The Falkirk FC Thread

[Guest]

58 minutes ago, Proudtobeabairn said:

Hopefully when Rennie is in the country we get an FTV interview asap.  Would be great to hear what his goals and ambitions for the club are. 

One aspect of the 6mth contract might be that he has something lined up from the summer in the US and has no intention of committing longer.  Depends on how the contract has been agreed/discussed.  At face value it looks like we're protecting ourselves but may not be the case.  

Would be good to hear he's committed and plans to bring his family over and extend the deal if the first few months go well.  

I think both sides are protecting themselves. As KJ pointed out, when you look for someone who isn’t on the managerial hamster wheel, is forward thinking, has a proven track record, understands the club and where it currently is, and can talk to what needs to be done to stop the madness, and at least get the club moving in the right direction, then the Board were fishing in a very small pond. They may have landed on their feet, and they may not, but for me at least, it’s difficult to argue against their logic.

[FFC 1876]

25 minutes ago, Duncan Freemason said:

Due to the format, everyone will have come away with a slightly different impression of what was said. There were individual tables, and the Board members split up, and spent a bit of time at each table. It worked well as a format, but of course, everyone’s experience was slightly different.

I was sat with a guy called Scott, and we were the only two at that table. We had Keith Gourlay, then Jaimie Swinney, then Kenny Jameson, Gordon Wright, and a few moments with David White.

The elephant in room was of course, Gary Holt. I think every table voiced concerns to varying degrees, but a repeated message was that the Board accept and believe in the model, but were keen to get across the message that he didn’t involve himself in first team duties at all, and has absolutely no desire to do that.

There were hints that the “better players” were Holt’s signings before Sheerin arrived, but Sheerin was responsible for many of the signings thereafter……,and not just Ruth. Sheerin simply could not transfer from the training ground to the pitch and was (as we all know) unwilling to try new things, and stuck by players regardless of performance.

No leaders on the park, too few players getting involved when we don’t have the ball. It’s the “transition” thing from having possession, losing possession and regaining possession that has been highlighted by Rennie (and Rice tbf). That actually goes back to Pep’s mantra at Barca, Bayern and Man C which was once possession was lost, he wanted it back within 6 seconds, or he wanted it out of play. We don’t have the players prepared to do that, and the plan is to (hopefully) bring in a four man spine with leadership abilities as well as footballing abilities.

Up close and personal, these guys are night and day compared to what has done before, and while inexperienced, every one of them came across as quick learners. I didn’t sense there being any bad apples in the room…..quite the opposite in fact.

Listed the new signings from the summer below and who was most likely responsible. 

Paddy Martin?
Luke Holt - Holt
Ryan Williamson - Holt*
Brad Mckay - Holt*
Mackenzie Lemon - Academy
Leon Mccann - Holt/Sheerin
Cammy Williamson - Academy
Steven Hetherington - Holt*
Seb Ross - Sheerin
Aidan Nesbitt - Holt*
Ben Weekes - Academy
Ernaldo Krasniqi - Grainger
Craig Mcguffie - Holt*
Declan Mcdaid?
Sammy Ompreon - Sheerin/Grainger
Jaime Wilson - Sheerin
Michael Ruth - Sheerin

*Players Holt signed on pre contracts before Sheerin was in the building.

Looking at the list I don't think you can possibly say Holt's recruitment was good before Sheerin started picking donkey's as Holt signed Mcguffie, Hetherington and Brad Mckay before Sheerin was in the door. Not to mention he resigned Ben Hall. No question that Sheerin is also culpable as he had the final say on a lot of the rest of the players but essentially Holt's remit was to put forward the players to Sheerin so the blame lies fully at his door. 

Absolutely incredible that he's seemingly managed to side step the blame for recruitment considering he was employed in the main to improve our terrible recruitment process.
 

[18BAIRN76]

Aye, the revisionism on Holt's role in all of this seems to be in full flow. This is without mentioning that he led the process which saw Sheerin hired - this was pretty much said by Deans at the time. Not buying this "his recruitment was good and it's all Sheerin's fault" pish. Get him binned, it's not that hard. He is a block to many people who want to invest in the FSS but will not do so while he is still employed by our club.

[Bairnardo]

Aye, the revisionism on Holt's role in all of this seems to be in full flow. This is without mentioning that he led the process which saw Sheerin hired - this was pretty much said by Deans at the time. Not buying this "his recruitment was good and it's all Sheerin's fault" pish. Get him binned, it's not that hard. He is a block to many people who want to invest in the FSS but will not do so while he is still employed by our club.

Aye, the man seems to have been very publically advertised as pulling 50k a year out the club. At our level, thats a good chuck of a player or two at least.

