The Falkirk FC Thread

[Bairnardo]

4 minutes ago, Rugster said:

That’s a brilliant piece. 

OOOOFT

 

 

[AlanCamelonfan]

51 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Aye just did something stupid. Problem with old toxic is he's desperate to get his nose in at any old club. I'll sniff about Falkirk then when I'm found out I'll disappear off to camelon and make an arse of it there.  I'll then return to Falkirk and sneak back in there . Why does he not just go and watch a team play football instead of constantly getting involved over his head and making a cant of it.

 

Other than doing something stupid that he did. Hes been pretty good for us. Floodlights and lights were a dream for us before he got involved with us. Had £4 in the bank when he joined now we are licensed have seats and lights and play in the Scottish cup.

[ShaggerG]

2 hours ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Their all pals of deans FFS. They are all his chums and his link to getting on the board was Colin Liddell. I'm in the real world your the one in cloud cukoo land if you think creating a board with all the same skill sets is a great idea. Any chairman worth his salt brings people on board with a vast array of skills . People with backgrounds in PR, marketing, finance and dare I say it even football etc not just a pile of pals from the finance sector. Deans has brought every one of these clowns on board and the club has gone backwards and is now in its worst state for over 40 years but your happy to say keep going boys your doing a damn fine job.

If deans wants to run the club he should put his money where his mouth is and invest a decent amount of money then he can waste his own money  instead of wasting everyone else's.

 

 

Are the BOD all accountants? I know Colin McFarlane isn't, his background's in PR which is what you're asking for. Are both the Rawlins accountants? I don't know. I assume GC is as he looks after the finances but I don't know what Deans and the other guy (the quiet one) have done in the past.

[Beaver The Bairn]

10 minutes ago, Rugster said:

That’s a brilliant piece. 

Outstanding writing.

[Shadwell Dog]

22 minutes ago, tirso said:

Ach you might be right.  They'll be judged on how Holt and Sheering get on and will need to make the hard decision at some point.  I would like to have heard more hard hitting questions (like the crunchie initiative issues and more on the NBG) in the Q&A.  Some made a few insinuations about too much money in the mgmt, not in the playing staff without using sufficient facts from the accounts.   

I've not got real issues with the dof and CEO positions  to be honest as as you say we still have the biggest budget.  The wrong people in the job is a major issue and it leaves you open to abuse when you have all these fancy positions off the pitch but can't stick 11 decent players on it.

 

6 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

Are the BOD all accountants? I know Colin McFarlane isn't, his background's in PR which is what you're asking for. Are both the Rawlins accountants? I don't know. I assume GC is as he looks after the finances but I don't know what Deans and the other guy (the quiet one) have done in the past.

The vast majority are in finance. There's very little other skillsets and you would never for a minute believe MacFarlane was in PR. His the fans have to be more understanding statement was a cracker and why in god's name would he let colborne make that speech if he had any idea about PR. He certainly wouldn't be top of any list if I was looking for help in that area.

Edited October 21, 2021 by Shadwell Dog

[Taxi for De Massis]

Any chance of posting the Herald Sport article in its entirety? It appears to be behind a subscription service.

Speaking of another Herald, seems the Falkirk Herald are quite silent - not a single item since Saturday. 

[FalkirkBairn2021]

12 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

Are the BOD all accountants? I know Colin McFarlane isn't, his background's in PR which is what you're asking for. Are both the Rawlins accountants? I don't know. I assume GC is as he looks after the finances but I don't know what Deans and the other guy (the quiet one) have done in the past.

Colborn is a management consultant.  PWC type. The ones who go into companies on 3K a day to tell you what you already know.

[lichtiekev]

Sheerins recruitment at arbroath was a hit or miss, found some gems like Falkingham but some utter duds in the season we got relegated,
He was helped in his first few seasons due to the fact he played and was miles ahead of most players at that level and the fact he had a certain Stuart Petrie as his no 2,

[Shadwell Dog]

Just now, lichtiekev said:

Sheerins recruitment at arbroath was a hit or miss, found some gems like Falkingham but some utter duds in the season we got relegated,
He was helped in his first few seasons due to the fact he played and was miles ahead of most players at that level and the fact he had a certain Stuart Petrie as his no 2,

Lovely guy but just not management material unfortunately.

