The Falkirk FC Thread

[RC_Bairn]

19 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Batting for Phil fucking Rawlins now and crying over things said on Pie And Bovril

Jog on you absolute loser

Will do bud. Name calling from behind a keyboard - stay classy

edited to add: i’m not batting for anyone - i’m just not delusional enough to think that guys are gonna put money into our club when folk are calling them all sorts. If you wanna believe that then fair enough.

Edited October 8, 2023 by RC_Bairn

[RC55 FFC]

To add my tuppence worth in, having external investment isn’t a bad thing, if the investment & investor is right.

On paper the Rawlins investment was sound, ie good money from a good source with lots of potential. As it turned out, it was probably the right investment but at the wrong time for both the club & them personally. 

FSS will continue to grow, I know it will, and will be interesting to see how much. We need it to, regardless of league next season. 

[Sarcastic Bairn]

50 minutes ago, RC55 FFC said:

It’s amazing the effect of “dropping” 2pts has on this forum

It is the usual ones that @ShaggerG called out that try and influence when the team hasn’t secured a win, every single time.

The fact one of them was part of the old regime shows just how bitter they are.

[Shodwall cat]

12 hours ago, RC55 FFC said:

To add my tuppence worth in, having external investment isn’t a bad thing, if the investment & investor is right.

On paper the Rawlins investment was sound, ie good money from a good source with lots of potential. As it turned out, it was probably the right investment but at the wrong time for both the club & them personally. 

FSS will continue to grow, I know it will, and will be interesting to see how much. We need it to, regardless of league next season. 

The Rawlins should've been a decent deal but let's face it whose going to want to get involved more in a club after witnessing the shambolic scenes at the inchyra that night.  It's really no wonder they cut their losses.. They were looking for a club to invest in that I'm sure wasn't going to take up every minute of the day but ended up with the opposite . I've no doubt Phil Rawlins would've had skills and contacts that could've proved useful if he hadnt been joining us at a time when the club was being run so poorly.

[MulsonFFC]

On 07/10/2023 at 23:02, Senor Bairn said:

 

Found that too, guy next to us stated that we'd be better with Connor Sammon over McIver, who was 'shit all game'. 
 

some of our fans are absolute odd balls 

I must have been sitting close to you as I couldn't believe what I was hearing, total clown. 

Sat in the middle of KMc as was in a little later than normal but f**k me it was grim.

Also got into a bit of a 'debate' about the booing at the end too.  I get it, we have been shite for years but the players have given everything so far this season and I just cant acknowledge much' justification booing of the team at the end.   Apparently we should win every game and we didn't try.  Geez peace man!

[AJ1981]

13 hours ago, RC_Bairn said:

The Board have been saying for two years that we need to change the business model and as far as I can see things haven't changed in a business sense - the operating loss is still as large as ever (even when taking into account cup monies and other unbudgeted for income).   What happened to all the big ideas that Kenny Jamieson had for changing the operating model?  Hot air I suspect.

The harsh realities are: 

There's no opportunity for small shareholders to purchase additional shares. 

The projections for growth of the FSS are unrealistic (and from recent comments on here it looks like some members have left)

The PG are tapped out.  They might be able to contribute the odd thousand here and there but they don't have the same financial clout as Ritchie, Alexander, Rawlins.

As for those latter three - why on earth would they put more money into the club?  Unless they've all developed collective amnesia over the abuse they've received the past few years (much of it on this forum and from members of the current board) then there's no way they'll step up.

This was all explained at the last and previous AGM's, including the one where the BTB proposal was first floated and received universal support by a show of hands.

Things are not as cut and dried as you suggest. It was clear where the soft loans came from, meaning a lot of your last paragraph is, politely, best filed under wishful thinking. The rest was set out as  three options - grow the fan owned and financed model, cut our cloth, or sell.  This is a shareholder choice and I'd guess the choice will be by the next AGM. 

