Zbairn
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Posts posted by Zbairn
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6 minutes ago, Harry Kinnear said:
Don’t think any club would sign him, he should be where he deserves to be soon, HMP
Non news ...charges have been dropped. ""new material that came to light meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. In these circumstances, we are under a duty to stop the case."
Anyone trying to stir this crap up again is just at it !
Lets stick to current club admin and football stuff.
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34 minutes ago, GunnerBairn said:
All the talk about cost cutting and revenue generation reminded me of a conversation I had with my in law. The Stadium can do more to be a focal point for the local community, to increase footfall on site. Doesn’t need to be solely football but what about hosting bingo nights in hospitality if there’s spare capacity during the week. Anything bringing more people to the Stadium can only be a good thing.
Agreed...... but we need to think of ways that the Club can maximise revenues from the parts that it effectively owns within the Stadium. Not much point if it just fills the Council's coffers and the Club dont get anything as payback.
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17 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:
Here @Zbairn was going to PM you there but since the initial message was public.... Wasn't meant as a dig at all at you. Just its something that I have passed comment on before.
I know you weren't coming from an angle of "We should bin them all" or anything like that.
Just trying to figure out where cost savings can be had.
Everyone talks about how can we raise extra cash (particularly through the FSS / Patrons Groups who have really helped over the last year)... ....but the flip side of the coin is how can we also save cash ?
Sometimes hard questions need to be asked !
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40 minutes ago, Bainsfordbairn said:
I had a look at the website.
The MSO is part time and does a job which is a requirement for every football club if they want a licence to play in the SPFL.
SLO is voluntary, or at least I assume so given the current incumbents previous history as a volunteer. In the past this role was sometimes tacked onto the job descriptions of permanent staff or directors. It's another role which I'm sure is a requirement of the SPFL.
DAO is the same. Almost certainly voluntary and needed for our licence.
Ditto safeguarding. The current incumbent has been a volunteer since he was the matchday announcer back at Brockville.
And as a fan director, I think can safely assume Keith Gourlay is also a volunteer.
So in reality of the five staff listed under operations we have one part-time employee.
As for the shop, yes there are two people work who there. One is definitely part time; I'm not sure about the other. They're legally entitled to time off so I don't think two is excessive as you always need cover.
Every single one of them is a Falkirk fan who, if paid, probably does far more than they get paid for.
The only other employees to my knowledge are the groundstaff.
For that reason I don't think there are any savings to be made from staff cuts.
There are actually less paid staff now than there used to be, with two instead of three in Commercial and Finance outsourced.
Cheers for the clarification ! Happy with that explanation !!
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6 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:
Just to add, I know there are people on here at varying levels of involvement and #ITK around the club, and that's fine, plenty times it's good to read the perspective of folk who are at least somewhat inside of it, but I personally think the remit of a discussion board is exceeded somewhat when discussion turns to folks jobs, salaries etc and directly questioning, or inferring, whether we need to employ these folk.
They might be on here, or their families might be.
You can also add players and managers to that. Maybe even SA, given that you call him a Fifer. Perhaps even some past directors and employees that have been castigated by one and all.
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3 minutes ago, PedroMoutinho said:
Well, for a start, given that the club shop is open five (sometimes six) days a week, presumably an employee is required to staff it?
fair Do's
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3 minutes ago, PedroMoutinho said:
Absolutely nothing, I would presume. I’m sure the board would definitely employ staff to sit around all day.
Quite impressive how you’re “not sure” what these individuals’ roles actually entail yet have somehow come to the conclusion that they’re “not as efficient as they could be”. Perhaps you could go along to shadow one for a week and produce a report on how much more efficient they should be.
I'm sure they would love that !
The point I'm making is that we have 2 staff for ticketing and retail. I have no clue what the detailed job descriptions are.....I'm only asking the question if this is sensible and if anyone can enlighten me, given that a lot of the ticketing is now online and a bit of retail is with Greaves.
I'm sure that those ITK can provide some answers.
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2 minutes ago, Blame Me said:
Given our CEO's experience and skill set I don't think the rumoured 50K is that bad, all considered!
On the utilisation of staff, I expect there is a trade-off that's been calculated in tie-ups like Greaves and Ticketing which may not be obvious.The one I currently can't fathom and can only surmise is due to our catering supplier arrangements is the deal with SeatService. One of their USP's is increasing concession revenue and yet we haven't taken advantage of the service and generate some additional monies.
I'm trying to look at things in the round....where we can cut overheads.
Reducing the KM Stand rent and the Council's take would be a big help. I also think there are some complications in terms of who supplies what during match day for hospitality, in that the club have to accept some form of Council contract for the catering / bar. ...all of which possibly reduces our take.
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8 minutes ago, Reggie Perrin said:
Why don’t you drop the CEO an email with your thoughts and ask him what the employees actually do.