[Beaver The Bairn]

7 minutes ago, Taxi for De Massis said:

Any chance of posting the Herald Sport article in its entirety? It appears to be behind a subscription service.

Speaking of another Herald, seems the Falkirk Herald are quite silent - not a single item since Saturday. 

I once attended a wedding where the best man started his speech by referencing the groom’s previous engagements (which his new wife’s family were mostly unaware of) and followed it up by raising a toast to the cleavage of a lady sitting at one of the nearby tables.

As amusing as I found it, never again did I think I would witness someone lose a room so quickly. But then I watched the Falkirk board’s Q&A session with supporters. Step forward, Falkirk chairman Gary Deans.

Now, if I was the chairman of a full-time League One club with 3500-plus punters regularly turning up, but sitting fifth in said division despite having the biggest budget in the league, my default position when facing those fans may be one of humility.

Not Mr Deans. Having asked attendees to be respectful and polite at the beginning of the meeting, he failed to show those fans the same consideration.

His patronising response to a brilliantly researched opening question was jaw-dropping, and I encourage you to go on to the Falkirk TV YouTube page to view it if you haven’t already done so.

 

The fan came prepared, alright. He cited previous win rates of clubs who have – unlike Falkirk - managed to win League One. He compared it to their current win rate, and overall win rate since Deans was appointed chairman in December 2019, which has them on course to fall well short of what must be their minimum ambition.

He pointed out that in the 58 games since, they have had four different managers. His critique of the recruitment process led by Sporting Director Gary Holt was fair and balanced, with 29 (mostly sub-standard) players brought in during Deans’ short reign.

He ended by posing the question of when will it get to the stage where someone – i.e. Deans – holds their hands up to their failings and steps down if they cannot reverse the decline.

Rapturous applause then gave way to the faint rustle of tumbleweeds as Deans delivered his response. “That was a statement, not a question.”

 

 

It was at this point I realised I may need a surgical procedure to uncurl my toes. Had I been a Falkirk supporter watching on from home, I would have been out a couple of hundred quid for a new laptop as well. At least the best man had the excuse of being about eight pints deep.

Adopting a defensive, condescending tone towards supporters never ends well, far less criticising them. And in fairness to Deans, it was fellow board member Gordon Colborn who took it upon himself to take that bold step and point the finger at the paying punters.

Colborn referenced an atmosphere of negativity from the stands inhibiting players, saying that the Falkirk lads were scared to try things on the pitch lest they be booed. Whatever seed of a decent point he had about abuse of players, staff or board members crossing the line was lost the minute he made the pitch that a supporter’s role was to support the team.

The clue is in the name, of course, but the role of the fan is not simply to roll up, empty your pockets and back the club blindly.

The argument also fails to explain how Falkirk came to implode last season from a position of strength to somehow finishing fifth when there were no supporters in the stadium at all.

What made Colborn’s statement all the more staggering is that he is a lifelong fan himself. Was it beyond even him to read the room or feel the pulse of the fanbase?

If only there was some sort of PR guru on the board to avoid such a car crash scenario. Oh, hold on.

Board member Colin McFarlane has his day job described on the Falkirk website thusly: “He spends his days advising clients ranging from national retailers, member associations and charities how to engage with the media, government and their stakeholders.” They probably should have run some of this stuff by him.

Still, it went on. According to Deans, another major reason that Falkirk were struggling was because the teams they were facing were full of players deemed not good enough for Falkirk who had been released by the club. Therefore, goes his argument, they were raising their game against them, and thus proving too strong for, erm, Falkirk.

He admits, shockingly, that he ‘hasn’t done the scientific analysis’ on that one. Perhaps he can explain why Airdrie – with nary a former Falkirk player among their number – spanked them by three goals to nil at the weekend.

This was all in the opening 20 minutes or so. There were other alarming moments later on, such as unseemly criticism of named former players by board members and manager Paul Sheerin – decent chap as he seems to be – admitting that he didn’t really know how he could turn things around.

Let’s be fair. Deans and co didn’t have to front up like this. Their points on improving the infrastructure of the club and needing some more time for it to bear fruit are reasonable enough.

Later on, there was decent input from investor and shareholder Phil Rawlins on the club’s long-term future, and it is here that Falkirk fans may be able to see a sliver of light.

