Five memorable mid-season Falkirk signings
It’s understandable that this was the case given the uncertainty during the month of January about when or if football would return for clubs in League 1 and 2.
So, with nothing to report on the transfer front from the Bairns last month, we decided to take a look back at some of the more memorable and successful signings made by the club over the past ten mid-season windows.
1 – Myles Hippolyte (January 2016)
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Hide AdThe English winger had began his career with Brentford but didn’t make an appearance for the The Bees and spent the first half of his career playing non-league football south of the border.
It was Livingston, then managed by John McGlynn, who took a chance on Hippolyte and brought him to Scottish football in 2014.
After a season and a half with The Lions, Peter Houston brought him to the Falkirk Stadium in January 2016 for an undisclosed fee.
His first goal came on a memorable day for the Bairns when he scored their second at Ibrox in the 3-2 win where they had been 2-0 down after just nine minutes.
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Hide AdDuring the 2016-17 season Hippolyte scored eight goals in 35 appearances and six goals in 16 appearances during the first half of the 2017–18 season before leaving to join St Mirren in January 2018.
2 – John Baird (January 2015)
The striker was already a well know name in Scottish football when he signed for the Bairns in January 2015, having turned out for nine different clubs including Stenhousemuir, Airdrie, Dundee and two successful spells with Raith Rovers.
He had been with Queen of the South for just half a season when he was released and Peter Houston moved quickly to snap him up.
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Hide AdHe scored on his debut for the club, a 3–3 draw away to Hibs, the first of 32 goals he’d rack up in 87 appearances for Falkirk before leaving to join Inverness CT in June 2017.
3 – Mark Kerr (January 2015)
Sticking with the 2015 January transfer window and Baird wasn’t the only player brought in after being released from Queen of the South.
Bairns’ academy graduate Mark Kerr had been away from the club for 12 years when he made his return for a second stint.
Playing over 100 times between 1998 and 2003, the midfielder turned out for Dundee United, Aberdeen, Asteras Tripolis, Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee, Partick Thistle and Queens before agreeing to leave the Dumfries club by mutual consent in December 2014.
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Hide AdHe linked up again with current Bairns co-manager Lee Miller, who he had played alongside during his first spell and was likewise back with the club after over a decade away, and added to the 107 appearances he made in a Bairns shirt the first time around with a further 98 over three years before being released in January 2018.
4 – Aaron Muirhead (January 2015)
The 2015 January transfer window was a busy one for Peter Houston’s Bairns and was for sure a successful one.
Partick Thistle defender Aaron Muirhead joined Falkirk after his release from the Jags and would go one to spend four years at the Falkirk Stadium.
During that time he would make 110 appearances, score ten goals and be named Club Captain after Mark Kerr’s departure.
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Hide AdAfter leaving Falkirk he joined Ayr United where he is now managed by Kerr.
Muirhead was involved in several memorable matches over his four years including the 2015 Scottish Cup Final, two consecutive second place finishes in the Ladbrokes Championship and the 2016 play-off semi final.
5 – Will Vaulks (February 2013)
Steven Pressley took a chance on a young, unknown midfielder who had began his career with Tranmere Rovers before English joining non-league side Workington.
A clause in his contract with the Cumbria based club meant he could leave at any point to join a professional club and did so when the Bairns came calling in February 2013.
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Hide AdHe made his debut on March 9 in a 2–0 loss at Greenock Morton and ended the season with six appearances.
He scored his first Falkirk goal in November 2013 at home in a 4-1 win over Livingston and his impressive performances over his first nine months with the Bairns earned him a trial at Blackburn Rovers in January 2014.
Vaulks remained with Falkirk for the rest of the season though and would be named in the PFA Scottish Championship Team of the Year.
At the end of the season the Bairns were able to secure Vaulks on a new three year contract which would land them a decent sum of cash when he left in July 2016 to sign for Rotherham United.
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Hide AdThe Bairns raked in even more cash from a sell on clause as Vaulks joined Cardiff City June 2019.
He has continued to improve as a player since leaving Falkirk, becoming an integral part of the Cardiff side and winning six caps for the Welsh national side.