The Falkirk FC Thread

[Bairnardo]

Pumped 3 - 0 on Saturday and Miller thinks that it is OK to do this? And seemingly done in Falkirk FC's time going by the tactics board in the background.
He can GTF ASAP.
 

Agreed. Get to f**k.

[Gaz]

53 minutes ago, FFC 1876 said:

I think he's capable of picking a decent player out and level headed enough to move others on without causing much of a fuss. I just don't think he has what it takes as a manager to then motivate or get the best out of the squad he builds. 

As Shagger has said it's a non starter but I think recruitment wise Rennie would do a decent job on the squad over the summer, I just don't then think he has what it takes to manage a title challenge.

You're at the wind-up. You have to be.

[ShaggerG]

1 hour ago, Bairn in Exile said:

 

Those 2 posts kind of contradict each other, no? He'd make a good Director of Football but he can't recognize a good player?

P.S. I applauded loudly when Rennie was given the gig of Head Coach, I'll applaud even louder when his contract finishes and he has nothing more to do with the club.

I said 'for some reason Rennie doesn't rate him'. Could be anything for all we know, not necessarily his ability.

[lanky_ffc]

[Guest]

Apparently we want a squad of 18 for next season. Currently we have 17 contracted for next season. Holt has painted the club into a very nasty corner. The chances of us having enough wriggle room to be better next season is extremely slight. We are more likely (as things stand) to be fighting relegation to L2.

Unless a dozen of that list ask for their contracts to be torn up, it’s virtually impossible for us to be at the front edge of recruitment.

[ShaggerG]

26 minutes ago, FFC 1876 said:

Kabia's been a standout, argueably one of the best players in the league.

Griffiths was a gamble we simply just had to take or Jaime Wilson was our only option as a sub upfront.

Jacobs is a far better midfielder than Hetherington or Miller, I just think Rennie's mismanaged that one by constantly dropping him in and out of the team. He needed a consitent run of games.

Watson was again a case of we simply had to sign him as there wasn't anything else on the horizon. Again I don't think the 5 at the back suits him at all, especially having to play with Mckay on one side and ATS on the other.

ATS is a donkey so I'm not even going to try build a case for him.

Mills is an 18 year old who's still in my opinion streets ahead of Mckay & ATS and I'd happily have him back in amongst the squad next season.

All of the players that Rennie signed have been better than those replaced, with the exception of ATS. He's been unlucky with injuries to Griffiths, Jacobs, Kabia and now Watson but he still hasn't manage to put a team on the park that even look remotely like succeeding.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

All of the players that Rennie signed have been better than those replaced, with the exception of ATS. He's been unlucky with injuries to Griffiths, Jacobs, Kabia and now Watson but he still hasn't manage to put a team on the park that even look remotely like succeeding.

That’s fair. In terms of building a team and creating a system of play, he is about as bad as it gets, but I think he is very good at upwardly managing our CEO & BoD.

[Unbiased Hibee]

I am a Hibs fan but also a Scottish football fan of many years standing so it is sad to see how your club have struggled since the Houston years.  I hear a bit about what has gone on when listening to The Terrace podcast when they discuss the lower leagues and i feel your pain especially after reading the last 5 pages of this thread.

As you may have noticed we are struggling to score goals and predictably there were shouts pre season and mid season, from our more nostalgic and some might say dense supporters, for Leigh Griffiths to be brought 'home' to Hibs. 

I was of the opinion that he was finished as a top level player 3 seasons ago so hoped we wouldn't go near him. No sooner did Celtic give him a contract extention and Leigh messed up again and after 4 tough months on loan at Dundee he was predictably binned by Celtic in January and less predictably signed up by Falkirk in i presume a desperate bid to drive your promotion push.

From outside it looks like that has not worked out. Reading between the lines he has injury, fitness and weight issues which mean he is now a busted flush.

From what you have seen what level will Griffiths be playing at next season?

Does junior football beckon for him?

Problem is that it doesn't matter what level he goes to, a lack of fitness to play, for whatever reason, will render him unable to perform.

What are your thoughts on his performances for Falkirk? 

 

 

 

 

[HopeStreetWalker]

13 minutes ago, Duncan Freemason said:

Apparently we want a squad of 18 for next season. Currently we have 17 contracted for next season. Holt has painted the club into a very nasty corner. The chances of us having enough wriggle room to be better next season is extremely slight. We are more likely (as things stand) to be fighting relegation to L2.

Unless a dozen of that list ask for their contracts to be torn up, it’s virtually impossible for us to be at the front edge of recruitment.

All the lower league teams will be working with smaller squads so the numbers you mention could well be the norm. If you are on a contract but your team dont want you it will be a decent casher to go or hang on in there and try to get a game.

If things have been decided tell us FFS. Why the secrecy it serves no purpose and leaked snippets like what you heard reflects badly on the board.

[HopeStreetWalker]

1 hour ago, Bairn in Exile said:

Does anybody ever watch MasterChef?

