[The Falkirk FC Thread]

3 minutes ago, Latapy is god said:

 end five years of being in it due to previous decisions by former board members and employees.

It will be a relief more than anything.

Not for me. When we first got relegated to this league, I was embarrassed that we were in it. Because being in the third tier was where we were when I saw my first game in 78/79. We won promotion the following season and had never been back at this level since the mistakes of 18/19. 

Like most of us, I assumed we'd go up at the first time of asking. Maybe we would have done had covid not played a part. Which is why promotion would have meant nothing to me if/when it happened in that first season in League One. I expected us to scoosh the league. I was wrong.

After five years of misery, I will be going mental on the day that we finally win promotion. It will not be a relief. It will be something to be celebrated, enjoyed and remembered, just as 79/80 was for me. 

Hopefully this season is the one when it happens.  

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

6 minutes ago, Bairn in Exile said:

Let us say that 50% of the fans in the KM7 decide to walk over to the north stand, could 50% of the stewards from the KM7 not be syphoned off to manage the transfer of the fans? Seems a bit extreme to hire an additional set of stewards for the whole game when they are only going to be needed for 15 minutes tops.

I've no idea. I'm sure there will be some sort of risk-assessment based formula which determines how many stewards are appropriate relative to fan numbers but I wouldn't know how it works. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

15 minutes ago, NavyBlueArmy1876 said:

No reason why this couldn't be brought in at TFS to get between the south and north via the east side. H&S is an important factor that would have to be considered and probably some additional measures introduced but nothing that would be a deal-breaker

I walk round the East side on a regular basis, as will players going from the community changing rooms to the community pitch. The ground is walkable but it's not completely flat and isn't paved. My guess is that if some old biddy tripped and injured themselves it could be argued that the club hadn't taken all reasonable steps to ensure their safety. ("Reasonable" being a paved surface.) 

The other thing is there are no fences on the East side, so people could encroach on the pitch. The only way to prevent that would be to hire an additional set of stewards to stand along the edge which would increase costs to the club. Even if you put a fence up I assume the area would still have to be stewarded. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

3 minutes ago, ebobsboy said:

Happy Saturday troops. Now please let us pump Accies next week, although a draw wouldn't be the worst result, beat them and win the game in hand makes it very difficult for them to catch us. 

Before today I would have taken a draw as I was expecting them to come out all guns blazing, just as we did at NDP. 

After today, I think their confidence will be so low that anything going wrong on the field will see their players chuck it. We know our team is settled, organised and have a togetherness that will see them fight to the last minute. Hamilton don't appear to have that.

Get in front, watch their heads go down and then see out the game. And put what would surely be the final nail in their coffin. 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

On 03/02/2024 at 23:35, Todd_is_God said:

We comfortably dispatched of TNS in pre season so complete minter for Falkirk tonight tbh.

Dropping points to Edinburgh City's B team and out the Scottish to Bonnyrigg. Now this embarassment. Be interesting to see how you react to your first league defeat on the 17th - Would be a huge riddy to bottle the league now after your tweet last week.

Sorry, I didn't hear you properly. 

Did you say something about minters or embarrassments? Maybe even a riddy? 

Never mind, we all know the Accies have bottle. You can show it against lowly Annan today. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

6 minutes ago, FFC 1876 said:

Herald had Agyeman's quoted as a 3 year deal, the club never seem to have announced how long it was though.

It was two years. I asked him when I photographed him. It's not a secret, but as he was announced before the end of last season the intention was to give out his contract details when he turned up for preseason in June. I guess that got forgotten about. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

10 minutes ago, LatapyBairn. said:

All the players brought in over the summer were two year deals I believe although I think a few of them have clauses that allow players to walk if we don’t get promoted. 

Apart from Nicky Hogarth, who was announced as a one year deal. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

6 hours ago, Bairn in Exile said:

I thought Pearse Carroll was gallus as f*ck for us when he played, confidence beyond his years. I know that he had personal issues but I would have loved us to have kept his registration and maybe loaned him out to a non-SPFL club nearer his family and home until he felt mentally fit to return to us.

He's back in football. It was announced by Whitburn Juniors about a week ago that he'd signed for them. 

[The Hamilton Accies League 1 thread]

We've had our carcrash moments in recent years. A certain Q&A at the Inchyra hotel springs to mind, as do a few of the decisions made when we had a DOF. Never mind further back around the closing of our academy. 

But some of your social media posts are beyond belief. Never mind the transfer story about signing three of our players this window or the alleged claim made in December by one of your club officials that we would lose Morrison to England in January. If that doesn't happen by tomorrow night this thread will be full of Falkirk fans laughing at you. 

