Zaliukas v Pressley

[hughesie27]

Pressley every day of the week.

[Old Hearts]

There's a chance that this thread might finally get back on topic.....with the opening of the Star Wars v Star Trek debate thread, the 'geek squad' will be away hovering around that thread, like flies round sh**e, for a while.

[Tommy Wiseau]

Just to keep everyone in the loop, Old School was earlier seen on this thread moaning about other posters being disrespectful.

 

It's like trolling Inception, except not as clever.

[dav1e]

Together they would have been brilliant. Can't decide one over the other though.

Both great servants to the club,

[Cesni]

 

 

Spot on mate. Absolutely spot on.

 

The thing is it could have been Pressley saying this going by his interviews since retirement, he'd probably be the first to admit how limited he was as a player!

 

For sure mate he would without a doubt! Ironic as it may be he does have a positive vision for a modern Scottish football!

 

Don't want to digress from the thread too much, though I always thought the problem was rife in grass roots level. So much focus on fitness rather than technical ability. My mate who was a very good player was told, after his game was called off due to heavy snow, that they were to run up and down the dunes down at cockenzie!! In heavy snow!! No wonder his knees are now goosed.

 

I got the worst (or best) text ever from a coach of mines, not a high standard simply played Saturday mornings though half our team was junior players sneaking in an extra game before theirs in the afternoon (crazy I know)! He was a physical yet limited, typically vocal defender. He sent this on the Morning of a quarter final:

 

"Lads, today is a big game for us today. I don't want to see no Zinidene Zidanes' or Christiano Ronaldos'! I want to see Conan the Barbarian out there"

 

It Kind of summed of Scottish football mentality for me. It's really refreshing to see the young guys taught in a more modern style with thoughtful distribution and looking for the space. To get back on to debate, Pressely and the like served their time well as players, hearts fans should thank him for his service and rightfully he is up there with our best captains, though there are new traits in a defender that are needed for the modern game, more the Zal style of player and to progress Scottish football moving forward! If someone like Elvis can see the need for change from his style, then the fans need to be more patient with defenders who attempt to play from the back and they shan't be labelled 'bombscare" when mistakes are initially made!

[perthbilbo]

Pressley didn't really show how good a defender he was until Davie Weir left. After that he became the rock of the team, bringing on young players like Gordon & Webster for example. I distinctly remember a match against Falkirk when Gordon was sent off, Pressley also scored an own goal to make it 2-0 to them but down to 10 men he showed spirit and commitment and scored us two goals in the last few minutes, doubt many captains would've shown that determination to get forward down to 10. So Pressley for me.

[perthbilbo]

Presley every time

[i wish jj was my dad]

Think the OP just about has it right. Zaliukas has become part of the fabric of the club and has become a much more reliable player. He's better going forward than Pressley was but I would say less dependable at the back. Probably doesn't pose the same threat at set pieces as Pressley did. In terms of captaincy, they've both had to skipper the team under very trying circumstances. Pressley was very obviously the leader and the boss, Zal is maybe fortunate in that he has Webster beside him to help kick backsides when necessary.

 

Excellent point.

 

They are clearly different types of guys and players but both had a tough time settling in before developing into the legends they both became. We have been very lucky to have them.

 

For me, Zal was a far more talented player where Elvis got the very best out of his relative limitations.

[Old Hearts]

Just to keep everyone in the loop, Old School was earlier seen on this thread moaning about other posters being disrespectful.

 

It's like trolling Inception, except not as clever.

 

I post and the social misfit appears again .... Surprise, surprise.

[Generic Username]

Just to keep everyone in the loop, Old School was earlier seen on this thread moaning about other posters being disrespectful.

 

It's like trolling Inception, except not as clever.

 

It's a shit troll within a shit troll within a shit troll.

[BigAlim]

Old School tries to wind up strangers on the internet, of course everyone else are the geeks...

[The People's Chimp]

In light of new information can you make a few changes to the agenda you sent out for next week's Bizarro Clique meeting?

 

Scrap agenda item 1: the awareness campaign. It turns out that people do still post about us after all so we can cancel the leaflet and poster order as well.

 

Scrap agenda item 2: membership recap. I've been reliably informed that membership consists of you, me, Mothy, Clerry Jambo, Etc. Though not sure who this Etc fella is and Clerry hasn't attended a meeting for years. Mothy is always steaming at meetings and your fees are overdue!

 

Can we add an agenda item in called: Standards of Posting. I'll get certificates made up for the rest of you who have attained the "Scott Jambo Decent Stuff" award and I'd like twenty minutes set aside so that I can make a heartfelt apology to the rest of the Clique for letting you all down.

