The Falkirk FC Thread

[scottsdad]

7 minutes ago, Caractacus Potts said:

Not going to keep giving names so you can try mock them amongst others. Had enough.

This question always gets asked but there are always better managers out there and never in the past number of years have we regretted getting shot of anyone. You want to back McGlynn then I’ve no qualms with that. I’m not on here demanding you to think the same. 

I haven't mocked anyone's choices. But when people say we should change managers the natural next question is - who?

The criteria you put are sound enough - better than what we have and willing to come to us. I just don;t see many (or any) candidates.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Bairn in Exile said:

Ian McCall, aged 58, past his prime.

John McGlynn, aged 61, fine.

 

If McGlynn was going, and he shouldn’t, I would look at Marbury and Mark Kerr. Done an unbelievable job with Edinburgh. 
 

[Bainsfordbairn]

2 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

If McGlynn was going, and he shouldn’t, I would look at Marbury and Mark Kerr. Done an unbelievable job with Edinburgh. 
 

IMO Maybs should not have been sacked along with Houston and McDonaugh. He was in charge of the youth teams only and was doing a good job with them. 

 

[Guest]

Just as an aside on Martin Rennie. Clearly a salesman, and quite a good one going by his CV. Those sales skills certainly broadened into an ability to sell himself too via the gift of the gab and some ambiguous statements wrt his football achievements.

The bit that recently confirmed this for me was his LinkedIn CV. His time at Falkirk has been completely erased. It has been replaced by “running his own company”. Says it all. I think it’s fair to say his football management days are now well and truly done.

[TheScarf]

Is finishing 2nd in the league and getting to the cup semi final a sackable offence in Falkirk fans eyes?

Let's be honest, you were finishing 2nd at worst this season.

[Guest]

58 minutes ago, Caractacus Potts said:

What would have said if I mentioned James McPake last Summer? What if I said Owen Coyle last January or Lee Bullen?

People want names as it’s easy to mock. Someone good will never come to us, someone just been sacked isn’t good enough. The choices are slim but doesn’t mean to say there aren’t better out there. You’d need to speak to people within the game to make a more balanced judgement.  

Sure a lot on here wanted Brian Rice previously. 

All I know is I don’t personally trust McGlynn to take us forward. 

There was chat about building a squad but who will that be built upon? McCann, Donaldson have shown enough good as well as bad. Morrison might be away in the Summer and I’m not sure I’d want to keep paying decent wages for McGinn for another season. Henderson will do for me but it’s not a big building block to suggest we’re on the cusp of something. Almost need to rebuild a whole team again. 

Have you any idea what Owen Coyle would cost? 

[SouthStander1876]

2 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Is finishing 2nd in the league and getting to the cup semi final a sackable offence in Falkirk fans eyes?

Let's be honest, you were finishing 2nd at worst this season.

It's not, but some would have you think it is

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

3 minutes ago, Back Post Misses said:

Have you any idea what Owen Coyle would cost? 

As much as Leigh Griffiths?

[scottsdad]

12 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Is finishing 2nd in the league and getting to the cup semi final a sackable offence in Falkirk fans eyes?

Let's be honest, you were finishing 2nd at worst this season.

I do find it a wild take, to be honest. 

[FFC 1876]

19 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Is finishing 2nd in the league and getting to the cup semi final a sackable offence in Falkirk fans eyes?

Let's be honest, you were finishing 2nd at worst this season.

It's just frustration given how long we've fucked about in this hell hole of a league.

Last summer the expectation was playoffs at least but hopefully challenging for the league title so on that basis we've achieved our lowest expectation and we're now in a fantastic position to go finish the job in the playoffs. 

Edited May 2, 2023 by FFC 1876

[RRFC_Liam]

1 hour ago, Caractacus Potts said:

All I know is I don’t personally trust McGlynn to take us forward. 

Talking from experience if you do go up this season or even next and give a McGlynn another 2 year deal at the end of it he’ll get found out quickly in the championship because he can only play one way and when that goes Tits up he’s not got it tactically to change anything.

He’ll play the same 4231 “silky soccer” but change 1 or 2 players in and out… he can’t play against teams who sit back and play for long throws and set pieces, yes he got us in the play offs his first season back in the championship

but once he got found out the 2nd season we finished 5th on top of the DGW disaster and it was a toxic environment 

[grahamstonbairn]

26 minutes ago, Duncan Freemason said:

Just as an aside on Martin Rennie. Clearly a salesman, and quite a good one going by his CV. Those sales skills certainly broadened into an ability to sell himself too via the gift of the gab and some ambiguous statements wrt his football achievements.

The bit that recently confirmed this for me was his LinkedIn CV. His time at Falkirk has been completely erased. It has been replaced by “running his own company”. Says it all. I think it’s fair to say his football management days are now well and truly done.

Should never have been appointed in the first place.

[SouthStander1876]

1 minute ago, RRFC_Liam said:

Talking from experience if you do go up this season or even next and give a McGlynn another 2 year deal at the end of it he’ll get found out quickly in the championship because he can only play one way and when that goes Tits up he’s not got it tactically to change anything.

He’ll play the same 4231 “silky soccer” but change 1 or 2 players in and out… he can’t play against teams who sit back and play for long throws and set pieces, yes he got us in the play offs his first season back in the championship

but once he got found out the 2nd season we finished 5th on top of the DGW disaster and it was a toxic environment 

I'm not against parting ways with him eventually but I would literally kill for playoffs in the championship right now

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

47 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Is finishing 2nd in the league and getting to the cup semi final a sackable offence in Falkirk fans eyes?

