[The Falkirk FC Thread]

37 minutes ago, Tea and Busquets said:

How many senior players do we have if everyone is fit?

20. 

21 signed but one out on loan. 6 apprentices and currently no loanees in. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

39 minutes ago, Bigbrbairn said:

This is doing my heid in! Come on spill or say its a wind up!!!

It's a wind-up.

I don't know of any new signings so if I don't they don't. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

44 minutes ago, FK1Bairn said:

This might have been mentioned previously but does anybody know what's happened to Alex Connon the GK coach? Noticed it was Callum Erskine doing the GK coaching last Monday then on Saturday Nicky Hogarth, Jamie Sneddon and Owen Hayward were doing the warm up themselves

He's still around, though he was missing on Saturday. Somebody told me why but I've genuinely forgotten the reason. I'm assuming he'll be there on Saturday and if not I know he'll definitely be there for the Stenny game.

Not sure about tonight as he's part-time. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

Strangely enough the Falkirk Stenny thing even extends to womens football. Many of our players had a very low opinion of the counterparts in maroon so I assume the feeling was mutual. I remember a game in which one of their coaches took to social media to say how pumped up he was to play us on derby day. That was around 8 am on matchday. I spoke to our coach afterwards and he said at that time he was far more interested in his breakfast. 

Falkirk women owned Stenny for a number of years. Last year they returned the favour by scudding us twice in three games. Since then we've released half our promotion-winning team and are recruiting extremely well. Only two have been announced so far, but there are some very good players to follow. 

I'm looking forward to both the womens clashes in the league next season and the mens cuptie in a fortnight. I think all will be feisty. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

1 hour ago, StuartA said:

This seems like an inspired choice now

 

In the bad old days, player selection for photocalls was sometimes based on who would create the least abuse online. At least for the big ones, Things like school visits, hospitality or commercial jobs were based on whose turn it was or who was available. 

That doesn't matter nowadays. Every player is loved and they all get positive feedback, It's wonderful to see. 

 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

11 minutes ago, Proudtobeabairn said:

I meant 'we' as in FFC - of course the manager is responsible for recruitment as should be the case.  The board should only get involved if the manager wants to do something incredibly stupid with that budget.  

Was meaning that time will tell whether our (McGlynns) use of the budget has turned out to be exemplary or whether there's been a few mistakes.  The actual amount that he's had is probably not to far off some teams and a bit more than others.  

Fair enough. The only observation I'd make then is that most people appear to be happy with what he's done, as ironically at the time were most posters with Hartley. It's easy to criticise with the benefit of hindsight. 

The only objections appear to be the recruitment of squad players like Oliver, Shanley and perhaps Mackie, but I'd suggest that every squad needs players who're willing to sit on a bench and con contribute something when called upon. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

5 hours ago, Proudtobeabairn said:

If we can reach play offs or above then its a really good season.  If not, then questions will rightly be asked whether we spent the budget wisely.  

Disagree completely and always will. This points get raised time and time again and it's as wrong now as it always has been. 

"WE" do not spend the budget. The manager does. The board appoint the manager, give him what they can afford and if he spends it badly he gets sacked. If he spends it well he might get a new contract, as McGlynn did. 

Six years ago after a terrible summer of recruitment from Paul Hartley the hot topic on this messageboard was "oversight". The topic was raised repeatedly by an individual who no longer seems to post. All he wanted to do was find fault with every decision made by the club because it furthered attacks on a particular board he had issues with. Some of the the conspiracy theories he and his mates came up with were unbelievable. 

That "oversight" topic and subsequent relegation was largely responsible for the recruitment of Gary Holt. We all know how well that went. 

Boards, CEOs, etc have nothing to do with how the budget is spent. Their roles are to provide the budget and make a judgement call on when to bin the manager if he's failing to deliver on the park. 

No questions should be asked of anyone other than the manager. 