Occasionally at some point in the competition all the contestants go into the pantry and collect a basket of ingredients of their choosing for them to cook their perfect meal. Then, at the last minute, all of these carefully selected ingredients are taken away from them and they are given another contestant’s basket of ingredients and they have to go away and cook a totally different meal with the ingredients that have been foisted on them.

Cue a Director of Football and a Head Coach.

Stuff that for a game of sojyirs, the Manager (not Head Coach) should be 100% responsible for recruiting his own players / squad.

Or the manager says to the DoF find me a player that can do X, Y, Z get back to me and I will tell you what one I want.

The manager should have the final say and any individual that does not have that in their contract hell mend them.

[Bairn in Exile]

5 minutes ago, HopeStreetWalker said:

Or the manager says to the DoF find me a player that can do X, Y, Z get back to me and I will tell you what one I want.

The manager should have the final say and any individual that does not have that in their contract hell mend them.

I just think that it is an unnecessary layer of management that causes confusion and also one that we can well do without, especially considering our current impecunious state.

[Gaz]

21 minutes ago, Unbiased Hibee said:

I am a Hibs fan but also a Scottish football fan of many years standing so it is sad to see how your club have struggled since the Houston years.  I hear a bit about what has gone on when listening to The Terrace podcast when they discuss the lower leagues and i feel your pain especially after reading the last 5 pages of this thread.

As you may have noticed we are struggling to score goals and predictably there were shouts pre season and mid season, from our more nostalgic and some might say dense supporters, for Leigh Griffiths to be brought 'home' to Hibs. 

I was of the opinion that he was finished as a top level player 3 seasons ago so hoped we wouldn't go near him. No sooner did Celtic give him a contract extention and Leigh messed up again and after 4 tough months on loan at Dundee he was predictably binned by Celtic in January and less predictably signed up by Falkirk in i presume a desperate bid to drive your promotion push.

From outside it looks like that has not worked out. Reading between the lines he has injury, fitness and weight issues which mean he is now a busted flush.

From what you have seen what level will Griffiths be playing at next season?

Does junior football beckon for him?

Problem is that it doesn't matter what level he goes to, a lack of fitness to play, for whatever reason, will render him unable to perform.

What are your thoughts on his performances for Falkirk? 

The signing has been an absolute shambles, which was predicted by many on here.

That being said, there is a trend of players being hopeless for Falkirk only to go on to better things elsewhere. Presumably that's because elsewhere they're actually managed by someone with a basic grasp of tactics and formations instead of the never-ending conveyor belt we have of amateur youth coaches taking charge of a full-time team of men.

I'd say if he can get coached by someone with a basic grasp of the shape of a football he could probably find a Championship side and probably do more at them than he's doing with us.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Unbiased Hibee said:

I am a Hibs fan but also a Scottish football fan of many years standing so it is sad to see how your club have struggled since the Houston years.  I hear a bit about what has gone on when listening to The Terrace podcast when they discuss the lower leagues and i feel your pain especially after reading the last 5 pages of this thread.

As you may have noticed we are struggling to score goals and predictably there were shouts pre season and mid season, from our more nostalgic and some might say dense supporters, for Leigh Griffiths to be brought 'home' to Hibs. 

I was of the opinion that he was finished as a top level player 3 seasons ago so hoped we wouldn't go near him. No sooner did Celtic give him a contract extention and Leigh messed up again and after 4 tough months on loan at Dundee he was predictably binned by Celtic in January and less predictably signed up by Falkirk in i presume a desperate bid to drive your promotion push.

From outside it looks like that has not worked out. Reading between the lines he has injury, fitness and weight issues which mean he is now a busted flush.

From what you have seen what level will Griffiths be playing at next season?

Does junior football beckon for him?

Problem is that it doesn't matter what level he goes to, a lack of fitness to play, for whatever reason, will render him unable to perform.

What are your thoughts on his performances for Falkirk? 

 

 

 

 

He cannot lead a line. No pace whatsoever. I don’t doubt that if given the ball to feet in the box, he could score more goals than just about anyone else in the country.

Although not so far for us, he is still an amazing free kick taker and corner taker. He also has great vision for a pass.

You get the picture. In static situations, there’s no doubt he can be dangerous. However, his mobility has gone, which means he is a shadow of his former self. At 31, that’s an absolute sin.

Being a Hibby, is not a bit weird (and doubtless a freaky co-incidence) that so many talented players ending up as a waste of talent were involved with Hibs? You almost seem to have the copyright on them……Griffiths, O’Connor, Cummings, Riordan, Stokes.

[Reggie Perrin]

3 hours ago, ShaggerG said:

I made the point to the director at the meeting on Saturday that MR would make a good Director of Football. Due to finances I doubt that there will be any plans to resurrect the role but I do think he would be good at it.

That was my thoughts after the the meeting at BtW.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, HopeStreetWalker said:

All the lower league teams will be working with smaller squads so the numbers you mention could well be the norm. If you are on a contract but your team dont want you it will be a decent casher to go or hang on in there and try to get a game.