I might just actually do that next time I personally see him.
Do you have any other questions that you would like asked when I'm at it .....or are you absolutely happy with the way the club currently operates ?
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2 minutes ago, Reggie Perrin said:
Do you seriously think that there are staff cuts to be made?
The club is hugely dependent on volunteers already.
Possibly.
To have a CEO on around (rumoured) £50k for a club our size and turnover is perhaps a wee bit excessive.
I think we depend on many volunteers but I'm not convinced that the full time admin staff we have are possibly as efficient as they could be. We have 2 in retail and ticketing. Our ticketing system is now pretty much automated and we have passed a bit of our shop sales over to Greaves (another potential loss of cash given over to someone else that I wouldnt have, if I'm being honest). I'm not sure what else they do during the week. Maybe someone can enlighten me.
According to the website we also have 5 in operation, plus 2 in Commercial (who we really need !!! )
It's only one facet of where we should maybe look at cost savings !
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1 hour ago, Proudtobeabairn said:
@LatapyBairn. is correct that we need to push FSS during season ticket renewal this summer, especially if we go up as there will be a feelgood factor that will benefit numbers.
We also need to be more creative with FSS marketing, there should be perks/benefits that don't cost much to deliver e.g the right to vote on shirt designs and the likes and maybe discount perks triggered by length of FSS membership at club shop etc. Get John McGlynn to face up the recruitment campaign and stories in the Herald etc.The best ownership model for me is a hybrid of fan ownership and deep pocketed investor though essential any investors have the clubs interests at heart. Easier said than done to find that.
To find another Sandy Alexander with deep pockets will be nigh on impossible. Yes, we need to increase the FSS membership, but to get over 600 in its first year is pretty good going. To put in over £7k a month is not to be sneezed at, particularly given our current financial issues. The idea of fan ownership is twofold i) to try and generate regular income, which is happening (more would be better) and ii) to give all fans a say in the running of the club. We currently achieve that with Patrons and FSS being the majority on the BoD.
The issue of historical debt is well documented and we have done well this season between Patrons, FSS, those willing to give loans and increased commercial activity...not to mention retention of season ticket numbers / fans attending, which is pretty amazing given the fact of how we have performed the last few seasons.
Hopefully we can run at a more stable fiscal situation next season if we get promoted.
However, one point I would like to make though, is that we have not yet addressed the situation of our overheads. That is what is crippling the club financially...... not the income we generate. We seriously need to look at where we can reduce costs. We need to see where we can work more efficiently with less staff. We need to have words with the councIl. We need to get SA to agree to donate the SS back to the club (I think he has now almost received in rent what the cost of building was). There needs to be more creative thinking in how we can achieve less outgoings than what we currently pay.
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7 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:
I would have swore it was still there before the Clyde game. In fact I'd bet money on it.
I’m sure it’s down on the inside. Still up on the outside?
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15 hours ago, Bairnardo said:
This is good, since I'm assuming we are getting f**k all from Imperial Cars and that's just been left there from when they existed....
Surely the priciest bit of advertising available given that it'd fucking massive and highly visible regardless of football being on.
The Imperial Car sign has been down for a wee bit now. Think the current guys in the club made sure it was dismantled pronto, alongside other non payers?
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44 minutes ago, Brockvillenomore said:
I don’t think the Navy Blue and the patrons are all the same people. There’s defo more people in the patrons.
The 26% is based on new and existing shares, so simple division of people and investment doesn’t give a true reflection of £ invested by person.
There was no FSS then and the model has changed.
If the patrons wanted to be a major shareholders group they’d have lobbied to be written into the articles, like the FSS are. As far as we know they haven’t.
As far as I am aware, to join the PG you need to have invested a minimum of £10k worth of shares and “proxy” them to the PG.
This may be shares you already own, bought, or topped up to make the £10k threshold.
There is the possibility some have bought more or added in more over and above the £10k making the actual break down of numbers and who put in what difficult to define.
no matter what, £10k for a piece of paper from the club is pretty philanthropic. The emotional ties to the club must be pretty strong for those who have invested.
As for the SA / MR argument, yes they have made some absolutely shocking decisions, but that does not take away what they have done for FFC in the past and the fact they are just fans like the rest of us…..albeit with a bit more free cash to spend.
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2 minutes ago, Tea and Busquets said:
We need to keep him if we have any chance of going up. If he goes it’s back to McGuffie out wide
Not necessarily, Burrell can play wide. If I remember correctly he started right wide against Dunfermline at EEP and gave their full back a torrid time.
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Pitch inspection at 12!
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2 hours ago, Richie Sacramento said:
My understanding is that the board are keen to try and ensure the club is not only in a sustainable position this year, but next year and beyond.
