The Falkirk FC Thread

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, TedCrilly said:

What have you seen from Rennie to convince you that he is the one? 

The facts are he has a similar PPG as Sheerin with arguably a better squad (over half upgraded). Even dismissing the boring style of football, the results don’t back him up either.

One position we were crying out for was a dominant centre mid. He signed one on loan who now can’t get a game in front of Hetherington. I don’t buy there was nobody out there either. Morton and Hamilton signed Wilson and Lawson in the same window. Did we offer them deals? Could the Griffiths money had been distributed better to sign a bit wiser if we were outbidded.

I, like Mr Potts, were vocal against the old board so this isn’t some wild board agenda moan we’re having here. It’s a genuine concern against the managerial ability of Martin Rennie. I fully back the new board but I would personally start to have concerns if Rennie is kept on. Time will tell I suppose but until now it looks a relatively easy call to make.

Martin Rennie has better CV than most Falkirk managers in recent times. I have little concern about his ability. Maybe he needs to adjust to this level but he is intelligent enough to do that. 
Everyone should take a listen to The last Sacked in the Morning podcast with Brad Friedel. He and Craig Levein discuss his time managing in the states and the obstacles he was coming across from within the club. I think this mirrors Rennie’s experience. 
IMO Rennie’s biggest mistake was trying to make this team more expansive. He wants to play that way but has now decided to go tough to beat which may help - who knows. 
 

[StuartA]

Just a reminder that we've organised an event on Wednesday night at Elliot’s, 7 pm, where anyone will have the opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns and make suggestions in person. 

[champions]

25 minutes ago, TedCrilly said:

What have you seen from Rennie to convince you that he is the one? 

The facts are he has a similar PPG as Sheerin with arguably a better squad (over half upgraded). Even dismissing the boring style of football, the results don’t back him up either.

One position we were crying out for was a dominant centre mid. He signed one on loan who now can’t get a game in front of Hetherington. I don’t buy there was nobody out there either. Morton and Hamilton signed Wilson and Lawson in the same window. Did we offer them deals? Could the Griffiths money had been distributed better to sign a bit wiser if we were outbidded.

I, like Mr Potts, were vocal against the old board so this isn’t some wild board agenda moan we’re having here. It’s a genuine concern against the managerial ability of Martin Rennie. I fully back the new board but I would personally start to have concerns if Rennie is kept on. Time will tell I suppose but until now it looks a relatively easy call to make.

This. Like you I'm fully behind those now in charge and have full confidence that things behind the scenes will improve, I know two of the guys are spending a fair chunk of time at the club and are completely invested in helping our club move forward. 

ultimately though it boils down to what is happening on the pitch and frankly its nowhere near good enough. The facts are there when comparing to sheerin and I'd hoped to have seen a far more cohesive unit but nothing has changed that much which is concerning, and the only reason we're still in with a shout is because QP have won 3 games since december.

I wasnt happy with the appointment from the start and that hasn't changed.

[kiddy]

9 minutes ago, Sarcastic Bairn said:

then when someone asks are you going along to an event they can never make it.

it feels like there are also some serious agendas on the go.

 

Sorry M8, cannae go. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Ecosse83 said:

The biggest one being trying to convince us Rennie is the right man for the job!

You are a lost cause you made your mind up after Rennie was in the door 5 minutes 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, kiddy said:

Sorry M8, cannae go. 

To all 3? 

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, champions said:

This. Like you I'm fully behind those now in charge and have full confidence that things behind the scenes will improve, I know two of the guys are spending a fair chunk of time at the club and are completely invested in helping our club move forward. 

ultimately though it boils down to what is happening on the pitch and frankly its nowhere near good enough. The facts are there when comparing to sheerin and I'd hoped to have seen a far more cohesive unit but nothing has changed that much which is concerning, and the only reason we're still in with a shout is because QP have won 3 games since december.

I wasnt happy with the appointment from the start and that hasn't changed.

Who would you have appointed ? 

[Guest Ecosse83]

5 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

You are a lost cause you made your mind up after Rennie was in the door 5 minutes 

A lost cause
 

We have been woeful under Rennie. He has signed 6 players with one on massive wages and got Dowds back from his loan spell in the form of his life. What else does he need to improve us? 
 

My views are unbiased, not sure the same can be said about you! 

[Guest]

Just now, Ecosse83 said:

A lost cause
 

We have been woeful under Rennie. He has signed 6 players with one on massive wages and got Dowds back from his loan spell in the form of his life. What else does he need to improve us? 
 

My views are unbiased, not sure the same can be said about you! 

he has improved us IMO. We would be staring relegation in the face if we had not got investment and players in. 

I have told you before if being supportive and loyal to people running the club I rate and like then so be it. If that is bias so fucking be it. 
 

