***Aberdeen v Hearts *** The Match Thread***

[waynefozzie]

Even forgetting the individual nightmares (Tziolis played like he was pregnant and you just can't legislate for a **** up of Avlonitis's magnitude) they are so much better than us. Hayes and McGinn are so far ahead of Walker and Nicholson. All the messages and tactics in the world won't change that.

[BangkokHearts]

The evidence is damning. 

 

We were second under Neilson, now 17 points behind.

 

5 wins in 17 (1 in ET).

 

All the talk is now of what a shambles we are and how Levein is interfering. And we are a shambles.

[DingDong]

There has been absolutely no improvement. This re-emphasised the point too many players are not right for Scottish football, in terms of strength mentally. Aberdeen are the last in a very long list of teams who have out fought and out thought us. Agree another overhaul needed in summer but who do we trust to make the right decisions. I'm not convinced the current leadership of the football department should be given that opportunity.

[maroonedinoz]

Even forgetting the individual nightmares (Tziolis played like he was pregnant and you just can't legislate for a **** up of Avlonitis's magnitude) they are so much better than us. Hayes and McGinn are so far ahead of Walker and Nicholson. All the messages and tactics in the world won't change that.

 

I was surprised at the gulf between the two sides.

 

I thought we were fortunate only to get beat by two.

[1971fozzy]

There has been absolutely no improvement. This re-emphasised the point too many players are not right for Scottish football, in terms of strength mentally. Aberdeen are the last in a very long list of teams who have out fought and out thought us. Agree another overhaul needed in summer but who do we trust to make the right decisions. I'm not convinced the current leadership of the football department should be given that opportunity.

Exactly where I sit. Top post

[1971fozzy]

And there it is . We have Levein as a co manager.

[micole]

Well ma heid was right sadly. Another dreadful away performance getting beyond a joke now.

[Marvin]

Is it just me or does Cathro sprout the same pish every week?

[Thunderstruck]

Quite right, Mr Cathro, it is a management team. The alternative vantage point is an entirely valid point.

[Archie White]

The embarrassment will be when Cathro is asked what Daley said to him on touchline. It's going to happen.

 

Well he handled it well but I can't see any other DOF in Scottish football giving instructions/advice to the coach/manager. It's not right.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Quite right, Mr Cathro, it is a management team. The alternative vantage point is an entirely valid point.

Fine. Then the whole "team" needs emptied at the end of the season.

[Sharky999]

The question has been asked i thought he answered it well, nothing to hide from his perspective

[Heartsmad1874]

Thank god i'm on holiday for the Celtic,St Johnstone and Dundee games well deserved break from this garbage.

[davieholt]

Second to every ball in midfield, striker(s) isolated up front with half a mile between them and the nearest midfielder, Long balls howitzered in the general direction of a lone front man, terrible individual mistakes and a distinct gulf in ability and class - and absolutely no evidence of a game plan.

 

I know we should give IC until the end of the season to turn things round but I worry about where we will wind up!

[Paolo]

Well he handled it well but I can't see any other DOF in Scottish football giving instructions/advice to the coach/manager. It's not right.

I havn't seen a DoF anywhere doing that. Never heard of them entering the dressing room at half time either.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

I havn't seen a DoF anywhere doing that. Never heard of them entering the dressing room at half time either.

I'm past caring. He needs to go as well.

[1971fozzy]

I havn't seen a DoF anywhere doing that. Never heard of them entering the dressing room at half time either.

Absolutely.

I'd love to know of other DoF that pass on instructions in game and go into the Dressing Room at half time.

It's like a fekin episode of Footballers Wives

[Dennis Law]

There has been absolutely no improvement. This re-emphasised the point too many players are not right for Scottish football, in terms of strength mentally. Aberdeen are the last in a very long list of teams who have out fought and out thought us. Agree another overhaul needed in summer but who do we trust to make the right decisions. I'm not convinced the current leadership of the football department should be given that opportunity.

Fully agree ding donger! . Our club is turning into a joke or better still a care home for inexperienced or failed coaches John( I'll get that for you Craig) Daly or Liam (successfull Cowdenbeath coach) Fox really!! Is this what our club needs to help players struggling on a park? What exactly do these guys bring to the table? Or more importantly how much are they taking from our FOH donations?

