Warning signs from Hearts.

[Maroon Sailor]

No surprise what the focus has been on since that debacle of a first half against Aberdeen.

 

6 clean sheets in the 10 league games since tells it's own story

[i8hibsh]

Come on big man, don't be soft. You said we wouldn't win another five games this season which, to be honest, was an absolutely ludicrous claim. If you don't want to stake any cash on it then fair enough - and I don't think you actually believe that.

 

We'll lose to Celtic. We're also going to lose to Aberdeen in the cup unfortunately. We're in a bit of a rut at the moment but it happens and people are panicking as if we're second from bottom. We're going to finish third and looking back I think we were always going to finish third this season. That'll do for me.

 

 

We need to turn it around that is for sure.  Sadly, I don't think it is going to be a very Merry xmas

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

We need to turn it around that is for sure.  Sadly, I don't think it is going to be a very Merry xmas

 

No, I don't think it will. But that's football - and I'm 100% confident that we'll pick up before long

[Son Of Anarchy]

To me, my opinion is that it is delusion.

Fair enough. Polar opposite to my view where I'm happy where we are but should always strive to be the best and never accept mediocrity for long. Everyone to their own

[i8hibsh]

No, I don't think it will. But that's football - and I'm 100% confident that we'll pick up before long

 

 

I joke about the McglyNeilson thing but I truly believe him and Levein are the right men for the job - I am just so unimpressed at the minute.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Did Motherwell not beat Celtic last weekend. Maybe motherwell are a better team than Hearts but the table suggest otherwise .

 

Maybe not delusional blind optimism but pragmatic hope there is a real possibility of a result for Hearts considering the difficulty Celtic have endured breaking them this season. But that doesn't fit the agenda

[bighusref]

I hate the way we are playing, but the biggest I have towards that is frustration. We have midfielders and attackers that thrive on passing football, yet we by pass them to play horribly. It's not for me. The way we played against St Johnstone was mind numbingly awful. Deep, deep midfielders and hoofball all game.

 

That said, I reckon we are in a bit of a lull just now and will recover from it.

[gowestjambo]

The waning signs have been there for ages. We have fans that look at results and think 3rd is ok and we are doing fine.

 

Thankfully, we have fans that look past the results and focus on performances. This is the real indicator of success and failure.

 

You would not back a horse next time out if it won, after all the other horses fell!

 

The most disappointing aspect of our play is there is zero cohesion, we certainly do not attack or defend as a team. We have players isolated all over the park. Our passing is pathetic, our ball control rubbish, and we allow teams to take throw in's without bothering to mark an opponent. We seem to lack energy and play with a tempo that is a dawdle to defend against.

 

Our free kicks and corners rank as the worst in the league - all of this and we practise 3 times a day? Don't make me laugh.

 

Please don't mention we nearly died, with proper application, and a greater desire we could have challenged for the league!!

[Debut 4]

I hate the way we are playing, but the biggest I have towards that is frustration. We have midfielders and attackers that thrive on passing football, yet we by pass them to play horribly. It's not for me. The way we played against St Johnstone was mind numbingly awful. Deep, deep midfielders and hoofball all game.

 

That said, I reckon we are in a bit of a lull just now and will recover from it.

im sure I heard RN mention the state of pitches at this time of year, lame excuse imo, and that's why we play longer apparently.

 

Where's the persistence, guile and effort to at least play a game that suits our players?

 

I've never believed football is perfect and sometimes you do need to go longer, but only when you need to, it should'nt be a primary focus of our play.

 

I really do think RN isn't thinking straight just now for whatever reason? Hopefully the penny drops soon and he believes in himself as much as the players.

[Bring Back Paulo Sergio]

An interesting observation is that the posters who were backing a League challenge and being told they were in for a disappointment are not the ones having big tantrums about our current form.

I'm glad someone has noticed

[Bring Back Paulo Sergio]

im sure I heard RN mention the state of pitches at this time of year, lame excuse imo, and that's why we play longer apparently.

 

Where's the persistence, guile and effort to at least play a game that suits our players?

 

I've never believed football is perfect and sometimes you do need to go longer, but only when you need to, it should'nt be a primary focus of our play.

 

I really do think RN isn't thinking straight just now for whatever reason? Hopefully the penny drops soon and he believes in himself as much as the players.

If ever there was a post the management need to read it's this one.

[bighusref]

im sure I heard RN mention the state of pitches at this time of year, lame excuse imo, and that's why we play longer apparently.

 

Where's the persistence, guile and effort to at least play a game that suits our players?

 

I've never believed football is perfect and sometimes you do need to go longer, but only when you need to, it should'nt be a primary focus of our play.