So im afraid "actually, hes not quite as bad as what folk say" doesnt really convince me he is adding value equivalent to the expense tbh.

[FFC 1876]

On a positive note it's good to hear them talking about improving the spine of the team as it's badly needed. A right sided centre back to play in beside Dixon when he's back fit, two centre midfielders and a striker to play up top with Keena/Ruth or Dowds when he's back. The feedback I'd heard from the meeting was that Rennie already has targets in mind which will hopefully mean Holt has bugger all to do with the selection process.

[LatapyBairn.]

2 hours ago, Proudtobeabairn said:

As others have said, Fergus (and Swinney if needed) should be able to run the youth teams without Holts involvement.  
We have a scout in place to identify new targets. 
The CEO should be in a position to agree contracts. 
The manager should have the final say on players.  

What else is there for Holt to do?  I don't buy the 'he's indispensable' line.  

This is more or less what my thoughts were exactly regarding Holts position and the DOF set up, I agree between Jamie Swinney and Fergus his role should already be covered  however while he’s under contract the club may as well utilise him in some way. The new board are just in the door and perhaps taking a breath and staying calm is the best option, review everything at the end of the season when the permanent FSS directors are elected. Pending how Holt performs, our new manager performs and which league we are in it probably makes sense to wait until then before making any structural changes. I’m guessing the financial picture will be clearer by then also with there being a few unknowns at the moment in that regard as we still don’t know how many fans are going to sign up to the FSS, nor have the Rawlins indicated if they intend on topping up they’re shareholding to retain the 26% as they had suggested they may do. If we remain in this league it will almost certainly be a year where we incur loses so building up cash reserves via external investment becomes vital. 

Edited December 14, 2021 by LatapyBairn.

[Bairn in Exile]

2 minutes ago, LatapyBairn. said:

This is more or less what my thoughts were exactly regarding Holts position and the DOF set up, however while he’s under contract the club may as well utilise him in some way. The new board are just in the door and perhaps taking a breath and staying calm is the best option, review everything at the end of the season when the permanent FSS directors are elected. 1)Pending how Holt performs, our new manager performs and which league we are in. I’m guessing the financial picture will be clearer by then also whits a few unknowns at the moment in that regard 2)as we still don’t know how many fans are going to sign up to the FSS, nor have the Rawlins indicated if they intend on topping up they’re shareholding to retain the 26% as they had suggested they may do.

1) Unfortunately, Holt still hanging around like a bad smell and getting involved in recruitment etc. will probably have a detrimental effect on how the manager performs and therefore what league we end up in.

2) As others have said, Holt still being in the building will put off fans from signing up to the FSS.

The board need to take action as soon as possible to jettison Holt, this would gives the fans a massive boost and really get them behind the new board and Rennie.

[Harry Kinnear]

These hints that the better players were Holts signings, when are we actually going to get to see these “better signings”, have they been out injured since the start of the season. The recruitment since Holt came in has been shite, whether Sheerin had anything to do with it or not our squad is no better than this time last year.

[Shadwell Dog]

3 hours ago, ShaggerG said:

What's involved in running the youth squads?

Well you'll need coaches for the individual sides one of my mates is actually involved with them and a person to oversee it and find talent which would be Fergus.  I've no idea what Holt's involvement is since being involved in setting it up. 

[Guest]

I guess it’s now down to how Martin Rennie gets on. If he starts to turn things around, then that is nothing to do with Holt beyond him perhaps being able to claim x y and z players were his signings. I don’t mind that at all provided by he is very clear on who he brought in, and who he didn’t bring in. He can’t be allowed to pick and mix depending on who is playing well.

If the new Board believe him to be effective, as mentioned above, God only knows how the Board can persuade the average fan that he is a misunderstood man in the middle of this.

I think a case could be made for Gordon Colborn over time, but for Gary Holt, that’s going to be a really tall order. I am not sure that it’s a battle that can be won.

If Rennie comes in and suddenly Nesbitt is turning it on again, and our first pick full backs get their mojo back, then who knows? Thing is, if a new spine of four is required, then straight away, that’s an admission that yes, there are four signings in our starting line ups who simply aren’t good enough for L1. That is not good.

[Shadwell Dog]

Holt should be absolutely nowhere near recruitment after his record so far.  The guy failed miserably to manage to persuade one out of 14 strikers that Falkirk was the place to be.  We're in a worse state now league wise so the chances of him persuading any half decent striker to join us in January must be nadda. He gave Brad Mackay a 3 year fecking contract. That should be a sacking offence never mind anything else. He then had the bloody temerity to stand up at the q and a and try and blow his own trumpet about the dreadful signings he'd made.  Even nesbitt the one they crowed about then has gone completely off the boil.  His laughable comment about Jaime Wilson having scored 4 goals showed he is completely out of touch with reality.  He has zero contacts which is surely a must for a dof and we've missed out on numerous players from the likes of livie where you would think he should have a decent relationship and idea of the talent. If we want to waste money and have him solely involved in the youth set up then fine but I wouldn't let him near any more of our budget given the amount he's pissed down the drain so far in the two transfer windows he's been in place for.