[AJ1981]

13 hours ago, Springfield said:

Don’t know any of the BOD, but as earlier posted a few good friends who are all STs and have followed the club for years, are seriously pissed off that the begging bowl is directly aimed at the fans. 

I  think I know who you mean and heard that very thing first hand on saturday night from a guy I kind of know in the passing. The conversation was less about your point and ALL about him wanting to sell 100% of the club to a major player. 

Which is fine, I get that idea, at some level I'd even prefer it if it was the right person or people, but when asked what would happen to everybody who has invested in the last two years there was no answer, it was unimportant, or irrelevant, I can't remember which. 

You can't complain about the fans being given the opportunity to fund the club after saying you'd screw over the people who've joined FSS, invested and have a £350k loan to pay. After a minute I saw where it was all going and immediately regretted speaking to him. It was weird, him talking and talking, red angry face not wanting to listen.

 

 

 

[Shodwall cat]

I'm my opinion we are where we are now simply due to 15 years of mismanagement by one incompetent board after another which has seriously reduced year after year the options we have on the table.  We were in the top flight  for a start. Incomings far far  higher . Dad's army recruitment and the appointment of may then Presley wrecked that.  We had an academy that helped fund shortfalls. That was inexplicably closed down.  We had funds in the bank raised from said academy and other players sales. That was fittered away on one disastrous manager after another and oneawful football squad after another. We had an external investor come in with a view to at some point increasing their investment. They were scared off due to the shambolic way the club was being run at that point.  Now there's few options left other than the fans themselves . I mean who really wants to invest in a league one Scottish club that have already scared off one investor . We don't have a Roy McGregor unfortunately so you would need to question the underlying motives any external investor has with the club as few people are in it for absolutely nothing these days. So it's the fans really and asking those that can afford it to pay ten quid a month to increase the football budget  surely isn't asking too much is it really?

Edited October 9, 2023 by Shodwall cat

[AJ1981]

14 hours ago, Springfield said:

Who makes the decisions within the club ?

The point was made at the AGM answering a question emailed by a shareholder that the current model being implemented is what was approved by shareholders and the bod have to work to that mandate and can't depart from it, unless they come back and ask for it to be changed. That's company law. 

[AJ1981]

22 hours ago, HopeStreetWalker said:

The two teams cancel each other out.

Whoever wins the league will be the team that grinds out consistency over the season.

I agree with this, the conditions and the importance led to more caution than normal. On the plus side we looked strong and matched them physically. It's going to be a nervy season because as it currently stands the two teams are head and shoulders above the rest.

[AJ1981]

6 minutes ago, Shodwall cat said:

I'm my opinion we are where we are now simply due to 15 years of mismanagement by one incompetent board after another which has seriously reduced year after year the options we have on the table.  We were in the top flight  for a start. Incomings far far  higher . Dad's army recruitment and the appointment of may then Presley wrecked that.  We had an academy that helped fund shortfalls. That was inexplicably closed down.  We had funds in the bank raised from said academy and other players sales. That was fittered away on one disastrous manager after another and oneawful football squad after another. We had an external investor come in with a view to at some point increasing their investment. They were scared off due to the shambolic way the club was being run at that point.  Now there's few options left other than the fans themselves . I mean who really wants to invest in a league one Scottish club that have already scared off one investor . We don't have a Roy McGregor unfortunately so you would need to question the underlying motives any external investor has with the club as few people are in it for absolutely nothing these days. So it's the fans really and asking those that can afford it to pay ten quid a month to increase the football budget  surely isn't asking too much is it really?

Agreed, were you at the AGM? The telling thing up on the screen, totally underplayed by the presenter and I've not seen commented on anywhere else, is all the profit from the Killers concerts was spent 2 or 3 years ago and what £ was earned last year was then spent on costs needed to hold the concert, VAT bills and refunds to the promoter. 