 

I really do think RN isn't thinking straight just now for whatever reason? Hopefully the penny drops soon and he believes in himself as much as the players.

The pitch at Perth WAS awful. Something we spoke about at the game. However, if we chose to go long because of that, surely the swirling wind would've convinced them it was a bad idea.

 

I agree, though. I honestly don't think we are at it just now, one good game will spur us into action, though.

[Dia Liom]

The waning signs have been there for ages. We have fans that look at results and think 3rd is ok and we are doing fine.

 

Thankfully, we have fans that look past the results and focus on performances. This is the real indicator of success and failure.

 

You would not back a horse next time out if it won, after all the other horses fell!

 

The most disappointing aspect of our play is there is zero cohesion, we certainly do not attack or defend as a team. We have players isolated all over the park. Our passing is pathetic, our ball control rubbish, and we allow teams to take throw in's without bothering to mark an opponent. We seem to lack energy and play with a tempo that is a dawdle to defend against.

 

Our free kicks and corners rank as the worst in the league - all of this and we practise 3 times a day? Don't make me laugh.

 

Please don't mention we nearly died, with proper application, and a greater desire we could have challenged for the league!!

 

Performances are definitely not the real indicator of success.

 

For a team with zero cohesion we're doing no bad. How do you explain a team as bad as you say drawing with St Johnstone (the in form team in the spl)?

 

Your horse analogy makes no sense at all, though if the horse ran 18 times and 9 of those times all the other horses fell, why wouldn't you bet on it?

[Beast Boy]

The waning signs have been there for ages. We have fans that look at results and think 3rd is ok and we are doing fine.

 

Thankfully, we have fans that look past the results and focus on performances. This is the real indicator of success and failure.

 

You would not back a horse next time out if it won, after all the other horses fell!

 

The most disappointing aspect of our play is there is zero cohesion, we certainly do not attack or defend as a team. We have players isolated all over the park. Our passing is pathetic, our ball control rubbish, and we allow teams to take throw in's without bothering to mark an opponent. We seem to lack energy and play with a tempo that is a dawdle to defend against.

 

Our free kicks and corners rank as the worst in the league - all of this and we practise 3 times a day? Don't make me laugh.

 

Please don't mention we nearly died, with proper application, and a greater desire we could have challenged for the league!!

Performances are not more important than results ffs. You cannot believe that?

[Debut 4]

I think gowest means performances can be an indicator of the future as much as the present.

 

The great Alex Ferguson always spoke about level of performance and what he expects from his team.

 

Of course it's about results but how do you get results? Only for so long do you get away with average performances and picking up draws or odd victories.

[Beast Boy]

I think gowest means performances can be an indicator of the future as much as the present.

 

The great Alex Ferguson always spoke about level of performance and what he expects from his team.

 

Of course it's about results but how do you get results? Only for so long do you get away with average performances and picking up draws or odd victories.

I see it differently to that. Sometimes after a poor run of results all you need is a good result, then after another you start to see the team improve as the confidence drives the players on and then the performances start to come. Good results lead to good performances. Give me a run of results over a run of performances any time.

[Dia Liom]

I think gowest means performances can be an indicator of the future as much as the present.

 

The great Alex Ferguson always spoke about level of performance and what he expects from his team.

 

Of course it's about results but how do you get results? Only for so long do you get away with average performances and picking up draws or odd victories.

 

 

I think you are being bery kind to him/her.

 

Picking up draws or odd victories?!  Look at the league table! http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/scottish-premiership/table

 

Only st j and the two above us have scored more goals. Only celtic have conceded less goals!

 

We have lost 4 games in 18.

[Debut 4]

Give me a run of results over a run of performances any time.

fully agree. We could debate all day

 

What are the mechanics behind getting good results though?

 

You know, I'm really not an overly fussy person , it's results for me every time but I think I can be open minded about things and take an overall view. I also think it would be naive to ignore performances.

 

It's the easiest thing in the world not to worry about performances after a good run of results and showings when you have a few games looking off colour...those matches are quickly forgotten and swallowed up only if you regain form and more results.

 

The next few games will tell us a lot about our character imo. I might be wrong but we're usually good at the festive period and I hope the current team keeps up the tradition.

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

I see it differently to that. Sometimes after a poor run of results all you need is a good result, then after another you start to see the team improve as the confidence drives the players on and then the performances start to come. Good results lead to good performances. Give me a run of results over a run of performances any time.

On the flip side there's an old saying that performances catch up with you

[Beast Boy]

On the flip side there's an old saying that performances catch up with you

Sees like a silly old saying to me.

