As John has said, transfer deadline day was his most intense. Early season gave us the confidence and financial headroom to invest in our squad. Fans know that the club budgeted for breakeven this season, which brings its own challenges competing against clubs with several years of Championship or Premiership money, as well as owners with deep pockets.

All of this underscores how incredibly well John and Paul have done since mid-2022, in the wake of our worst ever season and when the club was in crisis mode. Their eye for a player is uncanny and style of play has won widespread plaudits. They have been central to the club’s re-energisation.

That’s why they were offered a long-term contract that the board is delighted that they accepted. The McGlynn-Smith Era will, we hope, be seen alongside or even better than others, like Cunningham, Jefferies, Totten, Hughes or Houston’s.

Bringing in Scott Arfield has undoubtedly lifted the squad and captured the wider football community’s attention. But being able to bring in several players has given John and Paul options and depth for our eight cup finals between now and May.

Another important cup final takes place on Tuesday the11th of March at The Falkirk Stadium as we try to win the magnificent Stirlingshire Cup. The tournament has been an excellent opportunity for our youth, modern apprentice, and fringe players.

We thank Ryan Shanley, Michael McKenna, and Callumn Morrison and wish them all the best as they move on. Callumn has been one of the club’s most significant players of this decade. While the circumstances around his departure caused some discussion, we hope Callumn is remembered for his contribution as our leading scorer across several seasons and, of course, as an Invincible.

Building your club

This board’s mandate remains to grow our club under our form of fan ownership.

While success on the park is always front-and-centre, we take a long-term to rebuilding from the barren years in League One. Strengthening our club long-term and success now cannot be a zero-sum game. A more professional, more resilient Falkirk FC will be able to better fend for itself against increasingly lop-sided prize money in Scottish football, and inevitable bumps in the road.

So here are a few things we’re doing to build your club back stronger:

o Bringing the Kevin McAllister Stand into the club’s full ownership happened because of fan ownership. Sandy Alexander, who financed the construction of the stand the last time we were in the top flight, is a lifelong Bairn himself and continues to be an immense friend of the club. His vision of a “new Hope Street End” now exists in reality, bouncing every week, almost inhaling the ball into the net like Hope Street did. Owning the stand outright also puts the club in a stronger position when talking to potential investors.

o We are in the process of scoping a safe-standing area in the KM7 Stand, subject to the necessary external permissions. We recognised that some of our fans want to stand during games and want to accommodate this as safe a way as possible.

o Permission to extend the Brockville Bar opening times and functions will improve the offering to fans and generate more income. More on that below. We would like to place on record our thanks to Falkirk Council’s licencing committee and officers.

o While a long way from breaking any ground, the board is actively consulting various parties about how we would deliver a new East Stand. All options are on the table, but we need to know how much it would cost, consider different design options, how we’d fund it, and how we can increase the club’s income through 365-days a year use.

o We continue to proactively consider how external investors can play their part in the next phase of the club’s development. Any investor will pay a fair value and bring with them more than just money, but also a commitment to helping develop the stadium and other aspects of the club’s growth.

o And we’re looking at how to bolster our football department, with more coaching, scouting and analytical, science and medical support. The return of chief scout Allan Fraser was an important step in the right direction.

Some of this is exciting, some of it deadly dull or at an early stage, but all of it important to how we build our club, treat our fans, and succeed on the park.

The club is also working behind the scenes, talking to the SPFL, SFA and fellow clubs, to challenge the senseless ban on synthetic pitches, despite another winter of horrendous grass surfaces blighting matches up and down the country. A dispute resolution process is now increasingly likely.

Commercial

It’s been a busy period for the commercial team, with plenty happening behind the scenes to keep driving the club forward.

We successfully launched a three match trial of Falkirk Focus, our new free-of-charge digital matchday programme, marking the first step in our digitisation project.

With renewal season underway, we’ve had fantastic conversations with partners across both kit and wider sponsorships, with many eager to continue working with the club in future seasons.

