The Falkirk FC Thread

[Cardle is Magic]

3 hours ago, Springfield said:

https://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/2023/12/07/board-update-5/m

Nothing new in this Press release. Some concern that the overwhelming message is to get the FSS numbers up. Look like its the only plan on the table. 

Reads like every statement Falkirk have put out since being in L1; give us more money unless you want the team to be shite.

Pars have been quite similar when they were constantly pushing Lifeline fund at every opportunity.

[Raybowski89]

4 minutes ago, Bairney The Dinosaur said:

We don't NEED 2400. 

To sustain a title winning budget in League 1/competitive Championship budget it's estimated that an extra 400k a year (over an above expected operational income) would be required. However, at the recent AGM (or maybe the FSS update meeting) the Board said that, because of the work behind the scenes, the club could now operate on a break even budget. In league 1 that may be a hybrid/part-time squad and in the Championship a lower full-time budget, but it could be done. 

The FSS (combined with other income generated) has already saved the club, now it's about trying to push forward. 

Something I've always wondered when it comes to this scheme - how on earth were Rangers fans not able to do the same for their club back in 2012? I genuinely don't understand it. Their support, even at £1 a skull, could have dug the club out of turmoil yet it never happened. Is it possible that, with the vast majority of fans not being from Govan and only a certain percentage being even Glaswegian, that the support simply didn't have that deeply personal connection that only a hometown team can provide? I refuse to believe that they didn't/don't care about their club and it's something that's always puzzled me. 

[LatapyBairn.]

2 minutes ago, Raybowski89 said:

Something I've always wondered when it comes to this scheme - how on earth were Rangers fans not able to do the same for their club back in 2012? I genuinely don't understand it. Their support, even at £1 a skull, could have dug the club out of turmoil yet it never happened. Is it possible that, with the vast majority of fans not being from Govan and only a certain percentage being even Glaswegian, that the support simply didn't have that deeply personal connection that only a hometown team can provide? I refuse to believe that they didn't/don't care about their club and it's something that's always puzzled me. 

I don’t give a flying f**k to be honest, wish they’d disappeared for good actually. 

[Raybowski89]

1 minute ago, LatapyBairn. said:

I don’t give a flying f**k to be honest, wish they’d disappeared for good actually. 

Okay - same question but Napoli lol.

[PedroMoutinho]

39 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

You continually regurgitate the same stuff though. It always comes over to me like you're criticising the FSS and BOD when discussing finances, although I'm sure you don't mean it that way? I really don't think there's anything obvious that they could be doing to improve the situation, other than consider any external money that may be offered.

Not every external investment would put the club at risk, but it's crucially important that we don't take someone like Mark Campbell on, and yes, I'd trust the BOD to ensure that anyone that comes forward would be the right fit.

Quite clearly there is absolutely zero chance of FSS reaching 2400 members, through no fault of anyone.

There is therefore absolutely no point in wasting time considering that possibility in my view, and alternatives have to be considered.

[LatapyBairn.]

1 hour ago, Springfield said:

I’m assuming that the BOD have/are considering all options. The option of having the financial shortfall covered by the FSS membership is the obvious fix, unfortunately the numbers are barely covering a third of the required investment. 
Today’s press release however positive of where the club is presently at, doesn’t lie. The football side we’ve put together is the best we’ve seen since dropping down to the third tier of Scottish football. But financials are not good. 

I honestly don’t think we’ve done to much wrong, but we need to have investment from somewhere. Keep on hearing that any external investment would put the club at risk, surely the people who we have appointed as our BOD have enough experience/expertise to identify any rogue investment.?

Of course they could identify a rogue investor but where is this sugar daddy investor you’re looking for that will bankroll the club indefinitely going to come from? You realise probably all 42 professional clubs are looking for the same type person?! 

Edited December 7, 2023 by LatapyBairn.

[ShaggerG]

5 minutes ago, PedroMoutinho said:

Quite clearly there is absolutely zero chance of FSS reaching 2400 members, through no fault of anyone.

There is therefore absolutely no point in wasting time considering that possibility in my view, and alternatives have to be considered.

I don't entirely disagree, however, there's every point in taking time to try to continually increase numbers. Alternatives will be being considered, but it's got to be the right alternative.