[gowestjambo]

I

Performances are not more important than results ffs. You cannot believe that?

I never suggested performances were more important than results. As a future indicator they certainly are. The subject was warning signs.

 

Our "form" if you like is pretty poor - you only need to watch us to see that. Eventually results will be determined by the underlying performance of the team.

[Beast Boy]

I

I never suggested performances were more important than results. As a future indicator they certainly are. The subject was warning signs.

 

Our "form" if you like is pretty poor - you only need to watch us to see that. Eventually results will be determined by the underlying performance of the team.

Fair enough. For me it's always result first and then the performances start to take care of themselves as the confidence grows.

[Haken]

An interesting thread and nice to see that despite differing opinions it's stayed pretty civil.

 

Sitting third in the league is a fantastic achievement and it'll be great to have European games again next season - assuming we maintain our current position.

 

However, there's no denying that our general play has taken a massive downturn. As someone pointed out earlier in the thread there was a lot of talk at the start of the season about how many penalties we were winning. This, for me, is a great indicator of the way or play has changed. We've gone from fast, attacking football to insecure hoofball.

 

There are some obvious reasons for that, not least the injuries we've had. King, Walker and to a lesser extent Buaben, Pallardo, Ozturk and El Hassnaoui have all affected our ability to play the brand of attacking football we did last season and the start of this season. We were also shipping goals for fun at the start of the season and all of us on here agreed or defending needed addressing. Now, whether our tighter defence has just come about because Augustyn and Rossi have had time to build a partnership or the whole team has been instructed to play differently, only the players themselves will know.

 

On the face of things we've picked up points in difficult places (Celtic and St J) and were a moment of madness away from a point at Aberdeen. The performances were very Csaba though. We've been spoilt by the attacking football we played last season and at the start of this, and when you see almost the same group of players playing this boringly now it's understandable that some fans start asking questions.

 

For us season ticket holders turning up through the good and bad is a way of life, but for those who aren't they may need something a bit more to entice them along. 3pm kick offs start at 1am for me over here. When my alarm went off at 12:50 in the early hours of Sunday morning I turned it off, went back to sleep and checked the match thread first thing in the morning to see how we got on. There will be some walk up fans who make the same will I/won't I decision.

 

Assuming we finish third we'll look back on this season as successful and look forward to European football in the summer. We've shown glimpses that we still know how to attack, such as Dundee at home before King got injured.

 

Robbie's still a young head coach and he had things to learn and we'll make mistakes. Individual mistakes have cost us quite badly so far, including those by Robbie. I hope he does continue to learn and as a team we kick on in the second half of the season - both Robbie and the players have the potential to do better and I'm sure there aware of that too.

What on earth are you doing making a sensible and perspective post?

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

The upcoming game at Killie will test Robbie's assertion that it is the pitches that are forcing us to play longer. Once you get in the habit of playing like that it is difficult to get the passing going  instantly so we will have to hope some extra work will be taking place in training beforehand. Too many players in midfield with the exception of Djoum are dithering on the ball at the moment waiting for movement whilst more switched on players on the opposition are right on them. I firmly believe we are just in a poor period of form right now which will pick up with Walkers added energy to come.

[4marsbars]

Sense of perspective needed.

 

We are no longer leaking goals.

 

We have lost one league game in 10.

 

We are third in the league in the second season after the club was reborn.

 

OK, we've drawn games we could have won recently, perhaps performances could have been more exciting, but there is a serious lack of perspective here.

 

In my first 20 years watching Hearts we never (that's right, never) finished in the top three. Best was fourth in 1970. And we almost never finished above Hibs. A top six finish used to feel quite good. The quality of football played was often dire. We had some really poor players, guys who would look terrified if the ball ever came near them. (It wasn't all bad. There was Donald Ford, Jim Cruickshank, Eddie Thomson, Drew Busby ........... quite a few in fact)

 

Those of you who only started watching Hearts post 1983 don't know you are born.

 

The idea that people are actually questioning whether our coach knows what he is doing is laughable.

[JamboX2]

It's poor stuff to watch. And we've tossed points away - Killie at home, Dundee at home, Motherwell away, Aberdeen away - through a mixture of not trying to play and playing too negatively as well as stupid mistakes.

 

Neilson's post matches are woeful and he seems to see no wrong in a draw at home to Kilmarnock and that the performances of some like Juanma, Oshiniwa and most of our midfield (Gomis in particular) are fine and acceptable. Equally barring Rossi and maybe Augustyn we haven't strengthened well enough. Osh is a liability and Reilly an empty shirt. Swanson has the ability and is benched a lot, Djoum looks good but is shackled by tactics to me and Juanma is hot and cold.

