After finishing a lowly sixth in League 1 last season, Falkirk made yet another managerial change.
Since Peter Houstoun was let go in September 2017, Paul Hartley, Ray McKinnon, management duo David McCracken and Lee Miller, Paul Sheerin and Martin Rennie have all come and gone.
Former Raith Rovers boss John McGlynn is the latest man tasked with getting Falkirk back into the second tier.
He has been backed in the transfer market to do so, bringing in 12 players during the summer window.
Off the pitch
Falkirk’s off-the-field issues hit a nadir going on a year ago when things got heated, and at times contemptuous, during a supporters’ Q&A.
Director at the time Gordon Colborn was criticised when he asked fans to not boo players in case it made them nervous.
Gordon Colburn asks fans to not boo players:
Then-chairman Gary Deans later topped that by answering a detailed, well-thought-out question with “That’s a statement, not a question”.
Communication from the club has since improved.
A recent update following the end of the transfer window reiterated the main points of the business plan. These are:
- To ensure a well-funded first team to maximise our chances of winning promotion.
- To do so by growing income, tightly controlling costs and reducing operating losses.
- To continue to seek new investment and other income to cover those operating losses.
- To keep Youth Development at U16/U18 moving up to the next level from January 2026.
- To add a Development Squad (between U18’s and first team) from next season 2023/24.
The Falkirk Supporters Society has also been started and has around 500 subscribers paying £10 a month.
The aim is to raise money and buy shares in the club.
On the pitch
After progressing from their League Cup group stage, Falkirk got off to a shaky start in League 1.
They looked to have turned it around with three wins on the bounce but the last two results left supporters with a severe case of deja vu.
Courier Sport last week argued that the defeat to Kelty wasn’t as surprising as it may look, even if it was the Marron Machine’s first league victory.
Regardless, it was a worryingly familiar setback for a side marooned in League 1 for four seasons now.
Key players
Forward Callumn Morrison continues to wow and frustrate for the Bairns and is the club’s top scorer in the league with three.
He is the most accurate crosser in the divison, finding his target 83% of the time and has more touches in the opposition area than any other League 1 player.
On the other side Aidan Nesbitt can be a threat but, like Morrison, can drift out of games.
Midfield is an area where Falkirk boast some talent, not least the experienced Stephen McGinn.
Falkirk have out-passed every side in the league other than Airdrie and have the highest passing accuracy with 83%.
Another player worth noting is Gary Oliver – for his record versus Dunfermline.
The striker scored six times for Morton last season and four of those came against the Pars.
Two seasons before that, at Queen of the South, three of his five goals across the season came against Dunfermline.
Potential weaknesses
McGlynn has chopped and changed his defence, sometimes enforced, conceding eight goals to Dunfermline’s one.
That’s not to mention the three conceded to Dundee in the cup.
There has been disruption between the sticks too.
Promising goalkeeper PJ Morrison was injured last month in the defeat to Airdrie.
That meant Nicky Hogarth was brought in on loan from Nottingham Forest until January.
He has conceded seven goals in fives matches in all competitions, though has made a few impressive stops along the way.
Hogarth’s double-save versus FC Edinburgh:
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