The Falkirk FC Thread

[ShaggerG]

48 minutes ago, Braes_Bairn said:

“2000 fans would only have to contribute an average of £3.85 extra per week”

Asking fans to contribute an extra £3.85 a week would be the equivalent of putting pay at the gate prices up to £31 or season tickets up by £200 - is this good value for money for league 1 football?

I’m getting sick fed up of the begging bowl coming out and the ordinary fan getting the blame for the issues. By buying a season ticket (and possibly merchandise or hospitality too) ordinary fans are doing more than enough. If the club can’t balance the books with our level of support it is the board's job to find investment elsewhere.

“Our club is currently in a good place, both on and off the pitch”

If this was the case we would have had 2 begging letters in the last week.

It feels very much like deflecting the blame to the fans so that directors can walk away and claim it is not their fault when financial difficulties arise in the near future.

Oooft, where to begin with this?

No, it's not good value for L1 football, but IMO it's good value for keeping the club afloat and getting enough money in the coffers to allow us to put a good team on the pitch or keep us full time next season. It's imperative that we gain promotion this season or we could be staring at the abyss.

IMO the BOD will already be looking at attracting outside investment. They're not stupid and they know that getting enough sign-ups is highly unlikely to happen. That's got to be the right investment though or we'll end up being owned by some charlatan that could run the club into the ground to take what they can from it.

Having read the statement, I think it is the case that the club are in a good place at the moment, but they're trying to ensure that that continues and I don't read them as begging letters either, rather than outlining where we are and what they're trying to do about it. I can imagine the fall out if they rocked up at the end of the season to tell us that we're going part-time and we can't keep a hold of the players we've got without having outlined the issues they were facing.

I think you're last sentence says it all really. If you don't want to contribute or help, then don't, but don't come on here decrying the board who, as far as I can see, are working hard to try to get us on an even keel.

Quite frankly, I'm petrified that the club that I've followed since I was 11 years old may die before I do and I want to do all that I can to ensure that doesn't happen. I pay a lot more than £3.85 a week as I'm sure a lot of others do. All they're asking is that, if you can afford it then help, if you can't then don't. Continually whining about it doesn't help anybody though.

[AJ1981]

1 hour ago, Braes_Bairn said:

“2000 fans would only have to contribute an average of £3.85 extra per week”

Asking fans to contribute an extra £3.85 a week would be the equivalent of putting pay at the gate prices up to £31 or season tickets up by £200 - is this good value for money for league 1 football?

I’m getting sick fed up of the begging bowl coming out and the ordinary fan getting the blame for the issues. By buying a season ticket (and possibly merchandise or hospitality too) ordinary fans are doing more than enough. If the club can’t balance the books with our level of support it is the board's job to find investment elsewhere.

“Our club is currently in a good place, both on and off the pitch”

If this was the case we would have had 2 begging letters in the last week.

It feels very much like deflecting the blame to the fans so that directors can walk away and claim it is not their fault when financial difficulties arise in the near future.

Dude, your anger and resentment is unhealthy, particularly when you offer nothing by way of an alternative.

It's not rocket science, fan owned club seeks support from....duh....the fans. 

 

[AJ1981]

8 minutes ago, ShaggerG said:

Continually whining about it doesn't help anybody though.

It does if you actively want it to fail. 

[Guest FFC1965]

It's better to have good players who might sign for another club on a pre contract (or attract a January window fee) than duds on long contracts that nobody wants.   God knows we have had a lifetimes worth of the latter.

Appreciate that transfermarkt isn't infallible but it suggests that Lang, Spencer, MacIver, MIller, Nesbitt & Allan are contracted til 31.05.2025. 

Thats not bad - the first four are having very good seasons (along with Morrison Id say they are our standouts).

Id love to know that the likes of Morrison, Donaldson McCann & Yeats were going to be here next season but needs must and there wont be too many other clubs throwing money about   

[ShaggerG]

3 minutes ago, AJ1981 said:

It does if you actively want it to fail. 

Ah, Ok, explains a lot.

[ShaggerG]

4 minutes ago, FFC1965 said:

It's better to have good players who might sign for another club on a pre contract (or attract a January window fee) than duds on long contracts that nobody wants.   God knows we have had a lifetimes worth of the latter.

Appreciate that transfermarkt isn't infallible but it suggests that Lang, Spencer, MacIver, MIller, Nesbitt & Allan are contracted til 31.05.2025. 

Thats not bad - the first four are having very good seasons (along with Morrison Id say they are our standouts).

Id love to know that the likes of Morrison, Donaldson McCann & Yeats were going to be here next season but needs must and there wont be too many other clubs throwing money about   

Depends on the terms of their contracts though. There may be release clauses built in?

[LatapyBairn.]

5 hours ago, PedroMoutinho said:

I don’t disagree with the sentiment but to be frank I sincerely hope the board do not seriously think 3000 fans being FSS members is a possibility.

Of course they don’t! 

[Bairnardo]

It's frankly amazing that anyone involved directly or indirectly with the bowling club committee that brought us League 1 for multiple seasons, no academy, Gary Deans and Gary fucking Holt has the sheer fucking audacity to come on here even under a pseudonym and lecture the fans about how we're not capable of Stewarding the club and how it should have been left as their baw to treat us like fannies

You almost would have to laugh and give a wee tip of the hat, if it wasn't for the fact that even with the benefit of anonymity and communicating using the written word, "Braes Bairn" still manages to come across like an obnoxious bell end, and an absolute tory. 

[LatapyBairn.]

10 minutes ago, AJ1981 said:

It does if you actively want it to fail. 