[Shodwall cat]

33 minutes ago, AJ1981 said:

Agreed, were you at the AGM? The telling thing up on the screen, totally underplayed by the presenter and I've not seen commented on anywhere else, is all the profit from the Killers concerts was spent 2 or 3 years ago and what £ was earned last year was then spent on costs needed to hold the concert, VAT bills and refunds to the promoter. 

Unfortunately not I was working mate. 

[Bairnardo]

Does anyone think the op McGinn had sees him coming back better than what we seen of him immediately prior? Do we think we might get close to last seasons version?

[ShaggerG]

30 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Does anyone think the op McGinn had sees him coming back better than what we seen of him immediately prior? Do we think we might get close to last seasons version?

That thought actually crossed my mind last night. If we get a good version of McGinn back it will be a real bonus. For example, Henderson was walking a tightrope on Saturday due to his booking, imagine having a strong McGinn to bring on in such a scenario? If used properly, and if he's fit, it could be a game changer!

[RC55 FFC]

Latest episode of the podcast is out now…

EP:56 THERE GOES MY HERO

Ross is on his hols, so John discusses…

0-0 draw with pundits Callum Hunter & Lewis Connolly
️ Falkirk Daft Xmas night out with @ParliamoBand
Preview Queens Park (H) with Enzo from the @SpidersTalkPod
️ The AGM news &
Sept POTM

falkirkdaft.co.uk

[FalkirkBairn2021]

The off the field stuff is a real worry. St. Mirren are the obvious comparison club we want to be emulating. 

Looking at the SMISA site they have c. 1200 monthly subs. Which isnt that many. They have 3 tiers - 5, 12 and 25..and you have different rights for each tier. 

I wonder if that's what we need to do. At the moment it seems like 'give us more than a tenner if you can' but no real 'benefits ' of doing so. 

Falkirk isn't an area with a lot of wealthy fans. That's just reality. But we do have some fans with very good salaries that can't or won't splurge 10k to be a patron but could pay 50 a month if incentivised to do so. 

Maybe we need to 'sweat our assets' more rather than hope for a swell of new members.

 

[Reggie Perrin]

2 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

Does anyone think the op McGinn had sees him coming back better than what we seen of him immediately prior? Do we think we might get close to last seasons version?

That would be the equivalent of a very high quality new signing.

[Harry Kinnear]

Going back to football and next Saturdays game, I would be playing as close to a second string as is possible given our squad limitations. Granted it’s good to remain unbeaten but I’ll take a defeat over anymore key players picking up an injury in the diddy cup any day of the week.

[AJ1981]

8 hours ago, FalkirkBairn2021 said:

The off the field stuff is a real worry. St. Mirren are the obvious comparison club we want to be emulating. 

Looking at the SMISA site they have c. 1200 monthly subs. Which isnt that many. They have 3 tiers - 5, 12 and 25..and you have different rights for each tier. 

I wonder if that's what we need to do. At the moment it seems like 'give us more than a tenner if you can' but no real 'benefits ' of doing so. 

Falkirk isn't an area with a lot of wealthy fans. That's just reality. But we do have some fans with very good salaries that can't or won't splurge 10k to be a patron but could pay 50 a month if incentivised to do so. 

Maybe we need to 'sweat our assets' more rather than hope for a swell of new members.

 

Surprisingly the average salary in the Falkirk area is comparable with the areas where other fan owned clubs are, less than East Renfrewshire and Midlothian and more than North Lanarkshire. It's seems to be an impending crisis that's needed to drive up membership and we're not there. It certainly doesn't seem to be the financial standing of the fan base.

Edited October 9, 2023 by AJ1981
whole sentences missing, no idea how that happened

[Bigbrbairn]

This "who makes the decisions question " makes me think.

There is a portion of our fan base that would love an external investor taking over. Then they have a name to blame and someone to throw things at. Every body loves a hooded villain who abuse can be aimed at.

Our current model does not have any figurehead to hate and one person to blame. With a fan run club that is the way. In my opinion it is the best way but we cant shout Ritchie, Alexander. Lang, Deans ,Fulston you are to blame for killing our club everytime we lose or draw!