We’re also finalising sponsorship across all kits and have already taken steps to surpass this season’s sponsorship total, which was a record.

We’ve gathered hospitality feedback, receiving positive responses and valuable insights to refine and improve our offering.

Meanwhile, the Brockville Bar has been put to better use, starting with hosting fans for the Morton away game. We also trialled a new bottle bar for the Dunfermline match as we look to further enhance the experience and service.

Our Heritage Series launches on 28 March, giving supporters the chance to connect with the club’s rich history.

All hospitality and sponsorship packages for the season are now sold out, showing incredible support from our partners. On the advertising side, we’ve welcomed new businesses across both TV LED and physical stadium boards, with only limited availability remaining for those looking to get involved.

We appreciate the continued support from all our partners—plenty more to come!

Thanks to everyone who bought our limited-edition Scott Arfield strips and merchandise, and everyone who took part in the auction and raffles to sponsor his kits.

Demand to sponsor Scott was unprecedented and, as he was not a direct replacement for any departing player, we could not substitute an existing sponsor in, so had to find the fairest option. Sales of the heritage strips are important not only commercially, but also because of the contribution this means for the Seagull Trust, a local charity that provides canal cruises for elderly people and anyone with special needs.

And thanks to everyone who came to our Speakers’ Night on Friday, raising vital funds for our youth development pathway.

Having your say

Bairns will also have noticed much more activity from FSS. Members voted to select the home and away retro strips that will launch later this month. The club also sought FSS members’ views on alcohol and gambling sponsorship, a sensitive issue that needs more consideration than purely cash in the bank.

We have asked FSS to consult members about next season’s ticket prices and members also voted on an unexpected opportunity to donate unclaimed 50/50 prize money to charity.

FSS launched its innovative “Project 1876” which will give the 1100+ members more of a say in how FSS subscriptions are spent, be that on big ticket items like the squad or youth development, or smaller projects like safe standing, the Brockville Bar, or disabled facilities.

This is all very deliberate. Fan ownership has so far kept the club alive and helped it thrive. The FSS’s shareholding gives fans a safety-catch against the club falling into the wrong hands and its funding has helped strengthen the squad.

But what does the next phase of fan ownership look like? For us, it’s the third pillar of the FSS’s message, have your say. If you haven’t yet, please join the FSS if you can afford to. The FSS AGM takes place in late March.

Looking ahead

The club is actively thinking about next season. We are compiling detailed budgets for both scenarios of Championship and Premiership, though not for League One, now that we’re mathematically clear of the play-off position and automatic relegation. Next season’s strip and other clothing designs are at an advanced stage.

We’re also thinking carefully about ticket prices, especially season tickets. We’ll factor-in feedback from FSS members, but also any wider views. It is inevitable that prices will increase, not least because prices have been frozen for two seasons.

But we will do it fairly, considering all aspects of how we our pricing is structured and make sure we’re offering all fans the best deal we can.

We’ll take a close look at the under-12 offer. To be clear – we intend to maintain free season tickets for under-12s. This has been a hugely successful policy, helping families in difficult economic times, while building our fan-base over the years.

Our data has however shown that a considerable proportion of these tickets go unused, some matches up to 40%. No season ticket holder can make it to every game, we know that, but the higher number of no-shows from the free under-12 category suggests that we need to tweak the policy. This is especially important as more games selling out and the exceptional demand in the KM7 Stand.

An increasing number of fans have donated their tickets back to the club for resale under the ticket return scheme. We would ask all fans to consider this option so as many Bairns as possible can get to games.

Reading back that last paragraph, what a good problem to have! It reminds us how far this club has progressed, however this season ends.

And it reminds us to thank ever single Bairn for filling our stands week after week. We’ll continue to open part of the North Stand for Falkirk fans when the demand is there, so everyone who wants to can watch this incredible group of players.

Who knows what the next eight games will bring. But we know that, with your incredible backing, John and Paul’s squad will give their last ounce of energy to achieve the best they can for this club, your club.

Join the Falkirk Supporters Society

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