Beaver The Bairn

The Dowds situation feels incredibly weird. I’d love if he came back and was that player for us but we are many, many, many players away from being competent. His performances deserve a move and I hope he gets it and leads Arbroath to the Premier League.

I have joined FSS. I cannot stand Gary Holt but it would not stop me from joining as I trust the new board members to sort things out. If Goodwillie signs, I will never be back.

Paddy Martin panics at everything, Ben Hall is shocking, McCann gets no help from Morrison. Where does Nesbitt play? He’s wearing 10 but doesn’t play there. Telfer is the only one who doesn’t hide and can pass a ball and that’s why I’d have him at DM. What does Keena do? He doesn’t hold the ball up or run in behind. We have zero structure or shape, there are no patterns of play. Rennie has an enormous job on his hands and he does not have the tools, currently, to do it.

Talk about reminiscing and then being brought back down to earth in one screenshot

We need to start winning. If we did that, got out of this league and he moved on, we'd be a much more appealing job for better managers than we are currently being linked with. Even a "stable" manager would leave for a bigger club if he was successful.

Incredibly wishful thinking but I'd combine Holt's salary, Sheerin's salary and some of the January transfer budget to go and get McInnes. He has done it in the lower leagues of Scottish Football previously with St. Johnstone and in my opinion has an eye for a player and incredibly, tactics. Would send a massive statement (sorry) of intent. Could build in clauses that mean he would be free to speak/move to a bigger club if they came in. This event would indicate that he was doing well with us at that time and we had some sort of building blocks in place for success. I realise that I am probably deluded with this comment.

Latapy aside, my favourite player of the last 20 years or so. Stokes and Vaulks run him close but he could play whilst being hard as f***. The infamous game at Easter Road being a standout.

I once attended a wedding where the best man started his speech by referencing the groom’s previous engagements (which his new wife’s family were mostly unaware of) and followed it up by raising a toast to the cleavage of a lady sitting at one of the nearby tables. As amusing as I found it, never again did I think I would witness someone lose a room so quickly. But then I watched the Falkirk board’s Q&A session with supporters. Step forward, Falkirk chairman Gary Deans. Now, if I was the chairman of a full-time League One club with 3500-plus punters regularly turning up, but sitting fifth in said division despite having the biggest budget in the league, my default position when facing those fans may be one of humility. Not Mr Deans. Having asked attendees to be respectful and polite at the beginning of the meeting, he failed to show those fans the same consideration. His patronising response to a brilliantly researched opening question was jaw-dropping, and I encourage you to go on to the Falkirk TV YouTube page to view it if you haven’t already done so. The fan came prepared, alright. He cited previous win rates of clubs who have – unlike Falkirk - managed to win League One. He compared it to their current win rate, and overall win rate since Deans was appointed chairman in December 2019, which has them on course to fall well short of what must be their minimum ambition. He pointed out that in the 58 games since, they have had four different managers. His critique of the recruitment process led by Sporting Director Gary Holt was fair and balanced, with 29 (mostly sub-standard) players brought in during Deans’ short reign. He ended by posing the question of when will it get to the stage where someone – i.e. Deans – holds their hands up to their failings and steps down if they cannot reverse the decline. Rapturous applause then gave way to the faint rustle of tumbleweeds as Deans delivered his response. “That was a statement, not a question.” It was at this point I realised I may need a surgical procedure to uncurl my toes. Had I been a Falkirk supporter watching on from home, I would have been out a couple of hundred quid for a new laptop as well. At least the best man had the excuse of being about eight pints deep. Adopting a defensive, condescending tone towards supporters never ends well, far less criticising them. And in fairness to Deans, it was fellow board member Gordon Colborn who took it upon himself to take that bold step and point the finger at the paying punters. Colborn referenced an atmosphere of negativity from the stands inhibiting players, saying that the Falkirk lads were scared to try things on the pitch lest they be booed. Whatever seed of a decent point he had about abuse of players, staff or board members crossing the line was lost the minute he made the pitch that a supporter’s role was to support the team. The clue is in the name, of course, but the role of the fan is not simply to roll up, empty your pockets and back the club blindly. The argument also fails to explain how Falkirk came to implode last season from a position of strength to somehow finishing fifth when there were no supporters in the stadium at all. What made Colborn’s statement all the more staggering is that he is a lifelong fan himself. Was it beyond even him to read the room or feel the pulse of the fanbase? If only there was some sort of PR guru on the board to avoid such a car crash scenario. Oh, hold on. Board member Colin McFarlane has his day job described on the Falkirk website thusly: “He spends his days advising clients ranging from national retailers, member associations and charities how to engage with the media, government and their stakeholders.” They probably should have run some of this stuff by him. Still, it went on. According to Deans, another major reason that Falkirk were struggling was because the teams they were facing were full of players deemed not good enough for Falkirk who had been released by the club. Therefore, goes his argument, they were raising their game against them, and thus proving too strong for, erm, Falkirk. He admits, shockingly, that he ‘hasn’t done the scientific analysis’ on that one. Perhaps he can explain why Airdrie – with nary a former Falkirk player among their number – spanked them by three goals to nil at the weekend. This was all in the opening 20 minutes or so. There were other alarming moments later on, such as unseemly criticism of named former players by board members and manager Paul Sheerin – decent chap as he seems to be – admitting that he didn’t really know how he could turn things around. Let’s be fair. Deans and co didn’t have to front up like this. Their points on improving the infrastructure of the club and needing some more time for it to bear fruit are reasonable enough. Later on, there was decent input from investor and shareholder Phil Rawlins on the club’s long-term future, and it is here that Falkirk fans may be able to see a sliver of light. If anything, the one good thing that may come from the disdain shown to the supporters by some members of their board here is that it may unite the fans in a common cause, and that cause should be to move towards greater fan influence or even fan ownership. It is a model that is working well at clubs with similar fanbases, like Motherwell and St Mirren. Falkirk fans have however found the quest for representation on the board a difficult one to navigate. A six-week negotiation between the club and fan group Navy Blue took place earlier this year with a view to two supporters being appointed to the board in return for a six-figure investment, but those talks collapsed with the existing board citing ‘a set of pre-conditions that the board simply can't deliver on’. Navy Blue, for their part, blamed ‘the reluctance of the board to put the club before personal ambition and status; countenance, or compromise on any vision different from their own; recognise the jeopardy such an approach places the club under going forward.’ This Falkirk board has to realise, and quickly, that you can't win a war against the fans. Stop pointing the finger at them and start placing them at the heart of everything you do. It is the only way for a community club – as they have proclaimed themselves to be – to thrive.