I'm not one of them and this isn't a gloating post. We've been where you are and it's not fun. At least we now seem to have a BOD and staff who're in touch with the ordinary fans. I wish you luck in getting the same. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

11 minutes ago, StuartA said:

 I'd personally prefer to see all the football be it women, kids, coaching etc brought under the club, but I that'll all take time under the rebuild.  

As would I and many other people. The Foundation do good work, but in recent years they seem to be focussing on more charitable initiatives such as getting people into work, mental health etc. Nothing wrong with any of that but I've spoken to a lot of parents, coaches, volunteers and players who're extremely unhappy with the lack of support the football side gets now compared to how it used to be a few years back. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

15 minutes ago, Mr Grimsdale said:

Who runs the Women’s team? The club or Foundation? 

Foundation. Club only run the first team and academy, which currently comprises U16s and U18s. The plan is to have a full academy again from season 25/26, as per a conversation I had with Tony Begg before the U16 game on Sunday morning. That will obviously cost a lot more money so presumably we'll have to be in at least the upper reaches of the Championship by then. I was told the figure but for obvious reasons I'm not going to post that here. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

10 minutes ago, Kevin James Left Knee said:

 

 

Lets not mention the result. 

I just don't know what to make of the girls this season. When they're on it, they destroy anyone who runs into them, regardless of whether they're top of the league or how few games they've lost. But when they're off it, OMG they're honking. Six home league games and six wins. All of them very comprehensive. Away they've played six, drawn two and lost four. They're still in with a chance of promotion but if they're to achieve it their away form needs to improve dramatically. 

I wish we could do something to take our womens team in house. They're amateurs who work as students, teachers. nurses, physios and police officers, amongst various other roles. Even a small amount of cash put their way from the mens revenue would make a massive difference. If anyone wants to get involved with sponsorship please get in contact with their twitter account or myself. 

But to go back to the video, well done to the young team. A few of our players have children who're ages with them so they have an empathy towards the kids. And the girls really appreciate the support. I've made a few SM posts thanking them but as those are on platforms mainly seen by youngsters I might as well put one of a forum frequently by us oldies. Thanks boys and girls. You're noticed and appreciated. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

41 minutes ago, LeodhasXD said:

I feel like there's been two direct digs that have missed the target tonight. 

Unlike our strikers, who've hit the target 12 times against your team this season. 

 

I've no issue with the banter between you and our social media guys. That's how it goes when you stick your head above the parapet. But you're getting ripped to shreds by our fans today. 

As I'm sure you've worked out, the graphic which has 850 likes so far was created largely because of your online behaviour. Maybe it's time to be a little less antagonistic? 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

53 minutes ago, Proudtobeabairn said:

Independent of other board members/groups.  

Where there is debate at board level, FSS should always represent the view of its members (its the elected members responsibility to gauge that accurately through whatever means) and challenge the other 2 legs where the need arises.  

For that reason, FSS reps should never also be patrons or major shareholders as that could result in a conflict of interest further down the line. 

That's what I'm getting at re FSS being independent.  Nothing to do with some FSS members being unhappy with the stance the FSS rep takes, that can only ever represent the majority of members views.  
 

Fair enough I get you now. It would be up to the FSS committee at the time to make a decision on excluding members of other groups from standing as BOD reps, though given the difficultly they've had in retaining directors or even getting people to stand, that might make it harder to fill those roles. It's surely better to have an FSS director who's also a patron rather than no director at all. 

 

 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

33 minutes ago, Proudtobeabairn said:

I agree that FSS needs to be independent though.  

This viewpoint gets posted a lot and it's something I genuinely don't understand. 

The FSS can't be independent of the BOD, given that their reps currently comprise just under half of it. The FSS are a major factor in determining what direction the club takes. Lets take an imaginary example:- 

An FSS board rep position is up for grabs. The members will vote democratically to decide who gets it. One candidate is a diehard Bairn who's the brother of a multi-billionaire Celtic fan who could turn us into the next Man City. He wants complete control and his election would abandon the concept of fan ownership. The other candidate is also a diehard Bairn, but he wants to stick with the existing model where the fans groups provide the funding and have a veto over any major decisions that would require an EGM to be passed. 

Regardless of which FSS member wins the election, people are going to be unhappy.

What should an independent FSS committee do that they can't do already? Turn against their elected candidate and make posts on P&B attacking him/her? 

The current model is completely democratic. I'm not sure how you improve on it.  Can I ask what specific independence you would like to see that isn't already in place? 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

42 minutes ago, Roboccop said:

Yes in an FSS meeting where I pointed out that that would mean the Board could de facto abort any Fss motion. I then brought it up at the members meeting. 
 

it’s ok just now when everyone is on

the same page but come the time when the support feels it is out of synch then the indépendance of FSS will be a real issue. 

