The Falkirk FC Thread

[JulioBairn]

The new regime have got a lot right to be fair to them but holy shit that is bad. 

[Braes_Bairn]

Does read like a last throw of the dice. In what world did they think the insulting tone of that email would encourage more people to sign up?

In a cost of living crisis, trying to shame people into signing up is not the way to succeed. Fans have already stepped up in buying season tickets and pay at the gate.

Interesting to also read that the £400k loss is based on increasing income by 45% so it will likely be much much worse in reality. There’s hardly been a big influx of sponsors and advertisers and hospitality is much quieter than previous years so I can’t see how they are going to manage their income targets.

The FAQs state that borrowing the money will be the option if fans don’t buy them. Who is going to lend us money in the current climate?

Will be interesting to see the Going Concern statement in the accounts which should be due in the next few weeks. Pains me to say it but wouldn’t be surprised to see administration by Christmas based on the content of that email.

[18BAIRN76]

It’s not even a begging letter though; I dare say a letter literally on their knees begging fans to join would probably have gone over better than emotional blackmailing 90% of the fan base who’ll buy season tickets or pay at the gate, go to away games and buy merchandise and food/drink from the club as ‘not true supporters’.

[Springfield]

4 minutes ago, Braes_Bairn said:

Does read like a last throw of the dice. In what world did they think the insulting tone of that email would encourage more people to sign up?

In a cost of living crisis, trying to shame people into signing up is not the way to succeed. Fans have already stepped up in buying season tickets and pay at the gate.

Interesting to also read that the £400k loss is based on increasing income by 45% so it will likely be much much worse in reality. There’s hardly been a big influx of sponsors and advertisers and hospitality is much quieter than previous years so I can’t see how they are going to manage their income targets.

The FAQs state that borrowing the money will be the option if fans don’t buy them. Who is going to lend us money in the current climate?

Will be interesting to see the Going Concern statement in the accounts which should be due in the next few weeks. Pains me to say it but wouldn’t be surprised to see administration by Christmas based on the content of that email.

 Agree with your last sentence 

[18BAIRN76]

More I think about it the more fuming I’m getting. Finally getting the feeling fans were getting on board with a large part of that down to the players and management, but this just alienates folk. So daft.

[Bairnardo]

1 minute ago, 18BAIRN76 said:

More I think about it the more fuming I’m getting. Finally getting the feeling fans were getting on board with a large part of that down to the players and management, but this just alienates folk. So daft.

Me too. The one that got me whilst I was driving there, the "latent fanbase of 5000" thing. Almost 5000 are coming through the gate on a routine basis, in the third tier, after years of utter shit shovelled our way both on and off the park, including some pretty direct attacks on the fans.

They are very lucky to be stewarding a club who can command that as an income stream. A bit more thought regarding actions which might push some of those away might be in order. 

[Dawson Park Boy]

Personally, I won’t invest anymore until I can be assured that the forecast losses are correct (not understated) and that the total losses are covered.

I still maintain that the FSS membership of 500 is disappointing.

To do that I think they should put out ‘pledge forms’ as they did a couple of years back to see what is possible and can be triggered at the appropriate time.

That way, cash isn’t going into a bottomless pit and investors can be assured that their money is safe at least up to the end of the season.

[FalkirkBairn2021]

Absolutely disgusting communication. What are these clowns up to?

[Grangemouth Bairn]

I’m more saddened than angered by this tbh. My entire family are/were all Falkirk through and through. My great-grandfather, Papa, dad, uncles, brother, cousins and my sons. Attending games regularly since before WW2. For them to come out with this pish is insulting not just to 90% of our fans but also to anyone who has ever supported our club. 
 

They are lucky to have such a loyal bunch of supporters who back the team through thick and mainly thin. The last few years have been awful but we’ve stuck on in there. 
 

This makes them no better than the old board in their treatment of us and they can f**k right off. 
 

As lots of you have said despicable timing when there are people who are really struggling financially. 
 

Just when McGlynn and the boys had given us something to smile about too.

Self righteous Arseholes.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Grangemouth Bairn

[Shabba]

If the tone of the email was along the lines of “we are really struggling now, we need help or the consequences are x, y and z” it would have had a far more receptive audience. The on field performances have given us all hope that better times are coming. There’s no need to make it so passive aggressive and suggesting that you aren’t a real fan unless you’re a patron or FSS member is just wild. I think they need to remember the majority of people have no interest anything other than watching a game on a Saturday

[Dunning1874]

That's appalling stuff.

Every fan organisation tries to increase their membership, they have a responsibility to do so, but there are so many ways they can do it without being tone deaf. You could even still directly reference percentages relative to season ticket holders or average attendances without directly insulting everyone who hasn't joined. That kind of emotional blackmail can only be counter productive and make people less likely to join.

