The Falkirk FC Thread

[Guest]

I know Sod’s law can take you to there places, but to bring in seven players including effectively a plug and play back three yet we still end up with Miller McKay and Hetherington in the starting line up was a truly a face palm moment (even though I accept that it wasn’t by design).

[Bairn in Exile]

4 hours ago, ShaggerG said:

The thing about Wright is that he's managed two Scottish teams, one that he did very well at and the other where he bombed. Other than that it's been teams in Ireland so he's not completely proved himself IMO. He's not getting any younger either so I'm not sure that he would even want to get involved with our basket case!

Look at his track record with St Johnstone: qualifying for and winning in European competitions, a Scottish Cup win, regular top six places in the Premiership over a 7 year period. He had St Johnstone punching well above their weight.

St Johnstone[edit]

Wright left Distillery in November 2011 to become assistant manager of Scottish Premier League club St Johnstone.^[4]

After Steve Lomas left the Perth club to manage Millwall in June 2013, Wright was promoted to manager.^[5] Wright's first game in charge was a UEFA Europa League tie in Norway against Rosenborg. St Johnstone won 1–0, their first-ever away victory in European competition.^[6] The second leg ended in a 1–1 draw, putting St Johnstone through 2–1 on aggregate, and through to the third round of the qualifying stages for the first time.^[7] Despite winning 1–0 win against Minsk in the first leg of the next round, they went on to lose on penalties.^[8] After the match, Wright criticised Minsk, believing they lacked class in victory.^[9] After winning two games and drawing once in October, Wright won the Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month award.^[10]

In March 2014, Wright was involved in a touchline incident with Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara.^[11] This resulted a one-match ban for Wright.^[12] A few days later, Wright was taken to hospital after suffering stomach pains.^[13] Despite being in the hospital, Wright was still involved in the squad selection ahead of a match against Hibernian.^[14] The operation was a success, and Wright made his return in a match against Partick Thistle.^[15][16]

After Wright led the club to a top-six position in the Premiership, he guided them to their first Scottish Cup Final after a 2–1 win over Aberdeen.^[17] They were victorious in the 17 May, Final meeting with Dundee United at Celtic Park. It was St Johnstone's first major trophy win.^[18] Wright signed a new contract with St Johnstone in August 2014.^[19] He signed another contract with St Johnstone in October 2015, soon after the club had rejected an approach from Dundee United for Wright.^[20]

He was voted Premiership Manager of the Season for the 2015–16 season, leading St Johnstone to another fourth-place finish^[21] and a third domestic cup semi-final, losing out to Hibernian.^[22]

St Johnstone secured a third successive fourth-place finish in the Premiership in 2016–17 under Wright, with two games remaining, also qualifying for Europe again.^[23]

Wright resigned as St Johnstone manager on 2 May 2020.^[24]

Admittedly he took over the reins of a winning team when he succeeded Lomas whereas he had to rebuild the Kilmarnock team that had just got relegated so that is a slight worry but to say that he has not completely proved himself is nonsense.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Bairn in Exile

[Guest]

Maybe the Falkirk Player Curse applies to Managers too. They come to us with a decent(ish) CV, and slowly but surely, we crush whatever talent they had (before they move on to succeed or at least regain their credibility elsewhere.

Is TFS perhaps built on an ancient Pictish burial ground? We need answers.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Duncan Freemason

[ShaggerG]

18 minutes ago, Bairn in Exile said:

Look at his track record with St Johnstone: qualifying for and winning in European competitions, a Scottish Cup win, regular top six places in the Premiership over a 7 year period. He had St Johnstone punching well above their weight.

St Johnstone[edit]

Wright left Distillery in November 2011 to become assistant manager of Scottish Premier League club St Johnstone.^[4]

After Steve Lomas left the Perth club to manage Millwall in June 2013, Wright was promoted to manager.^[5] Wright's first game in charge was a UEFA Europa League tie in Norway against Rosenborg. St Johnstone won 1–0, their first-ever away victory in European competition.^[6] The second leg ended in a 1–1 draw, putting St Johnstone through 2–1 on aggregate, and through to the third round of the qualifying stages for the first time.^[7] Despite winning 1–0 win against Minsk in the first leg of the next round, they went on to lose on penalties.^[8] After the match, Wright criticised Minsk, believing they lacked class in victory.^[9] After winning two games and drawing once in October, Wright won the Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month award.^[10]