 

Cringe.

 

Painful stuff.

[Generic Username]

Old School tries to wind up strangers on the internet, of course everyone else are the geeks...

 

I'm just glad he's posting on here now instead of slating the place on P&B.

[Tommy Wiseau]

 

 

I post and the social misfit appears again .... Surprise, surprise.

 

More trolling and abuse from you, Old School.

 

You just can't help yourself, can you? It's like watching Stephen Hawking at a buffet.

 

Except not as clever, obviously.

 

[:shitwine:]

Budgie's been Budgied

 

 

All thats needed is an out-of-place meme of some kind...

[Pilmuir]

I didn't go. Him being the reason why.

 

The crowd was about 5k iirc and largely made up of little girls and arseholes. Don't go taking that as how the genuine Heart of Midlothian fans feel about him.

 

For that - see his banner.

 

Heavens above. So you didn't go to Robbie's testimonial because Pressley was there? I've read some nonsense on here but that really takes the biscuit.

[I.J]

Heavens above. So you didn't go to Robbie's testimonial because Pressley was there? I've read some nonsense on here but that really takes the biscuit.

 

I didn't go because Robbie Neilson was, is, and ever shall be ******* shite. Plus Pressley was there.

 

Deal with it.

[The Real Maroonblood]

I didn't go because Robbie Neilson was, is, and ever shall be ******* shite. Plus Pressley was there.

 

Deal with it.

What a right slaver you are.

[smiler]

I didn't go because Robbie Neilson was, is, and ever shall be ******* shite. Plus Pressley was there.

 

Deal with it.

Robbie was a great servant to the club, irrespective of how he was as a player you're a right disrespectful w a n k.

[The Real Maroonblood]

Robbie was a great servant to the club, irrespective of how he was as a player you're a right disrespectful w a n k.

[I.J]

Robbie was a great servant to the club, irrespective of how he was as a player you're a right disrespectful w a n k.

 

I was at Neil Berry's testimonial v Lyon, and I tell you what, I've farted better players than Chuck.

 

Deal with that too, wee man.

[moogsy]

I think a better way to gauge the rank and file Hearts support's attitude towards Pressley would be to look at the last time we faced one of his sides competitively, which was a League Cup game at Falkirk in 2010 (?) if I recall correctly.

 

He was roundly abused by a large number in attendance, much of it quite vitriolic and personal in nature.

 

Great scenes.

 

[rudi]

He's completely changed my mind about him but sorry Zal,I'm on the Pressley side of the "better captain",SP at times dragged us kicking and screaming through games almost getting us back into games single handed (Falkirk away springs to mind),he had a huge influence on Webster who was only a young inexperienced guy at the time making them part of the best defence(statistically) in British football at the time.

 

Pressley had 8 years at Hearts most of those showing how good a player he was,unfortunately it took Zal about 4-5 years to settle down and show us what he can do,certainly has been a good captain and has done us and himself proud,but still going with Steven Pressley.

[I.J]

I think a better way to gauge the rank and file Hearts support's attitude towards Pressley would be to look at the last time we faced one of his sides competitively, which was a League Cup game at Falkirk in 2010 (?) if I recall correctly.

 

He was roundly abused by a large number in attendance, much of it quite vitriolic and personal in nature.

 

Great scenes.

 

 

I think the inflatable snake I wore got lost in the melee of Suso "SHITE PLAYER, SPANISH WAITER" Santana's supreme (and some would say blistering) performance that night.

 

I'm sure our slithering pals will disagree though. Good win for Pressley, eh? Got one right up Romanov, eh?

[The Real Maroonblood]

I was at Neil Berry's testimonial v Lyon, and I tell you what, I've farted better players than Chuck.

 

Deal with that too, wee man.

[smiler]

I was at Neil Berry's testimonial v Lyon, and I tell you what, I've farted better players than Chuck.

 

Deal with that too, wee man.

 

You never asked me to deal with anything before so why 'too'? You're add-ons to the photo of McGlynn sum you up, pal.

[amadjambo]

Not read the thread yet, but my take on the pair of cup winning captains is:

 

Pressley: an extremely hard working and determined player who was absolutely tremendous for us for the vast majority of his time at Hearts. A leader on the park and seemed to drive the team on.

 

Ability wise, not even close to the best we have had, but his determination more than made up for it. The number of times he made last ditch tackles or threw his body in the way of goal bound shots was phenomenal.

 

Soured his relationship with the fans with his behaviour at Tynecastle in a Celtic shirt. Extremely disrespectful.

