HopeStreetWalker

The players you mentioned all had one thing in common. They cared, it's as simple as that. When they had a howler which anybody can have now and again, you saw how they were beating themselves up about it. Play badly but they tried all the harder and the fan's loved them for it. Two games into the season is to early to judge and a win with a good performance could make all the difference.

Markie , Miller and Gibson, raises the hair on the back of your neck even now. There was a near telepathic understanding between them. Never been a better No 4,5,6, at the same time.

George Miller was the best penalty kick taker we have ever had. Ball went in about 1 foot in from the post, side foot struck with pace about 1 foot in from the post 6 inch above the ground and always ended at the corner of the net support. Everybody knew where it was going but there was nothing any goalie could do about it. The best left footed played I have seen in a Falkirk top.

You are right, got the 2 games mixed up. The Aberdeen game was another great midweek game in the Cunningham era. As I remember it was nil - nil at half time and that gang of cynical cheats were keeping up the tradition. Falkirk kicked off the second half and the ball was played back to George Millar in the 18 yard box. Not one Falkirk player went into the Aberdeen half but that bunch of whinging cheats all ran to the half way line with their arms up claiming offside. Unfortunately for them when Miller chipped the ball into the middle of the Aberdeen half John Markie who was standing beside him took off. He was 3 yards past them when the ball came over. Markie ran onto it and Clark the goalie puller off a great save only for Tiger McLaughlin to score from the rebound. Aberdeen lost the plot and ran around trying to get players booked and complain about every shy , by kick and corner. Some things never change even after 48 years that mob are still worth despising. Tactical masterclass from the best manager we ever had. The Willie Cunningham era were halcyon days indeed.

There was the game at Brockville against Hibs midweek, when Willie Cunningham had turned down the Scotland job. The ground was full a good hour before kickoff. The atmosphere was electric. The grandstand was packed and everybody in the ground was shoulder to shoulder. To say the bairns fans were ecstatic is an understatement. Willie Cunningham was being chanted to show his face, and he did so about 20 minutes before kickoff. Was told the cheering could be heard in Camelon. Falkirk beat Hibs 3 - 1 that night and it was the great Eddie Turnbull side. Only one winner that night. What a night , what an era, what a time to be a Falkirk Bairns fan. Glory days indeed.

Great days indeed ! great team , great players , and games played with style and panache. It was the nearest a Falkirk team has ever come to the Gold standard of the Willie Cunningham era.

2nd strip White tops with blue collar, Blue shorts with white trim, socks white. Simple and classy

Hope it's Lubanski ! Gornick at Brockville in the early 70's best foreign player ever to play there, here's hoping ! PS anybody else noticed every signing has a beard.

Fair point we made the play offs but were not good enough and the results don't lie. This season the reserve players were not good enough to make the break through and Loy and Harris did not deliver. Stalwarts were not as good as they were, and going backwards. So it was a perfect storm and Hartley did well to keep us in the division. There is a lot of faith being placed on the scouting system down south, and they will have had there brief of the type of players Hartley wants so they had better deliver. Just look what Jack Ross did at St Mirren is a similar situation. Failure is not an option !

The academy was a good policy, nobody would argue about bringing through your own talent. Getting them established and getting a big payday. For the time it was in place we never got the big multi million pound sale plus sell on %, that other provincial clubs like Motherwell , Kilmarnock , Hamilton got. Just one multi million pound sale would have been enough. But No ! not one came though in all that time. The scouting , coaching was plainly not good enough. The best we got was Connor McGrandles and 1.25 million not bad. But compare to the 5,6. near 7 million pound paydays others got. It is the great what if ?

The tricky bit now is to move on the unwanted players still on contract. Casher to go now or waste a season of your career on the fringes of things. Make it plain to some you ain't going to make the first team and ship them out as loan players. There are ways and means. This situation is uncanny in how similar it is to the situation the great Willie Cunningham found the team he inherited. Changed a couple of players positions. Signed experienced players such as Alex Totton, George Millar, Alex Scott and Alex Ferguson that became the spine of the side and made all those around them better players. Many were not rated by the fans were transformed and as good as new signings plus some youngsters broke through. We need an experienced centre back , midfielder and a forward, invest in them and we are moving in the right direction.

Now for the tricky bit ! moving the unwanted player still on contract. They want to play, being in a situation when you are not even in the squad is not what they want. Casher to go now and ty to get their careers back on track. Fir to both sides.

