The Falkirk FC Thread

[Gordon EF]

17 minutes ago, BairnBrainBrian said:

Everything is relative (arguably).

Obviously everything I stated is only my own opinion, but I genuinely do not see a good quality team in this league at the moment. There may well have been teams in previous years that have won this league and gone on to better things, but I don't see any team, Falkirk included, that look like a decent side. Yes, that is my subjective viewpoint, and relatively speaking people watching Sunday League might look at L1 and think there is some good football being played, whereas, as you say, Champions League viewers would dismiss L1 as very poor.

But, it is completely logical to look at my team Falkirk and honestly say that we are not a good team. Undoubtedly, we have a few players who should stand out in this league. Take Tidser as an example, I thought he would stand out a mile in this league, and for whatever number of reasons he has been a severe let down. He has, perhaps, a handful of good assists, but overall he has not been a good signing thus far.

Now, if I look at my team and I can admit that they are not a good team, and we are only two points off the top of the league then it is perfectly logical to conclude that A) SInce Falkirk are not a good team, then all other teams are also not good, or B) Perhaps we are not as bad a team as I think we are. 

It is just my opinion that this league is dire, I am willing to be proven wrong, but it would take a minor miracle.

I should probably have said "arbitrary" rather than subjective. What you consider a good team is obviously competely different to what 100 other people might consider a good team.

Of course, you are completely entitled to your opinion but given that good / bad is an entirely arbitrary label for football teams, your opinion cannot be any more correct or incorrect than anyone else's.

And trying to prove the point with logic is ridiculous. Of course if Falkirk are not a good team then them only being 2 points off top spot in a particular league would mean the league is not good. But you're just definining Falkirk as a poor team based off some completley arbitrary comparison of your own.

Who would you consider the worst "good" team in Scottish football?

Edited October 29, 2019 by Gordon EF

[Guest Ecosse83]

Folk trying to say this league isn't dire

 

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, Gordon EF said:

Apparently the Champiosnhip is shite as well. A team as shite as Ayr only being 3 points off the top proves this.

Both of these points are correct: the standard of the Championship is truly atrocious; it is the weakest I have since we went up in 2007 and no doubt for fifteen years before that as well (2018/19 being a clear runner up on that list). 

All of this serves to merely enhance the side-splitting mirth to be had at Ray 'Ray' McKinnon, his gutless mercenary entourage and the gormless Falkirk fanbase as they continue to get bodied by absolute joke outfits in the seaside leagues week after week. 

 

[JinkyBairn]

8 minutes ago, Ecosse83 said:

Folk trying to say this league isn't dire

 

Actual so brutal. Close to being done with it already.

[Reggie Perrin]

Folk trying to say this league isn't dire [emoji85]
 

It really is poor stuff.
Football doesn’t need to be technically good to be entertaining (see the example of the time wasting tit Montrose keeper selling the jerseys at TFS) but overwhelmingly this league is just DULL.
Turgid lifeless games, little in the way of atmosphere or entertainment.
It’s just not enjoyable.
I am writing this as someone who spent several years involved in Junior football so spare me the “Billy Big Baws” Falkirk supporter shite.
The level of football is not the issue, the entertainment on offer is.

[ilostmyself]

I actually thought having the Clyde fans in the North stand made a difference to the atmosphere on Saturday and made me get into the game more than I had done in previous weeks. Still shite but less shite.

[BairnBrainBrian]

13 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

I should probably have said "arbitrary" rather than subjective. What you consider a good team is obviously competely different to what 100 other people might consider a good team.

Of course, you are completely entitled to your opinion but given that good / bad is an entirely arbitrary label for football teams, your opinion cannot be any more correct or incorrect than anyone else's.

And trying to prove the point with logic is ridiculous. Of course if Falkirk are not a good team then them only being 2 points off top spot in a particular league would mean the league is not good. But you're just definining Falkirk as a poor team based off some completley arbitrary comparison of your own.

Who would you consider the worst "good" team in Scottish football?