 

Zaliukas: Took a while to settle, but has grown into a fantastic player. Has real class and ability way beyond Pressley. Is prone to those "bombscare" moments, although much more rare recently, which I believe are caused by lack of concentration due to finding the game here too easy at times, a view shared by John Robertson on his Q&A here recently.

 

A real leader on the park also, and has had to deal with a lot more issues off it that Pressley did. From wage delays, to being told to get off team bus, to contracting Vlad flu, etc Zaliukas has always shown leadership and class.

 

Who was the better player? For me, Zaliukas shades it. More pace, classier, and ultimately has more ability. But this isn't a criticism of Pressley, he was fantastic too, just in a different way.

[I.J]

Not read the thread yet, but my take on the pair of cup winning captains is:

 

Pressley: an extremely hard working and determined player who was absolutely tremendous for us for the vast majority of his time at Hearts. A leader on the park and seemed to drive the team on.

 

Ability wise, not even close to the best we have had, but his determination more than made up for it. The number of times he made last ditch tackles or threw his body in the way of goal bound shots was phenomenal.

 

Soured his relationship with the fans with his behaviour at Tynecastle in a Celtic shirt. Extremely disrespectful.

 

Zaliukas: Took a while to settle, but has grown into a fantastic player. Has real class and ability way beyond Pressley. Is prone to those "bombscare" moments, although much more rare recently, which I believe are caused by lack of concentration due to finding the game here too easy at times, a view shared by John Robertson on his Q&A here recently.

 

A real leader on the park also, and has had to deal with a lot more issues off it that Pressley did. From wage delays, to being told to get off team bus, to contracting Vlad flu, etc Zaliukas has always shown leadership and class.

 

Who was the better player? For me, Zaliukas shades it. More pace, classier, and ultimately has more ability. But this isn't a criticism of Pressley, he was fantastic too, just in a different way.

 

[Harry Palmer]

Spot on summary but what's it doing on this thread amadjambo?

 

Prepare to have it picked apart though....

 

 

'Bombscare moments' eh? Pressley had them too but usually got out of them by falling over and winning a free kick.

[Jabba]

I think a better way to gauge the rank and file Hearts support's attitude towards Pressley would be to look at the last time we faced one of his sides competitively, which was a League Cup game at Falkirk in 2010 (?) if I recall correctly.

 

He was roundly abused by a large number in attendance, much of it quite vitriolic and personal in nature.

 

Great scenes.

 

 

all round

[Jabba]

Aw this ******* draw v Falkirk pish just because some flump remembered that game, what about Zal v livi in the cup this season?

 

Don't get me wrong, Smoothbelly was a colossus that day but anything he can do Marvellous Marius has both emulated and bettered.

[Uncle Buck]

Despite being utterly shite for 9 years in a Hearts jersey, he had an English Premiership team, 3 Championship teams and an Old Firm team desperate to sign him as soon as we released him.

 

Pish player.

 

Not saying you're wrong, but just out of interest, who were the clubs interested in Pressley? I reckon he'd have been a great Championship player and could possibly have even made it in the EPL.

[Budgie.]

 

 

Not saying you're wrong, but just out of interest, who were the clubs interested in Pressley? I reckon he'd have been a great Championship player and could possibly have even made it in the EPL.

 

Charlton were the Prem team. He had a medical there iirc and Pardew was very keen for him to sign. One of the Champ teams was Leeds, can't remember the other two though got a feeling So'ton was one.

[Harry Palmer]

Randers in Denmark?

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

 

 

 

Not saying you're wrong, but just out of interest, who were the clubs interested in Pressley? I reckon he'd have been a great Championship player and could possibly have even made it in the EPL.

 

Pressley wouldn't have made it in the EPL, he was on the decline when he left us and struggled while he was at Celtic.

[Zico]

Kevin McKenna better than Pressley and Zal better then Davie Weir? All good players but it's like the Stevie Wonder Supporter's Club on this thread.

[Harry Palmer]

Kevin McKenna better than Pressley and Zal better then Davie Weir? All good players but it's like the Stevie Wonder Supporter's Club on this thread.

 

I know eh?

 

Kevin McKenna at a club in the Bundesliga.....Energie Cottbus(becoming captain) and FC Koln (Podolski his team mate). Those were the two he was mainly at but especially Cottbus, he also played for Canada...aye but they're a diddy national team etc etc.

 

Bash on though.

[Tommy Wiseau]

Not saying you're wrong, but just out of interest, who were the clubs interested in Pressley? I reckon he'd have been a great Championship player and could possibly have even made it in the EPL.

 

 

I'm not on the "Pressley was awful" bandwagon, but if Webster was ripped apart in the Premiership - which he was - then Pressley would have been nowhere near the standard.