Fair point you make, but it depends on who we can get in the closed season, in other words are they better players than what we are thinking of keeping. With a change of style, players we might be thinking certain to stay might not fit into the system and tactics. One thing is for sure we are in for an interesting few weeks.

Hartley knows the coming season is a make or break for him. He will do a Jack Ross and punt most of the squad that got the club into the mess we found ourselves in. He will keep 2 to 4 players from the first team squad if they are lucky. The reserve team players had a great opportunity to stake a place in the first team, goodness knows there were enough positions up for grabs. Nobody stepped up, so it's tough but out they go and give them a chance elsewhere. We should be looking at about 10 to 14 signings. There are gems out there Will Vaulks and Lyle Taylor proved it. You can say what you like about Hartley but he knows how to get a team promoted. His job this season was to keep us up so well done to the guy so he has the goodwill of the fans. New team , new style and a fresh start. With Hartley's bulging contact book think look on the up.

The playing squad from top to bottom will be cleared out. The reserve players had the perfect opportunity to claim a first team spot, The likes of Finlayson , Peggie and Stowe were deemed not good enough. So clear the decks and give these guys a chance of a first team game elsewhere. The first team squad got us into this mess, so out the door with them. Expect no more than 3 or 4 player to be kept on. That leaves 10 to 12 signings with a fresh approach and no baggage from last season. There is much hope pinned on the scouting network , in particular down south, and being fair to Hartley he must have a bulging contact book from his career. It is a make or break season for Hartley, I think he will come good. Not only with his signings but with the style of football played.

The 4th stand being built has but to be based on economics. Can it be filled on a regular basis ? Can it be incorporated into a hotel, sport complex, social club or something that would make it a cash cow ? Above all it has to help make the whole stadium more marketable as a financial contributor rather than a drain on the club funds.

The point I was making Jinky. It was not what the Falkirk support thought or called itself. It was how Falkirk was look on by other clubs support.

Was in the late 50's and 60's, there were close ties with Rangers in fact can remember Falkirk signing 5 Rangers players in the mid 60's Ralph Brand was one of them I think. When Falkirk were in another relegation struggle. The title Little Rangers was a name given to Falkirk by other teams. Hard to believe I know but it happened. It's in the past but a warning to huckle any knuckle draggers that start that nonsense in the Falkirk support out the stadium.

-4 to 6c tonight They have mats down so they have done what the can. If it snows in the morning could go any way

Falkirk were known as the Little Rangers for a while. Certain Foundries, lets say tended to lean a certain way. Sad but true

Now Now teucher ! that's unfair. But they do loveth their sheep and livestock, even unto themselves.

Harlaw Park is a bear pit with a great atmosphere. It's Junior footballs version of Brockville. Cove are a team used to winning, scoring goals and not losing them. Will be well up for the 90 minutes. Like any opposition whey should be respected. Falkirk should win but all it will take is 2 or 3 players thinking they just have to go through the motions for it all to go wrong. Should be a cracking game.

Perry ! One o the great what if's. Could win a game single handed for the bairns and next week be as well sitting in the stand for all he would contribute. He went on a trail at Arsenal while at Falkirk. Heard on good authority they judged. He had the talent but not the mental discipline or concentration to make it.

Loy will come good. He got injured lost condition and fitness. So its not one thing he has got to sort out but 3. Give the guy a break and get behind him when he plays. Loy on form and match fit will do a good job for the bairns.

Your correct Jim Fowler a waste of a great talent, superb player. Remember many a time walking down Hope street after a few pints in the Royal Hotel wondering how many goals we would score that day. That was the mind fix of the support. the team would play open attacking football. In particular Cunningham's pass and move style of play had teams running out into that great bearpit of a stadium already looking beat. Convinced Ferguson based his style of play on the Willie Cunningham philosophy. Commanding goalkeeper. Attacking fullbacks. Footballing centre backs. Midfield made up of a craftsman/passer , hustler/in your face player , Wide/Winger , Power/hardman. Out and out striker and a trickster playing off him. That was Cunningham's Falkirk team AND Fergusons Man U sides over 26 years. Gibson should have played at a higher level, great footballer. Heart in your mouth stuff as he walked the ball out the box beating 2 - 3 player on the way before playing a 30 yard pass. Great memories and an era that to this day I judge current player on.