I think we’re talking about two separate things here.

I agree with your original point that ongoing FSS contributions should be a loan. I have no reason to disbelieve BTDs assurance that it’s being worked on and is ongoing. My assumption is that it will eventually be sorted just as the 25% issue was.

 

As for your first sentence above, in my opinion THAT’S HOW IT SHOULD BE. The board should be able to veto ANY proposal made by ANY group of shareholders.

Those five people run the company. They’re the ones who’ve put themselves forward, have the skills to do it have been elected by the shareholders. They also have access to financial information which us ordinary fans don’t.

In my eyes, once those people are in situ then the FSS committee and 850 members don’t get to tell them what to do. Any more than the members of the patrons group can. Both groups of fans can canvas opinions of their membership, present the results to their directors and lobby for change.  

But to me the decisions should always lie with the elected board members. If they get it wrong, kick them out at the next election. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

1 minute ago, Bairney The Dinosaur said:

Seriously, it's not being ignored.

Nature of a volunteer committee that things move slowly

f**k this shit.

I and many others put in a power of hard work on the FSS Committee to create a strong, representative fans body which will be central to moving the club forward. Stuff like this just makes me want to chuck it.

Don't chuck it. From what I've seen of posts on here. there are some people who WANT the FSS to fail. Either because of allegiance to previous boards, enmity to the idea of fan ownership or an inability to work as part of a collective if they don't get their own way.  

The best way to defeat them is keep going and not pay attention to online hand grenades. P&B is very good (or bad) for allegations and conspiracy theories. It wasn't that long ago that we had pages and pages on here about an alleged power grab by the patrons group. I think the announcement this week settles that once and for all. 

Well done to the committee for getting it completed BTW. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

38 minutes ago, Roboccop said:

Why are all new payments from FSS not going as a loan which will only be repaid if the shareholding elsewhere is expanded and in the form of shares thus protecting the FSS shareholding?

We were promised this would be looked at at one of the members meetings and it’s conveniently been forgotten because the Board don’t want it. 

Has a board member actually said that to you or the FFS committee in any discussions? 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

36 minutes ago, Dave McInally said:

Sure I remember it being said we had planned to run a team in the reserve league this year but presume too expensive to run one at the moment. They are good to see though and get a chance to look at fringe players and youngsters. 

Yeah that was my understanding. At least the club publicise the two academy teams so there's a chance to see the next set of boys who might get pro contracts. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

4 minutes ago, Dave McInally said:

Thanks. Never seen anything on our pages about them. Was reported as being in the DU game and scored. Forgot he also scored vs Dunfermline but didn’t think he was a standout. Cant see anything about Dundee. 
 

Presume that’s all the reserve fixtures over for the season or do you know if they have any upcoming fixtures? 

That's them over. We only entered the cup and got knocked out of it after the three games. 

We ditched the reserve team when we got relegated in 2019 and my hope is that if we get promoted this season we'll be back to having one compete in the league again next season. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

1 hour ago, Dave McInally said:

Was at the Dunfermline reserve game(has there been others?)

There were two others. A 4-2 loss to Dundee Utd and a 7-2 loss to Dundee. 

[Wasps Vs Bairns]

1 hour ago, LeodhasXD said:

Looking quite likely that I'm on my own on Saturday so one hand is all I can spare

 

C'mon Leodhas, none of us on here want to know the details of your sex life. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

1 minute ago, PedroMoutinho said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if the board would like to see wage costs trimmed a bit too.

As long as we have enough cash reserves to see us to the end of the season I don't think wage costs matter. Any savings or overspend can be carried forward into next season. At which point we'll either be stuck in this league with a much reduced budget or in the league above and expanding it. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

1 minute ago, FuzzyBear said:

We binned him last week because he had a stinking attitude. About average ability but thinks he is way better than he actually is.

I have no idea about his attitude, but given his previous relationship with McGlynn and how liked he is by the Falkirk players I doubt there will be an issue with us. Sometimes it just takes the right manager who knows how to handle people. Apart from which, the senior players in our dressing room would quickly step in if anyone was out of line. 

[The Falkirk FC Thread]

27 minutes ago, Springfield said:

Yes the finances would have improved, but didn’t the BOD confirm even with reaching the latter stages of the cup, the money was nowhere near the expectations. 

Yeah that rings vaguely rings a bell. I think it was the AGM that mentioned other parties took a bigger slice of the revenue than we expected, though I can't recall who those parties were. Whether it was polis, SPFL, or..... 

(sets it up for someone to say the cooncil )