If things have been decided tell us FFS. Why the secrecy it serves no purpose and leaked snippets like what you heard reflects badly on the board.

It wasn’t a leak. MR said it at the BTW meeting that he wanted a smaller squad of 15 to 18. Why he said 15, I do not know because you could very easily find yourself unable to fulfill fixtures.

Now him mentioning the next season wasn’t any sort of give away that he will still be here. I think every manager (no matter how shoogly the peg) will talk to future changes.

[Reggie Perrin]

2 hours ago, FFC 1876 said:

Kabia's been a standout, argueably one of the best players in the league.

Griffiths was a gamble we simply just had to take or Jaime Wilson was our only option as a sub upfront.

Jacobs is a far better midfielder than Hetherington or Miller, I just think Rennie's mismanaged that one by constantly dropping him in and out of the team. He needed a consitent run of games.

Watson was again a case of we simply had to sign him as there wasn't anything else on the horizon. Again I don't think the 5 at the back suits him at all, especially having to play with Mckay on one side and ATS on the other.

ATS is a donkey so I'm not even going to try build a case for him.

Mills is an 18 year old who's still in my opinion streets ahead of Mckay & ATS and I'd happily have him back in amongst the squad next season.

Fair summary apart from Jacobs who has been carrying an injury (surprise, surprise).

[Guest]

2 hours ago, ShaggerG said:

I said 'for some reason Rennie doesn't rate him'. Could be anything for all we know, not necessarily his ability.

It happens. Krasniqi will forever be an enigma. In the flashes we saw of him, he looked comfortably better than what we had, yet Sheerin was utterly scathing of the boy, and said he was “miles away” from being a first team player.

I still wonder if he had been given Hetherington’s berth for a few games if he could have made a difference.

[Unbiased Hibee]

1 hour ago, Gaz said:

The signing has been an absolute shambles, which was predicted by many on here.

That being said, there is a trend of players being hopeless for Falkirk only to go on to better things elsewhere. Presumably that's because elsewhere they're actually managed by someone with a basic grasp of tactics and formations instead of the never-ending conveyor belt we have of amateur youth coaches taking charge of a full-time team of men.

I'd say if he can get coached by someone with a basic grasp of the shape of a football he could probably find a Championship side and probably do more at them than he's doing with us.

I think you are probably right benchmarking Griffiths at Championship level but a few will be taking note that he is doing nothing in the 3rd tier so might not be so keen to sign him up. Raith Rovers like a controversial player but don t know if they would dare now.

Re coaches, lots of moans on Hibs forums about Maloney not knowing what he is doing so you are not alone. When your new guy was coming in his back story was pushed out far and wide in the media. When I read it I thought that will be a disaster.

We have a similar scene with a player, Chris Mueller, the similarity being the heavily pushed back story. After a 6 month delay the guy eventually arrived and looks average and has struggled to be a starter. He was on buttons playing for Orlando in the MLS but apparently Hibs are paying him a big wage.

We have an American owner who sees the proximity to England and thinks Hibs is a shop window which can be used to sell developed players for big bucks.

I can see your club is stuck with most of the current squad for another year. Looks like you are painted into a corner on the player front so you might be better taking your medicine and getting someone like Houston in to sort things out for a year so you are ready to push on the following season. Never popular with supporters but it might be a far better long term approach.

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Unbiased Hibee said:

I think you are probably right benchmarking Griffiths at Championship level but a few will be taking note that he is doing nothing in the 3rd tier so might not be so keen to sign him up. Raith Rovers like a controversial player but don t know if they would dare now.

Re coaches, lots of moans on Hibs forums about Maloney not knowing what he is doing so you are not alone. When your new guy was coming in his back story was pushed out far and wide in the media. When I read it I thought that will be a disaster.

We have a similar scene with a player, Chris Mueller, the similarity being the heavily pushed back story. After a 6 month delay the guy eventually arrived and looks average and has struggled to be a starter. He was on buttons playing for Orlando in the MLS but apparently Hibs are paying him a big wage.

We have an American owner who sees the proximity to England and thinks Hibs is a shop window which can be used to sell developed players for big bucks.

I can see your club is stuck with most of the current squad for another year. Looks like you are painted into a corner on the player front so you might be better taking your medicine and getting someone like Houston in to sort things out for a year so you are ready to push on the following season. Never popular with supporters but it might be a far better long term approach.

It will be interesting to see how we unload 14 or so players who haven’t kicked a ball for an entire season, and aren’t good enough to break into a mid table L1 side. Can’t imagine clubs lower down (who tend to be run far better than we have been) being prepared to take many of them as signed players. You will have a few offers of taking them on loan, but only willing to pay 20% of their wages…..or even less.

God, we even paid a wedge of cash for one of them.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Duncan Freemason

[Guest]

I suppose the one service we have provided to Scottish football is showing up Sheerin and Holt for what they truly are, but at great cost to ourselves.