Proudtobeabairn

Things look like they're coming together off the park - if we only had someone in the sporting director role other than Holt I'd be more than happy with how things are shaping up in that regard. A few quality signings now and I might start to feel quite positive.

I'd be astounded if we don't bring in 2 strikers. I'm genuinely not as stressed as most seem to be (yet) about the squad. I may well end up that way when the final signings are made mind you. The next few signings need to be better than whats there but the league doesn't kick off till 31st and league should be what all the focus is on this year. I don't agree that the best signings are necessarily made early. Great if you can tie up targets early but when in League 1 we might need to end up being someone who is still thinking they can get a team at a higher levels last resort. That might mean picking up quality later when options for those players are running low.. its hardly ideal but its where we are atm.

I guess some folk just aren't f*cking miserable.

Christ, I normally only dip into this thread once a day but the last few days have been worse than ever to catch up on. I'm not happy either with the quality of the squad but I'd be shocked if we don't sign at least 5 new players before the league campaign kicks off. Then we'll see where we are squad wise v Cove and QP. The amount of panic over Cove being favourites is mental - they signed Robbie Leitch FFS. Trying to stand back and not get caught up in the end of the world scenarios most on here are painting - here are some positives: - We still have up to 6 players to come in (!) - None of us actually know how well the new signings up to this point will do. I like most others am not impressed with recruitment to date but its not based on having actually seen them in a Falkirk jersey so prepared to wait and see. We might be pleasantly surprised? I don't think friendlies to date tell us anything. - Our style of play this year should be night and day compared to M&M and McKinnon - that alone should mean we pick up more points. - We appear to have much better coaching structure this year. There's good reason to be hopeful that Sheerin and Grainger will deliver results. - We've sold 1300 season tickets, more than the 15-20 regular poster bubble on here would ever have expected a few weeks ago. Likely to now end up around 1750(ish) which given the circumstances is exceptional and shows that if we get it right on the park we'll continue to be very well backed from the stands. - We now have a well renowned scout in place which should reduce the impact of Holt on first team recruitment - We haven't signed Wilson or Robertson (whose trial periods were no doubt agreed by Holt before Sheerin came in). - McGivern is back! - Holt is an arrogant p*ck who never stays in a job long - with a bit of luck he'll fall out with everyone and be gone before the end of the season and someone more capable will be in that role There. Feeling better? It's so important we get it right on the pitch. Let's see who else signs, what our final squad then looks like and how Sheerin get's us playing and then judge everything else. Start with a few wins and nobody will be talking about the board or the infrastructure.

This at least confirms that Fraser is working for us again as a scout. From what's been said he seems to have been involved during the Yogi years and with some decent clubs. Let's hope his input is having an influence on the delay to sign more players. (ie he maybe has contacts he's trying to work?)

Does anyone know who Allan Fraser is? Linked in have him as Falkirk chief scout: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allan-fraser-3b2b6a17/?originalSubdomain=uk Only other info I can find about him online is that he seems to be from Falkirk and has been a scout with Huddersfield and also worked for Ross Wilson while at Southampton. This might be old news I just don't recognise his name.

Probably about 50% but I'm not saying league 1 players don't have agents, I'm saying agents (especially those based in Stoke) don't ideally want that standard of player on their books. I'd guess most English based agents will seek to cater for the english leagues and conference, most of which is above our standard. I hope Mellor does end up serving some purpose but I suspect he's likely to have more influence when/if we get up. The worry until then is that we're relying on Holt.

Agree with this to an extent. I doubt many agents want players on their books who are Scottish League 1 standard - they won't make them any money. Hopefully when we get out of this league we'll see more influence from the likes of Mellor on recruitment.

Will be interesting to see how we do tomorrow night. Trying to be positive I do think we'd have gone up each of the last two seasons (even with the dross we had) if the style of play had been better. If Sheerin can get us playing to feet and passing more quickly then it shouldn't be difficult to cause all teams in this league problems. I agree recruitment has been poor but hoping that the likes of McGuffie, Ross and Nesbitt turn out better than everyone is fearing. I get that folk want us competitive in the League Cup but I'd rather Sheerin used the time to fully assess the squad and make sure the last 4-6 players coming in are the standard we need. It has to be a good sign that we haven't signed Wilson or Robertson yet.

Is that Hall not bothering to even challenge for the header?

Not sure about that - folk have said they'd be happy with us not challenging for the title? I'd find that surprising (though will take your word for it).

Next few signings need all need to be better than what we already have.

I don't think any fans would be accepting it if we aren't challenging for the title.

I think its perfectly acceptable for folk to be excited about getting back to the football and despite all the knicker wetting no-one actually knows yet whether we're going to stroll it or fail again. Still up to 6 new signings to be added. Plenty of time for negativity if we start poorly. If we were going into the new season with the same management and players as last season I'd agree that the outcome would most likely be disaster but that's not the case. At this stage we can surely at least have hope. I think if I allowed myself to get so upset that I refused to go to games or look forward to them at all atm I'd be questioning whether football is really for me.

The theory with loans I guess is that you can bring in players you otherwise wouldn't be able to attract to sign permanently. Best examples being signings like Kasper Schmeichel or Stokes. We're miles below bringing in Man City or Arsenal players atm but equivalent should be Rangers/Celtic/Aberdeen youngsters likely to be a cut above Craig McGuffie.

