The Falkirk FC Thread

[gav-ffc]

08/09 was one of my favourite seasons, the football was terrible but league cup semi, Scottish cup final and staying up on the last day I’ll take that over struggling away in league 1 for 5 seasons.

The Scottish cup run was sensational away to Hearts and Inverness and of course the semi at hampden. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, PedroMoutinho said:

I’d take a “not particularly enjoyable” season in the premier league any day over the shite we’ve endured recently. I can’t understand the criticism a manager who repeatedly kept us in the premier league playing largely attractive football gets.

The finances in the premier league make it possible to attract better players which leads to better football and better crowds. We were able to support a football budget of £2.7 million in 2008 (equivalent to over £4.1 million today).

100% with that.

Despite saying some of my favourite seasons were not in the SPL, any manager who gets us there and keeps us in it is rightly due plaudits. Yogi done great for us and to me the board of the time deserved more criticism for signing off on the deals especially, when Yogi was actively looking to move on at the point. Still have a lot of respect for Yogi for all he did for us and was delighted to see him get voted on the Legends Stand. 
 

Edited September 6, 2023 by Van_damage

[Bainsfordbairn]

Really enjoyed last night. In the second half I was sitting in front of the Ayr fans under the main stand between the old and new dugouts. All they did was moan about their team and scream abuse at players and management. Meanwhile the Falkirk fans at the other end of the ground were signing their hearts out and loving every minute. 

"What are you effing passing it back for?" 

"Look at the amount of space that c*nts got to run at us". 

"Is there any chance one of you useless ****** ***** could put in a tackle?" 

The absolute highlight was one of the Ayr players running over to the dugout and yelling who the F his teammate was supposed to be marking. 

For the last six years I've been sitting in front of the Falkirk support hearing our fans scream the same things almost every week, Apart from the covid period, when I was reading them online after the match. 

Last night the boot was on the other foot. Long may it continue. 

 

[NavyBlueArmy1876]

Even a shite premiership season > any non title winning championship season.

I think a combination of the likes of Hibs, Hearts, Rangers, Dunfermline being down in the champ (and on the flipside the likes of Hamilton, Livi, Ross County being in the top league) and the fact we have done remarkably well in the scottish cup for a lower tier side have masked a lot of what we may otherwise have missed in the top flight 

Edited September 6, 2023 by NavyBlueArmy1876

[falkirkbairn23]

Think the best for me is 06.07

Some incredible results, albeit if I remember we fell off a cliff in the second half of the season. Sometimes feel for the kids growing up supporting a league one Falkirk side

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, NavyBlueArmy1876 said:

Even a shite premiership season > any non title winning championship season.

I think a combination of the likes of Hibs, Hearts, Rangers, Dunfermline being down in the champ (and on the flipside the likes of Hamilton, Livi, Ross County being in the top league) and the fact we have done remarkably well in the scottish cup for a lower tier side have masked a lot of what we may otherwise have missed in the top flight 

Good point. 

Can only be one or two things that swings a memorable season in to a poor one. Guess staying at the top league will always present an opportunity to do something better every season. Just wish it wasn’t as much a closed shop as it is. The playoffs are still too weighted in their favour for my liking. 

[FalkirkBairn2021]

Most annoying thing about our Premier spell is that it's really difficult to get relegated. Much much easier to stay up than win the Championship. 

Still infuriates me how asleep at the wheel our board were to allow us to go down. It was completely avoidable.

[Senor Bairn]

I used to go to Falkirk games on and off until around the 2008 cup final (I was 12 at the time) so I can remember some of the SPL years but not as much as the past 15 years where I've been going home and away. Peak excitement for me was the 14/15 season and the 15/16 season. 
 

Houstie began to shape a team that had to contend with Hearts Rangers and Hibs in the second tier. the first half of the season wasn't great, but the emergence of the likes of Peter grant, Vaulks, Alston and Sibbs along with Rory Loy, you could see we were building a team. Signing Mark Kerr and John Baird in the January window made the team brilliant and I have no doubt if they were cup tied we'd have won the cup that year. Peak game was the 3-2 victory against 22 game unbeaten Hearts at Tynecastle. 
 

The fact I was legally allowed to drink and every second away day was either through in Edinburgh or away to Ibrox was also fantastic.

 

The 15/16 season was just as good if not better. Houston's side were very very direct and I can actually remember moaning about the football sometimes (silly c**t) , but gave us some of the most swash buckling moments I've ever seen. Hippolyte and Vaulks long throws into the box. John Baird racking up hat tricks. Last minute equalisers and winners every second game courtesy of Bob McHugh, a midfield of Kerr Taiwo Vaulks and Sibbald .
 

A lot of people will remember the victory's at home against rangers (2-1 and 3-2) and also the play off semis against Hibs, but my actual favourite game that year was on a Tuesday night at Easter Road when we were gunning to nail down second spot in the league. 2-0 down and a man down after with about 10 minutes to go. Sure we scored in something like the 88th minute to make it 2-1 then Bob McHugh caught onto the end of a Vaulks throw in to make it 2-2 in the 90+god knows what minute. That fight summed that full squad up.
 

So aye, winning league 1 would be fantastic and top flight football is something we should aspire to, but for me, winning that championship or promotion from the second tier is something I can't wait for (whenever that happens lol)  
 

 

[Bigbrbairn]

My favourite season in the last 60 years have been the ones where we won promotion from League 2 or later the Championship. Great atmosphere and celebration. Lets face it we will be extremely lucky to be Premier Champs but i live in hope

[Ranaldo Bairn]

15 minutes ago, Bigbrbairn said:

My favourite season in the last 60 years have been the ones where we won promotion from League 2 or later the Championship. Great atmosphere and celebration. Lets face it we will be extremely lucky to be Premier Champs but i live in hope

Do you mean the Second Division in 1980?