In March 2014, Wright was involved in a touchline incident with Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara.^[11] This resulted a one-match ban for Wright.^[12] A few days later, Wright was taken to hospital after suffering stomach pains.^[13] Despite being in the hospital, Wright was still involved in the squad selection ahead of a match against Hibernian.^[14] The operation was a success, and Wright made his return in a match against Partick Thistle.^[15][16]

After Wright led the club to a top-six position in the Premiership, he guided them to their first Scottish Cup Final after a 2–1 win over Aberdeen.^[17] They were victorious in the 17 May, Final meeting with Dundee United at Celtic Park. It was St Johnstone's first major trophy win.^[18] Wright signed a new contract with St Johnstone in August 2014.^[19] He signed another contract with St Johnstone in October 2015, soon after the club had rejected an approach from Dundee United for Wright.^[20]

He was voted Premiership Manager of the Season for the 2015–16 season, leading St Johnstone to another fourth-place finish^[21] and a third domestic cup semi-final, losing out to Hibernian.^[22]

St Johnstone secured a third successive fourth-place finish in the Premiership in 2016–17 under Wright, with two games remaining, also qualifying for Europe again.^[23]

Wright resigned as St Johnstone manager on 2 May 2020.^[24]

Admittedly he took over the reigns of a winning team when he succeeded Lomas whereas he had to rebuild the Kilmarnock team that had just got relegated so that is a slight worry but to say that he has not completely proved himself is nonsense.

Ok, He has proved himself. He may also just have proved that he's not up for the challenge as much as he was at St Johnstone which was all I was suggesting really.

 

[Bairn in Exile]

2 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

Ok, He has proved himself. He may also just have proved that he's not up for the challenge as much as he was at St Johnstone which was all I was suggesting really.

No you weren't. You said, and I quote, "so he's not completely proved himself IMO".

[ShaggerG]

3 minutes ago, Bairn in Exile said:

No you weren't. You said, and I quote, "so he's not completely proved himself IMO".

Aye awrite fanny baws, I unreservedly apologise. I was extremely shoogly with my choice of words. I'll ensure that it doesn't happen again.

[Bairn in Exile]

49 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

Aye awrite fanny baws, I unreservedly apologise. I was extremely shoogly with my choice of words. I'll ensure that it doesn't happen again.

Apology accepted but as you say, don't let it happen again, OK? 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Bairn in Exile

[Hank von Hell]

4 hours ago, Duncan Freemason said:

Maybe the Falkirk Player Curse applies to Managers too. They come to us with a decent(ish) CV, and slowly but surely, we crush whatever talent they had (before they move on to succeed or at least regain their credibility elsewhere.

Is TFS perhaps built on an ancient Pictish burial ground? We need answers.

They wouldn't build an ancient Pictish burial ground in the blast zone.

[cbhaf]

44 minutes ago, Hank von Hell said:

They wouldn't build an ancient Pictish burial ground in the blast zone.

Handy for the motorway though...

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Shadwell Dog said:

He was stuck on the bench that day.

He is injured and is not able to give us more than about 10 minutes. No idea what is wrong 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Duncan Freemason said:

It’s not clear what factors the BoD will choose to look at wrt Rennie’s time at the club. He is undoubtedly a smart guy, but we have seen nothing that says “manager/head coach” in Scotland. To keep him on, there has to be something more convincing than a leap of faith (I would hope).

We now know that in half a season, he has achieved essentially nothing……that’s a harsh assessment, but it’s not an overly critical one. It’s the way it has rolled out in front of all of us.

Personally, I can’t buy into “without him, we would go down or finish 7th or 8th” just as I can’t buy into “if he had been with us from the start of the season, we’d have won the league or definitely be top four”.

The 6-2 against Dumbarton, and (weirdly) the 3-2 defeat to Airdrie are actually both high points for me. Dowds does the biz v the former, and in the latter, there was a moment’s excitement that a style of play was emerging that we could all get behind…….but it has never been seen again from that day to this, and the USP of rapid turnaround in performances has just not happened.

The Leigh Griffiths signing……….why? When you have such a poor midfield that disappears defensively, and mostly fails to turn up in support of the attack, what was the point? My analogy? If the drive shaft to the rear wheels in your car fails, putting in a bigger engine up front won’t fix anything.

