Bainsfordbairn

I'd speculate that it's something to do with player turnover numbers. Since May, nineteen players have left the club and I can think of a few more who won't be there when the season begins. We've announced only nine replacements in the intervening period. Don't worry about personal information. If you annoy someone, and they find out, it'll be revealed. One of our regular posters on here decided to "out" me recently. Falkirk fan too. A few of the Falkirk posters used to know who I was but now the whole world does. Thanks BPM. It didn't hurt. I'm still alive. There are no stalkers or (sadly) groupies outside my front door. Though I do have to be a little more cautious about what I post nowadays. Welcome to the fun.

Don't expect an answer to these questions all the time Rugster, for obvious reasons, but at the moment, I'm currently sitting with the media officer in the stadium. However, he and I are pals so we might just be having a sociable evening together.

He's not in Falkirk today.

I'd like to amend that statement to 80%, if you don't mind Rugster. Four out of five - if they all happen - is not 90%. My arithmetic could do with a little bit of polishing.

The battery rating for a Nikon D5 shows that it'll last for 3,780 shots. I also carry two spares. Do you reckon that'll be enough Rugster?

The website statement on Sunday evening wasn't specific about dates, other than mentioning a 48 hour period. If nothing has changed since that was released then you can expect a minimum of two tomorrow and possibly as much as four.

No, but if you're offering to help with costs you could always get me a new lens. My 400mm prime is eight years old and won't last forever. Just click on the link below and get it delivered to the Falkirk Stadium, will you? https://www.wexphotovideo.com/nikon-400mm-f28-af-s-e-fl-ed-vr-lens-1553532/ Thanks mate.

They are. Assuming everything goes as expected, 90% of the names will be a complete surprise to everyone as they haven't been linked with us. The club seem to have tightened up considerably on leaks from within. Unfortunately they can't control info from without.

Kit launch is Friday night.

Not guilty DB. I have admin access to Facebook and Twitter so I can upload pictures but that's all I'm authorised to do. The post was put up by a member of club staff.

I can save you the bother on that one Bairnado. I'll be in the stadium virtually every day next week. There's twelve separate FFC jobs in my diary between Mon-Fri, and I can think of a few others that will be added once the players are back. The majority of those are commercial / new strip related, but there may be one or two or fitba-type jobs that you'll be keen to see the results of. The club website hinted last week that there would be signings announced before the players return. We're still on course for that to happen.

This.

Hatchet Harrison. That's gonna stick.

If you means players from English football who were a success with us then you would have to throw in Higginbotham, maybe Beck, and certainly going further back the likes of Cregg & Stokes. Overall there's probably been more misses than hits but the good ones have been very good, hence why most of us are excited at this new approach. It helps of course that so far Hartley's recruitment from England has been spot on.

Not quite. It was a two year extension to an existing deal that had one year left to run.

Aye, collecting butchers aprons for a job at Patricks of Camelon tomorrow. And something else.....

He's in Italy at the moment. I did suggest that the club fly me over there so we could do things properly but I got some waffling piffle excuse about budgets.

Not really Stu. I can’t confirm signings as I’d effectively be breaking the news before the club. I’d get my arse kicked from one end of the stadium to the other and back again if I did that. And if I commented on every rumour I’d be on here every ten mins debunking windups. Until the day came when one was true, and I couldn’t say anything, then folk would put 2 and 2 together and know that Jimmy Bloggs was about to sign for us.

There's more chance of BPM walking into TFS wearing this.

I already answered that one AG. The CEO wanted that clause in place so that if Sibbald had a stormer of a season last year the club couldn't be in the position this summer where they lost him for nothing. Then they appointed a new manager. A new manager for whom transfer money was less important than having a player who was committed to the club. Hartley's mentioned his reasoning in public several times so it seems to me extremely transparent. The only reason to disbelieve that is if you think PH is lying. That's possible. As is BPM's subtle hint that the directors are also lying. I wouldn't claim to know otherwise as the only way to prove it one way or the other would be to show us the documentation, which would breach all sorts of confidentiality and data protection rules. So we'll never know for sure. Even a statement from Sibbald himself wouldn't be conclusive, though if he and several others were who had reason to know were to put their opinions on record it would make a compelling case. It all depends on who you believe. I choose to believe that club staff I've spoke to are telling the truth. Hey ho, as BPM said.

I disagree about things getting out. I keep a close eye out for this because as one of the people who always knows signings in advance, I hate stories being leaked in case it throws suspicion on me. The majority take people by surprise though. For example, I was given the names on Sunday of the players who'd verbally agreed to join us. Nobody got Fasan before he was announced and so far none of the others have appeared online either, despite Keithgy's hints to the contrary. I agree we have canaries but at the moment they seem to be either muzzled or marginalised. Not sure about the strips. I know the stock wasn't coming in until June so I assume it's a Puma supply issue rather than deliberate choice by the club. Only an idiot would delay the arrival of a sought-after item and I'm sure you'll agree that LB doesn't come into that category. Oh, and I followed up your director advice re the Sibbald deadline. It didn't happen. There were no dates missed, no failures to deliver documents, nothing. Everything was done as it should have been. Either that or I'm being lied to by several directors and club staff who have very good reason to know. I'm open to being persuaded otherwise but you'll have to name names if you want me to consider it.

Quite right BPM. I should have made it clear I was talking about internal leaks. The Nelson/Robson story was broken by the local paper in Sunderland, as was Fraser Aird by the Canadian press. If I mind right the Hippolyte signing came out when he went into Livingston for the last time to collect his gear. Players usually keep quiet but agents can be another matter, particularly if they're trying to find a better deal for their client. It wouldn't be the first time we lost a player to a last-minute bid from elsewhere. Hence why we're so secretive about targets until the player comes in and signs on the dotted line. I think most clubs are the same. I've no idea about the strip. I guess it's all to do with the big reveal and getting clicks on our media platforms. As a company owner you would know more about what that's worth than I do. The point I was making - and it's not a dig at anyone on here - is that most of the ITK stuff online turns out to be a pile of keech. A newspaper or single agent wouldn't know the names of six potential signings. That would have to come from within FFC, and the people with that knowledge aren't likely to share it out.

I understand there are very few people who know the names of signings. Outside the coaching staff I think it's limited to the CEO, Chair, physio & the admin / media person. When it comes to players whom we've offered contracts to, but who haven't accepted, to that list will shrink even further. When we signed Tom Dallison recently, the BOD were told the evening before. By the following morning his name had appeared on multiple fans sites. I don't know what's been done to prevent a repetition but I think it's safe to assume sort of action was taken. After all, there wasn't a peep about Patrick Brough, Dennon Lewis or Leo Fasan beforehand. Not even any "we're making a signing today"-type posts. For that reason I'd suggest that any "insider info" be treated with scepticism. Of course, if anyone's certain of their information, feel free to post a small amount of info that can be verified later; player initials, last club, age, etc.

As long as we're running two teams (ie reserves or U20) you need at least three keepers. Last year after Mitch got injured we used a former FVFA goalie to make up the numbers.

Depends on when the cash is gifted, I would have thought. If he puts the money up front at the start of the season to cover the projected expenditure they'll be fine. Likewise, if someone signs a three year deal on big wages they'll also be fine, providing he hands over the cash to cover the entirety of the contract on the day the player signs. So if McGregor dies, goes bankrupt or walks away it's no big deal. They've got the money in the bank to cover their costs. The player gets freed at the end of their deal and County sign a Highland League player on peanuts to replace them. It's only when the investor pays in arrears that you've got a problem. Which seems to be how everyone operates. I have no idea if County are any different.