Nail on head

[Sarcastic Bairn]

1 minute ago, Bairnardo said:

It's frankly amazing that anyone involved directly or indirectly with the bowling club committee that brought us League 1 for multiple seasons, no academy, Gary Deans and Gary fucking Holt has the sheer fucking audacity to come on here even under a pseudonym and lecture the fans about how we're not capable of Stewarding the club and how it should have been left as their baw to treat us like fannies

You almost would have to laugh and give a wee tip of the hat, if it wasn't for the fact that even with the benefit of anonymity and communicating using the written word, "Braes Bairn" still manages to come across like an obnoxious bell end, and an absolute tory. 

With greenies from the same people, hilarious.

[AJ1981]

2 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

..... even with the benefit of anonymity and communicating using the written word, "Braes Bairn" still manages to come across like an obnoxious bell end, and an absolute tory. 

Defo part of the old regime or one of their hanger's on sitting like poodles at the table, cap in hand, waiting for scraps....

[LatapyBairn.]

If we get promotion then great, there’s no real issue, if we can significantly increase FSS subs there’s no real issue, if we can do both even better and we are in fantastic shape as a fan owned club. If we do neither of these things there will either be some form of part time set up next season or the club possibly gets put up for sale, we abandon fan ownership and we hope for the best. 

Edited October 16, 2023 by LatapyBairn.

[AJ1981]

1 minute ago, LatapyBairn. said:

If we get promotion great, if we can significantly increase FSS subs great, if we can do both even better. If we do neither of these things there will either be some form of part time set up next season or the club possibly gets put up for sale, we abandon fan ownership and we hope for the best. 

Sadly yes, all the talk about begging bowls and blame is pathetic and self serving. If fan ownership doesn't work what next? 

[Bairney The Dinosaur]

1 hour ago, Braes_Bairn said:

It feels very much like deflecting the blame to the fans so that directors can walk away and claim it is not their fault when financial difficulties arise in the near future.

You can say all you want about the cost/value of FSS or that the announcements of 2/2.5/3k members are unrealistic (and I'd agree to an extent with that). 

The bit I've quoted is just complete fucking nonsense. I'd assume it comes from a place of ignorance rather than anything else and recommend you actually read the big statement that came out after the AGM or, if you are an FSS Member, go to the AGM update night they have planned.

This is what has been said from the AGM update.

"Supporters should be reassured that the club now has the ability to be run within its means. However, without an uplift in fan-funding this possibly means becoming part-time or hybrid next season, if still in League One, or having a Championship football budget which isn’t significantly larger than it is this season."

So because of the money that FSS currently bring in (£110k+) and the improvement in commercial income the club can be run sustainably, although this would likely mean part-time football in league 1, or a low to middle budget in the Championship. If we want to be a club that has a football budget large enough to contain a strong first team squad + an academy then more would be needed. It is as simple as that. 

[ShaggerG]

4 minutes ago, LatapyBairn. said:

If we get promotion great, if we can significantly increase FSS subs great, if we can do both even better. If we do neither of these things there will either be some form of part time set up next season or the club possibly gets put up for sale, we abandon fan ownership and we hope for the best. 

I wrote earlier about my fear that the club may die before I do and it got me thinking about my big mate Gordon McFarlane, the anniversary of whose death is at the end of this month. The title of 'superfan' gets bandied about too easily, but Gordon could certainly be described as that and he would have been right at the forefront of the FSS and probably on the BOD by now. He would have been upset at the thought of some having any sort of resistance to fans trying to save the club.

[AJ1981]

8 minutes ago, Bairney The Dinosaur said:

"Supporters should be reassured that the club now has the ability to be run within its means. However, without an uplift in fan-funding this possibly means becoming part-time or hybrid next season, if still in League One, or having a Championship football budget which isn’t significantly larger than it is this season."

Good spot. The fact is inescapable that there is a small cadre of posters who either don't like the current board, or the fan ownership model because their noses are out of joint, presumably as they had their arses kicked on the way out the door landing on their faces in the process. 

We all know who they are.

[Braes_Bairn]

8 minutes ago, Bairney The Dinosaur said:

"Supporters should be reassured that the club now has the ability to be run within its means. However, without an uplift in fan-funding this possibly means becoming part-time or hybrid next season, if still in League One, or having a Championship football budget which isn’t significantly larger than it is this season."

The club has the ability to run within its means yet at the same time talking of the possibility of part time football. Surely two sentences contradict each other?

Because I don’t believe fan ownership is a viable option I am suddenly part of  Gary Deans regime. 

[AJ1981]

2 minutes ago, Braes_Bairn said:

The club has the ability to run within its means yet at the same time talking of the possibility of part time football. Surely two sentences contradict each other?

Because I don’t believe fan ownership is a viable option I am suddenly part of  Gary Deans regime. 

Deans, or before....

Living within our means in league one is part time or hybrid, it must be hard work being so negative when some things are so straightforward and easy to see.

Edited October 16, 2023 by AJ1981

[ShaggerG]

3 minutes ago, Braes_Bairn said:

The club has the ability to run within its means yet at the same time talking of the possibility of part time football. Surely two sentences contradict each other?

Because I don’t believe fan ownership is a viable option I am suddenly part of  Gary Deans regime. 

It seems to me that you're looking for the negatives in everything. Those two sentences don't contradict each other.

[Sarcastic Bairn]

6 minutes ago, Braes_Bairn said:

The club has the ability to run within its means yet at the same time talking of the possibility of part time football. Surely two sentences contradict each other?

Because I don’t believe fan ownership is a viable option I am suddenly part of  Gary Deans regime. 

The state of that