I can 100% but into the 7th/8th line had we stuck with Sheerin. We were in a tailspin. When Rennie arrived Holt allegedly told him that in his opinion all the squad needed was cover for RB and maybe a CF. So if Sheerin was still there that is what he would have been looking at. 
Now that doesn’t mean someone different from Rennie may have done better. 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Back Post Misses

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

23 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

I can 100% but into the 7th/8th line had we stuck with Sheerin. We were in a tailspin. When Rennie arrived Holt allegedly told him that in his opinion all the squad needed was cover for RB and maybe a CF. So if Sheerin was still there that is what he would have been looking at. 
Now that doesn’t mean someone different from Rennie may have done better. 

Sheerin had to go but how were we in a tailspin?

The 5 league games prior to the Queens Park defeat, Sheerin had won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1, scoring 7 and conceding 3.

Prior to last weekend against Peterhead, Rennie had won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1, scoring 8 and conceding 7.

If Sheerin was in a tail spin, according to you, then where are we at now?

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Caractacus Potts

[Guest Ecosse83]

57 minutes ago, Caractacus Potts said:

Sheerin had to go but how were we in a tailspin?

The 5 league games prior to the Queens Park defeat, Sheerin had won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1, scoring 7 and conceding 3.

Prior to last weekend against Peterhead, Rennie had won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1, scoring 8 and conceding 7.

If Sheerin was in a tail spin, according to you, then where are we at now?

 

I checked this the other day and noticed results weren’t that bad prior to Queens Park. I have no doubt Sheerin had to go but to say Rennie saved us from a relegation scrap is just ludicrous. 
 

It’s these arguments that worry me about next seasons manager, it will be chaos if Rennie gets kept on

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Caractacus Potts said:

Sheerin had to go but how were we in a tailspin?

The 5 league games prior to the Queens Park defeat, Sheerin had won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1, scoring 7 and conceding 3.

Prior to last weekend against Peterhead, Rennie had won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1, scoring 8 and conceding 7.

If Sheerin was in a tail spin, according to you, then where are we at now?

 

We just had the worst result in my lifetime and you use Rennie’s disappointing record to try and defend Sheerin. whataboutery in the extreme. 

We are not going up we are not going down with the board in a position to make a decision on next season is where we are. 

And no I have still not made my mind up before you ask. 

[Bairn in Exile]

10 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

We just had the worst result in my lifetime and you use Rennie’s disappointing record to try and defend Sheerin. whataboutery in the extreme. 

We are not going up we are not going down with the board in a position to make a decision on next season is where we are. 

And no I have still not made my mind up before you ask. 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Bairn in Exile

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

 

43 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

We just had the worst result in my lifetime and you use Rennie’s disappointing record to try and defend Sheerin. whataboutery in the extreme. 

We are not going up we are not going down with the board in a position to make a decision on next season is where we are. 

And no I have still not made my mind up before you ask. 

I think you need to understand what whataboutery means.

Also I’m not trying to defend Sheerin so, once more, please don’t put words in my mouth.

You said Sheerin was in a tailspin so I’m asking you to explain why and what makes Rennie’s form so different?
 

Edit to add: I had a quick scan back at your posts during Sheerin’s last few games in charge and not once did you say Sheerin must go or that we were in a tailspin. 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Caractacus Potts

[RandomGuy.]

If you're getting a version of Tommy Wright that's happy to drop to the 3rd tier to manage, then you probably don't want him.

I don't think his heart was ever really in it at Kilmarnock tbh, and it showed.

[TheScarf]

Aye Killie was laughable under Wright.  We played them up here in December and I don't think they had a shot on goal.  

[Guest Ecosse83]

56 minutes ago, Caractacus Potts said:

 

I think you need to understand what whataboutery means.

Also I’m not trying to defend Sheerin so, once more, please don’t put words in my mouth.

You said Sheerin was in a tailspin so I’m asking you to explain why and what makes Rennie’s form so different?
 

Edit to add: I had a quick scan back at your posts during Sheerin’s last few games in charge and not once did you say Sheerin must go or that we were in a tailspin. 

To be fair to him at least he’s been consistent at not shouting for the managers to be punted. 

[latapythelegend]

13 hours ago, Bainsfordbairn said:

Sorry, but I strongly disagree with this. 

I saw a lot of the U16s and U18s last season and the younger group in particular were excellent. Ian Fergus was very keen for his kids to get publicity so every game was announced on the website. Folk were turning up to watch them and virtually every report I read from fans on the facebook pages were raving about them. 

We will agree to disagree then. I've seen a fair few games, the most recent being the U18s against Elgin 10 days ago and the standard was very very poor.