Let's be honest, you were finishing 2nd at worst this season.

I’ll answer but just for your benefit so hopefully no one will bother responding as this has what I’ve said already. We were 2nd, 2 points off top and had been in a quarter final when M&M were sacked. Their results were not dissimilar to McGlynn and noone batted an eyelid when they were removed. I can totally appreciate why anyone would rather not get rid of McGlynn but I’ve been disappointed by our performances in big marches and our inability to sustain a title challenge. The Scottish Cup papered over the cracks with only Ayr being a team that we might not be able to win against. Even then they were on a run of poor form when we played them. 

The big difference between M&M and McGlynn is that the latter has secured the playoffs however I don’t think even we could imagine capitulating the way we did. M&M were sacked because they were losing the grasp on our chances of automatic promotion.

With that in mind I just don’t trust McGlynn to steer us through the playoffs and think there is still a big build to be done next season. Even if we got up I don’t trust McGlynn to take us further so better to twist now. It would be a bold move to make so I’m not going to blame the board for not making it but I think it might be our best shot of getting up this season. Next season, regardless of which league we are in, we need a manager who can build a team that first and foremost does not concede goals easy. McGlynn is not that man for me. 
 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Caractacus Potts

[FK1Bairn]

 Watford sack a manager every time they go more than 3 games without winning. They are well known as being a basket case club. 

We sacked Houston in 2017, Hartley in 2018, McKinnon in 2019, Miller & McCracken in 2021, Sheerin and Rennie in 2022 (strictly speaking Rennie wasn't sacked but simply told we weren't renewing his contract). There will come a time when if we don't at least try for some continuity and supporting managers in bad periods then nobody will want to come near us. 

Ultimately the buck for results and performances stops with McGlynn and Smith and although some selections and tactics have been baffling and infuriating, I believe it would be counter productive to do anything at this stage and they should be given next season for promotion if we don't do it this season. 

[AGPar]

6 minutes ago, Caractacus Potts said:

. Next season we need a manager regardless of which league we are in, we need a manager who can build a team that first and foremost does not concede goals easy. McGlynn is not that man for me. 
 

 

I'll be honest, if you are hoping for a change of manager, I think you are wasting your time. It is simply not going to happen. I'm towards the sceptical end of the McGlynn Fanboy spectrum but I would be utterly amazed if we don't start next season with him in charge, regardless of what happens over the next few weeks. The bare statistics of a second-place finish in the league and a Scottish Cup Semi-Final will have given him more than enough credit in the bank. Even our standard bottle job in the play-offs (and anyone who does not believe that is a strong possibility is deluding themselves) won't change anything.

Not saying I would be wildly enthusiastic about the above, but I'm not going to waste a single second on a scenario which simply is not going to happen. McGlynn isn't going anywhere.

[18BAIRN76]

22 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Is finishing 2nd in the league and getting to the cup semi final a sackable offence in Falkirk fans eyes?

Let's be honest, you were finishing 2nd at worst this season.

No.

McGlynn will not and should not be sacked, even if we don't go up. Talk of sacking him is incredibly stupid. He's on a two-year deal and has improved us enough this season to begin next season as our manager, regardless of what league we are in.

Getting to a semi-final was great and unexpected - and has undoubtedly boosted the club's finances. I do think it is a bit of a red herring though - we were never going to win the cup, and when you're Falkirk in League One, success or failure is always going to be measured on league performance. 

Opinion among the serious fans discussing it on here is clearly split. No one is disputing the mess than McGlynn came into, but it depends on what your expectations were going into the season. If your expectations were simply 'improve on last season', then those have clearly been met. However, as I said earlier, I still think our squad, as bad as it was, under-performed by finishing 6th - McGlynn being a competent football manager, with space to bring in his own players (as he has), was never going to do worse than that. Therefore, I am in the camp that finishing 14 points behind your rivals in the third-tier and a failure to mount any form of title challenge is exactly that - a failure.

However, that doesn't deem the season a failure yet - far from it. When appointed, McGlynn said the aim of the season was promotion. That is still entirely in our hands, and if achieved, the season will go down as a success. Every single Falkirk fan will tell you that we are fed up of this league and these next few weeks are so, so crucial. Hopefully we win the play-offs and this time next month are discussing building a squad fit for the Championship. If we fail to go up, the split in opinion will still be there. Some will see the progress as enough; others will begin to ask serious questions and see the overall season as a damp squib; others would simply call for his head. I would tend to fall more into the middle camp, but I do still think McGlynn would have done enough to get a second bite at it. 

That is my opinion on where we are at the moment. However, it's really immaterial until after the play-offs.

 

[Guest Caractacus Potts]

7 minutes ago, FK1Bairn said:

 Watford sack a manager every time they go more than 3 games without winning. They are well known as being a basket case club. 

We sacked Houston in 2017, Hartley in 2018, McKinnon in 2019, Miller & McCracken in 2021, Sheerin and Rennie in 2022 (strictly speaking Rennie wasn't sacked but simply told we weren't renewing his contract). There will come a time when if we don't at least try for some continuity and supporting managers in bad periods then nobody will want to come near us. 

Ultimately the buck for results and performances stops with McGlynn and Smith and although some selections and tactics have been baffling and infuriating, I believe it would be counter productive to do anything at this stage and they should be given next season for promotion if we don't do it this season. 

Forgetting McGlynn for a second but in hindsight would you say any of those sackings were wrong?

[Guest]

44 minutes ago, Caractacus Potts said:

As much as Leigh Griffiths?

That will be a no then 

[Bairnardo]

Please...

 

  PLEASE can we fucking leave it now ffs