 

 

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[1971fozzy]

The question has been asked i thought he answered it well, nothing to hide from his perspective

He was probably secretly relieved to be able to answer the Levein question

[Thunderstruck]

I havn't seen a DoF anywhere doing that. Never heard of them entering the dressing room at half time either.

FFS, even the Commentary Team said it was commonplace and that some teams have both DoF and Coach in the dugout.

[Sharky999]

He was probably secretly relieved to be able to answer the Levein question

Possibly, he didnt try and avoid it. :-)

[Paolo]

FFS, even the Commentary Team said it was commonplace and that some teams have both DoF and Coach in the dugout.

Carry on behaving like it is normal if you want.

 

My opinion is that it isn't.

 

Regardless, at least we have confirmation that all the shit performances we have are as much Levein's responsibly as well as Cathro's (and Neilson's for the crap ones when he was head coach).

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Today was utterly predictable. Shit pitch, street fighters v stroller wannabes, the outcome was not in doubt.

 

We are as soft as shite

[Hilary Briss]

We are brutal.

 

True what pundits were saying. No pattern of play or ability to change from bench.......very like the game at ER.

 

Dunno if its Levein or Cathro or both.........but the players looked like non triers again in a big game so something has to change.

[Thunderstruck]

Carry on behaving like it is normal if you want.

 

My opinion is that it isn't.

 

Regardless, at least we have confirmation that all the shit performances we have are as much Levein's responsibly as well as Cathro's (and Neilson's for the crap ones when he was head coach).

I didn't say it was normal or even appropriate to Hearts. I just find it strange that you hadn't heard of different approaches to management. That is what your earlier post said

[john brownlee]

They have four years over us, we made two mistakes and got punished, thought we done not to bad ,considering they are well above us. In four or five years we will be gubbing them big style.

 

 

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[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Carry on behaving like it is normal if you want.

 

My opinion is that it isn't.

 

Regardless, at least we have confirmation that all the shit performances we have are as much Levein's responsibly as well as Cathro's (and Neilson's for the crap ones when he was head coach).

Does he take credit for the good ones?

[Paolo]

I didn't say it was normal or even appropriate to Hearts. I just find it strange that you hadn't heard of different approaches to management. That is what your earlier post said

I am open to a different approach. As long as we are honest about our approach. It seems we now are.

 

CL's role extends beyond that of most DoFs. I am glad we are now honest and open about it.

 

It means if Cathro is ever sacked, then Levein should be too (since he is part of the coaching staff), though as he has the security of being a Director, it is not as straightforward.

[Bazzas right boot]

Although we were shite, Aberdeen are a good team.

 

Getting beat of Ross county and partick is the bigger problem, we are dropping points to everyone now.

 

 

Quite clear players like sowah an tzolis are no wear near good or effect give enough.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

We are brutal.

 

True what pundits were saying. No pattern of play or ability to change from bench.......very like the game at ER.

 

Dunno if its Levein or Cathro or both.........but the players looked like non triers again in a big game so something has to change.

No pattern when we get pressure just as it was at Firhill and Easter Road.

 

We don't want to battle and get over run by teams who want to play high energy and tackle

[Kiwidoug]

Never thought I'd say this but I have really lost interest now.

[norrie1952]

I don't post much.but I've said recently this experiment has been tried,it's not working. Will someone change it before we become a joke. Beating rangers is no biggy

[Australis]

I heard the commentator was saying all first half that there was no support up front for Concalves a huge distance between the midfiel and him.

Did it get any better in the 2nd half, were the right changes made or was it unnoticed by Cathro.

[alicante jambo]

I heard the commentator was saying all first half that there was no support up front for Concalves a huge distance between the midfiel and him.

 

 

Did it get any better in the 2nd half, were the right changes made or was it unnoticed by Cathro.

Mate we were brutal first half and were crying out for change but no changes at half time.

[Ivan Drago]

I heard the commentator was saying all first half that there was no support up front for Concalves a huge distance between the midfiel and him.

Did it get any better in the 2nd half, were the right changes made or was it unnoticed by Cathro.

