Sarah67
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Posts posted by Sarah67
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3 hours ago, Shodwall cat said:
He never put a foot wrong against Partick last Saturday . Was excellent. Main problem on Tuesday was the midfield or lack there of.
This is one of the reasons that Spencer and his fitness will be so important to the team’s performance this year.
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3 minutes ago, LatapyBairn. said:
Bearing in mind those fans/investors and patrons are the very people now either running the club or elected the people now running the club, that’s not a dig as I’ve actually been very impressed with the new people and with the job they’ve done turning around a sinking ship. The reality is however we are either as a collective fan base be prepared to invest a little more on a regular consistent basis than we have done historically to allow the luxury of being a properly fan owned football club or we consider outside investors taking a controlling shareholding in the club that may be prepared to invest. I have my doubts such an investor exists to be honest.
Outside investors now seem a certain necessity to safeguard the future of the club. It’s that or go part-time/massively reduce the playing budget. Those are the only two real choices left.
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7 minutes ago, Chinatoon Bairn said:
Drum is coming in trial period regardless of what's said here. Looking at a total of ~60 in the group to start it off.
Good luck to you all, I’m sure the grandkids will join in once they’re old enough.
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18 minutes ago, StuartA said:
That's the interesting thing about responsibility, or accountability, at Falkirk now. Falkirk fans have the opportunity to replace directors if they aren't satisfied with the job they're doing, whether it's appointing managers, managing the club's financial and commercial performance, upgrading the stadium, choosing strips or the quality of the website.
That accountability is built into the jobspec and intentionally so. There'll be elections next year, so anyone who thinks they can do better can step forward. So Falkirk fans can actually do something about it rather than just be angry, and Falkirk fans will be responsible for the outcome.
Absolutely. That’s why we need as many fans as possible to join FSS if they haven’t already. Makes it as representative as possible.
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6 minutes ago, Van_damage said:
If we played well we wouldn’t have known about it via the website. Wouldn’t even know there was a game on since nothing was mentioned about it so I don’t see the issue in pointing this out.
As for the match, I only seen the highlights. The team looked promising but as has been discussed these games don’t mean that much.
We took the grandkids along. Thought we played ok. BR never really tested us other than two attempts, one of which was a good save from Hayward. Was nice to see him, Honeyman, Sinclair and Carroll all get a run out.
We didn’t really have a clinical edge at times, but it’s mainly about fitness just now and they didn’t give us many problems so it’ll be interesting to see how we compete against a better team.
Spencer looked the pick of the bunch we thought.
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Just now, SouthStander1876 said:
He created the first goal and won the foul for the second in the first half, thought he was the standout in the first 45
He’s good. Hoping we see it more regularly this year and his little niggling injuries are behind him. One of the more exciting players we have undoubtedly.
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2 hours ago, Back Post Misses said:
Your posts don’t back that up TBH and certainly not the impression I get. Must be just me.
McGlynn IMO, for most fans, is in it is time to prove yourself zone. He absolutely had excuses at the start of last season considering the shambles he inherited (probably ultimately where the league was lost) however this is his team now and he has to deliver.This seems fair, as you say it’s time for McGlynn and the board to deliver now. They need to get us out of this division this year as there’s no excuses left or anyone else to blame now.
If they can’t overcome the mighty footballing powerhouses of Hamilton Accies and Cove Rangers then it’s time to collectively pack up and go.
we need to get off to a good start and produce the goods. No more talk, just get the job done.
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3 hours ago, Bairnardo said:
Lawal has always been the guy in terms of fluidity. He's the risk taker. He's the one that doesn't immediately look for a sideways pass if someone stands him up. He can stop, look, then skip round someone. Being able to take on just one man in that central area unpicks whole teams, and allows the wingers to get into the box and overload the defences. He can be so important if used correctly.
Agree with this, he brings a bit of unpredictability. Hopefully he’s used to full time training now and kicks on this year. We prefer when he plays in behind a striker rather than as a central midfielder like last night (first half). The diamond second half suited him more we thought.