[Raybowski89]

Just now, LatapyBairn. said:

There is no alternative ti the FSS! That would suggest scrapping something that has been hugely successful and will continue to grow, no other avenue will bring as much money into the club on a regular basis. The club I’m sure are open to external investment should it arise (perhaps in the form of a more active “third leg”) however finding this sugar daddy type who will plough hundreds of thousands into the club continuously is even more if a long shot than the FSS reaching 2400 members! So in that regard should we simply stop considering that now?! 

I dont even see how 2,400 FSS members is even that farfetched. 850 is just a little over 1/3 of the way there, so steady progress is being made. I do agree that hoping and praying for a money bags investor is just unrealistic and usually comes with a bunch of strings attached anyway.

[LatapyBairn.]

46 minutes ago, PedroMoutinho said:

Quite clearly there is absolutely zero chance of FSS reaching 2400 members, through no fault of anyone.

There is therefore absolutely no point in wasting time considering that possibility in my view, and alternatives have to be considered.

Alternative is the wrong word, we may need something to supplement it but there is no alternative to the FSS. That would suggest scrapping/replacing something that has been hugely successful and in the process removing a massive chunk of the clubs funding! The FSS will continue to grow and needs to be pushed as much as possible in my opinion, no other avenue will bring as much money into the club on a regular basis as the FSS vehicle. The club we know have stated are open to external investment should it arise from the right people with informal discussions apparently having taken place with a few but to no avail and I do agree some form of “third leg” investor should indeed be looked for as the current shareholders in that bracket are largely inactive however finding this sugar daddy type who will plough hundreds of thousands into the club continuously is even more of a long shot than the FSS reaching 2400 members! So in that regard should we simply stop considering that “alternative” now as well?! Or is there another alternative you would like to suggest? The club is now at least stable largely thanks to the investment from both the FSS and PG sustaining us while in this division but going forward we will only be able to spend what we bring in so the more we grow the supporters society along with all our other revenue streams the better. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by LatapyBairn.

[LatapyBairn.]

11 hours ago, Raybowski89 said:

I dont even see how 2,400 FSS members is even that farfetched. 850 is just a little over 1/3 of the way there, so steady progress is being made. I do agree that hoping and praying for a money bags investor is just unrealistic and usually comes with a bunch of strings attached anyway.

It’s certainly less far fetched than some multi millionaire agreeing to bank roll the club forever more, we need to keep pushing the FSS as at its current rate of growth I could see us getting pretty close to the 2k members point eventually which would mean the best part of 300k per season. What investor is going to put that kind of cash in indefinitely? Build the FSS, keep it , push it and support it and it will sustain the club long term. Although it might be fun for a couple of seasons a sugar daddy investor won’t do that. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by LatapyBairn.

[Raybowski89]

3 minutes ago, LatapyBairn. said:

It’s certainly less far fetched than some multi millionaire agreeing to bank roll the club forever more, we need to keep pushing the FSS as at its current rate of growth I could see us getting pretty close to the 2k members point eventually which would mean the best part of 300k per season. What investor is going to put that king of cash in indefinitely? Built it , keep it and it will sustain the club long term. A sugar daddy won’t do that. 

Look no further than Gretna if you want an example of why being bankrolled is a bad idea. Their model was completely unsustainable and the club basically died the second Mileson pulled his investment. The FSS *is* sustainable. £10 per month is an inconsequential amount of money for most but I do appreciate that a lot of folk already give so much.

[Reggie Perrin]

1 hour ago, Cardle is Magic said:

Reads like every statement Falkirk have put out since being in L1; give us more money unless you want the team to be shite.

Pars have been quite similar when they were constantly pushing Lifeline fund at every opportunity.

Not sure why you got the red dots (other than because you are an inbred six fingered Fife mutant) as the point you made was perfectly valid.

[LauriestonBairn]

4 hours ago, Raybowski89 said:

Something I've always wondered when it comes to this scheme - how on earth were Rangers fans not able to do the same for their club back in 2012? I genuinely don't understand it. Their support, even at £1 a skull, could have dug the club out of turmoil yet it never happened. Is it possible that, with the vast majority of fans not being from Govan and only a certain percentage being even Glaswegian, that the support simply didn't have that deeply personal connection that only a hometown team can provide? I refuse to believe that they didn't/don't care about their club and it's something that's always puzzled me. 

