18BAIRN76

It shows you what can happen when you have a decent manager who recruits well and builds a stuffy side who all know their jobs. It's water under the bridge now, but, like Kilmarnock, we also kept a Premiership level budget in our first season back down in 2010/11. However, in total opposite style to Kilmarnock, we made the decision to keep on serial fucking loser Pressley who spunked the budget on folk like Burton O'Brien, Carl Finnigan, Ross Perry, Medhi Khalis, and a done Pedro Moutinho. We finished 12 points behind an absolutely minging Pars team who got swiftly punted back down the following year. To say we've been criminally mismanaged for well over a decade is a massive understatement.

I would be absolutely astonished if Blair Alston plays regularly for Killie in the top flight next season. Looks like he's running through treacle. Decent finish, right enough.

There were some on here who predicted when Miller came in as assistant that he'd use it to try and weasel his way into the managers job and it appears you were correct in that assessment. Perhaps instead of trying to win the next two pointless games when there is absolutely f**k all at stake, we should look back at his and Rennie's record since they came in. That would almost automatically disqualify him from the discussion. Get him to f***.

Absolutely not, but trying my best to be positive

Given the chance, I would definitely have kept him going into next season, but his departure won't exactly keep me awake at night either. His greatest contribution to us was probably highlighting how much of a tit Holt was to those who were apparently too blind to see it earlier. Wish him nothing but good luck and I hope he goes on to have a successful career, but there has been much better strikers to play for Falkirk before him and there will be much better after him, too.

It's clear that we can keep going round in circles with this. Some fans are bothered by Miller's media engagements; some aren't, that's the nature of differing opinions. For me, there is a clear difference in Houston appearing once or twice a month to discuss Scottish football generally, compared to seeing Miller's name pop up every two or three days with him offering his opinions on Rangers and Rangers alone. Miller isn't just a general pundit - a large part of his time is spent as a Rangers pundit. I gave the example of Holt before which no one seemed to answer; if, when he was DoF, his name popped up once or twice a week discussing Killie's promotion chances, I don't think fans would be as forgiving as they are of Miller. But, I respect that some people won't be bothered. Fine. However, if we put all of this to one side and look at purely his involvement with FFC - does Miller have the know-how, the qualifications and the experience to dig us out of the hole we're in, as we enter our fourth season in the third tier? Are we seriously suggesting that as Rennie's assistant and right-hand man, he holds absolutely no culpability for us getting worse over the second half of the season - especially, as the goalposts continue to shift, the apparent plan was for Rennie to stand aside and Miller to take over all along? Is he, honestly, the manager that Falkirk FC needs right now? Some will forever argue you can never know and there is risk in every appointment. However, on balance, I would suggest the answer to all of these questions is a pretty overwhelming 'no'.

Media work aside - which has been well discussed - Miller is probably the furthest from what we as a club need right now. He shouldn’t be in the frame at all.

Absofuckinglutely not.

Interesting how people have such differing opinions on players. Every time I've seen McGuffie, I've thought he's looked lightweight/powerduff as f**k, and I'd get rid. The manager coming in has decisions to make, for sure.

Every season that Falkirk FC are in the third tier of Scottish football, the primary expectation should be that we should win the league. Failing this primary expectation, the secondary expectation should be promotion through the play-offs. Anything falling outside of these two scenarios should be considered a failure. These should not be controversial statements.

Miller winning 3 friendlies would count for f**k all. He was part of the previous regime who wasn’t up to it and should be emptied at the end of the season.

To be fair, I thought Hetherington did speak pretty well in that interview. As much as Miller's Rangers cheerleading does my tits in, the basis for him not having a sniff at the job should be that he's a total rookie and has no qualifications for what will be required at the club over the summer and going into next season. If ever there was a time for experience, this is it.

Listening to the cheerleader's interview, sounds like he might be chucking his hat into the ring. Absolute fear.

My list that I haven't really thought through that much and am incredibly flexible to changing once I've considered it a lot more. 1. Phone Jack Ross. He definitely will not pick up. Leave a voicemail floating the usual 'coming home', 'Falkirk family' pish. He won't answer that either, but there is no harm in trying. 2. On the basis Airdrie do not get promoted, go pretty gung-ho for Ian Murray. He's probably top of my list in terms of people we have the slightly realistic chance of getting, though I'm still doubtful he would come. Give it all we have, though. You could even market it as two-year thing if you were upfront and honest with fans from the beginning in order to keep the mutiny at bay for a while. If Murray dramatically improved us next year and had us challenging at the top end of the league and fostered a decent atmosphere around the club, I think fans would be very much on board, even if he failed to get us over the line promotion-wise in the first year. 3. A couple in this group. McGlynn is a solid shout and I think he'd go a good job - but the whole Goodwillie debacle does take a lot of shine off for me and would be difficult for me to get over. If Yogi keeps Dunfermline up and isn't kept on, I'd consider him a pretty good candidate. I obviously don't know the ins and outs, and more than willing for Dunfermline fans to correct me if I'm talking shite, but keeping them up would probably be a decent outcome considering the situation he walked into. Also knows the club and knows what is required. Would disgruntle some of the happy-clappier elements of our support - not necessarily a bad thing. 4. Alan Johnston and Jim McIntyre types. Uninspiring choices, but would probably more than do a job at League One level at a short-term appointment. Would also chuck Marshmallo's Scott Brown/Marvin Bartley type shouts here. Not that I'm averse to them or that they would do a bad job, but they are an unknown quantity and I think it would be a harder pitch for the board to get fans onside with. ... 139486830. Kenny Miller.