Regarding your first point, I think you would find it difficult to find a Falkirk fan who thinks we are a good team, I dare say there will be some, but I am confident most would agree that we are not a good team. Does that mean we are not a good team? Of course it doesn't, it only means that the majority of our fans think we are not a good team. Dumbarton fans might think Falkirk are a brilliant team because we defeated them 6-0. and Clyde fans probably think we are rancid. Of course everything, or most things, in football are subjective, it is difficult to be objective when your team is involved. But our opinions are fed by facts and figures, and more than a hint of personal experience. We all have an idea of what a good football team is, and yes a 100 people might well have 100 different opinions, but there are some facts to be considered as well. As an example it is a fact that this year Falkirk easily have the largest budget in the league. Therefore it is not a great leap to expect them to be playing much better than they are. I know a bigger budget does not guarantee success.

What we would need is some sort of way of measuring what is good and what is not good, but even that would come with some subjectivity. For example, would a good team be two points off the top of the table right now, or would a good team be 6 or 7 points clear?  Maybe it is too early to say? Maybe it is not too early to say?  

I wouldn't agree that 'good/bad are totally arbitrary terms in regard to football. A team that is stranded at the bottom of any league are not good relative to that league and that is what they are being judged on, it is immaterial whether they would be a good team if they were in a different league. 

I am defining Falkirk as a poor team based on their poor displays. There are times watching Falkirk this year where for parts of some matches it looks like the players are playing together for the first time. A team that, for a good amount of time, depended on the full-back floating balls into the opposition box and hoping for a result, is not a good team by any stretch of the imagination. But you might have an imagination that stretches that far. 

As for the worst good team, in my subjective opinion, based on what I have seen, I have found that Arsenal continue to frustrate.

[lanky_ffc]

1 hour ago, Gordon EF said:

Good is relative though, isn' it. And that's the whole point.

Bring someone who only watches Premier League / Champions League on TV to any L1 game and they're going to think it's shite. Bring someone who watches South of Scotland football every week and they'll probably say all the teams are "good".

It's a very well worn P&B trope that fans of teams who're undeperforming or below where they want to be will decry everyone and everything as shite. It's either a "if we're (relatively) shite then everything has to be (objectively) shite" or a "we're used to so much better cos we're such a big team".

It's not exclusive to Falkirk.

Can't speak for anyone else, but my definition of 'good' would be a team averaging at least 2.00 points per game. In the last 15 years, only 3 champions have failed to do this. None of ourselves, Raith or East Fife are at the level at the moment, although that could obviously change.

We're currently on 1.73PPG which would see us finish on ~62; piss-poor given our resources. I'm not expecting us to romp it with 102 points like Rangers in 13-14 or even Queens with 92 the season before, but Ayr, Livi and Dunfermline have all had healthy points totals in recent seasons with comparatively lower budgets.

 

Edited October 29, 2019 by lanky_ffc

[Bairnardo]

7 minutes ago, ilostmyself said:

I actually thought having the Clyde fans in the North stand made a difference to the atmosphere on Saturday and made me get into the game more than I had done in previous weeks. Still shite but less shite.

Agreed. First time this season I have found myself sucked in to the back and forth, out my seat a couple of times like the game had importance etc. 

 

But aye, still shite. And that feeling was only brief. 

 

[BairnBrainBrian]

2 minutes ago, lanky_ffc said:

Can't speak for anyone else, but my definition of 'good' would be a team averaging at least 2.00 points per game. In the last 15 years, only 3 champions have failed to do this. None of ourselves, Raith or East Fife are at the level at the moment, although that could obviously change.

We're currently on 1.73PPG which would see us finish on ~62; piss-poor given our resources. I'm not expecting us to romp it with 102 points like Rangers in 13-14 or even Queens with 92 the season before, but Ayr, Livi and Dunfermline have all had healthy points totals in recent seasons with comparatively lower budgets.

 

Football is such a difficult thing to nail down to things such as good and bad, there are so many other factors to consider. Your 2 points a game gauge is based on past results but even those have to be pulled apart for different circumstances. 

Some teams can have a horrendous bout of bad luck with injuries and that is their chances of the league gone.

But, when you have been watching footbal for over 40 years you know a good team when you see one. I don't need to be a Michelin chef to know when a sausage is boggin.