Outstanding writing.

Having watched sections of the Q&A (mainly because I just can’t take how cringeworthy it is) my main takeaway has been the excuse that we can’t keep disposing of managers and players every season if it doesn’t work. I do agree with this, however, what Deans, Holt etc don’t understand is that if we have capable people at board level, player and management recruitment would be concluded successfully. Their absolution of any kind of guilt makes them even more hated and they have no one to blame but themselves. Deans comment about the first, very well researched, question being a statement highlights how out of touch and how much of an absolute w**ker he is.

Ten minutes in and can't stand to watch anymore. Horrific stuff.

I kept refreshing and managed to get the Czech and Croatia games. I've paid an absolute fortune buy hey, it's only money, right

Magnificent stuff so far

DKD has just stuck up a picture of him scoring against the Fifers on his Instagram story. BfL target?

Despite our town’s shortcomings, Falkirk lies in an incredible area, Scotland wise. I am so torn over the deal. I want to believe that we have caught a break and we will achieve things I only dreamt possible. At the same time. If we have to bail the club out again, I know we will. Campbell knows this and I hope to f**k it never comes to that.

Watching Ayr United’s highlights back, Muirhead jumps two footed onto Buchanan’s ankles well after the penalty is given. Should have walked along with Moffat whose tackle on Telfer in the first half was an absolute shocker. Easily classed as endangering an opponent.

DKD overtook me on the motorway about an hour and a half ago. He was clearly on his way to the Falkirk Stadium. ITK

3 for me. The Kilmarnock game was the first time I cried at football. Like most, I didn't expect much against Rangers but after the performance we put in and Lovell's chance at the end, I was pretty gutted. I still haven't recovered from the 2015 cup final. I've never felt like that after a game of football. From the sheer joy of Peter's header to the utter emptiness of the winning goal and final whistle.

Was at that game. An unbelievable experience. The "In Venkys we trust" banner attached to the airplane that the Burnley fans chartered was also a highlight. Along with the "we want our chicken back" chant and being shouted at for not standing up if I hated Steve Kean. Torrential rain too if I remember.

Don’t get this always gave everything pish re Muirhead. I could give everything but I’m still awful at football. Delighted to see him gone. An utter liability who constantly panicked whenever the ball came near him.

Good luck Pacific FC

Happy he's away but in agreement that others should follow. At a time when Scottish Football fans are rightly defending our game for having greater quality than those south of the border give it credit for, we rip up our academy and sign garbage jobbers from England. Peak Falkirk

I’d bite your arm off for 8th tbh

Radisson RED. Only hipster hotels for the Bairns. AMIRITE