[amadjambo]

 

 

 

I'm not on the "Pressley was awful" bandwagon, but if Webster was ripped apart in the Premiership - which he was - then Pressley would have been nowhere near the standard.

 

Gary Caldwell hasn't done too bad in the EPL.

 

Pressley would have been fine in the EPL, although he would have needed a partner with pace to complement his own game.

[N Lincs Jambo]

I'm not on the "Pressley was awful" bandwagon, but if Webster was ripped apart in the Premiership - which he was - then Pressley would have been nowhere near the standard.

 

Had a look at Webster's time at Wigan: Played 4, Won 4, Goals For 9, Goals Against 4 - says to me he didn't do too badly. I always suspected he got frozen out at that point because the deal was always to use Wigan as a stepping stone to Rangers - all part of the JJB Sports tie-in between Rangers and Wigan's owner Dave Whelan.

[Tommy Wiseau]

Gary Caldwell hasn't done too bad in the EPL.

 

Pressley would have been fine in the EPL, although he would have needed a partner with pace to complement his own game.

 

 

Gary Caldwell has some pace and is under-rated by most of us because he was shite for Hibs and Celtic. I think his game is much better suited to the Premiership than Pressley's was. Pressley also struggled badly in a weaker Premier League when he played for Coventry and was binned within a season. He simply wouldn't have coped on a regular basis if he had gone back 10 years down the line imo, certainly not at any kind of decent level of performance. Would have been a very good Championship player and no more, for me

[amadjambo]

 

 

 

Gary Caldwell has some pace and is under-rated by most of us because he was shite for Hibs and Celtic. I think his game is much better suited to the Premiership than Pressley's was. Pressley also struggled badly in a weaker Premier League when he played for Coventry and was binned within a season. He simply wouldn't have coped on a regular basis if he had gone back 10 years down the line imo, certainly not at any kind of decent level of performance. Would have been a very good Championship player and no more, for me

 

I didn't mean after Hearts, but if he had gone at his peak he would have done just fine IMO.

[CBjambo]

 

 

Had a look at Webster's time at Wigan: Played 4, Won 4, Goals For 9, Goals Against 4 - says to me he didn't do too badly. I always suspected he got frozen out at that point because the deal was always to use Wigan as a stepping stone to Rangers - all part of the JJB Sports tie-in between Rangers and Wigan's owner Dave Whelan.

 

C O N S P I R A C Y !

[:shitwine:]

 

 

Gary Caldwell hasn't done too bad in the EPL.

 

Pressley would have been fine in the EPL, although he would have needed a partner with pace to complement his own game.

Caldwell has done okay, but let's not forget that he plays for a team that are bottom 5 mainstays.

[Tommy Wiseau]

Had a look at Webster's time at Wigan: Played 4, Won 4, Goals For 9, Goals Against 4 - says to me he didn't do too badly. I always suspected he got frozen out at that point because the deal was always to use Wigan as a stepping stone to Rangers - all part of the JJB Sports tie-in between Rangers and Wigan's owner Dave Whelan.

 

 

His time with Wigan was error strewn. He did have injuries, but if he was that good for them, he would have been in the side and not binned at first opportunity I would imagine.

 

Edit: Conspiracy or not

[NewYorkJambo]

 

There is only one winner here.

 

 

Agreed on there only being one winner. Pressley by a mile

[Uncle Buck]

 

 

 

I'm not on the "Pressley was awful" bandwagon, but if Webster was ripped apart in the Premiership - which he was - then Pressley would have been nowhere near the standard.

 

If Gary Caldwell can get a game in the EPL then so can my ******* granny.

 

No pace? See Per Mertesacker.

 

In their young days, especially Webster, both could probably have made it in the Premiership.

[Budgie.]

 

 

If Gary Caldwell can get a game in the EPL then so can my ******* granny.

 

No pace? See Per Mertesacker.

 

In their young days, especially Webster, both could probably have made it in the Premiership.

 

Absolutely. Being a "hammerthrower" never stopped Colin Hendry winning the Premiership and excelling at that level.

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

Ever seen Zal wear honking tanned shoes?

 

No.

[Tommy Wiseau]

 

 

If Gary Caldwell can get a game in the EPL then so can my ******* granny.

 

No pace? See Per Mertesacker.

 

In their young days, especially Webster, both could probably have made it in the Premiership.

 

 

Is that Per Mertesacker who is a squad player at Arsenal despite having nearly 100 caps for Germany, aye? Not exactly comparable to Pressley.

 

Webster did go in his young days, as did Pressley, and neither cut it. Sad but true. Great SPL players who have both done a job for Scotland, but not top level players I'm afraid.