[FalkirkBairn2021]

It reads as pure Tory. This is the kind of w**k the Daily Fail churns out.

'Millionaires are paying more than you in tax.. How's that fair? Can't you peasants take on a 4th job to start pulling your weight?'

It's completely irrelevant whether 10 fans have paid 20 quid or 200 grand each. How dare they imply families worried if they can pay a mortgage and a fuel bill aren't giving enough to an entertainment industry. 

Irresponsible tone deaf Truss-esque gibberish.

[gav-ffc]

50 minutes ago, roman_bairn said:

Is it an option for supporters to contribute less that £10 per month? Say £5 for example?
If we are not flexible enough to allow people to pay what they can afford then we have no reason to complain about a lack of members imo…..

Agreed on this having more options is what is needed, perhaps under16s at a couple quid a month, also perhaps a monthly raffle prize for members along the lines of B4L and I know people will say that’s taking money out the club each month but long term you’ll probably get more members.

[18BAIRN76]

54 minutes ago, roman_bairn said:

Is it an option for supporters to contribute less that £10 per month? Say £5 for example?
If we are not flexible enough to allow people to pay what they can afford then we have no reason to complain about a lack of members imo…..

Spot on. I along with many, many others have suggested a £5 starting rate more than once and have been met with 'it's something we're looking at' every single time it comes up.

[Rugster]

18 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said:

That's appalling stuff.

Every fan organisation tries to increase their membership, they have a responsibility to do so, but there are so many ways they can do it without being tone deaf. You could even still directly reference percentages relative to season ticket holders or average attendances without directly insulting everyone who hasn't joined. That kind of emotional blackmail can only be counter productive and make people less likely to join.

Just to be clear, and this actually makes it worse, it wasn’t written by the fans organisation it was written by the Falkirk board. 

[LatapyBairn.]

I actually quite like the brutal honesty of it, it certainly doesn’t offend me. There is no point in sugar coating things and to be honest I do agree the FSS numbers are pretty poor for a club our size, I’d like to think fans who can afford to do a bit more will. Do we want want to be a fan owned club or not? The model seems to be working well at other clubs of similar size so surely we can step up as a group and buy the shareholding that’s been made available to us, the idea that the club could sell of those unsold shares not to the fans but to another Mark Campbell type or even a Lex Miller type crook actually makes my blood run cold. We’d literally be back to square one from an ownership perspective, MSG mark 2! 

Edited September 29, 2022 by LatapyBairn.

[Zbairn]

4 minutes ago, LatapyBairn. said:

I actually quite like the brutal honesty of it, it certainly doesn’t offend me. There is no point in sugar coating things and to be honest I do agree the FSS numbers are pretty poor for a club our size, I’d like to think fans who can afford to do a bit more will. Do we want want to be a fan owned club or not? The model seems to be working well at other clubs of similar size so surely we can step up as a group and buy the shareholding that’s been made available to us, the idea that the club could sell of those unsold shares not to the fans but to another Mark Campbell type or even a Lex Miller type crook actually makes my blood run cold. 

Don’t think this is why there is so much negative comment.
It’s not the intended message folk are getting angry about, it’s the tone and way it was delivered.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, LatapyBairn. said:

I actually quite like the brutal honesty of it, it certainly doesn’t offend me. There is no point in sugar coating things and to be honest I do agree the FSS numbers are pretty poor for a club our size, I’d like to think fans who can afford to do a bit more will. Do want want to be a fan owned club or not? The model seems to be working well at other clubs of similar size so surely we can step up as a group and buy the shareholding that’s been made available, the idea that the club could sell of those unsold shares out of desperation to another Mark Campbell type or even a Lex Miller type crook actually makes my blood run cold. 

I don’t mind us being direct but the wording of the 10% / 90% bit IMO is not well worded and as has already been demonstrated is divisive. 
The rest of what you say I agree with. Fans either want fan ownership or they don’t. They have the ideal opportunity as it is. They either take up the chance by the end of October or they have take a smaller part moving forward as the club clearly needs investment. 

[Grangemouth Bairn]

8 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

I don’t mind us being direct but the wording of the 10% / 90% bit IMO is not well worded and as has already been demonstrated is divisive. 
The rest of what you say I agree with. Fans either want fan ownership or they don’t. They have the ideal opportunity as it is. They either take up the chance by the end of October or they have take a smaller part moving forward as the club clearly needs investment. 

It’s unprecedented times for the majority of people as everyone’s disposable income has been stretched to the limit. The majority of our fans want fan ownership however the majority of fans also cannot afford it or have other, more pressing priorities just now.

This statement is from OUR board to OUR fans. It’s an absolutely appalling statement to have issued.

If a member of our board has gone rogue and written this it’s bad enough but if this has been proof read by other people and still issued it’s bloody criminal.

[Shabba]

Did the Navy Blue group put 600k in or is that still a possibility?