I also disagree with the implication that failing to reach the playoffs could be seen as failure. Particularly if we get close and then get hit with injuries or a run of bad refereeing decisions. I'd like us to be top four but I'd settle for consolidation if necessary. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

12 minutes ago, Super Simon said:

Extremely underwhelming transfer window to date.

Yeah, all we did was secure the majority of the Invincibles team, including a couple of ex-loanees who the fans were desperate to see back. Plus recruit a Championship top scorer from the last few years and recruit a youth player who's been the biggest standout of preseason. 

The definition of underwhelming. 

 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

2 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Didnt Housty oversee a change for Luke Leahy aswell? Dunno if that was already there from ealier in his career but man did I enjoy him at left back

Yep. Pressley signed him as a midfielder at the start of the 12/13 season and for the two years of his initial contract he made only ten competitive starts. I'm a saddo who keeps records of all FFC stats, along with my opinions on players on a season-by-season basis. 

And in my opinion Leahy did nothing in his first two years to earn a contract extension. So of course Gary Holt offered him one. It was announced on 1st May 2014. Holt then left of the 2nd of June, leaving the incoming Peter Houston with a player who appeared to be nothing more than a jersey filler. 

Steven Kingsley left that summer and Houston initially tried Liam Dick at left back. He was alright, but then Leahy got a shot at the start of September and as we all know he turned out to be a revelation. Really nice guy too. One of the friendliest players I've ever come across. 

[24/25 - New Kits]

10 hours ago, par-adise said:

Not a fan of any of the O'Neills kits but these are great. 

If you don't like the O' Neills stuff, that's down to decisions made by club staff rather than the manufacturer. 

It seems you can pretty much design your own kit from scratch rather than having to take a standard template. As was the case for us with Puma for years. Unless the club paid extra for a bespoke strip. 

We had three kits last year and all included nods to our heritage. As does one of the two released so far this year, plus the training wear. 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

1 minute ago, GunnerBairn said:

Re: the bovril, why don’t FSS stage a wee protest outside next home game - consisting of a table, a jar of bovril, a tea spoon, and a kettle - then sell plastic cups of bovril for 50p each with all takings going to Strathcarron Hosipice. Point made and charity wins. 

That's actually been done before and was very popular. Maybe 15 years ago, Bairnstrust were given access to a big white marquee tent that was set up in the car park. They were given access to a power feed and had a water urn that was continually on the boil. It was done with club permission because the urn was constantly refilled with water from inside the stadium. Coffee, bovril, tea and snacks were available for everyone in the vicinity from 0900 to just before kickoff. The food was purchased from a local warehouse from a committee member who had a card for it and sold on at prices far cheaper than the stadium kiosks. All profits went back to the club. 

I know because I was one of the two people who served the customers, along with a lovely older lady who's still around. 

No harm in FSS asking if they can set up something similar. The son of that lady is still involved with them. 

 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

The standard answer from fans on budgets has always been to demand that the BOD spend more. That's been the way of things for the 40+ years I've been watching the club. 

If you have a club with rich owners, or people who're continually bigging themselves up because they're so special that they're needed on the board of their local institution, then that's fine. They make themselves fair game for such demands because of either their wealth or their behaviour. 

Falkirk are no longer in that position. The club is owned by us fans and we decide who serves on the board. The days of (relatively) rich sugar daddies are gone. 

So I don't quite get the demand for the board to spend more. They're presumably spending all the club can afford. Are these demands being made by people who don't understand the difference between past and present? Or are they part of the past and just want an excuse to criticise the present? 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

11 minutes ago, Super Simon said:

Shame none of the proceeds of which are going to the manager to strengthen an already stretched squad. Meanwhile other clubs are signing players left, right and centre. I'll bet McGlynn is less than impressed with the backing he has received after last season.