 

[Grangemouth Bairn]

42 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Holt should be absolutely nowhere near recruitment after his record so far.  The guy failed miserably to manage to persuade one out of 14 strikers that Falkirk was the place to be.  We're in a worse state now league wise so the chances of him persuading any half decent striker to join us in January must be nadda. He gave Brad Mackay a 3 year fecking contract. That should be a sacking offence never mind anything else. He then had the bloody temerity to stand up at the q and a and try and blow his own trumpet about the dreadful signings he'd made.  Even nesbitt the one they crowed about then has gone completely off the boil.  His laughable comment about Jaime Wilson having scored 4 goals showed he is completely out of touch with reality.  He has zero contacts which is surely a must for a dof and we've missed out on numerous players from the likes of livie where you would think he should have a decent relationship and idea of the talent. If we want to waste money and have him solely involved in the youth set up then fine but I wouldn't let him near any more of our budget given the amount he's pissed down the drain so far in the two transfer windows he's been in place for.

 

I’m pretty confident that the new board, given there is fan representation will fully understand how us, the fans, feel about Holt and empty him quickly.

[Guest Ecosse83]

7 minutes ago, Grangemouth Bairn said:

I’m pretty confident that the new board, given there is fan representation will fully understand how us, the fans, feel about Holt and empty him quickly.

Here’s hoping you are right. I’m starting to get very disappointed at the lack of information coming from the new directors. I know they have got a lot of their plates but We haven’t heard a thing since the new manager was announced on Friday evening. 
 

I’d like an announcement to exactly when he is due to start from the club and not just a bit of hearsay on pie and bovril! 

[Reggie Perrin]

4 minutes ago, Ecosse83 said:

Here’s hoping you are right. I’m starting to get very disappointed at the lack of information coming from the new directors. I know they have got a lot of their plates but We haven’t heard a thing since the new manager was announced on Friday evening. 
 

I’d like an announcement to exactly when he is due to start from the club and not just a bit of hearsay on pie and bovril! 

Behave yourself, they are barely in the door!

Obviously we all want to know all the latest info and chat but please bear in mind that they have just taken over the biggest shambles in Scottish football and may just be a wee bit busy focusing on the nuts and bolts of running the club at the moment.

Going forward I would absolutely agree that communications with the fans is a very important element of the renaissance of the club.

[Newbornbairn]

7 hours ago, Shadwell Dog said:

I actually think that I'd rather we had a dof or individual who knows feck all about football tactics etc 

 

Oh well, we've got that covered.

[glasgow_bairn]

Iv seen a few people on various forums slagging Paddy Martin’s performances. Some even saying they want him out of the team in January.

I find this baffling. For me, he’s been one of the only players who’s not really put a foot wrong. In some cases, he’s kept us from more absolute trouncings.

[ebobsboy]

They new guys might believe in the model but get some c**t in that can actually do a competent job and get Holt to f**k. 

[Guest Ecosse83]

1 hour ago, Reggie Perrin said:

Behave yourself, they are barely in the door!

Obviously we all want to know all the latest info and chat but please bear in mind that they have just taken over the biggest shambles in Scottish football and may just be a wee bit busy focusing on the nuts and bolts of running the club at the moment.

Going forward I would absolutely agree that communications with the fans is a very important element of the renaissance of the club.

Behave myself for wanting the club to tell us what’s happening with the new manager and when he will be starting his job? I’m sorry but that’s not too much to ask for! 

[ilostmyself]

Iv seen a few people on various forums slagging Paddy Martin’s performances. Some even saying they want him out of the team in January.

I find this baffling. For me, he’s been one of the only players who’s not really put a foot wrong. In some cases, he’s kept us from more absolute trouncings.

I think he's been pretty good too, let down by a horrific defence. Even if Mutch was fit I don't think I'd be dropping Martin. He does need to work on his distribution I think though.

[ShaggerG]

2 hours ago, glasgow_bairn said:

Iv seen a few people on various forums slagging Paddy Martin’s performances. Some even saying they want him out of the team in January.

I find this baffling. For me, he’s been one of the only players who’s not really put a foot wrong. In some cases, he’s kept us from more absolute trouncings.

He's not a bad 'keeper but he's like a rabbit in the headlights a lot of the time. Don't think he's the most physical of goalkeepers either. Mutch hadn't been great before being dropped, but I think I'd prefer him of the two.