As a fan-owned club, if that is to work, means the income generated by the club every year needs to be able to sustain the outgoings, and all needs to come via the fans. If we all still want the same things...a competitve first team, growing the academy again, then all that needs to be funded by us as the owners, whether thats via FSS, Patrons or individuals buying more shares, 10 year tickets, hospitality, etc etc.
Saying 'the gap is filled' suggests theres no need for more investment...the truth is if we want to grow the club, even if we do get promotion, then investment is still needed as the 'gap' needs to be filled every year.
Absolutely. The so called “gap” is only till the end of this season. Looking for a bit more stability in terms of finances for next season.
I would also hope future budgets are dictated by playing in higher divisions where the cash really is. It’s no surprise teams like St Johnstone can play at this level based on paltry attendances (plus a sugar daddy owner, although it will be interesting to see what the future holds for them).
PS the Mogwai track is Ritchie with a “t”
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I’m sure KJ made the comment at the Sponsors night that the 400k had been found through the 10yr seasons, some new Patrons, loans and other individual investments. Would be nice to get that confirmed though.
Heard that they are aiming for an additional 125k to allow a new pitch to be put down. They want to do that next year as there is a grant available from the SFA. Because of that, there will be no concerts in 2023.
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Might be a wee bit controversial here, but I’d drop Kennedy for Burrell and Oliver for Henderson.
I think McCann’s overlapping runs suffer due to Kennedy trying to beat 2 or 3 men on the wing and leaving no space for Leon to run into. In terms of balance, I think we wouldn’t suffer so much by losing Kennedy down the left hand side. However, we would gain by Burrell playing behind Alegra. His runs at pace from slightly deeper must give central defenders nightmares. With Morrison on the right, McCann bombing up the left, Alegria through the middle with Burrell just behind and occasionally pushing beyond gives us so many options.
in midfield Henderson at last gives us some presence to make up for powder puff midgets.Oliver is not the answer. I’m in agreement with DF that Nesbitt needs dropped but till we get someone better I’d play him. At times he was like a rabbit in the headlights, as for their 2nd goal. Tackling is non-existent.
Morrison in goals was woeful last night. Not just the 2 goals but his total performance was not confidence inspiring. In the 2nd half he padded a cross ball down which thankfully we cleared, he came rushing* out of his box at the Main Stand side when the defender was there to clear and moving forwards for a pass back potentially could have caused problems by significantly shortening the distance between him and defender. Too many poor decisions for me.
Lastly, we need a proper old school, take no prisoners right back.
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2 minutes ago, Ecosse83 said:
away one is just a lot lighter but still blue
Where have I heard that before?
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Don’t know how good the East of Scotland league is, but every time I see the Bo’ness result, some guy Daramola is banging in the goals. Another 4 tonight. Anyone got info on him? Worth a shout?
Edited to add….just noticed it’s the 3rd division and it’s Bo’ness Athletic. Probably mince.more edits….just noticed he has already scored 40 goals this season. That’s some strike rate.
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I think it's clear McGlynn has steadied the ship and possibly the best we could get unless we unearthed a budding Pep (very, very unlikely). After the shambles of previous managers, he was as good an appointment as we could expect.
As DF stated, he is at best a L1 manager. I'm not convinced he would get us to the Premiership, but at the moment the priority is that we need to get out of L1. McGlynn has the capability of doing that.
With respect to signings, I would say his have been way and above anything that we have seen for the last few seasons. We may not be setting the heather on fire, but there is now an optimism when we go to games that we will at least compete. I couldn't have said that over the last few years.
Bottom line is that we know what we are going to get with McGlynn. My main worry is that whoever comes in next might be another Sheerin.
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What would be quite nice from the club, if they were to post online various strip designs from O'Neills and let the fans choose by a vote. Particularly since we can get a bespoke strip. Maybe even get some designs from the fans in
Better that than have one (or two) at the club deciding !
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Back to footy matters. Some observations.
PJ Morrison was abysmal with his kick outs and could have cost us a few goals.
McKay is never a right back
You can't play Hetherington and McGinn in the same team. Both were rubbish tonight. I've said it before that McGinn can't run. If in doubt, have a look at their 3rd goal.
You can't play McCann and Kennedy together. McCann's wing back game is stifled with Kennedy hogging the wing.
Nesbitt can't tackle a fish supper and in any physical game he disappears.
Burrell is not a lone striker. He has pace but needs the right ball played behind the defence. He is most effective when played out wide.
McGlynn got it totally wrong with his selection tonight. Played not to lose and the team didn't turn up till changes made in the 2nd half when they pressed much higher up the pitch.
I'm still trying thaw out !
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The Falkirk FC Thread
in Scottish League 1 General Chatter
Posted
I think sometimes they only expect a diddy team to get so far in the cup. Therefore, there are league fixtures on "cup days" and the list will be re-arranged if the team progresses in the cup. If the team gets knocked out of the cup, the arranged league fixture is already there.