You've got to hope Sheerin and Grainger will raise the performance levels compared to what M&M were getting out of the likes of Keena, Dowds, Telfer and Morrison. I agree with the others who say let's judge the starting XI once everyone is signed and in. Would also love to sign a Declan McManus (for example) but don;t get the rush to write off anyone who is coming from a lower standard of football. Hopefully if the likes of Wilson and Robertson are dugsh*t then Sheerin will show them the door. I seem to recall JJ signing players from the likes of Berwick, Stenny, Musselbrugh and Cowdenbeath who all did ok.

We definitely need to make the last 4-5 signings count. They have to be better than whats there already. From the Q&A I came away a bit more confident about Rawlins and less confident about Holt. The latter being the biggest Red Flag of the night. Forr me 2 of the most alarming things were Holt saying he'd make the same January signings again and that all 3 had gone through their new player profiling before being signed. That's worrying. He also mentioned he's always asking for more money/more signings. Get them right 1st time and you won't need to be doing that. If the board don't want attention on them, they need the last few signings to be good..

While I'm right behind Sheerin, that line up looks murder. Defence should be better but the rest of the team needs massively improved. Another struggle for Telfer this season to convince the manager he's worth a game? I want to be positive but can't help feeling after Holts comments about the January signings that Corrzo's stats engine is no more advanced than looking at (1) are they under 30 and (2) have they played in the championship... praying we sign a very solid Keeper/Centre Mid/Striker spine ASAP.

Agree it should be but dealing with people who go back on their promises and try to remove individuals from discussions etc. Plus all the detail on sign location and income from advertising, H&S excuses etc its more complex than it seems and very easy for it to get personal (as seems to have happened).

Also strikes me that both CI and NB should be working with experienced lawyers when dealing with the board. Much of whats been said over the last couple of months comes down to clash or personality/he said/she said nonsense. Would also put an end to all the personal attack and 'he only wanted to talk by phone' stuff that makes discussions like these end up impossible. These are big investments/commitments - take the emotion out of it and let professionals handle all the negotiations.

The board (at the time) also knew the name of Mark Campbell but didn't exactly dissuade them... The point is the fans need to know to get behind the bid. I get that you and others are pals with this group but 99% of fans aren't so we need to know more about them. Think about it as though you don't know them. Would you blindly get behind a group you knew nothing about (not even their names) just because some folk on a forum told you it was 'for the best'. MA, SR and even Gary Deans all claim to be longstanding Falkirk fans so being a fan isn't on its own enough for people to be convinced they'd be a great addition to the board. For this to succeed the wider fan base need to be behind the bid. We need to know who the Navy Blue are (names and backgrounds preferably but names at the very least). £550k is a lot of money of course but could also be very quickly spunked up the wall by either this board or with NB onboard. Also an independent chairman isn't independent if installed by the NB - its not the fans who'd need to be comfortable with any independent chairman, its the whole board. I sound like I'm against the NB bid, I'm really not, Its just incredibly frustrating that they are prepared to walk away from the fight without even trying to get 99% of the fans on board with what they're trying to do. Before they'll even reveal who they are? Its bizarre. There could even be others out there willing to pitch in with funds - we'll never know..

- So who are the 11 and who is the proposed board member with significant football experience? Why the secrecy around who the "Navy Blue Group" are? - How do the Falkirk Supports Society fit in? Why are the two fans groups not working together to secure 1/3rd stake? There are a lot of positives about the proposed bid and a lot of reasons that you can see the board would not want to accept. For the majority of fans, a fundamental question has to be who these 11 are? Give us names/background and reason to trust this is a group who know what they're doing. Otherwise this is all just turning into playground he said/she said bollocks.

If NB investment is dead in the water (which it does seem to be) the question is now what everyone is doing re season tickets. Give the current board the time it needs to make a positive impact and back the team in the meantime or still trying to starve the board out? If the latter what is the endgame - how much damage to the finances could be considered worth it? Personally, I've renewed mine. I'm looking forward to getting back to the stadium. I'm not 100% happy with everything off the pitch but I'm happy enough to give the Rawlins (esp) time to deliver. I don't see how not buying a ST will result in anything positive at this time.

Having watched it, I still think there's mileage in both the CI initiative and the NB investment if both groups want it. As I've suggested before, I think its clear the board aren't going to accept NB's (revised) conditions so I'd be looking at how NB could make the investment dependent on achievement of milestones and build up to a 2/2/2 board split over time that way. GD could remain chairman for now but be challenged at a future EGM/AGM. I don't know all the detail but sometimes these things can succeed/fail based on how each side deals with personality clashes. Deep breaths, open minds and a willingness to keep dialogue going despite major setbacks is vital in business to get what you what. The board last night indicated the door is still open, hopefully there is someone on the NB & CI sides who can see past petty jibes and get back round the table for the greater good. Oh and Holt is an arse. His defence of last seasons squad was laughable and I wish he'd been pressed more on his ridiculous "well we won the first game back" nonsense. Defending the January loan signings v the likes of Mochrie, Ballantyne, Tiffoney etc was worrying. Apparently they all went through Corrzo's profiling so you have to question if the profiling is working.