Most of their "fans" have never stepped inside Ibrox. They prefer to sit at home watching an illegal stream whilst wearing their fake Turkey tops. No chance were they ever going to put a penny into Scottish football. 

[Guest]

As I had mentioned before the FSS numbers are excellent. The research I completed shows that on average the ceiling tends to be half of adult STs. That doesn’t mean we can’t try and strive for more but the board need to be realistic about numbers. 

One thing that hasn’t been noted is that if everyone is devoted to the idea of fan funding then it’s all encompassing and doesn’t stem directly from the FSS membership. 

I considered the importance of the FSS to be giving fans a voice but judging on here and other social media, I think more are happy to just fund the club. If that’s the case then FSS isn’t the only option in town so who’s to say prospective members haven’t signed up to the 1876 club, the Bairns Lotto or Forever Falkirk instead? They might even just have decided to spend more money on retail items to help. The point is that it’s all the same if your main interest is money going to the club. Some just might feel there are options that are more beneficial to them. 

I know many fans will be signed up to multiple schemes but the true number of those invested in actively funding the club will be a mixture of the numbers in all of those schemes together. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Dave McInally

[Springfield]

7 hours ago, ShaggerG said:

You continually regurgitate the same stuff though. It always comes over to me like you're criticising the FSS and BOD when discussing finances, although I'm sure you don't mean it that way?

Regurgitating the same old stuff? No. Criticising the BOD FSS - no. My concerns is that we seem to have no plan B. I genuinely fear/worry that failure to gain promotion will see massive changes at how we as a football club operate. 

[Harry Kinnear]

48 minutes ago, Dave McInally said:

As I had mentioned before the FSS numbers are excellent. The research I completed shows that on average the ceiling tends to be half of adult STs. That doesn’t mean we can’t try and strive for more but we the board need to be realistic about numbers. 

One thing that hasn’t been noted is that if everyone is devoted to the idea of fan funding then it’s all encompassing and doesn’t stem directly from the FSS membership. 

I considered the importance of the FSS to be giving fans a voice but judging on here and other social media, I think more are happy to just fund the club. If that’s the case then FSS isn’t the only option in town so who’s to say prospective members haven’t signed up to the 1876 club, the Bairns Lotto or Forever Falkirk instead? They might even just have decided to spend more money on retail items to help. The point is that it’s all the same if your main interest is money going to the club. Some just might feel there are options that are more beneficial to them. 

I know many fans will be signed up to multiple schemes but the true number of those invested in actively funding the club will be a mixture of the numbers in all of those schemes together. 

I was going to up my FSS to £50 a month from £30 but I’ve joined the 1876 club and the lotto instead. The money is still going in the same but just through different avenues, if they scrap the 1876, lotto then I’ll change my FSS monthly payment.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Harry Kinnear said:

I was going to up my FSS to £50 a month from £30 but I’ve joined the 1876 club and the lotto instead. The money is still going in the same but just through different avenues, if they scrap the 1876, lotto then I’ll change my FSS monthly payment.

When I quit the FSS, I put money back in elsewhere. Know others who had the same opinion as me, did likewise. If it’s about giving money to the club then as you say, it’s the same end product but a different avenue. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Dave McInally

[Bairney The Dinosaur]

59 minutes ago, Dave McInally said:

I considered the importance of the FSS to be giving fans a voice

That is still an important part of FSS. Funding might well be the hot topic at the moment because of the position the Club finds itself in, but a vehicle for a strong fans voice must always be the aim. 

More members = more funds = louder voice. 

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, Bairney The Dinosaur said:

That is still an important part of FSS. Funding might well be the hot topic at the moment because of the position the Club finds itself in, but a vehicle for a strong fans voice must always be the aim. 

More members = more funds = louder voice. 

I whole heartedly agree with the sentiment but not sure we can say more funds gives a louder voice when the money is handed over regardless, and on some instances goes direct to the club. 

[Disco Duck]

1 hour ago, Springfield said:

Regurgitating the same old stuff? No. Criticising the BOD FSS - no. My concerns is that we seem to have no plan B. I genuinely fear/worry that failure to gain promotion will see massive changes at how we as a football club operate. 

Do you expect them to sell FSS with “can we have some money please?  No worries if not, we’ve got other plans”.  Not exactly going to have people flocking in, is it?