalling mismanagement of the club over more than a decade, I'll treat any move this regime make with extreme caution and cynicism. Anything appears to be on the table so long as it does not involve them having to cede one inch of control.

Based on the fact I've seen most if not all of our new signings in action. That with them all being of a good age makes me think it's been a good recruitment window. 

Is that independent thought ok for you?

[FFC 1876]

We signed a centre back yet?

[Rob1885]

We signed a centre back yet?

Got Durnan, don't need one.

[Albertobotswana]

Being a season ticket holder and a Falkirk fan for many years, I'm looking forward to the new season in whatever shape it takes.

Yes, Lee and David are a young rookie management team but we had Yogi and Owen Coyle in that duel role and I would have taken Coyle over Yogi any day. Yogi did get us up and it was a fairly successful period of time, so that was a right decision then Yogi went promising a land of milk and honey if they board invested... They did and we went on a downward spiral and one that we have struggled really to turn around. 

In regard to players, we all know that an experienced player with a proven track record is a slightly less risky signing that a complete unknown. I loved the idea of Stevie Lovell up front and thought that was a great signing but alas it wasn't too be. Richard Cadette was a complete joke when he signed and look what happened!!

Last year the manager and the squad he built should have won the league at a canter but McKinnon couldn't decide on his starting formation or 11 and most of the 'big' names never showed much. I would have thought Connor S would have been a more inspirational signing that Declan Mc but there you go, it was the opposite.  I thought McKinnon would have been more decisive and bring some stability, but the only convincing was the 4-0 home win against Montrose.

[MrDust]

1 hour ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Christ and I thought I was negative. Can only be a positive move surely.  Cant help thinking is it not better to get in a guy whose fingers are on the pulse still when it comes to scottish football rather than someone whose been out the game for some time and whose contacts have dried up years ago. Ross Wilson had zero experience when he took up a similar role with us and was 27 when he moved to Watford. He's done no bad for himself. Gow's played in a number of countries and his contacts should still.be fresh.  Let's see where we go from here but to me its a better appointment than some old manager being dragged out of retirement to spend a few hours helping out when they're not on the golf course.

Time will tell re Gow and who knows if he has footballing contacts but he became a footballing nomad after leaving us with only Exeter being one place of some kind of brief settle period.

I knew fuk all about his playing capabilities when he signed for us and after a slow start he did a job and surprised the fuk out of me when Stokes left. The DoF position now though won't really have much a factor with us having the majority of our squad in.

[ilostmyself]

26 minutes ago, MrDust said:

The DoF position now though won't really have much a factor with us having the majority of our squad in.

This is an interesting point too, seems an odd time to start this. Wonder if we'll see some out of the blue signings this and the next window.

[RandomGuy.]

On 24/08/2020 at 13:22, Scosha said:

It's no exaggeration to say he was directly at fault for at least one goal a game, often 2.

Don't know how much you care, but WyScout, which doesn't factor in the amount of poor saves he makes that results in goals, has him costing you 3 goals last season through direct shots.

Only making 3 saves a match, and over half the goals he conceded were from outside the box.

[Shadwell Dog]

1 hour ago, Ecosse83 said:

Based on the fact I've seen most if not all of our new signings in action. That with them all being of a good age makes me think it's been a good recruitment window. 

Is that independent thought ok for you?

We'd all seen Rory lol before he re-signed too mind you.

[Proudtobeabairn]

Where is the chat about Gow buying out Lex Miller coming from?  I see mention that LM is on his way out but a bit of a leap to say its Gow buying him out is it not (unless I've missed something?). Is this an assumption based on the fact Gow was heading up a bid last year? If so its tenuous at best.  

I'm more positive about Gow having this role than JJ.  I think its more likely someone young and hungry to succeed will make more of the role than a last job before retirement type.  Ross Wilson being the perfect example of how a career can be carved out with hard work and the right attitude/contacts.  

We're in a much better place going into this season off the pitch than the last few years - on the pitch the jury is out till we've played some games

 

[Bairnardo]

We're in a much better place going into this season off the pitch than the last few years - on the pitch the jury is out till we've played some games
 

I'm not sure how we can be in a better position off the pitch than any time in the recent past. The same people are in charge, last season income was League 1 gates, and cut short. This season is yet to start and will do so with no gates and increased costs, without any guarantee whatsoever that it will survive the winter.

We arent alone, but off the pitch we are in a pish poor, and extremely precarious position I'd say.

[Albertobotswana]

We are in a precarious position as any other club in our position, whether it's a club trying to keep SPL players in the championship or full timers in a part time league.

[Guest Ecosse83]

42 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

We'd all seen Rory lol before he re-signed too mind you.

Yes true but something was definitely up with him!

[HopeStreetWalker]

12 minutes ago, Ecosse83 said:

Yes true but something was definitely up with him!

That's the risk with return of hero's. People remember them when they last played for the club with rose tinted glasses. Older and often in the twilight of their career. Fans have expectations of them bordering on  being unfair to the returning hero.

Alston will not be the same player that left us 4 years ago. Certain aspects of his game will have improved while others will not to be the same standard.

In the 60's and 70's this happened and many fans said thing that they regretted later, it was unfair. So judge Alston on the pitch with that in mind. If any former player deserves support and the fans goodwill it is him.

[HopeStreetWalker]

3 hours ago, wee_bairn said:

Absolutely spot on. Genuinely shocked at the amount of love in with that statement filled with everything the fans wanted to hear. It was just missing a #onceabairn for the full set. It’s word for word what yer man Mark Campbell was promising on the football side of things. Naturally pessimistic with this shower making the right decision but willing to wait to hear more of how this will develop.

Is Gow putting money in ? Does he represent potential investors ? Don't know.

Hopefully clarification will be forthcoming.

[Hank von Hell]

58 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

 

 

I'm not sure how we can be in a better position off the pitch than any time in the recent past. The same people are in charge, last season income was League 1 gates, and cut short. This season is yet to start and will do so with no gates and increased costs, without any guarantee whatsoever that it will survive the winter.

We arent alone, but off the pitch we are in a pish poor, and extremely precarious position I'd say.

 

We are obviously gambling that the league will commence, continue and allow fans i& corporate in before Xmas.  I hope so, and I hope they know what they are doing with our ongoing costs.

We aren't alone but there are also many not pushing the boat out just yet.

This all indeed points to a precarious position which I did mention myself a few weeks ago but then HSW claimed we'd just sack everyone if there's a 2nd wave  & football is suspended - it's standard practice for companies you know.   I'm sure Blair would be chuffed with this.

 

  

   

[HopeStreetWalker]

14 hours ago, Hank von Hell said:

True if all they would be doing is recruiting players at 8-10 years old or younger.

But academy players are recruited at all ages including 15-17 years old, which can yield a good couple of years in the first team and transfer fee - think Murray Wallace.

If this is genuine I'd expect them to phase it in gradually mindful of the costs.   

Unfair to compare with the bearded unicorn as he was mouthing off about a hotel, buying the stadium etc (within 90 days) - complete pie on the sky stuff.     

That is very true ! it is having people with their finger on the pulse of all aspects of youth football that is crucial. Scouting, Welfare, Building relationships with parents, Coaching. Progression to the bench and the first team squad.  Picking up the 15-17 year old's as you mentioned are part of that but the majority of players coming through have to be home grown.

We got many things right and many things wrong last time. That knowledge will be invaluable in the new set up. What did we do well and how can we do it better. What did we do badly so how do we change.

Hopefully Gow will give an in depth interview answering the questions and his plans and timeline.