[Springfield]

2 hours ago, Back Post Misses said:

Don’t support them then - it is your choice. 
 

 

2 hours ago, Back Post Misses said:

Don’t support them then - it is your choice. 
 

As said it’s all about opinions. You’ve obviously got a good relationship with the BOD and fully back them to do well like all of us.
I don’t know who they are (didn’t know who the last jokers were) but it’s early days and I’ve said we must back them. 
I will be at the next roadshow and travelling a fair distance to attend. 
One question for you and appreciate your honesty - did we bid for the piece of shite that signed RR ?

[AGPar]

50 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

The weekend was pretty telling. We won on Saturday, it wasn’t pretty, but we won. Had we lost the forum would have exploded. As it turned out it was pretty much like a ghost town. Says it all really. 

Surely you can understand why this would be the case though? It seems to be pretty obvious, both anecdotally and by the dwindling attendances, that quite a few fans have simply had enough of the never-ending underachievement on the pitch. Had enough of rancid, pub-team standard dross like Dumbarton appearing to be pretty much the limit in terms of the standard of opposition Falkirk can realistically expect to beat these days. Had enough of being unable to lay a glove on any team of even moderate quality. Had of enough of the gutless, spineless, "beaten before the referee has blown his whistle" type attitude whenever we are faced with an Airdrieonians/Cove/Montrose giant of the game. The lack of any real enthusiasm for Saturday's result can probably be explained by the fact that (a) a lot would not have even bothered spending money to watch the game and (b) that it followed seven days after a predictably abysmal 90 minutes in a far bigger and more important game against a direct rival.

It's only my interpretation, but in his post-match comments, Rennie appeared to be believe that the Dumbarton result somehow made up for the Airdrie capitulation the week before. I'm sorry Martin, but it really, really didn't. Does not even come close. I think, this season, a diet of wins against the likes of EF/Dumbarton, the occasional 3 points against a Clyde or Barry Ferguson-led Alloa, and 6 points from 39 against the top 4 is simply no longer enough to sustain the interest of a growing chunk of our support. And who can blame them? 

 

[champions]

14 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

Who would you have appointed ? 

I would have went for Ian Murray, whether he'd be interested who knows, but if you dont ask you'll never find out.

Who applied for the role?

[Guest Ecosse83]

4 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

he has improved us IMO. We would be staring relegation in the face if we had not got investment and players in. 

I have told you before if being supportive and loyal to people running the club I rate and like then so be it. If that is bias so fucking be it. 
 

Thank you for being honest. Now respect everyone else’s opinions about what we see on the pitch on a Saturday. 

[Barga Bairn]

9 hours ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Hughes decided for some crazy reason to completely move from the policy that had worked so well of signing young players from down south to signing old farts on ridiculous wages plus Bob. We'd only missed out on top 6 by about ten mins the season before.  A tweak was all that was needed.  He's replaced by Eddie may when the club must've had its best ever options of a new manager in my lifetime. He's finally released from his agony and who do we replace him with another complete rookie who promises us that we'd stay up but in fact we go down without as much as a whimper despite Killie hardly winning a game for about two months. After pressleys miserable failure what do we do?We reward him with a new bloody contract. We then have a few years of never looking like going up as pressleys recruitment us in the main utter dross apart from the odd complete diamond.  We then get a break as someone incredibly wants to pay money to take him off our hands. That bit of luck is then thrown out the door by replacing him again with another guy with zero experience who immediately loses a 3 0 halftime lead In a cup semi final . He's given a bigger budget but chooses not to bother spending it all and a piss poor Dundee side win the league whilst we lose out to Hamilton in the playoffs. Holt runs back to Norwich and finally we appoint an experienced head in Houston fresh from winning the Scottish cup with United.  We have a disappointing first league season but we somehow manage to get to the cup final which we throw away. Next we have a fantastic season.with Houston's tactical nuance getting us second in an extremely tough league . The play off final proves a step too far though and we're muscled out of it completely. Houston says we need to sign some more physical players. Next season Houston doesn't sign any more physical players. We have a decent league campaign but have a disappointing exit to a mediocre United side in the playoffs. Poor recruitment is already beginning to tell on the ability of the squad. Next season Houston signs Alex Harris and Rory Loy who both turn out pish. He also announces he's retiring in the summer and the team down tools after a good pre season. With the club heading for relegation we sack Houston and appointment Hartley who signs some decent players in January and steers us away from the drop zone. The next season there is a great deal of optimism at the club despite the decision to suddenly dump the academy in order to sign players from clubs down south. Hartley stupidly goes along with this and takes the blame for it being a pile of shite and is sacked .  He's then replaced by McKinnon who ends up costing us a fortune despite having no real successful track record as a manager. We are again relegated without much fight.  The board couldn't make the same mistake again surely oh yes they could and he's kept on before being sacked when 3 points off the top of the league.  We then return to our old ways of giving it to people with no experience and a hairdresser and fitness fanatic takeover.  They do ok with McKinnon's players but a few poor results and more dreadful Jan recruitment mean we lose out to Raith by a point when the league is shutdown.  Next season they start off well before the board appoints Holt again this time as dof. Team loses one game and collapses. Recruitment in January is 3 kids . M and M sacked holt takes over and we get somehow even worse and end up out the playoffs completely.  A new manager is appointed.  Aberdeens kids coach takes over and we have a super new recruitment system which basically is as shit as the old one. After a decent first few games we lose one and again collapse.  Sheerin is sacked and replaced by Rennie who has absolutely no experience of the Scottish game. He signs 6 players but we are no better than we were before really. Queen's parks terrible form keeps us in sniffing distance of a spot in playoffs we all know we have zero chance of winning.  Next year who knows.