If anything, the one good thing that may come from the disdain shown to the supporters by some members of their board here is that it may unite the fans in a common cause, and that cause should be to move towards greater fan influence or even fan ownership. It is a model that is working well at clubs with similar fanbases, like Motherwell and St Mirren.

Falkirk fans have however found the quest for representation on the board a difficult one to navigate. A six-week negotiation between the club and fan group Navy Blue took place earlier this year with a view to two supporters being appointed to the board in return for a six-figure investment, but those talks collapsed with the existing board citing ‘a set of pre-conditions that the board simply can't deliver on’.

Navy Blue, for their part, blamed ‘the reluctance of the board to put the club before personal ambition and status; countenance, or compromise on any vision different from their own; recognise the jeopardy such an approach places the club under going forward.’

This Falkirk board has to realise, and quickly, that you can't win a war against the fans. Stop pointing the finger at them and start placing them at the heart of everything you do.

It is the only way for a community club – as they have proclaimed themselves to be – to thrive.

[Rugster]

17 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

Are the BOD all accountants? I know Colin McFarlane isn't, his background's in PR which is what you're asking for. Are both the Rawlins accountants? I don't know. I assume GC is as he looks after the finances but I don't know what Deans and the other guy (the quiet one) have done in the past.

Deans was a partner in KPMG so I assume finance. 

[Taxi for De Massis]

The Herald Sport article was a joy to read. You would want / demand that the BoD reads it, drinks it in and moves with it. Most likely, it will only move our BoD to greater levels of arrogance ("we're in the paper!")

[PedroMoutinho]

30 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

Are the BOD all accountants? I know Colin McFarlane isn't, his background's in PR which is what you're asking for. Are both the Rawlins accountants? I don't know. I assume GC is as he looks after the finances but I don't know what Deans and the other guy (the quiet one) have done in the past.

Gordon Colburn is a management consultant rather than an accountant I believe 

[some_guy]

I hope someone on the board reads this forum, surely they can't just continue to bury their heads in the sand when they see the level of disdain towards them, not only from our own fans, but those of other clubs and national media as well! 

Surely they can no longer just dig their heels in and expect all this to go away? 

Edited October 21, 2021 by some_guy

[Stellaboz]

3 minutes ago, some_guy said:

I hope someone on the board reads this forum, surely they can't just continue to bury their heads in the sand when they see the level of disdain towards them, not only from our own fans, but those of other clubs and national media as well! 

Surely they can no longer just dig their heels in and expect all this to go away? 

Is that a statement or a question?

[ohnononowheredidRossgo]

At least three of the top table are surely finished after that. The first speaker who suggested you should shut up and pay your money, Gary Deans should follow...I'd heard horror stories but that 'performance' was beyond the pale. Third has to be Gary Holt, absolute buck passer and charlatan of the highest order. I thought at least Rawlings and Sheerin showed empathy and a willingness to accept accountability, it doesn't give them a pass for failing but compared to the rest of the top table they at least showed self awareness.

I'd realised the results were awful but Falkirk are in a really bad way from top to bottom.

Edited October 21, 2021 by OhnononoGeordieMunro

[ShaggerG]

2 hours ago, Shadwell Dog said:

I've not got real issues with the dof and CEO positions  to be honest as as you say we still have the biggest budget.  The wrong people in the job is a major issue and it leaves you open to abuse when you have all these fancy positions off the pitch but can't stick 11 decent players on it.

 

The vast majority are in finance. There's very little other skillsets and you would never for a minute believe MacFarlane was in PR. His the fans have to be more understanding statement was a cracker and why in god's name would he let colborne make that speech if he had any idea about PR. He certainly wouldn't be top of any list if I was looking for help in that area.

Whether he's any good at his job or not is irrelevant in this context, his background's not in finance. What do the others do?

[Priti priti priti Patel]

1 hour ago, superandy_07 said:

Another article up now too 

 

Phone's playing up so can't see if someone's already posted the full text, but those without a Herald subscription can read it here:

https://archive.ph/nlU2S

A great wee website for getting around pay walls by the way. 

[Vimto90]

Love how the frothing at the mouth on here & online turned into nothing more than a couple of murmurs now and again & an old boy who looked as if he was about to break into a song.

These so called charlatans were given a very easy time considering some of the stuff I have seen about what was to happen. "Boo them out the building" "walk out the minute the meeting starts"

Deserve everything yous get.

Ta club

[18BAIRN76]

box office on twitter dot com