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49 minutes ago, Musketeer Gripweed said:
I was actually more perturbed by the fact they had the semi final being played at TFS and not Hampden. That's just a ridiculous mistake to make.
Agree, the website looks poor at the moment. Whoever is responsible for it needs a nudge. Can’t even see links to match reports from last season and the sponsors and players page is out of date too.
No doubt they’ll use the excuse of “we’ll do an update when we get the new team photo” or something poor like that, whereas surely just doing small updates often would be less workload and hassle for them. Hard to be too tough on a volunteer though, but if they’re paid then it’s not acceptable.
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3 hours ago, Bairnardo said:
It looked as if he went through the man to get the ball, in general terms this referee seems stuck between allowing a physical tussle and not, and leaving us with the worst of both worlds.
Yes agreed. Tackled through the man it seemed.
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1 hour ago, Caractacus Potts said:
What I was getting at was if some patrons pay more then maybe those who pledged £50k could have been persuaded to do the same under the patrons or other investment group.
I agree with Z Bairn and Number 7 that credit goes to everyone who bought shares.
It’s clear the club still needs more investment though and more people buying shares so would hope those who intended to put in more money as part of the NB will be able to be persuaded again but if you say there wasn’t any due diligence then maybe they didn’t have the money to follow up the pledge and that’s why there appears to be not much more than £10k invested. Either way we clearly need more folk buying shares be it through the Patrons, their own or the FSS.
This seems a pretty fair assessment to me. There was all this talk of the Navy Blue Group guys having anything up to 800k to invest based on claims. It seemed to grow upwards every week, but sadly none of it has really materialised.
The majority of those NBG people were on the patrons list Kenny Jamieson showed at the meeting. So it seems reasonable to now question whether the money was ever really there, or if it was empty boasts. If it is there, then hopefully as you say CP they can be encouraged to do what they said as now is the time to plough it in, to get us out of this division and not just let our biggest rivals romp to the title on their watch.
Either way, as others have said, we need others to help, so I’d encourage others to do what our family has done and join up to FSS and/or buy shares if you can. I know times are tough but it’s a tenner donation.
It’s also not really fair for folk to fire shots at some of the less wealthy patrons though, at the end of the day most of them are fairly “normal” fans who didn’t make big boasts, but normal folk that were lucky to be able to stump up 10k from life savings or retirement pots as a one-off, but who realistically were never going to be able to do it again six months later.
Sad times for the finances. On a brighter note, it’s Scottish Cup day!
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Comfortable win, but we aren’t clinical enough. Could’ve boosted the goal difference today. Need to find a proper striker in January to help Burrell, although probably not likely given the financial troubles.
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On a much lighter note, we’re getting the grandkids wrapped up and looking forward hopefully to a win today against Clyde!
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21 hours ago, Caractacus Potts said:
Heard that said too but also by people who blamed the old board for the state of the squad.
I think sanctioning the signing of a player on £1.5k-£2.5k for only a few months when finances are poor should be an area where the board have to make a stand. Also think allowing a departing manager to sign an unproven player on a year’s contract shortly before leaving is a point where it’s possible to make a stand too.
Spot on.
Agreed, we thought the statement was very insulting. Our family give money in numerous ways through ST’s, strips, 50/50, FSS etc but it’s really tough for many people right now and the board need to have a serious look at themselves for that statement. Totally out of touch.
There’s now a real worry that we don’t have enough cash to see out the season. You’re right what you say CP in that money has been wasted by them though. Griffiths was THEIR mistake. Rennie was THEIR mistake. This statement degrading their own fans during a cost of living crisis is THEIR mistake. No one to blame but themselves.
They need to take accountability instead of looking to blame others and, for the tone deaf statement in particular, they need to apologise.
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10 minutes ago, Hampden Roar said:
It was a non story probably instigated by his agent to try and drum up interest.