[Gaz]

1 hour ago, Reggie Perrin said:

It really is poor stuff.
Football doesn’t need to be technically good to be entertaining (see the example of the time wasting tit Montrose keeper selling the jerseys at TFS) but overwhelmingly this league is just DULL.
Turgid lifeless games, little in the way of atmosphere or entertainment.
It’s just not enjoyable.
I am writing this as someone who spent several years involved in Junior football so spare me the “Billy Big Baws” Falkirk supporter shite.
The level of football is not the issue, the entertainment on offer is.

The standard of football doesn't have to be good to make a match entertaining. A match can be hugely enjoyable between pretty poor teams. Likewise, some Champions League / Premiership games are utter dugmuck despite being made up of technically brilliant players.

The football this season is turgid, and the teams are poor.

[Etherglider]

Folk trying to say this league isn't dire [emoji85]
 

I’m inclined to believe in you. Why Falkirk aren’t unbeaten and not 20 odd points ahead is unfathomable. You should clearly win this “shite” league at the first time of asking, romp to the Championship title next year and the year after cruise to a Champions league qualifying place where the likes of Barcelona et al will simply not turn up for fear of being humped by the mighty Falkirk. You might need a different manager though.

[Hughsie]

7 minutes ago, Etherglider said:

I’m inclined to believe in you. Why Falkirk aren’t unbeaten and not 20 odd points ahead is unfathomable. You should clearly win this “shite” league at the first time of asking, romp to the Championship title next year and the year after cruise to a Champions league qualifying place where the likes of Barcelona et al will simply not turn up for fear of being humped by the mighty Falkirk. You might need a different manager though.

Are you OK?

[The Moonster]

5 hours ago, MrDust said:

They haven't worked for any team in the UK in my time

Perhaps I'm remembering wrong (and I'm sure the East Fife fans can confirm) but I'm fairly certain a long held fan protest at New Bayview helped oust that p***k of a chairman they had for a while (Brown?). 

[Guest Ecosse83]

35 minutes ago, Etherglider said:

I’m inclined to believe in you. Why Falkirk aren’t unbeaten and not 20 odd points ahead is unfathomable. You should clearly win this “shite” league at the first time of asking, romp to the Championship title next year and the year after cruise to a Champions league qualifying place where the likes of Barcelona et al will simply not turn up for fear of being humped by the mighty Falkirk. You might need a different manager though.

What's this post all about? I said the league is dire and i'll let you into a wee secret of mine..... I think Falkirk are fucking dire too. 

At no point did I say Falkirk were a good team in a dire league. 

 

[Guest]

I’m inclined to believe in you. Why Falkirk aren’t unbeaten and not 20 odd points ahead is unfathomable. You should clearly win this “shite” league at the first time of asking, romp to the Championship title next year and the year after cruise to a Champions league qualifying place where the likes of Barcelona et al will simply not turn up for fear of being humped by the mighty Falkirk. You might need a different manager though.

This is a hissy fit with punctuation and decent spelling throughout but sadly, missed the point completely.

[Monkey Tennis]

9 hours ago, Back Post Misses said:

 

You have to understand the level of hurt and anger in the support.

Whilst I am not convinced ultimately protests will work I can completely understand the frustration

 

Yes, I do get that.

There's just an irony in that the big gates (which the rest of us secretly envy) are now being cited as part of the problem.  I totally get the point that's being made though.

[bairn88]

Anyone know anything about the supposed meeting between fans groups with MC tonight? Apparently at the inchyra, seen a few things about it on twitter/fb

[HopeStreetWalker]

12 hours ago, Etherglider said:

Last I heard it was shut down. The pub I mean.

New owners opens later this week I was told

[Fast_Action]

4 hours ago, BairnBrainBrian said:

Football is such a difficult thing to nail down to things such as good and bad, there are so many other factors to consider. Your 2 points a game gauge is based on past results but even those have to be pulled apart for different circumstances. 

Some teams can have a horrendous bout of bad luck with injuries and that is their chances of the league gone.

But, when you have been watching footbal for over 40 years you know a good team when you see one. I don't need to be a Michelin chef to know when a sausage is boggin.

Could it be the other way around - that Falkirk are a poor team in a better league than they expected?  That Clyde and Raith Rovers are better than they anticipated?  That is why they are not running away with the league despite their resources, and go in to November sitting in third place, and only three points ahead of Clyde who are in 6th place?