Do we know what backing he's received? Has his budget increased / reduced from last season and if so by how much? And most importantly, does that information come from a credible source that we can all look at rather than hearsay. 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

16 minutes ago, Blane Fonda said:

I wish we would use a red and white combo for our away strip. A  rip off  of either Ajax, Arsenal, Monaco or Atletico Madrid would be perfect. Would prefer Atletico with navy blue shorts. 

We wore red and white stripes in season 1888/89 (or so 60s Bairns told me as he remembered it). I've always wondered why we never tried that for an away top. 

It's not far away now, so I also wonder if the 2026/27 away top might end up with red and blue stripes to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Tottens side getting to the cup final. 

 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

The socks have an inverted steeple and you can see the faint outline of the steeple at the bottom of the shirts. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

Viva Espana! 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

24 minutes ago, falkirkbairn23 said:

How did Adams look against Dumbarton?

Very good. Probably one of the standouts, and he was playing on his wrong side. There's no doubt that McGlynn can spot a player. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

27 minutes ago, Shodwall cat said:

Aye but the actual modern apprenticeship scheme is govt part funded I think is it not? They also do a qualification alongside being footballers.

I've no idea. The first academy game is next midweek so if Tony's there I'll ask him then. 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

11 minutes ago, Shodwall cat said:

Are these modern apprenticeships not funded to some extent though?

I think the money comes from fundraising by things like golf days, sportsmens dinners and sponsorship. It's notable that the academy has a different sponsor from the first team. 

I believe the sponsor only does youth football, used to be involved at the club and then pulled out in protest when the academy closed. So the money isn't coming out of the first team budget. 

 

I don't care about the opinion of guys who watch the Shire and junior football. TBH I'm not bothered about the opinion of many Falkirk fans  either, particularly when I read some of the stuff that goes up on COYB. I trust Tony Begg and John McGlynn though. If they think these guys are worth handing out apprenticeships to that's good enough for me. 

 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBairn said:

Regarding the U18s, does anyone know if the lad McNab is a defender and if he’s a CB? He was on the bench vs Alloa on trophy day, I think, and if he’s a CB then would hope to see him and Logan Sinclair more, given our defensive issues.

Yes to both. He's a youth player (schoolboy?) and isn't one of those who was given an apprenticeship, so you might not see much of him. I think he's still young enough to play with the U18s next season so he probably still has time to earn a contract. I assume he was pulled into the squad on the final day due to the lack of defensive cover. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

9 minutes ago, Bigbrbairn said:

Any closed door friendlies during the week and any wee surprise faces nicking about training?

The second and final one will be during the week, which is probably all I can say. There haven't been any surprise faces on the days I've been in. Everyone I've seen at training is a signed Falkirk player, other than U18s  who often get a chance to train with the first team and which goes on throughout the year. 

U18s have their first friendly next midweek. Women have their first friendly two weeks today. I presume both will be publicised on the usual social media places. 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

4 hours ago, Springfield said:

Any information on Donaldson & McCann ?

Both have injuries. It's for the manager to explain what these are and how long they'll be out, which I expect he'll do if asked in a press conference. He tends to be very open in that regard. No idea when the next FFCTV interview will be but I'd assume there will be one before the League Cup ties begin. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

36 minutes ago, Ranaldo Bairn said:

Any pics from today's game @Bainsfordbairn?

Yes, plenty. Michael Gillen wasn't there so I've given a dozen to the Herald and the club what they wanted. Once the full match gallery goes live I presume Falkirk Daft will put up a few as well. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

2 hours ago, Rugster said:

Graeme Henderson away to Dundee, think that might be a bit of a loss. Hopefully someone lined up to replace him.

There's already someone in, who's been there since the start of preseason. There was some sort of issue about needing to wait before they could do the "departure" announcement. Now that's up I assume his replacement will be announced in due course. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

37 minutes ago, Disco Duck said:

If anyone finds out please let me know.  Keen to book hospitality for my big birthday this year.  30 again.

Probably best to contact them direct if you have a specific date in mind then.