Yep and people lapped it up as they are desperate to see us sign a proper striker. The new BOD need to give JM the cash to get a decent striker in as that’s the difference in this league as we all saw when we had McManus. Bet they’re regretting the huge amount of money wasted on Leigh Griffiths now. Damage is done now but we can’t afford (literally!) another mistake like that again.
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1 hour ago, Jackie Myles said:
Probably injured again.
Not at all, I got told it’s simply because he caught Covid so has to isolate.
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On 10/07/2022 at 11:55, GeordieBairn said:
Fair play to Brad McKay btw for all he was absolutely dire last season I think he’s been very solid so far in the 3 games i’ve seen him.
This will absolutely come back to bite me shortly.
Agreed, credit where credit is due. At least for now.
Jaime Wilson though….
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14 hours ago, gav-ffc said:
The worst ever shag,marry,kill.
In my days as a younger lass that was called “snog, marry, avoid”…. you youngsters have given that game a very dark twist!
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We both went along to the early session the other night and I’ve tried to summarise the best I can for any fans who weren’t there. Just trying to be helpful so please don’t shoot the messenger!
After a brief introduction from Keith Gourlay, the opening section was from Kenny Jamieson and was around the performance in 2021/22. Summarised as:- for context, 450k is the average yearly operating loss in historic years
- we’ve had 17 operating losses in the last 20 years he said
- we had 720k in bank at start of 2021/22 (we were lucky due to apparently receiving a sell-on clause for Will Vaulks and some residual Rawlins investment)
- since taking over in 21/22 the new board are running at 2 times the normal operating loss (anticipated loss this year will be a staggering 900k+)
- serious current cash flow concerns he said, club is not in a healthy position
- KJ confirmed it is “the worst cash flow position at the start of any season since we were at Ochilview”
- he said they just paid the wages a few days ago but that there is very little left in the pot now
- begging bowl went out for more FSS members or anyone who wants to throw in 10k to join his patrons group
- this FSS plug was repeated about four times during the night and leaflets left on all our seats too
He said income needs to be boosted by 300-400k via the appointment of Graham Stewart, who was introduced to everyone as our new commercial manager, apparently he’s been brought in as he’s related to one of the patrons group a gentleman sitting along from us said so he is a known face to them. If Graham isn’t successful at boosting income by 300-400k then KJ explained the only other option for the club is to run at an operating loss and ideally he wants to cap the operating loss to a maximum of 400k a year. So taking about 10% off the average 450k figure he gave previously. This year is over double that though.They said they didn’t think the club would literally have ran out of money in recent months and when asked why not, the reply was “I’m sure the board would’ve found soft loans from somewhere”…. but there was no indication at the session of where that would actually be. It did make us both worry a bit that it sounds like the new controlling group don’t actually seem to have any rainy day cash.Non-footballing costs have been reduced, because four people have walked out recently. The board confirmed we now only have the equivalent of 9 full-time staff left at the entire club and both Nigel Serafini and Gordon Wright said it’s the volunteers in various areas who have basically saved us and that they are vital because if we lose them, then our costs will increase further and put even more strain on the current finances.KJ acknowledged that the new board have worked in business but that none of the new board has any football experience and since they decided to fire Gary Holt they have now inadvertently created a football knowledge gap, but he said that we shouldn’t worry as Martin Rennie has guided them in terms of football structure on what “a well run club looks like” and they are following his guidance, plus info from other people they have spoke to.The next bit of info was the one that was really contradictory, having just said that they wanted to control costs given how bad the finances now are, they went on to say they actually want to spend more cash on a new grass training facility of all things. They said they are close to exploring/sealing options and wouldn’t say what. It’s a badly kept secret though that they’ve apparently done a deal to spend roughly £30-35,000 to hire Little Kerse, as coaches of youth teams down there have known about it for a few weeks now and have been openly talking about it when we took our grandson down to his training recently. It seems a strange decision