I'd say that about sums it up.

I agree with a lot of what you say but I think there are some important things to consider. Here's my take on it

Hughes found himself facing a transition with the loss of Latapy and the academy being 2 years short of producing enough players. So he signed quality but experienced players to see him through. It didnae work particular well, but he didn't take us down and we should have won the cup.

Presley was also full of bluster, but he made some very good signings on a low budget.  He brought in El Alagoui, McGovern, Higginbotham, Taylor, and Marc Millar for example.

He also signed great youngsters like Murray Wallace, Will Vaulks and Luke Leahey, and played them.

He had possibly the youngest ever team in Scotland when he brought in Sibbald, Kingsley, Murdoch, Alston, Jay Fulton, Connor McGrandles.

Credit where credits due, these were all great players for us. The young team were a team worth supporting.

Holt was a disaster, both times.

Things were far from perfect, but I think Houston was unlucky, as Rangers and Hearts were dumped on us. That held back our promotion efforts.

I contend that it was from then it all went seriously, calamitously wrong. We made a bad mistake when we sacked Houston. His team looked tired and shorn of its best players after 2 decent efforts. He would possibly have turned it round and rebuilt. The guy had shown he was a decent manager in a business where few can be called that.

There were plenty of fans who wanted him out. There were also a hell of a lot of fans supporting the Hartley signings, the so called Brentford model. Plenty of idiots wanted rid of the academy. The utterly stupid board said the club couldn't support the academy financially,  sidestepping the money we had made and the obvious fact that our best players on the park for a number of years were actually academy graduates.

The unfathomable mess started with Hartley and the sub moronic board, pushed even further towards oblivion by the Deans board.

I'm shattered by the last 4 seasons. I've no idea where we go from here as even starting all over again looks impossible.

[ebobsboy]

My £ will be remaining firmly in my wallet if Rennie is still here beyond this season. Tough times ahead if the new board decide he's the man I hope they have deep pockets. 

[ebobsboy]

40 minutes ago, StuartA said:

Just a reminder that we've organised an event on Wednesday night at Elliot’s, 7 pm, where anyone will have the opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns and make suggestions in person. 

Yes all fair and well. But if the board have already made up their mind on who is managing the team next season it would seem as was alluded to in a statement released about identifying targets for next season. You don't do that then do a pr exercise to tick a box when your mind is already made up, rendering fans views irrelevant. What's the point. If it's to try n convince folk to get onside about the manager then the horse has already bolted.  

[Bigbri Bairn]

MR had the January window to change us. He brought in players that he could which were probably not quite what he wanted but it was all that was available. He inherited a team with about 10 players who were rank for us. He has a gang of what is available plus 4 or 5 duds to make a team. Just because you sign 6 players it does not mean the whole team should be fantastic. I am frustrated with the results too but still too early to throw the baby out with the bath water

[StuartA]

18 minutes ago, ebobsboy said:

Yes all fair and well. But if the board have already made up their mind on who is managing the team next season it would seem as was alluded to in a statement released about identifying targets for next season. You don't do that then do a pr exercise to tick a box when your mind is already made up, rendering fans views irrelevant. What's the point. If it's to try n convince folk to get onside about the manager then the horse has already bolted.  

You're welcome to come along and raise these very questions. 

[ebobsboy]

3 minutes ago, StuartA said:

You're welcome to come along and raise these very questions. 

Why release a statement about identifying targets with Martin and Kenny if you have no intention of keeping them beyond this season. Or is it lies? At best if there is no truth in it you should have retracted that statement. 

[knee jerk reaction]

I've said I'd be open to Rennie staying and having a summer transfer window to really do something and people are right to both critisise and defend him as he's not had long but there hasn't been the improvement hoped for.  Let's be honest though even under Sheerin we were never going down!