Best decision all round. Wish him all the best but he was nowhere near up to the job and I always thought he’d end up going back to the US. Well done to the board for making the right call… …so far. If Sevco Miller gets it, we legit riot.

I think we have all been completely blinded/numbed as to what it actually takes to get out of this league, which is more than understandable due to two consecutive seasons of making a complete arse of it and continously making absolutely shite managerial appointments. With our infrastructure and the resources we have, it should be relatively straightforward to get out of this league; I'm not even talking about what follows in the Championship, I mean simply getting promoted out of League One. I don't think it is arrogant to say that - we completely deserve to be where we are at the moment and it is entirely of our own making. But I don't think even fans of other teams, who have had a great time laughing at over the last few years, would disagree that a half-competent manager would have Falkirk challenging for this league. Forget all the talk about DoF's, structure and 'five year plans' - in the summer, appoint a relatively experienced manager who knows how to win at this level, and I guarantee we'll be talking in 12 months time and we won't be far away.

Some may disagree, you do not need a DoF in the third tier of Scottish football. It didn't help that Holt was useless at it, but I'm not convinced of the merits of the role full stop. It contributes to a top-heavy, bloated structure which takes up another salary which could be used on the playing staff, which is where all possible funding at this level should go to. If we get into the Championship and start pushing for promotion, maybe you can begin to reconsider (still not convinced) However, now, just get a MANAGER who knows how to recruit for this level and set up a team properly. It really is not rocket science.

I'm not having a go at those who are simply guessing he'll be kept on. But, for the 1000th time, the fact Rennie staying on is even still in the discussion is ludicrous. A large chunk of the BoD's reputation rests with a very simple decision.

As ever, there are truths to both sides of what people are saying. The new board are recently in post and should be afforded the time to turn things around - on that basis, it seems silly for fans to stop attending now, just when it appears the perfect opportunity to get everyone on board and pulling in the same direction. However, while I, like everyone else (bar maybe one or two on here), wants the new board to succeed, it is a two-way deal. We're going to be entering our fourth season in this dumpster fire of a league, and every consecutive season we've been moving further and further away from getting ourselves out of it. This is in midst of over a decade of consistent decline (with 15/16 proving to be the exception) and external issues of people increasingly struggling to get by financially. I can totally understand the reticence of some supporters as well. I wrote to Gary Deans at the end of last season, saying that after 15 consecutive years of being a season ticket holder, I had had enough of people not being held accountable for incredibly poor decision-making and I would not be returning until he and Holt were gone. The response I got was along the lines of "We're sorry, but you're a loyal supporter, so you're probably just saying this while angry and you'll be back". I did not renew. The installation of Cones totally underwhelmed me and I thought it was a terrible appointment at the time. I refrained from overtly saying so as to not appear overly negative. However, the calamity of this season proved my worst fears right and while it gives me absolutely no joy whatsoever, I feel I have been vindicated in not buying a season ticket this season. I watched a quite number of away streams under Sheerin, before I attended two homes games in person just after Rennie was first appointed and Holt was given the boot. It didn't take long to realise things had possibly got even worse than under Cones. Rennie now does indeed have a worse record than Cones, and we're still discussing the possibility of him being kept on next season. It's totally baffling and thoroughly depressing. I think the days of fans exhibiting blind loyalty to a football club are over. We are post-pandemic, where people were forced to experience life without football. It's also especially the case for a club like ours, which has taken its support for granted for far too long. I want to return next season - buying a season ticket even if I cannot attend every game in person. While I haven't missed it per se, this season has still hurt - ultimately, this is my club and I love it. But this doesn't mean I will hand over my money regardless of any factors - the "they're my club, so they can just have my money!" simply doesn't cut it for me anymore. The board have my and many others backing, but we need to see concrete initiative and action from them. I won't be buying a ST if Rennie is kept on in the face of all the data - I doubt I'm the only one. With transparency and openness, combined with evidence-based decision-making (ala Rennie), I feel they have a loyal fanbase who will listen and may be more forgiving than many think. But it is incumbent on the board to take these steps before many supporters will feel comfortable parting with their cash.

Pretty sure it was 2nd. Hartley did a pretty decent job recruiting in the January and is undoubtedly a good manager, who had one absolutely mental summer with us.

Falkirk TV is fucking embarrassing, btw. You can be a club channel without being a propaganda channel. That first question is a riddy and a half.

On the basis that Airdrie don't go up, I'd go balls out for Ian Murray. Highly, highly doubt he'd come, but worth trying. If not, a Johnston or a McIntyre type as second choice is something I wouldn't be averse to. Russ makes fair point about Johnston's record in League One - my only concern is you'd have to keep him on if we went up and he's proven himself to be a bit of a diddy at the levels above League One. I totally understand that the first hurdle is getting out of this division, though - walk before we can run etc. - he might be an okay choice for that end.

I know beggars can't be choosers and we're in an incredibly low position, but names like Allan Johnston just give me the fucking fear. Considering where we are at the moment and the calibre of candidate we're likely to attract, I still feel we should have gone for Yogi in the summer. That won't be popular with some on here - but it really couldn't have been any worse than Cones and Rennie. Was never gonna happen with clownshoes Holt there though, so instead we appointed a children's coach who wouldn't put up too much of a fuss, before punting him and replacing him with a man who looks like he tests out his formations on Football Manager.

Season mathematically over so I expect a statement by tomorrow evening confirming that the marketing man and the Sevco cheerleader will be jettisoned. If they're feeling up to it, feel free to produce the 'release list' a few weeks early too.

Get the PR-talking, consultancy-spinning ballboy back on the first flight to the US.