especially given the serious cashflow concerns mentioned and I can’t help but feel it’s just a waste of money. Neither of the two of us could see how they needed this and if it turns out to be true and we do indeed move training to Little Kerse then to spend what little precious money we have left like that is just wrong, as that sort of cash should be given to the manager to get us a competent striker for once. Personal opinion only and each to their own I guess.We’d also lose the slight advantage of being used to our own pitch if we train instead on grass all week. The very thin justification offered for it all was that grass would help “player recovery”. Personally, I’d still rather have a striker.Continuing pitch chat, they said that no cash has been put aside by them for pitch renewal yet. The money from the upcoming Killers gigs will apparently be ring-fenced towards pitch renewal costs, but they admitted later during the Q&A that it will only pay a small portion of it. They have no idea currently where the rest of the cash is coming from.Everything about finances was depressing to be honest. Douglas Moodie gave one positive and said it previously took six and a half weeks to generate a set of “management accounts”, but under his guidance and a new finance software system they have bought, they can now generate these reports within two days. Sadly, it seems all that’s done is maybe make them realise how much of a worry the cash situation is!Overall, while a couple of them spoke well in terms of delivery of the content, the actual content itself didn’t stand up to much scrutiny, especially the financial stuff. As a result my husband and I both left really disheartened. I applaud them for trying and sincerely want them all to do well as they are fans the same as we are, but at the moment it doesn’t yet feel like a safe pair of hands and there seems to be a lack of outright leadership as they’ve still not chosen a chairman. Thankless task though I’m sure and not one I’d do, so I can understand their hesitation at stepping up to the role.We couldn’t make previous fan event sessions as our daughter has an auto-immune condition and had to isolate for long spells until she was well enough to get fully vaccinated, but we both went along to the early session the other night as we wanted to genuinely engage with the current board and so that we knew we had made an effort to actually meet them in person and listen to what they had to say, but we both came away a little downbeat, mainly due to the financial concerns.The one bit of critical feedback for them we’d give is that they need to stop blaming everyone else but themselves. It’s not a good look. They’ve been in place about 8 months now and we both genuinely understand they won’t fix every problem overnight and we are genuinely grateful to them for trying, most fans have been supportive too rather than give them any sort of hard time, but constantly trying to say that every negative in or around the club is still somehow someone else’s fault fully 8 months later just no longer cuts it I’m afraid. They need to accept that it’s now their performance, not anyone else’s.They’d genuinely have gotten more respect from us both if they’d actually stood there and publicly admitted they’ve made mistakes just like previous boards have too i.e. wasting an alleged £2,500 per week on an overweight Leigh Griffiths who only scored two goals, a supporter posting on Facebook that they were apparently seen at Goodwillie’s house trying to sign him, not to mention the totally failed appointment of Martin Rennie as manager.Me and my husband, plus our kids, their partners and our grandkids will all do our bit and renew our season tickets and we’ve all signed up to FSS to help too, even though it’s difficult with all our bills going up just now, plus supporting our daughter while she was off work ill, but the undoubted overriding worry we both came away with chatting in the car on the way back to Larbert is that given the serious cashflow concerns and the money blown on Griffiths, multiple personnel payoffs and various other things, it seems like we may be heading down the path towards administration and we both truly dread the thought of that happening.If you can, join up to the FSS. It sounds like it’ll be badly needed.10
The Falkirk FC Thread
in Scottish League 1 General Chatter
Posted
Yep, 100% agree with this. FSS should be able to not only buy 25% + 1 share but, ideally (subject to further share issues), be allowed to buy as many shares as possible. So that the fans own as much of the club and have as big a say as they can.
Like others, I feel really let down by this and there’s four of us in FSS who would need to consider ongoing involvement. We didn’t sign up to get nothing for our cash and face barriers like this, we did it to get shares to build the fans voice. Instead we’re just left getting no further shares for FSS and meanwhile being asked to pay off a 20 year loan that someone took out on FSS’s behalf.