Or the First Division wins in 91,94,03,05?

My favourite ever season is 93/94, since we are on the theme.

[RC55 FFC]

I would have said at a guess that my favourite seasons were outside the premier but it’s probably mixed bag.

Prem - 91/92, 94/95, 05/06, 06/07 & 07/08. 

1st Div - 90/91, 93/94, 02/03, 04/05 & 15/16.

 

[falkirkbairn23]

I very much miss the away end being full every week

[Ranaldo Bairn]

My two got into it in about 2014 but were too young to properly appreciate until about 16/17.

I feel terrible for them! It will get better, I keep telling them that. 

[HonestAl]

8 minutes ago, Ranaldo Bairn said:

Do you mean the Second Division in 1980?

Or the First Division wins in 91,94,03,05?

My favourite ever season is 93/94, since we are on the theme.

I immediately thought the OP meant Scottish League Div 2 in 1969-70 with Fergie & co.

Edited September 6, 2023 by HonestAl
Spelling

[Ranaldo Bairn]

Just now, falkirkbairn23 said:

I very much miss the away end being full every week

Yeah, getting it right up large numbers of oppo fans is extremely delightful.

[falkirkbairn23]

24 minutes ago, Ranaldo Bairn said:

My two got into it in about 2014 but were too young to properly appreciate until about 16/17.

I feel terrible for them! It will get better, I keep telling them that. 

2016/17 is the best we've since the mid 2000's!

[Bigbrbairn]

35 minutes ago, Ranaldo Bairn said:

Do you mean the Second Division in 1980?

Or the First Division wins in 91,94,03,05?

My favourite ever season is 93/94, since we are on the theme.

Second division to first after those horrible late 70's when we went part time and played in front of two men and a dug.

Then the scenes after winning the league. Fans staying in Brockville to salute the team.

Winning ANY league is a very special occasion and if/when we win this horrible league ( worse than Second Division in 70's i think ) the celebrations and immense relief will live in an old mans fading memory for as long as i still have one.

Falkirk and Dunfermline were traditional yoyo teams between First and Second division and i think the rivalry started then. The relegations expecially to the new third tier with the shire were horrible but any league win is a achievement 

[KiwiDB]

8 hours ago, Gaz said:

I've said this before but a lot of our SPL seasons weren't particularly enjoyable.

Even in our 04/05 season, we were brilliant up until January and then for some reason signed Alan Kernaghan and went to a back five of James, Hughes and Kernagan playing utter hoofball.

05/06 we were dreadful at home and didn't win a home game until April.

06/07 we finished 7th playing some great football. 07/08 we were the same.

08/09 we were absolutely terrible and only stayed up because of Higdon's arse. Hughes jettisoned his philosophy of signing young, hungry players and instead gave a last payday to his old, past-it mates (McNamara and McCann to name two). The cup final run papered over some cracks and Hughes knew he'd fucked up and that's why he fucked off.

09/10 we were absolutely dreadful. It was obvious after about three games that Eddie May was not cut out to be a manager.

06-07 and 07-08 were the last two seasons I was a regular attendee, man that makes it feel so long ago..

Amazing times to be a Falkirk fan and certainly the pinnacle over the last 30 odd years I've been following us.

[Hank von Hell]

I reckon the posts from the last 2 pages indicate that this currently is not a "Great time to be a Bairn".

Wining L1 will be an achievement considering we are now relevant to the league but with a slightly higher standard of player than most teams in it. I won't be jumping for joy, I will just breathe a huge sense of relief when we get out of it. Winning L1 would be the us on the road back where we should be.

I'm sorry I subscribe to the "we shouldn't be in it in the first place pish". I look at clubs like St Mirren and Motherwell , how well they are doing in the Premier and truly believe they are no bigger clubs than us......so why not us (spoiler - see last sentence for the answer) ?

A club of our stature should at the very least be competing in the Champo to win it, not languishing in Div 3 - and I think most of us know this.    

Football is indeed played out on the pitch and we have no divine right to be successful, but the destiny of a club can also be decided in the boardroom and we are where we are due to a catalogue of disasters and mismanagement by successive past Boards (not this current one thankfully.). 

Edited September 7, 2023 by Hank von Hell

[Bairnardo]

3 hours ago, Hank von Hell said:

I reckon the posts from the last 2 pages indicate that this currently is not a "Great time to be a Bairn".

Wining L1 will be an achievement considering we are now relevant to the league but with a slightly higher standard of player than most teams in it. I won't be jumping for joy, I will just breathe a huge sense of relief when we get out of it. Winning L1 would be the us on the road back where we should be.

I'm sorry I subscribe to the "we shouldn't be in it in the first place pish". I look at clubs like St Mirren and Motherwell , how well they are doing in the Premier and truly believe they are no bigger clubs than us......so why not us (spoiler - see last sentence for the answer) ?

A club of our stature should at the very least be competing in the Champo to win it, not languishing in Div 3 - and I think most of us know this.    

Football is indeed played out on the pitch and we have no divine right to be successful, but the destiny of a club can also be decided in the boardroom and we are where we are due to a catalogue of disasters and mismanagement by successive past Boards (not this current one thankfully.). 

Agree with most of what you are saying tbh, but I will take this season for what it is and enjoy it if we succeed. Life's to short not to. Its all relative. Success is success at the end of the day. 

 

Secondly, I demand an immediate apology for "champo"