For a guy whose supposed to hav a reputation as a great coach he doesn't seem to know how to change things

[maltese jambo]

They have four years over us, we made two mistakes and got punished, thought we done not to bad ,considering they are well above us. In four or five years we will be gubbing them big style.

 

 

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Mate we made more than 2 mistakes I can assure you

 

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[Bazzas right boot]

I heard the commentator was saying all first half that there was no support up front for Concalves a huge distance between the midfiel and him.

Did it get any better in the 2nd half, were the right changes made or was it unnoticed by Cathro.

Every game has been the same.

[Danguar]

Fan Review:

 

[MacDonald Jardine]

They have four years over us, we made two mistakes and got punished, thought we done not to bad ,considering they are well above us. In four or five years we will be gubbing them big style.

 

 

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If that's your idea of not too bad I shudder to think what bad looks like.

 

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[RedCity]

They have four years over us, we made two mistakes and got punished, thought we done not to bad ,considering they are well above us. In four or five years we will be gubbing them big style.

 

 

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No offence but I remember being on here at the end of last season after you won 1-0 at Pittodrie and several Hearts fans saying that they now had the measure of Aberdeen and that they were going to brush them aside this season and be the main challengers to Celtic. Utter delusion as the table demonstrates. As for your crystal ball analysis of 4 or 5 years time from now? Here is my far more realistic analysis of what will happen in 4 or 5 years time....the status quo will be well and truly re-established in Scotland with utter Glasgow dominance and everyone else will as usual be fighting for whatever little scraps they leave. Aberdeen will have a brand new stadium and training facilities. Hearts will be battling it out with the rest of the league for the distant 3rd place that is available with the feel good factor of the past few years a distant memory crushed by a few years of utter Glaswegian dominance from the bigot brothers....basically exactly the same as Scottish football has been since a certain Sir A Ferguson left it behind and moved to pastures new. That is a far more realistic assertion than yours I'd say. I just like to be realistic. I'd like to say unlucky today but I honestly can't as you weren't. One of our easiest wins of the season and that's not a wind up we should have won by more. Just like we should have won by more at Tynecastle in December. Both games were very straight forward wins where we were never in any danger as we were totally dominant in both. There is a gulf in quality between the teams both on the park and in the dugout it seems.

[Watt-Zeefuik]

Levein's influence in the dugout is not the problem here.

 

Levein's choice of head coach is the problem.

[Lincon Premier]

I got it tight on here because I didn't wet myself after beating the second worst team in the league. PHM lined up to hurl abuse and claimed CL was not interfering in the team. Well today it was clear he is and what happened? Did we come out and play much better? Did his input real make a difference to the team and performance? No, therefore he should butt out!

Just because someone has a different opinion doesn't give you the right to abuse and call them a Hobbo. We need to back the team, but that will continue to get harder and harder while this management team is in place.

[Mdoug79]

Not one for ranting on here or slating the team but today in a freezing cold south stand at Pittodrie I felt totally disallusioned.

I think Cathro has came into his 1st job as a 1st team coach and made the error many have and tried to rebuild with lots of new players in a short period with no summer to let them gel!

 

Our team are completely devoid of heart, fight or passion and many of our players are either uninterested or unsure of what they should be doing in our formation.

 

Hamilton is an up and coming goalie but certainly not the standard we should have as our No1

 

Sowah gets caught ball watching continually and does not have a 1st touch

 

Both centre backs get dragged wide leaving the fullbacks unsure whether to move across or stay

 

Tzoilis looks completely uninterested and needs far to much time on the ball not to mention his wasted free kicks.

 

Concalves is a machine but is so slow I don't understand why Cathro feels playing him up top alone is even an option

 

Our homegrown players look defeated. I was no big fan of Ian black as player but I'd give anything for his heart and spirit in our team right now. The quick rebuild hasn't worked and will require a reboot in the summer I just hope it's possible because this isn't good enough. Statement like "aspiring to be like Aberdeen" shouldn't be said they should be aspiring to be like us! We are the bigger club and it's about time we started playing like we are!! Over to you IC, CL and the squad.

[MacDonald Jardine]

Levein's influence in the dugout is not the problem here.