 

Somethings a miss at Hearts from watching them. I'm not calling for anyone's head or that 3rd isn't good enough. But that doesn't escape the fact that we've been poor to watch and our recent run of form won't see us keep third for long. We won't be third come January 3rd at this rate imo, Saints will.

 

We need a few players in the next window: Two Strikers, Creative Mid and a Left Back to keep going and maybe change our fortunes.

[OmiyaHearts]

It's poor stuff to watch. And we've tossed points away - Killie at home, Dundee at home, Motherwell away, Aberdeen away - through a mixture of not trying to play and playing too negatively as well as stupid mistakes.

 

Neilson's post matches are woeful and he seems to see no wrong in a draw at home to Kilmarnock and that the performances of some like Juanma, Oshiniwa and most of our midfield (Gomis in particular) are fine and acceptable. Equally barring Rossi and maybe Augustyn we haven't strengthened well enough. Osh is a liability and Reilly an empty shirt. Swanson has the ability and is benched a lot, Djoum looks good but is shackled by tactics to me and Juanma is hot and cold.

 

Somethings a miss at Hearts from watching them. I'm not calling for anyone's head or that 3rd isn't good enough. But that doesn't escape the fact that we've been poor to watch and our recent run of form won't see us keep third for long. We won't be third come January 3rd at this rate imo, Saints will.

 

We need a few players in the next window: Two Strikers, Creative Mid and a Left Back to keep going and maybe change our fortunes.

Top six is the mentioned target so you won't hear Neilson complain if we are 4th by the end of January.

 

Im not confident at all about the Celtic match but I hope when we face United we get really go for it. Bang in a few goals and get some confidence back in our passing play.

 

We're a better side than anyone we'll face in the league in January. We should go out with the approach to win all those matches.

[JamboX2]

Top six is the mentioned target so you won't hear Neilson complain if we are 4th by the end of January.

 

Im not confident at all about the Celtic match but I hope when we face United we get really go for it. Bang in a few goals and get some confidence back in our passing play.

 

We're a better side than anyone we'll face in the league in January. We should go out with the approach to win all those matches.

Based on position, no complaints. Based on the football and our inability to win games against lesser opposition then there are real concerns.

 

Celtic on the 27th is a write off job. No way we'll win that.

 

But looking ahead we are playing the same sides we've come off a bad run of form playing - Motherwell, Dundee, Hamilton, Killie, St Johnstone, Dundee United - in all those games I thought we were terrible to watch and with the exception of Hamilton we failed to beat them (we beat United but needed a penalty to do it).

 

I wouldn't be so sure we're on to a good run soon. We've struggled against those sides of late, not so confident things will be too rosey come March based on current tactics, form and play.

[Diego10]

It's poor stuff to watch. And we've tossed points away - Killie at home, Dundee at home, Motherwell away, Aberdeen away - through a mixture of not trying to play and playing too negatively as well as stupid mistakes.

 

Neilson's post matches are woeful and he seems to see no wrong in a draw at home to Kilmarnock and that the performances of some like Juanma, Oshiniwa and most of our midfield (Gomis in particular) are fine and acceptable. Equally barring Rossi and maybe Augustyn we haven't strengthened well enough. Osh is a liability and Reilly an empty shirt. Swanson has the ability and is benched a lot, Djoum looks good but is shackled by tactics to me and Juanma is hot and cold.

 

Somethings a miss at Hearts from watching them. I'm not calling for anyone's head or that 3rd isn't good enough. But that doesn't escape the fact that we've been poor to watch and our recent run of form won't see us keep third for long. We won't be third come January 3rd at this rate imo, Saints will.

 

We need a few players in the next window: Two Strikers, Creative Mid and a Left Back to keep going and maybe change our fortunes.

Oshaniwa is not a liability. He's played 13 games for us, 9 off them away from home. We've lost 2, and we've kept 6 clean sheets including away to the top 2 scoring sides in the league.

 

I get people think he's been disappointing but he's not been a liability at all.

[blairdin]

We're definitely not a good team to watch at the moment, no denying that.

 

The goal for this season I think (though the club would never admit it) is to finish third at all costs, as the big increase in prize money and potential money from a few European ties is required to improve the squad and the stadium.

 

Walker is injured, and is a huge miss. Billy King looks out of sorts. I don't think Sam Nicholson has hit the heights this season. Gomis and Pallardo are both off form. As a result, we can't achieve the goal by playing exciting attacking football, so we have reverted to trying to grind out results for now.  

[Mikey1874]

hopeful of a turning point today

 

give the fans some encouragement