 

Levein's choice of head coach is the problem.

They both tie together though.

 

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[Bazzas right boot]

The sad truth is that atm, aberbeen are our benchmark.

 

They are better than us and have been for about 5 years.

 

We've fallen back this year as well.

 

It shows on the park.

[ToadKiller Dog]

Yes Aberdeen are a better side with a better squad and a smarter manager ,but they didn't have to be any of those things today to beat us .

Our performance today would have seen us lose to most sides in the league .

 

We looked hapless ,shapeless and lacking in any real confidence or belief a bit like the head coach .

No improvement since day one .

Something needs to change ,the don't worry this time next year we will be millionaires Rodney attitude is not good enough .

 

You need to balance the short term with the long term .

[Eldar Hadzimehmedovic]

Aberdeen were killing us with crosses, yet we seem to see crossing as somehow beneath us.

[Statto]

I've not read anything on here about the game yet, I can imagine the reaction will be very negative. My opinion of today was, we had very little attacking influence on the game, at times it was like a training session where the team with the red tops attacked and the team with the white tops defended.

 

It wasn't an unexpected result, Aberdeen are almost on the best run of their existence at home. Despite this, we should be having more spells in the ascendancy in games against teams like Aberdeen than we did.

 

I posted pre-match that I expected Aberdeen to get the ball out wide a lot and cross it, they did, a lot. I felt we dealt with that well, apart from the goal obviously. Sowah and Hamilton should be doing better, if either one of them was more aggressive and attacked the ball, the Aberdeen player wouldn't have been able to win that header, he ran past Sowah to get to the ball, Sowah would have got there if he had attacked the ball and Hamilton shares the blame for me, the goal was scored 3 yards out, if he comes for it, I think he gets there first, that could be an unfair criticism but that was my feeling at the time.

 

The second goal will happen from time to time, that's one I don't get too upset over, it's the way we play, retaining possession is more important than lumping it up field and more often than not having to win the ball back again. Keeping the ball and getting it up the field playing short passes is a less risky tactic than hitting it long, there's obviously a time and a place for hitting it long, behind late in a game or under pressure then yes but in that situation, Avlonitis wasn't under any real pressure, it was just a bad contact with the ball.

 

I felt for Goncalves, he got no service at all, every long ball we did play was far too long, we needed to push Walker and Nicholson further forward to try and peg back their full backs and give more support to Goncalves.

 

As for the Levein incidents, I think if it was communicated with the fans what his involvements with the coaches are, it would clear everything up and there wouldn't be all the speculation. I personally don't care whether he has influence over team selection or tactics, he has a lot of experience in management and I'd rather he offered his advice than sat back. I'm on the fence as to whether that should be communicated with the fans and made public. On one hand, we pay a lot of money to follow and support this club, some might say we have a right to know how the club is being managed and how teams are picked. On the other hand, why should it matter to us who picks the team and what the management structure of the club is on the footballing side. We pay our money to attend games and support the team, not run it.

 

It's a weird situation, a lot of Hearts fans don't like Levein's style from when he was manager of Hearts and even Scotland, when something goes wrong, these fans will look for someone to blame and point to Levein, whether it was his fault or not. Now that it has been reported he was in the changing room at half time and sending a message to the coaches during a game, it will always be brought back up in future, it could have happened once or happened every game since he was brought into the club but because it hasn't been communicated with the fans, they're going to make a big deal of it, especially because it has been speculated in the past, now there is evidence that he has a bigger influence than some people thought. The thing is, I think if we knew beforehand that Levein did offer advice in games, it wouldn't be such a big deal, I've seen it's been headline news in some papers because like us fans, they don't know what a Director of Football does because I don't believe there's another club in Scotland that has this management structure. Again, this comes down to the fact that if the club communicated what Levein does, it wouldn't have been an issue today. But then that goes back to my previous debate, should we be told?

[neilnunb]

Says it all about this wonderful Aberdeen team, 17 points clear of us, that less than 12,500 can be arsed to go see them. Seems their own fans don't think they're worth the effort.

[Morgan]

Wee chant of 'stick yer kickback up yer arse' just then! :lol:

Well go then.

 

You're part of it

 

Nobody will miss you.